My projected opening day O-line

[killswitch]

I belive that Huck and Saban will eventually start the 5 best o-lineman regardless of position. If Wade Smith is put on Injured Reserve, IMO it will allow Alabi to make the team as the ninth and final O-lineman. My perdiction is that eventually McKinney will earn his demotion to 2nd string, forcing Hadnot to make the shift to C (which he practiced at some last year), causing McDougle to shift to starting RG (a position he at least physically seems well-suited for), resulting in McIntosh becoming our RT (where he has reportedly practiced some in training camp).

So i'm perdicting the line, assuming no other injuries occur, will look like this:

LT: Carey..........Alabi
LG: James
C: Hadnot......McKinney
RG: McDougle........St. Clair
RT: McIntosh.......Cook

With D-Mac being much more healthy this season compared to last, with Hadnot's year of experience under his belt, with McDougle's 32 consecutive starts coming into this year, and most importantly, with Huck's philosophy and coaching ability, our line should look like gold compared to last year's

 

[DolphinDevil28]

Stockar McDougle is set at right tackle. He's not moving.

I think it'll look a little more like this:

LT: Vernon Carey
LG: Jeno James
C: Rex Hadnot
RG: John St. Clair
RT: Stockar McDougle

 

[killswitch]

i must say though I don't want to get too hyped up about Carey. Remember last year how Wade Smith had supposedly improved so much adding more muscle and all. Then he only starts 2 games, and is inactive for plenty of others.

Hopefully Carey doesn't fall victim to tihs potential overhyping of improvement.

 

[DolphinDevil28]

The reports of this camp for Vernon Carey and last year for Wade Smith could not possibly contrast any more.

Last year, people were hoping Wade Smith would turn into a good LT.

This year, Vernon Carey is doing it.

 

[FireWrongstedt]

The reports of this camp for Vernon Carey and last year for Wade Smith could not possibly contrast any more.

Last year, people were hoping Wade Smith would turn into a good LT.

This year, Vernon Carey is doing it.

Agreed- Carey so far has been the pleasent surprise of camp by a longshot. The thing that makes this different too is that he's going up against JT every day and excelling. I need to see it in games before I get REALLY excited- but Carey's play at LT is certainly making me and the rest of Dolphin Nation sleep better at night, that's for sure.

 

[DolphinDevil28]

Agreed- Carey so far has been the pleasent surprise of camp by a longshot. The thing that makes this different too is that he's going up against JT every day and excelling. I need to see it in games before I get REALLY excited- but Carey's play at LT is certainly making me and the rest of Dolphin Nation sleep better at night, that's for sure.

Followed by a close second, Travis Daniels.

How many of us counted LT and #2 CB as weaknesses heading into training camp???

Now, it looks like we may have two solid guys for the long-haul.

 

[killswitch]

Followed by a close second, Travis Daniels.

How many of us counted LT and #2 CB as weaknesses heading into training camp???

Now, it looks like we may have two solid guys for the long-haul.

i think we're getting ahead of ourselves. Both those 2 guys at the same time may not even be starters this year.

 

[ether79]

Followed by a close second, Travis Daniels.

How many of us counted LT and #2 CB as weaknesses heading into training camp???

Now, it looks like we may have two solid guys for the long-haul.

:up: I agree. I know it's still early but from most accounts it looks like Carey is responding to the great coaching of Houck. Daniels is looking good too and I'm sure his knowledge of Saban system is helping him with that. So I think we COULD be set long term also.

 

[killswitch]

The reports of this camp for Vernon Carey and last year for Wade Smith could not possibly contrast any more.

Last year, people were hoping Wade Smith would turn into a good LT.

This year, Vernon Carey is doing it.

People were more than hoping Smith would turn into a good LT, they were reporting it, saying his added muscle was paying off & that he's showing noticeable improvement. As it turns out those inaccurate claims were probably just the result of wishful expectations. The skewed reports of Smith last year could very well be similar to Carey this year. We all hope Carey will pan out and so we look for the best and as a result, we may uncounsiosly overglorify his actual play. Hopefully he paves his own path though separate from Smith's.

 

[Lederhosen]

Let 's see how Carey does once he has to hold his own in a real game against ends like Freeney, Gbaja-Biamila, Kerney and Rice. I still think there is a reason why everbody saw him as a RT as he was thought to be too slow to handle speed rushers.:confused:

 

[dolfanmark]

Smith isn't likely going on injured reserve. Once a guy is put on injured reserve, he's not eligible to play that season. Smith might miss 8-10 weeks. That means he could be back in late September/early October. But, one thing that may come of this is a Hadnot-McKinney swap. McKinney has played guard for us before, and did a decent job. If Hadnot shows that he's a better center than McKinney, they may just swap positions.