Any Justice For Us?

The forgotten man in talking about the 2009 OL is Winston Justice. Could he play a part? Could he be the starting RT?

My belief for this season was to keep Justice around "just in case". He knows the offense and could have stepped in and played at least "good enough". My attitude toward the future was to cut him and move on.

Now that the '08 season has played itself out I have mixed feelings. We have a hole at RT. Runyan is a FA. Shawn Andrews is MIA. There is no one on the roster who projects as a good RT immediately. It was much easier to casually dimiss Justice when Andrews was in the picture and Jon hadn't struggled for a season.

Justice didn't play much this year. He got some snaps in blowouts. He was part of the STs units for a while. Justin Tuck got by him and blocked a FG in the 2nd Giants game. Winston was replaced as a blocker by rookie Mike McGlynn. That was pretty damning in my book. If the coaches don't trust you as much as they do a rookie, how can you be part of future plans? That sealed my thoughts on Justice.

But wait. Late in the year he started getting snaps at LG in the goal line offense so that Herremans could move out to TE. Now the coaches trust him enough to put him on the field in goal line situations? Color me confused.

One of the popular Philly criticisms of Justice is that he's got no heart. I don't agree. You don't last in football very long with no heart. To use a boxing analogy, I think his problem is that he's more of a dancer than a puncher. It takes special guys to get away with that. Winston isn't special. He needs to play with more fire. I'm not talking fake rah-rah emotion, though. I'm talking about competitive spirit...where winning and losing on each snap is vitally important to you. Runyan has lost plenty of battles over the years. It isn't for lack of effort or caring. He hates getting beat. When he gets a chance to mash on a guy, he does it.

Here are my preseason notes on Justice:

Steelers game

JUSTICE - Up and down game. There was more good than bad, but it was still frustrating to see some of the mistakes. Set too hard to the outside and was beaten by inside move. Looked quick, athletic at times. Good pad level. Got his hands out. Whiffed on a LB on a run to his side. Whiffed on a DL and Hunt got tackled for a short loss. Generally did well in pass pro. Needs to play better considering he's in year 3.

Panthers game

JUSTICE – Moved his feet well in pass pro. You still wish he would anchor better. Played pretty well. Didn’t let his guy get free. Had a good game as a pass blocker. Didn't show much as a run blocker. We ran a lot of draws and that type thing. I'm not getting much of a chance to see him drive a DL and really be aggressive. Played better than last week.

Pats game

JUSTICE – Backup RT. Still not anchoring as well as you’d like. Does re-set after getting pushed back, but that would lead to trouble in a real game against a good DE. Got no push on the LDE on a run to his side. Pulled on a Moats run to the right side and did okay. Gave Ryan a running lane outside.

Jets game

JUSTICE – RT – Pulled and had a sloppy block on Gholston. Had poor sustain on a run block and the defender got to Hunt right at the LOS. Beaten in pass pro by Gholston. Vern was able to pressure Kolb, but not hit him. Justice did stay with the block. Justice put his head really low on the play. His pad level was too low. He needed to make himself bigger. Didn’t anchor well. I know I say this every week, but it bugs me that he is having the same problem over and over. Gets driven back toward the QB way too much. Got called for holding late in the half, negating a big gain.

Here are my notes from the 2007 finale when he played RT most of the game:

* JUSTICE – Played well when you consider he didn't practice and prepare for the game. Also take into account that he has played LT in the NFL and filled in at RT in this game. Took over at RT when Runyan was knocked out of the game. Pulled on a Tackle Trap and got a solid block on a DB. Handled his first 3rd down well. Started blocking the DE, then passed him to inside blocker, and got the DT who was looping wide. That shows good awareness and teamwork. His DE was able to deflect a pass. Justice hit the DE initially, then pulled off him. Winston has to stay on that block so the DE doesn’t get a free jump at the ball. It was a 3-step drop and Justice should have known that and blocked accordingly. When you have a quick pass, you block aggressively because you expect the QB to throw the ball almost immediately. Had a good block on Westy’s long run to the right side. Got his DE and stuck with him for several yards. Kept his hands on the guy as he pushed him downfield, but didn’t hold when the guy went to chase the play. Did get called for holding on a pass play, but it wasn’t his fault. We had a screen to the right called. Justice blocked his DE. The DL read screen and stayed with the RB. Donovan rolled right, outside of Justice. The DE went to pursue and Winston held him for a moment. Simply a busted play. Had a play-action pass where the TE stayed in to block (on his side). Justice looked inside for a defender at the snap. He helped the RG block a DT. A blitzer then came and Justice peeled off his block and picked that guy up. Good awareness. Got called for a False Start. Struggled at times with staying with the DE to the outside. Could be this is due to him playing mostly LT in practice and having to adjust to covering wide right in this game. Poor run block on play to his side. The DE got into him and pushed Winston back a step. Got knocked to the ground on a bull rush by Kelsay. Chris beat him a couple of plays later with a good swim move. Winston handled him better on the next play.

I don't know what to make of Justice. There is absolute logic to keeping him around and seeing what he does. The problem is that he played so marginally in the 2008 preseason. A guy in year #3 needs to show you that he's made good progress. He flat-lined. That scares me. I know Winston has talent, but he doesn't play with much confidence and that can get you killed on the OL.

The reason you would keep him around is to challenge for the RT spot. The thinking would be to bring in a RT in the draft, somewhere in the first 3 rounds. The kid and Justice would battle for the job. If the kid wins, you have to deal with the ups and downs of a rookie starter. Justice would at least give you someone who is young, athletic, healthy, and who knows the offense. I don't think he'd ever become a good player, but he might prove to be an adequate starter until the prospect is ready to take over in year 2.

We know Winston isn't a good role player. Can he be the starter? He did play okay at RT in the '07 finale. Maybe he's one of those guys who is fine for 60 snaps, but can't be effective for 6. Some guys struggle when they aren't "the man".

The fact that Justice still has this many questions heading into year 4 of his career bugs me. I'd probably cut him and move on. I prefer grinders and fighters. I trust them. The Eagles deal with Justice every day and should have a better feel for the situation. Let's hope they make the right decision.
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