Will This Phins Regime Finally Shop for O-Linemen?
Will This Phins Regime Finally Shop for O-Linemen?
Phins need offensive linemen badly, so will they go to Free Agency to find at least one?
The Dolphins are heading into the 2020 Free Agency period with just over $91 million in cap space, second-most behind the Colts. However, this doesn’t include the Phins cutting some big contracts such as Reshad Jones and maybe even Albert Wilson. Either way, Miami finally has its financial house in order compared to the many years of reckless spending.
GM Chris Grier has stated that Miami won’t throw money at every big-name FA and will choose players that fit their scheme and culture. WhileGrier was clear that he won’t put this team back into financial trouble to be ‘winners of the Offseason’, Miami will still make some moves in free agency. Hopefully, the biggest moves they make will come at the offensive line position because that is the one position group where Miami needs a complete major makeover.
The Phins have had some success in the first round at selecting offensive lineman over the years. Not a ton, but some. Problem is, outside of the first round, Miami has been terrible at finding offensive line talent. Given this reality, it would be wise to buy a quality O-lineman in Free Agency even if they use one of their top picks on the offensive line.
Will this regime see this reality though? Or will they blindly enter the season with turnstiles on the O-line like the many regimes before them have?
Who’s out there in Free Agency to help Miami’s O-line?
In terms of Tackles set to hit the free agent market, the top 5 names are Bryan Bulaga, Andrew Whitworth, George Fant, Anthony Castonzo, and Joe Staley. Right off the bat, Whitworth is 37 and Joe Staley is 35, so even though they are both very good tackles, they aren’t a fit for Miami. Throwing money at a player nearing the end of his career was tried with Josh Sitton and that was a huge letdown.
The youngest name in the group is George Fant at 28, so he may be a player that fits the youth movement going on in Miami. But, while he has steadily improved with each season, his 2019 PFF Grade was only 60.6. Maybe he could develop and be a linchpin on our O-Line for years to come? The better bet with the sports betting software is that Miami passes on him and finds a tackle in the draft.
Offensive Guard offers some great prospects in this Free Agency
The Top 5 Guards on the Free Agent market are Brandon Scherff, Joe Thuney, Clint Boling, Marshal Yanda, and Andrus Peat. Both Boling (30) and Yanda (34) are too old for what Miami is trying to accomplish with this rebuild. On the other hand, Scherff (27) and Thuney (26) are ranked as the top 2 guards to enter the market and are excellent interior blockers who are entering the prime of their careers.
Thuney has to be a strong candidate for the Dolphins considering Flores’ history with the Patriots. Thuney is alsoa very durable player as well, which makes paying him a ton a good bet. On top of this, it’s always an added benefit of getting a very good player from a division rival. Parring Left Guard Thuney next to a Left Tackle rookie could go a long way to getting Miami’s Offensive Line back to respectability.
Miami has spent years failing to build a competent O-line
However they do it, Grier and Flores must fix this O-line. The Phins don’t have to spend to get the offensive line in shape… But, if they do bring in Boiling or Thuney, it will be a sure sign that times are really changing for the better.
What are the rest of the Miami Dolphins news fans’ thoughts about these possible offseason targets on the Offensive Line?
This season the understanding was rebuilding and starting from scratch!
Many comments are don’t draft a running back high? We are the Dolphins and the opportunity to draft the number one players in the country regardless of position you draft those players.
I believed in obtaining the best of the best!
Now comes Jonathan Taylor, the latest and some might say greatest in Wisconsin’s long line of power running backs. Kirk Ferentz thinks so, anyway.
“As good a running back as we’ve seen during our time here,” Ferentz, now in his 21st season as Iowa’s head coach, told reporters, “and we’ve played against some pretty good players.”
True, but none of them had ever shredded a Ferentz defense for 250 yards in one game, the way Taylor did earlier this month in a 24-22 victory over Iowa. His day included six rushes of more than 10 yards, including bursts of 36 and 42 yards in the fourth quarter to put the game away.
“Those plays break your back. They’re tough to come back from. You’re on edge the entire game as long as he’s out there,” Ferentz said. “… Taylor is just an elite football player.”
That’s an adjective sure to catch the attention of the Gophers, who own the West Division’s second-best rushing defense in Big Ten games. Only one running back has reached triple digits against Minnesota this year: Penn State freshman Journey Brown, with 124 yards. That was the Gophers’ biggest victory of the season, so they can overcome standout performances.
But the challenge this week is an order of magnitude more difficult.
“He’s just a different kind of running back, the way he can kind of plug his body, make people miss, find little gaps,” said Gophers linebacker Thomas Barber, who was part of the 2018 defense that held Taylor to “just” 120 yards, the Badger back’s fewest during a November surge that delivered him the Doak Walker Award as the nation’s top running back. “And then you have the speed. He can run away from you.”
Taylor’s career has outrun several big-name comparisons, and not just to his Badger backfield forerunners. He was sixth in Heisman balloting two years ago after breaking Adrian Peterson’s freshman rushing record with a 1,977-yard season that included 149 yards against the Gophers. Then he finished ninth in Heisman voting last December after gaining 2,194 yards. His 1,685 yards this season, an average of 6.5 per carry, rank second in the college ranks behind Oklahoma State’s Chuba Hubbard, and his career total of 5,856 yards is the most ever by a player through his junior season; Taylor passed Herschel Walker’s 5,596 yards two weeks ago.
“He’s light on his feet, sees holes, does everything well,” Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh told reporters. “You just try to contain him. Not a realistic thing to think you can stop him.”
Taylor proved it by torching the Wolverines for 203 yards, the second most a Harbaugh team has ever allowed. It was one of Taylor’s 12 career 200-yard games, also the most in FBS history, or one more than Dayne, Marcus Allen and Ricky Williams collected in their Hall of Fame careers. He enters Saturday’s game having eclipsed 200 yards in three straight games.
“It’s awesome. It never gets old,” Badgers coach Paul Chryst said of watching a back who most observers presume will enter the NFL draft after this season. “He’s special.”
And yet there’s a flaw in Taylor’s game, too, one he hoped he had conquered for good a year ago. Taylor fumbled eight times during his freshman season and four more times last year, losing each of them. The problem has flared up anew late this season, too. His fourth-quarter fumble on the Illinois 19 played a major role in the Illini’s upset of the Badgers in October, and though Taylor gained 426 yards the past two weeks, he also lost three fumbles.
Maybe that gives the Gophers some hope. Or maybe they just need to focus on the fundamentals, Gophers coach P.J. Fleck mused.
“It comes down to tackling. You can be in your gap, [but] if you try to tackle Jonathan Taylor, he can drag you for 15 yards,” Fleck said. “He’s so patient. He has incredible vision. He will make cuts at the last second, when it’s very tough for you go be able to change direction and get a true hit on him.”
Miami Dolphins: 2019 season Miami finished dead last in rushing this season: Ryan Fitzpatrick 243 yards A 37 year old Quarterback Patrick Laird 168 yards Kalen Ballage 135 yards Mark Walton 201 yards Kenyan Drake 174 yards Myles Gaskets 133 yards Albert Wilson 45 yards For this group: 1,099 yards
How important is Free agency What have we learned about the offensive line? The Dolphins Jay Ajayi rushed for nearly 1300 yards 2016 in only 12 starts.
4 games weeks 6,7,9,10 All 5 starting linemen were all healthy: 4 of 5 starters were former 1st round picked Jermon Bushrod was a 125th picked from the New Orleans Saints. LT–15th– Brandon Albert–2xPro-Bowler LG–13th– Laremy Tensil– C—15th—Mike Pounces–3x-Pro-Bowler RG–125th–Jerome Bushrod–2x-Pro-Bowler RT–19th—Juwan James—
Positive Production: J. Ajayi—96 carry,6.3 yards a carry,152 yards a game 4 TD’s Rushing for over 200 yards in 3 games 4 games weeks 6,7,9,10
Drop in Production: Mike Pouncey out for Injury 12 games Centers are so important in Zone run scheme’s Weeks 2,3,13,14,15,16,17,18: J. Ajayi 127 carry, 500 yards, TD2, 63 yards a game and yards per game 3.9
Problems Start: Two to three other linemen out: Jermon Bushrod and Ja’Wuan James were the only two linemen that started all games that season.
Production drops to 18 carry for 42 yards a games for J. Ajayi What was the problem? Lack of offensive linemen Depth.
Running Back that Season 2016 Jay Ajayi (Traded Went to Supper Bowl with the Eagle’s) Kenyan Drake (Traded Went to Arizona) Damien Williams (Traded to Cheif’s starting R/B in Supper Bowl) De’Veon Smith
Getting a good top talent offensive line player in free agency makes lots of sense. We cannot get all the players we need in the draft only. A great Young Guard is better than an older good tackle We can get a Tackle in the first round Maybe even two tackles in the top 5 picks would be warranted But we also need to get at least 2 other players in free agency Whether we get an edge rusher, corner, linebacker, or safety in free agency would help – we might be able to get 5 maybe 6 starters in this draft. I hope they hit on all the picks It’s our turn to finally hit on our top 5 picks
“A great Young Guard is better than an older good tackle We can get a Tackle in the first round”
This was Jimmy’s article, but I can’t agree more with you and him.
I don’t think this O-line needs to be finished this year, though. Now, if the best talent available is at Ol, fine. But, we have so many holes, we should just grab the best players available… with a trade back or two to acquire more picks in the future. My two cents says one Tackle in RD 1 and a good guard in FA would be stellar. I’m not sold on Dieter… not saying he isn’t going to take a big step forward in 2020, but I can’t say it’s a guarantee either. News says Flores wants Kilgore back in 2020. He did play much better down the final stretch, but I’d hope for a better center in the future as well.
This season the understanding was rebuilding and starting from scratch!
Many comments are don’t draft a running back high? We are the Dolphins and the opportunity to draft the number one players in the country regardless of position you draft those players.
I believed in obtaining the best of the best!
Now comes Jonathan Taylor, the latest and some might say greatest in Wisconsin’s long line of power running backs. Kirk Ferentz thinks so, anyway.
“As good a running back as we’ve seen during our time here,” Ferentz, now in his 21st season as Iowa’s head coach, told reporters, “and we’ve played against some pretty good players.”
True, but none of them had ever shredded a Ferentz defense for 250 yards in one game, the way Taylor did earlier this month in a 24-22 victory over Iowa. His day included six rushes of more than 10 yards, including bursts of 36 and 42 yards in the fourth quarter to put the game away.
“Those plays break your back. They’re tough to come back from. You’re on edge the entire game as long as he’s out there,” Ferentz said. “… Taylor is just an elite football player.”
That’s an adjective sure to catch the attention of the Gophers, who own the West Division’s second-best rushing defense in Big Ten games. Only one running back has reached triple digits against Minnesota this year: Penn State freshman Journey Brown, with 124 yards. That was the Gophers’ biggest victory of the season, so they can overcome standout performances.
But the challenge this week is an order of magnitude more difficult.
“He’s just a different kind of running back, the way he can kind of plug his body, make people miss, find little gaps,” said Gophers linebacker Thomas Barber, who was part of the 2018 defense that held Taylor to “just” 120 yards, the Badger back’s fewest during a November surge that delivered him the Doak Walker Award as the nation’s top running back. “And then you have the speed. He can run away from you.”
Taylor’s career has outrun several big-name comparisons, and not just to his Badger backfield forerunners. He was sixth in Heisman balloting two years ago after breaking Adrian Peterson’s freshman rushing record with a 1,977-yard season that included 149 yards against the Gophers. Then he finished ninth in Heisman voting last December after gaining 2,194 yards. His 1,685 yards this season, an average of 6.5 per carry, rank second in the college ranks behind Oklahoma State’s Chuba Hubbard, and his career total of 5,856 yards is the most ever by a player through his junior season; Taylor passed Herschel Walker’s 5,596 yards two weeks ago.
“He’s light on his feet, sees holes, does everything well,” Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh told reporters. “You just try to contain him. Not a realistic thing to think you can stop him.”
Taylor proved it by torching the Wolverines for 203 yards, the second most a Harbaugh team has ever allowed. It was one of Taylor’s 12 career 200-yard games, also the most in FBS history, or one more than Dayne, Marcus Allen and Ricky Williams collected in their Hall of Fame careers. He enters Saturday’s game having eclipsed 200 yards in three straight games.
“It’s awesome. It never gets old,” Badgers coach Paul Chryst said of watching a back who most observers presume will enter the NFL draft after this season. “He’s special.”
And yet there’s a flaw in Taylor’s game, too, one he hoped he had conquered for good a year ago. Taylor fumbled eight times during his freshman season and four more times last year, losing each of them. The problem has flared up anew late this season, too. His fourth-quarter fumble on the Illinois 19 played a major role in the Illini’s upset of the Badgers in October, and though Taylor gained 426 yards the past two weeks, he also lost three fumbles.
Maybe that gives the Gophers some hope. Or maybe they just need to focus on the fundamentals, Gophers coach P.J. Fleck mused.
“It comes down to tackling. You can be in your gap, [but] if you try to tackle Jonathan Taylor, he can drag you for 15 yards,” Fleck said. “He’s so patient. He has incredible vision. He will make cuts at the last second, when it’s very tough for you go be able to change direction and get a true hit on him.”
http://www.startribune.com/jonathan-taylor-might-be-the-best-of-all-the-great-wisconsin-running-backs/565510832/
Miami Dolphins: 2019 season
Miami finished dead last in rushing this season:
Ryan Fitzpatrick 243 yards A 37 year old Quarterback
Patrick Laird 168 yards
Kalen Ballage 135 yards
Mark Walton 201 yards
Kenyan Drake 174 yards
Myles Gaskets 133 yards
Albert Wilson 45 yards
For this group: 1,099 yards
Hello Admin
How important is Free agency What have we learned about the offensive line? The Dolphins Jay Ajayi rushed for nearly 1300 yards 2016 in only 12 starts.
4 games weeks 6,7,9,10 All 5 starting linemen were all healthy:
4 of 5 starters were former 1st round picked
Jermon Bushrod was a 125th picked from the New Orleans Saints.
LT–15th– Brandon Albert–2xPro-Bowler
LG–13th– Laremy Tensil–
C—15th—Mike Pounces–3x-Pro-Bowler
RG–125th–Jerome Bushrod–2x-Pro-Bowler
RT–19th—Juwan James—
Positive Production:
J. Ajayi—96 carry,6.3 yards a carry,152 yards a game 4 TD’s
Rushing for over 200 yards in 3 games
4 games weeks 6,7,9,10
Drop in Production: Mike Pouncey out for Injury 12 games
Centers are so important in Zone run scheme’s
Weeks 2,3,13,14,15,16,17,18: J. Ajayi 127 carry, 500 yards, TD2, 63 yards a game and yards per game 3.9
Problems Start:
Two to three other linemen out: Jermon Bushrod and Ja’Wuan James were the only two linemen that started all games that season.
Production drops to 18 carry for 42 yards a games for J. Ajayi
What was the problem? Lack of offensive linemen Depth.
Running Back that Season 2016
Jay Ajayi (Traded Went to Supper Bowl with the Eagle’s)
Kenyan Drake (Traded Went to Arizona)
Damien Williams (Traded to Cheif’s starting R/B in Supper Bowl)
De’Veon Smith
Getting a good top talent offensive line player in free agency makes lots of sense. We cannot get all the players we need in the draft only. A great Young Guard is better than an older good tackle
We can get a Tackle in the first round
Maybe even two tackles in the top 5 picks would be warranted
But we also need to get at least 2 other players in free agency
Whether we get an edge rusher, corner, linebacker, or safety in free agency would help – we might be able to get 5 maybe 6 starters in this draft. I hope they hit on all the picks
It’s our turn to finally hit on our top 5 picks
“A great Young Guard is better than an older good tackle
We can get a Tackle in the first round”
This was Jimmy’s article, but I can’t agree more with you and him.
I don’t think this O-line needs to be finished this year, though. Now, if the best talent available is at Ol, fine. But, we have so many holes, we should just grab the best players available… with a trade back or two to acquire more picks in the future. My two cents says one Tackle in RD 1 and a good guard in FA would be stellar.
I’m not sold on Dieter… not saying he isn’t going to take a big step forward in 2020, but I can’t say it’s a guarantee either. News says Flores wants Kilgore back in 2020. He did play much better down the final stretch, but I’d hope for a better center in the future as well.