I listen when Miami Dolphins center Aaron Brewer speaks. “Brew” is a grown man. He’s no-nonsense.
Brew broke it down Wednesday when asked about newly added guards James Daniels, the 327-pound veteran from Pittsburgh, and Jonah Savaiinaea, the 336-pound second-round pick from Arizona.
“They got some more weight,” Brewer said of Daniels and Savaiinaea, “but you know this Miami offense — we’re moving. You’re in this heat out here in South Florida, you’ve still got to be able to move.”
Listening to Brew tells you that the Dolphins still plan on utilizing their offensive linemen’s finesse, mobility and agility, not just aggression and physicality. It’s the same game plan they’ve used the previous three seasons.
Nothing is changing for the offensive line.
“I love that they got some weight on them,” Brewer continued, “but we’re not just a stationary big guys, old-school offensive line. Here we’re moving, everything is fast. It’s a different type of offense.”
If you hear what Brew is saying, you realize the Dolphins still don’t necessarily want offensive linemen who specialize in muscle and physicality. The Dolphins still prioritize nimble offensive linemen over aggressive offensive linemen, and they always will in this outside zone-run scheme.
Lots of fans and media members make a big deal about Daniels and Savaiinaea weighing 300-plus pounds.
Bulk isn’t the point.
Brew, the five-year veteran and second-year Dolphins player, unintentionally got to the point about Daniels and Savaiinaea.
Brewer, without meaning to do it, downplayed the aggression and emphasized the spryness.
That’s important to note.
It’s more important to note the key to this whole attitude/physicality/aggression thing for the offensive line is coach Mike McDaniel.
He’s the one who must call aggressive plays, the type that allows the Dolphins to maintain an aggressive mentality and demeanor.
But don’t count on it.
McDaniel doesn’t call plays with an aggressive, shove-’em-off-the-line-of-scrimmage mentality.
McDaniel didn’t do it in 2023 when his offensive line featured 310-pound center Connor Williams, 320-pound right guard Robert Hunt and 315-pound right tackle Austin Jackson, all of whom were capable of firing off the line of scrimmage and moving their opponent backward.
I doubt he’ll do it now.
Typically the Dolphins don’t want road-graders as offensive linemen.
Listen to Dolphins general manager Chris Grier talk about what they want from offensive linemen.
“You look for guys that are tough and competitive,” Grier said last year. “They have to be smart, obviously, but in this scheme, as you guys have seen athletes are kind of the priority. So, you want guys who are athletic, have twitch, and can come off the ball.”
We’ve discussed this many times.
The Dolphins are still employing 7-on-7 principles in tackle football.
The Dolphins need a more physical offensive style from philosophy to play calling to execution.
It makes no sense to have a bulky, physical offensive line clearing the way for a 188-pound running back. That’s not being committed to a style, that’s half-stepping a style.
And it makes no sense to have a powerful running back if you don’t use him 15 or 20 times a game, many times on inside runs.
That seems unlikely considering the Dolphins hired a senior pass-game coordinator (Bobby Slowik) instead of a senior run-game coordinator.
Think about it.
Does “senior pass-game coordinator” equate to aggressive offensive line use?
Do you see what’s still going on here?
This change to physicality has to be made on a fundamental level.
The Dolphins can’t just acquire a couple of 300-pounders and expect their offensive issues to be solved.
Physicality, mostly through the run game, must become part of how the Dolphins win. As it is, the run game amasses hollow yards.
You know the number: the Dolphins are only 8-11 in the past two years when they rush from more than 100 yards, including going 2-6 last season. That’s way beyond an offensive line issue.
Of course, I’m not one of those who blames the Dolphins’ biggest offensive issues on the offensive line.
I put the blame for the Dolphins’ biggest offensive issues at the top of the food chain, on McDaniel, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and wide receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle.
And I put the blame for the Dolphins’ offensive line woes on Grier and McDaniel.
Of course, I also think the offensive line woes have been way overblown. And why not?
It distracts from the reality, which is that the offense has been figured out for the past two years (get the ball to Tyreek or threaten to get the ball to Tyreek) and needs a strategic and philosophical tweak/change.
I think the offensive line has, and has had, the right mentality.
I think the offensive line has, and has had, the right physical tools.
The question is whether, through strategy, philosophy and play-calling, the offensive line, especially Daniels and Savaiinaea, will be able to put that mentality and physicality on display.
To this point, it doesn’t seem that will be the case.
