There is a T-shirt making its rounds on social media that quotes Miami Dolphins head coach Chris Grier. It simply says, "You all worry more about the offensive line than we do." Now, they might worry a little bit more.
The Dolphins won't have their right side intact for at least another three games, but at this rate, Tua Tagovailoa may not be around to see them return.
Prior to Miami's Week 2 loss, they placed both right side starters, Austin Jackson (RT) and James Daniels (RG), on injured reserve. It only took 60 minutes for Dolphins fans to say, "I told you so."
Miami Dolphins offensive line proves every fan and media member right.
Tagovailoa was under pressure most of the game on Sunday against the New England Patriots. The Patriots' game plan to keep him out of sync worked, especially when coming off the right side.
When the game was on the line late and the Dolphins were driving for what could have been a game-stealing touchdown, Larry Borom and Kion Smith failed, giving up a fourth-down sack to end the game. It was the fifth sack of the day.
To be fair, Tagovailoa didn't have a good game despite an almost perfect rating through three quarters. The quarterback kept Miami in the game and gave them a lead in the second half, but ultimately, his decisions with the ball led to the Dolphins' loss.
On two, third-down and long situations, Tagovailoa ran away from the right side and rolled to the left. Pressure and good coverage downfield forced him to make two poor decisions.
Instead of buying more time by moving around, he ran out of bounds well short of the first down. The second time came on Miami's final offensive drive, setting up the fourth-down sack to seal the game.
Through two games, the Dolphins' offensive line is proving to be a problem, but fans already knew this was going to be the case. Grier believed that drafting Jonah Savaiinaea and signing James Daniels were enough to correct the problem, but fans knew better.
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