That should make a solid blind side for a right handed qb.

 

This is one of those statements I can see Sparano making right up to the point that we sign a LG and move Richie to RG.

 

Let's hope so. Incognito was not anything special at all at LG. I hope Sparano & Co. add someone else there. Someone else not named Nate Garner.

 

A guy that I am keeping my eyes on is Justin Blalock.

 

I'm fine w/ Incognito at LG, big, physical, can handle most 3 techniques 1 on 1, decent pass pro. He's not much of a puller though, a fact that Henning seemed to ignore. Old man was calling run plays like we still had Smiley at LG. My guess is we'll use Pouncey, and perhaps Jerry, when we want to pull guys, but we'll also incorporate more zone blocking so that we're not so dependent on pulling guys.

 

I would hardly say that is an endorsement of Incognito starting at LG.

 

Considering I don't see a quote, Sparano probably said as of right now, Incognito is the left guard. Probably because it's what he played last year. I would hope they're not making decisions without seeing them and letting them compete. If they are...I'd be pretty scared.

 

He's talking about Jerry there. Didn't really say anything about Richie.

 

Interesting thing about Richie I is this is the first offseason where he is not rehabbing something, and if they wish him to pull more, which I'd doubt, he will have had plenty of time to lose some weight and work on his quickness, the other thing is he needs a bit more of that to hit the ILB's consistently.

 

I hope this means we're going after Marshall Yanda in free agency to fill that hole at RG.

 

It's a misleading headline. Sparano hasn't said that Incognito was the starting Left Guard anywhere. The article says Incognito was the Left Guard, and Sparano mentioned players positively and said they could start.

 

I think all the over analysis is reminiscent of some of Jerry Seinfeld and George Costanza's conversations.
The article said:

That sounds like to me as of this time, Sparano is saying Richie will be the LG, and the rest will compete for the right. So, it's not an exact quoted sentence, big deal.

 

Would it be that hard to believe that they're switching the line scheme so that the C primarily pulls and the LG doesn't?

 

Yes, pulling the center isn't something a lot of coaches like to do. Under center, footwork is problematic, and the possibility of a quarterback getting tripped up is bigger. Pouncey had an issue with doing it in the shotgun in Florida, that's where he went wrong, was when he didn't properly execute the snap because he was trying to get quickly into his pull.

That being said, the Dolphins will likely pull their Center, but not like they would a Guard, where the specific play design is for that. Daboll sometimes uses "Pin and Pull" blocking, and multiple players will pull depending on if they are covered or uncovered. It's dependent on the front, though. The play can be called and the defensive line shifting means the Center might go from not pulling to pulling.

 

Is there an team out there with more invested in the OL than the Dolphins?

I mean, 3 first round picks on the OL, and a first overall.

 

Good call on 9rs. Three 1sts and 2 2nds all drafted by them, comprise their OL. The Jets have 3 firsts but Woody wasn't their draft pick. Still an indication of talent. Can't think of another team with 3 of their own 1sts on their OL but 9rs and us.

 

I think the Seahawks have three firsts on their line now after drafting Carpenter, Okung and Spencer in the first round.

 

Right you are. I'd forgotten them. There may be other teams too. I wonder though, where the Seahawks will play Carpenter? Okung is entrenched at LT and Locklear graded as one of the best RTs last year, according to PFF. LG maybe?

 

Not sure where we'd fit another guard in on the roster. Our starting 5 is Long-Cogs-Pouncey-Jerry-Carey & the top backups are Berger, Murtha, Garner & McQuistan. If we sign a G he'll be sending either Jerry (3rd rounder) or Cogs (just got a big raise) to the bench or maybe he'll be on the bench himself.

As it stands now we have:
C: Pouncey-Berger-Cogs
LG: Cogs-Garner-McQuistan
RG: Jerry-Garner-McQuistan
RT: Carey-Murtha-McQuistan
LT: Long-Murtha

Pretty solid group IMO, I think the skill positions, especially RB & QB need to be addressed, and defensively Wake is our only consistent pass rusher.

 

Ray Feinga is in the mix as well, maybe Proctor if he is healthy and afaik McQuistan is a FA?

 

also have the fmr Duck Max Unger who has been something of a disappointment, he was the #49 overall

 

McQ is definitely a FA. Proctor I'm not sure on. Either one though would be no better than the 9th OL out of 9, were either to make the roster. Berger and Garner are ahead of them, talent and value wise. Murtha too. He may be pretty ragged technique wise but at least there is some solid athletic ability there to work with.

 

How is he a disappointment? For getting injured early last season and going on IR after one game? He started every game as a rookie.

 

Played poorly as a rook and 1 game last season, sort of speaks for itself Mr C.

 

He played one game in '10 because he broke his toe and went on IR, last mid Sept. As a rookie, he played well enough to start every game, and you know as well as anyone you can't always judge an OL, by just his rookie season. If healthy, I expect him to start from the get go this season too. Did you base your "poorly" assessment from watching a number of his games and focusing on him, or by what PFF said, or both?

 

I agree with you again. I don't see OL being a concern for this organization or the personnel decision makers. It's QB, RB, OLB. I think that's where we attack the FA market.

I honestly believe they know that Incognito isn't a guy that you are going to continually ask to pull. I think they understand that weakness to his game as much as we do. I think the hiring of Daboll and his running designs for the offense might make a fit to keep Ritchie at LG. I think there is some credence to Sparano's claims on Jerry too. The guy battled some weight issues (not having enough) and illness and it really affected him. With the comeback of Garner, the improvement of Feinga, and the versatility of Pouncey, I think that the G spots are pretty well set.

I could be wishing we'd taken one of these guards in FA, but I think we're OK there and good enough to have a strong running game.