PATRIOTS LOSING HOME EDGE?
Toward the end of the 2019 season, the Miami Dolphins beat New England in Foxborough as a 17-point underdog. Miami looks to continue the trend today.
South Florida sports has had plenty of dynamic duos — from Dwyane Wade/Shaquille O’Neal to Wade/LeBron James to the Dolphins’ Jason Taylor/Zach Thomas and Larry Csonka/ Mercury Morris.
Whether Dolphins cornerbacks Xavien Howard and Byron Jones — the NFL’s highest-paid cornerback pairing — can join that group should be one of the interesting subplots of this Dolphins season that begins on Sunday in New England.
For months, Jones has been relishing the idea of playing across “from another guy who’s a top-tier corner. That’s going to be a cool little duo for us.”
Barring a change of heart by coaches, the plan is for Howard to play but not play every snap or close to every snap on Sunday because he’s being eased back from December knee surgery, according to two sources. Expect to see rookie Noah Igbinoghene some on the boundary.
Over the past two years, both Howard and Jones rank highly on analytics websites for overall play, even with Howard generally struggling in five games last season before being shut down with the knee injury, and even with Jones hauling in no interceptions since his move from safety to cornerback two years ago. But how have they played against the league’s very best receivers?
We evaluated how Jones and Howard each played over the past two seasons against receivers or tight ends that have A) been invited to a Pro Bowl and/ or B) Had a 1,000-yard receiving season over the past two years. Here’s what we found:
Howard, when matched up head-to-head with those receivers over the past two seasons, allowed 22 completions in 37 attempts for 285 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions, equal to a 97.2 passer rating in his coverage area. That’s very good considering the quality of the competition.
Howard’s touchdowns relinquished came against Amari Cooper (two), DeAndre Hopkins (one) and DeVante Adams (one). The interceptions came against JuJu Smith-Schuster and T.Y. Hilton.
Among the elite players he covered, Howard did his best work against Antonio Brown and Hilton (no completions) and A.J. Green (2-4, 39 yards). He struggled against Cooper (6-9, 78 yards).
Jones fared worse than Howard against elite receivers, allowing 27 of 42 passes thrown against him to be caught for 466 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions and a 117.8 passer rating. The two TDs allowed by Jones came against Philadelphia’s Alshon Jeffery and Chicago’s Allen Robinson.
Jones played very well in two games against New Orleans’ Michael Thomas, limiting him to two catches for 21 yards, once held Odell Beckham without a catch but struggled against Hopkins (4 for 5 for 73) and Mike Evans (4 for 5 for 72).
“The most important part is just really having no weak links, and that’s what we’re trying to create in our defensive secondary, to build a team where there are no weaknesses,” Jones said. “We can create matchups that are difficult for receivers and quarterbacks.”
One key will be getting at least competent nickel corner play from Igbinoghen, Nik Needham or Jamal Perry.
Jones has gained an added appreciation for Howard since his return to the field less than two weeks ago. “Just seeing how he attacks the ball was special to me,” Jones said. “Seeing his feet on line of scrimmage, how he stays square. Wow! We’re learning from each other.”
The Dolphins’ 2020 schedule features several receivers who have been to Pro Bowls (Hopkins, Kansas City’s Tyreek Hill, Cincinnati’s Green, among others) and 11 who have had 1,000-yard receiving seasons over one or both of the past two seasons, including two games against Buffalo’s John Brown and Stefon Diggs.
Jones loves the Dolphins’ style of defense: “Being a long, strong corner — I can move pretty well, I can change directions pretty well — I think that’s going to bode well if we’re playing a lot of man.” Per PFF, Jones produced the NFL’s ninth-best coverage mark over the past two seasons and broke up 19.3 percent of his targets — good for sixth-best.
CHATTER
Count ESPN new “Monday Night Football” co-analyst Louis Riddick among those on the
Dolphins’ bandwagon after ripping them in past years: “They are on the right track. I’m rooting for Brian Flores in particular. He’s an absolute shining star in this league that people are going to find out a lot about in the coming months.”
New England coach Bill Belichick told Patriots writers that the Dolphins are “a lot better than they were last year based on the acquisitions. It’s pretty clear that Brian has a plan.”
The Dolphins’ offensive coordinator move from Chad O’Shea to Chan Gailey has been popular among players. “His mind is crazy,” new Dolphins running back Matt Breida said of Gailey. “He comes up with things off his head that just make sense.”
The Dolphins believe Isaiah Ford can build on a strong December and emerge as a quality slot receiver. “He’s crafty inside, savvy with his routes,” Jones said. … The Dolphins are still monitoring the QB market and auditioned San Diego Tereros rookie Reid Sinnett last week after Tampa Bay cut him. Free agent options include Payton Lynch, Blake Bortles, Drew Stanton, Cody Kessler and Colin Kaepernick. …
The Dolphins are coaching Jerome Baker very hard, getting on him about getting off blocks better, with the hope he can improve from decent to very good. Baker played 1,083 snaps in 2019 — third-most among NFL linebackers — but Pro Football Focus rated him just 76th of 88 qualifying linebackers. … Mike Gesicki said nobody told him he would be the second-team tight end but is unbothered by it, noting that starter Durham Smythe doesn’t “get enough credit for his versatility.”
Dolphins radio announcers Jimmy Cefalo, Joe Rose and Jason Taylor will call Sunday’s road game from Hard Rock Stadium to reduce the size of the team’s traveling party during a pandemic.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra has been encouraging Bam Adebayo to shoot open mid-range jumpers — because, as Adebayo said, “Coach wants people to guard me because it makes our team better” — and his percentage on those shots has jumped from 22 to 53 percent in postseason. … ESPN’s Paul Pierce remains the Heat’s public enemy No. 1, insisting Miami hasn’t been tested and will lose in the Eastern finals. “Nobody thought we were going to win,” Adebayo said. “When you win like that, it starts to put people in shock.”
Players defended by Kendrick Nunn have shot only 28.6 percent in postseason (6 for 21), which is second best in the NBA in postseason. The Heat’s next best: Derrick Jones Jr. (30.8 against). … Adebayo said he and Tyler Herro are thriving in part because Kentucky and the Heat run their basketball programs in similar ways.
Not only did UM’s D’Eriq King rush for 83 yards on 12 carries in his UM debut, but he averaged nine yards per rush after contact and broke five tackles. “All I’ve heard, I mean, it’s true; he’s electric,” UAB coach Bill Clark said. … With next Saturday's Virginia-Virginia Tech game canceled due to COVID, ABC shifted UM at Louisville from 3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., opposite the Heat game at 8:30 on ESPN — a Heat/UM conflict both networks had hoped to avoid.