The Falcons' offensive line is a fairly anonymous bunch, but also a very effective one. They're like a group of secret agents who happen to cut block effectively, thanks to the mysterious Alex Gibbs. What many people fail to realize is that you can be anonymous and very good, and Lehr was at least a very solid option at guard. That's why his suspension under the nebulous heading of "steroid and related substances" policy infraction is a fairly big problem. Now, I don't know Lehr at all, so I'm caught between thinking they're lacing Booberry cereal with ephedrine now or he was having his good buddy Jose Canseco shoot him up with horse roids. Hard to say, really.
With King Lehr slain, enter the fool, Tyson Clabo. The poor guy had never started a game in the NFL before yesterday, and going against the strong front line of the Steelers is not exactly a cakewalk assignment. He wasn't great, obviously, but he did well enough to hang in there, which is what the Falcons are going to need from him until Lehr gets back. Austin King and practice squad champion Bo Lacy are also available, though neither are really more attractive than Clabo at this point. I'd say the Falcons should sit tight until the suspension's up unless they really feel poorly about their depth or Clabo becomes a turnstile at LG. Next week he's going to be matched up against the Bengals' John Thornton, Robert Geathers, and Justin Smith at different points in the game, so we'll get a pretty good look at his mettle. Let's hope he's up to the part of Lehr, and let's hope Lehr doesn't run afoul of policy again.