From PFT: Word earlier this week was that Dolphins running back Myles Gaskin would miss three games with a sprained MCL. Dolphins head coach Brian Flores confirmed that Gaskin will miss at least that much time on Thursday. Flores told reporters at his press conference that Gaskin will be placed on injured reserve. Miami may also be without running back Matt Breida against the Cardinals this Sunday. He did not practice on Wednesday because of a hamstring injury. The Dolphins picked up running back DeAndre Washington in a trade with the Chiefs on Tuesday, but he won’t be able to play this week due to the time needed to go through COVID-19 protocols. Jordan Howard, Patrick Laird, and Salvon Ahmed are the team’s other running backs.
Ahmed was a pretty good Backup and replacement for Gaskin at UW so nows his shot. He's not as physical a runner as Gaskin but he's a little more explosive I think. Gaskin was always a good blocker too, not sure who's going to be better at that part of the game but I suspect Laird will get most of that work.
I like these "next man up" scenarios because someone that's usually buried in the depth chart gets an extended look in game situations. Jordan Howard has to be hungry to prove doubters wrong so hopefully he has a good day Sunday. I know nothing about Ahmed so I'm excited to see him as well. Laird has been injured recently (ankle) so who knows if he's 100%.
I honestly dont even want to see Howard take another snap. I never thought it could be painful to watch a guy run. I honestly want to meet him in person so I can tell him, and I'm not the type of guy to harass an athlete off the job about their play lol. I think my best (in terms of humor) analogy was his feet are like watching someone run on a treadmill, in the middle of quicksand, while stuck in a black hole.
Howard is just Daniel Thomas all over again. No thanks. I know they aren't technically part of the RB squad, but I wonder if we don't try Bowden or Perry.
I wonder if he just didn't get into shape for whatever reason at the beginning of the year. He was a really good runningback when healthy in Chicago.
this means we get to see Tua throw more.. wont be easy the cardinals has some nice players on their secondary... but wont be impossible either..
I want to draft Najee Harris and Waddle with our first round picks. Give Tua his familiar weapons and theyre both studs anyways. Najee potentially will solve our running back issues for the next 5-7 years.
I'll take Najee but I'm staying away from Waddle. I dont care for small receivers unless they are exclusively out of the slot which IMO isnt good value at a high pick.
Bowden is on the Focus list now. They ran one wildcat play with the Navy kid last week and it went for a solid loss of 8. If you think Tua is small the kid from Navy looks like a child out there.
Now Bowden won't be available. Hopefully no other players get it. https://www.nfl.com/news/falcons-dolphins-enter-intensive-covid-19-protocol-following-positive-tests
We'll be fine. The O-line needs to put on its big boy pants and give the next man up a fair chance. I think it'll happen.
I'd feel a lot better about this game if we had a decent run game that Tua could lean on, I don't think he is ready to carry the offense with the passing game. The defense will need to win this game for us.
I knew someone would go there, but it's really worth considering- would we be underdogs in this game with Fitz starting at QB? I think we'd win it convincingly. Last week the defense and special teams stepped up huge to beat a team that's much better than Arizona, so I wouldn't be shocked to see the same outcome this week as Murry runs for his life. But it's also likely that we'll need some offensive production and it's Tua who will need to have a big game. Establishing the run will be critically important but I'm not sure that it actually happens. I have a feeling that we'll find a way to win again, but I can't predict were our points will come from. Big test for Tua this week!
Against Murray we need to make sure the pressure when it occurs is coming from multiple angles on the same play. If we are only getting pressure off one edge at a time hes going to use his legs to extend plays in a way a QB like Goff or Minshew couldnt. Though I think if we get the same pressure this week as last we will be fine against just about any QB.