Gentlemen:
Living in South Florida, I have been able to piece together what appears to be a logical explanation of how our offensive line evolved over the last several months. I have listened to many media reporters and talked with a lot of fans that were at the Draft Party at Pro Player to get their input.
Obviously, I have no inside information, but knowing Spielman as we do and putting together the thoughts of many people who observe the Dolphins, I think the following explanation makes the most sense.
Coming out of last season, Spielman observed that Wade Smith and Seth McKinney were the only reliable linemen we have. Spielman is very high on Smith and believes he will be a great player. Many thought he was down on McKinney, because Seth had some trouble with line calls, but that is not exactly accurate. Wanny and Fiedler were comfortable enough with Ruddy and the guard play was so awful last year that they seriously considered McKinney to start at the guard position.
Wannstedt was totally caught with his pants down last year. He really believed Dixon would tough it out for 1 more year, and he didn't think Nails, Ruddy, and Perry would suck so badly. It became apparent early on (which is why Norv was so frustrated and dumbed down the playbook) that the line was going to be a mess all year. The hope was to run Ricky run, keep the turnovers down, and win with defense. We all know what happened. It made no sense to throw McKinney into that fire last year. It made more sense to target him as Ruddy's replacement so; in effect, Ruddy was McKinney's mentor.
With McKinney and Smith as his only starters, Rick went after Tait and Woody, but had no problem signing Jeno when he became available. Believe me, Rick does not regret missing on those guys. They were way overpaid. Nor does he regret losing mediocre Todd Wade, who was also way overpaid.
This brings us to the draft. Rick originally wanted Gallery and was willing to trade to get him, but it became apparent that Gallery was out of our reach (didn't Norv draft Gallery?). He then targeted Andrews, but due to questions and Andrews rising, he set his sights on Carey. He always saw this as a 3-tackle draft and had to come away with one of them. That's why he did what he had to get Carey.
McIntosh was never the first choice as the starting right tackle. He was signed for cover during the draft (nobody bought it though) and to be a swing tackle for us. He provides excellent depth at both right and left tackle. Smith and Carey are clearly the front runners and McIntosh was viewed as depth all along.
Rick is still basically looking for a starting right guard and a 3rd wide receiver. If the guys we have now don't step up, then we will be looking at the June 1 cuts.
So the line has evolved from the mess it was last year to the following:
Wade Smith - LT
Jeno James - LG
Seth McKinney - C
Whitley, Jerman, Pape, ????? - RG
Vernon Carey - RT
Backups
Damion McIntosh - RT and LT (contingent upon his health)
John St. Clair - C (will cover for McIntosh until he is healthy)
Whitley, Jerman, or Pape - G
Practice Squad
Rex Hadnot - C
Billy Yates - G, C
As I said, there will be some camp battles on the offensive line and with the receivers to determine who fills the 3rd receiver and RG spot, but I think when the season starts the line will look very close to the lineup you see above.
Living in South Florida, I have been able to piece together what appears to be a logical explanation of how our offensive line evolved over the last several months. I have listened to many media reporters and talked with a lot of fans that were at the Draft Party at Pro Player to get their input.
Obviously, I have no inside information, but knowing Spielman as we do and putting together the thoughts of many people who observe the Dolphins, I think the following explanation makes the most sense.
Coming out of last season, Spielman observed that Wade Smith and Seth McKinney were the only reliable linemen we have. Spielman is very high on Smith and believes he will be a great player. Many thought he was down on McKinney, because Seth had some trouble with line calls, but that is not exactly accurate. Wanny and Fiedler were comfortable enough with Ruddy and the guard play was so awful last year that they seriously considered McKinney to start at the guard position.
Wannstedt was totally caught with his pants down last year. He really believed Dixon would tough it out for 1 more year, and he didn't think Nails, Ruddy, and Perry would suck so badly. It became apparent early on (which is why Norv was so frustrated and dumbed down the playbook) that the line was going to be a mess all year. The hope was to run Ricky run, keep the turnovers down, and win with defense. We all know what happened. It made no sense to throw McKinney into that fire last year. It made more sense to target him as Ruddy's replacement so; in effect, Ruddy was McKinney's mentor.
With McKinney and Smith as his only starters, Rick went after Tait and Woody, but had no problem signing Jeno when he became available. Believe me, Rick does not regret missing on those guys. They were way overpaid. Nor does he regret losing mediocre Todd Wade, who was also way overpaid.
This brings us to the draft. Rick originally wanted Gallery and was willing to trade to get him, but it became apparent that Gallery was out of our reach (didn't Norv draft Gallery?). He then targeted Andrews, but due to questions and Andrews rising, he set his sights on Carey. He always saw this as a 3-tackle draft and had to come away with one of them. That's why he did what he had to get Carey.
McIntosh was never the first choice as the starting right tackle. He was signed for cover during the draft (nobody bought it though) and to be a swing tackle for us. He provides excellent depth at both right and left tackle. Smith and Carey are clearly the front runners and McIntosh was viewed as depth all along.
Rick is still basically looking for a starting right guard and a 3rd wide receiver. If the guys we have now don't step up, then we will be looking at the June 1 cuts.
So the line has evolved from the mess it was last year to the following:
Wade Smith - LT
Jeno James - LG
Seth McKinney - C
Whitley, Jerman, Pape, ????? - RG
Vernon Carey - RT
Backups
Damion McIntosh - RT and LT (contingent upon his health)
John St. Clair - C (will cover for McIntosh until he is healthy)
Whitley, Jerman, or Pape - G
Practice Squad
Rex Hadnot - C
Billy Yates - G, C
As I said, there will be some camp battles on the offensive line and with the receivers to determine who fills the 3rd receiver and RG spot, but I think when the season starts the line will look very close to the lineup you see above.
