Long's road with Miami Dolphins just beginning http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/football/story/1076835.html
1. Good to get confirmation that Long is not resting on his laurels. 2. I admit that I took Richmond Webb for granted. I will not make that mistake again with Jake Long. 3. The AFC is LOADED with stud LT's. Jake Long, Joe Thomas, Michael Roos and Ryan Clady are all very young, very elite players at the position. Plus, newly-drafted guys like Andre Smith (Bengals), Eugene Monroe (Jags), and Michael Oher (Ravens) could become special. It will be interesting to see who makes the Pro Bowl next year!
Imo, hes the premier left tackle in the game {isnt another olineman i would swap for him at this moment, especially considering his youth and upside}...and hes getting stronger......... scary good.
I wouldn't swap him for any O-lineman in the league, either. However, the salary cap in the NFL is real. I would swap him for Otah, cause Otah arguably had a better rookie season than Jake and his contract is tiny compared to Long. Long could get better and Otah could regress, but hard numbers don't lie: Long: 2009 - $6.5 M 2010 - $9M 2011 - $10M 2012 - $10M 2013 - $10.75M Otah 2009: $1.825 million 2010: $1.59 million 2011: $1.855 million 2012: $2.12 million 2013: Free Agent You could argue that Long is better than Otah, but it would be hard to argue that he is considerably better than Otah.
The thing is, we had to give somebody first pick money last year. I'm glad we spent it on a quality guy who Godwilling will be a franchise LT.
I agree 100%. Jake Long is a stud and I don't mean to slight him. We had to pay somebody big-time $$$ (although we coulda drafted Matt Ryan, but that' another story for another day).
Otah was voted to the All-Pro team as a rookie! Denver had the #2 overall offense in the NFL last year (Miami #12). Denver had the #12 overall rushing offense in the NFL last year (Miami #11). Is Long a better run-blocker? Probably. But I doubt by much. They're both great players, but only one of them is getting paid like it. Of course, this could all become moot if and when Otah holds out of camp in 2010 in order to get a new contract.
Dude, you're getting Otah and Clady mixed up. Ryan Clady is the LT you're talking about. Otah is on the Panthers.
Okay, I meant Clady. Clady was voted All-Pro as a rookie and his contract is CHEAP. 2009: $2,141,250, 2010: $2,569,500, 2011: $2,997,750, 2012: $1.994 million (Voidable Year), 2013: Free Agent
I remember reminding everyone back on the FH board that whenever that was that Dixon started missing games that we'd better take an LT in the draft, or they'd see right quick like how big a deal LT is. Well, of course the kiddies were all hot for whoever the flava-o'-the-month skill player was and LT was no big deal. Took, what? ~6-8 years to find a solid LT. Creidt where its due, Dixon did a pretty solid job in the limited time he was able to play; better than anything in there between him and long.
I dont think Clady fits the offense here though and I don't think he is the run blocker that Long is.
Lol, you're not stupid dude. Almost every team picked a tackle that year, so I don't blame you for getting them mixed up.
True, but what GardenHead was saying was he would take Clady over Long because of his contract(which is ALOT cheaper than Longs), and because he is a better pass blocker than Long. He's not as dominant a run blocker as Long, but he's a pretty damn good Left Tackle.
It scary to think how dominant he will be when he bulks up and becomes a man. What a solid, solid draft choice he was. Ireland and Parcells hit the bullzeye with that pick
Bingo. To put it simply, Long is a 10 out of 10 in run-blocking. Clady is a 10 out of 10 in pass-protection. The questions are: 1. Is Long a better pass blocker than Clady is a run blocker? 2. Will Long improve as a pass blocker more than Clady will improve as a run-blocker? 3. Is the difference in salary enough to say you'd trade Long for Clady straight-up? I dunno, cause I haven't examined Clady in run-blocking. But the run stats for the Broncos are the same as the run stats for Miami.
While I do think Clady is a better pass blocker than Long, I dont think he is that much better. Clady did only give up a .5 sack last year but Long only give up 2.5. Clady also had the benefit of Cutler's mobility and quick release. The contract thing is what it is. We had the number one pick and Long is who we chose.
Cutler's mobility and quick release is a good point, but wasn't Clady more highly touted for his pass blocking more than Long's when they both came into the NFL?
everything rides on Long & the offensive line we've made big investments & have to reap a return on all these guys 2009 will be the definitive year for the Orca-5
OK, now if I could just get y'all to join me in the survivor game to save Mr. Long from elimination? I mean, we're all in agreement...right? The guy is beast. Period. End of story. And, arguably the most important player on the team. So, we gotta save him from elimination. Right??? So, join the Big Jake Brigade, and vote, vote, vote my good people. Vote! http://forums.thephins.com/showthread.php?t=31511&page=140 Thank you, and good night...
I believe there were some issues with Clady because of Boise State's offense and the fact that his worst blocking grades came againt the best competition and his best grades against the worst competition but I do believe he just has the agility and feet that people look for in LT's. The guy is just a fluid mover for his size. That being said, I think right now Long is the more complete tackle to me. His pass blocking by the end of the season was superb. The first game of the year Calvin Pace abused him pretty bad on a few plays. The last game of the year, Pace wasn't coming close to Pennington when he was lined up against Long. His run blocking was improved. To me all things considered for the offense we want to run, Long is the choice for me hands down. For Denver's offense, if they keep the same offense, Clady is going to have another all pro year. If the guys switched places I dont think they would do as well.
Do you think eventually he ends up at OG? I remember you and some of the other guys mentioning how slow he can be off the ball when its snapped.
Yeah, he's slow off the line, lacks lateral agility and is top heavy IMO. It really depends on how their left tackle situation works out in my opinion. Right now they've got Andrew Whitworth playing on the left side and he's a left guard. Who knows how long Whitworth lasts at the left tackle spot? Further, they've got Anthony Collins who they are very high on and he did very well against James Harrison and Terrell Suggs in his first two starts. If they have issues at LT, he could be moved back. In the end, I think Andre Smith will stick on the right side for a while. OG is definitely a possibility though I'd say. He could be very effective there.