‘A good day’ at practice
Trade sends message about expectations
DAVIE — Miami Dolphins wide receiver Jarvis Landry said he was “in shock” after hearing the team traded Pro Bowl running back Jay Ajayi to Philadelphia on Tuesday. Running back Kenyan Drake said he was “surprised.”
But center Mike Pouncey said he thinks the message from coach Adam Gase to the players through the trade, to do as they’re coached, was received loud and clear.
“I think so,” Pouncey said Wednesday. “The way guys came out and practiced today, the attention to detail was awesome. If we want to win football games, that’s the way we’ve got to practice the rest of the year.”
With Ajayi gone, Drake, the 2016 third-round pick from Alabama, will share ball-carrying duties with third-down specialist Damien Williams, who was undrafted out of Oklahoma in 2014.
Senorise Perry, mainly a special teams player who was undrafted out of Louisville in 2014, could also figure into the mix, but it’s mainly up to Drake and Williams.
“With those two guys,” Gase said of Drake and Williams, “I like the fact that they’re able to catch the ball, they’re able to run good routes, they’re able to run the ball both inside and outside, they’re physical. It’s just something that we like their skill sets.”
But all three are unproven, just as Ajayi was last year before he rushed for 1,272 yards, eight touchdowns and earned a Pro Bowl berth. And removing Ajayi from what Gase called the “worst offense in football” essentially removes the most productive player, which could make things worse for the offense.
Drake, who has 10 carries for 25 yards this season for a paltry 2.5 yards per carry, said he isn’t worried about his current statistics.
“You just go in there and you give your best when you’re out there,” he said. “With the opportunities I had, I tried to make the most of them. Now obviously I’ll probably get more opportunities in one game than I’ve had the whole season, so I’ve got to make the most of it.”
Gase, who said he wasn’t trying to send a message by trading Ajayi, said he’s confident in the trio of Drake, Williams and Perry.
And although it seems Drake will get the bulk of the carries, followed by Williams, Gase said that remains to be seen.
“We’re going to go through practice this week and see what fits,” he said. “I like the three guys that we’ve got, their skill sets, and we’re going to be able to maximize what they do well.”
Gase didn’t directly answer when asked whether he thought his team is better now than it was before the Ajayi trade.
“I like where we’re at right now,” he said.
Players were shaken by the deal on a couple of levels.
“My emotions about it are not only was he a teammate, but he was a friend,” Landry said. “You hate to see him go and you hate to say it is part of the business.
“But unfortunately it is, and we’ve got to find a way to worry about the Miami Dolphins now.”
Gase, who was candid in his criticism of Ajayi days before the trade, said his relationship with Ajayi had its “ups and downs.” But he stayed fairly general when talking about what forced the Ajayi trade.
“I think it was just time for us to move on,” he said. “We’ve had conversations about kind of what we were going to do down the road. [We] felt like this was a good opportunity.”
Whether or not the Ajayi trade served as a wakeup call, players said Wednesday’s practice was crisp.
“Based on practice today,” defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh said, “I would say guys are focused on Oakland and looking forward to getting a win, especially being back home.”
Said quarterback Jay Cutler: “We had good walkthroughs. The coaches brought a lot of energy. Players brought some energy. It was a good day.”