‘We should get criticized:’ Two big Miami Dolphins acquisitions speak out after loss
Not good enough.
That was the message delivered loudly and clearly Wednesday by two of the Miami Dolphins’ key defensive acquisitions, days after the New England Patriots trampled them for 217 rushing yards on 5.2 per carry.
“We gave up 217 yards rushing; we should get criticized,” linebacker Kyle Van Noy said. “That’s not good enough. We’ve got to do better, practice better, put a better performance on Sunday for the fans — which they deserve —- and for each other, because we hold each other to a high standard. I’ve got to do a better job.”
Defensive end Shaq Lawson put it this way: “We have to do better, stop it this week. I was hard on myself. All the guys on the d-line take full responsibility for not stopping the run. We hold ourselves accountable. We’ve got to get 11 hats to the ball.”
And Lawson then acknowledged that running against the Dolphins is “what the NFL is going to try to do” unless Miami can solve that. “Each NFL coordinator wants to start the game out by running. You want to make them one-dimensional and get them in the air. You have to take pride, if someone is running up your gap. I put it on me. I didn’t do my part. This week, I’ll definitely do better.”
A week after Cam Newton bludgeoned the Dolphins for 75 yards rushing on 15 carries, the Dolphins will need to contend with another mobile quarterback in Buffalo’s Josh Allen.
Lawson, who played with Allen the past two seasons, said: “He’s growing a lot, looks 10 times better than last year. The guy can run. Josh Allen is probably faster than Cam.”
Van Noy seems convinced that Allen will try to run against the Dolphins and said “hopefully we can get the QB run [problem] taken care of. We’ll be ready for all those this week because we had a challenge the first week. Josh Allen is just as big a problem as Cam Newton running the ball.”
Allen has been prone to fumbles, with 24 in two-plus seasons, including two in the season-opening win against the Jets. Van Noy acknowledged the Dolphins are aware of that and will try to knock the ball out.
In a rare financial reference to an opponent, Bills coach Sean McDermott said Miami “put a lot of money” into their defense this offseason.
Lawson, one of the beneficiaries of that spending spree, will be playing against the team that drafted him 19th overall in 2016. He signed a three-year, $30 million contract with Miami in March, 10 months after Buffalo declined the fifth-year option on his rookie contract. He said the Bills’ offer to him this past March was “a little off” compared to what Miami offered him.
“It was a close decision,” Lawson said. “I thanked them for the opportunity they gave me, but I had to make the best choice for my family. I [still] talk to those guys about every week. Keep a good relationship with those guys. I’m looking forward to this game going against my former team.”
McDermott called Lawson “one of my players, a guy I love being around. A really good player. I can see why Miami did what they did going out to get him.”
THIS AND THAT
▪ After the Dolphins announced last month that they would have a capacity of 13,000 fans at games due to COVID-19, McDermott ranted: “I think it’s honestly ridiculous that there will be, on the surface, what appears to be a playing field that’s like that, inconsistent across the league with the different away stadiums.”
But McDermott, whose team is not permitting fans at home games, didn’t want to go down that combative road again on Wednesday as his team prepares for Sunday’s game at Hard Rock Stadium.
“No more thought [to that],” he said. “We’re excited to go down there. We know they’re going to have fans. We’re excited about that. Great place to play, great environment.”
The majority of NFL teams are not having fans at games.
A sizable chunk of Dolphins fans rolled over their season-tickets to 2021, according to a source, though the Dolphins declined to give an exact number. (For the Miami Hurricanes, 67 percent rolled over to 2021.)
But this much is clear: The demand for Dolphins seats on the secondary market is such that — according to Ticket IQ — the average secondary market listing for 2020 Dolphins games is $258 per ticket, which is 63 percent higher than last year’s average price and the highest average price for the Dolphins since that company started tracking such data.
For Sunday’s home opener, Ticket IQ lists the average price at $193 per ticket, which is 44 percent higher than last year’s opener against the Ravens. Despite the increase in secondary market prices, there are still primary market tickets available for the game starting at $68 on Ticketmaster, with some seats going for as high as $1,100.
Fans at games are required to wear masks.
▪ Receiver DeVante Parker, who missed the second half of the opener with a hamstring injury, practiced in pads but was limited. Also limited: cornerbacks Xavien Howard (knee) and Byron Jones (Achilles’), safety Clayton Fejedelem (pectoral) and receiver Jakeem Grant (calf)… Linebacker Elandon Roberts missed practice with a concussion.
▪ Ryan Fitzpatrick said backup quarterback Tua Tagovailoa “asked some really good questions” during Sunday’s game and seemed to understand the nuances of the game well and is “another set of eyes I can trust.”
▪ Fitzpatrick asserted that sharing snaps among four running backs is a “good problem to have that many talented guys in the backfield. Myles Gaskin has had a great offseason.”
▪ The Dolphins have brought back cornerback Cordrea Tankersley, their former third-round pick who appeared in 17 games and started 11 before a knee injury derailed his career. Tankersley, who was signed to Miami’s practice squad on Wednesday, sustained a serious injury in practice midway through the 2018 season, missed all of 2019 and was released on Aug. 4 after a brief stay on the COVID-19 list.
He replaces cornerback Ken Webster, who joined the 49ers’ 53-man roster. Tae Hayes and Javaris Davis are the other cornerbacks on Miami’s practice squad.
The Dolphins also signed former UM offensive lineman Tyler Gauthier to their practice squad. Undrafted out of UM in 2019, he spent time last season on the Patriots’ and Jaguars’ practice squads. He re-signed with the Patriots last month but was waived on Sept. 5.
Gauthier started four games at left guard and 25 at center for the Hurricanes. He replaces rookie linebacker Kylan Johnson, who went on injured reserve.
Here our Wednesday piece on what Brian Flores was discussing during his media briefing today.
This story was originally published September 16, 2020 at 2:15 PM.
