Christensen likes his offense
DAVIE— There’s a simple reason Dolphins offensive coordinator Clyde Christensen says he loves the up-tempo offense put together by him and head coach Adam Gase: You’re never out of a game.
“That would be one characteristic of coach Gase in Denver and, I think, myself in Indy, that you’re never out of it, because that’s what you do,” Christensen said. “So twominute offense, getting uptempo, you can make that transition pretty darn smoothly.”
Christensen said it’s possible for the Dolphins to repeat the quicker pace that they used in the second half Sunday against New England for an entire game.
“There is a rhythm with this no-huddle that makes it easy to jump out on someone, and if you’re functioning like wewere in the second half, it also makes it so that you’re never out of a game,” he said. “I’ve always believed that, that you’re never out of a game.
“There’s times when you are built a different way, and all of a sudden you see someone down by 10 and you’re like, it’s over, they don’t have the ability to score two scores in the last five minutes.
“I don’t think you’ll ever think that about this offense, past, present or future. I think that’s one of the real assets of the style of play that we’re trying to adopt here.”
Injury updates
Running back Arian Foster (groin) didn’t practice Thursday, and it appears the Dolphins might be planning on using a committee of Jay Ajayi, Kenyan Drake, Isaiah Pead and Damien
Williams on Sunday against the Browns.
Linebacker Jelani Jenkins (knee) returned to practice butwas limited, as were wide receiver DeVante Parker( hamstring), linebackers Koa Misi (shoulder) and Spencer Paysinger (neck), cornerback Xavien Howard (knee) and defensive end Jason Jones (ankle), who appeared to be injured during practice.
Ajayi’s fumbles ‘buzz kills’
Ajayi has fumbled in each of his past two games — once in the preseason finale against Tennessee and once lastweek at New England. The Dolphins lost possession both times.
“Jay knows he can’t lay it on the ground,” Christensen said. “That’s the first drive of the last preseason
game and the first drive of the second half of this game. Those are big drives. Those are deflators. Those are turnovers-plus.
“There’s no good time to have a fumble, but the first drive of a game, or the first drive of the third quarter are, as the young guys say, buzz kills.”
Explanation for Suh’s rest
Defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh wasn’t in for every play of the fourth quarter last week, a time when Patriots running back LeGarrette Blount had11 carries for 69 yards. Suh, who had a career12 tackles in the game, had to rest, and he did it on a planned schedule for defensive linemen.
“We usually rotate those guys probably six snaps for two and put him back in,” defensive coordinator Vance Joseph said. “Itwas a six-play sequence, he went off for two and came back in.”
Joseph called Suh a “dominant force” this season and said he’s played more snaps than any defensive lineman in the NFL.
Tannehill run causes stress
Ryan Tannehill had a 17-yard run in the fourth quarter Sunday in which he lowered his head and bowled over a defender. It made Christensen, the former Indianapolis offensive coordinator who saw quarterback Andrew Luck suffer a kidney injury on a run, a bit nervous.
“I started holding my kidney, and I said it’s a reoccurring nightmare,” he said.