Despite giving up four sacks, Bill Lazor pleased with offensive line

Written by Matthew Cannata | Twitter: @PhinManiacs
The Miami Dolphins offensive line gave up four sacks on Sunday, including one on the very first play of the game when Mike Pouncey was pushed backwards. However, Bill Lazor was pleased with the overall effort of the line and credited them with opening many holes and keeping the defensive line at bay. One player that Lazor singled out and said did much better than last week was Pouncey.

“I thought in every way we would have expected, balance, finish, drive, pass protection, run blocking. It’s probably what we expected. I thought the guy played a really good game. I’m excited for Mike.”

Another player that Lazor singled out was Branden Albert, who has been the best tackle throughout the NFL through the first seven weeks of the season.

“I thought he played pretty well. Very consistent, very consistent player. I don’t know if you know, I know you come out at the beginning of practice, are you all out there when the quarterbacks and centers are taking their snaps right at the beginning of practice? Special teams is doing a walkthrough, and the quarterbacks and centers are in the end zone. I don’t think we’ve had a single day when Branden Albert hasn’t been on the side working on his pass sets, his stance or his steps by himself. Now some guys have started gravitating and going to him, but I think he’s just been a great addition as far as what a professional does, on how a professional football player approaches practice, meetings, the mindset, work ethic, attention to detail. I’m really happy he’s here. I think everybody here is happy we got him. There’s no doubt about it.”

After being beaten by the blitz several times against the Green Bay Packers, Lazor wanted to make it an emphasis to not let that happen again against the Bears and it didn’t. Instead, there were many other factors that went into it.

“I think it’s easy to say, ‘Yes, quarterback throw the ball away,’ but we know sometimes it’s more realistic than others. I think it was shared responsibility, I do. I don’t want to get into every play because I try not to give the grade of a player on a particular play. I think it’s fair to say it was shared.”

So while the stat sheet might paint a semi-ugly picture for the Dolphins offensive line, there’s no doubt they did a hell of a job against the Bears and helped lead the way to a victory.