Read the entire article here: https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/nfl/miami-dolphins/article218790625.html#navlink=Lead On Sunday, X marks the spot. And that spot’s name is Amari Cooper. But the outcome of Xavien Howard versus Cooper on the outside might be the biggest. Howard, the Dolphins’ ascending cornerback, was asked to cover a side, not a man, in the Dolphins’ first two games of the season. But nobody on Tennessee or New York’s roster is the caliber of Cooper, a two-time Pro Bowler. “I’m following him this game,” Howard said. “I’m ready for it. .... I play against a lot of good receivers in the league. So it is what it is. I’m going to follow the best. Do my job.” That kind of assignment only comes with great trust. And the Dolphins coaching staff has it in Howard, who has four tackles and an interception in the young season. “I think his physical skill set really has never been a question,” said Dolphins defensive coordinator Matt Burke. “He’s tall, long, he can run and all of that sort of stuff. ... His growth comes from the knowledge of the game and start to understand how teams are attacking him or just seeing the nuances of splits and leverages and route concepts and matching things. The more that he plays for us and the more he sees.” “The more he plays, I think he just keeps growing, and the confidence of understanding what an offense is doing to attack him and recognizing splits and stems and route concepts and studying those sorts of things,” Burke added. Miami entered Week 3 tied for the NFL lead with five interceptions, and its defensive backs are responsible for four of them. The Dolphins lead the NFL in opposing passer rating (56.6) and have allowed just one touchdown through the air — second fewest in the league. So you could forgive Dolphins players if they were feeling good about themselves in the locker room this week. They even discussed possible nicknames for the secondary; the No-Fly Zone was dismissed for being “too cliche.” When asked if the Dolphins have the best secondary in football, Howard replied: “Most definitely I do. We’ve got players. We’ve got ball hawks on the back end. We’re playing at a top level, I would say.” Now, that would change if Reshad Jones does not play due to a shoulder injury, but it seems more likely than not that he will. The combination of Jones, Howard, Bobby McCain, T.J. McDonald and Minkah Fitzpatrick was not the Dolphins’ first choice this summer, but after trial and error, it turned out to be their best.
Nice to see the media finally realizing what finfans have known for quite some time. Shows you how clueless the media is. Glad Howard is finally getting recognition
Why would you tell your opponent your coverage and personell assignments. Sure they may have some idea but to give them any knowledge is silly
Piston dropped these numbers.. X man has been targeted five times.. “total numbers, both man and zone. so it's five targets. Two INTs, one throw away, one defensive holding, one incompletion.” Guy hasn’t given up a catch yet.. Is that right?
