The Phinsider: An SB Nation Community

Navigation: Jump to content areas:



Sports blogs for fans, by fans.
Around SBN: Steve McNair Found Shot to Death


Around the AFC East: Buffalo Bills

It's Friday, which means it's time to go around the AFC East. First up this week is Brian G from Buffalo Rumblings:

Phinsider: What are your thoughts on Buffalo's offensive line? Were you a fan of the Derrick Dockery signing, especially at that insane price tag (7 year, $49 million with $18.5 million in total guaranteed money)? Is Terrance Pennington really "the guy" at right tackle? And looking at the unit as a whole, how confident are you in their ability to protect JP Losman and open holes for your first round pick?

Buffalo Rumblings: What price tag isn't insane these days? With some of the deals that were handed out, getting Dockery (the top free agent on the team's list this off-season) was pretty close to a bargain, considering that at least two other teams wanted Dockery. This signing has given me an unprecedented (at least in recent years) amount of optimism regarding our front line. This is especially true of the left side, where Jason Peters teams with Dockery to give us a formidable, athletic duo on JP Losman's blind side.

No, Terrance Pennington is not "the guy" at right tackle, considering we handed out a 5-year, $25 million deal to right tackle Langston Walker. Pennington will likely be our top backup at both positions; Walker is the sure-fire starter at right tackle. I'm excited about Walker, a player who I feel is a vastly underrated addition due to his run blocking prowess.

As a unit, the five likely starters (Peters, Dockery, Melvin Fowler, Duke Preston and Walker) have a lot of promise as run blockers. The run game, despite the loss of Willis McGahee, should actually be much improved thanks to the improvements made up front. Pass protection is a different issue altogether - while I'm not worried about Peters or Dockery in the slightest, Walker has proven to be a liability in pass protection (he gave up double-digit sacks last year in Oakland). The overall improvement - and confidence boost - up front should be the engine of an offense that could be far more explosive this coming season.

My take: There's no way $49 million over 7 years with $18.5 million in guarantees is "close to a bargain," especially for a guy like Dockery. It's almost a joke how much he and Leonard Davis made this offseason. Oh, and sorry I forgot about Langston Walker at RT. That's an additional $25 million to a lineman from the Raiders. Based on the play of their line last year, I'm sure he isn't terrible...lol.

As always, you can head on over to Buffalo Rumblings to see my response to his question.

Back later with more...

0 recs | Comment 0 comments

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

Display:

Comments For This Post Are Closed


User Tools

Welcome to SB Nation's blog dedicated to the only franchise in NFL history to have an undefeated team: the Miami Dolphins!
Start posting about the Dolphins »

Join SB Nation and dive into communities focused on all your favorite teams.

FanPosts

Community blog posts and discussion.

Recent FanPosts

Photo_72_small
Steve Mcnair dead at 36
Paladinfin5_small
Historical Perspective VI - 1973
Crash_small
UNMASKING FANTASY FOOTBALL 1.1- Real Strength of Schedule
Small
Training Camp Preview: Quarterbacks
Pb160442_small
Is tony sparano losing his edge
Ricky_small
Miami Dolphins 2009 schedule prediction
Ricky2_small
Vonte Davis pantsed at rookie symposium by raider
Play-it-cool-print-c10100705_small
32 TEAMS IN 32 DAYS
Ronnie_truck_stick_small
The TRUE Preminitions of your 2009 Miami Dolphins
Small
Dolphins Off-Season Report Card

Post_icon New FanPost All FanPosts Carrot-mini

SPONSORS


Managers

Phinsider-matty-sig_small Matty I

Official Partner of Yahoo! Sports