Why cant we get OL right

Because our GM and scouts suck balls at evaluating oline talent and drafting offensive linemen, and our GM does not value the oline and thinks we can win without a good oline since the stats guys tell him so.

Problem is that only works when you have a great QB who can buy time and make plays on his own. Tua is not that guy.

 

Need to invest draft picks and develop.

 

There is no clear and definitive answer unfortunately. We all wish that we knew.

But there is a direct relationship with the more power Chris Grier has had in the building, the worse the problem has become. From scout prior to 2007, to director of college scouting 2007-15, to GM 2016-present. Then factor in that most of Grier's right hand men, especially as it pertains to the draft, have never worked with any team other than the Dolphins, so they only know his way of doing things.

When a team is awful at drafting and developing offensive linemen for more than a decade, and the same people in charge keep choosing which ones that we bring in, there has to be a relationship there.

Given the types of injuries that our guys have suffered the last two seasons, I also worry that McDaniel's offense tends to put them into bad positions where other players fall on them, leading to them getting hurt. I wonder if there is a possibility of drafting guys who are more able to get out of the way or bounce off without getting rolled up, or ones that are just more durable in that regard.

 

Need to change the GM and scouting department before we can do that.

 

Mostly due to having to go 2-3 deep to field a line.
The Williams and Wynn injuries really set this team back. Being forced to start Eichenberg made a bad situation worse

 

CHRIS GRIER!!

It all begins and ends with his **** talent. We could easily sign players and fix it but he doesn't think it matters.

 

Injuries, at least this season, and the biggest was to the typically durable Willams.

The following was compiled by @Fineas


Some 2023 season numbers with and without Connor Williams:

RB rushing with -- 5.92 ypc, 168.8 ypg
RB rushing without -- 4.8 ypc, 116.7 ypg

Rushing middle gaps with -- 7.47 ypc
Rushing middle gaps without -- 3.32 ypc

Rushing between tackles with -- 6.92 ypc
Rushing between tackles without -- 3.84 ypc

Team Pass Block Efficiency with -- 91.6 PBE, 5 sacks, 6 hits, 30 hurries in 274 snaps
Team Pass Block Efficiency without -- 87.1 PBE, 15 sacks, 7 hits, 51 hurries in 341 snaps

Tua Passer Rating with -- 109.5
Tua Passer Rating without -- 94.6

Dolphins Passing Yards with -- 312.8 ypg
Dolphins Passing Yards without -- 250.1

Dolphins Record with -- 7-1
Dolphins Record without -- 4-5

 

Bad scouting and coaching. I look at other teams that do not have those problems. They are consistently in the playoffs. It starts in the trenches.

 

I think bad coaching is a big part, at least until this year. Barry did some yeoman's work. However, our draft picks really underperformed under horrific coaching and bad offensive scheming in the years prior.

Some people are dogging on Grier, but his results have not been as terrible as some are making them out. Tunsil was an absolute home run which we spun into a haul. Rob Hunt has been a great find and was having a pro bowl season until he got hurt. Jackson developed into a nice RT. Both of these guys really struggled under prior coaches.

Eichenberg is the biggest recent miss - we needed a lot more from a second round OL we traded up for. How we got the one garbage OL out of Notre Dame is crazy but whatever. A lot of the Flores era offensive problems I am attributing to coaching.

Connor Williams was a success, but we can't pay him and Hunt and I'd probably bring back Hunt over Williams. Draft a new C and either draft or sign a LG.

 

The one read and throw to a spot routine doesn't work against the better teams and defenses that know how to take away that first read and disguise their coverages. When we played good teams and in the playoffs Tua and our offense went to ****.

When system gets figured out and defenses are playing tough you need a QB that can buy time and create on his own.

 

Tunsil and Hunt are the ONLY two Grier OL picks that have lived up to their draft status. We all know Tunsil was a no brainer that fell on Grier's lap. A five year old could have made that pick. Jackson played like absolute garbage his first 3 years before having a good year this year in a contract year, he ranked 30th in the NFL among offensive tackles. It’s great that he finally had a decent year but we definitely overdrafted him in the first round. So that leaves Hunt as the only legitimate oline pick that worked out well from the beginning and Grier can get credit for. All his other oline picks have been busts or
underperformers. Even a broken clock is right twice a day.

The man has to be the worst GM in the NFL in terms of oline drafting.

 

Personally, I think Williams and Armstead are the biggest problem with the line. They are the best two linemen we have, but they've also both been injured on and off since arriving. Armstead didn't even practice this season.

The problem, as I see it, is that a line is five individuals working together, building chemistry, and growing in talent throughout the year. We don't do that though, we let veterans bounce in and out and because we're counting on them to start, there's a noticeable drop off to 2nd and 3rd stringers (who are starting at least half the year due to relying on Williams and Armstead). In my opinion, we need young starters ahead of them on the depth chart and we have to keep drafting linemen, every single year to fill those lower ranks. The UDFA pool has some quality but it's just not enough to consistently find year 1 starters.

People complain about Eichenberg but he was drafted as a guard, and has started at all five positions over the past two seasons. That's not on him at all because it's like what Arizona did to Rosen...it's throwing a kid to the wolves and telling him to be great. Doesn't work that way.

Hunt is pretty solid. Jackson is still a project but worthy of starting. Eichenberg belongs at left guard...if he could stop playing every position and actually become a specialist at one position. Or maybe he's our 6th man. Either way, we need two or three quality linemen in this year's draft and we have to keep Armstead and Williams as well.

 

Or you have someone that can get the ball out quickly and accurately so that he is top 5 in nearly every QB metric yet had the 31st pass blocking unit in front of him.

The fact Tua put up the stats he did with this line in front of him would suggest that maybe he is the guy.

To beat other playoff teams Miami really needs to invest in the interior OL now. Just look at KC and how they handled Buffalo’s interior while Miami has guys getting pushed so far into the backfield that screen plays were hitting them. KC dominated Buffalo on the interior and even ran the ball down their throats to end the game when Buffalo knew what was coming.

Also, I’m sure Brees always had a great interior OL in front of him. Probably helps shorter QB’s not to have linemen pushed into their faces on half the plays.

 

Just one reason why I was raging on draft day. With the limited picks they had, Grier picks a CB who couldn’t sniff the field and then signed Jalen Ramsey. No OL. No TE.

 

I've never ever, not once seen Tua with the time to throw that both Mahomes and Josh Allen have had at times. You have to give your quarterback time to throw the football. We knew the line would be trash again this past season. It's the reason Tua got his eggs scrambled in the first place. McDaniel did an amazing job masking that, but it eventually caught up with us once the injuries mounted. Key is right, you need continuity and chemistry on the O line. It functions as one solid wall and guys have to do their job in order for it to work. If we're going to pay Tua, then obviously the next priority is to keep building the offensive line. People rip Eichenberg, but he has had to fill in at every spot. The guy has a ton of experience at this point and it'd be smart to just keep him around at this point. Hunt has been solid, Jackson finally grew into a man, we're close with the line. Injuries need to stop happening, but we're damn close. Keep Williams, spray some rustoleum on Armstead, and draft the best damn lineman available in this upcoming draft with our first pick. The defense may just have to take a backseat anyway with Chubb and Phillips looking like MIA's next season anyway. Even if Tua isn't the quarterback.... Let's say it's Mike White, or Mike White's brother, or Skylar Thompson's sister...It would be wise regardless of who the quarterback is if we could build a solid offensive line to protect them and more importantly give them time to throw the ball.

 

The shame of it is - guards and centers aren’t valued as high as tackles and really good ones can be found outside of the first round, and this year we have no third or fourth round picks.

If there’s anyone we could jettison and could bring back second to fourth round picks, we should look into it, unless you want to trade down that #21 pick a couple of times.

 

We're a tempo, misdirection offense. If we go double tight ends, then it's much easier for those safeties to double Tyreek/Waddle.

The other side of that is the max protect does nothing to let us run between the tackles (which we can't do without starters) and it gives more attention to the edge (the only place we can run with speed/minimum blocking). Now, maybe we can run to the weak side out of that...but we can already run to the weak side with misdirection and 3-4 receivers out there. So why tip our hand to a run play if there's not a clear advantage?

As long as other teams know we can't run through the gaps, this offense is crippled. Linebackers slide out and they seal the edge. And just like that, we can't run the ball anymore.

 

Would be a useless move with Grier making the picks. Grier has never had a mid round ol pick that worked out.

 

very valid point. Greer is the only constant.

 

Dan has said that for years, that is not something new that he just started saying.