A New Era of Hogs

The “Hogs” title has been forever attached to the offensive line of the Washington Redskins.  For the zone-blocking scheme of the Redskins, this may not be the group that will push you around quiet like the original “Hogs” but the line surely is a group of developing stars.   This past spring, quarterback Robert Griffin III garnered most of the accolades but part of his success should be accredited to his offensive line.

A year ago, the Washington O-line gave up just 33 sacks and was anchored by left tackle Trent Williams.  Williams was suspended two seasons season for a positive drug test but made up for his absence with solid overall play on the blind side.  Trent is a budding star and may be a player to watch as the Redskins hope to take the next step.

In the middle was center Will Montgomery.  Montgomery developed into a nice complement with Griffin under the helm.  He was consistent and durable playing in all of the teams contests.  It was important for Griffin III to have the same feel game in and game out, as he was not used to taking snaps under center coming out of Baylor University.

The most physically imposing of the lineman was without question Tyler Polumbus.  Polumbus, however, proved to be one of the weaker linemen and struggled throughout his first season as a starter.  The tackle position was and still is a bit of an unknown.  What we do know is that Kory Lichtensteiger, a four-year veteran, will start on the left side after proving himself during Washington’s playoff run.  Opposite him, however, is a major question mark.  It looks like Chris Chester is taking first reps but much can change as we approach the season.

Training camp will allow the unit time to develop even more after a successful season a year ago.  This offensive line may not be the old school “hogs” but we got our own set of “hogs” right in front of RGIII.