2024 Miami Dolphins - Week 1 Offensive Line Grades

[@BGuggz]

Please break down some good plays! We need some hopium when it comes to the o-line!

[@dude9406]

Great video. I liked your introduction. Things that need to be said. Looking forward to the next one.

[@timambridge2545]

I'd be very interested in hearing you talk about the short yardage line play in this game. Also seemed to the line got better as the game went on.

[@jimMe9762]

Great work, as usual.

[@paulchang6825]

I was not watching the game, but listening to it. I am surprised the line grade was so high considering the run game was not doing anything until late in the fourth quarter. Can you give a quick reason why the line 'good' line grades did not translate into a good running game in the first three quarters? As usual, thanks for the line breakdown.

[@OLCoachSmith63]

Some of it was blocks that were not OL that were missed. Some of it was playcalling.

[@kmshark12]

@@OLCoachSmith63 Hi Coach, re-watching certain plays I felt the same - would love to see you analyze the run failures from this game. They just looked out-of-sync in the run-blocking until the 4rh QT. I saw Smythe/Hill make mistakes where one or the other just didn't make it to their landmarks or just were not sure who to block.

[@busorenkin55]

@@OLCoachSmith63would also add there was missed blocks by other players like Rob Jones or penalties by TE/WR that took away big runs.

[@MrBryantcm]

Appreciated!

[@Pete-n1b]

good stuff eric!

[@youngman44]

Thanks again, Eric. Always really enjoy your calm, rational take, honesty (e.g., where it's unsure what the assignment is), and educated analysis. One question about Rob Jones, he also had two holding calls aside from those two plays you highlighted. Wouldn't those be negatives as well? Or do you count those differently? Thanks

[@OLCoachSmith63]

@youngman44 he had one holding that was a very weak call IMO, so I didn't mark him down for that one. The other, his pass pro was fine, and he hung on too long when the QB escaped the pocket - so that's not a 0 grade, but an example of a partial credit.

[@youngman44]

@@OLCoachSmith63 gotcha. Thanks! All the best.

[@scottyjoe22]

ty eric!

[@dundeedolphin]

Thanks Eric.

[@SanctuaryGardenLiving]

Thank you for talking sense!!

[@btottori]

How do your grades factor in holding or other penalties? I think that's where Jones drew a lot of attention.

[@brycestarkey4467]

I was just wondering the same thing

[@OLCoachSmith63]

That's actually a really good question. My grading is admittedly basic. I don't factor in pre snap penalties because it would skew things to mark one player down and not do anything with everyone else. Post snap penalties come down to how I see them. There's holding on every play - so to just use when a flag is thrown to give a negative grade to a player doesn't make sense to me. I know there was one hold by Jones that I probably didn't make as a negative play because it was very minor compared to most plays and the DL just threw his hand up.

[@OLCoachSmith63]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/p5SsfqOlqbBqY6csi=c4487fJwoxYohTac

[@KB21-kt7ug]

I think we are less apt to over-criticize guys for a few bad plays throughout a game because we expect it plus Tua is throwing, scrambling or getting rid of it with such urgency. Where we stand now is wondering if this is really going to be the full offense again because that's as much as McD trusts them. If yes, 1-8 vs +.500 teams is a fairly likely outcome again, which sucks, considering the O line we are seeing is five years in the making and it's as much a hodge-podge, mix and match assembly of five average players and as much of a cohesive unit as we had in year one. That's all. We should all probably be ecstatic. Do you know that a different man started each of the five O line positions all three years of Flores' tenure? Not one guy could hold down his starting job from one year to the next?

[@OLCoachSmith63]

That's not surprising. I've preached that continuity has been the biggest progress stopper for the Dolphins offensive line. I think there will be more to the offense. Playing the Bills 4 days later likely had an impact on the gameplan.

[@btottori]

Also, consider grading the TEs as well if you have the time.

[@OLCoachSmith63]

I've considered it, but more players gets more time consuming then i have to start tracking personnel groupings, pass routes, etc.

[@busorenkin55]

4:55 brewer’s name is pronounced like Ayy-run

[@OLCoachSmith63]

100% correct. I do try to pronounce names correctly, but for whatever reason, I always struggle to remember to change up from the traditional way that Aaron is said. Good catch :)

It hurt to see Connor Williams starting for Seattle.

[@OLCoachSmith63]

I watched that game for a little, and he looked good. Didn't notice an injury hangover. But, I get why Miami couldn't sit and wait to see that. I hope he has a great season and can get that big contract heading into 2025

[@brycestarkey4467]

Maybe consider adding each players best play of the day too

[@OLCoachSmith63]

I did that for some of the preseason ones. I don't know why, but I was rushing to get this one out before I ran out of time where I could work on it today lol. But yes, I do think there is value including positives as well.

[@SilverHornet13]

Thank you for this. Is there a video where you explain how you actually grade each player on each play? Do they get marked down for penalties? I'm somewhat surprised Rob Jones is that high, relative to the other players grades.

[@OLCoachSmith63]

I think this is the video where I summarize my grading: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rWXJl4yNmrt0gtksi=1WrLWtIqf8dx82R_ My process is pretty basic. I don't include penalties, particularly pre snap penalties because because if I'm trying to grade players for every play - it gets messy trying to say that Jones gets points taken off for a player that never happened- if that makes sense? It's not perfect, I admit that. But I think it still gives a pretty solid picture for what is mostly a hobby 😜

[@SilverHornet13]

@@OLCoachSmith63 thanks, I'll check that video out. yeah I helped coach youth football (6th to 8th grade) when my son was playing. I spent one labor day weekend grading just one game tape. I enjoyed it, but it's a lot of work!

[@OLCoachSmith63]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/p5SsfqOlqbBqY6csi=c4487fJwoxYohTac

[@nicholasfigel4708]

Would you consider doing the same vid but feature BEST plays instead of worst?

[@OLCoachSmith63]

Yea, there's been a few requests for that. I probably should have been a little more patient in getting this video out and including a mix of both. Will look to do that next week. I was just kind of trying to point out how few bad plays there really was

[@yhoochukie6611]

10:57 - Look like Achane made the wrong read, not Armstead. He should've cut to the outside instead of the inside every time he got two defenders and two blockers in front of him. I was surprised he didn't score on this particular play. There's definitely room to improve.

[@OLCoachSmith63]

@yhoochukie6611 easy to look at it now and say that, but if you pause this at the timestamp (10:57) it's easy to see why Achane went inside. Armstead has to be under control going to that defender expecting the cutback because if Achane goes outside, he's not going to touch the defender anyway

[@yhoochukie6611]

​@@OLCoachSmith63 Ah, thanks. I don't play football. Obviously don't have a clue how a lineman should block. 😅

[@OLCoachSmith63]

@@yhoochukie6611 All good! I don't know everything for sure! I just like to talk football and help people where I can!

[@busorenkin55]

6:50 how is this a negative play when the defensive player is starting off with the leverage advantage here and he gets pushed and pancaked at the end?

[@OLCoachSmith63]

This is a good question. And I've seen this play actually shown as a highlight for Brewer by others, who I respect. For me, I've studied a lot of outside zone, including Miami and SF. They want the RB to take 5 steps on a direct path towards the TE, no matter what - and make a slight cut from there based on the flow of the defense. On this play, as the RB gets to the 5th step, he has to come to a complete stop due to Brewer's block. Ideally, the RB is reading the DE on the edge who is sealed outside by the TE (as you can see Ingold making the same read for the lead) - and the RB is banging this through the C gap. I do understand this is a difficult block where the DT starts out with leverage. But that's not unheard of in this scheme, and Brewer never changes the leverage. The DT maintains the leverage throughout the entire play. I do appreciate Brewer's tenacity and the way he finishes through the play rather, but I just have a hard time calling this a positive.

[@gelandres]

Thought the OL was good in pass blocking overall. It was the lack of inside push at the guards that was glaring (though I think Brewer did a better job than the guards. How do you grade this? Especially when a guy

[@OLCoachSmith63]

They really didn't even try to run inside until later in the game. The short yardage offense was solid & when they really needed it late and went to Jeff Wilson they were very effective running inside.

[@MrBaldylocks13]

what is your scale? is it 8.63 out of 10 ??

[@OLCoachSmith63]

@@MrBaldylocks13 Yes - scale is 0-10

[@MrBaldylocks13]

@@OLCoachSmith63 thank you!

[@ilove100times]

what you missed was or forget is how easy! it was for the jags DL to push! back your OL.. in fact you ran soooo many screens so to mask how badly your OL got pushed around.. how the heck did you give them 8.6 lol

[@waylenwaddlefinsup9876]

Your brain is the size of a peanut

[@jihyotwice3159]

As I mentioned before, our weakest player at the position is LG and Center, which could have been addressed at the draft. For all the ballyhoo that we needed Chop Robinson in case Phillips or Chubbs didn't return from injury, it would have been nice to actually see him contributing or recording a stat. The same goes for our 2nd round pick. I do not feel the same way for our 3rd round pick, Jaylen Wright, or our 4th Rd pick, Mo Kamara and Malik Washington. They need not start but it would be nice for contributions. For all the oohs and aahs for Xavier worthy and Brian Thomas Jr., our 1st and 2nd round pick sits quietly in the shade. It must be nice for Miami to not have 1st Rd picks during the last 3 years and completely blow off ours this year. You are all more concerned in the OL more than Grier is.

[@OLCoachSmith63]

Chop Robinson almost had a sack that was as brutal as the one Austin Jackson gave up. He also drew an offsides penalty- and was the player that Jacksonville chipped, I believe multiple times. Look past the box score. Needs to do more, but he was felt.

[@jihyotwice3159]

@@OLCoachSmith63 I agree but we aren't playing horseshoes. I still maintain that having Mo Kamara would have sufficient while we fix our OL for years to come. Thanks for the info. What was his PFF or any metric that you respect? I was actually hoping Chop would get DROY.

[@OLCoachSmith63]

@jihyotwice3159 not sure on metrics. I respect PFF, I just don't accept them without context. But if I was looking for an opinion on Robonson - I'd look go Kyle Crabbs or the 3YPC crew. They've had good takes on him in the past

[@jihyotwice3159]

@@OLCoachSmith63 totally agree. I felt Tua was the difference maker with both Hill and Waddle stepping up. Tua had a better statistical game than both Lawrence and Burrows. He showed tremendous leadership, didn't panic, didn't rant, didn't blame anyone. Running game was stopped until Wilson came up big. I follow Kyle on locked on dolphins but will look at Crabbs.

[@waylenwaddlefinsup9876]

@@jihyotwice3159 Brother the OL performed well. Yall gotta stop this smh

[@ilove100times]

8.65 wpw that high i guess you didn't watch the 49ers game today.. cause we would have given you dolphins a 4.1 your OL is trash!!!!

[@OLCoachSmith63]

Dolphin fans don't do victory laps for beating the Jets anymore 🤷‍♂️