Fins Oline This Season | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

Fins Oline This Season

My guess is the start out with Tunsil, Dieter, Kilgore, Reed and Davis starting, with Prince, Sterup and one or two of the udfa's making the roster.
 
The O Line is vitally important to any offense. It's half of your players for crying out loud. Here's two main points, why we've been bad, and why we are about to start being good along the offensive line.

1. Why we've been bad
In the past we have sought OL players who could be stars. We looked for guys with potential rather than production, or we reached for the top getting guys like Jake Long #1 overall at LT or Mike Pouncey as the highest drafted C ever. We've reached in the draft to take the best RT we could get, Ju'Wuan James. We've overpaid to get the best free agents like LT Branden Albert or LG Josh Sitton. We've tried mid-round guys like Turner and stuck with guys who had potential like John Jerry. It's not that our OL were always bad. It's that they were always injured. When Branden Albert, Mike Pouncey and Ju'Wuan James were all three healthy, we had a good OL. When Sitton, Tunsil and Kilgore were healthy (that one time … at band camp) we were a good OL. But let's face it … our best players are always injured. We end up starting scrubs off the street or journeymen and they don't even have chemistry because we're always shuttling guys in and out of the lineup. Hell, we pay our guys well but we can't even re-sign them for reasonable prices (Pouncey, James) We've been bad because we can't field a healthy unit of respectable players.

2. Why we will be good
We've changed the way we draft. We're looking at different types of OL. We're adding the right guys. Michael Deiter holds the iron-man record of 54 consecutive starts for the always dominant OL of the Wisconsin Badgers. To start at such a young age is gold. To have that experience is gold. But more importantly, to be that durable is … you guessed it … gold. Tunsil hasn't missed too many games from injury, but he misses a few. He's an elite LT and a great player to anchor an OL. Now we have Deiter, and our left side is set for the next 7-10 years. But that's not all. We're looking for guys who can contribute NOW, who have technique and power, as well as durability. We're no longer looking for an future All-Pro who is raw. We're now looking to do what the Patriots do, find good guys that do not have the potential of All-Pros, but can contribute today and be durable and dependable. Their limited ceiling means they're a lot easier to re-sign, so they'll be an answer for 8-10 years instead of just the initial 4. And since it's not going to take 2 years of pain to develop them, we'll get all 4 of that rookie contract production, not just the last 2. We will be good because we'll finally be fielding solid players instead of stop-gaps and backups.

This scheme doesn't require OL to dominate. It requires them to consistently open up run lanes against defenses designed to stop the pass. Then it requires teamwork to pass protect for a short time as the QB gets the ball out quickly. We don't need heros. We need guys who are dependable. The bar is lower. The overall quality of our weakest links will be much higher. The overall quality of the entire line probably improves as well … because we're not playing backups for 14 of the 16 regular season games.

We're no longer looking to develop guys on their 4 year rookie contract. Now we're looking to plug them in and have them produce. As long as we keep taking this approach, our OL problem will be resolved.
 
gregorygrant83 said:
My guess is the start out with Tunsil, Dieter, Kilgore, Reed and Davis starting, with Prince, Sterup and one or two of the udfa's making the roster.
Click to expand...
My thoughts as well on starters. Might not be that bad, but right tackle is definitely a concern. Should be a nice battle between Davis and Prince, or possibly a free agent addition. I do think better coaching will factor in as well, which I know is an assumption but I think a fair one.
 
Digital said:
The O Line is vitally important to any offense. It's half of your players for crying out loud. Here's two main points, why we've been bad, and why we are about to start being good along the offensive line.

1. Why we've been bad
In the past we have sought OL players who could be stars. We looked for guys with potential rather than production, or we reached for the top getting guys like Jake Long #1 overall at LT or Mike Pouncey as the highest drafted C ever. We've reached in the draft to take the best RT we could get, Ju'Wuan James. We've overpaid to get the best free agents like LT Branden Albert or LG Josh Sitton. We've tried mid-round guys like Turner and stuck with guys who had potential like John Jerry. It's not that our OL were always bad. It's that they were always injured. When Branden Albert, Mike Pouncey and Ju'Wuan James were all three healthy, we had a good OL. When Sitton, Tunsil and Kilgore were healthy (that one time … at band camp) we were a good OL. But let's face it … our best players are always injured. We end up starting scrubs off the street or journeymen and they don't even have chemistry because we're always shuttling guys in and out of the lineup. Hell, we pay our guys well but we can't even re-sign them for reasonable prices (Pouncey, James) We've been bad because we can't field a healthy unit of respectable players.

2. Why we will be good
We've changed the way we draft. We're looking at different types of OL. We're adding the right guys. Michael Deiter holds the iron-man record of 54 consecutive starts for the always dominant OL of the Wisconsin Badgers. To start at such a young age is gold. To have that experience is gold. But more importantly, to be that durable is … you guessed it … gold. Tunsil hasn't missed too many games from injury, but he misses a few. He's an elite LT and a great player to anchor an OL. Now we have Deiter, and our left side is set for the next 7-10 years. But that's not all. We're looking for guys who can contribute NOW, who have technique and power, as well as durability. We're no longer looking for an future All-Pro who is raw. We're now looking to do what the Patriots do, find good guys that do not have the potential of All-Pros, but can contribute today and be durable and dependable. Their limited ceiling means they're a lot easier to re-sign, so they'll be an answer for 8-10 years instead of just the initial 4. And since it's not going to take 2 years of pain to develop them, we'll get all 4 of that rookie contract production, not just the last 2. We will be good because we'll finally be fielding solid players instead of stop-gaps and backups.

This scheme doesn't require OL to dominate. It requires them to consistently open up run lanes against defenses designed to stop the pass. Then it requires teamwork to pass protect for a short time as the QB gets the ball out quickly. We don't need heros. We need guys who are dependable. The bar is lower. The overall quality of our weakest links will be much higher. The overall quality of the entire line probably improves as well … because we're not playing backups for 14 of the 16 regular season games.

We're no longer looking to develop guys on their 4 year rookie contract. Now we're looking to plug them in and have them produce. As long as we keep taking this approach, our OL problem will be resolved.
Click to expand...
I'd add that we haven't had a good offensive line coach in awhile as well. Plus, Miami has gone through so many different schemes and coaching changes that there has been a lack of consistency and constant change in philosophy. Hopefully, the Dolphins get some stability along with a system that is proven to be effective.
 
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