Just after being named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week for Week 13
Charles Harris Jersey , Dolphins cornerback Xavien Howard has been ruled out of the team’s Week 14 game. The NFL’s interceptions leader will not be on the field as the Dolphins try to stop Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.The Dolphins really just cannot have nice things.“We just haven’t gotten him out there moving around,” head coach Adam Gase said of Howard and what is wrong with his knee. “I’m not going to 鈥?especially against these guys. He’s got to feel good with all of his movement skills – lateral – his ability to protect himself. You’ve got guys trying to cut him and things like that and you can’t do that. We’ll give it another run next week and see where we’re at and we’ll go from there.”Defensive coordinator Matt Burke said of playing without Howard this weekend, speaking on Thursday before Howard was officially ruled out. “Obviously, he’s a great player,” Burke stated. “He’s been outstanding for us this year. Any time you have the possibility of not playing with one of your better, if not best, players, it’s 鈥?But that’s this league. We’ve had a lot of injuries. We’ve dealt with those things and it doesn’t do me any good to worry about my feelings about it. If he’s available to play, he’ll play and if he’s not, he’s not. Whoever is out on the field has to get some stops. I try not to spend too much time examining my feelings. I could probably do a lot of woe-is-me from the whole season. It doesn’t really matter. We’ll play with the guys that are ready to play. If ‘X’ is one of them, that’ll be great. Hopefully he’ll continue his great season. If not, we’ll figure it out with the rest of them.”The Dolphins also ruled out center Jake Brendel, who re-injured his calf, an injury that had him start the season on injured reserve before being one of Miami’s two designated to return players for the season. Brendel is the third center Miami has used this year, with Daniel Kilgore starting the season before landing on injured reserve. Travis Swanson then took over the starting role
Jason Sanders Jersey , with Brendel at left guard in place of Josh Sitton and Ted Larsen, both of whom had been injured playing that position. Larsen is now back at left guard and the Dolphins are hopeful Swanson will be back to replace Brendel at center.Listing him as questionable for the game, Gase said of Swanson’s ability for the weekend, “I mean he had a good week. I hope he can go because we’re low on numbers.”Miami’s fourth player on the injury report is wide receiver Danny Amendola, who has a knee issue, but seems determined to play against his former club. Offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains said of Amendola on Thursday, “The guy, he’s so competitive. He’s so tough. It’s all about team for him. Whatever he can do to help the team, he’s going to do. He’s very unselfish that way. If he can’t go, then he can’t go and he’ll be the first one to tell you; but he’s going to fight and claw and scratch to get out there, because it is about the team. He works his tail off and that competitive spirit we talked about five or six weeks ago just shows up with him all the time.”Gase, on Friday, seemed optimistic that Amendola will be available for the offense on Sunday, saying, “Yeah
Kalen Ballage Jersey , I think he did everything he could this week. We got him moving around and running a lot of different routes. It gives us a chance.”The Patriots side of the injury report was surprisingly short given New England’s tendency to list every player possible on the report this late in the season. They only listed tight end Dwayne Allen (knee) and cornerback Stephon Gilmore (ankle) on the report, both categorized as questionable.The Patriots and Dolphins will kickoff at 1pm ET on Sunday from Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium. Miami (6-6) will be looking to avenge a Week 4 blow-out loss to the Patriots and keep themselves in the running for the Playoffs. The Patriots (9-3) can win the AFC East division title for the tenth straight season with a win and keep the pressure on the Kansas City Chiefs for the top spot in the AFC playoffs, including homefield advantage throughout the post season tournament. There’s a fat chance that Matt Patricia is going to be a better head coach than Brian Flores, but let me put the blind conjecture aside to measure one specific thing: who had more fellow New England Patriots assistant coaches join them the next season in their new head coaching venture?Assistants Leaving with Matt Patricia~ No. 2 pencilActual human beings? Zero.Please feel free to fact check me (Lions 2018 staff — here; Patriots 2017 staff — here), but I looked at every position on the coaching staffs, from head coach to strength and conditioning.Assistants Leaving with Brian Flores~ Chad O’Shea and (reportedly) Jerry SchuplinskiNow, what does this all mean? One could argue nepotism became Adam Gase’s achilles heel, how is this scenario different? There’s a system of checks and balances on Brian Flores’ staff as it relates to nepotism and proven commodities, or at least the intention appears to be there depending on whether individuals accept the job or not. Bring my WR coach and assistant QB coach to be the new offensive coordinator and QB coach? OK, let’s bring in Jim Caldwell, too. Patrick Graham (previous coaching experience with Flores) gets paired with Dom Capers.Again, to be transparent, nothing official has happened with Schuplinski, Graham, Caldwell
Durham Smythe Jersey , or Capers — but there’s enough smoke to know there’s at least some embers developing, whether or not it turns robust enough to melt our marshmallows. The thought process is clear: a complementary coaching staff.It’s tough to get multiple assistants from the New England Patriots, period. Brian Flores has been able to pry at least one, likely two. It’s a coup in itself. According to NFL rules, teams can block interviews with assistant coaches under contract, as long as the requested interview is not for a head coaching position. Let’s just say New England breaks knows the rules as well as anyone.You may rightfully be unimpressed with the comparison to Matt Patricia, but we can gather that maybe, just maybe, Flores is trying to learn from his predecessors’ mistakes. If Flores is to be the first Patriots assistant coach to leave the nest and find success, it’ll start right here and right now with the formulation of his coaching staff.You don’t have to let your jadedness or cynicism go anywhere, but when you compare the last two key defensive coaching cogs to leave Foxborough for head coaching positions and the Patriots colleagues they’d take with them, know that the score is Flores one (probably two), Patricia glazed donut. AUTHOR UPDATE: Flores now has 3 confirmed Patriots assistants joining him — proof