I dont think our O.L. sucked this year as much as people claim it did.

 

OL was actually better this season, especially once Bushrod went out.

 

A great QB makes everyone around him better. Unfortunately we lost our starter early and pulled a QB out of retirement with minimal time to train, and you get this result. Tannehill should make things better assuming he returns fully healthy. Regardless, Phins need to draft a QB to groom and serve as a Plan B.

 

First, you're always looking to improve both- the QB and the offensive line.

Second, you're contradicting yourself here completely. You just said it's the line's fault a QB doesn't play at high levels. If that's true, why can't RT be elite when we've seen him have several very elite games?

Different QB's handle pressure differently. Cutler slips the pocket moving forward and fires. Tannehill scrambles towards the sidelines. Newton runs backwards and dances around people. Yet in each case, the line is trying to build a wedge...they have no idea what a QB is going to do when a 250 pound man tries to make him his girlfriend. Some sacks come from that line messing up and sometimes the QB runs into defenders. Yet you're acting like this is all black and white without any variables on how the QB and/or line performs. That's just not true.

That's the most logical conclusion....but again, the argument is flawed because you're trying to paint RT and Cutler as baseball cards where talent, effort and circumstances don't matter. Cutler had a few awesome games this season and even showed us a few things that Tannehill can't do (mainly sliding in the pocket and playing very smart under pressure). If anything, Cutler has covered up our problems at line this season because he is so darn good in the pocket.

Most of his bad throws have come from trying to escape pressure and throwing off-balance- but who's fault is that? Do you blame Cutler for not taking an extra quarter of a second to plant his foot and square his shoulders, or do you blame the line for putting him in that situation to begin with? There's blame to go all the way around but you really have to look at the film to see what is going on. That's why your guess on who's better than who doesn't work since you don't even know what was the QB's fault to begin with.

 

I would consider resigning Ja'Wuan James, and bringing in some young talent to push Larsen, Pouncey, and Davis, if I were the FO. I'm also not sure how well Asiata has progressed throughout the season. A mid-round pick maybe? Some smart free agent signings? No idea. I think 2 potential interior line prospects would be a good start.

We also need a new, dependable, offensive line coach. The offense cannot struggle again like it did at the beginning of the year. That being said, I would dedicate most of this draft to the defense again, outside of a TE and a G/C. We need to think about replacing Wake because of his age.

 

cutler haters will say its cutler, other with profound love and biased will blame the o-line, with RT back it will be the o-line and so on. I have no problem saying its both the qb position and some what of a line issue, but I have a hard time blaming the o-line as much as some, for the fact we can run the ball besides a few games whether it be personnel or whatever. I think both are avg even with RT so upgrades at both positions wouldn't hurt.

i think upgrades starting with o-line and qb and some lb's we would have a pretty good team. i think we have a lot more pieces to the puzzle then people think. The bad thing is, is next year everyone is older wake etc.

I wonder if we used grant on Sunday as a Landry replacement to see what he is about? maybe he's gone I gave him a 50% chance of coming back but I seriously doubt he stays in Miami unless we franchise him. even then I seen an outbursts on Sunday that doesn't give me any warm feelings about him staying.

 

The current oline is far better than any Thill had 2014 - up to last year's Pitt game.

 

To borrow a line from the Clinton campaign... "it's the Quarterback, Stupid".

 

I think the answer to your question is, "yes." Consistency has been an issue for quite a long time. Our line has at times been the worst in the league, and as of late, has looked fairly decent. Jay Cutler has had moments in which he really shined and has had moments where he left me scratching my head. And finally, look at Ryan Tannehill. The opinions on this board alone are deeply divided. Why? Most likely due to his inconsistency. He has had spurts where you really see the potential blossoming, but also, he has definitely struggled at times. I think that different posters latch on to both the positives and negatives respectively.

May I offer the simplest solution that I can think of. Build around Drake. Since being inserted into the lineup, he has been pretty consistent. I would draft a lineman or two early, sign a vet via free agency, and look to pair him with a more physical runner. I do worry about overworking him. We could look to the draft to fill this void or free agency. LaGarrette Blount is a name that comes to mind. He is a free agent next year. He signed a 1 year/$1.25 million deal. I would be willing to give him that kinda money.

In the meantime, I roll with Ryan Tannehill. I am not opposed to drafting competition for Ryan - even with an early pick.

 

Ive said before, i would trade Pouncey this offseason while we can get something for him. He is not the guy he was and wont be. Draft a guard or two in the draft, preferably 1 in the first. The guy from Notre Dame would be my choice. They need to spend some resources on the interior line. I suppose it depends on what you think is the weakest position group. I think its the interior O line.

 

Both? The line didn't play bad this year, but they weren't very good either. There's plenty of room to improve in that department.

 

Other than a LT, maybe a RT later in the first round, I think you can get decent a Center/Guards in the second or third rounds. At this point, I think getting the best LB would be the priority in the first round. If there is better value in a CB or DE I'd go that direction too.

To avoid confusion, I meant don't spend first round picks on Guards or Centers, as the value isn't there.

 

This year I could be convinced the problem is that the QB is snorting the line.

 

Both. An NFL team's success is far beyond one player and his contribution, or one unit.

 

The OL failed to open any holes in the running game especially early. When was the last time any of our QB's have looked good without a running game that was successful?

While it is obvious Jay was struggling in some games, it was also obvious that this offense is only as good as the running game. Was the same way last year.

 

It's worked for Jerry Jones with Martin and Frederick. Two stud all pro players. They have built one of the best lines in football by investing in what other teams don't consider worth it on day one. Maybe that's a good thing, but perhaps it's a bad thing considering they have regressed as a team this year?

The Steelers have Pouncey and Decastro, both first round picks, and they made the pro bowl. Interestingly their left tackle was undrafted and made the pro bowl.

I do agree that value can be had later in the draft, but if someone like Nelson is the BPA, it might be hard to pass on him considering our need inside.

 

As others have pointed out, I've seen Cutler do things Tannehill can't do, so it's hard to really say. How many more wins does Tannehill get us? He started to look really good up until the injury so I'm not sure.
I do think the quarterback position is the most important position on the team. Look at what Jimmy G has done for the 49ers. Look at the impact Aaron Rodgers had against Carolina during his return. I get that he threw some ints but his team had plenty of opportunities to win that game because he was the QB. The quarterback position in short...is infectious in either an extremely positive or an extremely negative way. You then have your middle of the road QBs like Tannehill that require literally a complete team around them to win. Once again look at Russell Wilson as an example. The entire Seattle defense has been decimated with injuries, but having a healthy Russell Wilson (above anything else) still gives them a chance to beat anyone they play.

 

Love this post. You get it. I been trying to say this and get through to everyone forever now.

I would love if Lamar Jackson fell to us in the draft on a personal note. imo, he would be an “eventual” upgrade over Tannehill.

 

What exactly has worked for Jerry? That he might have 2 losing seasons in the past 3? I don't really think their method is an invalid strategy, but just pointing at them and saying "they have a good line!" isn't really helpful either. I think you really need a solid mix of people along the line between drafts, FA, high and low. We could build a crazy line, but we will be missing other spots. Dallas has had some nasty depth issues the last few years and really lack at some positions. It's a valid strategy, but not a cure-all.

I find it hard to believe a guard will be BPA. Then again, the final week could alter draft positions quite a bit. Toward pick 20 I'd start to consider. Toward pick 10 and you need to be thinking disruptors at DE/CB. It's just positional value.

 

Ryan want exactly great last year. We won more games mostly because of ajayi and our offensive line was better last year when they were all healthy.

RT and Cutler are about the same level of quarterback, they both have roughly the same average stats through their careers. Both have strong but inaccurate arms, both have good mobility, Ryan is a little more carefull with the ball and doesn't throw as many dumb picks as Cutler, while Cutler has better pocket presence and takes fewer sacks than RT.

I don't understand this idea some of you have that everything is going to be great when RT is back next year. He is not that much of an improvement over Cutler.

 

Pick your poison.

 

At least that Jay will not be here in 2018. So hoping for the best in Ryan T to come on back.

 

When it comes to the passing game, the QB and the OL do go hand in hand provided of course, the OL is worth anything to begin with but when it comes to blocking, there is pass blocking and run blocking. Two entirely different techniques.

Run blocking, you're on the offensive: You're intentionally targeting a defensive player to move him to a certain point on the field to open a hole for your running back.
Pass blocking, you're on the defensive: You're allowing a defensive player into the backfield and preventing him from getting to the quarterback.

Now our offensive line this season, when it came to pass blocking, really wasn't that bad. As I've stated in previous post, I just don't believe Cutler's heart was truly into the game this season after retiring. The fire was all but gone.

Our run blocking game however was atrocious. We were never really able to establish a dominant running game that would have actually helped our passing game.

Hopefully in the offseason, this facet of the team will be priority number one

 

With regards the OL I'm more interested in scheme and coaching than talent (for the most part). We've seen "talented" OL's under-perform and "bargain basement" OL's over-achieve. Whilst I'm not saying we couldn't use extra talent at guard I think the OL is the one area of the team that requires the most cohesion and coordination. Considering the OL coach got busted for drug use this year, I'm interested to see what happens there.

 

Barry Jackson:

 

I disagree, to an extent. While I can't argue against the stats, Tannehill looked much better fundamentally last year then Cutler did at all this year. Cutler missed so many wide open throws because his poor footwork.

 

Tannehill is inaccurate?

LMAO

 

Having watched Jay Cutler play football this season, I don't think I could disagree with this any more strongly than I do.

 

Yes, tannehill is innacurate. That's why we drafted Parker remember, because tanny needed receivers with better catch radius.

RT has roughly the same career completion percentage as Cutler. They both have strong but innacurate arms.

 

67.1% completion percentage last season and you consider that inaccurate? In fairness, last season the completion percentages of the following QB's were...

Aaron Rodgers...64.7%
Tom Brady...67.4%
Matt Ryan...69.9%
Drew Brees...70.0%

Tannehill isn't inaccurate and to say so is just foolish and irresponsible

 

League average completion percentages:
2012: 60.9%
2013: 61.2%
2014: 62.6%
2015: 63%
2016: 63%

Tannehill:
2012: 58.3%
2013: 60.4%
2014: 66.4%
2015: 61.9%
2016: 67.1%

Maybe a better way of looking at it:

Combined league average completion percentage from 2012-2016 = 62.24%
Tannehill's career completion percentage from 2012-2016 = 62.7%

I think the best characterization of Tannehill in terms of completion percentage (as well as in many other metrics.. especially passer rating) is that he is around average. He's not more inaccurate nor more accurate than your average NFL QB.

 

No, that's not why Parker was drafted.

 

Not always the case. Our improvement in pass protection, which also stems from last year, is the call for more dish sets. Dish sets differ from vertical sets in that they allow the o-line to be more of the aggressor in attempting to get the first punch (instead of retreating and catching), and it decreases the distance b/w them and the defender. This is one of the reasons for the improvement in Ja'Wuan James' play is that it limited the distance b/w his target, removed the traditional kick slides, and overall decreased the greater possibility of him misreading the defender and his amount of footwork which is also somewhat a troublesome factor for him.

 

That's absolutely false. It's one of his stronger traits, and Tannnehill is one of the most accurate passers in the game. The dude has a jersey hanging in the HOF for the most consecutive completed passes for christsake.

 

a strength of Ryan is his innate accuracy..