• Logout
  • Member Center

FLORIDA SPORTS BUZZ

Miami Dolphins' Gibril Wilson: I'm the starter; Obama a fan of Jason Taylor

 

Miami Dolphins safety Gibril Wilson shows his muscles after a defensive stop in the second quarter of a game against the New York Jets on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009 at Giants Stadium at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, N.J.
Miami Dolphins safety Gibril Wilson shows his muscles after a defensive stop in the second quarter of a game against the New York Jets on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009 at Giants Stadium at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, N.J.
JOE RIMKUS JR. / STAFF PHOTO

bjackson@MiamiHerald.com

A six pack of Dolphins:

Gibril Wilson wants to make one thing clear: He said he has not lost his starting safety job, even though Chris Clemons was on the field instead to open the Jets game. ``That was just a certain package,'' Wilson said. Yeremiah Bell ``and I are still the starters. Nobody needs to get antsy.''

Clemons, who often was paired with Nate Jones at safety, played 48 snaps -- 23 on defense. Wilson, teamed with Bell, played 58 and had ``his best game of the year,'' coach Tony Sparano said. Wilson bristles at fans criticizing him on talk shows -- ``if you're ignorant to the situation, you tend to say ignorant things'' -- and said his good play Sunday ``is not a shock to me.'' He was great as a blitzer.

Sparano said ``we felt Clemons could help'' and seems content rotating safeties. ``I wouldn't be surprised to see his playing time increase,'' Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. ``Clemons brings a lot of speed.''

Even President Obama roots for Jason Taylor. ``He is a fan of mine,'' Taylor said after chatting with Obama in South Florida. Obama told Taylor that Michelle Obama voted for him on Dancing With The Stars. ``We talked about the New Orleans game,'' Taylor said. ``He couldn't believe we let them come back in the second half.''

With the Saints and Jets blitzing their cornerbacks and the Jets sometimes putting nine in the box, Miami averaged 1.7 yards per run in the Wildcat the past two games (21 carries, 36 yards) after averaging 7.1 yards the first five. ``It's really hard to do it when you have eight or nine in the box,'' Justin Smiley said. ``The running back has to make the safety miss.''

But Ronnie Brown said ``we have stuff to attack'' that defense. Passing more is an option, with Pat White or Tyler Thigpen. ``The first time I ever saw [Brown] throw the ball, I told Dan Henning, `Take that out,' '' Sparano said. ``He's gotten better. I don't cringe so much as I did.''

The Dolphins were pleased with Matt Roth's 13-snap return -- ``I'm where I left off last year'' -- and Sparano hopes playing him some keeps Taylor fresh. With Roth back, Cameron Wake had only two defensive snaps.

Chris Chambers' people were under the impression Miami had interest if Kansas City hadn't claimed him off waivers. . . . A couple of telling numbers on the passing game: Last year, Ted Ginn Jr. caught 62.2 percent of passes thrown to him. This year, it's 43.9 percent (18 of 41). Anthony Fasano has dropped from 66.7 percent to 52 (13 of 25).

Greg Camarillo is at 86.9 percent (20 of 23, NFL's second-best) and slumping Davone Bess 78.9 (30 of 38), but their yards-per-catch are down.

Quotable: Ginn, asked by CBS' Lesley Visser about Bob Kuechenberg calling him ``an embarrassment and a coward,'' took the high road. ``All I can do every time I put on a uniform is try to prove him wrong.'' . . . The witty Henning -- who said the Jets love to tell people they're ``great when [they're] only half great'' -- also cracked that they ``did a hell of a job on special teams keeping their defense off the field'' by allowing Ginn's touchdowns.

CHATTER

UM's Frank Haith and FIU's Isiah Thomas open their seasons this week with momentum. Haith had scout.com's 19th-best recruiting class -- ``the best we've signed,'' he said -- with at least two players who will open in the rotation: Durand Scott and Garrius Adams. UM will add the 61st-ranked 2010 player (guard Rion Brown) and is a finalist (with Kentucky, Connecticut and Kansas) for the No. 1 player, Pine Crest guard Brandon Knight, his father said.

Join the discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

Comments (0)
|
  • Videos

  • DOLPHINS FOOTBALL 2009


  • Quick Job Search

Enter Keyword(s) Enter City Select a State Select a Category