Sophomore Snapshot - JAKE LONG, LT

Talk about a winning combination...7-7-7! Henne: "Hey, what do you say after this we go get drafted by the same team and play some NFL ball?" Long: "Oh man, isn't four years enough?" Michael Phelps wishes he had gone this route:

Playing at Michigan means that every fan of OTHER Big Ten football teams will waste every single breath of their lives trying to beat you down. In the end, you become the top pick in the draft and the highest paid offensive lineman ever, and they end up sweeping up meatloaf droppings at the local Hometown Buffet. (click on image below to see a bigger, readable image)

Being sworn in by the Dolphins' head sock judge (honestly, why are they in just socks?):

So what has Jake been up to since taking his shoes off with Channing Crowder?

Well apparently he's been working out. Based on the video I've seen of him during OTAs, he looks to have dropped any baby fat he had on him, and added some more muscle. This dude does NOT look like an NFL offensive lineman, he looks like Paul Bunyan's bigger, stronger brother. And Coach Sparano and Jake both agree that he comes into 2009 much stronger, more confident, and with higher expectations. And his cohorts are no slouches either. Justin Smiley, known as more of a beach ball physique, also has slimmed down and then bulked up. Even Vernon Carey looks slimmer and stronger. One thing is for certain, the days of the big fat slow guys playing on the line are over in Miami. This 2009 O-line is made up of tall, slim, power-blockers. I'm very excited to see the running game.

And for all those excited about the Wildcat, don't get too worked up, as Justin Smiley didn't get the memo (the trifecta seems very intent on saying they'll be running loads of Wildcat plays, even letting the media see many plays run out of it during the open OTAs, something they didn't do last year), and blurted out in an interview yesterday that the Dolphins game plan is NOT to run the Wildcat, but to be a power running team. Think about it, Long, Smiley, Grove, and Thomas (all the trifecta guys) are all known as run blockers. Chad Pennington is a game-manager who is known for taking snaps under center. And Ronnie Brown, Ricky Williams, Lex Hilliard, and Anthony Kimble are big powerbacks. Do you honestly think we'll be running a lot of the Wildcat just because we drafted Pat White?

The 2009 Offensive line

The 2009 Miami Dolphins Offensive Line - The Beginning

Another foray into the roster by The Knight Who Says Ni! Today we're looking at the Offensive Line. Please note this was written BEFORE the news of the Donald Thomas injury sparked widespread panic (is that band still together?) so I have added notes in ORANGE, whereas the Knight's words are in AQUA.

"The Phins OL"

Think about what we have at tackle on the offensive line. Jake Long at 6-7 315 with the build of a very large TE and Vernon Carey at 6-5 330+ of natural size. Both guys have proved to be durable, especially Carey at the NFL level over 5 years.

These two former 1st round picks are good friends, well paid and motivated. Jake Long (#1 in 08) has said I want to see us become one of, if not the best OL in the league. I'm sure Carey (#19 in 04) shares that goal. They both work hard and want to be the best. We're in good shape on the corners of our O-line.

That brings us to the interior OL. Jake Grove, Justin Smiley and Donald Thomas are the projected starters (with the injury, it would be unlikely that Thomas holds on the starting job. He will have to re-earn that). The question with them is durability. They were all hurt last year. They are all studs physically.

C Jake Grove 6-4 305 - tough and strong who plays with a mean streak - 05 2nd round pick.

LG Justin Smiley 6-3 310 - tough and strong who plays with a mean streak - 04 2nd round pick.

RG Donald Thomas 6-4 310 - physically gifted (known as 'heavy', as in hard to move) with little experience but good enough to win the starting job last year early on in training camp - 08 6th round pick. (Once he gets his strength back and is lifting weights he will push to start again, probably around week 5)

LT Jake Long 6-7 315 - an elite young lineman who is huge, tough and strong who plays with a mean streak - 08 1st round pick (1st overall).

RT Vernon Carey 6-5 335 - a natural big man who is competitive, durable and reliable - 04 1st round pick.

Our depth will work itself out. We still need a few guys to step up and stand out. My picks are Berger, Ndukwe and Alleman. They all have position flexibility and NFL experience.

OL Joe Berger 6-5 310 - a big, strong guy who can play every position but is probably better suited at guard or at RT - the perfect 6th man. (with Alleman's sore back, Berger took the snaps at Center. I believe he will end up competing with Alleman for the backup interior job)

OL Ikechuku Ndukwe 6-4 325 - like Berger he can play every position but is probably better suited at guard or at RT (backed up at LT for us last year) - former 6th man and maybe now a 7th man. (I asked the Knight about this, but don't recall if I got an answer. Perhaps he meant at 'this time' last year, as he obviously started at RG for most of the year)

C/G Andy Alleman 6-4 310 - versatile player who played well for the Phins last year - should lock down a roster spot.

The Phins will probably keep 9 O-linemen on their 53 man roster and 7 or 8 will dress for games. The 9th spot on the OL will probably be between tackles Nate Garner, rookie 6th rounder Andrew Gardner and Brandon Frye 6-4 305. Frye played guard for us last year. 08 4th round pick Shawn Murphy is on the outside looking in at the moment.

OT Nate Garner 6-7 320 - a big man with some upside - needs to step up his game this year.

OT Andrew Gardner 6-6 305 - good college career and consistent starter and leader at Georgia Tech - very durable during his career until a recent shoulder injury, but he played through a lot of it in 08 showing toughness and leadership.

G/T Brandon Frye 6-4 305 - must have shown something to stick around through the OG merry-go-round we went through last year - position flexibility helps him.

OG Shawn Murphy 6-4 315 - needs to really stand out and step up his play to make this team - could he be a sleeper in his 2nd season?

All of these potential 9th guys can be put on the practice squad. The guy who can play LT gets the nod in my opinion.

There are some other rookie free agents competing but I view them as long shots at the moment. I think we're pretty close to 8 guys already. There is probably only one 53 man spot open and maybe two practice squad spots. So that's what the bottom of the OL roster is fighting for unless one of them shocks everyone. I'm all for that. LOL

(We might as well give them a mention - SirVincent Rogers (no relation to Knight, apparently), JD Quinn, and Mark Lewis. Rogers is a tackle that has also played tight-end. Lewis and Quinn are interior guys)

We're in better shape now than we were last year, but we still need some work on overall talent. We have a new O-line coach in Dave DeGuglielmo (a Sparano guy), and Sparano is going to be involved as well because he's an O-line guy. I'm excited about the prospect of our OL this year.

Name a time when we had this much blue chip talent? Mid 80s through mid 90s? Not this physical though.