When Guards Derrick Dockery, Eric Steinbach and Kris Dielman signed contracts worth a combined $107.5 Million, league-wide response was darkly uniform.  Eyes rolled, tongues clucked, and fingers wagged, all with one angry arm akimbo.

      So why is everybody reacting like a flock of cranky nuns?

     Things change.

     From the start of the Salary Cap era, offensive linemen—and guards in particular—were treated as an afterthought   Following the NBA model of promoting its highest profile stars, Quarterbacks earned disproportionately large salaries and were rewarded by getting disproportionately pounded. As the game evolved, so did the strategy, the tactics, and, eventually, the salary structure.  Quarterbacks needed to be protected and Left Tackles were the first to see the change in their paychecks. Nobody complained.

     The West Coast Offense emphasized quick timing passes which begat the zone blitz.  Nobody screamed when sack happy DEs became adept at dropping into pass coverage.  It made them more valuable and they made more money.

     When contact five yards beyond the line of scrimmage became Illegal Contact, smaller, quicker receivers came into vogue and they made more money.  Nobody complained.

     Traditionally, Guards have been considered run blockers first. They had to be big enough and strong enough to handle massive defensive linemen.  If they could get to the second level, then God Bless ‘em . Athleticism was not a priority.      

     That changed with the Tampa-2 Defense, which relies on faster linemen and linebackers. And as the Steelers proved in the 2005 AFC Championship game, the shortest distance to a QB is a straight line up the middle. Suddenly, Guards had to contend with faster tackles, faster linebackers, and bigger, faster safeties.     

It’s no accident that all three (along with Denver’s Montrae Holland and Pttisburgh’s Sean Mahan) got jobs protecting young quarterbacks. Interestingly, Phillip Rivers, Charlie Frye, Ben Roethlisberger,  J.P. Loesman, and Jay Cutler are also mobile Quarterbacks. Defensively,  the best way to attack  young, mobile Quarterbacks is to apply pressure and force them into mental and physical mistakes.  The quickest way to do that is up the middle.  By signing large, athletic guards to protect those guys,  the Browns, the Bills, and the Chargers have responded proactively to plug an increasingly vital hole.