Offensive Line to be set later rather than sooner

Written by Matthew CannataThe 2013 Miami Dolphins had one of the worst offensive lines in franchise history. Therefore, it was no surprise that just about every one of the starters weren’t re-signed after the season with the exception of Mike Pouncey. However, with Pouncey now being injured and out for several weeks, the Dolphins will have five new starters on the offensive line come week one.

This sort of thing isn’t normal and will take time to put together, especially since the interior of the line is not anywhere close to being finalized. Head Coach Joe Philbin understands this, which is why he told Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald that it will be a while before the line is set.

“The preseason is going to be important for the Oline," Philbin told Salguero in an exclusive interview prior to the start of training camp. "Let’s face it, we don’t have five locked and loaded guys right now. I’m not panicking over it, but it’s important we find them. We’ve got to get reps and field evaluations and give them opportunities. It’s great to settle on a line a little sooner rather than later, but I think it might take a while to figure all that out.”

Philbin says that while they did learn some things during the offseason workouts, there is nothing like putting the pads on because that’s when you really see what players are for real.

“We have to figure out the offensive line," Philbin said. "In the OTAs, I loved the offseason program, but we’ve got to get some pads on. We’ve got to get some blitzes coming live or semi-live. We have to put those guys in some pressure situations and turn the crowd noise up and motion across the formation, make an adjustment call and see if those guys can function in real time. The walk-thru is great and film study is great and real important. But you have to step back and let them do a little bit and see what we got."

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