South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Wanting to fight rather than fold
Dolphins have grown more competitive during a tough season
The young Miami Dolphins continue to learn valuable lessons during their rebuilding season.
Here’s the latest one they used to pull off their third win of the season last week: keep fighting.
The Dolphins (3-9) were able to overcome deficits of 10-0 in the first quarter and 28-14 early in the second half to pull out a 37-31 win over the Philadelphia Eagles.
While Brian Flores praised his players for being fighters, for not backing down from any opponents and buying into his coaching, he hopes they are able to get off to a quicker start overall to avoid playing from behind, especially in Sunday’s game against the New York Jets (4-8).
“I think this is a team that feels we can battle back and get ourselves back in games when we’re down,” Flores said. “I’d like for us to not play that way and try to play
a little bit better early in games. … But I think we have a lot of guys that have belief in each other.
“We all know there’s no quit. We’re going to keep competing. If you do that, things turn in games. And you need that belief in order to get back in games and start games as well.”
Dolphins offensive coordinator Chad O’Shea credited veteran quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and center Daniel Kilgore for being able to corral their younger teammates on offense when the going gets rough and they need to put together several scoring drives to get back into games.
Fitzpatrick said Miami’s comeback last week was sparked by a failed comeback effort against the Cleveland Browns just a week earlier. The Dolphins fell behind 28-0, had a 17-0 run, but ultimately fell
41-24.
The Dolphins were in a similar position against the Buffalo Bills two weeks ago, when they trimmed a pair of 16-point deficits to nine and 10 points before losing 37-20.
Those losses followed Miami’s first two wins of the season.
But the Dolphins’ collective persistence led to their third victory and could lead to more in the final four games this season.
“We’ve talked about weeks back just learning how to win,” Fitzpatrick said. “There are so many different ways to win in this league.
“I think the Cleveland game really set up what happened in the Eagles game in that there was a belief out there and sometimes, even through losses, there’s plenty of stuff that you can gain from it and grow from it. And I think that was a good example of that.”
In a season in which the Dolphins deconstructed their roster, leaving many to believe they were tanking games in an attempt to maximize their chances at earning the top pick in the
2020 NFL draft, the players have created a belief among themselves and their capabilities.
The turn in Miami’s season
Brian Flores is proud of the way the Dolphins have remained competitive this season.
began in Week 6 against the Washington Redskins, when Fitzpatrick led a fourth-quarter comeback that ultimately fell short. Against the Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers in the following weeks, Miami held leads at halftime but were unable to finish the job.
The Dolphins were able to pull out their first two wins over the Jets at home and Indianapolis Colts on the road before their latest victory.
Kilgore, a nine-year veteran, says he takes pride in helping his younger teammates keep a clear perspective despite outside noise surround the team.
“It’s a long season and these guys are still growing,” Kilgore said. “It’s not going to be perfect, but [it’s about] approaching it every day and going to work and trying to get better. Don’t ever get too high or too low on yourself.”
Flores praised his young core of defensive players such as linebackers Jerome Baker and Raekwon McMillan, defensive tackle Davon Godchaux and defensive backs Eric Rowe
and Jomal Wiltz for fueling the defense when it needs to stop the bleeding after early deficits have been created.
McMillan says the defense has developed and grown together significantly since the performances at the beginning of the season, when the Dolphins suffered a 59-10 loss to Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens in the opener, and a 49-0 loss to Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in Week 2.
When trailing during games, McMillan says the defensive players need to dig within themselves and decide how they want games to end.
The result is far different from the attitude surrounding the team earlier this season.
“If we go out there and get down on ourselves, it could turn into one of the games that we had at the beginning of the season,” McMillan said. “So we have to really rally ourselves and make the decision right now like what type of team we’re going to be: Are we going to finish
or we’re going to lay down and let this team roll over us?
“It’s cool to see because we have a bunch of young guys out there and not a bunch of vets. When it’s a bunch of vets out there, you really don’t have to say much. But now we have a bunch of young guys, you have to reiterate it all the time like, ‘We’re good. Lock in. We can get it done.’ ”
Lammons cut
The Dolphins waived cornerback Chris Lammons on Saturday to make room on their roster for cornerback Linden Stephens, who was signed off Seattle’s practice squad.
Lammons, a former Plantation High standout, joined Miami’s practice squad last year and was on the 2019 active roster all season, where he played in 12 games and had 12 tackles (seven solo), one interception and three passes defensed. Lammons originally entered the NFL as an undrafted college free agent with Atlanta in 2018.