Really glad to see we still have nearly 40 days (39) before the season begins. That's a good bit of time for a team to develop. But, from what we are hearing and several others are seeing in camp these are areas too look for moving forward through each game this pre-season: 1. Injuries - as always, this can be a hugely significant determining factor. Just look at the musical chairs on the OL and at how the team is auditioning so many WR's after the Binns and Matthews injuries? Any more at positions of weakened depth and that could really hurt. Remaining healthy is huge for this team. 2. OL - There are three solid players - LG, C, RT. Position-wise, this is the greatest issue. Either Martin is struggling and needs to improve significantly over the next several weeks, or he is really solid and our pass rush is going to be spectacular this year! The Louis / Jerry / Samuda deal at the other OG spot is frustrating. Louis could be a key if he actually starts to play in the next couple of weeks - he could unseat the injured Jerry. Or perhaps Samuda could surprise and become a real force? There's a reason he's been a backup so far to Jerry, however. 3. QB play - could be dependent on the OL - but Tannehill needs to progress. Everyone is predicting he will but it has to happen on the field. He needs to be decisive and hit some big plays. People always say pre-season doesn't count but your offense really needs to flash some great drives and big plays - it is portending - unless you are already well-established (like a Brady or Manning). Still even they will have some explosive drives in the preseason. I am always reminded of when the Rams won in '99 - that preseason they were killing people with their first team offense. 4. RB - again I think the key will be the OL - the RB's are young and need some holes to run through to develop some confidence. It could snowball into a big year for the RB or it could be a year of lost confidence if the OL does not make holes (as was a struggle against the 1st team D in the scrimmage). 5. WR - will the new guys be able to flourish in Philbin's system? I hope the new offense exploits Wallace's strengths rather than inhibiting them. Also, the question-marks at 4-5 (which seemed settled before camp) will be important to answer in today's NFL. It's not enough to have 2 or even 3 WR's. 6. FB/HB/TE - lots of competition here. Hopefully a few of these will step up. 7. K / Special Teams - with Carpenter struggling, would like to see Sturgis get healthy. I really feel good about the D at this point. Will be interesting to see if our top two draft choices make an impact. Taylor seems like he may be going on PUP; but either way he has a big hill to climb to get into the lineup and make meaningful plays.
agreed, by far #1 on my list. With WR's we have Wallace-Hartline-Keller. As long as we have at least 2 of those 3 playing at any one time, it's a significant upgrade over what we've had last year. For the Oline, we just need one of these young guys, like Thomas, to break through and play well at LG so Richie can take the RG spot away from Jerry permanently. Then we have Samuda as our swing interior lineman and our worries mainly come down to helping Martin out at LT. While I think Sims can make an impact there, if he has to spend all his time there, then it leaves very little opportunity for either 3 WR sets or for Sims to sneak out and get some catches.
I'm not saying its wrong to list the OL as a thing to look for, I'm saying the the desperation and panic that's beginning over the position shuffling is wrong. Here's Coach Turner talking about it 2 days ago: [video]http://www.miamidolphins.com/media/videos/Inside_The_Oline_With_Coach_Turner/201f3a02-3d87-4b88-8bf0-0460de85c31f[/video]
i can´t stress it enough....we need to make that more clear next offseason....don´t mention injuries, someone did in another thread, the next day matthews is gone for weeks and binns gone for the year and now hartline tweaks something on warmup, that whole week of practice went so smooth and then....doomed
There's no doubt in most minds, fans, staff, players and coaches that as the OL goes so goes this offense. Tanny has shown to be dangerous when he has less than optimal time (like last year) that he might tear the league up given the weapons he now has and time to boot. That said, it's unsettling to the fans to see the shuffling of the OL guys. But after watching this video, it's pretty obvious this was part of the plan. I think the starting group (Clabo, JJ, Pouncey, RI, Martin) is pretty much etched in stone at this point, they just aren't going to actually say it. I think at some point they'd have moved guys in and out of the starting lineup but given the JJ injury, it just move the timetable up a bit. I think Samuda and Thomas are being looked at to see if they are two of the 7 we dress on game day. They pretty much know what Garner can do...while versatile, he's also as good as he's going to get. There's still a chance Samuda and Thomas are going to be better than what they are now... On the other hand, as both fans and coaches, I'm sure they are unsettled to some extent given the JJ injury and less than stellar play of the OL to this point. Keeping in mind that the D is likely ahead of things at this point, which is normal and the fact that our DL is arguably one of the better in the league, they still have to be somewhat concerned about the lack of cohesion and individual battles lost along the OL to date... It'll start to take more shape in the next week with the HOF game and continue on from there... Maybe then we can see some sparks fromt he OL like we've seen from the WR group, DL, Secondary and even the TEs so far...
The only OL guy I'm worried about is Martin. Pouncey, Incognito and Clabo are all Pro Bowl caliber players and I think between Louis, Jerry and Samuda there is a solid starter in there.....not everyone on the line has to be a Pro Bowler. We just need Martin to not be a huge liability IMO I agree about the D, that unit can be VERY good
Really, I think that's where most Dolphins fans are with regard to our offensive line: Can Jonathan Martin hold up at left tackle? Everything else will gain cohesion with time. The GM/coaches have to believe he can, at least they have to believe that somewhat, because there isn't a clear Plan B. At least not to my eyes. As large or small a question mark as that really is, things would be far worse if he got hurt.
The OL was at best inconsistent last year. We all know the drawbacks of a weak OL. Busted Plays. 3 and outs or long down and distance. Not enough time to take advantage of receivers open downfield. Always throwing underneath. And that is a list of the moderate impacts of a poor OL. They're better than a season ending blind side hit to the QB, 16 to 17 pt per game average, deflated players going all out and suffering losses because of one bad unit, and receivers running sprints and never getting a look. Why not have the OL build some cohesion. I'm not sure what the coaches are doing. When the LT goes down, the 2nd LT should be ready to start not a complete reshuffle.
Losing Jerry may be a larger issue than most may think. Omar said that big boy will have to eat ....While he gets back to the field.
The shuffling itself is not the concern. They had to do so when Jerry went down and they really don't know what the best lineup is. But, if All five are playing really well, there would be no shuffling. Hopefully Jerry and/or Louis will be healthy in within 3 weeks or so. Then, it could simply come down to Martin.
That's simply not true. If you watch the video you'd see Turner explain that the shifting is more about contingency planning for future potential injuries. People are just not understanding what is going on and buying into reporter hype.
That's not what's happening. Watch the video I posted earlier. The online coach, Turner, explains the reason for the shifting right now.
I'll say it again, I think it's important to use the entire skillset Dion Jordan has to offer..don't just let him pass rush, mix his game up, do not let the offense know where this freak is going to be..
Time to learn. I'd think if his job was to rush on 3rd down, it doesn't take a whole lot of getting used to the speed of the game and learning as much of the intricacies that would be required to mask his assignments. I would just think it makes more sense, to line him up and let him go this year so he can experience and confidence and next year let him be the full on animal he is. I could be wrong, its why I said may and maybe.
here's why I disagree, I want the player getting as much reps as possible, he strikes me as a player where the more he knows, they better he gets..if we limit his reps to pass rushing situations your limiting his overall skillset and experience..I'm willing to live with some mistakes.. The great news is that noone wants to give up their position, Misi, not Vern..
James Walker @JamesWalkerESPN 2h Miami's deepest unit is its d-line and thinnest may be o-line. You see that almost everyday in camp. #Dolphins The OL play will make or break this team this year. It will all be down to that. I really like Jordan but the coaching staff is going to be killing their young QB if they don't get the OL together. And, one has to wonder how long they can continue to expect to build an OL by drafting in the 3rd round and later.
