2017 Dolphins preview: Tackles | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

2017 Dolphins preview: Tackles

DKphin

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When the Dolphins opted to move Branden Albert and his large salary this past off-season, the common knowledge was that Tunsil would move outside to his natural left tackle position to take his spot. Remember those lines because when we breakdown the guards, it will be regurgitated.

With Tunsil now at left tackle and Ja’Wuan James at right, the starting tackle spots are complete but depth is a serious issue.
https://phinphanatic.com/2017/06/15/2017-dolphins-preview-tackles/
 
You sure love fanblogs DK lol
 
Hard to argue with the assessment. We could use more depth. Young is ok if he has to fill in for a short period but he cannot match up with the leagues better pass rushers. I would like to see them sign someone like Austin Pasztor. Ryan Clady is out there but would likely cost too much. King Dunlap and Sebastian Vollmer retired. Someone else may shake loose as well.
 
I'm thinking barring a camp injury they are gonna role with what we have...only gonna activate 3
 
I'm thinking barring a camp injury they are gonna role with what we have...only gonna activate 3

Agreed. I wonder if Bushrod is a better option at LT at this point...if needed. You know they will roll with Young though. Probably only if he loses starting RG spot but that's not likely.
 
Tackles don't usually drop in cuts unless they're damaged goods, so I'm looking for us to add a guard maybe during cuts but most likely, we'll roll with a tackle depth chart of Tunsil, James, Young and Bushrod (yes, as an emergency T or as a backup if he doesn't win the RG job).

I'm really hoping James can harness those spurts of good play he had towards the end of last season. If he can, then my opinion of him will go up dramatically. But if this year is like all the others, I can definitely see us moving on from him next year.

Guards, that's the interesting analysis this year. And if Pouncey isn't fully healthy ... that plays a major role in our guard equation. Back when everyone ran power schemes they used to say that anyone can play guard. Now that it's a lot of zone schemes, that's clearly not correct. We are living proof that not anyone can play guard, because we've uncovered a lot of players who cannot do it!
 
Hard to argue with the assessment. We could use more depth. Young is ok if he has to fill in for a short period but he cannot match up with the leagues better pass rushers. I would like to see them sign someone like Austin Pasztor. Ryan Clady is out there but would likely cost too much. King Dunlap and Sebastian Vollmer retired. Someone else may shake loose as well.
I actually disagree with you. I was at the 49ers game last season when we had to run the with Sam Young (Not Baker) at LT. Granted SF was not leathel up front, but Young easily held his own and moved extremely well in Pass Pro and in space. I feel he is a perfect swing T for this upcoming season and has only improved since his arrival.
 
This is pretty close to a make or break year for James. By all accounts, he played well down the stretch and he needs to show that consistently game-by-game.

He's definitely someone I can see the organization looking to upgrade, however, if he doesn't completely nail down the RT spot. Gase seems to prefer physical players so I'm not sure James is the long-term guy there.
 
Well hopefully we finally get a decent Oline coach for once. This bit of needing to use first round draft picks on offensive linemen because we can't coach the position has gotten old. I believe James played well his rookie year then regressed so the talent is there. I believe he will be fine as he was improving at the end of last year.
 
I actually disagree with you. I was at the 49ers game last season when we had to run the with Sam Young (Not Baker) at LT. Granted SF was not leathel up front, but Young easily held his own and moved extremely well in Pass Pro and in space. I feel he is a perfect swing T for this upcoming season and has only improved since his arrival.

Hopefully we won't have to find out. At least not at LT. As I said, I believe he is ok for short periods and he was for one game. "Perfect swing tackle" may be overstating it from my perspective. 49ers have no edge rushers that even approach elite level. Buckner (34DE) tied Brooks (OLB) in sacks to lead the team with 6 each. They were also a terrible run defense that finished even worse (ranked 32nd) than the Dolphins. Ajayi only ran for 45 yards that day. I would not want to see him matched up against Melvin Ingram, Von Miller, Khalil Mack or Vic Beasley this year.
 
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