MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The Jalen Ramsey injury is, of course, a net negative for the Miami Dolphins defense.
But as Friday’s Dolphins training camp practice proved, there are still plenty of playmakers on a defense that’s led by one of the most respected minds in football, Vic Fangio.
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Sackfest!
It’s a pretty safe bet that pass protection will be a focus of attention in offensive meeting rooms over the weekend because the Dolphins’ offense barely blocked anyone during the defense’s most spirited practice of camp to date.
We don’t know for certain how many sacks the Dolphins would have actually gotten if they were allowed to touch the quarterback (although Tua Tagovailoa did get jostled on at least one occasion Friday when Christian Wilkins chucked Austin Jackson backward and into his QB).
But the consensus among the assembled media was 12 — 12! — during 11-on-11 drills. That’s an insane number.
Four different Dolphins defenders had multiple sacks — Wilkins, Bradley Chubb, Duke Riley, and Zach Sieler.
“That’s just the mindset that this defense has, this front seven has,” Chubb said. “We been talking about it all offseason and how we want to be; we don’t want to be the weak link of this defense, and we’re gonna make sure we do everything to hold up our end of the bargain. And I feel like we did that today, and today doesn’t matter, though.”
Responding to Adversity
Friday’s domination showed there was no hangover a day after Ramsey suffered a knee injury that necessitated surgery. Ramsey suffered a noncontact injury while covering Tyreek Hill Thursday.
An MRI revealed he hurt his meniscus. But even though he won’t be available for at least the opener — and very likely beyond — Ramsey is determined to remain a leader.
He spoke to the team late Thursday, informing them of his unfortunate news.
“On one hand, says it means a lot, you know, because that’s how we responded to it, you know what I mean?” Chubb said. “Whenever you lose a key piece like that, guys might get down. But then on the other hand, a lot of people stepped up, a lot of people did exactly what they were brought here to do.
“You know what I mean? Step up and make plays for the defense. And, yeah, it sucks that he went down man and, but like, like I said, he just got to be the next man up. He said that yesterday he just got the next man up.”
Dolphins’ Secondary a Primary Focus
On Thursday, a series of next men stepped up.
The Dolphins’ defense got Tagovailoa off his game, tightly defending the few passes he was able to actually get off.
Kader Kohou and Cam Smith, who will both see increased roles with Ramsey hurt, both deflected passes Friday.
And Xavien Howard looks as fluid and effective as he has in months.
The Dolphins’ secondary will remain an evolving organism all season, with Ramsey and Nik Needham dealing with long-term injuries and Keion Crossen held out with an undisclosed issue.
This and That
- Beyond Ramsey and Crossen, two Dolphins players on the active roster missed parts or all of practice Friday: pass rusher Jaelan Phillips and wide receiver Freddie Swain.
Phillips did individual drills early in the practice before transitioning to rehab work after getting stepped on Wednesday. Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel suggested Friday that the injury is not serious.
- A lot went wrong up front for the Dolphins’ offense Friday, but most concerning might have been the inability to get off a clean center-quarterback exchange. Mike White mishandled two snaps in the span of three reps.
White had a rough day in general, throwing behind receivers on multiple occasions.
