Miami Dolphins Oline issues could have prevented concussions

The Miami Dolphins have been the talk of the NFL and across multiple media platforms because of the recent concussions suffered by their quarterbacks. They only have themselves to blame.

Miami wants to believe that Tua Tagovailoa is their franchise quarterback for the next 15 years or more. They want to believe that so much that they gave Tyreek Hill a record contract and sent a slew of draft picks to the Chiefs to get Tua more weapons. Yet they have failed at giving him what he absolutely needs the most.

An offensive line that can consistently block.

It’s a retread story. One that dates back a decade. Miami has this insane idea that they can build an offensive line cheaply. Yes, they added Terron Armstead and Conner Williams but then called it a day despite the fact that center is a problem. Despite the fact that right tackle and left guard are problems. Their solution?

• Move Conner Williams to center.

That’s it. That’s the move. Put Ausin Jackson at right tackle and keep your fingers crossed. Keep Liam Eichenberg at left guard, and keep your fingers crossed. Get rid of Jesse Davis and everything will be fine.

The Miami Dolphins’ offensive line is not “fine”. Miami can’t run the ball and while they are protecting the quarterback, they are not protecting them enough.

Yes, before you jump like a madman to the comments to tell me that Tua wasn’t concussed against the Bills and that he held the ball far too long against the Bengals, I agree with you. I also agree that Bridgewater’s hit and concussion are more on him not reading the blitz and we all know that the concussion is bull.

But this is about the future. This is about putting your faith in a guy to be your leader and not giving him the support he needs on the line of scrimmage. This is about teasing a rushing attack that will make your QB better and more protected but you can’t run the ball because your offensive line is atrocious.

The Dolphins are not expected to be active before the trade deadline, at least not a lot but they should be. They should be targeting offensive linemen from other teams with a focus on protecting their assets at quarterback.

Miami can’t afford another big hit on Tua who has been sacked 46 times in three years and six times this year in, 5% of his dropbacks.

If the Dolphins want to consistently win football games and avoid future concussions, they need to fix the offensive line more than a couple of players. Armstead is a great signing but he has an injury history that ever fan across the globe knows exists the Dolphins didn’t really have much of a back-up plan. In fact, Miami entered the season keeping 8 linemen instead of nine or ten, and the last two weeks, the Dolphins have elevated linemen from the practice squad.

Why? If Chris Grier would have invested some of his blown signings on better-than-average linemen, Miami may not have been in this problem. If Miami had invested in players other than Noah Igbinoghene or Hunter Long, then maybe they wouldn’t be in this spot. But they are, and they only have themselves to blame for it.