Adam Gase’s Twelve Steps to Rehabilitating the Dolphins: Step 4

[DKphin]

Gase has done everything in his power to remake the offensive line well in advance of the 2016 season. To understand why the rookie head coach is engineering such a drastic makeover, we must first review just how poorly the offensive line performed during the Joe Philbin era, as well as the negative effects those failures had on the development of quarterback Ryan Tannehill.
Tannehill took a lot of hits during his 2012 rookie campaign. So many, in fact, that by 2013, it was clear that the young QB was developing a split personality of sorts, depending on whether or not his pocket collapsed. When not pressured, the former Texas A&M standout was ranked 8[SUP]th[/SUP] best in the league that second season, compiling 19 touchdowns to only 7 interceptions, and a quarterback rating of 94.2. However, severe inconsistencies arose when his protection broke down. On those occasions, and there were far too many of them for the team to be successful, he dropped to 18[SUP]th[/SUP] in the league, tossing just 5 TDs to 10 INTs. Worse still, his completion percentage fell to 44.2, earning him a dismal 46.3 quarterback rating.
Things were so bad that by season’s end Tannehill had been sacked a league-leading 58 times. Unfortunately for him, things haven’t improved much since then. As a result, he has been sacked a staggering 184 times during his first 64 games in the league, and the Dolphins have become fixtures in the middle of the pack.

	2012	2013	2014	2015
MIA Sacks Allowed	35	58	46	45

To their credit, Miami’s front office has tried to fix the problem. Over the years, they have drafted linemen Dallas Thomas, Billy Turner, Ja’Wuan James and Jamil Douglas, but only James has lived up to the team’s immediate expectations. Yet, even he ran into trouble in 2014, when an injury to Branden Albert forced the rookie to move from right tackle to left tackle, where, out of his comfort zone, he faced some of the fiercest pass rushers in the league.
Even so, James’ troubles paled in comparison to the nightmare Dallas Thomas endured when he was subsequently shifted from guard to right tackle. In five starts at that position, Thomas’ already poor season turned abysmal as he allowed 7 sacks, 5 hits and 14 hurries. Worse still, the beleaguered guard’s downward slide continued in 2015, when he was graded as the worst guard in the league by Pro Football Focus (PFF) after allowing 10 sacks and 36 QB hurries.
That isn’t to say that the line’s issues have been limited to pass blocking alone. As the chart below clearly indicates, run blocking was equally problematic during the Philbin era, if not worse.

PFF Rank	2012	2013	2014	2015
Overall	23[SUP]rd[/SUP]	21[SUP]st[/SUP]	32[SUP]nd[/SUP]	31[SUP]st[/SUP]
Pass Blocking	22[SUP]nd[/SUP]	14[SUP]th[/SUP]	32[SUP]nd[/SUP]	29[SUP]th[/SUP]
Run Blocking	20[SUP]th[/SUP]	28[SUP]th[/SUP]	31[SUP]st[/SUP]	32[SUP]nd[/SUP]

Fortunately for the Dolphins, Gase’s keen football eye may finally change their fortunes. After all, it didn’t take him long to spot the unit’s inherent weakness…..literally. Almost immediately upon arriving in South Florida, he insisted upon a more stringent strengthening program for the offensive line.

Pouncey has missed 8 games over the last three seasons, including the last two contests of 2015 due to a foot injury suffered against the San Diego Chargers in week fifteen. Albert hasn’t played a full season since 2011, and has missed 9 games since coming to Miami in 2014. While James, who is just 24-years old, missed 9 games last season alone due to a toe injury. Even so, according to Alain Poupart, of the team’s official website, the Dolphins offensive linemen are confident they can turn things around in 2016.

“Once we all stay healthy, we stay cohesive, and we find the right five, I believe we could be a heck of an offensive line.”
Albert and Pouncey have reason to feel optimistic, particularly if they, and James, can actually manage to stay healthy. Miami is 6-1 when the trio have taken the field together, and in those games, Tannehill has completed 70% of his passes, managed a 15 to 5 touchdown to interception ratio, and registered a 101 QB rating.
Impressive as those numbers seem, Gase knows better than to make the same mistake as his predecessor. Namely, relying on the far-fetched hope that his starters will stay healthy all season. So, with that in mind, the Dolphins signed free agent Jermon Bushrod. Bushrod, a former two-time Pro Bowler with the New Orleans Saints, began last season at left tackle for the Chicago Bears under Gase’s tutelage, but ironically, the 6’4”, 315lb lineman lost his starting job due to injury. Nevertheless, it was the versatility he showed upon returning to the Bears that caught Gase’s eye.
“The good thing with me being with Bushrod last year was I saw a guy that played five spots in practice,” recounted Gase. Here’s a guy that we can add to our team (who) gives us some flexibility, gives us some depth at a lot of different spots.”

The 31-year old’s willingness to learn new positions fits in perfectly with the mindset Gase wants to instill upon his entire line from the onset.

“When you go into a game and you have seven guys active, you better have a whole bunch of guys that know how to play a lot of different positions,” Gase recently explained, according to ESPN’s James Walker. “If you’re going to do it, this is the time to do it.”​

The other guard spot will, in all likelihood, be manned by first round draft choice, Laremy Tunsil. Tunsil’s fall from the top five on draft night due to the release of a video showing him smoking pot has been well documented, but Gase and company bucked the trend and took a chance on the 6’5”, 310lb lineman, unable to ignore his supreme talent. As a result, many analysts believe Miami got away with the steal of the draft.

Now, the Dolphins’ coaching staff is working hard to indoctrinate the 21-year old into their flexible offensive scheme. Thus far this offseason, Tunsil has played both left guard and left tackle, providing him an opportunity to learn from Albert. And while he has performed well, Gase is far from satisfied.

Even with the addition of a prized rookie like Tunsil, proven veterans Bushrod and Urbik, and a strengthening program intended to maximize the talent already on the roster, Gase remains unsatisfied. He knows the Dolphins’ offensive line has a lot of work ahead of them before they can adequately protect Tannehill, or open holes for running back Jay Ajayi. Nevertheless, the mere fact that the rookie coach is talking to his newest players about the playoff experience reveals an underlying confidence in just how far this new, stronger and more versatile line may yet carry this team.

http://phinphanatic.com/2016/07/24/adam-gases-twelve-steps-rehabilitating-dolphins-step-4/

 

[ChrisTRD]

It makes sense, a good OL will always help the QB. I want to see how good Ryan can be with a good OL.

 

[39wildman]

some of them sack are on thill17 too. he hold ball to long. does not see blist coming. it doesn't matter you only got about 3 sec to get ball out. these DE are fast now. for example Wilson, buy time in pocket, thill17 don't buy time in pocket, so it lead to sack. that why we have lots of short pass. 2012,13,14 as bad as our ol may have look we still had chance made playoff. our offensive has problem again some defense not all defensive just good one. so this ranking is kind of bs and it don't tell real story of line.

 

[crashfan]

The o-line is crucial if they can get their act together. It will open up run lanes for Foster and Ajayi and protect for the pass for wrs, which is a strength on this team. Just as important is it will keep the defense off the field and fresh. Hopefully, this new o-line coach can turn them around.

 

[russianbear]

some of them sack are on thill17 too. he hold ball to long. does not see blist coming. it doesn't matter you only got about 3 sec to get ball out. these DE are fast now. for example Wilson, buy time in pocket, thill17 don't buy time in pocket, so it lead to sack. that why we have lots of short pass.

All that buying time gets Wilson sacked at a higher rate than Tannehill

 

[lurking]

some of them sack are on thill17 too. he hold ball to long. does not see blist coming. it doesn't matter you only got about 3 sec to get ball out. these DE are fast now. for example Wilson, buy time in pocket, thill17 don't buy time in pocket, so it lead to sack. that why we have lots of short pass. 2012,13,14 as bad as our ol may have look we still had chance made playoff. our offensive has problem again some defense not all defensive just good one. so this ranking is kind of bs and it don't tell real story of line.

Don't just utter it, prove it....

 

[KTDolphins]

Far as I can tell, Thomas is still on the team so he can't be doing much. He's had a whole offseason to watch film, but Thomas is somehow still here. I don't know if this indicative of his willingness to forgive or idiocy. I guess time will tell.

 

[tazthenomad]

some of them sack are on thill17 too. he hold ball to long. does not see blist coming. it doesn't matter you only got about 3 sec to get ball out. these DE are fast now. for example Wilson, buy time in pocket, thill17 don't buy time in pocket, so it lead to sack. that why we have lots of short pass. 2012,13,14 as bad as our ol may have look we still had chance made playoff. our offensive has problem again some defense not all defensive just good one. so this ranking is kind of bs and it don't tell real story of line.

You are entitled to your opinion of course but it would be more compelling if the line didn't also do so poorly with the run as well.

 

[russianbear]

You are entitled to your opinion of course but it would be more compelling if the line didn't also do so poorly with the run as well.

his opinion is often wrong, which is why he just edited his post...

 

[crashfan]

some of them sack are on thill17 too. he hold ball to long. does not see blist coming. it doesn't matter you only got about 3 sec to get ball out. these DE are fast now. for example Wilson, buy time in pocket, thill17 don't buy time in pocket, so it lead to sack. that why we have lots of short pass. 2012,13,14 as bad as our ol may have look we still had chance made playoff. our offensive has problem again some defense not all defensive just good one. so this ranking is kind of bs and it don't tell real story of line.

Your not the first to make that claim on this site. It would be interesting to know how many sacks he has taken due to his judgement.

 

[The Finster]

Your not the first to make that claim on this site. It would be interesting to know how many sacks he has taken due to his judgement.

That would be a nice stat to have, but he definitely does have trouble seeing the rush, his peripheral vision isn't the greatest.

 

[FinfanInBuffalo]

That would be a nice stat to have, but he definitely does have trouble seeing the rush, his peripheral vision isn't the greatest.

You've tested him, Dr.?

 

[BlueFin]

some of them sack are on thill17 too. he hold ball to long. does not see blist coming. it doesn't matter you only got about 3 sec to get ball out. these DE are fast now. for example Wilson, buy time in pocket, thill17 don't buy time in pocket, so it lead to sack. that why we have lots of short pass. 2012,13,14 as bad as our ol may have look we still had chance made playoff. our offensive has problem again some defense not all defensive just good one. so this ranking is kind of bs and it don't tell real story of line.

Sorry...but you are watching a different team if your ignoring the glaring holes that have led to the most sacked QB of the last four years.

Think what you want of Tannehill...we will find out I suspect this year...with what appears to be a solid line, for the first time since he's been here.

Totally lame to suggest this line has not been a major problem.

 

[EvilDylan]

39 will never ever support his argument with any sort of facts. He's a one thought and gone poster. All his posts have the same theme, Tannehill is the problem.

At least finster attempts to support his arguments.

 

[Krush]

Sacks comes from coverage downfield which causes Tannehill to to hold the ball, the right and left guards can't block grandma and his inability to change the play, now all Qb's hold the ball too long in hoping a bad play can become a good play(Ben Rothlisberger ) does it all the time. Those O-linemans were sorry and has been for 4 years straight, I think 97% it's the lines fault for lack of blocking.