Coaches doing less Experiments with the line

Jimmy Bourbon

9 years ago

The last two regimes in Miami have been under the guidance of Tony Sparano and Joe Philbin, which have spanned from 2008 up until now, which including this season would be 8 years. Both of these coaches were first-time head coaches when they were chosen as the head coach of Miami, and both of these coaches started out their coaching careers specializing as offensive line coaches. One would think that the odds would be in Miami’s favor that over the last 8 years that our offensive line would be very good, considering both of these coaches had a talent for coaching the offensive line group, however that has not even come close to being true. The reality has been that both coaches have had an obsession with tinkering and mixing and matching with the offensive line group, and the result has been that our line has been the Achilles heal of our team for almost a decade.

I understand that both of these coaches have wanted lineman that can be interchangeable at various positions on the line, however it makes it that much harder for a player to be an expert at one specific position if he is constantly being asked to learn another position. The offense is complex enough, and when there are new offensive coordinators then there are totally different offensive schemes that are also put in place, which the players need to learn as well. So it is understandable that these linemen have a lot on their plate by having to learn the nuances of a different position and also to learn new schemes. The best way to learn is practice and repetition, but repetition in the same position, not by constantly being moved to a different position.

However, this year during OTA’s Philbin has finally decided to let his lineman actually focus on one position, instead of experimenting with them at multiple positions. Most

The Dolphins just recently found an available acorn, in C.J. Mosley that appears to be a perfect fit to add value to their team, and now there may be another acorn that the Dolphins may also want to scoop up before it’s too late. The Dolphins have numerous times been linked with possibly trading with the Philadelphia Eagles to acquire former Pro Bowl Guard Evan Mathis, and now the Dolphins may have been given an early Christmas present, because the Eagles have just announced that they have released Mathis.

The old saying is that patience is a virtue, and if the Dolphins are seriously interested in Mathis, which they should be, then there patience in waiting out the Eagles and not budging on making a trade could now possibly pay off in a big way. Mathis is now an available free agent who is now free to negotiate a contract with any team that he wants. Apparently the main reason that the Eagles released him was because of his contract. He was unhappy about his contract, because the team said they would raise his salary, but then pulled the offer before he could accept it. His 2015 contract was supposed to pay $6.5 million, now any team can offer him a brand new contract.

Now the multimillion dollar question is whether Miami can, and will, they make Mathis an offer that he would be willing to accept. Mathis is one of the better guards in the league, but his career is also becoming a bit long in the tooth, with him being 33 years old and a 9 year veteran. He clearly would not be a long term answer, but would definitely be a perfect stop gap for a season or two. The problem is that Mathis wants one more pay day before he rides off into the sun, and even though the Dolphins clearly have a glaring need for an experienced guard, do they have the financial power to close a deal?

I would do whatever it takes to get Mathis, because at the moment Guard is our most glaring need, and Mathis would be an immediate upgrade, and would be a huge addition to the team. He would immediately make our offensive line better, which would then subsequently make our running attack and passing attack better. I would even go as far as saying that if we signed Mathis, then he could be the final missing piece to help make us a playoff team. Sure we still have some other holes on the roster, but if we were able to fill our biggest area of need with a proven quality starter, then I believe this team will have everything it needs to be a playoff team. Even Super Bowl Championship teams have a few weaknesses or dimples on their roster.

The Dolphins are not going to be the only team that will be interested in acquiring Mathis, but whoever really wants him better act fast. Other possible landing spots for Mathis could be the Giants, Seahawks, Broncos, and Raiders. I would love to sign him, but most pay per head services sites like AcePerHead.com believe we will lose out to a team that is willing to pay Mathis more money upfront. What does the rest of the Miami Dolphins news fans think about our chances of landing Mathis?

would say this may finally be the right decision and will lead to more consistent and better offensive line play. During the entire OTA’s Pouncey and James, our two best available linemen at the moment have been only playing at their natural positions, center and right tackle, and as a result, the entire offensive line has looked pretty good so far. Since Albert is not healthy enough to practice yet, it could have been very tempting for Philbin to put James at Left Tackle, but instead, he has decided to let Jason Fox get all the starting Left Tackle reps. I believe that is a very wise move because James is by far our best RT, so instead of making two positions weaker by moving James to left tackle, we now have one very strong RT position and one weaker position at LT. However, one good sign is that Fox has been holding his own at LT, so the extra reps at LT are helping Fox improve each day, which means he may be able to fill in admirably for Albert if Albert can’t play at the beginning of the season.

Hopefully, this is a good overall sign from Philbin that he is learning from his past mistakes, and this will spread to other parts of his coaching decisions. As much as the offensive line is still a big question mark for our team, I like the idea of having our starters focus on one specific position on the line, and this in itself should help improve the overall play in the trenches. What does the rest of you think of the Miami Dolphins news regarding them finally laying off the offensive line experiments this off-season?

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