‘Got to press on.’ Trade deadline or not, the Dolphins can’t lose focus on Bills
There’s a lot of uncertainty surrounding the Miami Dolphins.
A new interim general manager by the name of Champ Kelly stepped in Friday. Jaelan Phillips was dealt to the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday. And Tuesday’s 4 p.m. trade deadline loomed ominously over the franchise as it attempted to salvage what has been a disastrous season.
All the surrounding noise also doesn’t change the fact that the Buffalo Bills, the Dolphins’ nemesis, comes into town Sunday. And despite the plethora of reports that might suggest otherwise, the trade deadline came and went with only one deal made. The players still on the roster, however, have a responsibility to prepare, something that can get tricky without the knowledge of who will actually be here as well as the emotional toll of friends being dealt.
“As far as the trade deadline is concerned, it’s very similar to digesting injuries after a game where you have your possibilities of players that you think that will be able to play on Sunday and sometimes those players are in question, or sometimes you find out new information that they’re ruled out,” coach Mike McDaniel said.
Still, for young players, the past few days can be rather jarring. To paraphrase defensive tackle Kenneth Grant, life comes at you fast in the NFL. Still, the idea that teammates could be traded at a moment's notice comes with an adjustment period.
“Me personally, just being lined up with that guy right beside me, getting sacks with him, it’s obviously detrimental,” the rookie said. “Obviously our relationship is still going to carry throughout the NFL, I got his number and stuff like that. Hat's off to him and best to him.”
Grant, however, added that team leaders recently had conversations with younger guys to help prepare them for the trade deadline.
“Just trying to keep our head forward and keep our head on our shoulders, keep our feet where it’s at to be honest, because we have a game to play Sunday,” Grant said of what the captains relayed to them. “You can’t really focus on stuff like that. It affects the locker room and things like that, but you’ve still got to press on.”
Even team leaders aren’t immune to the very real emotional aspect surrounding this time of year. A reminder for fans: despite the otherworldly athleticism, these guys still are very much human. If anything, the trades can affect them more based off of time spent.
“I’m obviously going to miss seeing ‘JP’ on a day-to-day basis,” fullback Alec Ingold said before praising Phillips for the way he battled through injuries. “He’s a great human who’s been through a lot in his career and has come out the other side with a lot of character and a lot of scars that show his toughness and his character. Tough to see a guy like that go, but you wish the best for him.”
Ingold tends to emphasize the positive during these times.
“There’s a skill to find beauty in our struggle, and encouraging guys that have been playing well and making sure to emphasize those points and kind of widening your scope,” Ingold said. “A lot of us when adverse times hit, when the results aren’t happening, you kind of dial your focus into your job, what you can control. I think as a leader the challenge is acknowledging the people that are doing a great job and making sure you’re encouraging and bringing them along, leading by example as well, and then being bold and convicted in things that you don’t want to see anymore and having the courage to speak up on that and holding everybody accountable to that standard.”
At the end of the day, the Bills certainly don’t care about who or who isn’t around in Miami. They, more than anybody, are probably happy that Phillips will not run at that tunnel come Sunday. The Dolphins, meanwhile, cannot afford to look back.
“You have 45% of the season of guaranteed games left, and you are responsible for what that looks like regardless of mood, disappointment, whether we anticipated to be in this situation or not,” McDaniel said, seemingly calling these feelings “irrelevant” to Sunday’s game. “I think you paint the picture of the opponent and what’s coming Sunday, and I think the particular players that are in charge with leadership roles on this team, it’s a quick conversation before they can focus narrowly on that target which is 1 o’clock this Sunday, and what we have to do in the meantime to get ourselves ready for that game.”
