Embattled Players Overcoming

I know there's plenty to talk about on a day when your team goes 2-0 on the road, winning in a place where no visiting team has won since 2008, right off just having won in a place where your team hasn't won more than 1 in the last 7 tries.

But the overwhelming theme of the day, and really for both weeks together, for me has been the contribution of embattled players.

We're talking about players that have at various times been deemed "garbage". Guys that have been labeled fodder, throwaways, roster filler, special teams players, or just guys that have very recently come under fire. Look at how these guys have contributed in these victories.

Koa Misi. Omar Kelly's favorite guy to pick on in training camp. Omar wouldn't even say his name at one point. Coaches kept telling him, this guy is good. His motor and intensity are really good, he's physical, he gets off the ball. Omar kept saying, I don't see it. He's not doing anything. He's getting stoned, etc. So I wonder how Omar feels knowing that the player that was probably in his doghouse more than any other this camp and preseason, the guy he always pointed out the negative on, is starting, playing significantly, getting a sack last week (he should have been credited a half-sack today but you're not allowed to split a sack between more than two defenders). Knowing Omar, he probably feels happy because I really do think he likes when the team succeeds. Nonetheless, this guy has gone from doghouse, has gone from everyone taking every detail, nuance, rumor and innuendo and spinning it negatively into him losing his job, him being disappointing, etc...and he's showing us that he's a special player. I shared his PFF pressure stats after Week 1. He had more to add to that today, I guarantee it. NFL Gamebooks recorded 2 QB Hits. Like I said he should have shared in that three-way sack between he, Wake and Starks. And this guy was a "disappointment" according to a LOT of people this preseason.

Paul Soliai. How embattled was this guy before camp? Everyone talking about how he played "poorly" last year (which wasn't really true). Media people pointing out what a slight it is to him that the Dolphins moved Randy Starks to his spot. I'm sure more than a few people wanted him cut, especially after the token "weight controversy" where he was a little tiny bit over his weight target like 4 weeks before weigh-in or whenever. Oh, this guy sucks, he doesn't work hard, he's garbage, etc. Omar Kelly decides somewhere around the start of camp or maybe before it, that Paul Soliai is not a Nose Tackle. That's been his thing for months now. Paul Soliai is not a Nose Tackle. Even when he's showing promise in training camp and dominating in preseason, he's showing progress, but he's not a Nose Tackle. Well, if he's not a Nose Tackle, then Miami doesn't need a Nose Tackle. He started today and by my eyes looked pretty darn good.

Bobby Carpenter. How much has this guy been chided and laughed at to the point where you'd think he was OUR draft bust? How many people actively call him Barbie? Well, 'Barbie' stood up Adrian Peterson on one of those Goal-to-Go plays, preventing The Finisher from getting into the end zone for the go ahead score. And by my eyes he's been doing his job pretty well for having JUST got here, even against the run.

Jason Allen. I don't even know if I have to furnish an explanation here. Two weeks in a row offensive coordinators have gone into the week saying we're going to throw on this guy. This is our weak link. Even Trent Edwards, who doesn't naturally want to throw much to the outsides, tested him more than anyone else in the secondary. Allen had a mixed performance for sure. He allowed some catches, he fell down on a play where the ball was overthrown, he should have had a pick but he dropped it. At the time he dropped it, you think, well that's why Jason Allen is Jason Allen (in the bad way). He just doesn't make plays like that. Hindsight is 20/20, cuz now we're thinking, him jumping in front of that ball was an indicator of things to come, and he'll catch a lot more of those than he drops. Who'd have thought THAT? Last year when I looked into every snap Jason Allen played, I created a video on him because I thought hey, this kid isn't doing as awful as he did previously. He still falls down too much, and you never REALLY know if he's going to start defending himself when he gets picked on until it happens in a game. When I sent Omar Kelly the video, his response was basically why did you do a video of Jason Allen, he's garbage, he's finished. Early in camp, Jason Allen is getting dragged all over the field, they say. The coaches keep telling us Allen is doing well, never a word from Omar or any of the reporters saying they see what the coaches are talking about. He's a special teams guy. He might be cut, etc.

Sean Smith. Was any player more in the doghouse after Week 1 than him? Seriously. He didn't even play a snap in the game but you'd think he'd gone in there and let up Darius Butler type yardage. People are ready to trade this guy, cut him, move him to another position, everything. Ironically a guy that has three more years of NFL experience and has been playing defense five more years than Smith, is the guy whose turnaround is putting him on the bench. Anyway coach promised to get him into the game today, and so he did. He played slot CB which defies all logic for him as a player. He covered Percy Harvin on one play out of the slot, on 3rd down, and got him down 2 yards shy of the 1st down. He played against Visanthe Shiancoe a lot of other times, the ball was thrown I believe two more times on him, he allowed one other 9 yard catch on 3rd & 7 but on the 4th down play Brett Favre wanted Visanthe Shiancoe and Smith had him painted. So this is a guy that contributed to this win...after having people dog him for weeks.

Quentin Moses. Nicknamed by Omar Kelly as the "Teflon Don", implying that he keeps making the roster inexplicably and undeservedly, this guy has made some nice plays the last two weeks. This week the Dolphins made what I feel is a mistake giving him some hefty coverage responsibility deep down the field and especially against Visanthe Shiancoe. You can't do that. But later in the game when the Dolphins allowed him to work the line of scrimmage more either in run defense or in pass rush, you saw him making some more plays and getting some good rush. Those are the things he showed against the Bucs in preseason. Those are the things he showed against the Cowboys in preseason. Those are the things he showed against the Bills in Buffalo. And he's showing them again in Minnesota. This is, again, a guy I created a video for because when I really went back and re-visited every snap of his in 2009, I saw a guy that was a bit awkward in coverage, but who otherwise was around the ball a lot, used his hands, opened his eyes, flashed some pass rush especially against backs and tight ends, and was able to set the edge in run defense. When I circulated the video, a lot of people just disagreed, and a lot of people have continued asking the question why is this guy on the roster. When you don't have him out in coverage, I think he threw up some solid contribution these last two weeks.


These are not Pro Bowl players. They are not THE reasons we won these games. These are guys that were "garbage"...and yet there they are, contributing to solid victories on the road in the Dolphins' first 2-0 start since 2002. For "losers", they're not doing things that lose us games. In fact, they're doing some things that win us games.

So who are your hated, underrated guys? Who else do you think was a guy that was just dumped on continually, but is showing well?

 

Two other guys who belong on the list:

1. Brian Hartline - He belongs because after his preseason and first week, people were suddenly ready to forget the work he did as a rookie and the promise he showed, and he was getting called out from every angle...even by his coach. He helped win the game.

2. Richie Incognito - He wasn't exactly a guy that people hated on so much as when he was a free agent, nobody wanted him. He'd been let go by two teams within a 12 month period. This is a true "one man's trash is another man's treasure" story because of that, because he'd cycled through two teams in 2009 and was available well into free agency with no significant bidders, teams hated his attitude and his penchant for drawing flags. But he's a starter for Miami and he's played well, and against the Vikings, he played very well.