The Miami Dolphins are entering a critical, 6-game stretch in their push to the playoffs… and beyond. Just days away from facing a tough San Francisco 49ers team on the road, amazing news has surfaced through Cameron Wolfe and Mike McDaniel a few days ago and confirmed in the Friday practice report that Terron Armstead may play this week. This is shocking considering Armstead suffered a strained pectoral muscle last week. Not only is this a testament to Armstead’s leadership but is also desperately needed because Austin Jackson will miss this week, and Greg Little is the only one left to man the position.
Little starting puts a big hit on Miami’s chances of winning, if Armstead doesn’t make a return.
Terron is a giant upgrade over Little
When you look over the match up of Little vs Bosa, it’s clear Armstead will be the hero this week if he can make an appearance and stabilize the offensive line against one the best defenses in the league. But, while we know how good Terron is and has been for the Phins, let’s take a look at the matchup of Little vs. Bosa to understand how big his presence or absence will be.
Little vs Bosa
Greg Little: 27 pressures total, 17 hurries, 6 hits, and 4 sacks allowed in 232 snaps over 6 starts and a few fill in snaps. He has a PFF run blocking grade of 44.8, which is team worst.
Nick Bosa: 55 total pressures, 27 hurries, 17 hits, and 11 sacks and has a run defense PFF grade of 86.5.
Terron Armstead practiced in a limited fashion on Friday… will he play though? I don’t know the chances of further injury or reduced chances of injury if rested, but I do know I’d rather have him rest if that means more of a chance of him finishing the season. I also know that Armstead playing or not is a critical factor in us winning this game or not.
I’ll leave those decisions up to Armstead and the Dolphins training staff… I just hope they are thinking long term and not short term.
In the end, while Little doesn’t give us a big chance to beat the 49ers, Tua and Terron are need for the long haul and I hope that’s the goal first and foremost. While 9-3 sounds great, it will be disaster if either Tua or Terron ends up injured and misses the more critical games coming against conference and division rivals. Go Phins!!!
Totally agree. We need to look at the long haul. I don’t know if some type of brace or support can be used? Little, Jackson, Deiter, all need to go after this season. Williams needs to go to LG, and we need to draft a high quality Center. In FA, need to try and find some quality back-ups for Armstead, and RT Shell too! Look at the Pats vs. Bills game, the tackle positions are weak, and the Bills took advantage of that. This will help us too in the next few weeks. If Tua or Armstead go down for any length of time, you can bet we will miss the playoffs! Bridgewater and Thompson can’t do the job. No Tua, NO Win! More work on the OL is needed. This needs to be a major focus this off-season. Happy Holidays!!
MJ,
Totally agree. We need to look at the long haul. I don’t know if some type of brace or support can be used? Little, Jackson, Deiter, all need to go after this season. Williams needs to go to LG, and we need to draft a high quality Center. In FA, need to try and find some quality back-ups for Armstead, and RT Shell too! Look at the Pats vs. Bills game, the tackle positions are weak, and the Bills took advantage of that. This will help us too in the next few weeks. If Tua or Armstead go down for any length of time, you can bet we will miss the playoffs! Bridgewater and Thompson can’t do the job. No Tua, NO Win! More work on the OL is needed. This needs to be a major focus this off-season. Happy Holidays!!