Miami 2008

[ghz in pittsburgh]

I know that the biggest boost to the Dolphins in 2008 season is Pennington.

But I thought they made significant changes to their O-Line. How big a change was it? Can anyone shine some lights?

A couple of years back the Jets started two rookie O-Linemen and they seemed doing OK then.

The reason I'm asking is that on offense, my biggest concern is the O-Line: 5 players in 5 new positions. They may upgraded the overall talent, coming together quickly is a concern however you look it.

[psubills62]

I don't know many of the guys on Miami's OL. But I'll comment on what I do know.

Jake Long was supposed to be a better RT than LT, but Miami thought differently and proved them wrong. I believe Vernon Carey moved to RT, where he's a better fit. I know they signed Smiley as a FA (from San Fran, I think?), and I believe he's a starting OG for them. I also think Satele was their center, but they weren't happy with him and they may have traded him this offseason, and signed a decent UFA in his place.

[dplus47]

they started the year with rookies at LT (long) and RG (donald thomas, a 6th rounder).

thomas hurt his foot in week 1 and was put on IR. the coaching staff loved this guy. they had only scrubs to replace him when he went down.

LG was manned by justin smiley, a FA pickup from san fran. he broke his leg late in the year, again to be replaced by scrubs.

C was satele, a holdover from the prior regime.

RT was carey, who was moved there from LT the previous year. he bounced back and forth a few times.

the staff decided that satele wasn't big enough or good enough in 1-on-1 matchups and traded him for almost nothing, replacing him with jake grove for this year.

thomas they expect to be back.

as for last year, the line did very well in pass protection from the outside but poorly in run blocking up the middle and pass blocking up the middle by the end of the year (with the injuries as an excuse, i suppose). the run blocking was putrid from the start, hence the wildcat.

i think pennington helped the pass protection with his quick decision making. plus, when you factor in his arm strength, he's not doing 7 step drops and heaving it deep downfield because he generally can't, so the routes develop quicker and the ball leaves his hand quickly.

[dplus47]

one key with miami's o-line from last year, which included 3 new starters: sparano, the head coach, is an offensive line specialist. also, as mentioned, jake long did better than expected.

the bills can make it work with 3 new starters on the line, IMO, but they're gonna have to work the short passing game and work the no huddle because deep drops and letting guys just tee off going after the QB will likely cause problems, at least early on. other than that, you just gotta pray for health...

[elltrain22]

Good idea to draw inferences to our upcoming situation, but alls I gotta say is.......


**** the Dolphins!!!!!!!!!!!!:box: :box: :box: :box:

[Raptor]

One thing that helped the Dolphins OL last year was I think they used more 3 step drops than any other team and 3 step drops are an OL's best friend in pass protection especially w/ a QB like Pennington who gets the ball out quickly

[ghz in pittsburgh]

I really feel that the Bills O-Line last year, on a league wide level, is not really that bad. Teams with worse talent did better than us. But I'm encouraged that the power at OBD really tries to push it another notch up - aiming for elite level.

Secondly, I think this new O-Line coach, after taking over from Mouse, is going putting his stamp on it. Like the Mouse before him, this is going to be his line now with his hand picked guys. Maybe this guy is emphasizing more on attitude. We'll see what happens.

Overall I see a transition from tackle focused to interior line focused approach. That tells me they are going to pound the rock more than ever - kind of Steelers approach.