He was ranked 76th in Pro Football Focus' list of offensive tackles, and there is some improvement throughout the season. The Dolphins need him to take a big step forward ... especially in the weight room.



http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/50425035/ ... ayer_news/



https://www.profootballfocus.com/data/b ... yerid=7046

Its amazing to me that the o-line can be this bad after all the money and draft choices that have been thrown at it over the last 5 years.

Someone on Miami's scout team and Ireland need to start finding the big farm boys that you can pick up in the middle rounds that end up being mainstays on the line for years. For once, it would be nice for the Fins to do their homework and find those guys in the bargain rounds.

For instance, Alabama's line sure looked strong in the National Championship and not all those guys will go in rounds 1 & 2 etc... times this concept by ALL the college teams and offensive lineman and there are plenty to choose from, you just need the talent scouts and GM to find them.

Bad coaching?

If he didn't develop the upper body strength in college, with all the opportunities they have to weight train etc, then he has a lot of work to do.

Sometimes our bodies are what they are, hopefully that is not the case with Martin.

Well there's no excuse for the lack of strength training, regardless of his body type. That's a "desire" thing.

Not necessarily. Some bodies have a higher peak than others. Everyone can improve their strength, but person A will have a higher ceiling than person B.

Ya, but I think we can agree based on appearance that Martin hasn't hit peak physical condition for his body type. He's a dough boy.

I've been around physical training and sports enough to know that physical appearance is not an accurate indicator of how strong someone is or isn't or whether they can get more muscular or not. Some people are meant to be doughboys, no matter how hard they train and some doughboys are stronger than guys that are ripped.

Regardless, if 20 freaking reps at 225 is his peak physical moment, then we better find ourselves a new tackle. He's not cut out to handle the strength of opposing pass rushers in the NFL.

*starts up the resign Jake Long bus*

Who's on board?

I am on board with bringing Jake back, but that record setting deal is something I don't have the stomach for. He been hurt the last 2 years and his play has suffered because of it.

That said, some team will step up and give him the money he wants probably. Tough call for Miami in regards to Long.

A change to zone blocking, several free agents that didn't work out and several blown draft choices.

how bout a cheaper free agent than Long

Let's try not to throw Martin under the bus quite yet. We knew he was a bit small coming out of the draft and was selected because he has the speed and smarts to suit Philbin's zone blocking scheme.

I expect him to continually get better as the Line is upgraded over the next couple of years.

We agree.

I just called my mother-in-law and she told me her house hasn't frozen over. Are you sure about this?

I love all of this talk about Martin hitting his peak after his rookie season. Completely blind to the fact that he showed up at Stanford at 261lbs and left to the NFL at 304lbs. Now he's listed at 312lbs. So in just five years he's packed on over 50lbs. He's a former 2x All-American and was the 3rd overall tackle prospect in last years draft. I'm sorry, but I have a little more faith in the guy than many here. I'll bet our staff has faith in the kid developing as well. I think once he's had a full offseason to play on the left side that he'll be much improved. The book is far from written on Martin just because he gave up a bunch of hurries.

Not just "a bunch" .....

He led the league. As for his weight gain, you have some kind of proof he packed on 50lbs of pure muscle? You seem to be insinuating it.

No one is saying he hit his peak, we're speculating what if...

We have just as strong an argument to speculate as you do to say he hasn't because we both have an equal amount of information.

The future hasn't happened yet.



That could be fat for all you know. He looks pretty pudgy.



And how does this disprove that he has hit his peak in regards to strength?



Yes, but you're all for giving him the keys and letting Long walk. You were convinced he was going to do better than Long at left tackle and he didn't.

The point is there are huge questions about this kid that haven't been answered and many of us don't feel comfortable going into the season with just him and another tackle. We've read this book before with numerous players that struggled early in their careers. Most of them don't get anywhere.

That could be fat for all you know. He looks pretty pudgy.

He does look pretty pudgy, but Rich your right in my opinion as well as you don't have to have a body for life look to be a successful NFL lineman in the trenches. Plenty of guys have giant bellys and yet are athletic enough in ability and strength to hang with the strongest body builder looking lineman.

However, in terms of upper body strength a guy at Martin's size should be throwing around 225 40 times like it is nothing and especially when all these guys do is workout to get paid for a living.

I have never understood why some guys are so weak in the gym at such a big size and I personally attribute that to laziness and lack of pushing themselves over the limit.

But, big frumpy guys that are great lineman do exist all over the NFL.

I don't know if Martin is the answer at left tackle, but the more I think about it the more I'd be willing to bet that Jake Long is not back in a Dolphins uniform next year.

First reason is that a few teams are desperate for a left tackle and will throw money at a big name. San Diego comes to mind as does Chicago.

Second is that Ireland does not seem willing to relive past mistakes...big money at o-line guys. Justin Smiley, Jake Grove, Vernon Carey...those contracts have to be weighing heavily on his mind. And remember, Long was a Parcells pick while Ireland favored Ryan. Letting him walk isn't an indictment on his past decision.

Third is that faster receivers and a HOPEFULLY more decisive Tannehill will mask some of the issues the tackles had of preventing the rush. I'm willing to assume that the coaching staff will feel they can get by with this.

Finally, there could be cheaper free agents and there seems to be quite a few options in the draft. The big money can be spent on more proven/less injured products.

Yes, I'll gladly accept the captain obvious award for that last post.

We're talking about hurries. Not sacks. Not knockdowns. But hurries. I'm not too worried about Martin going forward. I don't think he's a liability at all on the left side. Would I like to have Long back, sure, but I know it's probably not going to happen. Also, Long's injuries over the past couple of seasons worry me more than Martin's hurries. Jake is the better player at this stage, but he's not our best option going forward in my opinion. $10M+ a season for an often injured declining lineman is a disaster waiting to happen. I think we're better off letting Martin play left tackle and grow into the position. I know it's not an ideal scenario, but it's the best one we've got short of Joeckel from A&M falling to us at pick 12.

So all he did was give up hurries, never sacks?