O-line reshuffled, will it be revived?
Miami’s moves hinge on Pouncey’s health, Tunsil’s play.
One of the main issues for the Miami Dolphins last season was the underwhelming performance of their highly paid offensive line, and they went into the offseason intent on correcting that.
After some reshuffling, Miami now goes into 2017 with the starting offensive line penciled in as left tackle Laremy Tunsil, left guard Ted Larsen, center Mike Pouncey, right guard Jermon Bushrod and right tackle Ja’Wuan James. Counting Tunsil, who played left guard last season, there will be two new starters.
T h e D o l p h i n s a l r e a d y accomplished one goal by c ut t i ng t he pr i c e of t hat group. They paid $28.7 million for the offensive line last season, which was the fifth-highest in the league at that position (according to Spotrac) and ate up nearly 19 percent of the salary cap.
They’re currently at $20.4 million, with the main savings coming from trading left tackle Branden Albert to the Jaguars. While the Dolphins are still likely to make another move or two on the line, they now rank 27th in spending.
The big question, though, is whether Miami actually made itself better.
Health will play a big role in answering that, starting with Pouncey. If he’s back for a full season, that makes an enormous difference, but that’s hard to guarantee. After five mostly healthy seasons, three of which landed hi m i n t he Pro B owl, he missed 11 games last year because of hip problems. The Dolphins shut him down in mid-December.
There’s also a concern about how good Tunsil will be in his new position after getting just two starts there last season. Pro Football Focus ranked him the No. 41 guard in the NFL.
Those rankings, while not the end-all statement on any player, are troubling at both guard spots. Larsen, who signed a three-year deal after coming over from Chicago, was 44th among guards. Bushrod, who considered retiring this offseason, was No. 69. Miami will probably draft someone who can compete for a starting guard spot and/or work as the backup center. Kraig Urbik will be back, too, and he can play either of those positions.
The closest thing to a sure bet is James, who rebounded nicely after being benched early last season.
All the tweaks to the O-line leave the Dolphins with no more certainty than last season. Ultimately, they’re banking on Pouncey being back to full strength and Tunsil being the star they drafted him to be. If those don’t pan out, it figures to be another rough year for the line.
Rejoining Dolphins not in the script: That Jared Odrick, such a kidder.
Odrick, the former Dolphins defensive lineman and No. 1 pick, posted a short video on social media Thursday labeled “@ Davie, Florida.”
One click took viewers to a shot that pans office hallways with a plaque commemorating Don Shula and the 1972 Dolphins, three framed Dolphins jerseys, then zeros in on an office door. There, you see Odrick about to step out of an office as he says, “No, thanks, coach. I’m really looking forward to it. I really am. Thanks. See ya.”
So how about that? Odrick had hit it off with Adam Gase, had just signed a deal, was rejoining the Dolphins and, before we knew it, the Peewee Herman sack dance would be returning to Hard Rock Stadium. A big adventure for everybody! Except ... Odrick has not signed with the Dolphins.
The video was Odrick having fun on the set of the HBO show “Ballers,” where he ac tually has appeared. It took a sharp eye to catch the lone clue as to what Odrick what was up to. As Odrick leaves the office, you catch a glimpse of the nameplate outside the door: Larry Siefert.
Si efe r t i s t he Dolphins GM on “Ballers.” Now, one could ask why Odrick would be referring to his GM as “Coach,” but whatever. C UTL E R BAY — A l a b a ma coach Nick Saban made quite an impression with the parents of cornerback recruit C.J. Henderson, visiting their home and even giving Henderson’s mother some book recommendations.
But t h e Cr i mson Ti d e never led for his services, and something the family saw on his recruiting visit played a factor in that.
“I forget whose office we were in, but they had position breakdowns and the names of the recruits for that year and you could see about 20 names above Christopher (C. J.) already crossed out, so it was kind of obvious, like, ‘OK, we’re scraping the barrel a little bit,’” said his mother, Prudence Henderson.
The Tide got involved late in the process as Henderson was already weighing offers from Florida and Miami.
That said, the family was very impressed with Saban and thinks Henderson’s decision might have been even more difficult had the Tide gotten involved earlier.
“Saban could have easily, I think had they been interested earlier, a bond would have been created between the two of them,” Prudence Henderson said.
Said Chris Henderson Sr., C.J.’s father: “Alabama was fun. I really liked Alabama. I think Coach Nick Saban was real good and one of the best coaches out there. ... But I think (C.J.) went with what was good for him.”
In the end, Henderson had a tough enough choice deciding between his hometown Hurricanes and the Gators. He flipped back and forth between the two several times before deciding t wo days before national signing day that he would sign with Florida, he said.
“I looked at it if all the coaches leave at Miami, and all of them leave at Florida, I would pick Florida. I could see myself going there for school,” he said.
Interestingly, his very first scholarship offer came from new Florida defensive backs coach Corey Bell, when he was an assistant at Florida Atlantic.
“It was my sophomore year going into my junior y e a r, t h a t s p r i n g I g o t offered by FAU by Coach Bell. I only had running back film still, and he just told me he liked a lot about me. It meant a lot,” Henderson said.
Now he’ll get to work with Bell in Gainesville, arriving this summer as part of a deep incoming class of defensive backs.
Henderson is rated a fourstar recruit and ranked No. 15 nationally among cornerbacks in the 2017 class, according to the 247Sports composite. He hopes to contribute right away, in any or every capacity. He mentioned that Gators coaches have told him he’ll get a look at potentially returning punts in addition to competing for playing time on defense and working elsewhere on special teams.
“I’m ready to come in and I (c an) come in and make an impact on special teams, on the return team and defense,” he said.