Film Study: Jesse Davis At Right Tackle
Davis could end up a nice find for a Fins team starved of O-line talent
Power and size is the name of Davis’ game
Jesse Davis has been a bright spot for the Miami Dolphins this season. And after a successful start at Right Tackle against the Panther #1 defense, his shine has became a little bit brighter.
Since Preseason, Phinsnews has liked Davis a lot at Guard. But expectations on the quality of his play at tackle weren’t so high (article here). While Davis did suffer at times on Monday from flaws in his hand fighting technique and ability to deal with wide pass-rushing angles, he proved far better than we thought he would. His grade of 74 by PFF, when viewed in context, looks even better.
Davis is dominant in size and strength. Power is the platform his game is built on.
All game long, Davis continually engulfed and overwhelmed everyone not named Julius Peppers… except for one play against Charles Johnson, where he was beat a bit too early. It’s important to remember that both Peppers and Johnson are long time vets and savvy play goes along way in the NFL.
The good news is technique can be improved. While improvement isn’t a guarantee, Davis has proved to be a hard worker, and the fact he can play multiple positions means he’s willing to learn.
Despite the game being his first start at Tackle, and the defense having their ears pulled back in pass rush for half the game, Davis still managed to wall off the right side… but for a handful of snaps.
At the very least, Davis is an excellent depth player
Over the next couple of weeks Davis will need to work on his weakesses because defenses will have tape now. Rushers will certainly test the flaws in his game early and often.
In the video below Davis dominates every edge rusher with power. The last play is the only time Davis can’t overcome his technical flaws with size and strength.
The biggest correct he needs to make is his tendency to let his hand ride too long on the defender. This leaves him open to the ‘grab and pull’. He also was caught leaning into his blocks a few times too many.
Of all the edge rushers, Peppers had the best success against Davis… no duh, right. But Peppers didn’t line up over Davis till the second half, when it was obvious pass downs. This swung the advantage hard towards Peppers’ favor. Let’s also remember Peppers is a Hall of Famer and possesses a very rare size and speed ratio, not to mention tons of experience.
Consistency has been the biggest issue at Right Tackle this season
Davis actually handles Peppers half the time, when the rush angles are less wide. But when Peppers extends the angles, Davis begins to break down. In the last two plays you see that technique is a major factor. Davis’ kick step in the third snap has a deeper angle than the snap that follows, and he has better success against Peppers because of it. In the fourth snap, Davis take to flatter angle in his kick step and is beaten like a drum. This should improve with time as he gains a better understanding of the game.
The run game is where Davis thrives. After going against mammoth DT’s as a Guard, the smaller edge players aren’t much of a problem.
Davis and Jermon Bushrod showed good chemistry and were able to switch and swap defenders with few issues. Although, there were some bumps in the road as seen in the last play.
Given that most of Davis’ poor play came against Peppers, the PFF grade of 74 looks a lot better in that context. Now I’m not anointing him a star or even Ja’Wuan James replacement, but he did pretty good against the #1 defense… so that’s not a bad thing. Yet, if he can be consistent and play at this level for the remainder of the season, then you can say hello to 2018’s starting RT. Worst case scenario in my opinion, Davis will make for a pretty good RG or an excellent swing man… not bad for a cheap Free Agent that nobody wanted. Dolphins win on this one. Go Fins!!!
Regardless, for what Jawuan costs…this guy will be the starter next year.
Yeah, I agree. James is more talented, but Davis is more consistent, stronger and cheaper. Notice everyone had a penalty last game but Davis and he played in his 4th spot. Not a star, but a good enough player.
“Jesse Davis has been a bright spot for the Miami Dolphins this season” mj
…sigh…lost me right there …c’mon mj
…I know you like the guy …and he had a fair game at RT …but he definitely has not been a “bright spot” this season …he is a piss poor guard, couldn’t even beat Steen out at LG …and PFF has consistently graded him poorly there …he is inconsistent at best at G
…give me three games at RT with PFF grades in the upper third of RTs and I’ll buy him there …and we’ll both be happy …granted, both he and Bushrod had a fair game last week when I thought they’d be carrying Cutler off the field because of the combo …something clicked …we’ll see if it was a one-time thing or something they can repeat again and again …if so, I’d be just as pleased as you
…but that lead line …oy veh 🙂
He hasn’t? Did I say THE one bright spot… nope. I said a bright spot. A guy who you never heard of has come in to play LT, started LG and now RT. Out of all that, he had one not so good game, which was because he allowed 1 pressure and committed two penalties… also, no one on the team did well that game, if I remember correctly. This is the same guy you said was a third stringer and wouldn’t start for any team in the league, if I remember correctly. Did you miss your Geritol today? 🙂
“He is a piss poor guard, couldn’t even beat Steen out at LG …and PFF has consistently graded him poorly there …he is inconsistent at best at G” Two game one he grade an 80 by PFF… piss poor? He’s a tackle converted to Guard and played two games in his new position. Everyone can’t be Incognito from day 1… heck, even Incognito wasn’t Incognito from day 1.
…yes, piss poor …he graded in the 30’s more than three times when he played enough snaps to even get a grade …he came from the practice squad, third string …he couldn’t win a starting slot on any other team at G …the jury is still out on OT …he has started for the phins solely because of injuries …in the LG slot he was the 4th man up …yes, piss poor
…you love him, you own him …nothing personal re Davis but he stands out only because he was such a non-entity before …he is the symptom of why the phins are failing this year, not the bright spot you would like him to be …if the phins had gotten quality Gs in FA and the draft, we’d have never heard his name …but they didn’t and yes, we are starting a 3rd stringer who couldnt win a start on any other team …that said, I hope like hell he has 7 straight games of glory …like him or not, he’s the horse we are riding 🙂
…by the way, Incognito sat out his rookie year on IR, he started the next year as a redshirt rookie straight out of camp, playing all 16 games for SL …on an OL which produced a 4,000-yard passer, a 1,500-yard rusher, and two 1,000-yard receivers, one of only four offenses in NFL history to accomplish the feat …I’d say Incognito was Incognito from day 1 …you keep Davis, I’ll keep Incognito 🙂
From 2006-2011, richie career was most noted for injuries, stupidity, and penalties with only 2 full seasons. He didn’t have his first pro bowl until his 6th season. So no, Richie didn’t come out of the box richie. No way if he was drafted by the Fins and performed and acted the way he did, you be in full bloom love of Richie… You’d call him a bum and a bust for a 3rd RD pick. Meanwhile, if you pulled in Davis as a FA had him sit on the PS for two seasons and then had him contribute as he has, you’d (well not you, but someone objective 🙂 ) would say nice.
Good work MJ. Thanks for taking the time to put this together. I ain’t no genius….but….I see a young player with huge upside. Jesse Davis, if given a fair chance, will become a solid lineman. I just don’t know why Lemmus is so hard on the guy. His first year to be asked to do so much, is just amazing how well he is doing.
Lemmus, this guy has had several good games, not just one. By your own admission, you have not watched the games. I have! And this guy stands out for the good work he is doing. Sure he is making some mistakes, but even the most seasoned veterans have a bad play or two.
I hope the Phins hang onto him. Develop him…help him learn to study film…improve his kick step…etc etc.
What I don’t want to see happen is that he gets released next season because they think they’ve found someone better…then he goes somewhere else and excels.
NP Fritz… you’re a good guy and I have a man crush on Davis. Davis has elite strength, effort, versatility… it compensates for his avg. agility. But at RG or RT he can be a factor. My concern though is his strength. He was a small fry when he got into the league. Maybe he bloomed or maybe it’s PED’s. His strength is exceptional, but it wasn’t like at 2 years ago. Time will tell. But if his strength is legit, he starts at RT next season. At the very least he played 4 spots this year and did fairly well in relief and starts. Excellent 6th man at the very least. He is locked in next year for 550k… what a steal even as a rotation guy… bt as Lemmus says, it’s outweighed by the Bushrod disaster contract.
But I even said, he must be consistent… at the very least to get a player like this for nothing, even as depth is big. No way he grades out in the top 3rd… maybe at best 22-17th… that still is excellent, given all things considered.
Hey Lemmus, you hear Rey Mal got arrested last night and is getting released!!!?? Never, ever have I witnessed a season like this… unbelievable. Maybe a Top 10 pick is on its way after all.
…initial reports are that he was in a bar on South Beach at 8:30am, they tabbed him for $40 and for some reason he refused to pay …poor guy is only making $980k this year,eh …then it got physical with him winding up with a guy by the throat when the cops arrived …why he was in a bar on South Beach at 8:30am on the day before a game is beyond me …South Beach is notorious for celebrities getting hit on by wanna-be flakes with an itch for 15 min of fame …and drinking in public at 8:30am on the day before a game? …even if the assault charges are dismissed, the time and place would be enough to get him in serious trouble with Gase …and since they cut him while he was still in a holding cell, I’m going to assume they believe the assault charges will stick
…I said we’d go 7-9 this season right after the draft …the next two home games are absolute must wins against Tampa and Denver to even get close to that …Maualuga won’t be that big a loss, he was the nickle LB playing the run …Hull isn’t as good, obviously, or Maualuga wouldn’t be here in the first place, but he’s not as bad as, say Davis at LG 🙂 …but the loss is just one more nail in the coffin …we have 5 games that are going to be even harder to win now, 2 vs the Pats, 2 vs the Bills, and one vs the Chiefs …that 7-9 prediction may well have been on the optimistic side
…on the “bright” side, we could be looking at four long months of listening to how we have to trade down to get more LB/CB/DE picks, Davis having “fixed” all our offense’s problems 🙂
Funny guy… if they don’t win tomorrow handily, then I will go ‘darkside M.J.’ I have zero problem admitting I’m wrong and going down the right direction. I’ve had some hits and some misses, just like everyone all the way up to HOF coaches and GM’s. 8-8 was my bottom for the season. A lot of insane stuff has happened to hinder them, but they shot themselves in the foot far too much. And that comes down to Gase. I’m not saying he sucks and fire him, but a terrible season this year and one next and then I’ll seriously consider it. He needs all the positive mojo he can get. Right now he is entering negative territory
…well I’m spotting Gase TH, a TE, C, and a G in ’18 …possibly an OT, and getting our LB and CBs back …I’m hoping they can keep Landry as well
…if he’s not leading the AFC West by mid-season, it’ll be time to think about him
…my major concern at this point is our player personnel selections …not a single starter this year but for injuries …the Parker, Howard, Caroo picks are all looking bad from the recent past …its not how you build a winning team …and then of course we’re in cap hell this year and ’18 looks to be almost as bad
…other than Ross selling the team, I’d like to see them clean out the FO …most certainly including T-bum …I’ve become more and more convinced that we should have kept Hickey as GM …he was only here 2 years but his picks were solid in hindsight …since then, blah
…and don’t be picking on me boy Incognito, he earned a start out of camp, played all 16 games, got better every year, and eventually made the pro-bowl …if he was our starting LG this year, Ajayi would likely be over 1k yards, still a phin, and Gase would be wearing a halo 🙂