Offensive line not making excuses
Despite losing two starters to injury, unit knows it must play better.
DAVIE — The Dolphins’ offensive line wants to bury Sunday’s game against New England and never think about it again.
Unfortunately for them, they had to relive it one more time in a film session the next day. There was nothing enjoyable about watching a 38-7 beating, after which coach Adam Gase publicly bemoaned how easily the Patriots raided his backfield, and there was no sugarcoat- ing that performance in the privacy of a team meeting room.
“It was probably what you’d expect after getting our butts handed to us,” right guard Jesse Davis said. “It was tough, but that’s facts.”
Another tough fact is the offensive line took another hit Sunday with the loss of center Daniel Kilgore to a season-ending torn triceps.
After an offseason in which the Dolphins prioritized continuity of their starting five, they lost four-time Pro Bowl left guard Josh Sitton in Week 1 and now must replace Kilgore with one of two players who joined the team once the season was underway. That’s their situation six months after deciding to move on from Mike Pouncey.
Miami likely will go with Travis Swanson at center for this Sunday’s game at the Bengals, though newcomer Wesley Johnson could get the chance to compete for the job over the next several weeks.
Swanson, who signed Sept. 11, replaced Kilgore against the Patriots in the second quarter. He’s also got extended history with offensive line coach Jeremiah Washburn, playing under him in Detroit in the 2014 and ’15 seasons. He started 11 games for the Lions last season.
“Centers are really good about picking it up,” Gase said. “They take whatever system they learned and they know how to translate it over and really know what’s important for them. Really a lot of times for them, it’s terminology change. But him being with Jeremiah in the past, some of that has carried over to where he picked everything up really fast.”
Both of the backups Miami found floating in free agency are experienced. Like Swanson, Johnson is a fifth-year veteran who saw significant action last season. He started 15 games for the Jets in 2017 before being cut by the Lions at the end of the recent preseason and signing with the Dolphins on Tuesday.
Gase didn’t rule out moving more pieces around, but it’s highly unlikely. The simplest solution to the offensive line attrition is to keep left tackle Laremy Tunsil, left guard Ted Larsen, Davis and right tackle Ja’Wuan James in place.
Sitton, replaced by Larsen, was the most accomplished player in that section of the locker room, and Kilgore was considered an equally important piece because of his knowledge and leadership. Gase appointed him a team captain despite this being his first year with the organization.
As the offensive line presses forward, it’ll be leadership by committee. None of the starting linemen are particularly outspoken, but they have enough familiarity and respect among each other that they know how to say something that resonates.
“It’s gonna have to be everybody,” Tunsil said. “That’s how it was at the beginning. It was everybody leading the charge. We lost two good guys in Sitton and Dan, but we’ve got to keep it going and keep it rolling. We can’t let it stop us now.”
Davis added, “We’re all pretty good friends. We’ve known each other for x amount of years. The new guys come in and they’re not bad people. They jell well with everybody. Everybody’s leading.”
If anyone is likely to speak up and take command when things go off the rails, Davis said it would be James.
There isn’t much use in dwelling on the loss to the Patriots other than using it to illustrate what needs to change for the Dolphins going forward.
The ground game man- aged 56 yards on 18 attempts after running for 296 yards over the first three weeks. Third downs continue to be a problem, with Miami hanging in the bottom of the league at a 31 percent conversion rate. Ryan Tannehill, who had pristine numbers through three games, cobbled together 100 yards passing and a pitiful 47.9 passer rating against New England.
Tannehill and the other position groups all contributed to the offensive struggles — Gase said running back Frank Gore was the only person who played well on that side of the ball — but it always starts with the offensive line.
“We didn’t execute our jobs,” Tunsil said. “We’ve got to do way better than what we did. But that’s behind us. I don’t want to talk about that game anymore. We’re looking forward to Cincinnati.”
The direction is clear. There’s not going to be any sulking about losing two starters, nor will there be lingering dismay about the New England game. No matter who’s out there, the line just needs to play better.
“Got to,” Tunsil said. “Have to.”