Holland ‘absolutely’ wonders about injury toll to Dolphins’ D
MIAMI GARDENS — The cliche is “next man up,” and for the record, Jevon Holland did cite it Wednesday, but just as quickly swatted it aside.
One player goes down, it’s next man up.
Two? Next man up.
But what happens when they all go down?
It’s not that bad for the Dolphins’ defense heading into Saturday’s wild-card game at Kansas City. But it’s bad enough that they just pulled three linebackers off the street who could play a role in the most important game of the season.
It’s bad enough that you’re tempted to look at the Dolphins’ likely starting lineup for this weekend, then check the list of players on injured reserve and start to ask yourself which nucleus of players you’d rather go with. And Bradley Chubb, Jaelan Phillips, Andrew Van Ginkel, Cam Goode and Jerome Baker isn’t a bad framework with which to start. That doesn’t even include cornerback Xavien Howard, who has missed most of the past two games with a foot injury and isn’t back practicing.
So it was only natural that someone asked Holland if there’s a sense of disappointment when players think about what this season’s defense could have been.
“Oh, absolutely,” Holland said. “I mean, people always say, like, ‘No, you kind of just gotta next man up,’ but absolutely. We’re missing a lot of guys. A lot of important guys. That are starters.
“So of course, seeing J.P. and X and Chubb down, it’s tough. And Gink. Cam. So it’s difficult. There’s a lot of dudes that are injured.”
There are several ways to look at the devastating toll. The Dolphins lost three linebackers (Baker, Goode, Van Ginkel) in last weekend’s Buffalo game alone. Van Ginkel was a back-breaking loss on the edge, which already was without Chubb and Phillips.
Much has been made of the offensive line starting 12 different combinations, but when the Dolphins fielded the same starting 11 on defense in the Chiefs and Raiders games this season, it was the only time the same group started two games in a row. The only defensive players to start every game are Christian Wilkins, Zach Sieler and David Long.
Finally, of the 11 players who started vs. the Bills, only four didn’t appear on last week’s injury report or this week’s. Many may still be playing, but that doesn’t mean they’re playing at 100%.
After missing a month with injuries to both knees, Holland returned vs. Baltimore and Buffalo but was limited to 27 snaps against the Bills. He did something no player ever wants to do.
“I pulled myself out,” he said. “… I felt like I was hindering the team by being out there. So I told Brandon (Jones). I just told him, ‘Hey, you’re up.’ ”
Saturday night isn’t just another game. It’s a playoff game. Holland wants to be out there for every snap, but it’s a question of whether he can be. Being tough is one thing. Being smart is another.
“Of course I’m trying to play,” he said. But: “If I push it even more, I mean, it might be some serious injury,” he said.
Wednesday, he focused on rehab rather than risking it.
It’s going to be frigid in Kansas City this weekend, and who knows what effect that will have on his knees. All Holland knows is his warmups have been prolonged as he tries to get a feel for what his body will allow.
“Just see how I’m feeling,” he said. Too often, the Dolphins’ defensive players have had to ask themselves that. They played the first half of the season without All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey. When he returned from a knee injury, the Dolphins were 21st in the NFL defensively. With him, Vic Fangio’s unit climbed to fourth. With injuries mounting, they’re 10th.
There’s always a next man to come up — but almost never is that man as good as the one he’s replacing.
Dolphins reporter Hal Habib can be reached at hhabib@pbpost.com . Follow him on social media @gunnerhal.