Why Now-Injured Branden Albert Was Miami Dolphins' MVP in 2014

This week, Bleacher Report asked me to come up with a favorite for the Miami Dolphins' 2014 MVP. 

It was a question that I crowd-sourced to Reddit and brought up with friends and fellow Dolphins fans. 

Despite all of that, I knew who my MVP would be: left tackle Branden Albert. 

Why Albert, a player who has missed the last four games due to tearing his ACL and MCL against the Detroit Lions back in Week 10? The answers lie in the offense's result and in how well Miami's offensive line performed with Albert in the lineup compared to his absence from the lineup. 

It's easy to see the difference. In Miami's first eight games, games where Albert was healthy, the Dolphins went 5-3 and looked impressive in doing so, with a victory margin in those five victories being an average of 20.2 points per game. 

In terms of offensive production, the Dolphins gained an average of 365.8 yards per game, scored 26.4 points per game and only gave up an average of two sacks per game. 

Since Albert's injury, Miami's offense has deteriorated, a fate we saw over the course of that game in Detroit against the Lions, as well as being predicted by Pro Football Focus' Nathaniel Peters-Kroll:

"

Was last Sunday in Detroit a sign of things to come for the Dolphins offensive line?

Once Branden Albert left the game with a serious knee injury after 20 snaps, Miami’s line crumbled. After Shelley Smith and Dallas Thomas had swapped series at left guard early in the game, Thomas kicked out to right tackle, while rookie Ja’Wuan James moved over to the blindside. 

The results speak for themselves: Ryan Tannehillwas pressured on 20 of his 38 drop-backs. Against the Bills’ explosive front four, on a short week, the odds are against the makeshift offensive line avoiding a repeat of last week.

Albert had brought consistently dominant play to the left tackle position, boasting a +12.6 pass blocking grade and allowing just nine pressures across his 333 pass blocking snaps.

"

Paul Sancya/Associated Press/Associated Press

We have seen said deterioration; as since the injury to Albert, Miami is gaining less yards per game, averaging 282.2 yards per game, and it's definitely scoring less, averaging 20.6 points per game. 

All the while, quarterback Ryan Tannehill has been sacked much more frequently, with him being sacked an average of 3.4 times per game compared to the two times per-game average we saw in the first eight games. 

It seems at first that I'm basing this award on what has happened since his injury; however, look at what he brought to the team. 

He was a veteran presence on an offensive line that desperately needed one, especially since the team had started the season with five new offensive linemen (Mike Pouncey missed the first four games). 

He also did a tremendous job protecting Tannehill's blind side, allowing only three sacks himself. His overall grades on Pro Football Focus (subscription required) were outstanding as well. The analytics site still has Albert ranked fourth among all tackles with an overall grade of 17.5. 

Opponent	Pass Block Grade	Run Block Grade	Overall Grade
New England	1.1	3.0	4.1
Buffalo	1.6	0.3	2.2
Kansas City	0.5	-0.2	0.1
Oakland	1.9	0.8	2.9
Green Bay	2.1	-0.2	0.1
Chicago	1.7	3.9	5.9
Jacksonville	2.1	-0.7	0.6
San Diego	0.8	-0.2	0.8
Detroit	0.8	-0.4	0.5
Total	12.6	6.3	17.5

Since Albert has gotten hurt, rookie Ja'Wuan James has replaced Albert, and he's holding up his end of the bargain on the left side, only allowing one sack since the move to left tackle. Pro Football Focus hasn't graded him as well since the move, but he has been adequate. 

The problem has been James' replacement at right tackle, Dallas Thomas. 

Joel Auerbach/Getty Images

Since moving from right guard to right tackle, Thomas has given up seven sacks, including four against the Baltimore Ravens in Miami's last game. 

Thomas has also graded poorly via Pro Football Focus, where he's ranked 72nd. 

These problems along the offensive line since Albert went out have given the Dolphins and their fans horrible flashbacks to 2013, all that's missing is a trumped up he-said, he-said bullying scandal and the sequel would be complete. 

Since Albert got hurt, the Dolphins have gone 2-3, which is the most important stat of them all. 

And it's all because one player got hurt, a player who unfortunately happens to be the second-most important player on offense. 

It's a shame that Miami's MVP has to be decided this way, but unfortunately that's how it broke down. The Dolphins are still in the race for the playoffs, even though that light is a little bit dimmer now than it was at 12:59 p.m. on November 9, when Albert was healthy and the Dolphins' offensive line was in tact. 

A new MVP might emerge in these final three games (especially if the Dolphins can get into the playoffs), but for right now, Mr. Albert has my vote.

Statistics provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com, as well as Pro Football Focus, which requires a subscription to access most of the site's content. 

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