Film Breakdown: Explaining the Miami Dolphins Offensive Line Philosophy | Is It Really That Bad? 

Thank you I believe I had a comment yesterday saying it was my worst ever so I'm really hitting a wide spectrum here lol.

@rydermcconville I didn't see that other comment. I cannot imagine what foundation they had for it. I know it wasn't sound. You fully supported all your assessments here. Probably part of the Grier-bashing ensemble with tunnel-vision on the woes of the OL.

The problem is its very hard to find talented O lineman. Not many people on planet that big and also athletic. So instead of putting a bunch of resources into that area they protect it with scheme. It is a philosophy that has been proven to work. Not saying it will every time but has a bunch of success. Also, the Shannahan offenses are at the top of the league every year it even not being the highest in blocking areas.

Miami has drafted many many Online men even at the #1 pick they just don't work out like in 95% of teams

@MeauxGreenMusic Their system isn't designed to "hide" weaknesses. It's designed to keep defenses confused and that has worked. Just because SF lost last year doesn't mean that they couldn't have just as easily won. The Dolphins led the NFL in many offensive categories last year. Their woes were due more to breakdowns and poor execution than design. They did bring in talented OL, like Terron and Connor. Both suffered injuries last year. The OL was ranked fairly high before they went out.

Most OL are better at run or pass blocking, the ones who are both get a lot of money. Miami has actually done decent at holding to a budget while not sacrificing too much functionality.

That's why I was saying its not a Grier thing. Since McDaniel has been here we have had limited picks and he knows interior OL is his least priority. They will take tackles but not guard

Our poor game against the Bills is exactly why we needed to improve our OL and not settle for below average OL. What happens when you can't play call and finesse your opponent? Just look at the 49ers first game vs the Jets when they had to run the ball with a UDFA RB, they opened more holes between the tackles because they had to and not lean so heavily on Brock Purdy, who missed many open passes. Even the 49ers, who McD models after, can be flexible enough to open BIG running lanes and pass protect Purdy so he doesn't become injured. They can win the tough games by not settling for below average OL.

@jihyotwice3159 Much of this is fair. However, if the Chargers played Buffalo last week, they would probably be 1-1 just like Miami, and still have the same concerns with injury at the QB position.

@@c2jones What you say may also be true, however take a look now at GB who also invested heavily on the O-line. Last year, they basically rotated all their O-line in order to keep them fresh. Kinda like a Lineman by committee approach so that they limited nicks and long term injuries by the end of the season. Last year they basically wore down the Cowboys during their playoff win. They didn't put too much reliance on Jordan Love and instead ran the ball. This year they are basically limited by Jordan Love's ability and health. At the first game they only lost during the last drive where he was injured and will be out for a lengthy time. Kinda like one the Dolphins are in. However in the second week, with back up QB Malik Willis who didn't make it in Titans and shows severely limited ability on tape compared to Skylar Thompson, actually won vs. the Colts, another playoff hopeful team. They basically dumbed down the offense to a high school level running counters basically 75% of the plays. Now, I have brought up 2 playoff hopeful teams, both of which will probably make the playoffs and one actually did last year, with basically the same Injured QB. GB actually will be without their QB similar to Dolphins. Both teams invested heavily on the O-line and looks good to the future. Dolphins on the other hand is filled with doubt. Some question Skylar's ability to run the offense, some actually question McD's scheme and play calling. Yet, all somehow resigned with the O-line's below average ability and are willing to accept it by covering for it. I can't even see the similarities between the O-line of the 49ers and the Dolphins, who McD is a disciple of the Shanahan tree. 49ers have an O-line that can open running lanes and rely heavily on a UDFA RB.

People are blaming Grier for not drafting OL with premium picks. He is not doing that because of McDaniel. That's what I'm saying not to blame him for because its the philosophy of the coach.

@@rydermcconvilleRespectfully, this team has historically been awful with their oline builds which predate McDaniel. Chris Grier and the two co-directors of personnel have been mangling the oline since the late 90’s. This all goes back to ownership which has had multiple chances to clean house and never did. We’re talking two decades here of grocery selctors who have no idea how to identify oline talent and when they blindly find one, they let him walk. These guys have never valued the position and it shows.

@@danielcosta6238no its about the draft picks they lost in 2022 and 2023. In 2020, they used a 1st and a 2nd on OL. In 2021, they used a 2nd on OL. In 2022 and 2023, when they only had four picks in each draft, they did not draft OL. In 2024, they had 7 picks and they used a 2nd on OL.

@danielcosta6238 It's untrue that they never hold one on one blocks. Instead of strictly going by those misleading stats, do the eye test on the passing plays. The pocket held up fine on most occasions vs Buffalo. The problem was that Hill and Waddle were not getting separation vs Buffalo's two-high shell coverage and Jonnu wasn't freeing himself either. That caused the ball to stick. That happened last year, too, versus better secondary schemes. Tua throws to spots. If that's disrupted, his improvising has been suspect at times. If you want to go by stats alone, then the 2023 numbers weren't so bad. 4th sacks allowed. 1st allowed hits. 15th overall rating PFF. 8th block wins on running plays. The problem is that there are members of this OL who are chronically injured and the depth hasn't always held up. But that's why they drafted Paul and brought in others. Predictable? Actually, their offensive scheme was designed to keep defenses confused and frozen presnap. Those breakdowns have much to do with poor execution, not the design. It's designed for a quicker release of the ball which coverage in the secondary limits far more than true breakdowns in pocket protection. His getting the ball out quicker often creates misleading "block time" stats. They are not a power-running team. That's not the build. If that's your only definition of a quality team, then the Dolphins aren't for you. This isn't Shula's pound game team of the early 70s. Nor even the Ricky Williams era. But if operated correctly, can be highly productive.

Firstly, I was slightly exaggerating on the one on one blocks. Sure they can hold them from time to time, but not an an efficient enough rate which allows for 3rd and long conversions or obvious passing downs. The pass block win rate for this oline is atrocious and is only circumvented by the quick throws. I also don’t know what game you were watching last Thursday, but there were very few clean pockets to be found when Tua was in the game. AJ gave up 4 pressures, RJ was a turnstile and Tua ended up hurt because he ultimately got frustrated with the lack of protection. Secondly, those stats you’re picking out is a result of the quick throws and the scheme. Pass block and run block win rate is the true measure of a line and they were 31st last year and have been at the bottom of the league for years. Those stats you’re citing also do not take into consideration how many times McD left in extra blockers which limits your routes. Thirdly, you’re conflating the predictability of the play itself with the predictability of the overall scheme. Teams have learned not to get caught up in the eye candy, concede the run. and let the Phins run plays until they go off schedule. They know that McD is not going to a power run game and is going to always run outside and run a bunch of screens to confuse them. Teams aren’t confused anymore and going back to last year, teams that can pressure with 4 will drop back 7 and there goes your vaunted passing game. Teams know when they’re facing a bad oline and will have their own scheme to limit plays. Finally, there’s a HUGE difference between being a power running team and having a power running game. There are no more power running teams, but the good teams have some sort of power running game. Why? So defenses can’t do what they do to the Dolphins all the time, which is come out in the nickle and dare them to pass until they make a mistake. If you have ZERO inside running game, you become predictable no matter how many gadget plays you run and the good teams will beat you just like they consistently beat the Dolphins. When you’re whole scheme is about confusion and avoiding the obvious weaknesses of the oline, then you become predictable. If you can’t line up in an I formation and grab 1-2 yards against a nickel, you’re not getting anywhere near a Super Bowl. Football has been around a long long time and it’s absolutely not about whether I like the build or not. It’s about whether the build works. McD and Grier are trying to re-write the way the game is played while all the while forgetting that this is a contact sport. It’s clear that without baseline physicality you can stick all those fancy plays where the sun don’t shine. How are your receivers going to find separation when you need to get the ball out in under 2 seconds? Think about it! Football starts in the trenches and right now the trenches are not good.

@danielcosta6238 So when the stats support your argument, then they're relevant. When the stats don't, then they're misleading. Goodness, if there's one chronic grabbag of the naysayers, that's the one. As I've said to others with your argument about the "no time to throw" thing, I would really like to have a group watch event of these games together so that we could all watch these passing plays (vs those watching the game through postgame stats), which I am convinced would arrive with an adjusted perspective. I saw one like that last night that revealed variations as to those preconceived fixations. Hill and Waddle not getting open had nothing to do with not having enough time to get open. The time was fine. It was the coverage itself. Let's be clear, his protection is far from good, but the reality is that in 2023 Tua's time to throw was 2.36-seconds. Mahomes' average time to throw was 2.84 seconds. The NFL average was 2.65 seconds. That miniscule difference of .29th of a second cannot logically be used as the reason why Tua struggled late in games (particularly big games) down the stretch. When he was forced to hang onto the ball longer than 2.5 seconds, his QBR dropped to 43.2 and his completion percentage dipped to 58.8%. As a result, 9 of his 14 interceptions last season came on passes of that nature. He was off-target on 21.2% of his throws outside the pocket, which ranked middle-of-the-pack among NFL quarterbacks. Tagovailoa threw a career-high 14 interceptions in 2023. He threw multiple interceptions in four games, also a career-high. He threw very ill-advised two pick-sixes, to go along with 13 fumbles, five of which were lost. The other night he had three more interceptions and another pick-six. He was not necessarily under duress in all those instances. In the one that he was, the smart move was to take the sack given he couldn't even properly throw the ball out of bounds. Go back and review them. In his own words, he admits that he needs to take better care of the ball. The position dictates that one is prudent with placement, irrespective of all else. Defenses shouldn't need to be confused for this group to have success. Tua, Hill and Waddle are the highest-paid trio in the history of the NFL for heaven's sake. Buffalo was down to 3rd string defensive backs and those two couldn't get open and Tua was overthrowing Chosen or throwing to brand-new receivers who weren't looking for the ball. Jonnu wasn't nearly as relevant as he should have been. He was supposed to have been the difference-maker. He wasn't. Predictability (I don't agree, but when they are, it's mostly because Tua throws to spots) should still not stop players with this type of speed and salaries. You're saying that the build doesn't work when in fact it led the NFL in total offense. SF and others using this build are typically on top on the NFL. You may be overly confusing poor execution and chronic player error with a bad build. Nevertheless, they have who they have and they'll make the most of it if they apply themselves better to their games. McDaniel is a better play-designer than in-game manager thus far. Plays getting in late and discipline issues have plagued this team (because he'd rather be a pal than a demanding coach) and this has caused more problems than many seem to realize.

@@c2jones Re your first paragraph: You’re offering an ad hominem criticism, which doesn’t support any argument. But to parry anyway, isn’t using stats to your advantage or the others disadvantage the nature of debates? Of course you think I’m juking and jiving, it’s because you already fundamentally disagree with me. But stick to the points because when you criticize the way the way someone argues and not the argument, it usually mean yours is weak. Re 2nd: I can’t help you if you think pass rush doesn’t affect how open a WR can be. If you don’t think Hill and Waddle can find an open space with the time to throw you seem to think Tua has, then you must not think much of those WRs. Now, if you watched the ALL-22 I’ll give you benefit of the doubt. Maybe they had a bad game, just like they always mysteriously seem to do when playing playoff teams who can pressure organically with 4 ;) But if you didn’t see a crumbling oline while watching the game, then we must agree to disagree. Also keep in mind the Bills only blitzed 3 times, which means they’re mostly dropping 7. You think they’re doing that because the oline is playing good? It’s only because of the amazing work of 3rd string CBs? Re 3rd: if you think there isn’t a profound difference between 2.84 seconds and 2.36, I dunno what to to tell you. Football might be a game of inches on the ground, but it’s a game of milliseconds in the pocket. And here you have an oline that can’t hold blocks at the league average 2.65 but you expect Tua to find open receivers in coverage on the regs with a team that can’t run up the middle against 7 dropping back including LBers.. Also did you know PFF doesn’t even rate PB win rate if the ball is out in under 2 seconds? So in that light the .29 difference average has even more weight. Teams aren’t exactly crowding the line, but you wanna compare Tua’s time to throw with other teams? Of course the coverage is good against 3rd stringers. No one blitzes this team anymore. The Bills blitzed 3 times and ran the nickel all game. Why? Yes, it’s because the receivers are dangerous BUT the protection is also brutal AND they can’t run up the middle against light boxes. No one schemes a defense around one strength or weakness of the other teasm. The fact that they’re not even trying hard to get Tua to throw the ball quickly should tell you A LOT about this line/philosophy. And they’re gonna face a tougher dline tomorrow! When looking at stats, context counts for a lot. It’s the same reason why a company’s balance sheet always has accompanying notes. Because the numbers only tell part of the story. It’s pretty clear we don’t see the game the same way, but I’ll tell you what. One stat I don’t need context for is 1 Playoff Win. Ask yourself how good is this “buld” really is when you’re getting smoked by the playoff bound teams?

@danielcosta6238 1st paragraph response is a bunch of gooblygook to water down chronically picking and choosing selective stats. The whole notion of the OL being so dreadful in your view surely stems from those stats. Be honest. Those stats only matter when they're deficient. Otherwise they're irrelevant. It's not all from the eye test. Or, you're allowing your preconceived ideas to color what you think you're seeing. Fundamentally disagree with you? Well, not really. I'm not selling up the OL as elite or even top shelf. They're just suited to what they're doing. It's built for outside zone or split flow action. You're also mistaken that they're not running inside as well. (See a video called Dolphins HQ.) And importantly, again, you are missing poor discipline from some players (which has been a real problem since Flores left) which is a greater problem than the build or design itself. 62% of the league is running the two-high shell now and it has slowed the production of Hill and Waddle. It's been happening over their last 5-6 games going back to last year. I never said a pass rush doesn’t affect how receivers can be connected with. It has nothing to do with how "open" they are. Only the ability to get them the ball. But that was NOT the problem vs Buffalo. The Bills played two-high shell at 75%, Dan. More than anyone has in the McDaniel era! They didn't need to blitz because they flooded the secondary to protect their 3rd string DBs and it ended up working. You talk about ad hominem (your standby term every time your reading comprehension fails you), here you are putting words in my mouth and totally misrepresenting the statements made with silly, lazy assessments. Do better than that. If 10ths of seconds are the difference between three-time SB MVP QBs and one with with a 63.9 in the playoffs and the worst passer rating among quarterbacks who faced the eventual champion Chiefs in the playoffs, as well the Dolphins had the worst scoring outcome, then yes, you're missing something. It's not just a one-game problem. They weren't getting "smoked" by the Chiefs overall. Until Wilkins had that unsportsmanlike penalty late in the game, the contest was close. The defense, despite having to sign players off the street, was holding up well, forcing KC into multiple FGs. It was that putrid offense that cannot produce big plays anymore because of the emergence of the two-high shell across the league, mastered by some to counter teams like Miami. The team should have had a playoff win at Buffalo a couple years back. The defense deserved as much. The culprit? Lousy player discipline and lousy game and clock management by McDaniel. Not the build whatsoever.

Yeah I mean I have my criticisms of Grier and don't always agree with him but I'm not anti grier as some are. I was just saying the OL isn't really his fault because its the philosophy of the coach that is why he didn't put resources into it.

When does Grier sign an injured prone player at a discount and the player stays healthy. It doesn’t happen, they all get hurt. Just like their past tells you.

@angeldelcourt6882 It wasn't a great day for the OL, but not nearly as bad as the narrative. This offense is designed to release the ball quickly anyway and bear in mind that Miami had key injuries on the OL that night. As far as the QB running the ball suggesting that this is an indictment of poor OL play, that is categorically false. To the contrary, QBs often run when all their targets are covered and thus there's open space in front of them. Tua slimmed down for a reason; to add more diversification to the offense. Mahomes, Allen and Lamar run the ball a lot. They're all premier QBs on top teams.

I mean I'm not super optimistic for sunday. I actually believe the O line will look worst without Tua just wanted to explain the philosophy behind it.

@@rydermcconville I get it and support your take on things, A squirrel finds that last nut it buried sometimes. Maybe they show up with Skylar

@@bryanjenkins496 That's true of all teams. No?

Those guys may not fit system. Majority of fan base has never embraced Shanahahn system.

We just signed Brewer. He's a perfect fit for zone read.

@@danielmeehan1756 I'll be ok with Brewer at C when he actually proves himself. He wasn't good in Tennessee, and we're two games into his tenure with Miami. If he proves himself, then fantastic, if not, then draft Brailsford. Brailsford a smart, very agile C. Ratledge has been a great G for Georgia for a bit, but there's also Booker, or whoever, but Miami has to draft OL stupid heavily the first two days of the '25 Draft. I don't care about "embracing" system, because I have eyes and I can see the problem. You can't ask Tua and McDaniel to mask the worst OL in the league every time they try to pass the ball, especially when they're not absolute maulers in the run, who can just allow for Miami to eat the clock and control the ball if they want to. Miami's OL is the worst of all worlds. Constantly injured, not great at not drawing penalties, not great at run or pass-blocking, can't pick-up stunts, can't ever be trusted one-on-one.

@ThatFalloutGod Some clarifications. Tua's injuries, particularly the worst of them, had nothing to do with the OL. I can see that you're honed in on making OL the blame for everything (though you do acknowledge that errors in the receiving game, though you've tellingly left out errors at the crucial QB position), but I could pose counters to some of this take. Tua has had injury history long before he came to the Dolphins. Let's be clear and honest. The first "concussion" came from a clear late hit after the whistle. Would you like the OL to continue blocking after the whistle? The 2nd concussion was with him being picked up and body slammed to the ground. That could generate an injury to any NFL QB. The 3rd so-called concussion (never affirmed by the NFL) came from a fluke hit on the helmet, having nothing to do with the blocking. And the one he suffered the other night came as a result of him leading with his head into defenders. The hit wasn't so violent. It's normal in the NFL. Tua is especially fragile in the head area. Nevertheless, that had zero bearing on the OL. Finally, don't look now, but Connor's current PFF score is 64.3. Aaron Brewer's is 74.6. In fact, all of the players swapped from Seattle easily outscore those who departed here and went to Seattle.

​@@c2jones These aren't "clarifications," they're attempts to excuse Grier's malpractice in building an OL, the most important part of an offense after quarterback and coaching. And I've never said the OL shoulders every percentage of the blame when it comes to Tua's injuries in Miami (and if I have, let me amend that), my point has always been that they're the biggest cause of his major injuries (directly and indirectly), and have handicapped the offense to the nth degree. You're "counters" aren't anything you've actually thought-out, they're just mindless talking-points that're easily debunked by anyone who cares to take the ten minutes it'd take to think about and check the context of these "points." Of Tua's major injuries in Miami, because you either don't remember them at all and didn't bother to check the clips, or are lying for some reason: >I don't care about him accidentally injuring his hand by hitting someone's helmet in practice, that's not on anyone. >The rib injury against Buffalo in '21 was because Jesse Davis was atrocious and got blown past by the rusher. (Granted, Tua could've and wanted to play despite this injury, but Flores despised Tua and benched him until he literally couldn't against Baltimore, where he required him to, for the umpteenth time, bail him out of his shitty coaching.) >The first concussion of '22 was against Buffalo, where there was a free rusher off the right, Armstead getting pushed into the pocket, and a DT coming free soon enough. That's because of the OL (and Milano being shitty). >The second one against Cincy was on a bootleg where a mediocre group of four pass-rushers made the entire OL look pathetic and useless, while also having Smythe be a block and release, with Ingold also kind of doing that alongside the rollout. I don't put this entirely on the OL. Tua should've kept running for the edge, using Ingold as a blocker or waiting for the defender to bite-down on him so he can dump it off to Ingold (whatever they hopefully practiced). This was an instance of Tua either holding onto the ball too long or trying to turn nothing into something with his arm instead of just using his legs, I wholeheartedly agree. Also, the OL can't look like that abomination against a mediocre group of four guys on a bootleg, it's unacceptable garbage. >The third one against Green Bay had the OL with three block and releases/chip-blocks, *again*, getting tossed around like children against a stock, mediocre pass-rush. Tua got the ball out, like he was supposed to, but got tackled from behind and never knew the guy was behind him. >A shoulder injury against Baltimore last year that I couldn't find a clip of quickly, so I don't know who to blame. >This new concussion against Buffalo last week, which wasn't entirely on the OL, but it was. It was also on McDaniel for not having Tyreek, Waddle, and Berrios in on crucial plays that put Miami behind the eight ball. It was also on the WRs for not doing their job and allowing for "two interceptions." It was also on the defense for being pitiful all night. Fucking Eichenberg was the best guy on the line that game, and that's saying something. On that play, they all (except for Eichenberg) got shoved back five yards immediately, and the RB failed to cut-block the extra blitzer. People wanted to immediately jump to blaming Tua, because in the moment, it was, "Well, you gotta know where the marker is and just slide," even though he would've had to start sliding right at the marker, which means it'd depend on the spot the refs gave them. Also, there's no guarantee him sliding doesn't also result in Hamlin accidentally hitting him and bouncing his head off the turf. You could say, "Well, Tua should've done a sort of juke/dive to the right of Hamlin to avoid the hit and gain the first," but that's from the comfort of your own home, with hindsight, not in Tua's shoes in that moment. I'm all for critiquing players, but at some point it's just dipshits on Twitter thinking they're not basically retarded in terms of physically playing the sport, and think it's all like Madden. I don't believe in the myth of "injury-prone," it's just a bullshit talking-point morons on television made-up to sound smarter than they actually are. There's no rhyme nor reason to how injuries occur. There are plenty of times where a player borderline never gets injured playing football their whole life, and someone who played the same amount of time in the same fashion gets injured all the time. It's basically all luck (or lack thereof). Unless someone's bringing some undeniable proof about a player having an issue with their physiology, I don't want to hear about them being "injury-prone." I don't care about PFF's scores, they're never consistent and rarely make sense within the realm of reality. If you had to choose between Williams and Brewer to be on this OL right now, you'd choose Williams without hesitation because you know he's good at the job and better than Brewer, plus he's proven more. Hell, the number of errant snaps I've seen from Brewer in just two games, forcing Tua to bail him out of a majorly negative play, is vomit-inducing. PFF is the epitome of, "I use them when they favor the position I'm defending right now, but as soon as they contradict me, I hate them." You know, I know, we all know plenty of instances where PFF gives a high or low grade for a player who did the complete opposite, and yet we're supposed to act like they're the Gospel? No thanks. And just to explicitly make a point so it's not lost or misunderstood, the OL contributes to QB injuries in quasi indirect ways as well. When they're not able to do their job well enough that they kill drives and plays, or don't allow you to just take the air out of the ball, that means your QB is kind of being forced to play "Hero Ball" to make-up the difference. This also goes for coaching, because I blame McDaniel a whole of the problems last year due to his shitty play-calling, it's just this year it's been a whole lot better. But McDaniel fucking up on those crucial downs and causing those interceptions, just put more pressure on Tua to put the team on his back. It's not quantifiable, scientific way to dissect this shit, but it's something we can't deny contributing to the problem. And we can't just say, "The OL isn't to blame for Tua's worst injuries," because, despite what so many people wish to tell others, we have eyes we can fucking use them. If Miami had Detroit's OL for the last three years, do you think Tua has all of those same injuries? If you answer anything but, "No," you're either delusional or lying.

I was using the film to explain the offensive line philosophy because most of the stuff I hear about the OL lacks any depth. Not sure how it's not a breakdown.

@@rydermcconville ok makes sense

@@joefried6604 Breakdown is what you mean. But he certainly did break this down. Very illustrative as well.