Tailback committee foreseen
DAVIE There was never amystery about Arian Foster missing the Dolphins’ home opener Sunday against the Cleveland Browns, but what will be intriguing is who replaces him as a starter.
Jay Ajayi, Kenyan Drake, Damien Williams and Isaiah Pead have all taken reps during practice this week, competing to determine who will handle the bulk
of the running-back workload.
Pead, a 2012 secondround pick, is the only one whohas made an NFL start. He did so in his rookie season with the Rams.
Dolphins coach Adam Gase said all four tailbacks bring something different to the offense, and he’ll cater the play calls to their strengths. When it comes to which starts, that depends on what Gase will script for the Dolphins’ first series.
“It’s going to come down to what we’re going to do for the openers,” said Gase, whose offense is averaging 67 rushing yards over two games. “We’ve got a bunch of different packages as far as who can go in when and certain things that we can emphasize with them. So, I don’t really have a great answer for you right yet.”
Gase said the Dolphins have kept Foster off his feet this week with the hope that his injured groin and hamstring heal enough for him to play Thursday night against the Cincinnati Bengals.
As for Sunday, Gase said there’s a chance all four healthy tailbacks will be active against the Browns.
“It’s going to be us as a committee putting our offense in the best situations to win this football game,” said Pead, who noted that he’s fully recovered from the hamstring injury that sidelined him the past three weeks. “We’re all studying together and putting our best foot forward.”
DE Jones nursing turned ankle
The Dolphins might be forced to play Sunday without defensive end Jason Jones, who turned an ankle during Thursday’s practice and didn’t finish the session. On Friday, the ninth-year pro was walking without a limp butwas held out of the two-hour practice.
Jones, who has five tackles and1.5 sacks through the first two games, typically plays on first and second downas a run-stopping specialist on the right side. He replaced Cameron Wake in that starting role this season.
If Jones isn’t healthy enough to play Sunday, it is possible that Andre Branch or Wake would replace him. His absence, or physical limitation, hints that Wake might be called on to play more than the 22.5 snaps he has averaged for the past two games. The Dolphins could also give Terrence Fede more playing time.
The Dolphins have allowed their first two opponents to average 136.5 rushing yards per game.
“Our problem in the run game has been the edges, not setting the edges, being sealed and being cracked on the edges,” defensive coordinator Vance Joseph said Thursday. “We have to do a better job at defensive end of setting the edge, and that has been an issue. That [was] an issue against the Cowboys, and we fixed it against Atlanta,” Joseph said, referring to the preseason. “And it came back last week. That’s an issue that we’ve got to rectify quickly.”
Other updates
Anthony Steen will make his third start as the Dolphins’ center Sunday, but Mike Pouncey (hip) is getting close to being medically cleared to return to practice. Pouncey has been doing a more aggressive rehabilitation work the past few days, and Gase said the Pro Bowl center is insistent that he’s ready to play.
The Browns will play Sunday without starting receiver Corey Coleman (hand), center Cameron Erving (chest), defensive lineman Carl Nassib (hand) and cornerback Ibraheim Campbell (hamstring).
Joe Haden, a starting cornerback, is questionable because of a groin injury.