What Is Happening To The Miami Dolphins Offensive Line?

The Miami Dolphins offensive line is starting to concern me a little bit. They didn't play well against the Atlanta Falcons, and they were torn up by the Dolphins defense in yesterday's practice.

I know that Miami doesn't have Jake Long in, but the LT wasn't the only problem. One big problem that might not be changed once the season starts is Marc Colombo, who is currently at the starting Right Tackle spot. Colombo has not been very good, and I am concerned that the Dolphins won't have anyone to replace him.

So all of this is happening, and you're probably wondering what's happening to Miami's offensive line?

In all honesty, I don't know. I believe Tony Sparano is trying to give the line some time to gel and work together well before making changes. That's something that he didn't do last year, and he is trying to do it this year.

I understand what he's doing, but I think he should make the changes now instead and allow the line time to work together afterwards. It is a much more manageable problem to fix now than it would be during the beginning or middle of the season.

One move that the Dolphins made that they might start to regret is moving Vernon Carey from right tackle to right guard. I know Carey wasn't the best tackle ever, but I am pretty sure that he was better than Colombo is.

We'll see, though. Hopefully things will pick up, because if they don't then there will be no point in us debating about quarterbacks because whoever is back there will just get sacked every time.

Thanks for reading, and let me know your thoughts and observations of the line.

You Tell Me: Is Offensive Line Or Quarterback A Bigger Concern For The Miami Dolphins?

Today's you tell me is all about what worries you more.

I want to know whether you guys are more concerned about the Miami Dolphins current offensive linemen or their quarterback.

Miami's offensive line did really poorly last year, but Chad Henne wasn't any better. Which do you think is a more glaring problem that the Dolphins need to fix?

Also, you could put whether QB or OL should be more of a priority in the draft.

I just want to know what concerns you guys more heading into next year.

Thanks for reading, and let me know what worries you more.

Miami Dolphins Lose Embarrassing Game 38-7 Against Patriots

Well, the good thing that we got out of this game is that Chad Henne has finally been benched. Henne was only in the game long enough to throw one interception, but I am confident that if he kept playing he would have been able to throw a few more.

Today's game seems like a fitting end to a terrible season, and I am just glad it is over. Now we can look ahead to what coaching changes will happen during the off-season, and Miami can begin their quarterback search yet again.

I am a little surprised at how bad our defense did against New England, though. I didn't think our offense would do well, but I did think our defense would be pretty good. Apparently not, though, as they allowed New England to score 38 points and dominate the time of possession.

When Tyler Thigpen went in for Chad Henne he actually played pretty well. What impressed me most about Thigpen was his willingness to take risks. Unlike Henne, he actually threw the ball up there and let his receiver take a chance and go for the ball. He hasn't won the starting spot for next year yet, but I think he should be given a fair shot at it,

Miami's offensive line also played terrible, and they reinforced a lot of the things you guys have been saying with your comments in the past few weeks. The offensive line has some obvious flaws, and those flaws will need to be fixed during the off-season if the Dolphins want to be any good.

We can now say that the Miami Dolphins season is finally over. I know it was a frustrating one, but I see better things to come for the Dolphins in the future.

Hang in there guys, and I will talk to you tomorrow.

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Miami Dolphins Shut Out By Bears In Embarassing Performance In Primetime

Chad Henne's Injury May Have Been More Costly Than We Thought

 Well, I guess the Tyler Thigpen experience is a failed one.

I was completely wrong about Thigpen. I thought that he would be a spark to the Miami Dolphins offense and help put more points on the board. Instead, he didn't put a single point on the board as the Dolphins were shut out by the Chicago Bears 16-0.

Granted, it was not all Thigpen's fault that the Miami Dolphins lost. The Miami Dolphins were absolutely decimated by injuries. On top of all the other injuries the Dolphins sustained before Thursday night's game, we saw center Cory Procter, who was in for injured starter Joe Berger, go down with an apparent season-ending ACL tear, and we saw Brandon Marshall go down with a hamstring injury in the first half.

Normally, the injury to Brandon Marshall would be considered a killer for the Dolphins, but it was nowhere near as bad of a loss as the injury to Cory Procter.

The Miami Dolphins are able to function without Brandon Marshall because they have other dangerous receivers to throw to.

Losing Cory Procter was a killer because it forced the Dolphins to move left guard Richie Incognito to the center spot, who apparently doesn't play center too much. Many of his snaps were too low, and Tyler Thigpen had to constantly reach for the ball wherever it went, and on top of those bad snaps, Thigpen had terrible protection from the beat-up line. He was sacked 6 times in just 22:09 with the ball.

The Dolphins running game also suffered extreme hardship because of the depleted line. Thigpen was the team's leading rusher with 6 attempts for 27 yards. Ronnie Brown had 3 carries for 10 yards, and Ricky Williams had 3 carries for 1 yard. Those numbers just tell you what kind of game it was for the Dolphins.

The only bright spot in the game was Cameron Wake. Wake was incredibly disruptive throughout the game. He drew countless holding penalties on the man blocking him, a sack, and a bunch of tackles behind the line of scrimmage.

As for Brandon Marshall, he dropped two passes that should have been easy catches before he left the game with his hamstring injury. Hopefully he can start to pick things up. At least the Dolphins have a bunch of talented receivers to step in for him. Now all we need is an offensive line to give our quarterback enough time to find those receivers.

I am not sure if this will be the end of Thigpen or not. He didn't get much help from the running game or offensive line, but he didn't do much himself. We will see in this extended week where the Miami Dolphins quarterback situation ends up.

I just find it weird that our 3rd-string quarterback was taking snaps from our 3rd-string center. That doesn't happen too often.

Thanks for reading, and please feel free to leave a comment.

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Miami Dolphins Keys To The Game: Control The Line

The Dolphins Will Be Relying On Their Offensive Line Against The Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steelers (with the help of newly returning QB Ben Roethlisberger) are heading into Miami this Sunday to try and keep the Dolphins without a victory at home this season, and if the Dolphins want to avoid being 0-3 at home they will have to control the line on both sides of the ball.

The key to the Miami Dolphins victory last week in Green Bay was their ability to keep pressure away from Chad Henne and to put a lot of pressure on Aaron Rodgers. The combination of those two things helped Miami come out on top, and if they want to have a similar result against the Steelers they will need to make sure they do both successfully again this weekend.

Miami's defense can't allow Ben Roethlisberger to have enough time to get comfortable and throw the ball when he sees an open receiver. They need to force him to either throw the ball earlier than he planned to or take a sack.

The Dolphins (specifically Cameron Wake) were able to rush Aaron Rodgers enough that he was never really able to get comfortable, and we need to hope they can have similar success against a good Steelers offensive line.

On the flip side, Miami needs to keep the Steelers defense from getting to Chad Henne. The Dolphins offensive line was great against the Packers defense last week, but they have a much worse challenge now against a very highly ranked Steelers defense.

The Steelers are among the best in the league at sacking and getting interceptions, which is why it is so important that our offensive line comes ready to play Sunday. If they aren't prepared and they get beaten consistently then they are in for a long game.

Chad Henne is not very good against pressure yet. When the pocket starts closing in on him I have noticed that he ducks his head and just kind of runs forward in the first hole that he sees up the middle. I haven't seen a single successful play when Henne starts running up the middle. He just ends up being sacked by a defensive lineman who puts his hand out and pulls him down.

That is something we want to avoid, and the only way to avoid that is to keep the pressure away and keep the pocket from collapsing on Henne.

Both the Dolphins and Steelers offensive lines have only allowed nine sacks, so it is a toss up as to which side will do better, but the Steelers have a statistical advantage on defense because they have sacked the quarterback 17 times compared to Miami's 14. That is not a huge difference, but every sack matters in a football game.

I am almost certain this game will be decided by whichever offensive line does better. Hopefully Miami's offensive line is the group that prevails because it would be exciting to see our Dolphins at 4-2.

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Bill Parcells: Is He Giving Up On The Miami Dolphins?

Bill Parcells.

Love him or hate him, it doesn't matter. He is still a master at putting together good teams.

Under his contract with the Miami Dolphins he was supposed to be the Executive Vice President of Football Operations for four years. He was going into his third year, which means he was supposed to stay for two more years.

But, the Dolphins have announced that Parcells is stepping down, and he will just be a consultant for the team.

I can't help but wonder whether he is giving up on Miami. It has not been the best preseason for the team, and maybe he is trying to leave before a bad season. I am not saying that the Dolphins are going to have a bad season, but I am saying there is a possibility.

Injuries have been killer to the Dolphins, and they have been especially bad on the offensive line. An offense is only as good as it's offensive line, and if our offensive line is hurt, so will our offense's production. Brandon Marshall can only do so much if Chad Henne gets sacked before he can throw him the ball.

I really do hope that the Dolphins will turn out good, but Parcells leaving the team early might be a bad sign.

On the optimistic side, though, maybe he is leaving because he has already worked his magic. Maybe the strong foundations have already been put in and he does not see anything else he can do. Maybe the Dolphins are better off than they appear.

I'm not sure which one it is, but I sure hope it is the latter. I don't want to suffer through any more years of mediocrity.

It is incredible to me how I was so optimistic about the team a month ago, and now I am not nearly as excited about this team. Let's just hope everything turns out ok.

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The Miami Dolphins Sign Offensive Lineman Pat McQuistan, And Bring Depth To An Injury Plagued Offensive Line

Pat McQuistan (hazing maybe?)

Thankfully, we have added more depth to our offensive line. The Dolphins just acquired offensive lineman Pat McQuistan from the Dallas Cowboys.

The Dolphins depth on the offensive line was getting a little thin, and Jake Long's injury scare against the Cowboys was probably the tipping point. No matter what the tipping point was, though, I am just glad they added McQuistan.

McQuistan is an experienced player who has played 5 years in the league. He also started for an entire season two and three years ago. I do not know what his stats are like because I don't have access to offensive lineman stats. But, I do know he was a consistent starter for two years, and that is good enough for me.

I am curious to see whether the Dolphins pick up anyone else for the line. McQuistan is a great addition, but I can't help but wonder if we need anyone else. I am not saying we do, but it is something good to think about.

Without a good offensive line our offense is nothing. Because of that I hope that the line can hold up enough to allow our offense to do their jobs.

Let me know what you guys think about McQuistan and whether you think we should pick anyone else up. I look forward to hearing what you think.

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Nate Garner Is Gone, And Our Offensive Line Is Not Looking Nearly As Good Now

A Healthy Nate Garner

News has recently come up that Nate Garner has been placed on IR.

This is bad news for the Miami Dolphins already depleted offensive line. Our line does not need another person out, but that is exactly what we are getting. Garner's placement on the IR is very badly timed because the season starts in a week, and that is not much time to build up the O-line.

I hope that the Dolphins are able to make a move to get some more depth and talent on the offensive line. For that matter, I hope they are willing to make a move for more depth and talent.

We desperately need to either make a trade or pick up an available player off waivers.

If the Dolphins don't get more help on the line, then we could be looking at a very bad season. One of the reasons our running game does so well is that we have a great offensive line. If that line isn't as good, then our running game will suffer.

Imagine our running game unable to do well because we do not have as good of an offensive line.

That would be a weird thought, but it is possible.

Just hope that you will be able to hear the news soon about the Dolphins adding a new guard or tackle. It would be pretty bad if they didn't.

Thanks for reading, and please feel free to comment on what you think. This is an important piece of the Dolphins offense we are looking at. I imagine you have some kind of opinion.

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