Where Phillips and Holland stand two games into careers. And Phillips’ blunt assessment
Dolphins second-round rookie safety Jevon Holland needed only two weeks to earn his first NFL start and a major role on the defense.
But for those hoping that first-round rookie linebacker Jaelan Phillips would become an immediate NFL starter and instantly produce sacks, that hasn’t happened, though it’s far too soon to know how his rookie season will evolve.
In 28 pass rush chances this season, the former Miami Hurricanes star has just two pressures and no sacks. His playing time has been fairly limited — 22 snaps against New England, 18 against Buffalo — and his numbers are modest (three tackles and one quarterback hit).
“Regarding the snaps, I can control my attitude and my effort,” Phillips said Wednesday. “I’m still settling in. I’m not completely comfortable yet. I’m working on trying to let loose and have fun. I’ve been grateful for the half tackles I’ve been able to make. Good to get my feet wet.
“I was a guy at UM and every level [where] you’re the best on your team and play every down. In the NFL, it’s a whole bunch of guys who were best on their team. It’s humbling.”
So is Phillips rushing the quarterback the way the Dolphins want?
“There’s always room for improvement,” outside linebackers coach Rob Leonard said. “Jaelan flashes some really great things. We’re always striving for more consistency. Consistency is how you win football games. It’s not just flash plays. Getting consistent pressure, that’s what we’re striving for, especially with him.”
So does Phillips need to polish his pass rush moves against NFL players or develop new ones?
“I wouldn’t say as much moves as this league is about refining your technique, becoming a pro,” Leonard said. “So a lot of the things he does well, [it’s about] when to use them, how to be better at using them. The detail in rushing each guy will be a little bit different for him than college. He had a pretty good arsenal [of pass rush moves] coming out of college. We’re just looking to refine the technique and improve it.”
Here’s one thing Phillips has noticed about pass rushing in the NFL compared with college: “The biggest difference is technique of everything, how disciplined you have to be. Not a ton of guys you run around and bully. You have to be tactical and very precise with your hands. Guys aren’t going to let you slap their hand and get up. It’s being tenacious when it comes to rushing. That’s all aspects of the game, setting the edge, everything. My football knowledge has increased. I didn’t know what Cover 3 was last year.”
Former UM player Greg Rousseau — drafted 30th overall by Buffalo, 12 spots after Phillips was taken — is starting for the Bills and had two sacks against the Dolphins on Sunday. But the Dolphins considered Phillips the better prospect.
While Rousseau is playing in a role similar to the one he played at UM, Phillips is adjusting to a new position: outside linebacker, which comes with pass coverage responsibilities.
“There’s a lot going on; schemes are so complex [in the NFL],” Phillips said. “At UM, playing defensive end, I didn’t have to worry about coverages. It was more line up and go. The more you think a lot, it slows you down. It will be key for me to feel comfortable with the defense so I don’t have to think at all.”
The Dolphins say Phillips’ run defense has been fine.
“He needs to continue to get stronger at the point of attack, violence shedding blocks, finishing plays,” Leonard said. “It has been much improved.”
Defensive line coach Austin Clark said the fact Phillips missed more than two weeks of camp with an injury might be contributing to his slow start. Phillips said getting into good condition off a layoff took a bit of time.
“Injuries set him back a little bit,” Clark said. “He’ll get better each week.”
As for Holland, he made his first NFL start on Sunday, played 50 snaps and had three tackles and a fumble recovery.
“Jevon has communicated well,” defensive backs coach Gerald Alexander said. “There are definitely some things he’s got to continue to improve on.”
Holland sometimes has communication responsibilities presnap when he’s in the game, and defensive coordinator Josh Boyer said: “It’s hard for somebody coming in as a rookie to be like, ‘I can tell these guys what to do.’ You’ve got to get comfortable with it, get a knowledge base of understanding what we’re asking him to do. And he’s got to know what everyone is doing in the back end. As time has progressed, he’s been able to make pretty good decisions back there.”
Holland — who had nine interceptions in two years at Oregon and five during training camp practices — had a colorful description of his fumble recovery Sunday: “When I saw Brandon Jones scoop it, I was juiced. I was just trying to run and go block somebody. Then the tight end stripped him and I was like, ‘Oh, snap. Ahh!’ and slid over there and got up on it. We have this thing in practice called city or country. If there is a lot of space, you pick it up and scoop and score.
“But if there are people around, get on it. I saw people around and got up on it. Shout out to Emmanuel Ogbah because he jumped on top of me. I recovered and then Ogbah got on me and I looked up and I was like, ‘ah, good looking.’”
On Sunday, Eric Rowe played just 26 of Miami’s 65 defensive snaps. By contrast, Jason McCourty played 58 defensive snaps, Holland 50 and Brandon Jones 41.
How tough is it to allocate snaps among four safeties?
Alexander said “it’s predicated on what we want to do from a defensive game plan standpoint, as far as the matchups, the personnel groupings and the offensive attack we’re going to see.”
NEWS NOTE
Offensive lineman Jesse Davis, who left Sunday’s game with a knee injury, practiced Wednesday and said he’s “starting to feel better.”
On allowing the sack that resulted in Tua Tagovailoa’s fractured ribs, Davis said: “I felt pretty bad. Every time you see the quarterback go down and it’s your fault, it’s a bad deal.”
Davis and receiver Jakeem Grant (ankle) were both limited in Wednesday’s practice.
This story was originally published September 22, 2021 at 3:14 PM.
