Saturday, February 7, 2009

Guest Article - Mr Bungle's Assessment of the Offensive Line

The Dolphins O-line heading into 2009

These are the O-linemen listed on the official Miami Dolphins website roster. The starters I listed was the starting lineup on opening day last season.

Starters:

C/G Satele 6-3 300

LG Smiley 6-3 310 - season ending broken leg injury/minor shoulder surgery?

RG Thomas 6-4 310 - season ending foot injury?

LT Long 6-7 315

RT Carey 6-5 350 - free agency?


Backups:

C/G Alleman 6-4 310

C/G Johnson 6-5 305

G/T Ikechuku 6-4 325

G/T Frye 6-4 305

OG Murphy 6-4 315

OT Garner 6-7 320


What needs to be done with the O-line? Who stays and what positions need to be upgraded?

Who do we target in free agency and what position do we draft on the O-line?

C/G Satele 6-3 300 - it sounds like we'll move him to guard because he's athletic.

LG Smiley 6-3 310 - we need him back healthy.

RG Thomas 6-4 310 - let's hope he returns to the path he was on before he went down.

LT Long 6-7 315 - a stud

RT Carey 6-5 350 - we should probably franchise him for 09.

C/G Alleman 6-4 310 - he might stick around as a backup.

C/G Johnson 6-5 305 - Sparano really likes him but he's had trouble staying healthy.

G/T Ikechuku 6-4 325 - he's versatile but may not have any upside as a full-time starter.

G/T Frye 6-4 305 - not sure how much upside he has and at what position?

OG Murphy 6-4 315 - his technique was raw and needs to get stronger.

OT Garner 6-7 320 - a big body but I'm not sure how much upside he has.


I tend to agree with a lot of fans who want to see us go after Ravens Center Jason Brown. Brown fits the size and age parameters for the trifecta, he's 6-3 320 and he'll be only 26 in May. He's a physical lineman who did a good job in the run game and protecting the rookie QB Joe Flacco.

If we signed Brown and solidified the Center position, we would have some more options at guard with who we already have. Then maybe we could draft a OT for depth and a future starting RT.

Signing Jason Brown could be the key to upgrading the OL sooner than later. Opinions?

20 comments:

  1. Now this is a stud O-lineman. Flanked by OLB Joey Porter, RB Ronnie Brown and a couple of hotties, Jake Long is simply huge.

    This picture also shows how thickly built Ronnie Brown is. Joey Porter looks thin in this picture while Ronnie's legs look thicker than Long's.

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  2. Did Long really get hurt in the Pro Bowl? I did not see most of it, but heard it talked about afterward. I didn't see anything on the SS, and I don't like the creepy Herald. I feel like I need to wipe off my keyboard after I have been there.

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  3. Where's Jake's hottie? How lame is that?

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  4. I didn't see him get hurt, I don't think anyone did. That's why they let the clock run out at the end, so no one gets hurt in a pointless game.

    I would like to say that when the game started, they had some guy named Roos from Tennessee in at RT, and he was blown up on every play. All I could think was who is this guy and you've got to be kidding me if he's considered better than Jake. Then they put in Jake at RT (I think he got to play LT later on but was at RT most of the game) and he really made me happy to be a dolfan. Not only did he play well but he played most of the game, including S/T. Also thought Porter and Brown were class acts in Hawaii. You expect it from Ronnie, but usually you expect Joey to ruffle feathers and he didn't ( though he did body slam the guy at the end of the game)

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  5. Looks like he has his hands full already!lol

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  6. watching the pro-bowl made me realize the O-line issues may not be as easy to solve as plugging in free agents here and there. There were a couple of guys in that game that really stood out playing against top competition, and not in a good way. When the rookie injury replacement guy is the only Tackle on the AFC squad who can pass block (not even his strength) then it makes you wonder about the true level of talent. You see it all the time in college, which is why a lot of rankings for linemen are based on who they're playing against. A scouting report will not only include that player's stats, but who he was lined up against in each game. So based on strength of opposition, how good is Jason Brown, or any of the other coveted FA linemen?

    Why sorta know what we've got with Jake because we've seen him play against two or three of the best pass rushers in the league, and we've seen his ability to lead block in space, etc. We've also heard opponents praising his game. But since I don't follow the other markets the same way, I don't know what Jason Brown, for example, has impressed upon HIS opponents.

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  7. A-ha! Now I've got empirical evidence that herdfan starts these off--topic downward spirals...

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  8. Hopefully someone else can respond to you on this. Don't expect it from me. I know my limitations, and play within them.

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  9. As I was halfway through this thought I realized I'd probably have to figure it out myself...lol

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  10. Sorry, I'm bored, and when I first saw that photo, I resisted(i'm trying to filter these days), but then you made the comment you did, and then...I couldn't help myself!

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  11. Quote from Jake Long himself, "Towards the end of the game I got my ankle rolled up, but it is nothing. I feel fine."

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  12. Thanks. It made me wonder why players would risk an injury in a game that doesn't matter. It can't be the money. Prestige? What?

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  13. It definitely is the money. Having 'Pro=Bowl' on your resume can often double your salary. For those already getting paid, like Jake, it's one of those things where you get to be part of a very select group of the best players in the world. Why WOULDN'T you play? They're generally fairly soft on the tackling anyway.

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  14. Ahhh. I meant the money they are paid for that one game. I did hear that mentioned. Wasn't really thinking about the other money aspect.

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  15. But having said that, there is the possiblity of an injury that would negatively impact your career. Anything can happen. That's what I was thinking.

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  16. Long looked great out there. I agree he was definitely the best in pass protection and looked good playing RT. I disagree with randy saying he'd be better at RT. I would assume that any LT would be better playing any easier position, due to the competition their playing against, but since he's our best we want him at LT. I disagree with the whole we need Jason Brown or Mack or Unger. Satele is just fine IMO and the possibility of Johnson is their if we re-sign him, plus center is a worthless position anyways. If I were to get a FA it would be a guard (assuming we lock up Carey). That is our weakest position in terms of quality depth and if we look at last year we went through a ton of them. However I would prefer to draft someone in the early to middle rounds. As far as the injury, it didn't look nearly as bad as the one that took him out of the game for a series during the season

    Ronnie looked like the best RB out there. The holes were huge, but he was hitting them hard. It would have been cool if he connected on the passing attempt they gave him, but everyone was covered

    Porter seemed out of his element out in pass coverage. I'm so used to seeing him bull rush nowadays. I thought the body slam was bringing some life in to a game that lacked meaning.

    They should just have the kicker go out by himself if their not going to try and stop him. That one guy raising his arm up without even jumping was lame

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  17. "They should just have the kicker go out by himself if their not going to try and stop him."

    I'll give those guys a pass on the extra points, but at one point it looked like that guy on the NFC squad...(Smith?) was going to get MVP on kick returns. I know these guys aren't used to playing ST but defensive players should still know how to run to the ball and make a tackle!

    I was a bit surprised that C-word made Ronnie the focal point of his offense. I wonder if there was any awkwardness in the locker room between the 3 members of the 2007 squad. We know Porter doesn't like the old coach.

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  18. I didn't even think about that c-word side of it. But he did like Ronnie back when he was ruining our team. He used him often just like when he had LT. I bet him and porter didn't have much to say to eachother

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  19. One thing about center being a worthless position, which is silly to say by the way, LOL, when Parcells was with the Jets one of his biggest offseason additions was Kevin Mawae.

    Oh yeah, I didn't want this topic to become about the Pro Bowl. Let's get back to the O-line shall we? LOL

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  20. "One thing about center being a worthless position,"

    Good to see I'm starting to affect people. I think what he meant was 'value' and I agree. Yes it's important that we have a guy to snap the ball and block, but is it a position we really want to spend a significant chunk of team salary/cap space on. That money may be better spent on high-priced LBs and WRs for example.

    ps. I updated the Hakeem Nicks post. There's a new video with interview/highlights. I apologize for the music that starts about 2 minutes in, but apparently it's a football song (if you can actually listen to it).

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