Linemen seek rhythm
Flores looking for continuity on O-line; discusses Jon Gruden
MIAMI GARDENS — After the Miami Dolphins have run five different offensive line combinations in their first five games, they’re looking to finally keep the same line together for a second straight week ahead of Sunday’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in London.
The line showed improvement with the moves of putting rookie Liam Eichenberg at left tackle, shifting Austin Jackson inside to left guard and playing Jesse Davis at right tackle, albeit in a 45-17 loss at the defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“Yeah, you always want continuity,” Dolphins coach Brian Flores said Wednesday. “You always want to play the same group and build that communication, build those relationships on the field. You always want that for a myriad of reasons.
“That could change. That could be because of play or performance. It can be because of injury, which we’ve dealt with. Hopeful this week that we can continue to play the same group and build that continuity.”
Said center Greg Mancz, who has filled in for the injured Michael Deiter the past two weeks: “Every time you play, whether it’s practice, whether you’re in a meeting, whether you’re in a game, you practice with a guy, you get more comfortable with him.
“Say I would’ve shown up that first day and played that first game, that would’ve been hard. You need to have that communication. You start to finish each other’s sentences as you play more and more together.”
Eichenberg was back at left tackle, where he played mostly when he starred at Notre Dame and in Week 1 for Jackson, who missed that practice week because of COVID.
“It was a great opportunity to get back out there at left tackle,” Eichenberg said on Tuesday. “Just take a little bit more time to get back in the swing of things, get back in the groove. It’s tackle — right or left. I’m excited just to be able to play.”
The veteran and versatile Davis went back to where he began the season at right tackle after a pair of weeks at left guard. Jackson was impressive, considering he had last played guard in a high school All-American exhibition.
Jackson’s run-blocking abilities were highlighted at the new position while his difficulties in pass protection in space were hidden. While, in an ideal world, the Dolphins’ first-round pick, No. 18 overall, in the 2020 draft would’ve panned out at left tackle, Flores does not take past draft status or accolades into consideration when making decisions.
“Once a guy gets here, we really don’t — or I don’t really care where he was drafted, free agent, trade, waiver wire,” Flores said. “We’ll really use all those avenues to acquire those players. When they get here, it’s about the way guys compete and players taking advantage of their opportunity and being productive in whatever role they’re given.”
No offensive linemen were included on the Dolphins’ Wednesday injury report.
Flores on Gruden: Flores reacted to this week’s news of Las Vegas Raiders coach Jon Gruden resigning amid the revelation of a series of emails he sent in the past that contained racist, misogynistic and homophobic language.
“It’s unfortunate,” Flores said. “I think football’s a game that, from my standpoint, what I love about the game is that it brings people together. It brings people from all walks of life together, so you hate to see anything that brings any type of division.
“At the same time, I believe in forgiveness. I do. I would hate to — I never want to judge someone based on the worst thing they’ve ever said or done. I don’t think anybody here would. I know I wouldn’t. From that standpoint, I guess that’s how I feel. I would never judge someone based on the worst thing they’ve ever done or worst thing they’ve ever said.
“Obviously, there’s consequences for your actions and the things you say, and I think we all should learn something from it.”
Overseas coaching experience: With the Dolphins traveling to London, Flores reminisced on his first overseas coaching experience.
“My first coaching job — or it wasn’t even a job — it was with a club team in Italy,” Flores recalled. “Guys were smoking cigarettes at halftime. It’s a little different than what I’m dealing with now, but it was a great experience for me and something that I’ll cherish my entire life, coaching for the Napoli Briganti in Naples, Italy. That was fun.”
Flores said it started because some of his friends from Boston College were playing on the team in a small Italian league for American football, and he went over to spend a few weeks with them in the summer.
While in Naples, one of the coaches left, so the team actually asked Flores to step in.
He was interim defensive coordinator for the Napoli Briganti for a week. The unit ran a 4-3 scheme under Flores’ direction, and his defense held the opponent to 6 points. The Briganti’s stout defense didn’t get any support from the offense, however, falling in a 6-0 final.
“It was a great experience,” said Flores, who added there was a lot of wine-drinking involved during his weeks in Italy. “I still talk to some of the guys that are on that team now. I made some great friendships and it’s a good story to tell.”
Flores, the Boston College grad, was in a Clemson shirt at his Wednesday press conference because of a bet he lost to defensive lineman Christian Wilkins, a Clemson alum, apparently over the Oct. 2 Tigers win over the Eagles.