Brian Hartline & Mike Wallace working to improve offense & themselves

Written by Matthew Cannata | Twitter: @PhinManiacs
Brian Hartline hasn’t been a huge factor in the Miami Dolphins’ offense in 2014 but that hasn’t stopped him from working hard and with others to improve himself and the team. One player that Hartline feeds off of is Mike Wallace and he talked about how they work together on the field.

“I think it’s anything, when you are a well-balanced offense that incorporates not only a run-pass attack, but also distributing the ball. I think there are things that I would say I do a little better than he does and, vice-versa, there are things that he does a little better than me. Putting ourselves in the right position to make plays and then executing those plays is really the makeup of any good offense. We try to bring the best things to the table, he tries to bring his (best), I try to bring mine.”

Joe Philbin said that they are happy to have both Hartline and Wallace and called them both good production players who have each down their own thing over the past few years.

“We like both of those guys. They play hard and they play fast. They’ve had good production over the course of their time, both of those guys. I think Mike has found the end zone four times in five games. Brian, the first two years we were here, he had 70 or so catches both years. He’s been a productive player and a savvy guy, knows what to do. We’re happy we have both of those guys.”

One player who may end up eventually taking Hartline’s roster spot is Jarvis Landry but Hartline wasn’t hesitant to lay on the praise for the rookie receiver out of LSU.

“I think he does a great job. He’s a very smart football player. When you get in conversations with him, he speaks and talks like a third year guy. He knows the game well. He’s pretty coachable. I would say that he works extremely hard and he knows where he wants to be. He knows how good he wants to be and he knows what he expects to bring. He puts a lot of pressure on himself. He’s a guy that holds himself to a higher standard. Even though maybe at times we tell him good job, it’s still not good enough for him. He does a good job.”

The entire offense needs to improve as a unit but it’s a good first step when your receivers start talking more about the need to get more people involved and touching the ball. We’ll see if the Dolphins can make it happen on Sunday against the Chicago Bears.