Miami’s Offensive line: A Work In Progress

Jimmy Bourbon

10 years ago

It is fair to say that the Miami Dolphins‘ offensive line from last year was the Achilles heel of the team.

They allowed an embarrassing record-breaking 58 sacks, and could not create any space for the running backs. But that was the past and the Dolphins revamped the offensive line and brought in Joe Benton from the Houston Texans to be the offensive line coach. The multimillion-dollar question for football betting software fans is will this be enough to improve the Dolphins’ weak link?

At the moment if the line wants to be better than last year, then there is a lot of work that needs to be done. The offensive line already suffered a major set back when it lost Mike Pouncey for at least the first month of the season, so they will be entering the season with 5 brand new starters. The loss of Pouncey is already being felt, with multiple bad exchanges between the fill-in center and Ryan Tannehill. At the moment it appears that Shelley Smith is going to be Pouncey’s replacement at Center, and any sports gambling fan that you speak with will say that this is a downgrade from last season.

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The other 4 players that appear to be in the lead to start on the line when the season begins in September are Brandon Albert LT, Ja’Wuan James RT, Dallas Thomas RG, and Daryn Colledge LG. The buzz so far in camp is that Albert has been having issues blocking Vernon, and James is being abused by Cameron Wake. Wake is one of the best pass rushers in the NFL, and James is a wet behind the ears rookie, so it is nothing to panic about. This is actually a good thing for the Rookie because a high level of competition now will best prepare him for when the season begins. Vernon had a break out season last year, racking up 11.5 sacks, so it is not like Albert has an easy task in practice each day, so it is a perfect way for both players to improve. Colledge recently signed with Miami at the end of June, and he has 9 years of experience in the league and has started in 124 games, so he is definitely battle-tested. He has also impressed so far in camp, standing his ground against Randy Starks, who is well known as an excellent practice performer. The 5^th and final starter appears to be second-year player Dallas Thomas, who has definitely gotten stronger from last season, but the fact is he has never started an NFL game, so it will be interesting to see how he progresses throughout the pre-season and regular season.

Now is the time that offensive line coach Joe Benton needs to get this group working as a team, and get them to start gelling and bonding. The offensive line does not become great because of one player, it becomes great from having a group of 5 players that can communicate and play as one cohesive unit. Not only does each player need to know his assignment on each play, but they need to know what each of their other fellow linemen is doing as well. It is going to be a tall task for Coach Benton to mold these 5 players, who have never played together before, into a close-knit productive group that moves in step as one on each play. Do Phins fans think Benton can get these guys to gel together and limit sacks, and increase the space for running lanes?

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