Maxwell still not practicing
DAVIE — Dolphins cornerback Byron Maxwell and safety Bacarri Rambo did not practice Wednesday.
The Dolphins’ secondary has already been decimated by the loss of starting safeties Reshad Jones (shoulder) and Isa Abdul-Quddus (neck).
Maxwell (ankle) has missed two games, which Tony Lippett and Xavien Howard started. Maxwell’s presence could be helpful against the Steelers if he can recover before Sunday.
It appeared Maxwell was running well Wednesday as he high-stepped in a stretch before moving to the side to do exercises with a trainer.
Rambo has struggled at times recently while stepping in for Jones, his college teammate at Georgia. But he is experienced. His injury is undisclosed.
Other Dolphins safeties include Michael Thomas, Walt Aikens and A.J. Hendy, who made his NFL debut last weekend. Rookie cornerback Jordan Lucas is capable of playing safety.
Linebacker Jelani Jenkins (knee) returned to practice. If he can play some, it would ease pressure on linebackers such as Neville Hewitt, Spencer Paysinger and Mike Hull.
Quarterback Ryan Tannehill (knee) was not in uniform at practice but observed.
Moore excited: The Dolphins are headed for their first playoff game in eight years, and it’ll be the postseason debut for Matt Moore.
Moore looks like he’ll be the starting quarterback Sunday as Miami continues waiting to see whether Tannehill will be available. Moore’s thoughts Wednesday:
■ As far as he knows, he’s starting. The speculation about Tannehill doesn’t bother him.
■ He’ll make his playoff debut at one of the best venues in the league in Pittsburgh, and he’s excited about the atmosphere. “Some guys go a lot, and some don’t get those chances,” said Moore, who went to the playoffs one other time, as a backup with Carolina. “This is my second time ever being part of a team that’s gone to the playoffs. It’s an unbelievable opportunity in a great football town, so we’re ready to go.”
■ Moore’s message to his teammates is to stay within the game plan and not take unnecessary risks by trying to do too much. “Rely on the guys around you,” he said. “Guys are gonna be excited, I’m sure, but there’s a real good understanding that it’s a team game. You don’t need to be Superman. Just play within the scheme and system and you’ll be all right.”
■ Hi s c ohe s i on wit h t he re c e ive r s has improved since he took over for Tannehill on Dec. 11, and he cited last Sunday’s touchdown pass to Jarvis Landry as an example. Landry worked his way across the field from right to left, and both players anticipated where the other was headed.
■ Regarding Steelers coach Mike Tomlin’s perception that the Dolphins’ offense hasn’t changed despite the switch from Tannehill, Moore said, “I think so. I would agree with him.”
Ready for Ajayi: Dolphins running back Jay Ajayi won’t be surprising the Steelers or anybody else after putting up three 200-yard games this season.
Although his overall season was uneven, he has Pittsburgh’s attention.
Ajayi ran for 204 yards on the Steelers in October, and Tomlin knows his team is at risk for another big game.
“I don’t know that we’re that much different,” he said, comparing his defense then to where it stands now. “We’re not gonna pretend like that was a lightning strike. He ran for 200 on Buffalo the second time he played those guys.”
Ajayi hit the Bills with 214 the next week and got 111 on the Jets after that, then came back around to run for 206 against Buffalo in Week 16. On other topics: ■ Tomlin said he “doesn’t have an issue” with Dolphins defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, whom the Steelers reportedly complained about for an alleged kick on quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s knee. Tomlin denied filing anything with the NFL about the incident.
■ Tomlin said he has zero interest in the fact that his team is a 10-point favorite, a spread that seemed to irritate some Dolphins. “That type of stuff doesn’t register as a blip on our radar,” he said. “We’re focused on this opportunity and going out and playing.” were successful.
“There’s probably a list of like 10 guys that will never be on the front page that have probably been tremendous factors in our success.”
That’s about how many prominent players have missed significant time this season due to injury. Of the ideal starting 22, only six players made it through all 16 games while nearly as many (five) landed on season-ending injured reserve. Linebackers and defensive backs were ravaged. Even quarterback Ryan Tannehill missed starts for the first time in his career with a knee problem that likely will keep him out of Sunday’s wild-card game at Pittsburgh.
Instead of “Fins up,” coach Adam Gase’s pet phrase of “next man up” became the battle cry. As much as players put on a brave face regarding injuries as a badge of courage, most Dolphins interviewed for this story agreed they’ve never played on a team that had so many guys go down.
“It’s mind-boggling,” safety Bacarri Rambo said.
“It’s crazy,” said Walt Aikens, who has blossomed late this season into a vital contributor on special teams.
Something else is crazy. As injuries piled up, the Dolphins actually got better, shaking off a 1-4 start to go on a 9-1 run, which supports Wake’s theory.
“We couldn’t do it without those guys stepping up and filling in for these injured players,” Aikens said. “It shows a lot about our character.”
Gase agreed, to a point. Hey, it’s playoff time, so he must demand more.
“The guys that have come in, they’ve done a very good job,” Gase said. “There have been moments of inconsistency, and that’s where sometimes you miss the guy that was the starter, because one game it’s good, one game it’s bad, where some of these high, the elite performers (are more evenkeeled). ... What’s the one thing we always talk about? Consistency. It’s the same every week. You know exactly what you’re going to get.”
So here’s a closer look at a few of the role players who helped get the Dolphins rolling.
There are compliments, and then there are, well, you be the judge.
Darren Rizzi, the Dolphins’ special-teams coordinator and assistant head coach, was trying to get across the point that Hull, 6 feet and 233 pounds, is more than meets the eye. The way the always-colorful Rizzi sprinkled his description was priceless.
“If you look at the guy, you might not pick him out of the lineup at the Dunkin’ Donuts,” Rizzi said. “They might not know he’s an NFL player if he walked in there. But when the guy is on the field, he just makes plays.”
Hull wasn’t offended by the remark. In fact, he seconded it.
“That’s the truth,” he said. “I mean, I fit in prett y well. No one really recognizes me, and a lot of times that’s a good thing. That’s an accurate statement by him.”
Hull finished third in the NFL with 18 special-teams tackles.
“I love special teams,” said Hull, who was originally signed as an undrafted free agent out of Penn State in 2015 but was waived twice. “I knew coming into the league, and especially this year, if I was going to make it, it would be on special teams.”
Hull’s role evolved when linebacker Kiko Alonso couldn’t suit up for the Arizona game. Looking forward to his first career start, Hull said he felt he had good instincts and “a knack for finding the ball.”
He needed just six plays to prove it, intercepting Carson Palmer to set up a touchdown. He finished with eight tackles and even saw action at middle linebacker, with a healthy Alonso moved outside, at the end of the season.
“With all the injuries, it’s definitely been a big step for guys to be able to step into roles and keep producing,” Hull said. “We’ve been able to win with guys that are backups, that don’t have that much experience, or young guys even, and I think that’s been a key to our success in winning nine out of 11 games.”
The Dolphins signed Urbik, an eight-year veteran, in March as insurance against injuries on the offensive line. When Mike Pouncey went down for the season with another hip injury, it was time to cash in that policy.
After Anthony Steen started four games at center, the Dolphins switched to Urbik, who has started the past three and figures to do so against the Steelers.
Considering Urbik spent six seasons at Buffalo, he took pride in one of his recent starts — against the Bills.
“They were talking about how they’re not going to let us run the ball over them again, and they’re doing everything in their power to stop it,” Urbik said. “They’re playing the 4-4 defense and putting in goal-line looks, and it still didn’t matter. We still ran the ball for 260 on them. It felt really good.”
If playing against former teams fires up Urbik, the Dolphins are in luck. He was a thirdround pick of the Steelers in 2009 but was released a year later. Fresh in his mind was the day the Steelers shifted him to left tackle, where he had to line up against Pro Bowl linebacker James Harrison.
“Rookie year was just miserable,” said Urbik, who was picked up by Buffalo. “Thankfully, I had people who realized I could be a good player in the league.”
Urbik knows about cultivation. His major at Wisconsin was agricultural business.
“The business school at Wisconsin is very, very prestigious,” he said. “You need like a 3.9 GPA just to get in, and I didn’t have a 3.9 GPA, so when you start going down the rung in what type of business schools there are, agricultural business was one of the things that I landed on. A lot of guys went through that route.”
Rambo was signed as a free agent Oct. 25, was playing a week later ... and starting a month later. That’s the kind of season it has been for the secondary, which has now lost starting safeties Reshad Jones and Isa Abdul-Quddus to injury. That’s in addition to cornerback Xavien Howard missing 10 games, requiring accelerated learning by Tony Lippett, a second-year player who was a receiver at Michigan State.
Rambo has recorded at least seven tackles in three of the past six games and made an interception against Arizona. He also delivered one of the best quips of the season when asked how he quickly adapted.
“Why do you think I wear a 7⅝ in hats? Because I’ve got a big brain, and I absorb a lot of information,” he said.
He’s smart enough to know he has to improve in taking the proper angle to cut off ball-carriers and in finishing tackles.
“I’ve just got to get under control when I come to make tackles, limit the YAC, the yards after catch,” he said after the 35-14 loss to New England. “I did a poor job. I have to do better.”
Gray attended Minnesota, where he was a part-time starter at quarterback. If you were an opposing lineman trying to sack this guy, good luck.
Now 6-4 and 255 pounds, Gray has found a home in the NFL as a tight end. He was impossible to miss early in the Pittsburgh victory that turned around the Dolphins’ season, catching a career-best 53-yard pass from Tannehill to set up a field goal. But here’s the thing: Asked which accomplishments this season he’s most proud of, Gray instead cited plays in which his blocking sprung Jay Ajayi for key runs. Those were “more meaningful,” he said, because they directly led to victories.
Gray has pl aye d for four teams in his four-year career, but the Dolphins last week signed him to a two-year extension, which says all that needs to be said about what they see in him. Gray called the contract a “stress reliever.” Until now, he always signed seasonal leases and was boxing up his belongings around New Year’s. Just like that, South Florida began feeling like home.
As for the Dolphins, they’ve gone through ups and downs with the replacements, but having won 10 games anyway, it’s tough to complain.
“I know some of those guys hurt are big-time players,” Gray said. “If we have those guys now, who knows? Our ceiling was going up either way. I feel like we would have been in a lot better shape. We probably wouldn’t have had some of those close games we had.”