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Tannehill tiptoes around criticizing poor offensive line

David Butler II / USA TODAY Sports

It's quite clear the Miami Dolphins' offensive line hasn't been good enough this season, but Ryan Tannehill knows whose job it is to protect him.

The Dolphins quarterback was sacked or hit on over half of his dropbacks Sunday in a 30-17 loss to the Tennessee Titans.

When asked about the play of his blockers on Wednesday, Tannehill did his best to not completely throw anyone under the bus.

"It’s tough whenever you don’t really have a chance to start your progression," Tannehill said, according to ESPN's James Walker. "If you do and (can't) get to No. 2, there's no chance of that. It makes it tough on everyone. The receivers have to be able to get open quickly, and I think several of (the sacks and hits) were on third-down situations.

"It’s tough to get to the open guy if you don’t have time. But part of that is on me to be able to move in the pocket and get to the open guy."

Related: Gase adamant Tannehill to start all season: 'You can ask me 100 times'

The 1-4 Dolphins cut three linemen - Dallas Thomas, Billy Turner, and Jamil Douglas - on Tuesday. All were former draft picks who played (not well) in parts of last Sunday's loss, which has sent a message to the remaining players.

"We know the message," guard Jermon Bushrod said. "If they don’t feel like we’re getting it done, they’ll find somebody else. That’s always the message every single day."

Tannehill and his offensive line will try and get back on track this Sunday, when Ben Roethlisberger and his 4-1 Pittsburgh Steelers come to town.

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