Dolphins on hot streak at need area. And how UCLA voice ended up narrating Fins’ history
For years - and by years, I mean decades - the Dolphins have been haunted by poor decisions on their offensive line.
That makes it all the more notable that at least among veteran pickups, they’ve gotten three in a row right.
Terron Armstead, when healthy, has given the Dolphins their best left tackle play in years.
Connor Williams, a left guard with the Dallas Cowboys, has made the transition to center exceptionally well; Pro Football Focus ranks him fifth among centers this season.
And Brandon Shell, added within the last month, has given the Dolphins two good games at right tackle.
Offensive line coach Matt Applebaum addressed all three today:
▪ On Armstead: “Terron brings an impact to the offensive line every single day. He gets his job done at a very high level. He’s a very, very good player who knows how to handle the ups and downs of the season. He’s really good with the room and helping those guys along.”
▪ On Williams: “He’s a very well-rounded player for the position. There’s a lot of guys in the league (who) play that position that maybe have the lateral quickness that you need, or maybe they don’t have a lateral quickness, but they have the size and they play to their scheme, whatever scheme maybe their team is playing.
“I think Connor has both. He doesn’t have any obvious deficiencies or anything like that. Then he’s a really smart, articulate guy and he’s works really hard at it.”
▪ On Shell: “B. Shell’ has been awesome. The guy is a professional in his approach. I thought he had good tape at Seattle. So we were fortunate to be able to get him when we did. Obviously, when he first got here, he needed to get in shape.. And to his credit, he’s done everything we’ve asked. He got in shape rather quickly.
“He’s really smart and works at it and picked up our offense rather quickly. He certainly was more comfortable playing right tackle than left tackle. But to me, for him to go out there and give us what he gave us at left tackle against New York Jets, that’s super impressive to me. Not just the production, but the willingness to go out there and lay it on the line at a position he’s not comfortable at and give us a chance to win. So, I’ve got nothing but good things to say about that guy.”
DOLPHINS BROADCAST NEWS
When Dolphins senior vice president Jason Jenkins died shockingly at 47 in August, when a blood clot traveled from his leg to his heart, he had been working on several projects.
Among them: creating an audio forum to celebrate the team’s history, including the 1972 team.
About six months before his death, Jenkins had authorized the creation of a weekly podcast this season to reminisce about each of the 1972 team’s games, with players on the perfect team offering their recollections through new interviews.
Josh Lewin, the radio voice of UCLA sports, had been in touch with Jenkins for years and was hired to do the weekly podcast, which is being rolled out every Wednesday on miamidolphins.com. Each episode of “The Perfect Season Podcast” focuses on one game that season.
“This,” Lewin said, “is a tribute to Jason. It was his vision. Everyone knows about the team’s stars. What about the Larry Balls and Doug Crusans? Let’s give these guys their moments in the sun. I’m honored Jason thought of me to do this.”
Lewin said he was a “Dolphins geek growing up in upstate New York. The Dolphins always were my secret passion. I’m honored that Jason thought of me to do this.”
Lewin flew from his home in Solana Beach, Cal., to South Florida during training camp to interview the ‘72 alums.
He was the Chargers’ radio voice for 13 years but left that job when the team required employees to move to Los Angeles when the franchise relocated. He previously announced MLB games for Fox.
Before Jenkins died, Lewin said they agreed they would talk about the next step in their longterm project to recognize the Dolphins’ rich history. Lewin had pitched the idea of becoming the team’s director of storytelling.
Lewin, the voice of UCLA football and basketball for the past seven years, could become a candidate for the Dolphins’ radio play-by-play job whenever Jimmy Cefalo, 66, retires.
“That’s intriguing for many reasons,” Lewin, 53, said. But “I hope Jimmy does it another 10 or 20 years.”
Florida Panthers TV voice Steve Goldstein, who has called Dolphins preseason games on CBS-4 the past two seasons, also would be a strong candidate whenever the job opens.
Cefalo has given no indication that he wants to leave broadcasting.
Dolphins games are expected to move next season from WQAM to one of iHeart Radio’s location stations -- WIOD-610 or WINZ-940. Cefalo hosts a morning show on WIOD.
This story was originally published October 27, 2022 at 7:36 PM.
