Offensive line has ‘never satisfied’ attitude for success
The Dolphins offensive line is beginning to show improvement as a unit, but the group continues to hold a never satisfied attitude in their stride to get better.
For years, the Miami Dolphins offensive line has been abysmal. Even in cases where they would have up to four first round draft picks across the line, it just never seemed to work for whatever the reason. This year, expectations have risen for the group’s production. At least that’s the case among Dolphins fans, even if the national media still won’t give Miami any respect at all.
Most outside the organization believe that the loss of Mike Pouncey will be too much for a line that already struggles to overcome. While Pouncey was a great player for some time at Miami, and I wish nothing but the best for him in Los Angeles, he hasn’t played near to the Pro Bowl level we’ve seen of him these past couple of seasons due to injuries.
To fill his role at center, the Dolphins inked a trade with the 49ers to bring in the veteran Daniel Kilgore. Also this offseason, Miami made the big free agent signing of Josh Sitton to finally bring in the offensive guard that they’ve needed. The moves don’t automatically make the Dolphins a top offensive line in the league on paper. Far from it, but it is a strong improvement from where they were.
This past Sunday, myself and other members from various Dolphins websites received the opportunity to be in attendance for the team’s practice, and we had the chance to interview both Kilgore and right tackle Ja’Wuan James at the conclusion.
One of the positives that fans took away from the Dolphins first preseason game was the play of the offensive line, both the starters and the guys behind them. It gave the sense that just maybe Miami finally has the depth that they’ve been seeking. Both Kilgore and James very highly reluctant to reiterate that, however.
“Offense had a couple explosive plays, but we want more. We expect more”, Kilgore stated when talking about Sunday’s practice, and the game.
“Never satisfied” was James’ response when asked, ‘if he was happy about how the unit is coming together, and where they are at right now’?
Both players have the right attitude here as the line does have a long ways to go before getting where they want to be. But it is nice to finally have some confidence distilled into this line after it has been atrocious these past few seasons. Ryan Tannehill‘s success is going to depend on how well the line can block for him, and ultimately could prove whether or not the Dolphins are, in fact, a playoff team or if the national media is right about them.