Is Long best suited on left or right side?
Dolphins rookie left tackle Jake Long uses Jason Taylor-like dance steps to dodge questions about which side of the offensive line he prefers to play, but coach Tony Sparano never minced words when discussing the future location for his top draft pick.
‘We see Jake as a left tackle. Left tackle is our need, and that’s where he’s going to be playing for us,’ Sparano said the week after the draft.
Sparano, General Manager Jeff Ireland and Vice President of Football Operations Bill Parcells ignored all the pre-draft chatter from pundits such as NFL Network draft guru Mike Mayock, who is convinced the 6-foot-7, 315-pound Long will dominate as a run-blocking right tackle but will struggle initially on the left side against the league’s elite speed rushers.