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Philbin Defends Suh

Right after Sunday’s game, there was already chatter within the team (leaked to Adam H. Beasley of the Miami Herald) that Ndamukong Suh “freelanced” on a few plays, which disrupted an already ineffective Dolphins defense even further. 

Head coach Joe Philbin was quick to come out to defend his star defensive tackle. 

According to Andrew Abramson of the Palm Beach Post, Philbin refused to criticize Suh but instead offered an explanation as to why Suh only recorded one tackle on Sunday:

A lot of times, they’ve been running away from him a lot. That’s certainly been the case for a couple of weeks and he was involved – he was actually, I thought, closer to plays this week than last week.

To say he’s going to have x-amount of tackles or x-amount of sacks every game, I don’t know – you have to watch the tape. Are they sliding the center that way every time? Are they double teaming every single time? That’s going to inhibit a guy’s ability to make plays. You just can’t look at a stat sheet and say, “That’s a good game, that’s a bad game.”

As for the allegations that Suh “freelanced,” Philbin denied it, saying, “I just watched the entire tape with the entire defensive staff. I just didn’t see anything of the sort. I’m not sure where that came from.”

It is concerning that such a leak would occur from within the organization, and it might signal a frustration from the coaching staff with said play. They won’t let it be known publicly how frustrated they are, but it’s obvious. 

Some accountability would help, though, and while Suh has shown it with his comments, via Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald, we have yet to see it from the coaches.  

Parker Progressing, But Snaps Will Still Be Limited

Throughout the season, one should keep an eye on wide receiver DeVante Parker. 

After playing in only one preseason game and missing most of training camp due to foot surgery, Parker has been easing his way back into Miami’s lineup, and while he continues to progress (playing in one snap against Washington, then 17 against Jacksonville), he still expects his snaps to be limited. 

According to Andrew Abramson of the Palm Beach Post, Parker stated, “The more games I play, the more reps I’ll probably get toward the end of the season.” He also added, “The foot feels good. The foot is 100 percent now.”

The issue isn’t the injury itself but the fact that Miami has plenty of talent at wide receiver. The Dolphins had two 100-yard receivers on Sunday in Jarvis Landry and Rishard Matthews, while Greg Jennings and Kenny Stills remain ahead of Parker on the depth chart. 

Miami should open up its offense outside of that dreaded “20-yard box” (the entire reason for Parker’s selection in the draft), and while it should be able to do that with Landry and Stills, it will be hampered by poor offensive line play. 

Either way, this is the correct approach for Parker. He’s not just in Miami for 2015; he’s expected to be Ryan Tannehill’s top target for the next five years and possibly beyond. Easing him in and keeping him healthy is the correct way to go, although if Jennings continues to struggle or if an injury occurs among the other wide receivers, that will likely fast-forward the process. 

Dolphins Might Regret Putting Jay Ajayi on Short-Term IR

Prior to the start of the season, the Dolphins placed fifth-round pick running back Jay Ajayi on the injured reserve list but is designated to return after suffering a cracked rib in their final preseason game against Tampa Bay. 

The decision made sense, as it would hold Ajayi out until Week 6 from practicing (and Week 8 from returning), and Ajayi needed at least three weeks to recover from the injury. 

Miami has struggled with running the football, though, and one might hypothesize that a more bruising north-south runner like Ajayi would be a better fit than Lamar Miller (also dealing with an injury now). This led to Miami signing Jonas Gray from the practice squad, as reported by the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson. 

However, it might not have had to be this way. Hindsight is 20-20, but in that report, Jackson did say that Ajayi “said last week that he probably would have been ready for Sunday against Buffalo.”

Jackson also insinuated that the Dolphins might regret that, especially since the move was made to sign quarterback Logan Thomas, who was released and for now resides on Miami’s practice squad. 

Miami shouldn’t regret this move too much. It made sense at the time, and the only quibble now is that the Dolphins kept LaMichael James to return kicks instead, only to see him him fumble a kickoff return, get into a fight with Jarvis Landry and be released prior to Week 2. 

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