Dolphins’ Offseason Preview, Part 2 By Phil Unwin Last time, we did the glory boys: QBs, RBs and WRs. Now, let’s focus on the grunts of the offense: offensive line, tight ends and fullbacks. Offensive Line One major piece of the puzzle was just addressed, as Vernon Carey was locked up for 6 years and $42 million. Omar Kelly is reporting that Carey’s deal comes with a $12 million signing bonus, a $2 million roster bonus in March, and an $800,000 base salary. So, he’ll count $4.8 million against the cap in 2008. That’s not as crippling a cap hit as one might think when they see “6 years, $42 million”. Carey wasn’t great last year, but he’s been consistent in his five years in Miami, and has frequently been a world-class run blocker. He’s versatile enough to play any position on the line, save center, which comes in handy. His fellow bookend, Jake Long, was good enough to make the Pro Bowl as a rookie. Granted, Long was only an alternate, but he was light years better than the guy elected to the Pro Bowl ahead of him, Jason Peters, so the spot in Hawaii was well-deserved. Long absolutely showed himself to be a guy who will be an anchor for this line for years to come. He was very good in pass protection and an absolute monster when it came to run blocking. So the Dolphins are set at tackle, though might look for a swing tackle. Nate Garner is, at the moment, the top backup at tackle, and is untested. The tackles, of course, were not Miami’s problem in 2008. The interior line was. Miami’s use of the vaunted Wildcat formation was in part a response to poor interior line play. You’ll notice that many of the Wildcat plays featured Jake Long lining up right next to Vernon Carey. In effect, Miami was saying “our two best run blockers are right here, the play’s going behind them, try and stop it”. Justin Smiley played quite well at left guard, but was injured and missed the last five games of the season. Smiley figures to be just fine for this season, but it’s the second season-ending injury in as many years, and so at the very least, depth at LG will be a concern. Smiley’s erstwhile backup, Shawn Murphy, was a 4th round pick in the 2008 draft and didn’t play a minute all season, despite injuries throughout the interior line. This is not an especially promising sign for Murphy’s development. RG Donald Thomas looked like a world-beater in camp, winning the starting job from Murphy and Steve McKinney, then sustained a season-ending Lisfranc fracture in the season opener. Thomas would likely get first crack at the right guard spot in 2009, but one imagines that competition will be brought in, at the very least. Ikechuku Ndukwe is a player who won’t kill you as a backup, but gets steamrolled too often to start. With Thomas’ injury, unfortunately, he was pressed into service. He’s versatile enough to have value to the team as a 6th or (preferably) 7th lineman, but if he’s starting, something’s wrong. Andy Alleman, Matt McChesney, and Al Johnson were three of the seeming cast of thousands who had a turn at the interior line spots and failed, and all figure to enter next season looking for a job. The major controversy for this offseason is what’s to be done with Samson Satele. Satele had problems through much of the season, but it came out recently that he played the bulk of the season with a bad shoulder, and injured his neck late in the season. Under those circumstances, it would be entirely reasonable to give him a pass on a so-so season; after all, when healthy, he played Vince Wilfork to a standstill and played Kris Jenkins well at season’s end. However, there’s been far too much discussion about the possibility of the team trying to upgrade at center to be ignored. Satele is 6’3, 300 pounds, and thus does not particularly call to mind the Nimitz class-sized center that the Dolphins’ brain trust is believed to favor. Satele is more of a pulling center than a guy who will go heads-up with an opposing nose tackle. There was a report this week that the Dolphins would go hard after Baltimore C Jason Brown in free agency. Brown can certainly be had; the Ravens are absolutely overloaded with quality free agents, and cannot possibly keep them all. Brown is a perfect fit for a power running team, and emerged as the best center in the NFL this year. So he makes plenty of sense for Miami. The problem is whether the Dolphins will spend the money. Carey’s new deal means that Miami now has three very well-paid players on the line: Long, Carey and Smiley. They have the cap room to sign Brown, but with other needs to fill, it’s a real question whether pursuing Brown makes good financial sense. Matt Birk is also available, but probably isn’t going anywhere. Jeff Saturday and Brad Meester are upgrades, but both are basically the same type of center as Satele, and no one else in free agency is an upgrade. Therefore, in free agency, it’s likely Brown or bust. The Dolphins probably will not make a big splash in free agency at guard. It’s clear that Brown is the player they’ve set their eyes on, and so if he’s signed, Satele might slide over to guard and compete with Thomas for a job. And in any event, they’re surely not going to pay five offensive linemen big money. Moreover, the best guard available, Jahri Evans, is a restricted free agent and therefore unlikely to be pursued, while the rest of the free agent guard class is uninspiring. Perhaps someone like Detroit’s Stephen Peterman, a big guy who plays with a mean streak, could be signed to create some competition, or maybe Arizona’s Elton Brown, another jumbo-sized guard, who still has some potential. In the draft, it gets more interesting. We can probably assume that there won’t be a high pick spent on a tackle. Previously, there had been some talk of Michael Oher, Jamon Meredith or Eben Britton early on, and that can probably be dispensed with, though the Dolphins could slide Carey inside to guard if an irresistible bargain came their way. Duke Robinson is the highest rated guard in the draft, and not to beat a dead horse, but if Jeff Ireland and Bill Parcells are looking for offensive linemen who don’t fit through the doorway, the 6’5, 335 pound Robinson fills the bill, and is an absolutely punishing run blocker. The #25 pick would probably be a bit early for him, but I wouldn’t be stunned to hear his name called by the Phins in round 2. California center Alex Mack has been one of the most frequently mentioned options at #25 for the Dolphins, and it’s not hard to understand why; Mack is bigger than Satele, plays with a definite mean streak and his run-blocking bona fides are well established. Max Unger has been mentioned a lot, too, though Mack is generally regarded as higher on the draft board. Unger’s calling card is versatility; he can play all five positions on the line. I don’t look at him as a player Miami will necessarily target. Center is probably his best position, but with three line positions already set in stone, Unger’s versatility isn’t quite as valuable to Miami as it might be to another team. Jonathan Luigs and Antoine Caldwell are both guys that could be looked at in the round 2-3 range as centers, and in the later rounds, LSU’s Herman Johnson and Wisconsin’s Kraig Urbik are both huge guards that can engulf opposing defenders, and could be interesting pickups to push for starting jobs. Tight Ends Anthony Fasano caught 7 TD passes last year, leading all Dolphin receivers. Getting him (and Akin Ayodele) for a 4th round pick was an absolute steal. Fasano is not a great blocker, but he’s not hopeless, either, and he certainly showed soft hands last year. There’s little reason to think the Dolphins will be looking to replace him in 2009. David Martin, a frequent whipping boy for Dolfans in 2007, showed good hands and speed from the tight end spot that the former front office expected when they signed him. With 14.5 yards per reception, Martin was something of a big play threat from the tight end spot. Martin will never be accused of being a good blocker, but as #2 tight ends go, his hands and speed make him above average. Third stringer Joey Haynos had a touchdown grab, and did little else. Shouright brought up, and I immediately latched onto, the idea of trading for Tony Gonzalez. The Chiefs will probably trade Gonzo this offseason, and his stellar 2008 season shows he’s still got plenty left. For a team in need of a red zone target as much as this one, I think Gonzalez makes a ton of sense. What’s more, the Dolphins don’t use a fullback a ton anyway, and having Gonzalez and Fasano on the field at the same time would make for a potent 1-2 combo at tight end. Even so, there’s no sign that it’s going to happen. Short of Gonzo, there’s not much to talk about in terms of free agents/trade targets. Houston’s Owen Daniels is a fine up-and-comer, but is a restricted free agent. Tennessee just franchised Bo Scaife, so you can pretty much take the two top tight ends off the market. LJ Smith is available, but he’s perennially injured and frankly, I think he’s overrated anyway. No one else available would be a significant upgrade over what Miami already has, though Jim Kleinsasser’s availability is interesting. Kleinsasser isn’t much of a pass-catcher these days, but is still a fine blocker who can play tight end, fullback or H-back. His versatility and ability as a blocker might be valuable to the Dolphins. I wouldn’t look for Miami to draft a tight end, certainly not on day one, which is a shame, since this year’s draft is chock-full of talent there. Not that the Phins aren’t in good shape right now, but it’s a shame to pass on all the talent that’s in this draft. Brandon Pettigrew will surely be gone by the #25 pick. Jared Cook was a very productive tight end who was often South Carolina’s best receiver. James Casey is a tremendous athlete with production to match, and looks to me like a guy who’s going to fly up draft boards as draft day gets closer. Personally, I’m most intrigued by Travis Beckum, who was on track to be a top 20 pick until a shoulder injury ended his 2008 season prematurely. He can’t block worth a damn, but he’s a tremendous receiver who could be a steal for some team. Fullback Lousaka Polite was signed at midseason and stabilized a position that had been somewhat up in the air. Polite is an adequate lead blocker whose most notable contributions were on short yardage carries. The Dolphins often looked to Polite to get a needed yard on third and one or fourth and one, and in those situations, Polite delivered every time. In free agency, there’s one name that stands out above the rest: Leonard Weaver. Weaver is an adequate blocker, like Polite, but can make plays in the passing and running games. If Miami wants to continue the “hero of the week” approach on offense, Weaver might be a guy to look at. Of course, the Dolphins seldom threw to their running backs last season, so if they intend to continue that, there’s little point in pursuing Weaver, because he’s not an upgrade over Polite as a blocker. In the draft, Syracuse’s Tony Fiammetta is probably the best blocking fullback in the draft, and might be worth a look around round 5. Texas A&M’s Javorskie Lane seems like a guy worth a look, given his 295 pound frame, but he’s more a short yardage back than a pure fullback; he can’t block and it’s unlikely that he’d have any value on special teams. Next time: the defense.
