Offensive line analysis

[where's th'fish]

Ok, it's not my analysis, but it's worth a read. It raises the very important question, why? Why does the Dolphin OL stink so bad? The pass protection will be much better now that Harrington is the starter, but the run blocking is atrocious:

http://www.footballoutsiders.com/2006/10/11/ramblings/every-play-counts/4370/

And yet, let's give credit to New England. They have a really good DL. I predict that in upcoming games, the pass will open up the run, just as it did last year when Frerrote was throwing it. And we just might win a few games... if! If those bloody killer mistakes go away.

 

[FinNasty]

The pass protection has nothing to do with Joey. It still sucks...

 

[zonk4ever]

interesting article. good pinpoint observation! of course most people are frustrated and blame brown for being the #2 pick and or not making something happen! but when you have thee most worst OL in football, it's tough. the fact that the new depth chart shows joe berger as the starting LG makes sense now.

 

[Lester]

Ive said all along that the run blocking looked even worse than the pass blocking. Which is really sad. Its crazy that the left side is weaker. James was supposed to be our best lineman, and shelton this great free agent pickup! Dissapointing.

I think we should get back to more I formation and let Barnes at least clear out one of the guys who is in the backfield on all running plays.

 

[diehardfan]

good read. all points well taken.

 

[FinNasty]

Ive said all along that the run blocking looked even worse than the pass blocking. Which is really sad. Its crazy that the left side is weaker. James was supposed to be our best lineman, and shelton this great free agent pickup! Dissapointing.

I think we should get back to more I formation and let Barnes at least clear out one of the guys who is in the backfield on all running plays.

Mularkey: "That will never work! Lead blockers are useless. The key to running is to go with a 4 WR set so they think you are going to pass, and then run a draw. It works every time!!!"

:shakeno:

 

[Gardenhead]

Excellent, excellent analysis!!!

Footballoutsiders is the best football website around. I read it daily.

 

[Phinanthropist]

Excellent, excellent analysis!!!

Agreed, and very sobering as well. Hopefully Berger will make a difference.

I wonder how much longer Shelton has to shape up? Could we see Alabi soon?

 

[gofins]

All those who say Ronnie sucks need to read that.

 

[dlockz]

Harrington gets way too much credit and maybe if he had took the sack he would not have thrown that interception. He was clearly under major pressure. The line sucks and there is not one semblance of first round talent on the entire line. In fact I would get rid of James and his big contact right at the end of the year and would evaluate if cutting Shelton would be feasable.

 

[Captain Lou]

Harrington gets way too much credit and maybe if he had took the sack he would not have thrown that interception. He was clearly under major pressure. The line sucks and there is not one semblance of first round talent on the entire line. In fact I would get rid of James and his big contact right at the end of the year and would evaluate if cutting Shelton would be feasable.

You never tell a qb to take a sack. He should throw it away, yes. He only had a couple days to prepare. I think with a full week of preparation you'll see better play. He's a better option than CP. I have to admit Cp is not the qb I thought he was. Cant read defenses, and no mobility.

 

[footballphin]

Harrington gets way too much credit and maybe if he had took the sack he would not have thrown that interception. He was clearly under major pressure. The line sucks and there is not one semblance of first round talent on the entire line. In fact I would get rid of James and his big contact right at the end of the year and would evaluate if cutting Shelton would be feasable.

Too much credit for what? True, if you take a sack every time there is pressure you will probably throw very few interceptions. You also won't move the chains much and will get booed off the field by the fans and yanked by the coach.

There is always a trade-off and a tension where the QB is trying to hold the ball just long enough to let the play develop but not so long he gets sacked. Likewise there is often a fine line between a good chance to make a play and forcing the ball when you should just throw it away. In both cases which is which is a matter of split-second decision making. Those are some of the things that make being an NFL QB a difficult job that not just anyone who can throw the ball a long way can do well. Even the best QBs playing on good teams misjudge those situations sometimes. It's even harder for QBs who play on teams that are struggling in general. Protection problems, too little running game, receivers who don't get open--any of those things make the pressure to take chances greater and the margin for error smaller.

I think you are right to single out the OL. Miami is suffering from at least two of those three things and both of them are due to problems on the OL. James looks done to me and he's far from the only problem. Maybe Houck can clear some of it up eventually and we do have some guys coming back from injury who might make a difference next year but I'm with you, they also need to make some moves in the off-season.

In the meantime, it's pick your poison time because the situation is not going to be great for any QB we line up under center. No one in their right mind thinks Harrington is the answer to all the Dolphins problems or is going to play the rest of the year with no more interceptions. But some people do think, and Saban is obviously one of them, that given the current Miami team they will be better able to move the ball and give themselves a better chance to win if they take advantage of Harrington's ability to get the ball out quickly even given that he'll throw some interceptions on account of it. We'll just have to wait and see if that turns out to be true.

 

[PhinsRock]

Bingo!

You never tell a qb to take a sack. He should throw it away, yes. He only had a couple days to prepare. I think with a full week of preparation you'll see better play. He's a better option than CP. I have to admit Cp is not the qb I thought he was. Cant read defenses, and no mobility.

You nailed it IMO.

 

[bert]

wow that was a dam good article.all the ronnie bashers need to read this,and get an education.

 

[Prakk]

Just like all areas of the offense, we stink. We need to get this. This isn't a "Good Team" playing bad, "beset by mental mistakes", it's a bad team living down to it's lack of potential.