Dolphins could turn out OK at center | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

Dolphins could turn out OK at center

DKphin

DKphin

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DAVIE – The Dolphins’ problem at center might not be as dire it seems right now. Or it might be as dire as it seems. We’ll be better informed after we see Nate Garner spend more time at the position in today’s scrimmage at Sun Life Stadium, and when Sam Brenner comes back from his ankle injury. I think the Dolphins will be OK at center.
The biggest problem in the wake of Mike Pouncey’s hip surgery has been the quarterback-center exchange. There were at least five bad exchanges or bad snaps in the shotgun formation on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
“It’s definitely a concern,” coach Joe Philbin said Tuesday, “but I’m also confident that we will clean it up and we’ll get it addressed. But it is definitely a concern.”
Most likely Garner, who has started at every position on the offensive line for the Dolphins in his six seasons with the team, will settle down and be OK at center. Perhaps not good, but OK.
“I believe those guys stayed out after practice again,” Philbin said Thursday. “We devote a portion of our walkthrough to just quarterback-center exchange. It’s the first thing we do on the field. But we have to get it corrected. I can stand up here and talk about it, but you have the same set of eyes I do. We still see the ball on the ground too much.”
Aside from a couple of high-profile bad snaps, Garner has seemed to do a reasonable job at center.

He appears to make the right blocking calls for the rest of the offensive line, and he seems to do a reasonable job blocking the grown-man defensive tackle trio of Randy Starks, Jared Odrick and Earl Mitchell.
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http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/...k-at-center-20140801,0,627271.story?track=rss
 
Let's hope so.. I'm gonna stay confident, because it's all we CAN do!
 
Nate Garner can do the job. However, my issue with him is can he stay in one piece for perhaps 7 games? I am not so sure.

He was the only credible in house candidate in my opinion from the get go. I am a huge Garner supporter for the last few years. I am just not sure he can stay healthy for that long.
 
That is why I would bring in another vet to compete and perhaps take the gig full time. I just worry about Garner's health.
 
The dolphins can be ok at center but our biggest problem is the qb-center exchange..
 
russianbear said:
The dolphins can be ok at center but our biggest problem is the qb-center exchange..
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Well at least they had one practice (yesterday) where it wasn't an issue... Need to see the same throughout the scrimmage...hopefully we can stop having that conversation.
 
Nate Garner has always given this team quality starts at the C and G positions. He has struggled as a fill in T.
He could probably start at C for many teams in the league.
There are only a handful of upper echelon C's in the league as it is.
 
jlfin said:
Nate Garner has always given this team quality starts at the C and G positions. He has struggled as a fill in T.
He could probably start at C for many teams in the league.
There are only a handful of upper echelon C's in the league as it is.
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And for as much hype and appreciation we have for Pouncey, he only graded out average overall last year (14th). Not a knock on him, 14th as light years better than anybody else on that line did. Wish he was in there.
 
Garner is a pretty good center. Frankly I would prefer him starting over Brenner in game 1. Wilfork is a load and Brenner will tossed aside like a doll. I have more faith in Garner because he is the bigger man and he will battle on more equal terms with wilfork.
Going forward, an injury to Garner could be really catastrophic. I am hoping we bring in Satele or another veteran in the near future so that back up can get the exchange with RT smoothed out.
 
LANGER72 said:
Garner is a pretty good center. Frankly I would prefer him starting over Brenner in game 1. Wilfork is a load and Brenner will tossed aside like a doll. I have more faith in Garner because he is the bigger man and he will battle on more equal terms with wilfork.
Going forward, an injury to Garner could be really catastrophic. I am hoping we bring in Satele or another veteran in the near future so that back up can get the exchange with RT smoothed out.
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I wonder if the Satele workout went so badly that they are willing to wait for the scrap heap after pre season cuts. Maybe there's a backup in a competition on another team that our FO has its eye on. Things could still go well here. We did pluck Chad Pennington off of that heap in 2008.
 
Tyler Larsen must be Jeff Ireland's half brother. I've heard his name the least in camp at a position we have the most need.

Maybe he's just being brought along slower and groomed for something long term. Or maybe he just plain sucks. I just find it hard to believe he was graded out as the 2nd best C in the draft by several talking heads and he hasn't been mentioned on a team with an obvious need at C.

I'm beginning to warm up to Garner at C. He may be our unappreciated Swiss Army Knife, but after letting Hayden and jlfin's comments soak in for a minute... I'm realizing that Garner has done more for us than most would give him credit.

There is a value for a guy who may never be considered elite, but also never gets mentioned for being a weak spot on the OL. And it does seem whenever we have a hole to plug on the OL, Garner is always right there to fix the leak. If the coaches have the utmost faith in his abilities, I guess we should follow suit.

He has solidified the C position and calmed the disruptions in practice. I have noticed we don't hear "botched snap" being uttered when he is at C with the 1s.

Garner deserves some love.
 
ok at center, with guys who've never played center. anyone believing that is having 'Jack & crack' for breakfast. this ain't Little League football..
 
phinfan40353 said:
Tyler Larsen must be Jeff Ireland's half brother. I've heard his name the least in camp at a position we have the most need.

Maybe he's just being brought along slower and groomed for something long term. Or maybe he just plain sucks. I just find it hard to believe he was graded out as the 2nd best C in the draft by several talking heads and he hasn't been mentioned on a team with an obvious need at C.

I'm beginning to warm up to Garner at C. He may be our unappreciated Swiss Army Knife, but after letting Hayden and jlfin's comments soak in for a minute... I'm realizing that Garner has done more for us than most would give him credit.

There is a value for a guy who may never be considered elite, but also never gets mentioned for being a weak spot on the OL. And it does seem whenever we have a hole to plug on the OL, Garner is always right there to fix the leak. If the coaches have the utmost faith in his abilities, I guess we should follow suit.

He has solidified the C position and calmed the disruptions in practice. I have noticed we don't hear "botched snap" being uttered when he is at C with the 1s.

Garner deserves some love.
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Larsen may be on the long term plan. I think he makes the team, or gets stashed on the practice squad. The staff may not want him visible during the preseason so he will be poached.
It also could mean that he has some difficulty with line calls, or he may have some type of injury, illness that is not reported.
Guys like Brenner and garner are way ahead of him.
If Benton thinks he could be a player long term, he will be on the team, no question. He not might be ready at this time.
 
Dolphin North said:
I wonder if the Satele workout went so badly that they are willing to wait for the scrap heap after pre season cuts. Maybe there's a backup in a competition on another team that our FO has its eye on. Things could still go well here. We did pluck Chad Pennington off of that heap in 2008.
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From what I remember of Satele, he could not handle Wilfork and the larger NT's in our division. Unless he has gotten stronger, that remains a problem.
He also may not be the player he was 2 years ago. He seemed to play well for the colts for a couple of seasons.
 
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