Miami is experimenting with Samson at RG

MH = Miami Herald

MH Note: "Last week the Dolphins unveiled the idea of moving starting center Samson Satele to right guard and plugging in veteran Al Johnson at center. The idea was hatched the second Johnson signed and it has come to a Miami offensive line near you. This move is meant to address two issues: Improve the right guard play. And improve the center play."

Asked if Al Johnson might be more playing time at center, Miami head coach Tony Sparano said:
“Yeah, I can see that. I can see Al getting more work during the course of the games.” (MH)

Asked how Samson played at their troubled RG spot, Sparano said:
“Not bad. Good. Samson played pretty good. Again, it was eight plays worth of work out there and in some of those, he wasn’t really challenged a whole lot. He didn’t have a guy on him is what I’m saying." (MH)

MH Note: "Sparano went on to make the point Satele played guard at Hawaii and that, as the Dallas offensive line coach, Sparano studied the player before the draft."

About how he judged Samson as a player who could play both C and G when they were evaluating him for the draft, Sparano (who was an OL coach at the time, so he was responsible for evaluating Samson closely) said:
"We really looked at him as a swing player at the time when we were in Dallas -- a center-guard. We knew that was something that he has done and I think, athletically, when you take the ball out from between his legs and you put him over there at guard, it gives him a chance to get his hands on people a little bit faster. So I thought he did a pretty good job.” (MH)