7/29 - Camp Tweets | Page 3 | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

7/29 - Camp Tweets

J. David Wannyheimer said:
I'm still not completely sold on Lazor but it's hard not to be optimistic right now. He's worked with a number of interesting coaches and he genuinely seems to have picked up things from all of them.

The fact that he's trying to run practices a bit like Chip Kelly is very interesting.
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I agree
 
Outside of the bad snaps, does anyone have any update on how Smith looks in his blocking? I haven't seen anything about him getting beat so I am assuming his blocking has been alright but don't really know. Any insight from someone who has more information on this?
 
Guys, on the Shelley Smith thing, there are a few points you might want to consider in your analysis that aren't being mentioned.

1. At C he will be combo blocking a lot in pass pro, which minimizes his exposure on pass plays.

2. His mobility is a plus at that position because this flavor of the ZBS actually pulls the C a fair amount and that Smith's strength.

3. Pouncey is extended but there are a lot of questions surrounding him at the moment. Will Pouncey come back thus year? When? Does he have any long term injury issues? What about implications from the JMart fiasco? Is Ross convinced he wants Pouncey long term? Are we financially committed to winning a bidding war if it happens once he hits free agency?

4. Smith has positional flexibility if he can handle C, but Larsen probably doesn't.
 
I don't know whether to be refreshed or really frightened by Benton's honesty.
 
i think i'm with armando its time to sign satele as insurance...i'd end the shelley smith center experimant let him compete for one of the 2 guard slots with d thomas b turner colledge and make garner the starting center til pouncey comes back or at least let him compete with larsen if brenner is down for the count...and i'd sign satele as insurance

i dont know how many tds tannehill threew today but i do know that he had 3 dropped on him...hazel damian williams and stephen williams...i'd like to see his reps step up with the 1's more wr wise...

another 11 on 11 session another 2 sacks in four plays performance with the 1's...not good

finally a dion jordan sighting as a pass rusher 2 sacks in final 2 vs 2 11 on 11...too bad i cant take anything from it as he was facing camp fodder...
 
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Digital said:
Guys, on the Shelley Smith thing, there are a few points you might want to consider in your analysis that aren't being mentioned.

1. At C he will be combo blocking a lot in pass pro, which minimizes his exposure on pass plays.

2. His mobility is a plus at that position because this flavor of the ZBS actually pulls the C a fair amount and that Smith's strength.

3. Pouncey is extended but there are a lot of questions surrounding him at the moment. Will Pouncey come back thus year? When? Does he have any long term injury issues? What about implications from the JMart fiasco? Is Ross convinced he wants Pouncey long term? Are we financially committed to winning a bidding war if it happens once he hits free agency?

4. Smith has positional flexibility if he can handle C, but Larsen probably doesn't.
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I appreciate the constructed response with supporting evidence.

I realize we don't always get an insight into the logic and reasons used to solve problems on the team. When people on the board can offer these insights, I appreciate their contributions and education.

I'm sure most of us realize the G/C positions have shown to be interchangeable, to a degree, moreso than any other positions on the OL. I know we've all seen G/C designations on players and known we have players who play both positions. But seeing an actual football positional analysis and breakdown really helps sort out those loose ends for those of us not fortunate enough to have experienced the game of football more than the average fan or experienced education about the technical breakdown of plays and positions.

I believe there are some innovations happening in the media to help fans understand the game better. Such as the pictorial play analysis done by some columnists. But it is overlooked form of fan education that helps slow the alcoholism.

When I read an article that broke down Philbin's philosophy on WRs (illustrating the trading of Bess and acquisition of Gibson) it really helped change my understanding of why Philbin does certain things.

I think most of us agree Pouncey's tenure with the Dolphins, even pre-injury, was questionable. Eluding to the fact this positional need was hopefully addressed in the offseason by a forward thinking GM and HC. Maybe the Smith signing was two pronged to bring in starting competition at RG and a utility G/C for Pouncey insurance.

I think most of my opinion in the Smith matter is more about Larsen's lack of usage in the 1's or 2's at this point. I will be very interested to see how Brenner's injury (short term or long term) creates an opportunity for Larsen to at least get exposure on the 2's at some point.


Thanks again for the insight.
 
Digital said:
Guys, on the Shelley Smith thing, there are a few points you might want to consider in your analysis that aren't being mentioned.

1. At C he will be combo blocking a lot in pass pro, which minimizes his exposure on pass plays.

2. His mobility is a plus at that position because this flavor of the ZBS actually pulls the C a fair amount and that Smith's strength.

3. Pouncey is extended but there are a lot of questions surrounding him at the moment. Will Pouncey come back thus year? When? Does he have any long term injury issues? What about implications from the JMart fiasco? Is Ross convinced he wants Pouncey long term? Are we financially committed to winning a bidding war if it happens once he hits free agency?

4. Smith has positional flexibility if he can handle C, but Larsen probably doesn't.
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The biggest issue is the snaps. If anyone recalls, Pouncey struggled early in camp his rookie season but straightened it out. Smith may very well do the same but it doesn't hurt to explore other options.

No question he is a much better fit for the ZBS but I'd rather let the kid learn his position then try and flip him to center.
 
phinfan40353 said:
I am completely aware of his positional signing. The fact he was moved to C, a position he has NEVER played, over Brenner and Larsen tells me 2 things:

1) He's not the best RG on the team (the position he was signed to occupy)
2) They have decided to completely limit the OL and Offense's development to accommodate teaching him C while ignoring 2 C's on the roster. One of whom performed admirably in spot duties last year.

We have a new offense and (now) 5 new OL. This is the MOST inappropriate time to be hindering the development of 10 other starters on offense in order to accommodate an experiment with no merits or supporting evidence to warrant the decision.

Using this philosophy, we should be completely open to experimenting with Egnew at LT with the 1's because he MAY be able to play the position based on the fact he has lined up on the LOS at some point in his career NEAR a T.

We have C's who are strong at snapping and have extensive experience playing the position. If for no other reason, Larsen should have been getting snaps with the 1's while Smith works on his snapping with the 3's or a position coach. It would allow us to get a peak at the rest of Larsen's game while getting the absolutely needed reps for the other 10 starters on the offense.

Again, this reeks of a team trying to justify a salary and bad move in FA. Instead of letting Smith battle it out for a G position, we are now allowing another position to be impacted by this bad decision.

Even if Larsen just snapped the ball and stood still, it would be better for the other 10 guys on the offense than this disaster. No snap = No play.
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IMO, moving him to Center, was a perhaps misguided attempt to get the 5 best healthy OL on the field together. We'll have to wait and see if his snaps improve, or if they don't and he gets moved back to guard.
 
rent this space said:
I was not a fan of Satele when he was here before, but Armando does have a point about the clean snaps and line calls
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When Satele was here before, in his last season of 2008, he gutted it out all season with injuries to both shoulders. If someone were to use his initial tenure in Miami as the basis to form an opinion on Satele, IMO, it would be an inaccurate one. As a rookie, on the 2007 1-15 team, that would also not be a fair basis to on which to judge Satele. That team was pretty bad and he was a rookie with poor guards on each side of him. However if one also watched him a lot in Oakland and Indy, and still are not a fan of his, then so be it.
 
phinfan40353 said:
Amen to that. Been raising this point myself. Larsen has been a C his whole career.

I understand the coaches like Smith as an experiment. But at some point you have to realize that a "bad snap" problem is not the part of his game you want him to be learning on the job. Every time we have a bad snap in practice, 10 other guys have not learned anything from that play.

I do not for the life of me understand why we are letting an experiment and learning process, at such a fundamental level, stop our 1st team offense from practicing.

If Smith cannot snap the ball, PUT HIM ON 3rd String until he learns how. You do not let your 1st Offense stand around waiting on one guy. Especially when you are installing a new offense. This is unacceptable.

I don't care about Larsen's deficiencies. Give this kid a chance to prove what he can do OR CUT HIM. Stop wasting resources on players that are not up to the task.

This reeks of a team who over paid on a player (Smith) and are trying to validate his salary by trying to find a position for him on the starting unit. If Smith cannot crack the starting OL, there are other guys needing a chance. Let's find out where the real talent is on this roster and stop being stubborn about cost/benefit and salary analysis.

3rd String is for development. So put Shelley Smith's Center career there. There are 10 other guys on the 1st String Offense that need to be practicing.
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I don't like it when things get over-dramatised on here, but in the case of this post, I don't think you're over-dramatising at all. Its a very fair point that Shelley could be getting his snaps down on the 2nd team line so as not to hold up the progress of this very new line. So far the high snaps haven't been so regular that its a serious problem, but the CBA has severely limited practice snaps and each one is pretty precious for the offense.
 
MadDog 88 said:
The Smith experiment is the proverbial square peg in a round hole. They have Garner that has experience and as Armando points out, Satele could be brought in and evaluated. Obviously the coaching staff sees something I don't but with the issues that Smith is having I can't help but hope Philbin doesn't force this to work.
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Agreed. Let Garner handle it, he did okay when Pouncey was out. Or sign Satele, he knows how to snap and could be a viable back up for the future... Bad snaps cannot keep happening especially during games
 
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