Offensive line coach John Benton working hard to improve line

Written by Matthew Cannata | Twitter: @PhinManiacs
The Miami Dolphins will be entering the 2014 season with five new starters on the offensive line, something that is extremely rare in the NFL. It's so rare that offensive line coach John Benton has never had to work with five new starters in his 20+ years coaching football. 

“I’ve never had something quite like this,” Benton said. “I’ve had four new starters before, but five? That’s a first. But I’ll go back to what I always say: ‘It is what it is.’”

Essentially, Benton has six weeks to prepare the best five lineman on the team to play together. They've already made some progress as it appears that the left tackle, left guard and right tackle position are set with Branden Albert, Daryn Colledge and Ja'Wuan James, respectively.

“I fully expect to have a quality line,” Benton says. “I feel we have the talent. It’s how fast you come together and how hard you work. Will we be 100 percent refined against New England? No, but we’re going to have a heck of a game plan for what they do.”

“We have to cut down some of the competitions after the first preseason game,” Benton said. “We have to be down to one or two competitions. We have to get ready to play opening week. Call it jelling. Call it what you want. We have to quickly evaluate who is playing where and who is playing how much.”

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