will Jake Long make the difference?

[LeftHanded21]

well i was reading a column in one of the last espn mags about the dolphins O-line, i cant remember who wrote it but they brought up some good points....he pointed out that while last years line was horrible, not even half of the sacks came from the line,but more from the HB, FB and TE positions, i beileve it was 12 or more, he finally concluded that even with the help from long and other plays moving to there natural postions the sacks will just keep coming....what do you think?

 

[cowboy82nd]

Hell yes, Jake Long will make a difference! If only 12 sacks came from the HB, TE and whatnot, that means the rest came from the offensive line. With a better line we will not give as many sacks. Plus, we are going to run the ball more this year. After we get our running game going, the play action pass will work pretty well, and it will take pressure off our quarterback. I think sometimes, people write just to write without any substance.

 

[Nublar7]

well i was reading a column in one of the last espn mags about the dolphins O-line, i cant remember who wrote it but they brought up some good points....he pointed out that while last years line was horrible, not even half of the sacks came from the line,but more from the HB, FB and TE positions, i beileve it was 12 or more, he finally concluded that even with the help from long and other plays moving to there natural postions the sacks will just keep coming....what do you think?

Strong lines make a difference. It is like saying that Orlando Pace and Jonathan Ogden never really made a difference in the NFL. The same two guys that will have busts in Canton some day.

Jake Long makes a difference, and having Vernon Carey move back to his natural position at RT is another huge improvement.

The running back, fullback and tight end do make a difference no doubt, the main factor is the line. Ronnie is a very good blocker and will be back, we have Boomer who can block as a fullback and Fasano is a pretty good blocker also. So it isn't like we haven't upgraded the other positions that help protect the quarterback.

Jake Long makes a huge difference and the smart football teams build their teams from the lines out. Great Left Tackles are hard to find in this league and almost impossible to find in free agency. If you want a Pro Bowl LT, you have to go out and draft one and one early. When you have a great LT, you don't let them leave, they are with you for a long time.

 

[wildvillage519]

I hate to say this because I am the biggest Dolphins fan you'll ever meet and I hope to hell I'm wrong, but I think Jake Long is extremely overated and will struggle in the NFL. I think he is a very stong and smart guy, but I just don't think he has the makeup of a LT.

His lateral mobility really scares me about him and I have seen him get bull rushed a number of times in college and get knocked on his a**. And although they didn't end up in sacks, the opponent was able to disrupt the play. In the NFL the level of competion only gets more difficult which I think Long wil struggle with.

I ideally IMO we would have traded down a little in the draft and took Vernon Gholston. Then moved back up to the mid 1st round and take Chris Williams (who I think was the best LT prospect in the entire draft). I know we may not have had any draft day partner to make any trades in the beginning of the 1st round, I am just simply giving my opinion as to what I was hoping would have happened. Again I hope I am wrong about Jake Long and he turns out to be a stud.

 

[tcolli17]

I hate to say this because I am the biggest Dolphins fan you'll ever meet and I hope to hell I'm wrong, but I think Jake Long is extremely overated and will struggle in the NFL. I think he is a very stong and smart guy, but I just don't think he has the makeup of a LT.

His lateral mobility really scares me about him and I have seen him get bull rushed a number of times in college and get knocked on his a**. And although they didn't end up in sacks, the opponent was able to disrupt the play. In the NFL the level of competion only gets more difficult which I think Long wil struggle with.

I ideally IMO we would have traded down a little in the draft and took Vernon Gholston. Then moved back up to the mid 1st round and take Chris Williams (who I think was the best LT prospect in the entire draft). I know we may not have had any draft day partner to make any trades in the beginning of the 1st round, I am just simply giving my opinion as to what I was hoping would have happened. Again I hope I am wrong about Jake Long and he turns out to be a stud.

I'm sorry to say that I agree with you. He has alot to learn. I am glad that we got him because of his run blocking skills. We will need that for the type of offense that we will have this year. I really, really hope he does as good a Carey did last year at LT. I would be happy with that.

 

[3rdandinches]

I hate to say this because I am the biggest Dolphins fan you'll ever meet and I hope to hell I'm wrong, but I think Jake Long is extremely overated and will struggle in the NFL. I think he is a very stong and smart guy, but I just don't think he has the makeup of a LT.

His lateral mobility really scares me about him and I have seen him get bull rushed a number of times in college and get knocked on his a**. And although they didn't end up in sacks, the opponent was able to disrupt the play. In the NFL the level of competion only gets more difficult which I think Long wil struggle with.

I ideally IMO we would have traded down a little in the draft and took Vernon Gholston. Then moved back up to the mid 1st round and take Chris Williams (who I think was the best LT prospect in the entire draft). I know we may not have had any draft day partner to make any trades in the beginning of the 1st round, I am just simply giving my opinion as to what I was hoping would have happened. Again I hope I am wrong about Jake Long and he turns out to be a stud.

Funny I could write the same thing regarding V.Gholston, just change the bull rush with disappear.

As for Long's impact it won't fully be felt until his 3rd year. He'll look good now mainly because we'll be a power run team and have success throwing through play action.

 

[Valandui]

I hate to say this because I am the biggest Dolphins fan you'll ever meet and I hope to hell I'm wrong, but I think Jake Long is extremely overated and will struggle in the NFL. I think he is a very stong and smart guy, but I just don't think he has the makeup of a LT.

His lateral mobility really scares me about him and I have seen him get bull rushed a number of times in college and get knocked on his a**. And although they didn't end up in sacks, the opponent was able to disrupt the play. In the NFL the level of competion only gets more difficult which I think Long wil struggle with.

I ideally IMO we would have traded down a little in the draft and took Vernon Gholston. Then moved back up to the mid 1st round and take Chris Williams (who I think was the best LT prospect in the entire draft). I know we may not have had any draft day partner to make any trades in the beginning of the 1st round, I am just simply giving my opinion as to what I was hoping would have happened. Again I hope I am wrong about Jake Long and he turns out to be a stud.

You are right on one point. Jake did get beat a few times (who doesn't?), but he adjusted quickly. Take the Gholston sack for example. He got by him once, but then Jake adjusted and Gholston had to move to the other side to put pressure on Henne. We all saw what Joe Thomas did last year, and he couldn't beat Jake out for Big 10 Offensive Lineman of the Year in '06.

 

[finfan54]

I hate to say this because I am the biggest Dolphins fan you'll ever meet and I hope to hell I'm wrong, but I think Jake Long is extremely overated and will struggle in the NFL. I think he is a very stong and smart guy, but I just don't think he has the makeup of a LT.

His lateral mobility really scares me about him and I have seen him get bull rushed a number of times in college and get knocked on his a**. And although they didn't end up in sacks, the opponent was able to disrupt the play. In the NFL the level of competion only gets more difficult which I think Long wil struggle with.

I ideally IMO we would have traded down a little in the draft and took Vernon Gholston. Then moved back up to the mid 1st round and take Chris Williams (who I think was the best LT prospect in the entire draft). I know we may not have had any draft day partner to make any trades in the beginning of the 1st round, I am just simply giving my opinion as to what I was hoping would have happened. Again I hope I am wrong about Jake Long and he turns out to be a stud.

I for one am not too worried. We are going to be a run first team. Most all Parcells teams are. Thats why he is pumped about Ricky. Screens and draws will be used to throw off the defenses attack. The guys we have now are bound to be here for a long time. That means consistancy. We havent had that here cus we invested in 5th round guys who had injury probs.

I am sure you are reading whats in the papers and getting willy nilly. Its early. They all have a learning curve with the new regime but everything is simplified. Our success running the ball will dictate how good of a pass protection offense we become. Dan Henning will be running power offense. Bet on it.

 

[Mr772]

I hate to say this because I am the biggest Dolphins fan you'll ever meet and I hope to hell I'm wrong, but I think Jake Long is extremely overated and will struggle in the NFL. I think he is a very stong and smart guy, but I just don't think he has the makeup of a LT.

His lateral mobility really scares me about him and I have seen him get bull rushed a number of times in college and get knocked on his a**. And although they didn't end up in sacks, the opponent was able to disrupt the play. In the NFL the level of competion only gets more difficult which I think Long wil struggle with.

I ideally IMO we would have traded down a little in the draft and took Vernon Gholston. Then moved back up to the mid 1st round and take Chris Williams (who I think was the best LT prospect in the entire draft). I know we may not have had any draft day partner to make any trades in the beginning of the 1st round, I am just simply giving my opinion as to what I was hoping would have happened. Again I hope I am wrong about Jake Long and he turns out to be a stud.

Vernon Gholston was one of the biggest gambles in the draft while Jake Long was one of the safest picks in the draft. Everyone that says we should trade up and down that high in the first round is living in a fantasy world, those types of trades are very rare. With the Jake Long pick I think we drafted one of the most proven players out of college.

 

[NAVYfinsfan9]

well i was reading a column in one of the last espn mags about the dolphins O-line, i cant remember who wrote it but they brought up some good points....he pointed out that while last years line was horrible, not even half of the sacks came from the line,but more from the HB, FB and TE positions, i beileve it was 12 or more, he finally concluded that even with the help from long and other plays moving to there natural postions the sacks will just keep coming....what do you think?

no direction but up

 

[rick32883]

well i was reading a column in one of the last espn mags about the dolphins O-line, i cant remember who wrote it but they brought up some good points....he pointed out that while last years line was horrible, not even half of the sacks came from the line,but more from the HB, FB and TE positions, i beileve it was 12 or more, he finally concluded that even with the help from long and other plays moving to there natural postions the sacks will just keep coming....what do you think?

i seen a lot of improvement in last years line .. i dont think they were as bad as they were made out to be .. i think a lot of player/personel decisions cause havoc in the comfort level in which the team played .. which is why the whole team was basically gutted and retooled

 

[FriendofBill]

If you want overrated, look at those finesse, twinkle toe, ballerina LT's like Robert Gallery (converted college TE) and D'Brickshaw Ferguson.

You can get all caught up in "lateral mobility' and foot quickness, and blah, blah, blah but offensive tackles make their money at the point of attack, and a lot of great ones dominate their positions because technique, long arms that can ride the edge rusher wide and brute strength that makes the edge rusher one dimensional because he knows he can't bull rush. Parcells and Sparano coached a perennial Pro Bowl one in Dallas named Flozell Adams.

 

[TraderJoe]

well i was reading a column in one of the last espn mags about the dolphins O-line, i cant remember who wrote it but they brought up some good points....he pointed out that while last years line was horrible, not even half of the sacks came from the line,but more from the HB, FB and TE positions, i beileve it was 12 or more, he finally concluded that even with the help from long and other plays moving to there natural postions the sacks will just keep coming....what do you think?

Three words, Ronnie Brown Healthy!

One of the best blocking HB's in the game, once he went down it hurt us all over the place.

 

[Bleed GnW]

Vernon Gholston was one of the biggest gambles in the draft while Jake Long was one of the safest picks in the draft. Everyone that says we should trade up and down that high in the first round is living in a fantasy world, those types of trades are very rare. With the Jake Long pick I think we drafted one of the most proven players out of college.

True Gholston was IMO a HUGE gamble. But I think that with the 3-4 defense we are running and him playing that OLB position will give him the best chance to use his speed and strength to succeed.

Long to me was a very safe pick. Considering he only gave up 1 sack last year (Gholston) I think he will stabilize the line. Wish we could say the same about D'Brick ........hopefully he will do better this year....

 

[rent this space]

Funny I could write the same thing regarding V.Gholston, just change the bull rush with disappear.

As for Long's impact it won't fully be felt until his 3rd year. He'll look good now mainly because we'll be a power run team and have success throwing through play action.

you got that right; talk about a lack of lateral mobility...