‘We’re just trying to work to find the right fit’ — Dolphins may be on the verge of shuffling things yet again in front of Tua Tagovailoa
“I think it’s necessarily a competition”, while subsequently describing what is absolutely a competition.
Name a more iconic duo than the Miami Dolphins and instability along the offensive line. I dare you!
We may be on the verge of some more interruptions for the Dolphins as they continue to battle the ongoing injury bug. The entire right side of Miami’s offensive line was marooned on injured reserve after the first week of the season, and by the end of the team’s Week 3 contest against the Buffalo Bills, Miami had tabbed a third different name to play right guard this season.
Will the shuffling continue? Miami’s offensive coordinator, Frank Smith, certainly left the door open on Friday.
Could the Dolphins be rolling out another starting offensive line combination on Monday night versus the Jets?
“I don’t think it’s necessarily a competition; we’re just trying to work to find the right fit because once you have injuries, what’s the right fit, how are we going to play it out. And I think that’s ultimately what we’re always working at, through all positions, making sure we got the right guys in the right spots…For us right now, we’re working through just all the variables, because again, when we were dealing with Daniel (Brunskill), just making sure we get guys the right amount of reps at different spots. I don’t think it’s rushed to say right now it’s yes or no. I think we’re going to work the process all the way through the week to make sure we have what decision we’re going to with for Monday night.”
— Dolphins offensive coordinator Frank Smith on the team’s right guard situation
The current snap distribution at right guard this season?
– James Daniels (starter): 3 offensive snaps
– Kion Smith (first preferred backup): 138 snaps
– Daniel Brunskill (inserted at halftime in Week 3): 25 snaps
As Smith points out, the team appears to continue to shuffle things around to find a sufficient combination to play with before Daniels is eventually ready for a return to the field. Given the struggles Smith had against the Colts, Patriots, and Bills, it feels likely Brunskill could be ahead of him in the pecking order. The coaching staff has suggested more than once in the aftermath of Week 3 that the team desired Brunskill’s experience in the heat of battle against the Bills.
But there’s another name to at least keep in the back of your mind — former first-round draft choice Cole Strange. Strange, who was drafted by the Patriots 29th overall in the 2022 NFL Draft, has 29 career starts in the NFL and was most recently with the Browns before Miami added him to the active roster on Sept. 9. We’ve now reached the window of time where it could be feasible to consider Strange as “on-boarded” into the basics of the offense. And if the team didn’t like what it saw from Brunskill, Strange could warrant consideration.
If it is Brunskill or Strange, Miami will make its third different starting offensive line combination in four games. And, if that’s the case, Miami will find themselves in familiar territory — moving pieces around in front of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa once again.
Miami Dolphins News
‘I’m old school’ — Dolphins defense gets a fiery new message from the top as they search for a breakthrough in Week 4
“All of our problems that we need to solve can be solved through violence.”
