Injuries

Waddle in a pressure sleeve
Wilson in a pressure sleeve
Long carted off the field
Fuller not on the field

Thus the depth at positions we thought were set.

Injuries never good but they will happen - every year

Waddle has been in a pressure sleeve but has been practicing every day, including today. Seems like it is just precautionary to help ease the pressure on the ankle. He has looked dominant by all accounts.

Wilson also seems like a non-issue...Flores said they are just managing his reps. They gave him a rest day today.

We'll see what happens with Long after he gets an MRI. Hoping for the best, but this one sounds like it could be bad.

Then there's Jaelan Phillips and Van Ginkel. I think Miami has poor training and the injuries are a byproduct.

I thought the whole reason for reducing the number of preseason games was to keep players from getting injured in them. Turns out the players can do just as good a job of getting injured in camp instead. Bleh.

Phillips is coming along and AVG will be fine. No need to panic.

JMP wrote:Phillips is coming along and AVG will be fine. No need to panic.

I'm the Potentate Of Pessimism, I INVENTED panic, dammit!

DolFan 316 wrote:

JMP wrote:Phillips is coming along and AVG will be fine. No need to panic.

I'm the Potentate Of Pessimism, I INVENTED panic, dammit!

Ha!!!! That's why we love you!!!

My whole deal is: there's enough things to worry about without having to invent more. The Long injury does appear serious, but aside from that I'd say we've gotten off pretty easy so far when it comes to injuries.

Nah, it's time to panic. And here's why. (Takes deep breath.)

1. Iggy's already such a bust that he might not even be on the opening day roster, and because of that caused Grier and Flores to actually cave to Howard when they had ALL the leverage, thus setting a precedent for every player to demand a contract redoing every year.

2. Kindley's now a 3rd stringer and may be cut. Eichenberg's already looking like yet another Grier bust. Dieter has been a bust for 2 years already, and now he's starting at center because Skura's apparently just that bad and Grier couldn't be bothered to go after Linsley or David Andrews. Even re-signing Karras seems like a better move now. After all the O-line remodeling and investing all the draft capital over the past 2 years, it actually looks...worse than ever!

3. Yes, Tua looks good. But now it seems that's only the case because sans Howard the secondary's been brutally bad, and once he faces teams with actual competent secondaries he'll likely go right back to being mediocre. Oh, and he's till injury prone.

4. That TE Grier just *had* to have for no reason is now likely done for the season. Oops. And meanwhile Gesicki's still not gotten a new deal done.

5. BTW that injury-prone WR corps has proven to be...an injury-prone WR corps.

Literally every single thing we've seen so far points to a backslide this season one way or another, and since they missed the playoffs last season...

Sorry, 316 - you are 0 for 5:

1. Iggy played great yesterday.

2. Kindley is a starter. Dieter and Skura both looked very good yesterday. Eich has played very well throughout camp - just had one bad practice against the Bears on a day when he was playing through a shoulder injury.

3. The secondary was excellent yesterday without Howard and Jones.

4. Hunter Long is not out for the season, and he was drafted for very specific reasons. By all accounts he was having a great camp and figures to be a big part of the offense.

5. None of the WRs (except Williams) are dealing with serious injuries.

They drafted Long in the hopes we have a TE that can block and catch. Gesicki is a great receiver but as they say, if he's in the lineup it's a pass.

JMP wrote:Sorry, 316 - you are 0 for 5:

1. Iggy played great yesterday.

2. Kindley is a starter.  Dieter and Skura both looked very good yesterday.  Eich has played very well throughout camp - just had one bad practice against the Bears on a day when he was playing through a shoulder injury.

3. The secondary was excellent yesterday without Howard and Jones.

4. Hunter Long is not out for the season, and he was drafted for very specific reasons.  By all accounts he was having a great camp and figures to be a big part of the offense.

5. None of the WRs (except Williams) are dealing with serious injuries.

Point 1 is subjective at best, and it still looks like Grier allowed Flores to strongarm him into spending a first round pick on the roster's 4th best CB at best. Yes, 4th. Needham is better and I shouldn't have to tell you who the other two better ones are. Javaris Davis might even be better as well.

Point 2 is relative. Being a starter by default on a bad unit is nothing to brag about, and in fact is the reason why this team's been stuck in NFL purgatory now for 20 years. Also, Kindley was running 3rd team just days before. Who knows who the opening day O-line starters will be? Flores doesn't even seem to know at this point. Eichenberg was drafted to play tackle, why is he at guard? It's not as if Jesse Davis and Austin Jackson are badass beasts.

Point 3 you're correct about. In the first half, at least.

Point 4: That's nice that Long's not out for the season. Did he play yesterday? When will we see him actually on the field in a non-practice situation? And regardless of why Long was drafted, Grier would be an absolute idiot to not re-sign Gesicki.

Point 5: Just you wait. Also, nagging injuries that leave their status in constant day to day limbo might as well be more serious since the end result is the same (missing multiple games). I'll be shocked if any of Fuller, Parker or Wilson manage to play in more than 12 games this season. And that's me being optimistic.

DolFan 316 wrote:Point 1 is subjective at best, and it still looks like Grier allowed Flores to strongarm him into spending a first round pick on the roster's 4th best CB at best. Yes, 4th. Needham is better and I shouldn't have to tell you who the other two better ones are. Javaris Davis might even be better as well.

Nothing subjective about it - the two plays I highlighted were objectively great. The pass breakup was textbook - Iggy ran downfield 25+ yards stride for stride with the receiver, and timed his head-turn perfectly to knock the ball away. It doesn't get any better than that. And there are probably less than a handful of cornerbacks in the NFL that can make the open-field tackle he made to prevent a first down. Those plays highlight why he was a first round pick, and why the Dolphins have faith in him. Now, he has to start doing these things consistently - we'll see if he can do that, but the talent is clearly there.

And the "strongarm" comment is just plain silly. There is absolutely no evidence whatsoever to suggest that anyone on this staff "strongarms" anyone else...in fact, if anything the evidence shows that they work together like a well-oiled machine. Sure, Iggy may have been and probably was a player Flores targeted...but he didn't have to "strongarm" Grier. That's now how this staff works, at all.

DolFan 316 wrote:
Point 2 is relative. Being a starter by default on a bad unit is nothing to brag about, and in fact is the reason why this team's been stuck in NFL purgatory now for 20 years. Also, Kindley was running 3rd team just days before. Who knows who the opening day O-line starters will be? Flores doesn't even seem to know at this point. Eichenberg was drafted to play tackle, why is he at guard? It's not as if Jesse Davis and Austin Jackson are badass beasts.

It's not relative. You called Kindley a third stringer. He's not - he's a starter.

If you don't know who the opening days starters will be on the OL, you're simply not paying attention.

DolFan 316 wrote:Point 4: That's nice that Long's not out for the season. Did he play yesterday? When will we see him actually on the field in a non-practice situation? And regardless of why Long was drafted, Grier would be an absolute idiot to not re-sign Gesicki.

Not sure what you're arguing. Long is injured right now, so he hasn't played in a few days. Doesn't change the fact that they drafted him to play a big role on the offense, as part of a 2-TE set with Gesicki. If the Phins want to keep Gesicki, he will likely be re-signed or franchised, and that was going to be the case regardless of whether or not they drafted Long.

DolFan 316 wrote:Point 5: Just you wait. Also, nagging injuries that leave their status in constant day to day limbo might as well be more serious since the end result is the same (missing multiple games). I'll be shocked if any of Fuller, Parker or Wilson manage to play in more than 12 games this season. And that's me being optimistic.

No thanks...I'm not going to wait around for things that may or may not happen. I'll just take things as they are and not worry about hypotheticals.

Some good news on injuries:

Jae Phillips back at practice and should be good to go for the joint practices with the Falcons this week.

Vince Biegel is day to day, Flores hopes to have him back soon.

CarsonChris wrote:https://www.si.com/nfl/dolphins/news/miami-dolphins-injury-issues-at-wide-receiver-keep-getting-worse

I don't think Hurns was going to make the final 53 anyway, but it is interesting because the Phins now have a good depth option: they can keep Hurns on the roster at the start of the season and then put him on IR then - which would allow them to bring him back in November if he's healthy. That would be a nice "ace up the sleeve" if we do have WR injuries at that point in the season...we can then plug in a veteran that knows the offense. Not sure if that's what the plan is, but I think it's a great idea.

Who else is working themselves into shape just in case this team needs one of us to play WR?

DolFan 316 wrote:Who else is working themselves into shape just in case this team needs one of us to play WR?

Not a bad idea!

JMP wrote:I don't think Hurns was going to make the final 53 anyway, but it is interesting because the Phins now have a good depth option: they can keep Hurns on the roster at the start of the season and then put him on IR then - which would allow them to bring him back in November if he's healthy.  That would be a nice "ace up the sleeve" if we do have WR injuries at that point in the season...we can then plug in a veteran that knows the offense.  Not sure if that's what the plan is, but I think it's a great idea.

The team thought it was such a great idea they went ahead and did exactly that today.

https://phinphanatic.com/2021/08/17/miami-dolphins-make-trade-moves-first-cuts-year/

DolFan 316 wrote:

JMP wrote:I don't think Hurns was going to make the final 53 anyway, but it is interesting because the Phins now have a good depth option: they can keep Hurns on the roster at the start of the season and then put him on IR then - which would allow them to bring him back in November if he's healthy.  That would be a nice "ace up the sleeve" if we do have WR injuries at that point in the season...we can then plug in a veteran that knows the offense.  Not sure if that's what the plan is, but I think it's a great idea.

The team thought it was such a great idea they went ahead and did exactly that today.

https://phinphanatic.com/2021/08/17/miami-dolphins-make-trade-moves-first-cuts-year/

They keep changing the IR rules...is Hurns eligible to come back during the season? Sounds like it from that article, but I'm not sure.

Will Fueller, Devontae Parker both out still. This is when Tua is supposed to get timing down with his receivers and they aren't on the field.

CarsonChris wrote:Will Fueller, Devontae Parker both out still. This is when Tua is supposed to get timing down with his receivers and they aren't on the field.

Flores and Tua both talked about it today. Sounds like they are not serious injuries, and both players have been in all the meetings and doing everything else. Both are veterans and it shouldn't be an issue. There's still plenty of time for Tua and Fuller to get timing down.

I heard Waddle got injured in bathe game today. Any news on severity?

CarsonChris wrote:I heard Waddle got injured in bathe game today. Any news on severity?

Appeared to be kicked in the leg on the play but was back in on the next drive so apparently not serious.

By the time the opener happens Flores will have to run the Wishbone because there won't be any WRs left! Not even joking.