I'm Begging for Some O-line Chatter!

[Frank B]

I wish I was down in Davie for practices, because it is impossible to get anything of substance from the so called media covering this team. It's sickening when one newspaper touts a great practice for Beck and then another newspaper talks about all of the horrible passes he threw during that same exact practice.

Guess what media? I don't give a damn about the QB battle! It won't matter if our offensive line is the turnstile that it was last year. Can we please get an update on how Jake Long is adjusting to the speedy guys like Porter, Anderson, and Moses? Is Ferguson's tutoring of Satele working? Is Carey back to his dominating self on the right side? Should we be worried that Smiley looks less than solid at LG?

For the love of all that is holy, give me some trench talk please!

 

[Lappy]

Me too buddy,

here is an ok article posted earlier that turned into a crazy QB thing.

http://blogs.sun-sentinel.com/sports_football_dolphins/

Here's some direct quotes I was excited about....

Carey and Long are above average bookends who should help the running game churn out yards. Long's learning and growing each day, and getting better against the speedy pass rushers. By mid-season 2008's No. 1 pick should have adjusted to the speed of the pro game.

Smiley and Thomas are better straight line blockers, which suites this team's running style

Satele's a solid center, but is he Pro Bowl material? There is plenty of room for growth here. Considering he's the most athletic of the interior guys I'm assuming Satele will be the primary puller on running plays. McKinney can play guard and center, and that versatility is a plus

I haven't seen any practices first hand but from what i've gathered it sounds like our run blocking is second to none......with some work with the guards I'm sure we get them pulling better by week one.

I've also read here some where and I can't find the link but it was stating that Long has come some way in the pass block as well.

Hope fully we can get some insight from some guys that have been out to camp or have some other news.

I'm a firm believer that our offence starts right here.

 

[Geforce]

Who's Down

McKinney not looking good.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/football/pro/dolphins/sfl-willallen080708,0,4348698.story

Once again, the offensive line struggled to keep the overpowering defense in check. G/C SteveMcKinney was thrown to the ground by DT Paul Soliai and LT Ikechuku Ndukwe struggled to contain OLB Joey Porter, who had three clean sacks. Ndukwe had a tough day all around when after one play, he and Porter locked horns, grabbing each other's facemasks. When they let go, Porter gave a strong, open-handed slap to Ndukwe's facemask. They were quickly separated.

 

[Spray Mucus]

I'm beggin for some more cow bell!

 

[SpaceMountain16]

Offensive line struggles have to be a concern when the revamped offensive line, which figures to feature some solid players and the man running the ship is an offensive line guy in Tony Sparano. But maybe this is more of a tribute to the defensive line, who i personally didn't figure to be much of a threat with the loss of Jason Taylor and Keith Traylor. They seem to be looking strong in the practices, especially Soliai. Of course as usual until the games come around it's somewhat of a mute point.....

If this offensive line gives up five sacks against the Jets come week 1 and the defensive line cant get to Favre then i'll be concerned.

 

[Geforce]

I'll begin to worry about the offensive line if they continue to struggle AFTER Coach Sparano settles on who will be the starting five. Right now he is still mixing and matching and I expect them to struggle in this scenario.

 

[Lappy]

Offensive line struggles have to be a concern when the revamped offensive line, which figures to feature some solid players and the man running the ship is an offensive line guy in Tony Sparano. But maybe this is more of a tribute to the defensive line, who i personally didn't figure to be much of a threat with the loss of Jason Taylor and Keith Traylor. They seem to be looking strong in the practices, especially Soliai. Of course as usual until the games come around it's somewhat of a mute point.....

If this offensive line gives up five sacks against the Jets come week 1 and the defensive line cant get to Favre then i'll be concerned.

this line does have time to jell and get more comfortable together. By week one. Pre-season games are not the end of the world. It's where guys learn. So I think we can keep our shirts on regarding the line till then.

 

[Spray Mucus]

Let's keep in mind that only one starter from last year is returning to the position he played. Carey is back at RT, all other three have not played together at all.

playing o-line is like running in a 3 legged race, if you are not on the same page then you trip and fall, it takes a little while to get use to the guy next to you. The talent is there (still not sure about our starting RG) and the coaching is there.

I'm not worried.

 

[Elliott 1]

McKinney not looking good.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/football/pro/dolphins/sfl-willallen080708,0,4348698.story

I would be very worried if our defense wasn't throwing McKinney around.

He has been out with a serious knee injury and just got off the bike.

I wouldn't expect anything out of him until about the 4th game of the season.

As for Ndukwe, he won't even make the team. Heerspink will go to the PS and we will pick up a backup OT either through a trade or someone being cut.

I would like to see the boys go after a quality backup through trade.

If we are signing Pennington then let's trade Beck for a quality OT, or, if Roth just doesn't fit, let's trade for a OT who can push Long and Carey.

 

[evenflow58]

McKinney not looking good.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/football/pro/dolphins/sfl-willallen080708,0,4348698.story

Once again, the offensive line struggled to keep the overpowering defense in check. G/C SteveMcKinney was thrown to the ground by DT Paul Soliai and LT Ikechuku Ndukwe struggled to contain OLB Joey Porter, who had three clean sacks. Ndukwe had a tough day all around when after one play, he and Porter locked horns, grabbing each other's facemasks. When they let go, Porter gave a strong, open-handed slap to Ndukwe's facemask. They were quickly separated.

All these linemen are second team at best, so I wouldn't be as concerned with these statements.

I looks like the starting line will be Long, Smiley, Satele, Thomas and Carey. If you aren't hearing about them it's a good thing. From what I've read run-blocking will go well with pass blocking being touch and go. I think they will gell and be a solid line, but there's still quite a bit of youth out there so it's hard to say until they actually play some games.

 

[Lappy]

All these linemen are second team at best, so I wouldn't be as concerned with these statements.

I looks like the starting line will be Long, Smiley, Satele, Thomas and Carey. If you aren't hearing about them it's a good thing. From what I've read run-blocking will go well with pass blocking being touch and go. I think they will gell and be a solid line, but there's still quite a bit of youth out there so it's hard to say until they actually play some games.

good point, I think that with the games up-coming and all the practices before week 1 this line should come together.

I would like to see if we can't get at least one of these guards to be able to pull consistantly.

 

[DorsalPhin]

Consistency will come with time, hopefully by mid-season. Looks like they've already got their starters set though.

What they need is a big time upgrade at swing tackle. This will not only give them the depth that's missing there, but also put them in a better position to negotiate with Carey's agent next year, or the year after if the tag is used on him. Though I don't know that they'll be able to find what they're looking for among this preseasons cuts.

They'll also need a replacement for McKinney as the swing C/G, but that can wait until next year.

 

[Geforce]

I would be very worried if our defense wasn't throwing McKinney around.

He has been out with a serious knee injury and just got off the bike.

I wouldn't expect anything out of him until about the 4th game of the season.

As for Ndukwe, he won't even make the team. Heerspink will go to the PS and we will pick up a backup OT either through a trade or someone being cut.

I would like to see the boys go after a quality backup through trade.

If we are signing Pennington then let's trade Beck for a quality OT, or, if Roth just doesn't fit, let's trade for a OT who can push Long and Carey.

Until Beck can show that last was a fluke, noone is going to trade for him and as far as Roth is concerned.
From the Palm Beach Post
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/dolphins/content/sports/epaper/2008/08/07/a4c_fins_rail_0808.html

GAINING GROUND

DE Matt Roth: It looked like Roth might struggle to make the team because he's undersized (6-feet-3, 272 pounds) for an end in the 3-4 defensive scheme. But Roth, who has added 20 pounds since he was a second-round pick in 2005, is flashing some impressive versatility. Roth can run with tight ends and is more comfortable in space than one would expect. The more a player can do, the better for his chances to stick around.