There's been alot of talk about the O-Line this year amongst the pundits, and on this board. Armando Salugero recently wrote on his blog that due to them being worth about $156 Million this year, they underperformed. I disagree. Football Outsiders recently ranked the Dolphins offensive line #1 in the NFL in Run Blocking. (link here) Now, they also have us at #18 in Pass Blocking, which isn't a huge shock, and isn't horrible, although having a first year starter at QB doesn't help either. Bottom line is Parcells and Ireland built the O-Line to pound the rock, which is what we lead the NFL in before Ronnie Brown went down, and most likely would've continued that trend. Obviously this regime has an eye for talent on the line. My hope is that they can build an O-Line more suited for Pass Blocking in the future, especially because the NFL is now a pass-oriented "QB Driven" league, and less of a 'Ball-Control/Play Good Defense' league. (Also, for those interested, Chad Henne is the 17th ranked QB and Ricky Williams the #8 Runing Back. Obviously there are statistical forumulas the site uses to calculate these rankings, and aren't just based on total yards alone.)
Our offensive line is very good. Remember Smiley, Grove, and Carey were all banged up and they still had games where they dominated. I know there are constant worries about Smiley and Grove's injuries but when the line is healthy they are a very good unit IMO.
No doubt. Injuries are a part of the game, and happen to every team. As I said, I hope they make a conscious effort to upgrage the pass blocking. It appears Henne is going to be the starter going forward, and with Ronnie's return somewhat of a question mark (not to mention Ricky's age) I think transistioning to a heavy pass offense is the way to go.
1) they made their bones this season however the Orca-5 are on becoming the Orca-7 they want seven bonafide starting linesmen to rotate into the system throughout the game hence, the projection of Berger & Garner @ "almost status" we are looking for more than just backups 2) I predicted this long ago but will repeat it: the Orca-5 will be likened to the RedSkin Hogs & would be among the top offensive lines in 2009 and among the elite five in 2010...on schedule. 3) looking forward to getting a look @ LyndonMurtha this training camp had hopes we might (still could) snare Dimitri Tsoumpas from the CFL kind of fell off the radar after we had him in for a workout, we'll see I'm sure there will be more surprises along the offensive line in 2010
Some of the pass blocking being worse is due to having Henne as a quarterback. Also tightends and runningbacks also have a pretty big steak in that as well. I also think having a weak link in pass blocking like Donald Thomas hurt a lot. The guy does not have the quickest feet. If Donald Thomas works on his pass blocking, Miami will be fine.
astute observation Friend Dupree: 1) you're absolutely right about Henne, he had to make some major adjustments to know when to stay in the pocket & when to get rid of the ball 2) also, Donald Thomas has only had only two years experience at any level playing the offensive line before being drafted. the guy is a physically a beast, but he is on a learning curve. he hasn't worked to potential as of yet. next year will be much better. consider this his rookie year, coming from a junior college. they will teach the Donald to pass block by our opening game & the IceMan has already learned to stay in the pocket when appropriate & get rid of the ball.
Just like many of you after reading that article I did a double take. So much so that I decided to crunch some numbers (stats). As we all know Statistics for O linemen are hard to come by so I went to a trusted and reliable source Pro Football Focus. I then took each teams top two tackles, Guards and a center and did the math, well I let Excel do the crunching but you get the idea. According to these numbers we rank #2 right behind.. well I'll let you see for yourselves. Also another interesting note if we swap Thomas for Garner our total and average jump to 56.8 and 11.36 respectively. Which would make us the top line in the NFL.
the Orca-5 will eat defense alive great work Friend LandShark13 & great work Miami some may fail to see the significance of the BigGuys up front however it all starts up front. usually, if the Front Line comes out playing physically & dominating the line of scrimmage the rest of the offense & defense follows suit. they set the pace, right out of the gate, for the entire team then if they get the push, we get the run if we can run the ball, we will open the passing game & dominate the time clock, keeping our defense fresh & their offense off the field. it is a formula for winning and it all begins with the KillerWhales up front This is why they are looking for: Seven Starters in the Pod.
without question a good news story .... and if you keep Thomas and substitute Garner for Smiley, don't think we lose too much either. it is entirely possible that we don't keep Smiley for next year, and its possible for us to trade Carey as well (a sell high type thing). i am not calling for either move, especially since i am sure that the FO wants to get Henne comfortable with a 'veteran' line for at least '10 before making any changes. but IF changes were to be made - i think those are the 2 possibilities.
possibilities that are highly unlikely my best guess is that the Pod increases the competition & the intensity to create a seven man starting line-up & our starting five continue, we will compete to add two more
i disagree to some extent .... i do believe they want a 3d T, to come in on unbalanced lines (which we don't really have right now), sure Garner can fill that role, but we need Gardner or Murtha to really come along this offseason. i do believe the FO is more comfortable with Garner as a G, to go along with Thomas, and Hartline and Feinga in development. i don't think we'll see as much rotation as we saw this year, i think to a small extent - they were still looking for that right combo (Thomas/Garner) combined with the injuries. they want a sturdy tough Orca-5 .... where we have some concern is at T, since we really didn't have anyone ready to step in at T this year. so, if we were to draft another OL - i would think it will be a project T like Gardner from last year. especially since we don't know if the FO wanted Murtha as a T or G .... which would make our future at G rock solid - but still leave us short at T.
the Pod is the future of the franchise the Orca-5 the rock the team is built on it will continue to receive attention throughout the off-season they need seven starting calibre linesmen