Dolphins star player has surgery. And insight on Chase Young scheme fit issue.
A six-pack of Dolphins notes on a Thursday:
▪ For at least the third time in his Dolphins career, cornerback Xavien Howard has needed knee surgery.
Howard posted a picture on social media with a brace around his left knee. Coach Brian Flores confirmed he had surgery but declined to reveal specifics or a timetable for a return.
A source said there was no serious injury that necessitated the surgery and it was a simple arthroscopic procedure. So unless he injures the knee again, he should be ready long before the 2020 season.
“It’s very early in the process; just recently had surgery,” Flores said. “He’s going through recovery. It’s way too early [to know a timetable]. The surgery went well. He will do everything possible to get himself back and ready to go as quickly as possible.”
Howard went on injured reserve with knee soreness after the Oct. 28 Monday night game against Pittsburgh.
He ended up playing in five games, with four passes defended and an interception.
▪ Several media members have speculated this week that the Dolphins might not select Ohio State defensive end Chase Young — who has 16.5 sacks — if Miami had the chance to draft him because he’s not an ideal scheme fit.
I couldn’t specifically mention Young to Flores because he’s a college underclassman, but I asked Flores if he would ever bypass an excellent player because he’s not an ideal scheme fit.
“If it’s a good player, the scheme is a scheme versatile defense,” Flores said. “If we have a good player, we’ll fit - we’ll make it work for set player. That goes at any position; we got a good coaching staff, a lot of creative minds here. We try to put our players in position to make plays. If Lawrence Taylor is available, we would fit the scheme for him; we would do it.”
▪ Flores was asked this week why it’s in the best interests of the team to play a 37-year-old quarterback (Ryan Fitzpatrick) instead of a 22-year-old (Josh Rosen) on a 3-11 team.
“Well, I guess my first thought is if we feel like that’s the best thing for us — and we do for us to win on Sunday — I think that is in the best interest of this team. I think — and this is philosophically, I think people will feel differently about it — I think that any time — you always want to give yourself the best opportunity to win. I think it’s easy for people to sit and say ‘you should do this or that, or this or that.’
“I don’t think those same people will stand in front of that group and say ‘this is in the best interest of the team, for us to win this week.’ That’s no knock on Josh. Maybe you think that’s in the best interest, but you’re not in front of this team every day. You’re not in the trenches and a lot of people aren’t. Those are decisions I have to make, and we as a coaching staff, we go through this diligently and we come out of it with that decision, and we feel like that’s the best thing to do.”
Dolphins management has not ordered Flores to de-emphasize winning Sunday or play Rosen. That’s not the style of Grier or owner Stephen Ross.
Would it be acceptable for a general manager to order a coach to play a quarterback? “Every situation is different,” former coach Jimmy Johnson said.
▪ Flores said good size isn’t necessarily a requirement for cornerbacks in his system. Flores revealed his favorite cornerback was 5-9 Antoine Winfield.
“He wasn’t that tall, but he was a good player,” he said. “He tackled, he blitzed, could cover kicks, really good player.”
What does Flores look for in a cornerback? “Communication, tackling, ball skills, ability to play multiple positions inside, outside.”
▪ Stopping the run has been a problem all year, and with linebacker Raekwon McMillan out for the final two games, Flores said Sam Eguavoen “has to step up. He will play more obviously. [Andrew] Van Ginkel, Jerome Baker will have to take on more leadership.”
On the run defense, Flores said: “Instances where it’s been good. We’ve had a lot of second-and-8 situations. We’ve had good spurts of stopping the run early in games. It just hasn’t been consistent. From run fit, setting edge, tackling hasn’t been consistent enough. We need to try to play more consistently in the run game.”
▪ Jets coach Adam Gase said the Steelers are playing Minkah Fitzpatrick where he’s best — free safety. This Dolphins staff preferred to play him in different roles before he requested a trade and was dealt to Pittsburgh
“He’s playing a different spot. He’s playing the spot he was drafted for,” Gase said, adding his staff had to use him at different positions because “we had a lot of injuries, so he had to play nickel and corner, never got to post safety until the end of the year. They have him in the post, allow him to be aggressive, and he’s done that. The ball finds him.”
BONUS NOTE
The Dolphins will honor their 1972 perfect season team as part of “NFL 100 Greatest” in a special halftime ceremony against the Bengals on Sunday. The team was named the greatest team in the 100-year history of the NFL on Nov. 15.
Each player on the 1972 team will receive a personalized golden football during the halftime celebration. Fans will also have the opportunity to receive a special edition of the Dolphins Playbook with a commemorative cover.
This story was originally published December 19, 2019 at 12:08 PM.
