Coaches assess young defenders’ performance on Sunday vs. Jags
The future has become the present for a number of Dolphins defensive players selected high in recent drafts.
For the second straight week, safety Jevon Holland, the 36th pick in the 2021 Draft and Jaelan Phillips, taken No. 18 in 2021, started and played nearly every snap. And cornerback Noah Igbinoghene, the No. 30 overall pick in the 2020 Draft, started for the first time since Week 4 of last season as Xavien Howard and Byron Jones were sidelined because of injuries.
For Igbinoghene, it was a chance to show his improvement after rookie struggles and being a healthy scratch to start this season. According to Pro Football Focus, Igbinoghene allowed seven receptions for 104 yards and one touchdown.
“We’ve got confidence in Noah,” coach Brian Flores said Monday. “We put him in there and again, he did some good things. That’s what I expected. I expected him to play competitively and tackle well, know where he’s supposed to be and communicate well. Obviously like we all saw, there were a couple of balls that were down the field. I think he had a chance to make a couple of plays on them. I think that’s the next step for him is to go up and get a couple of those out.”
Two completions were particularly consequential: a 28-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Marvin Jones Jr. at the end of the first half and a third-down back-shoulder completion to Jones on Jacksonville’s game-winning drive.
Both Igbinoghene and cornerbacks coach Charles Burks, speaking Monday and Tuesday, respectively, said Igbinoghene was in press coverage on the touchdown catch and should have “widened” Jones out more, forcing him to the sideline and making it a harder catch in the end zone.
“Of course, I could have looked back faster as well,” Igbinoghene said. “[Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence is] not going to take a long time to throw the ball. He’s going to throw the ball. He’s going to catch it and really throw it because we were in the [red zone], I believe. Just getting my head around and finding the ball as fast as possible and playing it, of course. I’m going to work on that this week and I can’t wait to improve on that part.”
With the severity of the injuries to Howard and Jones remaining unclear — Flores said he doesn’t expect either to be placed on injured reserve — Igbinoghene could be in line for another big role against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.
“I’m honestly just getting a feel for the game,” Igbinoghene said. “The game is of course way faster than we practice. Just getting used to it, continuing to build on that and continuing to get more reps. I think that’s the biggest thing. Continuing to get more experience and it’ll all come by itself.”
Holland said Monday he’s been getting more comfortable with the defense as the season has progressed, a sentiment shared by defensive backs coach Gerald Alexander.
When asked what has impressed him the most about Holland, Alexander said: “His ability to go out there and operate and communicate. Especially being a rookie, I think that’s one of the biggest things we’ve focused on throughout his development, is being able to communicate with 10 other guys on the field and possibly put us in a good situation defensively based on maybe certain checks and adjustments and certain looks that we don’t want to run maybe certain defenses against.”
Alexander added that Holland’s “ability to be rangy” and “make plays on the ball” has also stood out. It hasn’t yet resulted in any interceptions or forced fumbles but Alexander believes those plays will come in due time.
“Those are things you can’t force,” Alexander said. “I always tell those guys that technique and opportunity lead to splash plays. We don’t want to be in a situation where I’m trying to go make a play, I’m trying to make a play. When the opportunity presents itself with the
technique and the responsibility that you have, he’ll be able to make those splash plays when those opportunities present themselves. And I think you’ve seen a flash of that over the course of the season; obviously we’ve seen a lot of that in training camp. But he’s just got to continue to just do his job and when those opportunities come, we know that he has the ability to make those plays.”
Phillips has started to find success as a pass rusher, registering sacks in Weeks 4 and 5. However, one area of improvement for him going forward could be his run defense. Pro Football Focus gave Phillips the second-worst run defense grade among Dolphins players last Sunday. On a long run by James Robinson late in the first half, Phillips was sealed by his blocker, allowing Robinson to break into the second level of the defense. Phillips’ seasonlong run defense grade has also rated out as the worst of the team’s other edge defenders with comparable snap counts — Emmanuel Ogbah, Andrew Van Ginkel and Brennan Scarlett.
Linebackers coach Anthony Campanile said teaching points for him are “your eyes” and “being physical at the point of attack.”
“From a fundamental standpoint, you have to have that,” he said. “Engaging blocks square so you can not only impede the block but then win, shed the block and make a play on the ball . ... It goes without saying: To be a great edge player, you have to be able to stop the run.”
GODSEY EXPLAINS FOURTH-DOWN RUN
One day after the Dolphins’ final offensive play from scrimmage, a shotgun run by Malcolm Brown on fourth-and-1, was stuffed short, Flores said he made “peace”
with the play call.
It appears co-offensive coordinator/tight ends coach George Godsey has, too, but he gave a bit more insight into his thinking behind the decision.
Asked why he ran
Brown instead of a quarterback sneak or throwing the ball, Godsey said Monday, “We had a thirdand-1 earlier. We threw it. Kind of got the ball knocked out of our hands, so that was incomplete. We obviously have some quarterbacks that are a little bit injured. All those factors kind of go into it. We converted one earlier with Malcolm. But give [the Jaguars] credit for making a stop. That’s kind of how we look at things. You’d like to call a play that works on that situation next time.”
Tua Tagovailoa and backup Jacoby Brissett both played dealing with rib and hamstring injuries, respectively. In Week 1, Brissett attempted two quarterback sneaks, both of which resulted in first downs. Brissett entered the game for one snap last Sunday, a first-quarter play on third-and-1 in which he took a snap from under center and completed a 25-yard play-action pass to tight end Durham Smythe.
When asked next if Tagovailoa had the option to audible away from the run, Godsey declined to answer but said, “There are certain plays that we do give him chances to check it.”
NOTES
The Dolphins announced Tuesday they released linebacker Shaquem Griffin from the practice squad and signed Vince Biegel to the practice squad. Biegel started 10 games for Miami in 2019, missed the 2020 season with an Achilles injury and was waived with an injury settlement in September.