Aug
27
Branden Albert Fully Involved in Practice
It’s been a long time coming, with plenty of gradual steps along the way, but Branden Albert is now fully practicing with the Dolphins.
Albert took his first full-practice snaps on Tuesday, per Chris Perkins of the Sun Sentinel.
Seeing Albert practice at full speed provides more hope that he’ll be available for Week 1’s game in Washington and is timely because of the concussion backup Jason Fox suffered in last week’s preseason game.
Albert’s return is also good news because in the first two games, it has been Fox who has been the weak link of Miami’s offensive line and not the guards whom fans and analyst feared would be.
Albert said he is unsure about whether he will play on Saturday, but my deduction would be no.
Dolphins Using Dallas Thomas at Left Tackle
Dallas Thomas has had a good training camp and preseason at guard, good enough that its safe to say he will start Week 1 at left guard.
He will start at guard, though, not at tackle. Despite that, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports that Miami is giving him snaps at left tackle.
Considering Thomas’ poor performance at right tackle in 2014, that might be a scary proposition to some. However, come Saturday he might be the Dolphins’ best choice to play left tackle.
Jason Fox is still dealing with the after-effects of the concussion he suffered last Saturday and still has not been cleared. The other options are Jeff Linkenbach, rookie Aundrey Walker and second year player Donald Hawkins.
Linkenbach is the only player I’d likely put over Thomas at left tackle among this lot, as neither Walker nor Hawkins have been impressive (or even good) while on the field.
If Thomas starts at left tackle, rookie Jamil Douglas will likely start at left guard.
Suh Believes Dolphins Defense Has Talent To Be Tops in NFL
Ndamukong Suh has been on some great defenses in his career, and last year was on the best defense against the run and one of the top defenses overall.
Per James Walker of ESPN.com, Suh believes this year’s Dolphins defense will be better than last year’s Lions defense and has the potential to be the league’s No. 1 defense.
I don’t have a problem saying this, but I think personally that we have more talent [in Miami] than we had in the No. 1 defense last year in Detroit. So, by that saying, you would say we should have the No. 1 defense this year. But that’s not going to happen [because] we don’t know what’s going to happen until guys come together, understand what they’re going to do and then you create a camaraderie.
The talent is certainly there, depending on where you look. Reshad Jones hasn’t made the Pro Bowl, but he is a Pro Bowl-caliber safety. Brent Grimes is a Pro Bowl cornerback, and Miami’s defensive line around Suh might be the AFC East’s second-best defensive line and potentially the second-best in the entire NFL.
There are a lot of holes along the defense that will stunt the growth, though. Miami’s linebackers have been worse than advertised, and while Jamar Taylor has had a good preseason, his health is a major factor (he is still nursing a thigh injury suffered against Carolina), and Miami’s second safety spot is a huge question mark.
If those holes can be concealed, the defense has potential, but for now it looks like there’s too many holes and not enough plugs.
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