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Offensive line woes persist for Miami Dolphins

Discussion in 'Miami Dolphins Forum' started by jim1, Aug 9, 2015.

  1. jim1

    jim1 New Member

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    Mike Pouncey would be a great weatherman.

    No Dolphins player has a better barometer of the team, and he’s not afraid to share it.

    The latest example: Pouncey told reporters Sunday that the offensive line is “obviously” Miami’s biggest concern.

    Then Pouncey added (mostly) in jest: “I’m just encouraging those guys every day so I don’t have to move back to guard.”

    Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/nfl/miami-dolphins/article30569928.html#storylink=cpy
     
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  2. Disgustipate

    Disgustipate Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    At a certain point it seems like refusing to address Guard is Mike Tannenbaum putting as good a team together as he can while still getting Joe Philbin fired.
     
  3. the 23rd

    the 23rd a.k.a. Rio

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    you just never really know...
     
  4. jim1

    jim1 New Member

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    Mathis is in the catbird seating biding his time, I'd be surprised if we didn't turn out to be firmly in the hunt for him when all is said and done. I don't think that the FO is to blame for any delays at all as per Mathis, for a few more weeks time is on his side.

    ps I liked this nugget from the article:

    Undrafted rookie Mike Hull also appears to climbing the depth chart; he picked off Josh Freeman Sunday.

    Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/nfl/miami-dolphins/article30569928.html#storylink=cpy
     
  5. DolphinGreg

    DolphinGreg Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    When you're getting asked day after day about the same thing it's pretty obvious what people are concerned about. Every single player on the team is aware of the Guard competition at this point and the coaches have continually addressed the situation. At this point, it doesn't seem like the front office considers the Guard position to be an issue. I doubt Mathis gets brought in. If the team was negotiating they would've started a long time ago and it wouldn't have taken to this point to get someone who they considered a major necessity into camp.

    I'll be very surprised if we all get what we want on this. I think the team is going to head into the season hoping Douglas and Turner figure it out.
     
  6. mlb1399

    mlb1399 Well-Known Member

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    I know it's still early but to endure another season of horrid offensive line play would be tough considering how much we've invested in draft picks and free agents.

    It's time to get it figured out guys. Outside of Pouncey and James, we really don't know what we have. Albert is good IF he's healthy but that's a big IF. And after 3 years, we haven't been able to find one quality starter at OG.
     
  7. jim1

    jim1 New Member

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    Huh?
     
  8. DolphinGreg

    DolphinGreg Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    I'm just not optimistic about this. If it were up to the forum, Mathis would've been a Dolphin a long time ago. The fact it's taken this long does not bode well.
     
  9. jim1

    jim1 New Member

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    Personally I'd be more optimistic about the whole Mathis saga. Mathis made it clear, as did Rosenhaus on Sports Xtra a few weeks ago, that they're going to play a waiting game, see who flops and who gets injured, to get the cherry deal that they want and feel that they deserve. If Rosenhaus says anything about the Mathis situation on Sports Xtra tonight in about two hours I'll post it.
     
  10. huck1974

    huck1974 FU Gene Steratore

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    That doesn't make a lot of sense to me. I'll have to think on that a bit. What motivation would he have to do that?
     
  11. LBsFinest

    LBsFinest Banned

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    if it was up to Tannenbaum he would have fired Philbin as soon as he took over as VP.
     
  12. Fin4Ever

    Fin4Ever Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Some think there is a Conspiracy Theory to get Joe Philbin fired! I even heard that they are considering bringing Jesse Ventura in to check on that.:lol:
     
  13. Ohio Fanatic

    Ohio Fanatic Twuaddle or bust Club Member

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    The thing is, even with our young, budding QB, it's very likely our window could only be another couple of years. With the studs on defense like Suh, Grimes and Wake, who knows how long they could play at this level. We need to take advantage of the talent we have on defense - strike now to make us a playoff team this year and a contender next year. If Mathis can sign a high priced contract, for 3 years, it maximizes our chances of making a run.
     
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  14. jim1

    jim1 New Member

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    Rosenhaus was just asked by Steve Shapiro point blank, aggressively, what's going on between the Dolphins and Mathis and particularly his latest conversation with Mike Tannenbaum. Rosenhaus said please respect the privacy of the negotiations, but there is mutual interest in Mathis joining the Dolphins. He was pressed as to what the percentage chances are of him signing with Miami but declined to answer.
     
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  15. Nappy Roots

    Nappy Roots Well-Known Member

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    He said "There's a long way to go"


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
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  16. jw3102

    jw3102 season ticket holder

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    I have to disagree. I think the front office is very aware that the two guard positions are an issue. I just think they want to get Mathis at a bargain price and he is willing to wait and see if he can get a contract paying him closer to what he wants.

    Expecting Douglas and Turner to figure things out, while also hoping Albert is able to come back and play at a the level he did last year after suffering a very serious injury is quite a gamble by the front office. In fact the gamble will likely backfire and cause the team to once again miss the playoffs.

    They have the money and Mathis is by far the one player they need the most. Hopefully the two sides can find a dollar amount they can agree on and Mathis is one of the Dolphins starting guards when the regular season begins.
     
  17. Disgustipate

    Disgustipate Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    He's a bad coach that Tannenbaum inherited. He doesnt really fit him philosophically, there are personnel disagreements already, and Tannenbaum at this point has enough political capital to be the guy picking the replacement.

    Philbin does very little as a coach, and the one area of of expertise he has in practice is the offensive line. If there's a failing there it's something that disproportionately falls on Philbin at this point. Even if the season is good overall its still Philbin who dropped the turd in the punch bowl.
     
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  18. Piston Honda

    Piston Honda Well-Known Member

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    Does anyone think the Dolphins missed the playoffs in 2012, 13, 14, or ever, because the offensive guards weren't good enough? If so please list the year(s).
     
  19. dolfan22

    dolfan22 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

    More to the point , is would not signing him cause the Dolphins to miss this year , or not advance in them as far as they would have .
     
  20. cbrad

    cbrad .

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    Actually, I think the argument can be made. Remember 2013 when we gave up a league high 58 sacks? Well, I remember one game where you could argue the OL lost it for us. Dolphins vs. Bills week 7. We lost 21-23 and that was due to a strip sack by Mario Williams near the end of the game setting up a winning FG for the Bills.

    Had we won that game and nothing else changed, we end the season 9-7, tied with SD for the 6th and last playoff spot. Now, isn't head-to-head the first tiebreaker? We beat SD that year, so we make the playoffs if it arguably wasn't for the OL.

    That's just something off of memory. I think there are probably more examples.


    EDIT: here's some highlights of the game:
    http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/20131...gameinfo|contentId:0ap2000000266408&tab=recap

    Around 2:30 you can see the strip sack.. OK looks like it's our right tackle ("turnstile" Clabo) that's at fault for that play, but it does show how important the OL (even a single position on it) can be.
     
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  21. Piston Honda

    Piston Honda Well-Known Member

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    Thanks for the reply. You're correct, Clabo could have stayed in his stance the entire play and Williams wouldn't have gotten to Tannehill any quicker. It was brutal. But let's not forget Tannehill had good protection on the opening drive of the game, when he threw a pick 6 to # 37 and again later in the first half when he threw a boneheaded red zone pick allegedly intended for Hartline. Back to your point, Clabo and Martin were the starting tackles that year and McKinney wasn't much better when he came aboard. OT is a diff story and I will absolutely agree that sub par talent can cost you multiples games at those spots. I get the concern and the desire for Mathis, I just think that saying the season could hinge on OG play is exaggerating things just a tad bit.

    JMO. Which is why I asked, thanks again for the detailed reply. Hopefully this helps move the discussion along ;)
     
  22. 2socks

    2socks Rebuilding Since 1973

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    We missed the playoffs because Joe Philbin is our coach. We missed the playoffs because guys were playing out of position. We missed the playoffs because the team quit two years in a row. We missed the playoffs because our head coach, who was a career offensive line coach before becoming assistant coach can't get this one area under control.

    Flash forward to 2015 and we have a patch work of offensive linemen who would be lucky to make most practice squads less alone start in the NFL. We blew our wad on Suh , Tannhill and others. Then struggled to bring in enough guys to fill the holes because we are and will remain cash strapped for several years. Weather Tannenbaum is/was counting on Philbin to take control of the one thing that got him to the very position he holds remains to be seen. I think if the line fails and we tank it will be on Philbins head, right or wrong.

    I just hope we don't end up like those jets teams Tannenbaum was responsible for: several years of maybe super-bowl talk but never just quite good enough to get it done.
     
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  23. Piston Honda

    Piston Honda Well-Known Member

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    Bills, Jets, Texans are the only games where I anticipate OG being a significant issue. For the sake of context I think at least 12 of Miami's opponents will have issues on the interior line when facing Suh and co.
     
  24. Piston Honda

    Piston Honda Well-Known Member

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    Thanks for the reply. I'm not a Philbin fan either but hopefully this is the year he turns it around.
     
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  25. Galant

    Galant Love - Unity - Sacrifice - Eternity

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    Worth kicking the tyres on this one...?

    [video=twitter;633103120357191680]https://twitter.com/greggrosenthal/status/633103120357191680[/video]
     
  26. rafael

    rafael Well-Known Member

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    That's my feeling as well. I see this week as a good litmus test. Carolina has a good DL, the best we'll see all preseason. My expectation is that we'll look a bit ragged at least compared to how our #1s looked against Chicago. (I'm sure the board will be in a tizzy, LOL).
     
  27. ckparrothead

    ckparrothead Draft Forum Moderator Luxury Box

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    Bills, Jets and Texans games represent a third of the NFL season.

    When one incremental win can often be the difference between getting into the playoffs or not getting into the playoffs, that seems like a lot.
     
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  28. Dorfdad

    Dorfdad Well-Known Member

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    I'm so sick of this. We did this whole guard thing last year and decided we needed to improve. If the online ends up causing this team wins as owner I would fire everyone involved in this process. Wee have a serious weak link and we have a pro bowl player sitting there wanting to play for us. We're not the only team with issues you know. If he signs elsewhere God forbid a division rival or we let him go and suffer for it if be behind canning anyone.

    Yes he might be expensive stop gap but if your serious about winning pro bowlers do not just fall into your laps everyday. HEs a pro bowl player!!
     
  29. ckparrothead

    ckparrothead Draft Forum Moderator Luxury Box

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    The thing that sucks about weak links is not necessarily the dates you mark on the calendar when you will be facing the strongest competition. It's when you find out very suddenly during a game that when the other team shifts Owamagbe Odighizuwa to the inside, your guy can't handle him. The elites hurt, but you often plan for those guys. It hurts as much if not more when your guy just can't block a player that you're not going to plan for.

    It's like last year. Yeah it hurt when Dallas Thomas has to face Von Miller, Mario Williams and Elvis Dumervil and he's totally outclassed. But Jason Babin and Rob Ninkovich too? Ricardo Mathews and Cory Liuget? Andre Fluellen and Ryan Davis? Allen Bailey and Jaye Howard? Come on.
     
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  30. Galant

    Galant Love - Unity - Sacrifice - Eternity

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    Or if Tannehill gets injured, how will that feel? I had serious dread at the end of last season when Ryan had to leave what I think was a game against the Jets. It felt like the worse was happening. In the end it wasn't serious but if that happens this year with no major changes made to the OL, or with the OL giving up a league-leading number of hits then...well, no words.
     
  31. LBsFinest

    LBsFinest Banned

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    Smh we really should've just traded down in the 1st....coulda grabbed an extra 2nd and used it on Ali Marpet.
     
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  32. ckparrothead

    ckparrothead Draft Forum Moderator Luxury Box

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    Marpet is doing really well in Tampa.
     
  33. LBsFinest

    LBsFinest Banned

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    Did anybody in Club ever disclose who we were talking trade with at 14? Wonder if Dallas was one them. I think I read somewhere that SD was one team.
     
  34. ckparrothead

    ckparrothead Draft Forum Moderator Luxury Box

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    DeVante Parker could become a Hall of Famer for all we know, and that would make any of this discussion stupid obviously.

    But I will say this...Eric Kendricks looks really friggin good at MLB. Without trying to make this about who we did get or whatever, I just wish we'd found a way to get him, somehow. He went #45 overall, it's not like we can say he was completely out of reach.
     
  35. cbrad

    cbrad .

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    If Phillips pans out, it'll be a feather in Tannenbaum's cap, but if he doesn't.. I think it's fully justified to look back on the 2015 draft and criticize him for not trading up to get Kendricks.

    Cleveland (picking at #43) basically swapped 2nd's and got a 4th from Houston, allowing Houston to take McKinney (ILB). Our 4th had the same value as the Texans' 4th, but we needed less to move up, so realistically we needed at most a 4th to trade with Cleveland. That 4th we used on Jamil Douglas, so in the next few years we can compare: Kendricks vs. Phillips + Douglas. I really hope our choice turns out to be the better one.
     
  36. Fineas

    Fineas Club Member Luxury Box

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    SD traded up from 17 to 15 right after we took Parker at 14. Since we were a threat to take Gordon, I have to think they'd have been willing to do the same deal they did to go to 15 to move up to 14. I wanted the trade back there. SF supposedly wanted Parker at 15 and traded back only after he was gone, but I'd have done the trade back even with the risk of losing Parker. I think there were a lot of WRs available in the same general category as Parker.
     
  37. btfu149

    btfu149 Well-Known Member

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    Just heads up it looks like Mathis is visiting the Seahawks
     
  38. jim1

    jim1 New Member

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    Benjamin Allbright:

    Per multiple sources: Evan Mathis' next team may be playing right now, and they aren't referring to Seattle.

    #Chiefs "definitely in play" for Evan Mathis. Offer appears to be multi-year deal, bulk guaranteed (ballpark of $20 mil).

    Evan Mathis:

    @AllbrightNFL Whatever drugs your source is on must be some good sh*t.

    http://www.arrowheadpride.com/2015/...-seems-to-say-the-chiefs-arent-offering-him-a
     
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  39. 2socks

    2socks Rebuilding Since 1973

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    And what do they do ??? ----- double down and bring him back:smackhead:
     
  40. jim1

    jim1 New Member

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    Sports Xtra running late tonight, Drew Rosenhaus just said that his client Evan Mathis expects to make his decision on a new team by the end of the week.
     
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