Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Bye to the brace
Dolphins remain steadfast, saying talent is there
Don’t need it, says Heat’s Whiteside.
DAVIE — Monday was the day most NFL players hate, the day the non-playoff teams clean out their lockers and go home for the offseason. It was a day all too familiar for safety Reshad Jones, who has only made one playoff appearance in his eight seasons.
“We didn’t do what we set out to do,” Jones said. “This is a playoff team. We fell short of that so it didn’t [go] too good for me. But personally I feel like I played pretty well, could have played better.”
Disappointment was clearly the theme of the day for the Dolphins, who finished with a 6-10 record and had a tumultuous season on the field and off of it.
Wide receiver Kenny Stills was asked whether the record accurately reflected the team.
“That’s a tough question,” he said. “There’s plenty of games that we should have won and we didn’t come out on top of those games. This team has a ton of potential and it’s about us going to work this offseason and building on that potential and making it come to fruition.”
Stills said this year’s offense was as talented as last year’s offense, which led Miami to a 10-6 record and its first playoff berth since the 2008 season.
“We had all the pieces,” Stills said. “When [running back] Jay [Ajayi] got traded, [running back] Kenyan [Drake] stepped up and starting making plays.
“[Wide receiver] Jakeem [Grant] came in the game and started making plays. We’ve got talent all across the board. It’s just a matter of us not shooting ourselves in the foot with the penalties and the turnovers.”
Cornerback Bobby McCain said the defense was as talented as last year’s, too.
“I would say so, for sure,” he said. “Like I said, our record doesn’t reflect it and our team stats don’t reflect it, but we had a lot of talent.
“We’ve got some really good players on the defense [and] on the whole team, really — offensively, special teams guys, just guys doing their job, guys doing their part. Defensively, we’re going to come back and we’re going to put it together. We’re going to make it a great one.”
Stills said in “some games” penalties were the story. “And other games, we weren’t able to get it going and put points on the board.”
Miami finished second in penalties (137) behind Seattle (148). Miami was also second in penalty yards (1,154) behind Seattle (1,342 yards).
Penalties were especially costly late in the season. Four times in the past nine games the Dolphins had double-digit penalties and triple-digit penalty yards.
Miami, as Stills said, also struggled to score.
The Dolphins were 28th in scoring offense at 17.6 points per game.
On the positive side the run defense improved greatly. Miami was 14th in run defense this season allowing 110.5 yards per game. That’s a vast improvement from the previous two years when the Dolphins were 30th and 28th, respectively, at 140.4 yards and 126.2 yards allowed per game.
Players such as defensive tackles Jordan Phillips, Ndamukong Suh, Davon Godchaux and Vincent Taylor, and ends Cameron Wake, William Hayes, Andre Branch and Terrence Fede were a big reason for that.
“It was a point of emphasis,” Phillips said of the run defense.
Of course, as bizarre as this season was with Hurricane Irma postponing the home opener, linebacker Lawrence Timmons going AWOL before the de facto opener, former offensive line coach Chris Foerster resigning after his video scandal, linebacker Rey Maualuga being released after his arrest at a Miami nightclub, and all injuries — starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill (knee), right tackle Ja’Wuan James (hamstring), tight end Julius Thomas (foot) and rookie middle linebacker Raekwon McMillan (knee) — it was just another in a line of unpredictable seasons.
Jones, who went through the 0-7 start of 2011, and the bully scandal of 2013, was asked whether he’s ever been through a season with so many twists and turns.
“I’ve been here eight years,” he said with a laugh, “so yes, I have. I have, for sure.”