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Dolphins' New OLine

I have not read every post here so this question may have already been answered.
If you want Hunt to be a RT, is it better to play him there from day one (even if he is not the best RT at this time)? Or can playing RG for a year help him learn RT?
 
Digital said:
In the end I actually agree with SI's rankings ... the Dolphins "new" OL is the worst in the division. I have long-term hope for Austin Jackson .. he has the tools and seems like his head is screwed on right. But, he's very young and coming off an arduous recovery from donating bone marrow to his sister ... and he was soft and undersized for the position coming into the draft. So, he'll need to mature, work on his technique, and add at least 20 lbs. of muscle while doing it. IMHO, too much to ask the kid to step up and start at LT this season. I'm seeing him as a year 2 starter, and if he make enough strides by midseason, he could compete if there are injuries ... and there always are.

I'm not high on Robert Hunt, and that's well documented. Kid can run block, but I have serious reservations about his pass protection. Like SI, I don't see him as an OT, I see him as an OG on the front side (Tua's LG or Fitzmagic's RG), because he'll probably get a QB killed as a rookie. I wouldn't discount Solomon Kindley at that last spot, nor would I discount the sophomore Michael Dieter. Agree with the veterans, Jesse Davis is solid at one tackle (LT which will eventually be Tua's front side would be my bet). You paid starter money to Ereck Flowers to be an OG, so let him hold down one of those positions and don't ask him to be an OT, because he's horrible at it. Ted Karras was paid backup money, but I think the original plan was to start him this year and segue him into a backup interior OL role after we blood the new OC. Unfortunately, we missed out on drafting one (why we let Biadasz slide is beyond me), so we may be looking to groom MIchael Dieter for that position.

But, all in all, this OL is young and primarily run blockers in a pass-protection league. I'm worried. Considering we had more draft capital than ever in our entire NFL history ... it's disappointing we didn't get some pass protectors to protect our valuable rookie QB with injury concerns. We'll see how this does.
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Disagree on Jackson, just let him play and live with the youth, he’s very talented, and I love his aggressive nature and he’s already a good run blocker, agree on Hunt, Don’t see the hype, agree on Kindley, watch out for that guy.
 
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Jssanto said:
I have not read every post here so this question may have already been answered.
If you want Hunt to be a RT, is it better to play him there from day one (even if he is not the best RT at this time)? Or can playing RG for a year help him learn RT?
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Probably too many variables to conclusively answer.

Is it a matter of footwork? Hand technique? Strength? Non hesitation in pass pro responsibilities?

Are the coaches more concerned with his development as an individual, or putting the best "unit" on the field, irrespective of position?

Any combination of these things could affect that decision. Perhaps he starts out at guard, and moves outside during the season (i don't like that approach).

I think they would prefer he plays tackle day one, but it may not be best for the team.
 
Last year we had an OL coach who didnt want to start the rookies... Flores fired him... and we started the rookies.

Hunt, Jackson, and Kindley will get the benefit of doubt here...

If they are almost as good as the vets... they'll start.
 
OmegaPhinsFan said:
Ok so what happens when And if Tua plays? Is there a switch? Im not sure if Jesse Davis needs to be on Tua’s blindside
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According to some people before the draft all we needed was to draft Tua and some people wanted to trade 3 or 4 1st round picks for him cause he was all we needed so according to those people it doesn't really matter what the OL looks like.....lol
 
Danny said:
According to some people before the draft all we needed was to draft Tua and some people wanted to trade 3 or 4 1st round picks for him cause he was all we needed so according to those people it doesn't really matter what the OL looks like.....lol
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...and I sorrowfully laughed every single time they said this.

(Sigh)
 
djphinfan said:
Disagree on Jackson, just let him play and live with the youth, he’s very talented, and I love his aggressive nature and he’s already a good run blocker, agree on Hunt, Don’t see the hype, agree on Kindley, watch out for that guy.
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I'm certainly open to both of them winning the jobs. I'd love to put Jackson in there and learn on the job ... but only if Fitzpatrick is the QB. I'm not taking that risk with Tua while Jackson learns the ropes. I'm curious where we line up Jesse Davis. If he's our LT, then that means we're prepping the OL for Tua in 2021. If he's the RT, then that means we're expecting Tua to play significant minutes in 2020. While I'm hopeful for Jackson ... IMHO, he's got a lot of ground to cover before he can be NFL ready, so I'm not banking on him until 2021.
 
In recent years it seems as though we have been absolutely decimated by injuries on the o-line. This is true under both Philbin and Gase. I wonder if this finesse style of play on the o-line leads to more injuries than the physical attack style. I doubt that studies have been done on that but it stands to reason that if you're attacking you have less chance of being rolled up on or whatever than the passive styles of some previous regimes. Now we have Coach Flo and we love the guy, I know I do. He bringing back all the good stuff that a team requires. He is both old school and at the same time a very forward thinking sophisticated man. You go to sleep on him and his Dolphins will eat your lunch. I'm so excited to see the defense that Flo puts together with all the new pieces. On offense, we have major speed and I'm really warming up to our 2 new RBs. We have Tua in the wings waiting to come in and be great. The hiring of Coach Flo changed our trajectory and the Miami Dolphins finally have some good mojo going forward. The AFC is there for the taking. Now let's get this virus the hell out of here already!
 
Feverdream said:
Last year we had an OL coach who didnt want to start the rookies... Flores fired him... and we started the rookies.

Hunt, Jackson, and Kindley will get the benefit of doubt here...

If they are almost as good as the vets... they'll start.
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I'm not sure of that.One thing no one here disputes is Flo wants to win. That's it. If that means starting vets, that's what I believe he'll do. I don't think there will be "almost as good." Now, if a rook is clearly better, yup. If a vet struggles for very long, yup. I just can't see Flo giving up wins.
 
Feverdream said:
Davis is a decent player and a first rate person. We could do a lot worse... and if he slides to 6th man... even better.
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Very true. In the last 5 games of 2019, Jesse Davis gave up a total of 3 hits and no sacks. Travis Wingfield wrote "He made the initial kick slide a focal point of his development this season, and it came to fruition in two matchups with burners off the edge. Davis allowed only one hit combined in the games against Philadelphia and Cincinnati, and parlayed that success into a promising finish to the year."

The guy never misses games and he keeps showing improvement. No team ever has five all-pros on the offensive line. I think Jesse Davis has good value for the Dolphins, and I don't see him as the liability that some do.
 
OmegaPhinsFan said:
Ok so what happens when And if Tua plays? Is there a switch? Im not sure if Jesse Davis needs to be on Tua’s blindside
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I am sure nobody other then the Dolphins staff what the plan really is, but I believe a good educated guess has Jackson-Flowers-Karras-Davis(or whichever looks bestnon the right)-Hunt.

Hunt is a very intriguing player.

Though he has a very good chance of being great to elite at Guard, if he can prove to be able to handle the R-Tackle position, he could be exactly what Miami needs, protecting Tua's blind spot with a nasty do whatever it takes to protect him Attitude.

If he can't prove to be at least above average, then a quality R-Tackle will be on top of Miami's draft or FA list in 2021.
 
tay0365 said:
I am sure nobody other then the Dolphins staff what the plan really is, but I believe a good educated guess has Jackson-Flowers-Karras-Davis(or whichever looks bestnon the right)-Hunt.

Hunt is a very intriguing player.

Though he has a very good chance of being great to elite at Guard, if he can prove to be able to handle the R-Tackle position, he could be exactly what Miami needs, protecting Tua's blind spot with a nasty do whatever it takes to protect him Attitude.

If he can't prove to be at least above average, then a quality R-Tackle will be on top of Miami's draft or FA list in 2021.
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I can accept that. I'm not sure Flo would want a rookie OT flanked by a rookie OG. The curve is pretty steep beside a vet OG.
 
Feverdream said:
Last year we had an OL coach who didnt want to start the rookies... Flores fired him... and we started the rookies.

Hunt, Jackson, and Kindley will get the benefit of doubt here...

If they are almost as good as the vets... they'll start.
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This approach of letting the O-line gel and waiting until Hunt, Jackson and Kindley are comfortable is nuts to me.

We picked up FA ol AND drafted OL ... If any of the rookies are ready to play they will play ... and so will Tua

It's not my opinion that the coaches will set a player up to fail but this "rebuild mentality" has to go ... we did it ... now we add to it as we go and actually use the players we brought in because ... well ... if it ain't gonna work we need to know well before the last few games of the season IMO .... these players need to play if they are healthy and can hold their own ... nobody should expect a rookie to out-perform a vet (all other things equal)
I'm pretty sure the vets aren't that long in the teeth though so starting them would be "ok" ... but at some point we gotta know what we have in the rooks....
 
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