everyone knows you build a championship team with good offensive and defensive lines and then a good qb. when are we going to get a good o-line again. our o-line killed ricky in his second season when everyone said he wasnt as good. it wasnt his fault it was the o-lines.i dont think our line was very good last year and just like i specualted in the offseason, our line is terrible this year. walter payton couldnt get 1000 yards behind these guys. and with the injuries weve had and the injuries we may have in the future, i dont even know who we'll put out there. saban needs to get us some linemen this offseason either through the draft or free agency.
o-line
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Loyalty2Fins
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I would put anything our next 8 games we will win at least 6, possibly even 7. The turnaround is here.
Loyalty2Fins said:
Based on what? Would you have put anything on it that we would have beaten the Jills at home? How about handling easily Tenn who BTW picked up a has been QB in K Collins at the END of camp? We barely won! I'm all for hope but to bet anything on this team right now? They don't even look like a .500 team.
As for the Oline - there are alot of teams out there that have Olines playing much better with alot less talent. There are former Miami OL rejects who got cut starting on other teams Olines right now for very good teams. I don't think it's the talent - I think it's the schemes and the play calling. How many times did we pass on 1st down last game? How many times did we line up with 4 WR's to spread out the D? Our longest run of the game was when we went 3 WR's spread out from shotgun and ran a draw! This line up with 2 TE's and a FB or just 2 WR's with everyone close to the line is ridiculous. It allows the other team to load the box and send everyone or anyone. Spread the damn D out - we have talent at WR - use it! McMike can't block - spread him out and make a safety or OLB try and cover him.
DANTODUPER
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A lot of fans are talking about the problems with our O-Line. And while I do believe the O-Line is the main reason of our lack of success on offense, let me tell you my point of view about this situation.
1) I think we should draft O-Line on next year’s draft. But I do think we need Defense on the first 2 rounds, because there are always good OL's on the middle rounds, but defenders like probowl CB's, DE's, LB's and S's are found on early rounds almost all the time. The second reason is that we are getting very old on defense; therefore I think D should be our priority. Finally OL's take time to develop, so if there is a solid OL on free agency; that should be our first option!
2) I think Culpepper has a lot to do with the OL problems. He is still recovering from his knee, and it will take time for him to recover confidence and rhythm, until then, you will see plays that he holds the ball way too long. There is no OL that can sustain blocks constantly for more than 4 seconds.
For example, I believe Dan Marino made his line look better because of his incredible quick release, and his quick decision making ability. As Daunte gains experience and confidence in his knee, we will see the pass protection exponentially improved. Randy McMichael is not being exploited at all on passing plays, and he is a key to the success of the OL, because he can maintain the LB's away from blitzing if he constantly gets open on the middle. Saban/Murlarkey are being very conservative on Offense, using him to help the O-line block, but I expect that sooner than latter they will find a way of helping the OL without sacrifying Randy too much.
3) Sammy Morris is very good blocking RB/FB, so I expect that once he returns he will be used on 3rd and long situations giving Daunte a good receiving option, and an extra help picking the blitz and giving him time to find open targets.
1) I think we should draft O-Line on next year’s draft. But I do think we need Defense on the first 2 rounds, because there are always good OL's on the middle rounds, but defenders like probowl CB's, DE's, LB's and S's are found on early rounds almost all the time. The second reason is that we are getting very old on defense; therefore I think D should be our priority. Finally OL's take time to develop, so if there is a solid OL on free agency; that should be our first option!
2) I think Culpepper has a lot to do with the OL problems. He is still recovering from his knee, and it will take time for him to recover confidence and rhythm, until then, you will see plays that he holds the ball way too long. There is no OL that can sustain blocks constantly for more than 4 seconds.
For example, I believe Dan Marino made his line look better because of his incredible quick release, and his quick decision making ability. As Daunte gains experience and confidence in his knee, we will see the pass protection exponentially improved. Randy McMichael is not being exploited at all on passing plays, and he is a key to the success of the OL, because he can maintain the LB's away from blitzing if he constantly gets open on the middle. Saban/Murlarkey are being very conservative on Offense, using him to help the O-line block, but I expect that sooner than latter they will find a way of helping the OL without sacrifying Randy too much.
3) Sammy Morris is very good blocking RB/FB, so I expect that once he returns he will be used on 3rd and long situations giving Daunte a good receiving option, and an extra help picking the blitz and giving him time to find open targets.
A big part of our problem on the O-Line is personnel turnover. We never seem to keep the same group together from year to year. Last year, you saw some improvement over the second part of the season and then we go out and get 3 new starters for this year. With respect to the O-Line, the whole is greater than the sum of it's parts. We need to settle on a core group and stick with them for a few seasons. The top O-lines in the league keep their guys together. As pointed out by many before, there are plenty of teams starting our rejects, so it's not that we need a bunch of 1st round picks. Great offensive lines are built with good schemes, players who fit into those schemes, and continuity.
PhinsRock
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I hate to break this to you, we are NOT a .500 team right now. We are a losing team right now. Heck, we may be lucky to come away from Houston a .500 team the way we've been playing. I agree with your post though, except putting McMike out wide.Rich22 said:
FINFAN_4_EVER
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Our line will be better next year via fre agents or draft.
Saban knows the teams needs.
Saban knows the teams needs.
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jbyrd423 said:
The one thing I disagree with is your first comment, "Everyone knows ..."
Unfortunately, they don't. First, the media does not - as evidenced by their complaints about Daunte and Ronnie. Second, half the fans on this board don't as evidenced by the same complaints about the same players. Now some gripe about the WR's.
You are right about the fact that our O-line is horrific. They need to stop trying to find the fattest slobs on earth and start getting some talent in there.
Now, it may be possible that Houck will coach 'em up and get them back to where they were at the end of last season or perhaps better. But, right now, 80% of the problems on this team's offense are related to the O-line. 19% is Daunte, and about 1% is the rest of the skill positions.
Give us a solid O-line, an improved secondary and, even with Daunte struggling, we are in great shape.
People keep harping on the Oline this and that but you could take the 5 best OL guys in the league and if the D stacks up 8 in the box they are going to have trouble running the ball and stopping the blitz UNLESS someone is calling plays that actually keeps the D guessing! You can't account for 8 guys on D coming from all over. If they want to line up 8 in the box spread your WR's out. Instead we pack everyone in - well that gives C-Pep what 2 options if that. Get up to the line no huddle - spend your time looking over the D and getting a read on where is the mismatch. Of course when the game plan is to run 1st and 2nd down it's hard to keep the D guessing.
Remember how bad the o-line was 2 years ago? Saban's only been here 1 year. The o-line he inherited was dreadfull. I agree that continuity is important, which is all the more reason why finfans shouild have a little patience. Hadnot and Carey will be good. Shelton has potential. Give these guys a few games and I have faith that we'll start to see some real improvement.g8orfan said:
WarriorWelker83
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It's no secret NFL games are won in the trenches, both on the offensive and defensive lines. Our offensive line happens to be attrocious, why people cant realize that is beyond me. I mean you can say what you want about Culpepper, but it's kind of hard to be the Daunte Culpepper who is considered one of the better players in the NFL when your offensive line is that bad. Even last year the Vikings offensive line was terrible for Daunte. They lost Matt Birk and Bryant McKinnie and weren't healthy at other spots, but you cant tell me Culpepper holds the ball too long when you look at some of the people blocking for him the last few years.
He does hold the ball too long on occassion, and he does panic even when he does have time. He makes mistakes and some poor throws, uncharacteristic of a good veteran. But you can put whoever you want at QB in this offense and you'll get the same results because this phantom o-line is just very bad.
He does hold the ball too long on occassion, and he does panic even when he does have time. He makes mistakes and some poor throws, uncharacteristic of a good veteran. But you can put whoever you want at QB in this offense and you'll get the same results because this phantom o-line is just very bad.
cdz12250
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Not with this offensive line, it's not. Not for a while. But eventually.And the plays that are being called are the ones the coaches think the offense can execute best. The coaches are not calling other plays because the offense can't execute them, not because the coaches lack imagination. These are NFL coaches. They know lots of other plays. But you have to have the horses.We have to be patient and wait for the o-line to get better. I, for one, am going to enjoy watching the rebuilding.Loyalty2Fins said: