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Welcome back my brothers; today we will try to make some sense out of the position group with the least amount of pre-season clarity, the interior positions on the O-line.
There isn't an area on the Dolphins roster that has a greater disconnect between what the coaches believe and what the fans think than with this group of players. The coaching staff believes we have enough to compete, while a good portion of our fanbase is undergoing outright panic at the thought that we're going to war with this roster.
If you read the earlier section covering Offensive Tackles, you are probably familiar with my take on the greater importance on finding and maintaining Tackles rather than Guards, so I doubt that many will be surprised that I am siding with the coaches here. I think that barring a rash of injuries, we do, indeed, have enough.
At Center, we signed Aaron Brewer in free agency, and he is a very similar player to last year's starter, Connor Williams. His game is speed and quick feet. He's the very prototype for a zone-blocking system. Yes, he is a bit smaller than average, and No, he is not going to maul anyone in a power system but if you want your Center to get to his marks on the second level, and spring our backs for big runs, Brewer could be an actual upgrade over Williams.
Many of the louder brothers have wrung their hands over Brewer's supposed inability to pass-block... freely ignoring the fact that Brewer was completely miscast in Tennessee, where he played in front of a bruiser RB and a QB known to have very poor pocket awareness as well as a career-long tendency to hold onto the ball much, much too long.
Neither will be the case in Miami... this is a 100% zone-blocking team with a quick strike attack formula. Aaron won't be asked to hold his blocks forever and the brothers who miss this fact just want the Phins to play a completely different style of football. Aaron Brewer is a glove-fit player who comes to us on a very reasonable contract. My prediction... by midseason, those complaining will have come around, and as a bonus, unlike Connor Williams, Brewer has not had multiple knee surgeries.
That's the clearest part of our IOL. At Guard, we have a collection of guys who played Tackle in college and again early in their career. Jack Driscoll and Liam Eichenberg are thought to be competing to start at RG, while most assume that Isaiah Wynn is the tentative starter at LG, and that's probably accurate, but there is one big caution here-- Isaiah Wynn is THE most injury prone player on the Miami football team. Yes, worse than Terron Armstead.
For a younger player, he has missed an astonishing number of games... and that's why I suspect that Robert Jones will not be part of the RG competition. I think he'll be slotted almost exclusively at LG, the spot he played at the end of last year. Hell, Wynn was our weak link BEFORE he was injured, putting up a PFF score of only 47.8. If Wynn is not 100% ready to go, Jones may be our starter. (Jones btw graded out at 60.9 across his play at the two Guard spots). Jones isn't a plus athlete, but he's a tough savvy player who answers the bell WAAAAAY more often than Isaiah Wynn.
Driscoll and Eichenberg are pretty close to having the exact same story. Both were College Tackles, drafted to play RT or failing that, Guard-- two men who've been bounced around their team's formations and never allowed to settle into one position. Both were ill-served by their team's needs to have their best 5 players on the field, even if they themselves were in the wrong spot... as a bonus, both players have had their biggest success at Guard, where Eichenberg had some really solid games last year before being forced to play Center and Driscoll had an excellent half year in 2021. Honestly... I wish that we'd have let Wynn walk and just installed these two in the Guard spots. These two are lunch pail players who I believe will surprise many here at FH. I expect the loser of this battle to back up at both RG and RT and that should give us continuity when a starter is down.
After these 5 players, there is a noticeable drop off... Lester (Josie) Cotton is an old-school power/gap blocker who is completely miscast in our system. He was, by far, our weakest link last year. Already 28, he has never been a starter in his career, indeed, he's rarely been a reserve. If he makes the team...shudder!
Chasen Hines stuck around on the Practice Squad last year after being a 6th round pick for New England. We invited him back for another year, so there must be something there. Before the draft, he was thought to be more of a power/gap style lineman so ultimately, he may not fit our system. I won't say no though, he must have impressed the coaches or he wouldn't be back for a second chance.
This year, we've brought in 3 UDFA C/G prospects: Ireland Brown from Rutgers, Andrew Meyer from UTEP, and the overaged Matthew Jones from Ohio St.
None of these three were highly regarded, although with Centers, sometimes they'll surprise you. Obviously Jones played at the highest level, but he looks more like a Guard than a Center to me, and is already 25, so you have to figure that he's close to maxed out.
If I had to bet on one of these sticking on the PS, and maybe even being active on a game day, I'd probably go with Meyer. He looks like the most mobile of the three and shares lot of the same characteristics as Brewer. He looks to be built for the zone blocking game.
Yep, I know that a lot of folks just loathe Liam Eichenberg... I get that, but I would put forward the idea that most of this has been completely out of his hands. Like Austin Jackson, he was a victim of lousy coaching and multiple position switches; at this point, he has started at all 5 line positions in his three years in the league, and he has never been allowed to focus on one spot.
Last year, the coaches had installed him ahead of Wynn, only to have him lose his spot with a minor camp foot injury... if Liam is healthy, he's got the potential to surprise. He'd be a great story... but so would Driscoll.
Like I mentioned earlier... I think these guys are better than most think, and I don't believe that either Risner or Van Roten would have been an upgrade, but I guess we'll see. There will be a lot of "I told you so" handed out either way.
There isn't an area on the Dolphins roster that has a greater disconnect between what the coaches believe and what the fans think than with this group of players. The coaching staff believes we have enough to compete, while a good portion of our fanbase is undergoing outright panic at the thought that we're going to war with this roster.
If you read the earlier section covering Offensive Tackles, you are probably familiar with my take on the greater importance on finding and maintaining Tackles rather than Guards, so I doubt that many will be surprised that I am siding with the coaches here. I think that barring a rash of injuries, we do, indeed, have enough.
At Center, we signed Aaron Brewer in free agency, and he is a very similar player to last year's starter, Connor Williams. His game is speed and quick feet. He's the very prototype for a zone-blocking system. Yes, he is a bit smaller than average, and No, he is not going to maul anyone in a power system but if you want your Center to get to his marks on the second level, and spring our backs for big runs, Brewer could be an actual upgrade over Williams.
Many of the louder brothers have wrung their hands over Brewer's supposed inability to pass-block... freely ignoring the fact that Brewer was completely miscast in Tennessee, where he played in front of a bruiser RB and a QB known to have very poor pocket awareness as well as a career-long tendency to hold onto the ball much, much too long.
Neither will be the case in Miami... this is a 100% zone-blocking team with a quick strike attack formula. Aaron won't be asked to hold his blocks forever and the brothers who miss this fact just want the Phins to play a completely different style of football. Aaron Brewer is a glove-fit player who comes to us on a very reasonable contract. My prediction... by midseason, those complaining will have come around, and as a bonus, unlike Connor Williams, Brewer has not had multiple knee surgeries.
That's the clearest part of our IOL. At Guard, we have a collection of guys who played Tackle in college and again early in their career. Jack Driscoll and Liam Eichenberg are thought to be competing to start at RG, while most assume that Isaiah Wynn is the tentative starter at LG, and that's probably accurate, but there is one big caution here-- Isaiah Wynn is THE most injury prone player on the Miami football team. Yes, worse than Terron Armstead.
For a younger player, he has missed an astonishing number of games... and that's why I suspect that Robert Jones will not be part of the RG competition. I think he'll be slotted almost exclusively at LG, the spot he played at the end of last year. Hell, Wynn was our weak link BEFORE he was injured, putting up a PFF score of only 47.8. If Wynn is not 100% ready to go, Jones may be our starter. (Jones btw graded out at 60.9 across his play at the two Guard spots). Jones isn't a plus athlete, but he's a tough savvy player who answers the bell WAAAAAY more often than Isaiah Wynn.
Driscoll and Eichenberg are pretty close to having the exact same story. Both were College Tackles, drafted to play RT or failing that, Guard-- two men who've been bounced around their team's formations and never allowed to settle into one position. Both were ill-served by their team's needs to have their best 5 players on the field, even if they themselves were in the wrong spot... as a bonus, both players have had their biggest success at Guard, where Eichenberg had some really solid games last year before being forced to play Center and Driscoll had an excellent half year in 2021. Honestly... I wish that we'd have let Wynn walk and just installed these two in the Guard spots. These two are lunch pail players who I believe will surprise many here at FH. I expect the loser of this battle to back up at both RG and RT and that should give us continuity when a starter is down.
After these 5 players, there is a noticeable drop off... Lester (Josie) Cotton is an old-school power/gap blocker who is completely miscast in our system. He was, by far, our weakest link last year. Already 28, he has never been a starter in his career, indeed, he's rarely been a reserve. If he makes the team...shudder!
Chasen Hines stuck around on the Practice Squad last year after being a 6th round pick for New England. We invited him back for another year, so there must be something there. Before the draft, he was thought to be more of a power/gap style lineman so ultimately, he may not fit our system. I won't say no though, he must have impressed the coaches or he wouldn't be back for a second chance.
This year, we've brought in 3 UDFA C/G prospects: Ireland Brown from Rutgers, Andrew Meyer from UTEP, and the overaged Matthew Jones from Ohio St.
None of these three were highly regarded, although with Centers, sometimes they'll surprise you. Obviously Jones played at the highest level, but he looks more like a Guard than a Center to me, and is already 25, so you have to figure that he's close to maxed out.
If I had to bet on one of these sticking on the PS, and maybe even being active on a game day, I'd probably go with Meyer. He looks like the most mobile of the three and shares lot of the same characteristics as Brewer. He looks to be built for the zone blocking game.
Yep, I know that a lot of folks just loathe Liam Eichenberg... I get that, but I would put forward the idea that most of this has been completely out of his hands. Like Austin Jackson, he was a victim of lousy coaching and multiple position switches; at this point, he has started at all 5 line positions in his three years in the league, and he has never been allowed to focus on one spot.
Last year, the coaches had installed him ahead of Wynn, only to have him lose his spot with a minor camp foot injury... if Liam is healthy, he's got the potential to surprise. He'd be a great story... but so would Driscoll.
Like I mentioned earlier... I think these guys are better than most think, and I don't believe that either Risner or Van Roten would have been an upgrade, but I guess we'll see. There will be a lot of "I told you so" handed out either way.
