A Double Take on Phins Week 1 Blocking

Let’s dial in on the Phins blocking against the Pats

Phins fans have been chomping at the bit for quite a while to see the 2020 Dolphins play some football. Thankfully, despite the loss to the Patriots, the Dolphins appeared to show plenty of positives in Week 1. But, does that feeling meet up with reality? Well, let’s refocus and take a look at the offensive line and secondary blockers to see ‘what’s-what’.

With so many new faces on the roster, there was a ton of new players to get to know… especially with the lack of preseason games. So, this has been some of the most interesting film I’ve watched in some time. While seeing Tua in action is obviously the #1 new player fans want to see, getting a look at the new offensive line in action is next.

The offensive line makes the football world go around…

… But, we must remember blocking extends past just the ‘big uglies’ to the receivers, tight ends, and running backs. And in many regards, the secondary blockers are even more critical for big plays to happen.

First, let’s look at the play of the offensive line against the Patriots.

Ted Karras was given a one-year prove-it contract based on his performance with the Patriots in 2019, connections to Flores, and his ability to run block. The run-blocking specialty shinned in Week 1 with an excellent PFF run grade of 77.1. Unfortunately, Karras had an abysmal pass-blocking grade of 29.4! Miami has struggled for years with blocking stunts. Karras was very slow to ride and swap blockers in stunts. It wasn’t pretty to watch and Fitzpatrick balled the interior pressure many times with his release of the ball. It’s only one game and chemistry is the most critical on the O-line… so, I wouldn’t make a judgment yet. But, this is something to keep a close eye on.

The run blocking along the line was poor in general. Jesse Davis was the best of the worst with a 53.1 PFF run-blocking grade. Ereck Flowers (47.4) and Austin Jackson (43.7) and Robert Hunt (49.2 on his two-run plays) were even worse. The good news is that the pass blocking was excellent other than Karras and Jackson who was decent with his 63.0 PFF grade. But, it was Jackson’s first game as a rookie… so, his performance was encouraging. Flowers and Davis led the O-line in pass blocking grades with a good 77.1 and 75.8 grade, respectively.

Pretty damn positive overall.

The very good news is Solomon Kindley played excellent all-around with a 72.8 pass-blocking grade and 67.5 on run blocking. Karras and Kindley opened several decent holes together. For such a big man, Kindley looked far more nimble than was reported in his draft reports. His opening day performance was one of the best rookie o-line debuts in some time.

It’s early, but I really liked what I saw. Can he stay ahead of the tape chasing him though?

As Kindley creates more NFL tape, you can bet with the Best Pay Per Head sites that defensive coordinators will see his tendencies and weaknesses… and attack them. Around games 4-8 we’ll get a really good indication if Kindley is legit.

Current rankings of the Phins O-line

• Austin Jackson 61st
• Ereck Flowers 49th
• Ted Karras 12th
• Solomon Kindley 20th
• Jesse Davis 37th

Considering this is this unit’s first real action together, everyone is new to the team but Davis and two rookies are starting… not too shabby. Consider the difference between the performances of Dieter and Calhoun last year and Jackson and Kindley this year.

Drum roll, please! The Phins secondary blockers were excellent!

Tight end Mike Gesicki scored an eye-popping 88.2 for his 12 blocking snaps. Gesicki was the best run blocker on the Phins in Week 1! Why do I hear the Twilight Light Zone music? His improvement from last year is amazing, to say the least… Well, at least for one game. If Gesicki can rinse and repeat this play, look out! Heck, if he can even repeat this play at 80%, it will change the trajectory of his career and the potency of this offseason tremendously. Fingers crossed that this continues.

To round out the tight ends, Shaheen 48.8 for 8 snaps, and Smythe had a respectable 67.5 for 9 snaps. Add, in FB Chandler Cox who had a 71.1 blocking grade and a couple of key blocks. Overall the second layer of run blockers did very well. Also, the edge blockers at receivers were decent–for pass catchers–with ll posting a 60ish run-blocking grade.

Don’t sleep on Myles Gaskin!

In my film study of Gaskin a few months back, his pass blocking was my only real concern. Well, Gaskin nearly doubled his grade from last year to this year with an excellent 78.5 pass-blocking grade. This kid has a shot to be pretty good. His Week 1 performance showed his high upside potential and if it keeps up, Brieda will be in the back seat all season.

Gaskin led all the secondary pass blockers of Tes and Rbs, who all did well with a high 60s to low 70s grade. It was these secondary blockers that made the pass blocking look so good and covered up the weak performances by Karras and Jackson.

This isn’t a slight… this is just good team blocking… something we didn’t see last season. Good signs for sure! If we see this level of play again this week… or heaven forbid growth in the blocking, there is real reason to hope that Miami can have success in 2020! Go Phins!!!

It is safe to say that www.AcePerHead.com has built a reputation as the top pay per head bookie site available online for sports bookies around the globe. They also offer a complimentary pay per head trial period for bookies who are looking to upgrade their online gambling presence.

10 Pay Per Head Articles:

1. TAKE YOUR BUSINESS TO THE NEXT LEVEL
2. NOT ALL BOOKIES ARE COMPETITORS
3. FULLY MANAGED SPORTSBOOK
4. CHEAPEST BOOKIE SOFTWARE
5. FROM ROOKIE TO STAR
6. THE ADVANTAGE OF HAVING SUB-AGENTS
7. TOSS THE COOKIE-CUTTER APPROACH
8. HOW DO BOOKIES WORK?
9. FROM AFFILIATE TO BOOKMAKER
10. PAY PER HEAD BOOKIE