Injuries piling up for 3-0 Dolphins
Miami stayed unbeaten with Sunday’s win over Oakland, but lost veteran DE William Hayes for the year to a knee injury he sustained trying to avoid a roughing-the-passer penalty.
DAVIE – Miami Dolphins veteran defensive end
William Hayes is done for the season after suffering an injury while trying to abide by a controversial NFL rule.
Hayes tore the ACL in his right knee while sacking Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr in the second quarter of Sunday’s 28-20 victory. Dolphins coach Adam
Gase said Monday that Hayes sustained the injury while trying to not put his body weight on Carr to avoid drawing a flag as a result of the NFL’s point of emphasis on the roughing-the-passer penalty this season.
“He was not trying to put body weight on the quarterback, so his foot got caught in the ground,” Gase said.
The roughing the passer rule — located in Rule 12, Section 2, Article 9 of the NFL’s rule book — states a player will be penalized if he applies all or most of his body weight onto a quarterback and drives him to the ground.
It has become a point of emphasis in the NFL this season after Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron
Rodgers was driven to the ground and suffered a season-ending collarbone injury last year.
The interpretation of the rule has come under stark criticism from Packers star linebacker Clay Matthews, who has been flagged for roughing the passer in all three games this season on hits that may have been considered traditional plays in the past.
“Unfortunately this league is going in a direction that a lot of people don’t like. I think they’re getting soft,” Matthews said after Green Bay’s 31-17 loss at Washington on Sunday.
NFL players around the league have taken notice of the penalties levied on Matthews.
Dolphins defensive tackle Akeem Spence called the new roughingthe-passer guidelines a “double-edged sword.”
“Let’s keep it honest, that rule is a tough rule to gauge,” Spence said. “We know the rule, but we don’t know the ins and outs of it. Then, I see Clay Matthews, he had another one [Sunday] and it’s like what do you want the guy to do? He has to put the guy down. How much is too much weight? What technique do you use and how do you go about it?
“We’re still asking questions about it just like you are.”
Hayes, in his 11th season, leads the Dolphins with two of the team’s six sacks, and was a key rotational player on the defensive line.
“It hurts,” Gase said of the injury. “He’s one of our leaders in the locker room. … That’s going to be a tough one to swallow.”
Gase did not have any further injury updates on defensive end Andre Branch (knee), tight end A.J. Derby (right foot), or linebacker Chase Allen (foot).
All three players suffered injuries during the Raiders game, but Gase does not expect them to miss an extended period of time.
Still, the injuries are starting to pile up for the Dolphins, who are off to their first 3-0 start in five years.
The Dolphins lost starting tight end MarQueis
Gray, a six-year veteran, for the season after he tore an Achilles tendon at the start of the season.
The Dolphins also lost starting left guard Josh
Sitton, a four-time Pro Bowl selection, for the season due to a torn rotator cuff in his left shoulder.
Spence reacts
Spence says he would never use a helmet as a weapon, and was protecting himself during an altercation that led to his ejection in Sunday’s game against the Raiders.
Spence ripped off the helmet of Raiders offensive lineman Kelechi Osemele after a shoving match after the first sack of the season by defensive end Cameron
Wake in the second quarter.
Spence later fell after tripping over Raiders running back Jalen Richard, and was seen using the helmet in his left hand to hit Oakland guard Gabe Jackson on the helmet after the tussle.
Spence, who was assessed an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and ejected from the game, said he was trying to celebrate Wake’s sack with teammates before the altercation.
Spence also added Oakland’s offensive line has a reputation for being “extra after the whistle.”
“Guys put hands on me, and I was trying to protect myself and keep him off of me,” Spence said Monday.
“Y’all seen the helmet in my hand, but me, being the person I am, I’m never going to hit nobody with a helmet. I’m never going to put somebody’s career in jeopardy or something like that.
“It’s really unfortunate because I thought I was still in the game.”
The penalty, which occurred after a third-down stop, was especially unfavorable for the Dolphins, who gave up a 25-yard field goal, resulting in a 10-7 lead for Oakland with 3:34 left before halftime.
Miami’s defense had to stay on the field instead of capitalizing on momentum after quarterback Ryan
Tannehill’s 34-yard touchdown pass to receiver
Kenny Stills tied the game at 7 on the previous drive.
The Dolphins were also down three defensive linemen in the game, losing Spence, Hayes and Branch.
“I see Cam get the sack. I’m trying to go celebrate, but the guy has his hands on me, pushing me, pushing me, pushing me,” Spence said recapping the situation.
“I mean, at some point, as a man, I have to protect myself and get his hands off me, and do what I got to do. And then, it just went beyond football at that point, which it shouldn’t have.”