Before lining up at right guard in a game for the first time in his NFL career last Sunday, Mike Pouncey awoke at 4:30 in the morning feeling nervous, like “a rookie all over again.”
The nerves faded quickly. But switching positions, he assured today, was not easy by any stretch, even though he played guard in his sophomore and junior years at Florida.
“It’s easy to do in practice,” he said. “Games are different. I feel like I was falling around a little bit.”
Still, the transition from center --- where Pouncey spent his first three seasons --– has gone pretty seamlessly. And he has done it despite missing the first four games recovering from June hip surgery.
“He’s doing one of the most unselfish things, changing positions, and not crying about it,” left tackle Branden Albert said.
Pouncey, a Pro Bowler last season, embraced the move because he wanted the team to be able to play what coaches considered their five best offensive linemen, and also because he enjoyed playing guard for two years at UF before moving to center as a senior after his twin brother Maurkice graduated.
But Pouncey said he has been given no indication how long he will remain at guard.
The Dolphins are going week-to-week with this and Pouncey could be shifted back to center if Samson Satele suddenly begins to struggle or if the Dolphins decide they are better off with guard Shelley Smith in the lineup instead of Satele.
But Satele’s good work, and Pouncey’s willingness to play guard, led coaches to make the switch.
“Coach [Joe] Philbin asked, ‘Would I do it for the team?’ I said, ‘No problem, let’s do it,’’ Pouncey recalled of their conversation last week. “Whatever helps the team win is what I’m all about.”
He said he is still taking some snaps at center and it would not be difficult to switch between the positions, if that’s needed this season, because “once you play center, you kind of know the offense like the back of your hand. When you play guard, when Samson makes calls, I am still making the calls myself because I’m so used to it. I don’t think it would bother me at all if I have to switch back.”
How would he rate his first game at guard?
“I feel like I played OK,” he said. “I was a little sloppy with my technique because it’s the first time I played football since four months ago. Other than that, I played really hard. I hold myself to a high standard. I’ve got to play a lot better.”
The biggest adjustment in moving to guard? “You’re playing in more space now,” Pouncey said. “At center, you’re kind of helping everybody out, setting the stage for everybody. At guard, you’re the point of attack. You’re in a lot of space and a lot of one-on-one protections.
“Each week, I’m only going to get better and better at it, more comfortable. I’m just excited for the opportunity to be able to play guard and to keep continue to do it.”
Pouncey said he would be fine with playing either position longterm. “I will be happy regardless,” he said.
### So what determines when Ryan Tannehill keeps the ball on read option plays?
“It just depends on the play call who we are reading; then you just follow your keys,” he said. “If you feel like [the defensive player] is going to make a play on the running back or is going to make it tough for the back to get up field, then you pull it. If he stays where he is at and is not going to be able to make the tackle, then you hand it off.
“I don’t want to be carrying the ball 20 times a game, but I think it’s a great tool for us. It keeps defenses honest, keeps them off balance. There’s some big running lanes like we saw last week where, if you are able to get a guy to crash down and get around the edge, there’s some good yards out there. We might call 30 zone-reads, and I might keep three of them.”
