Miami Herald Logo

Miami Dolphins offensive line regroups after string of setbacks | Miami Herald

×
  • E-edition
  • Home
    • Site Information
    • Contact Us
    • About Us
    • Herald Store
    • RSS Feeds
    • Special Sections
    • Advertise
    • Advertise with Us
    • Media Kit
    • Mobile
    • Mobile Apps & eReaders
    • Newsletters
    • Social
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Google+
    • Instagram
    • YouTube

    • Sections
    • News
    • South Florida
    • Miami-Dade
    • Broward
    • Florida Keys
    • Florida
    • Politics
    • Weird News
    • Weather
    • National & World
    • Colombia
    • National
    • World
    • Americas
    • Cuba
    • Guantánamo
    • Haiti
    • Venezuela
    • Local Issues
    • Crime
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health Care
    • In Depth
    • Issues & Ideas
    • Traffic
    • Sections
    • Sports
    • Blogs & Columnists
    • Pro & College
    • Miami Dolphins
    • Miami Heat
    • Miami Marlins
    • Florida Panthers
    • College Sports
    • University of Miami
    • Florida International
    • University of Florida
    • Florida State University
    • More Sports
    • High School Sports
    • Auto Racing
    • Fighting
    • Golf
    • Horse Racing
    • Outdoors
    • Soccer
    • Tennis
    • Youth Sports
    • Other Sports
    • Politics
    • Elections
    • The Florida Influencer Series
    • Sections
    • Business
    • Business Monday
    • Banking
    • International Business
    • National Business
    • Personal Finance
    • Real Estate News
    • Small Business
    • Technology
    • Tourism & Cruises
    • Workplace
    • Business Plan Challenge
    • Blogs & Columnists
    • Cindy Krischer Goodman
    • The Starting Gate
    • Work/Life Balancing Act
    • Movers
    • Sections
    • Living
    • Advice
    • Fashion
    • Food & Drink
    • Health & Fitness
    • Home & Garden
    • Pets
    • Recipes
    • Travel
    • Wine
    • Blogs & Columnists
    • Dave Barry
    • Ana Veciana-Suarez
    • Flashback Miami
    • More Living
    • LGBTQ South Florida
    • Palette Magazine
    • Indulge Magazine
    • South Florida Album
    • Broward Album
    • Sections
    • Entertainment
    • Books
    • Comics
    • Games & Puzzles
    • Horoscopes
    • Movies
    • Music & Nightlife
    • People
    • Performing Arts
    • Restaurants
    • TV
    • Visual Arts
    • Blogs & Columnists
    • Jose Lambiet
    • Lesley Abravanel
    • More Entertainment
    • Events Calendar
    • Miami.com
    • Contests & Promotions
    • Sections
    • All Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Op-Ed
    • Editorial Cartoons
    • Jim Morin
    • Letters to the Editor
    • From Our Inbox
    • Speak Up
    • Submit a Letter
    • Meet the Editorial Board
    • Influencers Opinion
    • Blogs & Columnists
    • Blog Directory
    • Columnist Directory
    • Andres Oppenheimer
    • Carl Hiaasen
    • Leonard Pitts Jr.
    • Fabiola Santiago
    • Obituaries
    • Obituaries in the News
    • Place an Obituary

    • Place an ad
    • All Classifieds
    • Announcements
    • Apartments
    • Auctions/Sales
    • Automotive
    • Commercial Real Estate
    • Employment
    • Garage Sales
    • Legals
    • Merchandise
    • Obituaries
    • Pets
    • Public Notices
    • Real Estate
    • Services
  • Public Notices
  • Cars
  • Jobs
  • Moonlighting
  • Real Estate
  • Mobile & Apps

  • el Nuevo Herald
  • Miami.com
  • Indulge

Latest News

Miami Dolphins offensive line regroups after string of setbacks

BY ADAM H. BEASLEY

    ORDER REPRINT →

September 06, 2012 12:01 AM

First guard Eric Steinbach hung them up. Now Artis Hicks is down and out.

Almost enough to make a superstitious Dolphins offensive lineman believe the position is cursed.

“Knock on wood, man,” cracked Richie Incognito, who (if the fates allow) will start at left guard Sunday in Houston. “Shoot.”

The Dolphins better invest heavily in four-leaf clovers and horseshoes for Incognito and John Jerry. If either gets hurt, things will get really hairy for the offensive line.

Sign Up and Save

Get six months of free digital access to the Miami Herald

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

#ReadLocal

The guard position was supposed to be one of the team’s deepest entering camp. But with Steinbach (knee injury) and Hicks (neck) both gone, the talent pool has grown shallow.

Just how thin are they?

Consider this: Jerry went from nearly eating himself off the team to becoming the Dolphins’ expected opening day starter.

Jerry, the third-year guard from Mississippi, tipped the scales at 360 pounds when training camp began, drawing the ire of his coaches. Hard Knocks featured his struggles with weight, showing a hellish practice in which Jerry took most every snap, losing his lunch along the way.

“I think that’s when the light came on for me, honestly,” Jerry said Wednesday. “That kind of showed the coaches are not going to take the foot off the pedal with me.

“I didn’t take it as a negative thing,” he added. “I took it as a positive thing. And I think it just kept me going forward.”

Jerry has since dropped more than 20 pounds and says he’s fit enough to handle 65 snaps a game during the next 17 weeks. The Dolphins just hope he can survive Sunday in Houston, where the Texans will be waiting with one of the league’s most dangerous defenses.

When a team loses two key players from its front seven — including the former No. 1 overall pick – you would expect the team to take a step back.

But the Texans, who lost Mario Williams and DeMeco Ryans to free agency, could be even better, thanks to the franchise’s strong draft.

With Williams now in Buffalo, the Texans expect J.J. Watt to replace his pass rush. Watt has shown he has the ability, tallying 3 1/2 sacks in two playoff games last year.

Houston ranked second in total defense in 2011 (allowing just 285.7 yards per game), and the Texans’ 44 sacks were sixth-most in the league.

Also, inside linebacker Bradie James swaps in for Ryan. In doing so, James reunites with former Cowboys coach Wade Phillips, now the Texans’ defensive coordinator.

Watt, Brian Cushing — last year’s team MVP — and nose tackle Shaun Cody missed significant chunks of the exhibition season because of injury, but all practiced Wednesday and are expected to play.

“They have a lot of talent, especially their pass-rushers,” said Dolphins right tackle Jonathan Martin, a rookie making his NFL debut. “Their front five, because they kind of play five down [linemen], are all so talented. It’s going to be a lot of one-on-one matchups, so we have to be ready to go.”

They need to play better than last year — and this preseason. According to Pro Football Focus, none of the Dolphins’ projected starters on the line ranked in the top 20 of their respective position in 2011.

Martin and Hicks struggled with pass protection at times on the right side this summer, and the Dolphins surrendered eight sacks in four exhibition games.

Now Hicks is gone, and neither Jerry (ankle) nor left tackle Jake Long (knee) is completely healthy. Both missed parts of practice Wednesday, and in Jerry’s case, it’s not even clear who replaced him.

Jerry is the lone right guard on the team’s latest depth chart, and Will Yeatman is Long’s primary backup. Nate Garner has the ability to play either position, if needed .

“I’d love to say [Hicks] is the last guy that goes to [injured reserve], but as you know, it’s a tough game,” Dolphins coach Joe Philbin said. “We’ve got some guys, we’ve got some options. It’s going to be a great challenge on Sunday.”

Related stories from Miami Herald

HOMEPAGE

Miami Dolphins Blog | Dolphins in Depth

January 07, 2012 11:41 AM

HOMEPAGE

Pigskin challenge: Make your NFL picks against Miami Herald sportswriters

August 29, 2012 10:30 PM

  Comments  

Videos

Baby born on a JetBlue flight

The Cuban government didn’t allow a cruise ship from the Port of Palm Beach to dock in Havana Friday (IN SPANISH)

View More Video

Trending Stories

Military planes carrying 180 tons of aid for Venezuelans fly from Miami to Colombia

February 16, 2019 08:00 AM

Here are some of the worst mistakes immigrants make applying for legal papers

February 15, 2019 11:26 AM

Dolphins hire ex-Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie, the league’s 2016 executive of year

February 16, 2019 04:27 PM

Panic at the Orlando airport when a man alarms passengers at security checkpoint

February 16, 2019 02:52 PM

Mark Walton, former Canes star now with the Cincinnati Bengals, arrested in Miami

February 16, 2019 11:05 AM

Read Next

Did the rock star unzip it on stage in Miami? Fifty years later, let’s take a look

Entertainment

Did the rock star unzip it on stage in Miami? Fifty years later, let’s take a look

By Miami Herald Archives

    ORDER REPRINT →

February 17, 2019 09:41 AM

Did Jim Morrison expose himself in Miami? After the Doors played Dinner key on March 1, 1969, the criminal justice system went to work. The Lizard King was arrested and put on trial for indecent exposure.

KEEP READING

Sign Up and Save

#ReadLocal

Get six months of free digital access to the Miami Herald

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

MORE LATEST NEWS

Herbal water for babies with tummy discomfort recalled for possible choking hazard

Health & Fitness

Herbal water for babies with tummy discomfort recalled for possible choking hazard

February 17, 2019 09:35 AM
Haitian prime minister breaks silence on violent protests

Haiti

Haitian prime minister breaks silence on violent protests

February 17, 2019 12:07 AM
One dead in shooting near South Beach’s Ocean Drive

Miami Beach

One dead in shooting near South Beach’s Ocean Drive

February 17, 2019 06:47 AM
It needed overtime, but Palmer Trinity boys’ soccer will defend its state title

Miami-Dade High Schools

It needed overtime, but Palmer Trinity boys’ soccer will defend its state title

February 16, 2019 07:59 PM
LaSalle boys’ soccer will play for a state title — and made school history along the way

High School Sports

LaSalle boys’ soccer will play for a state title — and made school history along the way

February 16, 2019 11:20 PM
For the first time in eight years, Varela boys’ soccer returns to state title game

Miami-Dade High Schools

For the first time in eight years, Varela boys’ soccer returns to state title game

February 16, 2019 07:56 PM
Take Us With You

Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand.

Icon for mobile apps

Miami Herald App

View Newsletters

Subscriptions
  • Start a Subscription
  • Customer Service
  • eEdition
  • Vacation Hold
  • Pay Your Bill
  • Rewards
Learn More
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletters
  • News in Education
  • Public Insight Network
  • Reader Panel
Advertising
  • Place a Classified
  • Media Kit
  • Commercial Printing
  • Public Notices
Copyright
Commenting Policy
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service


Back to Story