More incredible Achane feats. ESPN voices disappointed in Fangio. And Dolphin injury news
A six-pack of Dolphins notes on a Wednesday:
▪ Running back De’Von Achane’s yards-per-carry average (11.4) is staggering enough.
“To be over 10 is crazy,” he said.
But this is nearly as impressive: At just 5-9 and 188 pounds, Achane has forced 11 missed tackles on just 27 rushing attempts, the most for anyone with that few carries, per Pro Football Focus.
The 15 running backs who have forced more missed tackles than Achane all have anywhere between 16 and 63 more carries than Achane.
“It’s pretty hard to tackle me,” he said. “I’m able to maneuver and not take direct hits.”
Is Achane surprised by his level of success so far?
“I am,” he said. “When I came in, it was like reading a different language. I’m very decisive now that I’ve learned the offense. I’m not thinking as much, just out there playing.”
Teammates couldn’t stop raving about him Wednesday.
“I told you he was going to be a special player here,” receiver Jaylen Waddle said. “He’s going to be a special player for years to come.”
“Oh my gosh,” Tua Tagovailoa said. “I mean, you guys see it. I think the entire NFL can see it. Dude’s a special player.”
Backup quarterback Mike White had an interesting perspective: “I told the quarterback room early when I saw him run: The effortless nature that he has reminds me so much of [Jets running back] Breece Hall. Almost at the beginning when you’re learning him, you’re like, ‘Is this guy even trying?’
“It looks like he’s annoyed by being out here, but you know he’s trying because he’s separating from everyone. That’s what he’s so good at. You can tell he’s so gifted because everything is so natural and fluid and effort and the moment never seems too big for him.
“I truly don’t think he’s satisfied. I think he realizes what his ceiling could be and he keeps working toward that. Taylor Rapp put a good hit on him and he didn’t even flinch on his second touchdown run.”
▪ Linebacker Jaelan Phillips, who missed the Buffalo game with an oblique injury, returned to practice and said “I’m hopeful to be out there and playing” Sunday against the visiting Giants (1 p.m., Fox). “It felt great; I was glad to be back on the field,” he said.
Center Connor Williams, who missed the Buffalo game with a groin injury, also returned to practice and said he’s feeling better but was noncommittal about playing against the Giants.
The full injury report from Wednesday: left tackle Terron Armstead (back/ankle/knee), running back Raheem Mostert (rest) and cornerback Justin Bethel (rest) did not practice.
Cornerback Nik Needham (Achilles) and guard Robert Jones (knee) began practicing with the team for the first time during the regular season, thus triggering 21-day windows for them to be activated. Both players practiced on a limited basis.
Also limited in practice: Phillips, Williams, receiver Braxton Berrios (knee), guard Lester Cotton (ankle) and safety DeShon Elliott (groin).
Running back Jeff Wilson Jr., who’s on injured reserve, didn’t practice and hasn’t begun his 21-day window to return.
▪ Vic Fangio is considered among the best defensive coordinators of the modern era, but he isn’t above criticism, apparently.
Multiple national analysts expressed their disappointment in Fangio for his game plan against Buffalo, particularly his decision to have cornerback Kader Kohou cover Bills Pro Bowl receiver Stefon Diggs.
“Vic Fangio, for all the credit we give him, he exposed this corner,” ESPN’s Marcus Spears said. “He’s always had this idea of play top down and play really stout in the red area. The problem is you’ve got an explosive quarterback that can exploit you in the red area.
“Fangio has been been a phenomenal defensive coordinator in this league for a long time, but he never dictated in this game. He never took those chances to say, ‘let’s send more than they can block and see what happens, see if we can get the ball out of [Josh Allen’s] hands quickly and force him into a bad decision.’ I was a little upset about that as the game went along. I was disappointed in Vic.”
ESPN’s Andrew Hawkins, the former NFL receiver, said, “On the last Diggs touchdown, they called a Cover 0 with no pressure against Josh Allen. How do you win” that way?
The Dolphins defense ranks 26th in yards allowed per game (374.5), 23rd in passing defense (251 yards per game by the opponent), 22nd in rushing defense (123.5) and 28th in points permitted per game (29.8).
In Sunday’s game, Diggs caught six passes for 120 yards, with five of those catches against Kohou.
What’s more, Allen went 21 for 25 for 320 yards, four touchdowns and a perfect 158.3 passer rating.
Fangio blitzed him nine times on his 25 dropbacks, and he completed all nine passes on those blitzes, for 126 yards and a touchdown. Miami applied pressure on only two of those nine blitzes.
▪ The Dolphins’ defense dominated a lot of the conversation in the locker room.
Linebacker Jerome Baker cited a “lot of miscommunication and a lot of guys getting beat” as problems in the Buffalo game.
Phillips cited “growing pains” and said the “defense is a lot different from the defense we had for me the last two years. I couldn’t tell you when exactly we’ll be firing on all cylinders, but that’s obviously what we’re working toward. We have high potential.”
▪ In his first start this season (with Elliott sidelined), safety Brandon Jones played deep a lot against Buffalo.
Previous coordinator Josh Boyer often used him close to the line of scrimmage and Jones was among the best blitzing safeties in football for 1 1/2 seasons before his ACL injury last October.
“It’s definitely a little different than what I’ve done in the past,” he said Wednesday. “The reps I’ve gotten in training camp and every day at practice, I’ve gotten more comfortable. I didn’t play up to my standards. Then again, it was my first game playing a full game in 10, 11 months, so there are some growing pains I’m going to go through. Eventually, I’m going to be straight, back to my old safe.”
Jones played all 58 defensive snaps against Buffalo and didn’t rush the quarterback a single time, per PFF.
Has he spoken to Fangio about blitzing more?
“I haven’t,” he said. “Obviously I would love to. It’s a big part of my game. Anyway I can get close to the ball, of course, I want to be in those positions.
“Playing in the middle of the field, I’ve made it more a part of my game. I’ve been able to play in the box and show I can do that stuff. Now it’s to show everybody else I can also play deep. Vic is a legend. He’s going to be a Hall of Fame coach. Whatever he has in the game plan, I trust.”
▪ Fox is sending Dolphins-Giants to 30 percent of the country, including all of Florida except Tallahassee and Pensacola. Kenny Albert and Jonathan Vilma have the call. Here are the TV regionalization maps.
This story was originally published October 4, 2023 at 5:45 PM.
