Miami Dolphins’ Brian Flores addresses offensive line change, Williams injury, more
Left tackle Austin Jackson’s return from a foot injury on Sunday came at the expense of another Dolphins rookie lineman.
Rookie fourth-round pick Solomon Kindley started for the eighth time at right guard but went to the bench for good in the second quarter after playing just 15 snaps.
Jesse Davis - who started at left tackle - played the final three quarters at right guard after Jackson returned to the lineup at left tackle.
The Dolphins opted not only to reinsert Jackson after missing three games, but also decided to move Kindley to the bench instead of Hunt, who started his fourth consecutive game at right tackle.
The group that played the second half - tackles Jackson and Hunt, guards Ereck Flowers and Davis and center Ted Karras - had some shaky moments but ultimately blocked effectively for Miami to put together two critical late scoring drives.
Brian Flores indicated that two of the players on the offensive line are set - Flowers and Karras - but suggested that everything else remains a week to week decision.
“Solomon has done a good job the entire season,” Flores said. “Jesse has played a few different positions. The only two guys locked in are [Flowers] and Ted. We feel like we have six guys we feel really comfortable with. We went with five of the six; that was the group yesterday. We’ll see what it is next week.”
Flowers, Hunt, Karras and Davis played all 61 offensive snaps and Jackson played 46.
Pro Football Focus rated Flowers second, Jackson fourth, Karras fifth, Hunt sixth and Davis 19th among 21 players who logged snaps for the Dolphins on offense on Sunday.
Jackson and Hunt were both charged with allowing one sack apiece, and Jackson relinquished three quarterback pressures. But Flowers, Hunt and Jackson received high marks as run blockers.
OTHER POSITIONS
Some news and notes at other positions:
▪ Wide receiver: Though the initial diagnosis on Preston Williams’ injured foot was a sprain, tests were being done and it was undetermined how much - if any - time he would miss.
“We’ll evaluate it day to day,” Flores said, declining to speculate on a timetable. “He’s a tough kid. We’ll try to fight through things and see how that goes.”
The Dolphins believe the injury occurred on his touchdown catch, not in the subsequent celebration when Christian Wilkins jumped on him. “Looks like it was during the play, from what I saw,” Flores said.
With Williams (17 offensive snaps) missing the second half, Malcolm Perry logged 23 snaps, Mack Hollins 17 and rookie Kirk Merritt one. DeVante Parker played 55 of Miami’s 61 offensive snaps; Jakeem Grant logged 29.
▪ Running back: Though Jordan Howard received more carries than Salvon Ahmed, the rookie Ahmed played more offensive snaps, 28 to 21. Patrick Laird, the only other healthy running back, played 12 snaps on offense.
Howard had 10 carries for 19 yards, Ahmed 7 for 38 in his NFL debut.
“Thought he ran well,” Flores said. “Got some juice, pretty good for his first time out. There was a protection plan that stands out to me that could have been better.”
Myles Gaskin (knee) will be out two more weeks; the Dolphins do not know if Breida (hamstring) will play Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers.
DeAndre Washington, acquired from Kansas City last week, passed five COVID-19 tests and is eligible to practice with the team beginning on Wednesday.
▪ Tight end: Durham Smythe left with a concussion in the third quarter and is now in concussion protocol… PFF rated Mike Gesicki 10th, Adam Shaheen 16th and Durham Smythe 17th among 21 Dolphins players on offense.
▪ Defensive tackle: PFF rated Raekwon Davis seventh among 18 Dolphins defenders, and Zach Sieler had a huge run stop on the third down play that preceded Arizona’s late missed field goal. Christian Wilkins (52 snaps), Sieler (39 snaps) and Davis (37) have picked up the slack following Davon Godchaux’s season-ending injury last month.
▪ Defensive ends: Emmanuel Ogbah now has seven sacks, tied for the third in the league, and is the first Dolphin since Cam Wake in 2016 to have sacks in five consecutive games. Ogbah said he used to watch Wake highlights before games… Rookie fifth-round pick Jason Strowbridge made his NFL debut and played 12 defensive snaps; PFF rated him 10th among Miami’s 18 defenders on Sunday.
▪ Linebacker: Kyle Van Noy played all 69 defensive snaps, with Jerome Baker logging 52, Elandon Roberts 50, Shaq Lawson 28, Andrew Van Ginkel 24, Kamu Grugier-Hill 10 and Sam Eguavoen 2. PFF rated Lawson as Miami’s best player on defense on Sunday.
▪ Cornerbacks: Xavien Howard and Byron Jones played all 69 snaps and Nik Needham logged 38. Jones had his worst game of the season, allowing all six passes thrown against him to be caught for 116 yards, two touchdowns and six first downs.
Howard was called for four pass interference penalties - one was on an offsetting penalty situation - and that’s the most against an NFL player in a game in 20 years. He allowed three of five targets against him to be caught for 58 yards.
“We had too many penalties throughout the game; it wasn’t just X,” Flores said. “There are things we can do better, coach it harder. DeAndre Hopkins is a great player, tough cover. We did a good job on him for the most part, minus the penalties.”
▪ Safety: Eric Rowe and Bobby McCain played all 69 snaps and Brandon Jones played 15.
COVID UPDATE
Five Dolphins assistant coaches missed Sunday’s game because of the league’s COVID protocols, and Flores said the team remains in “intensive” COVID protocol, meaning all meetings must be conducted virtually.
But the team is permitted to practice on its next scheduled practice day, on Wednesday.
At least one of the five assistants has tested positive for COVI9-19; most or all of the others are believed to be in protocol because they were in close contact with the infected coach.
Here’s my Monday piece with lots of Tua tidbits, including how his first two starts compare with those of 25 very good quarterbacks.
This story was originally published November 9, 2020 at 6:22 PM.
