MIAMI -- The football world has heard plenty about the offseason of Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, specifically the jiu-jitsu and breakfall training he learned to avoid head injuries after concussions truncated his 2022 season.
He even demonstrated new techniques in the preseason when he tucked and rolled after taking a handful of hits during two appearances.
But that was four drives against teams without an elite pass-rusher, and the Dolphins’ Week 1 opponent has two.
Miami travels to Los Angeles on Sept. 10 to take on the Chargers (4:25 p.m. ET, CBS), who have two of the best pass-rushers over the past decade. Since defensive end Joey Bosa was drafted in 2016, he and teammate Khalil Mack have combined for 126 sacks, 159 disrupted dropbacks and 36 forced fumbles.
The duo played only five games together last season as Bosa missed 12 with a groin injury, but now healthy, the tandem should provide an immediate test for Tagovailoa and an offensive line that still has questions to answer.
Miami’s pass block win rate of 55.6% ranked ninth worst in the NFL last season -- an improvement from its league-worst 46.6% in 2021.
Pro Bowl left tackle Terron Armstead and center Connor Williams added an influx of talent to the OL a season ago, and they return to their roles in 2023. So does right guard Robert Hunt, who has started the past 34 regular-season games at his position.
“With the offensive line, we’re happy with it,” general manager Chris Grier said Wednesday. “I think you’ve seen the progress from the last two years with the fundamentals and the teaching in this offense in the preseason. In the run game, they’ve done some good things.
“So we’re excited for the guys with the group we have here. Like anything, we’ll always keep looking here and on the roster, but we’re very happy with the guys here. Coaches are very happy. So I think this is a group that we feel we can win with, and we’ll continue to just keep building and working.”
The two biggest questions remain at left guard and right tackle, where Liam Eichenberg and Austin Jackson entered training camp as the starters after missing time last season with knee and ankle injuries, respectively.
Jackson turned in a strong camp in 2022 before injuring his right ankle in Week 1 and playing only one more game the rest of the season. He said he remained present at the facility and in team meetings while injured in order to stay “locked in” and feels like he has turned in the best camp of his four-year career this summer.
The Dolphins declined to exercise his fifth-year option in May, but the former first-round pick has embraced the responsibility of protecting Tagovailoa’s blind side as he plays for his future with the organization.
“I love that responsibility. I truly do,” Jackson said. “It’s what I get up and work for. It’s what I get up and train for. It’s what I study for. It’s what I take care of my body for, so we can be the dominant line that we need to be in order for Tua to keep being himself.
“He’s a great quarterback. He’s going to get the ball out anyways, but he needs more time from us, and that’s a responsibility we take every single day.”
Eichenberg, on the other hand, is not as entrenched as the team’s starter. Miami signed former first-round picks Isaiah Wynn and Cedric Ogbuehi this offseason, and while only Wynn made the initial 53-man roster, he has proved to be a challenger for Eichenberg’s role.
A second-round pick in 2021, Eichenberg’s play has been shaky since entering the league; in that span, his 82.6% pass block win rate ranked 182nd out of 189 qualified linemen. For reference, Wynn’s 86.8% ranks 159th, while Williams’ 92.7% leads all Dolphins linemen and ranks 55th in the NFL.
Eichenberg finished the preseason injured, giving Wynn an opportunity to take even more starter reps at left guard. Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel did not name a starter, but he did say Eichenberg would serve as the backup to Williams at center along with Lester Cotton.
Eichenberg tried to power through his injury toward the end of the preseason, but his unavailability certainly didn’t help him hold on to a job that might have already slipped through his grasp.
“We had to kind of hold Liam back. He was determined, but [we] didn’t think it was fair from an evaluation standpoint to put him out there, to try to protect him from himself,” McDaniel said after the Dolphins’ second preseason game. “We’ll make sure that we don’t do anything on our side that we can prevent from him having any further issues.
“I thought Isaiah got his feet wet in the system to a degree. I think he did a real good job trying to attack our techniques, and there is stuff he wants to improve upon.”