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Stills has been a non-factor on offense, but with Amendola hurt more will be put on receiver
DAVIE — There is one healthy starting receiver on the Miami Dolphins roster and he’s been given the cold shoulder for over a month.
Excuse it however you’d like, and Miami’s coaches have gone about it a couple different ways — blaming a groin injury, the types of routes he’s running, the game plan for each week, the defensive calls, the quarterback change – but Kenny Stills has been nearly invisible since the first month of the season.
Stills, a four-year starter for the Dolphins, has caught eight passes for 108 yards and one touchdown the past six games.
“I couldn’t tell you exactly why I’m not getting more targets. I can tell you I’m getting open and trying to take advantage of every opportunity that comes my way,” said Stills, who has 20 catches for 332 yards and four touchdowns in the 10 games he’s played. “I try to control the things I can control…It’s frustrating. It’s a team game….When the ball comes my way I have to make plays with it….I’m the team guy I always have been.”
Stills admitted this stretch of games, which has coincided with Miami’s offensive struggles, has been personally frustrating, then he points out “I can’t throw the ball to myself.”
Stills later specified that he wasn’t blaming Miami’s quarterbacks.
“I feel like I can get open from anywhere,” he added. “It’s a matter of protecting [the quarterbacks] and getting the ball out there.”
In fairness to Stills, who is considered a deep-ball specialist,, the former University of Oklahoma standout was thrown six passes during Brock Osweiler’s five starts as Ryan Tannehill’s replacement.
Last week Stills caught one of the four passes Tannehill throw his way, contributing 6 yards.
“Teams know where Stills is,” Dolphins offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains said. “Sometimes the coverage is going to take the ball [to him] and sometimes it’s not.”
More will likely be put on Stills’ plate this week, especially if Danny Amendola is sidelined by the right knee injury he suffered in Miami’s 27-24 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. DeVante Parker is already playing with a shoulder injury, and has been platooning in and out of the game.
Unless the Dolphins are comfortable with Isaiah Ford starting his first NFL game the same week he was promoted up from the practice squad, Stills will have to take on the bulk of the slot receiver role.
He’s the only player on the roster who knows the slot position, and has played it going back to his previous seasons in Adam Gase’s offense, and his first two seasons with the New Orleans Saints.
“If that’s the case, us knowing going into the game, that helps us because now we can tailor what we’re doing to him,” Gase said. “That does change [the offense] a little bit.”
Stills could also be called on to handle the punt return duties if Amendola doesn’t play because Miami’s return specialist, Jakeem Grant, was placed on injured reserve with his leg injury.
Special teams coach Darren Rizzi hinted that he’d prefer to lean on the most experienced returner, and that’s Stills.
“Experience is a huge factor,” Rizzi said. “That’s one of those things where you can get a bunch in practice, you can try to simulate a JUGS machine, but it’s really hard to simulate live action with gunners coming at you and a live ball.”
Even though Stills is on pace for one of his least productive NFL seasons, as a team captain he stressed his focus has been to hold the team together.
That means encouraging an offense that ranks 28th in yards per game (313.6), 20th in yards per play (5.5), 29th in third downs converted at 34 percent, and 31st in red-zone execution, converting 40.9 percent of the team’s possessions that get inside the 20-yard line into touchdowns.
“I’m focused on what I can control. That’s doing my job and getting open. Football is a complex game. Sometimes I can’t get the ball,” Still said. “It’s never been a blame game for any of us. There’s no single person we can point the finger at.”