MIAMI GARDENS — Sometimes you just let Kendall Lamm speak, and you walk away a little bit wiser.
I recently had one of those experiences with Lamm, the Miami Dolphins’ ninth-year left tackle.
I told him in my 15 years of covering the Dolphins and NFL, offensive line had become my favorite unit, going back to my early days with tackle Richmond Webb and guard Mark Dixon. I told Lamm I was considering writing a column detailing the unique camaraderie among offensive linemen and exploring why the bond is so strong.
“It’s because we’re the closest to normal you’re going to see in here,” Lamm began, scanning the locker room. “Because most of us grew up fat kids, because most of us grew up as the kids who got picked on, because we were always picked in certain sports last because we were bigger, and we get here and the tables are turned, and you really and truly get to see how much people rely on you, and you take a lot of pride in that.”
Lamm is always interesting and refreshing.
I’ve never heard another offensive lineman describe his position group in such an honest and vulnerable fashion.
The Dolphins’ depth on the offensive line, which has been hit hard by injuries, will once again be tested against the Patriots on Sunday. The unit will need to rely heavily on each other as the offense and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa will be relying heavily on them.
Throughout the last season-plus, during the coach Mike McDaniel era, I’ve wondered how this offensive line somehow found answers through the losses of Pro Bowl left tackle Terron Armstead (this season and last season), right tackle Austin Jackson (last season), center Connor Williams (this season), left guard Liam Eichenberg (last season), and a few others.
Now, it’s left guard Isaiah Wynn who will be out for a few weeks. He was placed on the injured reserve list Tuesday.
Through it all, the mainstay has been right guard Robert Hunt, perhaps the most personable guy in a very personable group.
All things considered, Miami’s offensive line has been an impressive family as we approach the midway point of the season.
Yeah, I said family.
Listen to Lamm to talk about his motivation to play well.
“The biggest thing for me, at least, is I just always want to try to do what I can for the guy beside me,” he said. “That’s the biggest thing. If I can lean on him, he can lean on me, we can do things together from that aspect.
“I know the time and everything we put into it. And I always think about it in my mind. I don’t want to let the other four guys right beside me down. And honestly, I don’t want to let Tua or anyone else down.
“And to be completely honest with you, I’m a very prideful person. For me, it’s all about family and everything else. So I look at it like this is my family, and I don’t want to let them down.”
Let’s give some credit to general manager Chris Grier, McDaniel, the scouting department, offensive line coach Butch Barry and offensive coordinator Frank Smith. It takes a village to raise an offensive line, and the organization has done a good job getting quality guys on and off the field.
But it’s a player’s league so most of the credit goes to the players, the offensive linemen themselves.
This unit was regarded as a weak link on a team that entered the season with legitimate Super Bowl hopes.
Now, thanks to the hard work of the offensive line, the Dolphins still have legitimate Super Bowl hopes.
Thanks to the offensive line the Dolphins lead the league in offense (462.3 yards per game), passing (300.0 ypg), rushing (162.3 ypg) and scoring (34.3 points per game). And they’ve only allowed nine sacks, third-fewest in the NFL.
“We’re just very different,” Lamm said. “A lot of times we’re the biggest people in here, the majority of the time you don’t hear us talk that much, the majority of the time we take the brunt (of the criticism) from the media and everything else, and we just put our heads down and keep going.
“So it’s like, to play offensive line you’ve got to be a different type of individual. That’s why we lean on each other. No offense to you or anybody else, but unless you’ve lived our life, you don’t know.”
