Dolphins Teammates of the Week: Bryant McKinnie and Jonathan Martin

It's been a rough few days for Miami Dolphins fans. To go up big on the AFC East division leading New England Patriots, only to see that lead disappear and lose by double digits in the second half, it has been rough. But, that doesn't mean it was all bad throughout the week.

Last week, the Dolphins had two teammates who showed exactly the attitude you want out of players. Miami traded for offensive tackle Bryant McKinnie last week, then threw him into the starting lineup just a few days later. Without fully knowing the playbook, and not complete sure of his assignments, McKinnie went out and played well. Never did he complain about the lack of preparation time. He worked hard during the game, and, while he struggled late in the game when the Patriots started blitzing every play, and he was not sure of his pickup assignments, he was decent. Now, he just has to get better in a short amount of time, as the Dolphins play the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday.

With McKinnie in the starting lineup at left tackle, second year player once again moved across the offensive line midseason. Last year, it was from right tackle to left, after the injury to Jake Long. This year, it's left to right. Martin simply said he was willing to do whatever the team needs, and he did it. A young player, still trying to adjust to the NFL, and he has had to learn to play right tackle after being a left tackle in college, then switch back to left tackle, spend an offseason and preseason working as a left tackle, then switch midseason back to right tackle. Whether his development will be stunted from all of this has to be seen, but at least attitude wise, he is saying and doing the right things.

You could even point to Tyson Clabo, the man who lost his starting position, but never complained and simply said he would do whatever the coaches decided. Another great example of a player being a great teammate and member of the team.

The Dolphins lost, and it sucked, but it could be worse around the team if egos were getting in the way of three offensive tackles used to starting, and wanting to claim their position. Instead, all three said and did the right thing this week to help the team, rather than worrying about themselves.

Those are teammates of the week.

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