Offensive line play against the Bills turned in mixed results

Written by Matthew Cannata at 10:15 AM EST | Twitter: @PhinManiacs

The Miami Dolphins entered Thursday night's game with three players on the offensive line either playing out of position or coming off the bench. This include Ja'Wuan James at left tackle, Shelley Smith at left guard and Dallas Thomas at right tackle. 

While the line did open up enough holes for the running backs to gain 125 yards on the ground, they weren't so successful in pass protection, giving up five sacks. However, Joe Philbin said it wasn't as bad as the box score shows.

“They got us a couple...I think two of them were on play action passes where we kind of moved the line and sent a blocker on the backside. We still have to do better. I thought overall, the protection – I know that sounds crazy when you give up five sacks…I’m not sure how they counted the one where the ball got tipped and Ryan [Tannehill, QB] caught it and went down. I think that’s probably as a sack, I would guess, I don’t know. There’s room for improvement, but I thought there were some good things.”

Ryan Tannehill also said that the offensive line played well, saying that he was able to get the ball out of his hands and through his reads most of the night. 

"I thought that they played well. Most of the night, I was able to get the ball out of my hands [and] get through my reads. [There were a couple plays] where there was nobody open. I went through my progression and I would go back to my [fourth read] and then the sack happened. It’s not just that the offensive line gave up five sacks; it’s me getting the ball out of my hands [and] receivers running and them blocking. It’s a full picture.”

The Dolphins won't play again for another ten days so they'll have time to get everyone healthy and get the guys on the line working together more cohesively. They'll need that against the Denver Broncos, who can boast a dangerous pass rush from time to time.

---