Called them couple days ago too, about a Oline job. What the hell, Hickey?

 

I would feel much better if they brought in a vet OG and Center this week. See the idea is that Hickey wants to see what we have after TC starts. But the problem with that is that by the time you see we don't have starting material it is too late to get another player up to speed by week 1.

Right now we don't have a starting OG on the right side. Brenner or Turner are the only real options, Shelly is just not able to pass block AT ALL. To be honest Shelly isn't even an option as a backup OG, he is a GL and short yardage extra blocker or nothing. So we need a starting center and a starting OG just to get 5 guys on the field. Waiting until we see how TC starts out is a horrible idea.

 

The Gurode thing is a joke.

They'll be looking at Fernando Velasco, who excelled at center in Tennessee before being mediocre in place of Maurkice Pouncey last year in Pittsburgh.

Given how much time there is before they reconvene for camp, I wouldn't be surprised if they just go ahead and sign Velasco now so he can begin familiarizing himself with the playbook. It doesn't mean they have to give him the job.

 

Did Velasco really excel as a Titan? I always felt their ground game suffered greatly when Kevin Mawae moved on and Velasco took over.

 

First off, Velasco didn't really take over for Mawae. Eugene Amano did. Velasco took over for Amano in 2012.

Maybe excelled was a strong word. He drew positive grades overall and didn't let up pressures in pass pro. PFF had him graded as the 11th best center that year.

 

Ah, that's right. I completely forgot about Amano. Velasco is coming off an Achilles injury, so that's not exactly a slam dunk.

 

Didn't know that. In that case they could be a bit screwed because the other options suck.

 

"Can you hear me now?"

Guess we don't know if that position (among others) can be fixed inhouse until the season starts.

 

the good news is he had surgery to fix it back in early December, the bad news is is it can take 4 months to a year to full heal.

 

That's a tough one to come back from within a year.

 

How about Satele as a backup.He was not a fit for Parcells but perhaps he would be a better fit in this offense.I havent kept track of him so I dont know of any possible health issues.

 

Some boys going to get some real chances.

 

I think I would prefer Satele of all the guys on the market. He's a bit of a liability in some areas but that's what you'll get in free agency at this point, and he's a good replacement for Pounceys play in space.

 

If that's your opinion of Shelley Smith, I'd say it is much different than how the coaching staff views him. Forget being good enough to start, he isn't even good enough to be a backup guard? WOW!

 

Some guys excel the moment they are handed more responsibility. Some guys need to be named starter to reach their whole potential or at least see a chance to start.
With a healthy Pouncey non of the guys (Brenner, Garner, Larsen) even had a small chance to start. But now with a different mind set who knows what one of those 3 is capable of doing. Maybe one of them just just grasps the opportunity, takes the job and runs with it.

We'll never know but maybe Charles Clay would have never had that breakout season with a healthy Keller.

One can only hope...

 

Considering Shelley Smith is only 27, there's a good chance the team doesn't think he's reached his ceiling. He won't even be 28 until 2015.

 

The Dolphins' search for a roster replacement for injured Mike Pouncey will extend beyond guard Daryn Colledge.
A source said tonight that the Dolphins also have booked center Samson Satele for a workout on Monday.

http://miamiherald.typepad.com/spor...former-dolphin-samson-satele-for-workout.html

Read more here: http://miamiherald.typepad.com/spor...-samson-satele-for-workout.html#storylink=cpy​

 

I actually like Satele, too.

 

If that happens, and I seriously doubt that it does, it's one of those good problems to have.

 

It's been a while since Satele has looked interesting on the field. Scraping the bottom of the barrel if you sign him. There are probably better in-house options. I'd rather take a look at Shelley Smith.

Toying with a guard like Daryn Colledge is probably an indication that someone (Benton?) is lobbying for Shelley Smith to take the spot. There's a reason he's taken snaps at center in every practice the media have witnessed. Someone likes him there and since Smith is in Miami in large part due to his relationship with Benton (who coached him previously in Houston), I don't think it's a stretch of the imagination that Benton is the reason Smith keeps taking snaps there.

 

That means we don't have to put up with Pouncey's shenanigans and demands to be highest paid center in the league.