Miami Dolphins coach Joe Philbin said Monday that he watched the game film from Sunday’s 23-20 loss at Jacksonville, and he concluded that Pro Bowl defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh didn’t freelance and stray from the defensive gameplan. I didn’t see anything of the sort. “So I’m not sure where that came from”.
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The Miami Herald has learned that Suh freelanced at times Sunday, creating confusion on the defense. To say he’s going to have “X” amount of tackles or “X” amount of sacks every game, you have to watch the tape.
But Philbin said stats aren’t everything and a lot of it has been how teams are attacking the Dolphins and running away from Suh. That’s going to inhibit a guys ability to make plays. The 1-1 Dolphins shouldn’t be at that juncture yet, but their Week 2 loss came at the hands of the Jaguars, which is basically like losing four games in one. “Obviously we’ve got high expectations about not just the pass rush but the overall play of our group”, Coyle said.
Miami’s defensive line of Suh, fellow tackle Earl Mitchell and ends Cam Wake and Olivier Vernon hasn’t been almost as active through two regular-season games as it was in training camp or preseason.
While it’s natural for teams to avoid great players, the suggestion Suh isn’t following orders is not, and will take time and better results to make it a non-story. “I certainly would’ve expected more through two games”. But he again stressed that it’s a long season. “Eight!”
Miami’s defense gave up six plays of 21 or more yards to Jacksonville, including a 52-yard reception and a 46-yard touchdown reception.
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He said he promised owner Stephen Ross when he was hired that he’d have a well-disciplined team. However, Suh has not been overly impactful thus far. The media will not return to Davie until Wednesday.
