I had hope at the end of the season presser when Grier said we know we have to invest in the offensive line, we’ve learned our lesson etc, then in true Dolphins fashion only address part of the issue with the offensive line meaning by signing Daniels and drafting Jonah we addressed the starting line but we didn’t do nearly enough to address the depth. We are relying on 3 huge unknowns in basically 2 rookies with Paul and Savaii and Daniels coming off his Achilles injury, so we needed quality depth and our answer was Eich and Borom ?
Eich I even understand a bit, he had games last year where he wasn’t completely horrible, he’s cheap, he knows the system and he’s has multi positional versatility so I get him in the 7th/8th OL role…but Borom??!!! This guy was one of the worst tackles by any measure in the NFL, and the game they referenced of him at guard bs Buffalo he was actually even worse rated than he was at tackle, but after watching that take our team decides he’s a good option? There were 2 better options from his own oline that signed for a similar amount, plus Mbow was there for the taking in the 5th for quality depth this year.
That’s my other concern with McDaniel, his lack of emphasis on the oline and thinking he can scheme around having average players, hopefully he’s teamed his lesson watching the past couple o unfold, because he was pushing Grier to invest in the skill position players and trusting him scheme to overcome the investment in the offensive line. That doesn’t work, you need quality starters and depth you can rely on scheming around the better players and defenses will find a way to overcome it, and then talent always wins out in the end.
Reminds me of when Gase was here he went out with Andrew Abramson who used to be a local beat reporter and told him after a few beers that his scheme was so good he could bring in guys off the street and have a good oline. McDaniel seems much more humble and willing to learn than that pompous asshole but time will tell if he’s learned to really prioritize the OL and not rely on outsmarting everyone all the time.