Chubb expecting more from himself. And Welker on the unusual thing Dolphins are seeing
A six-pack of Miami Dolphins notes on a Thursday:
▪ Bradley Chubb has had a relatively quiet first six games as a Dolphin since his acquisition from Denver.
And he made clear on Thursday that he expects more from himself.
“I want to be more dominant, taking over games,” Chubb said. “That’s the reason they brought me here. Help this defense, take it to the next level. Yeah, we took it up a notch, but it’s a whole ‘nother level we can take it to. And I want to be the catalyst for that.”
Chubb, who gave himself a B when asked to grade his Dolphins performance, has 12 tackles, 2.5 sacks and a forced fumble since the trade. He had 26 sacks in 49 games for Denver.
Chubb was added to the injury report on Thursday with a knee injury but spoke to reporters and appeared fine. He was limited in practice.
▪ Cornerback Xavien Howard said he was “surprised” to be named to the Pro Bowl this week. It’s his fourth invitation to the game and third in a row.
“It’s an honor though, to be a Pro Bowler, to be consistent with it,” he said Thursday. “I feel like there were a bunch of plays I left out there on the field and I feel like I can get better and do better.”
How would he assess his performance this season?
“It’s OK. I definitely got to do better and play better for my expectations I have for myself.”
Are groin injuries still affecting him? “Nobody is going to be 100 percent; you have to keep it going.”
Last season, Howard permitted an 88.2 passer rating against him with five interceptions. This season, it’s 125.5 and one interception. That passer rating is fourth highest in the league against cornerbacks targeted at least 40 times.
On facing future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers on Sunday against visiting Green Bay (1 p.m., Fox), Howard said: “He can do it all. Still can run, also can sling. We’ve got to be on our toes, keep our eye on the receivers.”
On Sunday, he likely will spend some time on rookie second-round pick Christian Watson, who has seven touchdowns in the Packers’ past five games: “The guy from North Dakota, he’s been balling this year,” Howard said.
▪ Receivers coach Wes Welker summed off what the Dolphins’ offense has been seeing all season:
“You see how defenses have to play us. We’re getting two man [meaning two deep safeties] a lot on first and second down. Nobody does that! You don’t see that around the league. If you want to play single safety, go ahead. Those two guys [Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle] are very hard matchups for anybody. Most teams are going to have to play two high, which opens up our whole offense.”
▪ Per fivethirtyeight.com, the Dolphins’ chances of making the playoffs would rise from 72 to 78 percent if the Jaguars beat the Jets on Thursday night and drop to 67 percent if the Jets win.
▪ Three Dolphins missed practice: Left tackle Terron Armstead (toe, knee and pectoral), backup offensive tackle Eric Fisher (calf) and receiver River Cracraft (calf).
Jeff Wilson said his hip injury is feeling a lot better but he remained limited in practice on Thursday and said he’s not sure if he will play on Sunday.
Besides Chubb and Wilson, Keion Crossen (knee), Jevon Holland (neck), Jaelan Phillips (toe), Duke Riley (ribs) and Durham Smythe (quad) also were limited.
▪ The start times for the Dolphins final two games (at the Patriots on Jan. 1 and home against the Jets on Jan. 8) won’t be determined until a week or so before.
The NFL is waiting until after this weekend’s games to determine what game to schedule on Sunday night, Jan. 1.
Chargers-Rams is the game currently scheduled for NBC’s slot that night, but it could be flexed out and replaced by Dolphins-Patriots, Jets-Seahawks or another game.
The Dolphins-Jets game on Jan. 8 at Hard Rock Stadium could be played at 1 or 4:25 p.m.. or shifted to 8:20 p.m. on NBC or could be one of two games moved to Saturday on ESPN (at 4:30 and 8 p.m.).
Here’s my Thursday piece on the explanation for Erik Ezukanma and Channing Tindall not playing, why coaches are excited about Liam Eichenberg’s return and a bunch of other notes.
This story was originally published December 22, 2022 at 4:30 PM.
