MIAMI GARDENS — Miami Dolphins rookie left guard Jonah Savaiinaea needs to use his hands better, needs to protect the inside rush better and needs to move his feet and mirror his defender better.
This, according to Dolphins offensive line coach Butch Barry.
Too many times this season, the rookie has appeared off-balance. When that happens, what is the primary culprit?
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All of those things, Barry explained.
“You could go across the board, all five of those guys, right?” Barry continued. “We have to be connected with our feet. We have to be connected to the center of our hands. We’ve got to be moving our feet. We have to maintain our leverage, right? That’s every block on the field. So everything that we do is for that, for all five guys at all five times, right? So how often can we replicate that for them, right?”
Barry smartly identified that no blocker has been or is going to be perfect on 50-plus snaps. But anyone can see Savaiianaea is really struggling.
When will Dolphins guard Jonah Savaiinaea improve?
“I’m a parent, right, I’ve got three kids, they all go at a different rate in terms of I have an expectation,” Barry said. “How I think they should do and how they should mature, right, they don’t do it at my rate though. They do it their own.”
Savaiinaea is graded by Pro Football Focus at 28.3, 109th among 109 ranked NFL guards.
Savaiinaea’s run blocking grade is 5.0/100, which is 102nd.
Barry dismissed the idea that Savaiinaea would have been better served by starting his pro career at right guard after playing that side most recently in college.
“And so when you look at it and say it doesn’t matter what side he’s playing on, the things that we need to get better at are going to be the same things we have to get better at no matter what side he’s played,” Barry said. “And he’s played right and left side.”
Miami Dolphins’ slow start hampered by offensive line play
PFF says Savaiinaea has allowed three sacks, 19 pressures and 15 hurries in six games.
At times, he’s been overpowered and pushed back.
At times, he’s been run around.
When caught in a compromised position, what’s going wrong?
“You want to stay inside-out,” offensive coordinator Frank Smith explained. “You don’t want to get beat inside because that’s the fastest way to the quarterback. … There are times you want to be aggressive. … But if you go a little bit too far, your weight’s not under control. It’s like basketball. You go out there to stop, but if he gives you a move, maybe you go a little bit too far.”
Joe Schad is a journalist covering the Miami Dolphins and the NFL at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jschad@pbpost.com and follow him on Instagram and on X @schadjoe. Sign up for Joe’s free weekly Dolphins Pulse Newsletter. Help support our work by subscribing today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Dolphins rookie guard Jonah Savaiinaea struggles. Here’s what his position coach sees.
Reporting by Joe Schad, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
