Versatility is the name of the game and has helped at least one Dolphins player stand out
Never in four-plus seasons as an NFL player had Miami Dolphins cornerback Eric Rowe been asked to play safety in a game or in a practice.
That changed recently, and Rowe’s temporary move to safety might continue on Monday against the Pittsburgh Steelers amid news that safety Reshad Jones will miss a second consecutive game with a calf injury.
Rowe said he played safety his first three seasons at Utah before switching to cornerback as a senior. The Philadelphia Eagles drafted him in the second round as a cornerback in 2015. He played that position for the past three seasons with New England and the first five games of this season with the Dolphins.
But Jones’ injury — coupled with the addition of cornerback Ryan Lewis and the solid play of rookie Nik Needham — prompted Miami to use Rowe at safety last week. He said the adjustment wasn’t difficult.
“I liked it,” he said. “It’s a new angle on the field, covering tight ends, not as much running deep.”
Rowe said he never practiced at safety as a member of the Dolphins until the days leading up to last Sunday’s Buffalo game. He worked at both safety and cornerback this week in practice.
“I felt comfortable there,” he said. “Like going back to my college days. There’s more assignments at safety. I’m good at reading the quarterback, covering tight ends.”
Rowe said he thought he played well in the Buffalo game. According to Pro Football Focus, three passes were thrown in his coverage area, and only one was caught for 3 yards. PFF rated him seventh-best among all Dolphins defenders last Sunday.
For the season, Rowe leads the Dolphins with four defended passes, is tied with Jerome Baker with a team-leading 22 solo tackles and ranks third on the roster with 34 total tackles behind Baker (38) and Raekwon McMillan (35).
But Rowe said he still sees his future “primarily” at cornerback but believes it’s an advantage that he can “do both.”
“Because he’s physical, tough and he’s smart [and] he can tackle, now we can maneuver him throughout the defense,” defensive coordinator Patrick Graham said this week. “... Because of those attributes, he’s able to play different spots. On top of that, he plays with extension. He has length. So now, moving him down closer to the box is not as much of an issue as it could be with some other players. All of the physical tools there – extension, playing with some toughness, can he tackle, the intelligence there, the length – that all plays into it. Now it provides us with an opportunity to have some flexibility.”
In using Rowe at cornerback, the Dolphins essentially decided last Sunday that they preferred to play Needham, Lewis, Ken Webster and Jomal Wiltz than safety Steven Parker, who didn’t play a defensive snap against Buffalo.
“The willingness to play different roles and play different positions and really do what the team needs, that’s what we’re looking for,” Dolphins coach Brian Flores said. “Eric’s been able to do that and take the new roles, learn the new roles and different assignments. Playing safety and corner are very different positions from a run-fit standpoint, from a play-action standpoint, from a coverage standpoint. It’s a more physical game playing safety than it is corner at times. He’s done a good job and I think he’ll continue to get better in that role, but basically what we need, he’ll give us.”
This and that
▪ In addition to Jones, center Daniel Kilgore (knee) will miss his second consecutive game. Xavien Howard (knee), Chris Lammons (ankle/toe), Avery Moss (ankle) and Needham (foot) are questionable.
▪ Dolphins rookie Christian Wilkins, who was ejected from the Bills game for throwing a punch on the second play from scrimmage, was fined $10,527 for unsportsmanlike conduct.
▪ The Dolphins are expecting to roll out the same offensive line — J’Marcus Webb, Shaq Calhoun, Evan Boehm, Michael Deiter and Jesse Davis — as they did last week against the Buffalo Bills. It would mark just the second time this season Miami plays with the same starting offensive line in consecutive games. “We’ve had a lot of different groups in there,” Flores said. “Regardless of who has been in there, I think we’ve gotten a little better. ... It’s a big test this week.”
▪ The Dolphins will wear throwback jerseys for their game against Pittsburgh.
This story was originally published October 26, 2019 at 1:58 PM.
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