We would like to announce our search for a third blogger here at Phins Phocus. Daniel and I have been hard at work all summer long attempting to cover every angle of Miami Dolphins football. We want to crank our coverage up to another level once the regular season arrives, though, and a third writer is probably in order to do so.

We’re open to any quality assistance we can get. We are looking for someone who can post at least once per week, but we’re very open to a more frequent contributor as well.

We’ll ask for a sample of your writing for those that are interested, but if you have some talent as a writer, are a knowledgeable football fan, and love the Miami Dolphins, we’ll be able to find a role for you here at Phins Phocus.

If interested please shoot us an email via the contact forum which is positioned on the upper toolbar. 

The Dolphins have reportedly signed offensive tackle Tyler Donahue, an undrafted rookie out of Bowling Green that was recently released from St. Louis Rams camp.

All signs are pointing to the Dolphins keeping four offensive tackles on the 53-man roster, but unless Nate Garner is in for a permanent move to center, where he’s been cross training, he’ll be tough to beat for the final roster spot at the position. Donahue is realistically nothing more than a practice squad hopeful. 

Outside of a few penalties, the first-team offensive line came alive against the Panthers on Friday night, creating some solid push up front for Reggie Bush and Daniel Thomas to combine for 100 yards on the ground.

Henne was forced to escape the pass rush on a couple occasions, but for the most part, Marc Colombo and Lydon Murtha enabled him to distribute the football from a clean pocket.

The Dolphins’ starting offensive line did all of that without the best offensive lineman in football. Well, they won’t have to play without all-world left tackle Jake Long anymore, as Big Jake was activated off the PUP list today and returned to practice.

The Dolphins may have gotten away with playing without Long against a bottom-feeder team like the Panthers, but when some of the game’s elite defenses line up across from Brian Daboll’s offense, Chad Henne will need his blindside secured.

Jake Long has the ability to completely neutralize any of the league’s premier pass rushers, thus giving Chad Henne a better chance to succeed, thus making the Dolphins’ chances at contending for a playoff spot much more reasonable. 

In the preseason, morale is heavily impacted by what meets the eye when the starting units are in the game.

The Dolphins seemingly did a complete 180 from their struggles a week ago, and the first-team offense and first-team defense put on a show in the first half.

Albeit it was against the team who picked first in the draft and a team that was resting several key starters, but progress was clearly made.

The negatives may seem a little nitpicky considering it was such a sound performance, but nonetheless, here are my top four positives and negatives from last night’s win.

POSITIVES

Interior offensive line coming along: What a difference a week makes I guess. In Atlanta, Mike Pouncey flashed some glimpses but Richie Incognito and Vernon Carey created no push for Daniel Thomas to work with.

With Reggie Bush making his debut and getting the start over Thomas, the Dolphins’ interior offensive line, as well as the tackles Lydon Murtha and Marc Colombo, pushed the Panthers’ front seven around.

I’m not sure we’ve seen running lanes that big since 2009. Let’s remember that the interior O-line may have been the biggest weakness on the entire team a year ago, so it’s been awhile since we’ve seen much success on the ground for the Dolphins.

We saw a lot of good things in the first half, but I’m most encouraged by the progress made up front. Part of me feels that Chad Henne struggled so much a year ago because he didn’t have a respectable running game to lean on.

That’s a tough situation for a young quarterback. He’ll only improve if what we saw last night from the Dolphins’ offensive line is a sign of things to come.

Reggie Bush and Daniel Thomas: The holes may have been there, but it was up to Reggie Bush and Daniel Thomas to make the most of them. And that they did.

Bush sliced and diced his way to 48 yards on eight carries and had another 20 yards negated by a foolish Brandon Marshall block in the back. He was also obviously a playmaker in the passing game, taking two receptions for 33 yards, as he could develop into Mr. Checkdown’s best friend.

Daniel Thomas got off to a rough start, being stuffed twice on the goal line before getting replaced by Lex Hilliard who eventually ran it in on fourth down. He began to find his groove in the second quarter, though, and finished the night by leading the Dolphins in rushing with 52 yards on 12 carries. He also redeemed himself by finding the end zone for the first time as a pro.

Bush was clearly the more productive runner last night, however. All things the same, Bush may become the offense’s primary back after all. I worry how he’ll hold up with that type of workload combined with all the receptions he figures to have, but if he can stay healthy, big things could be in store for #22.

It was the kind of night Dolphin fans needed to see. A week after getting dominated by the Falcons in Atlanta, the Dolphins’ starting units got the best of the Panthers for the duration of the first half, taking a 17-0 lead into the locker room despite probably leaving some points on the field.

The return of Brandon Marshall and the debut of Reggie Bush did wonders for Chad Henne, who completed 15 of 24 passes for 194 yards and most importantly didn’t turn the football over.

Ten of Henne’s competitions were to Brandon Marshall and Davone Bess (five each), who ate the Panthers up in the short to intermediate passing game, and two went to Reggie Bush for 33 yards.

Bush not only looked explosive in the open field as a receiving threat, but he surprisingly stole the show on the ground as well. Bush made the most of his eight carries, running behind some great push up front for 48 yards.

The same interior O-line that looked inept a week ago had its way with the Panthers’ front seven, also giving second-round pick Daniel Thomas some holes to work with. Thomas carried the ball 12 times for 52 yards and scored his first touchdown as a pro.

On the other side of the ball, the Dolphins’ first-team defense erased concerns that were had after Atlanta found success on the ground a week ago. The defensive line was the stout unit we fondly remembered from a year ago and the inside linebacker duo of Karlos Dansby and Kevin Burnett was all over the field, combining for four tackles apiece.

While he didn’t make any costly mistakes, Cam Newton indeed looked like a rookie in his first start, and one of the game’s elite backs, DeAngelo Williams, only managed six yards on three carries.

By my account, neither Sean Smith nor Vontae Davis gave up a reception and while Newton was able to hook up with tight ends Jeremy Shockey and Greg Olson a handful of times, the Dolphins kept both in check for modest gains.