Douglas ahead of Turner at RG

by mercury22nathan Tue Sep 01, 2015 8:45 am

Rookie Jamil Douglas has pulled ahead of Billy Turner in the competition at right guard, according to two people briefed on the situation. Turner was informed of that Monday and was naturally disappointed. The Dolphins still have time to settle on a starter before the Sept. 13 opener at Washington.

Though Turner — a third-round pick in 2014 — has shown flashes, his inconsistency concerns coaches. Douglas, meanwhile, has made a strong impression on the coaching staff.

Douglas, the rookie fourth-rounder from Arizona State, has gotten work at both left guard and right guard during the past month. He started at left guard on Saturday against Atlanta, with Turner at right guard.

Douglas played left guard and left tackle with the Sun Devils, so playing on the right side would be something of an adjustment.

“Very pleased with Jamil, particularly for a rookie,” offensive line coach John Benton said a few weeks ago. “Handles himself like a pro.”

Dallas Thomas is the likely starter at left guard.

Center Mike Pouncey predicted that the team’s young guards “are going to shock a lot of people. They have really surprised me. I have seen the strides from last year to this year, and it’s amazing to see how far all those guys have come.”

http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/nfl/miami-dolphins/article32998383.html

by **JMP** Tue Sep 01, 2015 8:47 am

Douglas has not impressed me much this offseason, which I guess says all you need to know about Turner. These guard positions are going to be a problem all season.

by DolFan 316 Tue Sep 01, 2015 6:56 pm

Turner must be absolutely horrible for Philbin to actually (gasp) play a rookie Shocked

This is what happens when a team can't draft. They're constantly drafting players to replace the ones drafted earlier who couldn't cut it. Which means no actual progress is ever made.

by mercury22nathan Wed Sep 02, 2015 8:59 am

Douglas outperformed Thomas on the left - at least to my eyes - but i think moving him to the right to compete with Turner was less about Douglas being better and more about...

Over the past five years, rookie Jamil Douglas’ game experience at right guard consists of half of one preseason game.

The Dolphins decided to move Douglas to right guard because Dallas Thomas has settled in as the starter at left guard.

http://miamiherald.typepad.com/sports-buzz/2015/09/douglas-on-promotion-to-starting-rg-job-with-dolphins-fins-injury-updates-heat-signs-forward.html

...Thomas's inability to move to the right to compete. Douglas is apparently the best OG on the team (left or right) and will need to play on the right side (even though he has no experience there) because the Phins feel Thomas on the left (with Douglas on the right) is better than Turner's inconsistency on the right (with Douglas on the left). but mark my words, before the season is over, Douglas will have to be moved to the left and Turner brought in on the right.

by Degarmo Wed Sep 02, 2015 12:07 pm

Always addressing the issues with mismatching patches. Pound that oval peg sideways into the oval hole.

If you need a right guard, get one. Match up your linemen. Sure, I know that you need to be able to play any position on the OL, but if you can get guys that are good in their original positions, you don't have the same kind of adjustment period, so you can get up to speed faster, so you can have a more complete preparation time for your system.

This whole coaching arrogance is getting very tiresome.

by **JMP** Wed Sep 02, 2015 2:05 pm

Degarmo wrote:Always addressing the issues with mismatching patches. Pound that oval peg sideways into the oval hole.

If you need a right guard, get one. Match up your linemen. Sure, I know that you need to be able to play any position on the OL, but if you can get guys that are good in their original positions, you don't have the same kind of adjustment period, so you can get up to speed faster, so you can have a more complete preparation time for your system.

This whole coaching arrogance if getting very tiresome.

Yep, way too much focus on linemen that can play multiple positions. Like last season, James struggled at LT becuase he is clearly a RT. Pouncey struggled at RG because he is clearly a C. Can't we just add linemen that are good at a position and keep them there???

Of course, the current starters almost need to play multiple positions because the backups are so bad that they aren't worthy to even step on the field!

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