[video=youtube;8gQBaM8icPs]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gQBaM8icPs[/video]
Despite my username, I don't particularly care for this song. It just happens to fit the theme.
So I obviously have no idea what Dennis Hickey plans to do with the roster or what his plans are. For all I know he's raping his pets right now, as you read this.
Nevertheless it appears that in the short term at least the Dolphins are going to remain a zone blocking team, or at minimum we're going to remain a team that tries to zone block the way that Shaq tried to hit free throws. Even if Jim Turner gets fired -- and it seems pretty clear he will -- the guy we hired to replace him just spent the last 10 years as the offensive line coach for the best zone blocking team in the league: the Texans.
With that in mind, who is out there who fits a zone blocking scheme? I go into this figuring that we need four new starters. If a guy like Tyson Clabo or Bryant McKinnie or John Jerry is brought back, then it should be only as a last resort... and by last resort I mean that if you show up for a game on a day where any of those guys are starting the Dolphins should agree to knock down the price of beer by two dollars.
Note: this isn't about guys out there in the draft. Those discussions are being held in the draft forum by more qualified minds than mine. This is about FAs only. And I'm not going to talk about every guy, just the guys I think we should be targeting based on their performance and scheme fit.
Note 2: I fully recognize all of PFF's myriad faults. The grades are merely provided as a contextual starting point, nothing more.
Tackle (top targets):
Anthony Collins (28 years old) (2013 PFF grade: +14)
--Collins has been a backup most of his career before finally getting his shot at significant time this year thanks to an injury to longtime stalwart Bengals left tackle Andrew Whitworth. He profiles as a talented, athletic left tackle who specializes as a pass blocker. The obvious negative with Collins is that he's never been a full time starter. However, he's had a positive grade in every season in which he's appeared. Would he be a case of buying high on a spot player or getting a guy who should be a starter for less than top flight starter money? It's highly unlikely Collins will get a franchise tag, however he could be subject to a relatively high tender.
Jared Veldheer (26 years old) (2012 PFF grade: -5.5)
--Veldheer had an injury plagued 2012 that led to a vastly below average 2013 for him. In 2012 he graded out as a +22.2. Veldheer is abnormally tall for a left tackle -- six foot eight -- and heavier than your average ZBS lineman, some 322 pounds. But he has a thin build and great athleticism for his height. The bad news? The Raiders appear likely to franchise him. If they don't, however, he's a top performer who's just reaching his prime years.
Depth/fringe starter types:
Ryan Harris (28 years old... turns 29 in March) (2013 PFF grade: -5.3)
--A classic NFL journeyman, Harris has bounced around a bit in his six year career but found a home the last two years in Houston's zone blocking scheme. Harris had sub-mediocre 2013 but scored a solid +6.3 grade from PFF in 2012. Signficantly, he played under John Benton, the Texans' former offensive line coach who's current our assistant offensive line coach.
Mike Otto (30 years old) (2013 PFF grade: -5.8)
--The son of Raiders HOF offensive lineman Jim Otto, Mike Otto has spent his entiree career with the Titans. Despite a terrible 2013 grade -- due almost entirely to a horrific performance against the St. Louis Rams -- Otto has been a solid if unspectacular bench player during his career. In 2012 he registered a +3.9 grade in 275 snaps. Like Harris, Otto is a comparable performer to Nate Garner, except he's a ZBS fit, which Garner -- like McKinnie and Clabo -- isn't.
Other: most of the conversation this offseason will be about Brandon Albert and Eugene Monroe, the two former UVA teammates (note: Bill Lazor coached at UVA, but arrived the year after Monroe left and coached neither player, however he is likely to have a lot of information about them). Albert it seems will test the free agent market and go to the highest bidder. However, he'll turn 30 during the 2014 season, always a red flag for a top dollar acquisition. I tend to doubt Eugene Monroe will actually hit free agency but if he does he's probably the most underrated offensive tackle in the league, though he's a better fit in a power scheme than a zone scheme, imo. Other guys to look out for include Rodger Saffold (talented but with a long injury history).
Interior linemen (top targets):
Alex Mack (28 years old) (2013 PFF grade: +17.8)
--Perhaps the top offensive lineman available in free agency, Mack has been a stalwart every year he's been in the league. Best known as a center, he can also play guard, though I would sign him as a center and move Pouncey -- who's status is still up in the air thanks to his legal issues -- to guard. However, the Browns have a good bit more cap space than the Dolphins and would appear likely to franchise Mack if negotiations stall before free agency begins.
Zane Beadles (27 years old) (2013 PFF grade: -2.5)
--PFF wasn't thrilled with Beadles' work in 2013, but he graded out as +11.2 in 2012. Beadles is a very solid NFL left guard who's above average as a run blocker and a pass blocker. He lifts no one's skirt up and -- unlike Mack -- won't command skirt-lifting prices, but he's a rock of a left guard. I think he's unlikely to be franchise tagged. The Broncos will be targeting another run to the Super Bowl next year and might make an effort to keep him, but Denver is a team that will be facing salary cap issues very soon and might bow out of the Beadles sweepstakes.
Mike Pollack (29 years old) (2013 PFF grade: +6.2)
--A former 2nd round pick, Pollak has never quite lived up to his billing in Cincinatti, though he's found a home as a marginally above average right guard. Slightly miscast in Cincinatti's scheme and has position versatility as a former college center. No chance of receiving franchise tag.
Evan Dietrich-Smith (27 years old) (2013 PFF grade: +14.2)
--The Packers tried the undersized Smith at guard for a few years -- where he performed only marginally -- before he got the full time center job in 2013 and flourished. If he signed Pouncey would almost certainly have to move to guard, which is a change I personally would welcome, as I've indicated before. Played for Philbin for two years.
Depth/fringe:
Joe Berger (31 years old) (2013 PFF grade: -0.2)
--Twice a former Dolphin and has spent time with four teams in total, Berger is a classic NFL journeyman who's best fit is in a ZBS. Has not seen any significant action since 2011, but performed well above average that year, scoring a +11.0.
Other: former Dolphin and Texan Wade Smith has to be considered a likely target, even though he's now 32 and has had been on a downward trend for a few years. He would, however, provide leadership to a room that badly needs it. Pouncey is a top performer but take it from a former Gator, he's a douchebag. Eben Britton is an NFL gadfly who pouted after his short arms caused him to drop in the draft and relegated him to right tackle but he never flourished there. His athletic profile and pedigree should have made him a top NFL guard but he performed terribly as a left guard in 2011. With the Bears last year, he did journeyman level work as a RG but scored best as a right tackle. I've never known quite what to make of him. Jamon Meredith, who spent the last two years with the Bucaneers, has to be considered a likely target, even though his NFL career has been, well... terrible, scoring a -9.7 and a -12.4 in his two years with the Bucs.
Despite my username, I don't particularly care for this song. It just happens to fit the theme.
So I obviously have no idea what Dennis Hickey plans to do with the roster or what his plans are. For all I know he's raping his pets right now, as you read this.
Nevertheless it appears that in the short term at least the Dolphins are going to remain a zone blocking team, or at minimum we're going to remain a team that tries to zone block the way that Shaq tried to hit free throws. Even if Jim Turner gets fired -- and it seems pretty clear he will -- the guy we hired to replace him just spent the last 10 years as the offensive line coach for the best zone blocking team in the league: the Texans.
With that in mind, who is out there who fits a zone blocking scheme? I go into this figuring that we need four new starters. If a guy like Tyson Clabo or Bryant McKinnie or John Jerry is brought back, then it should be only as a last resort... and by last resort I mean that if you show up for a game on a day where any of those guys are starting the Dolphins should agree to knock down the price of beer by two dollars.
Note: this isn't about guys out there in the draft. Those discussions are being held in the draft forum by more qualified minds than mine. This is about FAs only. And I'm not going to talk about every guy, just the guys I think we should be targeting based on their performance and scheme fit.
Note 2: I fully recognize all of PFF's myriad faults. The grades are merely provided as a contextual starting point, nothing more.
Tackle (top targets):
Anthony Collins (28 years old) (2013 PFF grade: +14)
--Collins has been a backup most of his career before finally getting his shot at significant time this year thanks to an injury to longtime stalwart Bengals left tackle Andrew Whitworth. He profiles as a talented, athletic left tackle who specializes as a pass blocker. The obvious negative with Collins is that he's never been a full time starter. However, he's had a positive grade in every season in which he's appeared. Would he be a case of buying high on a spot player or getting a guy who should be a starter for less than top flight starter money? It's highly unlikely Collins will get a franchise tag, however he could be subject to a relatively high tender.
Jared Veldheer (26 years old) (2012 PFF grade: -5.5)
--Veldheer had an injury plagued 2012 that led to a vastly below average 2013 for him. In 2012 he graded out as a +22.2. Veldheer is abnormally tall for a left tackle -- six foot eight -- and heavier than your average ZBS lineman, some 322 pounds. But he has a thin build and great athleticism for his height. The bad news? The Raiders appear likely to franchise him. If they don't, however, he's a top performer who's just reaching his prime years.
Depth/fringe starter types:
Ryan Harris (28 years old... turns 29 in March) (2013 PFF grade: -5.3)
--A classic NFL journeyman, Harris has bounced around a bit in his six year career but found a home the last two years in Houston's zone blocking scheme. Harris had sub-mediocre 2013 but scored a solid +6.3 grade from PFF in 2012. Signficantly, he played under John Benton, the Texans' former offensive line coach who's current our assistant offensive line coach.
Mike Otto (30 years old) (2013 PFF grade: -5.8)
--The son of Raiders HOF offensive lineman Jim Otto, Mike Otto has spent his entiree career with the Titans. Despite a terrible 2013 grade -- due almost entirely to a horrific performance against the St. Louis Rams -- Otto has been a solid if unspectacular bench player during his career. In 2012 he registered a +3.9 grade in 275 snaps. Like Harris, Otto is a comparable performer to Nate Garner, except he's a ZBS fit, which Garner -- like McKinnie and Clabo -- isn't.
Other: most of the conversation this offseason will be about Brandon Albert and Eugene Monroe, the two former UVA teammates (note: Bill Lazor coached at UVA, but arrived the year after Monroe left and coached neither player, however he is likely to have a lot of information about them). Albert it seems will test the free agent market and go to the highest bidder. However, he'll turn 30 during the 2014 season, always a red flag for a top dollar acquisition. I tend to doubt Eugene Monroe will actually hit free agency but if he does he's probably the most underrated offensive tackle in the league, though he's a better fit in a power scheme than a zone scheme, imo. Other guys to look out for include Rodger Saffold (talented but with a long injury history).
Interior linemen (top targets):
Alex Mack (28 years old) (2013 PFF grade: +17.8)
--Perhaps the top offensive lineman available in free agency, Mack has been a stalwart every year he's been in the league. Best known as a center, he can also play guard, though I would sign him as a center and move Pouncey -- who's status is still up in the air thanks to his legal issues -- to guard. However, the Browns have a good bit more cap space than the Dolphins and would appear likely to franchise Mack if negotiations stall before free agency begins.
Zane Beadles (27 years old) (2013 PFF grade: -2.5)
--PFF wasn't thrilled with Beadles' work in 2013, but he graded out as +11.2 in 2012. Beadles is a very solid NFL left guard who's above average as a run blocker and a pass blocker. He lifts no one's skirt up and -- unlike Mack -- won't command skirt-lifting prices, but he's a rock of a left guard. I think he's unlikely to be franchise tagged. The Broncos will be targeting another run to the Super Bowl next year and might make an effort to keep him, but Denver is a team that will be facing salary cap issues very soon and might bow out of the Beadles sweepstakes.
Mike Pollack (29 years old) (2013 PFF grade: +6.2)
--A former 2nd round pick, Pollak has never quite lived up to his billing in Cincinatti, though he's found a home as a marginally above average right guard. Slightly miscast in Cincinatti's scheme and has position versatility as a former college center. No chance of receiving franchise tag.
Evan Dietrich-Smith (27 years old) (2013 PFF grade: +14.2)
--The Packers tried the undersized Smith at guard for a few years -- where he performed only marginally -- before he got the full time center job in 2013 and flourished. If he signed Pouncey would almost certainly have to move to guard, which is a change I personally would welcome, as I've indicated before. Played for Philbin for two years.
Depth/fringe:
Joe Berger (31 years old) (2013 PFF grade: -0.2)
--Twice a former Dolphin and has spent time with four teams in total, Berger is a classic NFL journeyman who's best fit is in a ZBS. Has not seen any significant action since 2011, but performed well above average that year, scoring a +11.0.
Other: former Dolphin and Texan Wade Smith has to be considered a likely target, even though he's now 32 and has had been on a downward trend for a few years. He would, however, provide leadership to a room that badly needs it. Pouncey is a top performer but take it from a former Gator, he's a douchebag. Eben Britton is an NFL gadfly who pouted after his short arms caused him to drop in the draft and relegated him to right tackle but he never flourished there. His athletic profile and pedigree should have made him a top NFL guard but he performed terribly as a left guard in 2011. With the Bears last year, he did journeyman level work as a RG but scored best as a right tackle. I've never known quite what to make of him. Jamon Meredith, who spent the last two years with the Bucaneers, has to be considered a likely target, even though his NFL career has been, well... terrible, scoring a -9.7 and a -12.4 in his two years with the Bucs.
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