I DIDN'T SAY COLLEDGE CAN PULL BETTER THAN WAHLE, YOU MORON.
You never saw Colledge running parallel to the line of scrimmage? That's essentially what his job was!!! He was always pulling on tosses and screens, and the entire line is essentially running parallel to the line of scrimmage, because that's what a stretch play, the cornerstone play of the zone blocking scheme, is.
He is our most athletic offensive lineman, and he was drafted for his athleticism. He played Tackle in college for a zone blocking team that plays a lot of undersized linemen because they can't get blue chippers, so they beat teams with their athletic ability up front. Who cares what position he played in college, it depends on the system. Will Shields might be the best OG of all time, and he played guard and tackle in college. As I said before, Jumbo Elliot has TD catches, does that make him a better or more athletic OL than Steve Hutchinson? Dan Klecko caught TDs for the Colts last season, does that make him a more athletic DT than Tommie Harris?
I don't think that Colledge pulls better than Wahle at this point in his career, but he has fantastic athletic ability for a lineman and there is not a lot of drop-off from Wahle to Colledge in that area. The drop-off occurs in pass protection and runs up the middle. Wahle was a better pass blocker and had the strength to push a big DT off his line, but that comes with experience. It's not unreasonable to assume that experience, coaching, and a few more years in a pro weight program will take Colledge to that same level. Wahle was also a small school, smaller, athletic lineman coming out of college who took much longer to get to a starting level than Colledge did.
Also, Colledge didn't get benched, like you claimed. He did not start the 1st game of the season, then started the next 15. Wahle didn't even see real time until his 2nd year and didn't start all 16 games until his 4th year. Colledge started 15 games, playing in all 16, and was a member of the All-Rookie team.
