Questions at the defensive tackle spot

By Hugo Guzman  |   Tuesday, July 05, 2005  |  Comments( 0 )

Miami Dolphins
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The Miami Dolphins have a lot of question marks and few sure answers at the defensive tackle spot. For years that position was anchored by our most consistent defensive player, Tim Bowens. You could look up and down our roster at this time of the year and feel comfortable with our defensive interior line presence because of Bowens' uncanny knack for stuffing the run and pushing back the line of scrimmage.

Nowadays things have changed. Tim Bowens is still on the roster, but he is far from being a starter, coming close to retiring this off-season (he actually did then changed his mind) because of chronic back problems. Our other starting defensive tackle, Larry Chester, is recovering from knee surgery to repair a torn ACL suffered last season in a Sunday night game against the Cincinnati Bengals. While Chester insists that he will be in top form when training camp opens, it is difficult to overlook the fact that 300+ pound tackles have a hard time bouncing back from serious knee injuries. To counter these two question marks, the Miami Dolphins have brought in yet another question mark; Keith Traylor.

Traylor helped anchor the defensive line for the world champion New England Patriots, but was castoff into free agency after the season ended. Traylor will be 36 in September, so there are questions as to exactly how much he has left in the tank. On the plus side, his experience with playing in a 3-4 alignment should come in handy, because Nick Saban plans on mixing in some 3-4 looks into his defensive scheme.

There are a few youngsters on the roster, like 3rd year player Josh Shaw and rookie Reggie Rhodes, that are also vying for some playing time at the defensive tackle spot, but those players are even larger question marks than the three legitimate starting tackles that the Dolphins are working with.

A lot of questions will need to be answered if the Miami Dolphins expect to field a formidable defensive front in 05'-06' season.
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About Hugo Guzman

Trying to bring an objective approach to NFL analysis.
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