the Orca-5 updated & revisited: 1) starting w/ Coaching: (A) Bill Parcells is the power House of the trenches. wherever he has established a team, he has assembled powerful Offensive & Defensive Lines. (B) Our Head Coach is an Offensive Line Coach. He made his bones @ both the university level & in the NFL as a premier Offensive Lines Coach. Tony knows the Offensive line. (C) The firing of Maser & hiring of Guglielmo. Coach G. was the Assistant Lines Coach for what was arguably the top Offensive Line in the NFL in 2008, the NYGiants. They will be coached up exceeding all expectation. (D) there exists a template to build upon: 1. size & strength 2. character (they like leaders, especially team captains) 3. history: they trace them from their HS days playing football. 4. Consistency, love of game, team players that buy into a system & a willingness to work hard & through injuries. (E) the front line has been assembled after diligent research & much expense. the home work was done. the investment was made. the Orca-5 have earned the stamp of approval of the TriFecta & made their bones in the 2009 season. Both Ireland & Sprano have talked with great enthusiasm about what this Pod of KillerWhales will present in 2010, with the obvious support of the SilentOne behind it all. 2) the LinesMen: won't go into great detail here I'd have to write an article not present a thread to do them justice. However, much is on record & has already been written if you want to make the time to do some research. LT- Jake Long: 6'7" 320lbs; #1 draft of 08; started & finished every game; a Rookie ProBowler @ the most important position on the offensive line LG-Justin Smiley: 6'3" 310lbs; 2nd rd. draft choice (first in the top six offensive lines men picked in the 2004 draft) six year veteran with SF, top drawer acquisition, a dominate linesman C-Jake Grove-6'4" 310lbs; high second rd. choice by Raiders; prestigious collegian record. elected an All-American as Center (an accomplishment unto itself). many, many accolades, honors; was on target by Bill Parcells to draft when he was with the Cowboys; as a Pro "... notched a POA winning percentage of 90.6% while allowing backs to gain 6.2 yards per attempt behind his blocks. And Grove didn’t need a lot of help either. The ex Raider went one on one with defenders 67.5% of the time in 2008, far more frequently then either Matt Birk (39.9%) or Jason Brown (60.3%)." has had an outstanding first year w/Miami, one of the best centers in the game. RT-Donald Thomas- 6'4 310lbs; has been described as a diamond in the rough & the strongest human being on the Dolphin football team; plays through pain & injury, mean & takes personal joy in finishing blocks; Thomas has been compared to the young Keith Sims; a 6ed rd. choice, considered " A Find", started LG as a Rookie & totally dominated the position up to the time of his (now healed) foot injury & has had a good year in 2009, while climbing the learning NFL curve. tremendous potential unfolding before our eyes. 2010 should see a much improved technically, Donald. RT-Vernon Carey ( the other Bookend) 6''5" 350 lbs; first round choice; earned the name the PancakeMonster during University years; is already an elite tackle in the NFL; nasty, durable, big & strong; a scintillating veteran that plays the run particularly well & can switch to LT, if Jake is ever injured. 3) we also sport an excellent bench going into the season. it will not only back-up but provide starter-quality competition feeding into a rotation into the starting positions. The ideal would be seven starting quality linesmen & a backup on game day. We already have the potential to play in rotation in 2010: Guard - Dimitri Tsoumpas - 6”5” 315lbs the real deal & experienced in both run-block & pass_block. the #1 lineman in the Canadian league, deja vu Cameron Wake. Right Tackle/H-Back? TE – Lyndon Murtha – 6’7” 315lbs excellent speed & good hands, a xerox copy physically of Jake Long, tremendous potential Left Tackle & Guard - Nate Garner – 6”7” 325lbs Center/Guard - Joe Berger – 6’5” 315 in the mix: Ray Feinger & Andrew Hartline the Orca-5 made their bones last season. They are among the best in the NFL today & will reach elite status in 2010. It is our best unit, the most talented & our biggest investment. As they go, so goes the season. our Pod of KillerWhales is set not to worry!
I agree that this offense is built around this O-line. Unfortunately, the smash-mouth ball these guys play could lend itself to more injuries. I also like that there is this 'revolving door' of players who can come in and play without missing much of a beat. My only concern are the injuries.
an outstanding pre-season conditioning program, along with an excellent series of training camps & rotation system will help minimize inevitable injuries the team has the talent already to employ a rotation & will "not miss a beat". the KillerWhale Pod has depth & youth & talent & coaching. we can field seven starting-quality linesman w/ the talent we dispose.
love Grove, but health is an issue, if he can play a full year and stay healthy his guy is better than crap head form the Jets (I forgot his name), I personally would push Smiley into competition with Tsou....Smiley is starting to make me upset.....Thomas and Carey are legit....good work Mattingly
not to worry about his physical durability had no problems through his high school & university years. hit an injury that has been corrected early on as a pro w/ the Raiders has been consistently superior on the field (08-09) the guy is a potential perennial Pro-Bowler interesting statistical read: http://www.miamidolphins.com/content/jake-grove
Nice job 23. In particular, I was impressed with the way Berger was able to come in and play for Grove without any problems. And of course Mr Versatility: Nate Garner.
who else sat out a game? what NFL game is not important? He started the first ten games in 2009, playing a reserve role twice & was inactive in only three games due to an ankle injury ... Jake captained an offensive line that didn't allow a sack for two straight games for the first time since the 2005 season. Grove w/ also instrumental in allowing the Dolphins to rush for 250 yards on against Buffalo & 239 yards against the Colts... the guy is a potential parennial ProBowler, what's not to like?
I agree that injuries to a few players on the offensive line could be a major problem Grove...30 games missed in 6 seasons Smiley..13 games missed in 6 seasons all 13 within the past 3 seasons Thomas.15 games missed in 2 seasons Long.....0 games missed in 2 seasons Carey...2 games missed in 6 seasons 45 of those missed games came within the past 3 seasons Compared to the Jets offensive line Faneca...1 missed game in 12 seasons Mangold.0 missed games in 4 seasons D'Brick...0 missed games in 4 seasons Moore...16 missed games in 7 seasons Woody...14 missed games in 11 seasons Only 3 missed games for the whole offensive line in the past 3 years compared to 45 for us. I think by the Jets offensive line only missing 3 games in 3 years between all 5 players is a direct reason they had the number one rushing attack in football I think it was great to back up our starters with a few decent players who can and most likely will have to fill in again.
If we start throwing the ball more, I think we'll see a reduction those injuries. The Colts and Pats, two tradtionally Pass-first offenses, are usually pretty lucky in regards to guys staying relatively healthy.
who else sat out a game? what NFL game is not important? he was inactive for only three games & in reserve for two. the right math is that he missed five out of sixteen games. if I remember right, the only linesmen to not miss a game was Jake Long & even he had a coupled of troubled starts w/injuries. this will be year two for the big guy & he'll be up to another outstanding year, hopefully w/o any injuries. the guy is a potential parennial ProBowler, what's not to like? [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/quot
I like Garner and Murtha a lot. I think they give us good depth and have a lot of potential for down the road.
agree w/ Murtha & Garner. however, don't short change Dimitri Tsoumpas @ Guard. serious starting potential.
If they stay healthy Bro, that was the achilles heel last season. I do like the size and athleticism on the unit, my goodness all 6'3+ 310+. Got my eye on Tsoumpas, like Wake it was clear from his first CFL game that he was NFL calibur, he had very little learning curve and just kicked butt from Day 1 ala Cam Wake.
Garner and Berger are serious competition for the Pod already 23, for Stump to make it he is going to have show as much versatility as Garner or Berger. Stump will have to play Tackle as well as Guard unless he just mauls people from Rookie Minicamp forwards, even then, he will have to handle speed guys like Wake and power guys like Randy Starks. It is sink or swim trying to join in the Pod Brother.
competition is the elixir of success Friend Padre31 think your stump has some experience @ center not tackle, but the point is well taken
The 23rd in rare form...good stuff..I think on familiarity alone, and another strength conditioning offseason ,the Orca 5 will control our football identity... Dont give up on Donald Thomas as being one of the original 5's...kid is gonna be just fine.. Lets hpe for once, vernon takes his weight serious...I know he and jake our best buds, lets hope Jake drags his *** in the gym with him all offseason.
Friend djphinfan: haven't given up on the Donald & believe the five starters will remain starters what I think is we'll coach-up two more NFL-Quality starters & rotate the interior offensive line. I think the potential seven will be gleaned from the considerable talents of Lyndon Murtha, Garner & Dimitri Tsoumpas w/ Berger in reserve @ Center. however the possibilities are many& we already have the potential to play in rotation in 2010: Guard - Dimitri Tsoumpas - 6”5” 315lbs the real deal & experienced in both run-block & pass_block. the #1 lineman in the Canadian league, deja vu Cameron Wake. Right Tackle/H-Back? TE – Lyndon Murtha – 6’7” 315lbs excellent speed & good hands, a xerox copy physically of Jake Long, tremendous potential Left Tackle & Guard - Nate Garner – 6”7” 325lbs Center/Guard - Joe Berger – 6’5” 315 in the mix: Ray Feinger & Andrew Hartline let the Pod compete: Competion is the Elixir of Success!
IMO, Joe Berger could make a strong push to be one of the starting guards, his natural position. According to Pro Football Focus' grading system, our best OL were Long, Grove, Carey and Berger. I really didn't notice much drop off at all when Berger started last season.
Nice analysis 3rd, Parcells knows better than anyone, games are won & lost in the trenches. Our OL will be solid again next season, we just need to get stronger and healthier.