Rookie linemen bonding like pros

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http://www.miamiherald.com/616/story/521306.html

Rookie linemen bonding like pros

BY JEFF DARLINGTON
Miami Herald

The chemistry always existed. It always was natural and ordinary, the way most any friendship cultivates itself from those unknown beginnings into a more familiar future.

''We just hit it off,'' said former Dolphins offensive lineman Richmond Webb, perhaps the best tackle in franchise history.

``It wasn't forced or anything. We hit it off from Day One.''

That is how simply it started, a relationship between Webb and former teammate Keith Sims that began in 1990, when Miami's most successful side-by-side duo of offensive linemen arrived in South Florida as part of the same draft class.

They met. They bonded. And they succeeded.

''I think a big part of that was that we always had really good communication playing side by side,'' said Webb, who was named to seven Pro Bowls during his 11 seasons with the Dolphins. ``That probably helped us jell a little bit quicker.''

Now, 18 years later, two Dolphins rookies are hoping some similarly solid chemistry will translate into anything close to the bond shared by Webb and Sims on and off the field.

Tackle Jake Long and guard Shawn Murphy, each of whom have similar opportunities to snag starting jobs during their first season, just as Webb and Sims did, already seem like a natural fit.

After first meeting at the NFL Scouting Combine, months before they would wind up on the same team, Long and Murphy spent much of the week matched up in the same workout groups because their last names were alphabetically close to one another.

This weekend, the cultivation of their friendship took another step as they participated in the Dolphins' rookie minicamp.

''I really like him,'' Long said Sunday about Murphy. ``He works hard; he's a great player and a great person.''

It still remains to be seen whether Long (the team's No. 1 overall pick) and Murphy (a fourth-round selection) will play side by side. With the possibility of Justin Smiley moving to the left side, that could leave Murphy in a fight with Drew Mormino for the starting job on the right side.

Regardless, if Long and Murphy turn out to be successful NFL players, it isn't likely to be long before they are paired to protect the quarterback's blindside. It is a potential situation that is appealing to Murphy.

`IT'S A GREAT FEELING'

''Obviously, I'm a football fan, too, and so I watched him all year playing [at Michigan],'' Murphy said of Long. ``He's a great player to watch. Now, playing next to him, it's a great feeling to know I have that good of a football player by my side.''

Aside from a budding friendship away from the field, Long and Murphy need to prove they also have what it takes on the field. After all, just because Webb and Sims proved it can sometimes be beneficial to be part of the same draft class coming in, that doesn't necessarily guarantee success.

Five years after the Webb-Sims draft, the Dolphins tried to duplicate the tackle-guard partnership by taking tackle Billy Milner and guard Andrew Greene with their first two picks, respectively.

Milner, though, would play played only two seasons -- one with the Dolphins. After his first season, he was traded to St. Louis, where his NFL career faded fast.

Greene had a similarly short stay with the Dolphins. He played six games in a reserve role as a rookie, but was released a year later before his second season began.

''I'm not really sure why it didn't work,'' Webb said. ``It was a difficult situation. They worked side by side, but it's just not going to work every time. Sometimes you'll hit in that situation. Sometimes you won't.''

After investing a mammoth amount of money in Long, the Dolphins will monitor his individual success far more closely than his combined success with Murphy. To compare Murphy and Sims also would be far too premature because Sims was a second-round pick (39th overall). Murphy was selected 110th overall.

THINKING IN TANDEM

Although the ability of Long and Murphy to succeed beside one another remains to be seen, it already appears to be a hopeful sign that they are likely to coexist in every other way.

That should not be underestimated, Webb said.

''We definitely complemented each other,'' Webb said. ```[Sims] made me look good, so it's definitely important.

``A lot of times, we knew what each other was thinking without having to say anything on the field.''

And that is because they had plenty to say to each other off of it.