Secret to Dolphins' OL success? Terron Armstead credits work on players ’days off'
MIAMI GARDENS — Tuesday is traditionally a day off in the NFL. It’s a day for players to kick back, reintroduce themselves to their families, whatever.
The key part being: traditionally.
Dolphins left tackle Terron Armstead believes Tuesdays are some of the most important days of the week. Maybe second only to Sundays. He’s also a captain and leader of the offensive line, so when he says there’s plenty to be accomplished on Tuesdays (in other words, work), the other players, well, fall in line.
Hold that thought and consider these facts: The Dolphins have allowed only 48 quarterback hits this season, fewest in the league. They’ve given up 26 sacks, third-fewest. But: Because of injuries, they’ve used 10 different offensive line combinations in 14 games. And they’ve started the same line in consecutive games only three times.
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In a unit that depends so heavily on continuity, this kind of success isn’t supposed to happen any more than a 31-year-old, undrafted running back is supposed to be rewriting the Dolphins’ record book. But it is.
“It goes to the work that has been put in,” Armstead said Friday. "And that’s not to be dismissed at all. (Line coach) Butch Barry. And then individually, everybody coming in, working on their craft and development on off days. We get a whole group in your off days, we go out there, we work technique and we go through calls, simulate games, all those things.
“So it’s not for nothing.”
Liam Eichenberg steps in at center for Connor Williams
Armstead said that explains how the Dolphins could lose a highly rated center, Connor Williams, yet have Liam Eichenberg step in and maintain the standard.
“He’s stepping into more of a leadership role,” Armstead said. “it’s been great to watch his progression.”
Some weeks, it might be Kendall Lamm answering the call, the next, Lester Cotton, Robert Jones or Kion Smith. Plenty of distress calls have gone out; the Dolphins at times have been able to field as little as one starter out of five positions on the line.
“Kion Smith ... that’s my son,” Armstead joked about the second-year player. “He’s one that I would say the most, like, he’s not going to miss a day or opportunity to work.”
The results are obvious. The Dolphins’ offense is first in the NFL in yardage, scoring and passing. Yes, Tua Tagovailoa’s ability to release the ball quickly and still hit open men downfield is huge. But the Dolphins also are fourth in the NFL in rushing. That kind of balance doesn’t happen without an offensive line playing at a level the Dolphins have chased, but not attained, for ages.
Terron Armstead: Tuesdays are primary days to improve
Armstead isn’t sure how many other NFL team’s lines lean so much on Tuesdays. He knows only that it is how he has always operated, whether with the Dolphins or the Saints.
“That’s the days to improve, to get better: off days and offseason,” Armstead said. “It’s hard to really make them technique jumps in-season. You want to do what you’re being coached to do, you know what I mean? At practice, you only get so many reps to take that step. So off days, offseason, that’s when you see the most growth.”
Armstead, 32, entered the season with a goal of playing all 17 games. A variety of injuries have limited him to just seven games thus far, but he’s getting healthy again and plans to start his second consecutive game, against the Dallas Cowboys, on Sunday. Besides the potential for a significant win in a matchup of 10-4 teams, Sunday likely will push running back Raheem Mostert over the 1,000-yard mark for the first time. He’s just 34 yards shy. It’s not lost on Armstead that the man adjacent to his locker is enjoying his best season even though he's in the over-30 crowd.
“The narrative’s been written for us — it’s been kind of have a cap on what I’ll be able to do,” Armstead said. “And we want our own story. I mean, I’ve got my pen and paper, I write my own story. So regardless of what this play is, what this game was, I know who I am. I know the work I put in. Same thing for Raheem. He’s had injuries. He’s been cut. He never wavered from what he believes in himself, to write his own story.
“So record-holder, franchise record-holder, I mean, like, who would have thought? Him. He thought. The whole time.”
Dolphins reporter Hal Habib can be reached at hhabib@pbpost.com. Follow him on social media @gunnerhal.
Sunday's game
Cowboys (10-4) at Dolphins (10-4)
4:25 p.m., FOX; streaming on Fox Sports,, NFL+ and YouTube Sunday Ticket outside South Florida
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Terron Armstead says work on ‘off days' secret to Dolphins' OL success
