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The offensive line is still a problem

Discussion in 'Miami Dolphins Forum' started by FinSane, Dec 23, 2007.

  1. FinSane

    FinSane Cynical Dolphins Fan

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    Ok, yes, the positives first. The offensive line has improved since the Wanny regime, and in some areas, from the Saban regime. I give credit to Houck for trying to work miracles when given mediocre or below average talent. It looks as thought we have found Samson Satele as our franchise center(though he still has to show some improvement next year). Vernon Carey, one of the few bright spots from the Wanny/Spielman drafts, seems to be a lock to be on the line long term. Rex Hadnot is a solid player, although I think he and Carey seem to be out of place, and neither has yet to find their niche as of the 2004 draft.

    Now onto the negatives. It's been how many seasons now for those two? 3? 4? And they STILL haven't yet found their niche along the line? I like them both as players, but someone needs to figure out just where these guys belong on the line. First off, we need to evaluate Hadnot as a player since he's a free agent. Is he worth keeping? Have we seen enough of him to justify signing a contract in the neighborhood of say, 4-years 6 millon/year? We have to consider the fact that he doesn't seem comfortable yet, he still shows some strides. Maybe we can see what he can do either at LG or RT, because Im not so sure he can handle RG, which I think its the easier spot on the line, and I dont know why he gets getting manhandles more often than not. Same with Carey. Sure, he looks great against average and below average DEs and LBs, but he struggles mightly with some of the middling and elite DEs. We can't have that obviously. Carey needs to either study a little harder, and keep working at it, or learn the RT position. As long as we have a right handed QB leading the offense, Carey needs to understand that he is the most important next to the center. He doesn't need to make line calls, he doesn't need to be the leader, all he needs to do is protect the QB.

    Which leads me to my next point. Our pass protectection needs to be equal to our run blocking, which I have to admit, improved mightily this year. We saw what Ronnie can do when the line gives him a push upfront. He saw Chatman zoom through holes that seemed to open up at the right time. Gado was able to push his way up the middle with Satele leading the path. Booker looks like a pinball bouncing off the "pegs" of offensive linemen and defenders, like he's rolling and bouncing through curved paths that Lekkerkekekeker, Liewienski and Hadnot seem to create. Even Cobbs looked pretty good out there. So why is it these guys can do a solid job with whatever Joe Schmo is running the ball, but can't seem to pass protect with whichever QB is in there? I know Green, Lemon and Beck do seem to hold on the ball longer than necessary at times, but Cam's offense does call for multiple drops and receivers to run particular routes that take time. Therefore, the line should be able to hold up protection for longer than say, as West Coast offense would require(which has quick, short passes instead of Cam's vertical offense).

    The solution? I dont know, Im not the head coach or GM. But some of the answers are obvious: we need new blood. We need guys who are hungry. We need linemen that are bigger, stronger, and more aggressive than we have and have had for years. We need to take a peak in FA(Starks?), find linemen that are proven, and throw some money at them if we have to. Of course, the draft should address at least one position, Guard being the most obvious weak position on the line. If Carey doesn't appear to be the answer at LT, then finding a franchise LT should be the highest priority. As far as LJ Shelton, Lekkekekekewhatever, and Liewienski goes, theyre goners, maybe keep one of them as backup, but none has any place on this team as a starter.

    ...and then there's the defense.....:glare:
     
    Last edited: Dec 23, 2007
  2. Bonedoc7777

    Bonedoc7777 New Member

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    draft long and sign fanica and you are in the clear right
     
  3. Roman529

    Roman529 Senior Member

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    I thought our O-line did a pretty good job against the Patriots today. The problem with Lemon is he holds on to the ball way too long when he should be throwing it away. Lemon also seems to be afraid to run for a first down when he has all kinds of running room. Lemon has decent speed but he doesn't use it enough. :glare:
     
  4. Bonedoc7777

    Bonedoc7777 New Member

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    lemon likes to throw downfield, i am starting to like the guy
     
  5. MIA4EVER-lives

    MIA4EVER-lives New Member

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    lemon is the offensive line problems
     
  6. Conuficus

    Conuficus Premium Member Luxury Box

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    Well away from here
    Just curious as to who the hell this guy is...............I've never heard anything about him.
    Any one else?
     
  7. BSQ

    BSQ New Member

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    doc you've been reading my posts again! It happens to be true. You look at the Vikes on tv right now and they drafted Bryant McKinney out of the U of Miami and they have been set at that position for years. They also picked up Steve Hutchinson and hit on Matt Birk. All 3 went to the Pro Bowl. We need to trade down a few slots and grab Jake Long, if not him then someone that we like better at LT. Faneca or someone like him to play LG. Put Carey and Shelton back where they were last year and suddenly you're looking much better.
     
  8. FinSane

    FinSane Cynical Dolphins Fan

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    RIGHT handed, my bad. I had a long day at work. :001_rolleyes:
     
  9. Disgustipate

    Disgustipate Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    The offensive line was great when we've had a quarterback who gets rid of the ball at an average level, and runningbacks who were healthy or experienced or decent. When it's not? Not so much.

    The line is definately going to need some changes to it, but spending the 1st pick on the draft on Long or spening a ridiculous amount on Faneca is really overboard and not going to fix our problems... The right side.
     
    Last edited: Dec 23, 2007
  10. Conuficus

    Conuficus Premium Member Luxury Box

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    Well away from here
    Don't let it happen again.

    See we fans are taking on the personality of our team. Our attention to detail is lacking and we suffer for it.

    :lol:
     
  11. alen1

    alen1 New Member

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    the writing in bold is 100% right imo
     
  12. unifiedtheory

    unifiedtheory Sub Pending Luxury Box

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    Absolutely not....NEVER.

    Throwing all our cap room into a guard and over reaching for Long would be a total disaster.

    Disgustipate said it best, our line was actually a bright spot when we had a quarterback who could get rid of the ball on time and a running back who was healthy. Having this thread appear today makes me wonder. The O-line was not really an issue today. Lemon had an eternity back there but is so indecisive he can't get rid of the ball.

    We have 3 pieces, Satele, Carey and Hadnot. We need to add a right tackle obviously but that can be done in the 2nd and 3rd rounds or through free agency.

    This "rebuild" will take 2-3 YEARS. Trying to fix one area all at once while ignoring the defense AGAIN is wrong. we can add pieces a little bit at a time, reaching in the draft isnot a way to rebuild.
     
  13. FinSane

    FinSane Cynical Dolphins Fan

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    Ah, I didnt say draft Jake Long, and if you look at my mock, I suggested CHRIS LONG with the first pick. We all know the defense is the main problem this year. We all know Green, Lemon and Beck hold onto the ball longer than necessary. But be honest, the line STILL NEEDS WORK. ITs average at best, but if we want to convert on third downs, win some games, go the playoffs, ect, we still need to figure out how to utilize the three "pieces" and find quality linemen that are skilled at their trade. Also, I never said that the offensive line is THEE problem. But it is still A problem. I suggested we throw some money at the line, but not break the bank. There's still some area we need to work on with this line and hopefully we get it figured out soon. Until then, we need to start building our defensive line simultaneously.
     
  14. mmikel30

    mmikel30 New Member

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    it isn't as bad as you think it's the te's and rb's that miss alot of blocks but i still think we need to better starters one a guard and one at left tackle moving carey back to right tackle
     
  15. brandon27

    brandon27 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    call me stupid if you like (and you probably will) but as much as I'd like a run stopper like dorsey on our D... I think we need jake long from michigan. and yes, sign faneca if at all possible. look at what two great offensive lineman did for the browns this year... just my two cents
     
  16. FinSane

    FinSane Cynical Dolphins Fan

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    good point.
     
  17. Awsi Dooger

    Awsi Dooger New Member

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    The OL was never a bright spot. It's a comparative lesser weakness.

    I really hope some of these threads are referred to once we actually have a good team. Some of the posters will be shocked they ever referred to this OL as good, or a bright spot, or whatever. We've got a talented and promising young center surrounded by mediocrity and mush. Carey would be fine if he shifted his belly weight to his shoulders.

    You have to evaluate when the game is on the line. Not when we're in a deep hole and the opposition is almost blase. Start with the first exhibition against Jacksonville and see how our OL performed against every starting defense when the game was still in doubt. Not pretty.

    Or better yet, tape our games and then tape games of other teams. Watch our offensive linemen compared to theirs. I did that today, with the Giants/Bills game. New York pushed Buffalo around in the trenches after falling behind 14-0, including an 88 yard TD run. New York ran 47 times for 291 yards versus a defense that stuffed us two weeks ago.

    Parcells is not going to be fooled by pantyhose garbage like pass blocking. That's fine if you have Brady to Moss and Welker but newsflash, we don't. I'm looking forward to some aggressive brutes and not the annual overmatched journeymen we try to get by with.
     
  18. kadiddlehopper

    kadiddlehopper Senior Member

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    And who was that, sure wasn't TG.
     
  19. Passrusher

    Passrusher New Member

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    Carey is NOT and HAS not ever been left tackle material for the NFL. He has too much weight for one thing and it hinders his movement. He doesn't seem to have very good stamina either and it shows. Carey needs to either be a guard or right tackle. We need to find a true left tackle. Shelton and Liewinski were very bad against the Patriots. Hadnot had problems too. Satele was about the best o-lineman against New England. At least he was playing his butt off and was staying on his man the best he could. A good job done by the rookie.
     
  20. Passrusher

    Passrusher New Member

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    In the draft war room


    Because we think that Houck is magically going to transform crap into cavier
     
  21. Kdawg954

    Kdawg954 Member

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    The Oline was TERRIBLE yesterday . . . . Lemon had time . . . wtf, several plays the guy runs a bootleg and there is a defender in his face . . . . 3 step drops and before he can plant there is a guy getting ready to sack.

    He holds on the ball too long, but don't make excuses for this OLine . . . half the time Lemon has to stop looking downfield because he was running for his life. Are the WR's getting open?
     
  22. gandalfin

    gandalfin Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Actually three things were occurring yesterday. Sometimes Cleo was indecisive and held the ball too long. At other times no receivers were getting any separation. And at times the protection really was bad. Also, there were several times Cleo could have run for positive yardage, and elected to throw poor passes or throw into coverage.
     
  23. Den54

    Den54 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    AMERICA!

    I love it!!:up:
     
  24. ChambersWI

    ChambersWI Banned

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    being a Michigan fan I'd love to see Jake Long on our team, BUT seeing how much our D-Line gets gutted, we need Dorsey or Chris Long.
     

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