PERSONNEL NEWS

Strategy And Personnel

The Sports Xchange

November 01, 2018 at 1:38 am.

PLAYER NOTES

–DT Sylvester Williams was signed by the Dolphins. Williams, who turns 30 on Nov. 21, is from Missouri and played his college ball at the University of North Carolina, where he was a first-team All-American. The Denver Broncos drafted him in the first round in 2013, No. 28 overall, and he helped his original NFL team win a Super Bowl. He started 15 games that season and had 2.5 sacks on a squad that led the NFL in defense. On March 10, 2017, he signed a three-year contract with the Tennessee Titans, but that didn’t work out too well. He was released one year later and was cut by the Detroit Lions after playing six games this season.

–DE Evander “Ziggy” Hood was signed by the Dolphins. He was drafted in the first round – No. 32 overall – by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2009 and has since played in 133 games, including 73 starts. The Dolphins are his fifth NFL team, following the Steelers, Jacksonville Jaguars, Chicago Bears and the Washington Redskins. Hood, who is of Mexican ancestry on his mother’s side, was named after former boxing champion Evander Holyfield and got his nickname from a cartoon. He played his first five years in the league with the Steelers, totaling 11.5 sacks. In the five years since, he has just 2.5 sacks.

–LB Mike Hull, 27, was activated from injured reserve. Undrafted out of Penn State, Hull joined the Dolphins in 2015 and has played 35 games, including four starts. He had his only career interception in 2016, and he had a career-high 19 tackles last season, when he made three starts. If he plays on Sunday, it will mark his 2018 debut.

–DT Vincent Taylor, 24, was placed on the injured list this week, yet another blow to Miami’s defense. A sixth-round pick out of Oklahoma State, Taylor played 13 games as a rookie last year, with marginal impact. He had one pass deflected, one QB hit and one tackle for loss. In eight games this season, the muchi-improved Taylor had two sacks, three tackles for losses and two QB hits.

PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: WR DeVante Parker, in his fourth and likely final year with Miami, has been a major disappointment relative to his status as a first-round pick out of Louisville in 2015. He caught just one touchdown pass last season, and this year had been a total nightmare until last Thursday against the Texans, when he caught six passes, out of nine targets, for 134 yards. One of those receptions was a rather lucky, 46-yard grab of a deflected pass, but Parker will take it after all the issues he’s had, which include numerous injuries and an agent who called Dolphins head coach Adam Gase “incompetent” recently. Injuries to Dolphins receivers Albert Wilson and Kenny Stills opened the door for Parker after he had been a healthy scratch. Now it’s up to Parker to show he can be consistently effective. Even with his big game last week, Parker has just eight catches for 174 yards and no touchdowns this year.

GAME PLAN: This should be the game where Miami’s losing streak ends. New York’s two running backs were stuffed by the Chicago Bears last week as Isaiah Crowell averaged just 1.9 yards per rush (13-for-25) and Trent Canton averaged 1.7 (6-for-10). If the Dolphins can shut down New York’s meager running game, they can go after rookie quarterback Sam Darnold. On the other side, while working against the Jets defense, Miami should have enough weapons: running backs Frank Gore and Kenyan Drake; tight end Mike Gesicki and receivers Danny Amendola, Jakeem Grant and DeVante Parker.
MATCHUPS TO WATCH

–Dolphins DRE Cam Wake vs. Jets LT Kelvin Beachum. Wake is off to a very slow start with just nine tackles and one sack in six games. He’s a five-time Pro Bowl player and a gifted pass rusher, but he turns 37 in January. Perhaps this is the end of the line for Wake, who has battled injuries and seems a long way removed from the player who had 10.5 sacks just last year. Beachum is an average left tackle at best. Perhaps Beachum is the player who wakes up Wake … or the one who shows how badly the Dolphins’ star’s skills have eroded.

–Dolphins QB Brock Osweiler vs. Jets FS Jamal Adams. In his three Dolphins starts, Osweiler has produced 380 yards with three touchdown passes; 239 yards and two TD throws; and 240 yards with no scores through the air. He has also taken six sacks and thrown three interceptions during that span. On Sunday, he will face Adams, the leader of New York’s defense and its biggest playmaker. Adams, the sixth overall pick in the 2017 draft, leads New York with 56 tackles and in forced fumbles with two. He ranks second in tackles for losses with six and in passes defensed (also six). He also has one interception with a 38-yard return, two QB hits and one sack. That’s a lot of impact all over the field in just half a season, and Osweiler will have to be aware of Adams pre-snap on every play.

ALL  |  NFL  |  College Football  |  MLB  |  NBA