Things are starting to get out of control over the oline. Much of the hope and goodwill from earlier in the offseason is spiraling into panic.
Let's set the record straight a little bit:
The Oline Shuffling:
We are not shuffling the oline because we don't have starters. We are shuffling the oline to get a full grasp of who can play what position in the event of injuries later on. This was going to happen at some point during the TC, they chose to do it now, while Jerry is injured. And Jerry will be back at some point before the season, btw. Coach Turner, the oline coach, confirms most of this in his interview here: http://www.miamidolphins.com/media/videos/Inside_The_Oline_With_Coach_Turner/201f3a02-3d87-4b88-8bf0-0460de85c31f
Paraphrasing Coach Turner:
That's straight from the guy that is in charge of the oline, so let's stop with that part of the panic. There's no need to interpret or guess or fear this part. They are only covering their bases and it has nothing to do with the starting lineup.
Jon Martin being replaced:
The FO was not trying to replace Martin this offseason. No move that we were linked to making would have kept Martin from starting at one of the tackle positions. They were going to play Martin at left or right tackle this year. Did they feel Albert and Long were better LTs than Martin? Yes. Does that mean they think Martin is going to be a poor LT? No. Would the signing of either meant he wouldn't have started at RT? No.
Jon Martin in practice so far:
This is only the second week of TC. The adage is the defense is ahead of the offense at this time of year. Its an adage because its true. We also are looking at one of the, if not the best dlines in the league. With Odrick being back in his natural position, and OV improving and Dion flashing, few olines are going to look good against this group. Let's also factor in that we brought in 2 pass rushing LBs, and got a lockdown corner in Grimes.....plus Wallace and Hartline didn't even play that scrimmage.
Jon Martin going forward:
I'm not trying to tell anyone that Martin is great or will be great. But I don't think he'll be WORSE than he was last year, so even if he stays exactly the same as last year, we are in a much better position to thrive. We have virtually a completely new set of skill players surrounding Tannehill that are all about speed and quickness. 2 things we had none of last year. That speed and quickness translates into Ryan needing less time to find an open receiver. The less time he needs, the less time needed to block. Plus, with the right personnel this year to run Philbin's system, we'll be able to let players help out more in protection. Just a little chip on a pass rusher can dramatically change the game. For example last year Tannehill:
- had a 96.5 QB rating when he had over 2.5 seconds to throw and he only had that for 39.8% of his drop backs.
- had a 67.5 QB rating when he had less than 2.5 seconds to throw and he had that for 57.9% of his drop backs.
That's the difference a HALF OF A SECOND can make.
Again, i'm not predicting an all world oline this season. I'm just saying there is not enough data to panic yet.
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This reminds me of all the "Let's not worry about the WR position" threads from last season... :shifty:
In all seriousness, I hope you're right, but with everything riding on Tannehill, this line they have out in front of him is bit of a question mark at the very least. -
I mean if the sacks in the scrimmage mean anything, then Tannehill's 3 tds mean just as much and by theur nature, prove the sacks didn't hurt the offense.Pariah, Larryfinfan and toto like this. -
It is early and lets face it folks MOST of the OL's would look bad going against Miami's front 7 in practice everyday.....Fin D likes this. -
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I think its premature to worry about the OL at this stage.
If the OL looks unsteady in game 1 of the regular season then perhaps there is justification for some concern IMO. -
The OL overall will be fine IMO. Even with Martin playing below-average, there is still a lot of talent at the other spots.
FinsUp, CJTakoz, GMJohnson and 1 other person like this. -
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I for one haven't really been tempted to raise any kind of alarms over the problems the interior line have had with defending blitzes and interior rushers like Randy Starks and Jared Odrick. The continuous shuffling makes me a little nervous but that's it. This is the kind of stuff that gets better with further install.
However the Jon Martin/Olivier Vernon/Dion Jordan stuff is significant to me.Bpk likes this. -
The corps still seriously lacked in talent but hartline and bess certainly held it together last year. -
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If the coahces and GM aren't concerned about Martin then they are idiots.
I suppose he could look fine against Dallas and Jacksonville and maybe we forget about it, but he's not just been below average in camp. He's been a complete turnstile.
Below average would be a vast improvement. -
Fin D likes this.
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I'm fairly certain that most of our opponents will have more to fear from our pass rush than we will from theirs. -
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Superself, Colorado Dolfan, maynard and 1 other person like this.
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I've said this before but I'm not worried about pass protection from LG to RT. The line from a personnel standpoint has been built to protect fairly well at those four spots. I do worry a little bit if Tyson Clabo (who is primarily a pass protector at this stage of his career) will wear down during games when asked to keep up with Miami's preferred style of hurry up offense. That's sort of in the back of my mind. We hear about blitz sacks and interior sacks by Starks and Odrick probably almost as much as we hear about Jon Martin getting destroyed, but it's not a concern. The more time they get the more they'll get the interior straightened out to prevent those blitz sacks because unlike out on the wings with the tackles against outside pass rushers, that interior and blitz protection is a lot more about chemistry than just performance.
I do worry about all the shuffling and what it's going to do to the run blocking though. That was already going to be behind the 8-ball because of personnel. Constant shuffling is not going to help. Yeah they may have settled on Samuda at RG today, but it's been different every day, and who knows what they'll be back to tomorrow. -
And by the way, I never suggested I was an oline guru but anybody can see that Martin is performing terribly right now. And the coaches see it. He might be their only option right now but it doesn't make him a good one -
I don't think its too early at all to worry about the OL, or Martin in particular. It's actually too late. Martin's performance last year, wasnt good at RT, or LT. We should all know that by now. I can see the reason for optimism hoping that an offseason for him to get stronger, and the permanent switch back to his college position at LT should help him. However, all reports so far from camp are that Martin is struggling bigtime. Maybe when the line shuffling stops, and guys get in the permanent positions having Richie next to Martin will help solidify them, but just as you say there's not enough data to show he will be bad, there's also not enough to show he will be even average at this point. All indications at this point are that he's... not getting the job done.
Now I say its too late to panic at this point... because there's not much we can do. We're stuck with him at LT. Sure we can help him out with TE's etc. However, all that does is take another weapon away from the QB. Lining up in 12 personell can give you that extra TE to block, but it takes a WR off the field as well. That's just one example. Anything we have to do to help him, takes a weapon or decoy away somewhere. It hinders the offense all the way around IMO.
Hopefully when the coaches settle in on the OL as a whole, and who's going to play where, things solidify and that helps Martin improve his play... I'm not counting on it though. There's plenty of reasons why already out there in reports from camp. However as you said... alot of it could be attributed to the shuffling, and evaluating of each O-lineman at each position to see what we've got.
Time will tell...
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Maybe Martin is the best of 3 or 4 bad options.
Just because he's the best we have doesn't make him good.
Even you aren't disingenuous enough to suggest he's good, you're hoping for average which is a steep climb right now -
Too much negativity on Martin. Too much. These reporters need to start tweeting out every play where he doesn't give up a sack now to calm some of the irrational fear going on.
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As for the bold....I'm not disingenuous at all.Larryfinfan likes this. -
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It's being highlighted too much. theres just so much more to the game then a 1 on 1 situation between a LT and DE. In an obvious passing situation, the LT only has one advantage (the snap count) every other advantage goes to the defense.CJTakoz, cuchulainn and Fin D like this.
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