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Preston Williams: ‘We believe in Fitz’

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DAVIE  — Preston Williams’ expression immediately brightened Monday at the mention of veteran quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick’s hell-bent dash to the end zone the previous day in Buffalo.

Fitzpatrick capped his 11-yard touchdown run by lowering his right shoulder and plowing into the final defender to cross the goal line.

“We believe in Fitz. We love Fitz,” said Williams, the rookie wide receiver. “He’s a hard-nosed quarterback.”

Six games into the season, the Dolphins still don’t have a win. But it is clear the young team has found a leader to rally behind in Fitzpatrick.

Fitz energizes young teammates

The easy-going 36-year-old quarterback came off the bench the previous week against Washington to direct two touchdown drives in a comeback that fell just short in a 17-16 near miss.

Sunday, Fitzpatrick started for the first time since Week 2 and had the Dolphins leading 14-9 in the second half before throwing an interception that provided the Bills impetus for a 31-21 victory.

More from Maven: Walton, Gesicki show promise in entertaining loss

Fitzpatrick’s touchdown gallop cut the margin to three points with 1:45 remaining before the Bills returned an onsides kick attempt for the clinching touchdown.

But Williams said the difference has been profound over the past five quarters since Fitzpatrick replaced second-year quarterback Josh Rosen.

“Energy, great leadership,” Williams said of Fitzpatrick. “Being a 14-, 15-year vet, just keeping everybody positive. Knowing that we’re a young team, Fitz is one of the only veterans here. We’re just taking his wisdom and knowledge and spreading [it] over all of us. We need that.”

Williams leads receivers

Williams, undrafted out Colorado State, has quickly become a go-to-receiver for both quarterbacks. He leads the team with 23 catches for 314 yards, a 13.7-yard average, and one touchdown.

But his fumble after a catch in the fourth quarter figured prominently in the Bills’ comeback Sunday.

Williams is a big target at 6 feet 5, and his talent has been apparent since offseason practices and training camp.

He acknowledged it has been a learning process. Early on there were some dropped passes.

“The game is slowing down to me. It was very fast the first couple games. My mindset was just trying to not mess up. Just trying to be more consistent,” Williams said.

While the fumble was a step back, Williams has become more assertive in his routes and reactions in recent weeks.

“I’m not known for dropping balls,” he said. “The game was kind of fast. Just trying to get chemistry with both quarterbacks at the time. You can see it’s getting better.”

Fitz may end victory drought

Following Sunday’s game Fitzpatrick said he believes he is the perfect man to lead this rebuilding team.

Despite the objective of the Dolphins front office to achieve the No. 1 draft pick in 2020, the past five quarters showed Fitzpatrick has the moxie to lead this unheralded bunch to a win or two.

“I want to bring an energy. I want what I’m doing out there to be infectious to other guys,” Fitzpatrick said. “We have a lot of young guys that haven’t really played much at this level, and we have some guys that are a year or two into it. But I want to be that ‘stable guy’ that they can look to when things get a little shaky, and I’ve been in this situation a lot before.”

Williams’ smile was evidence that he and his young teammates are eager to follow their bearded leader.

Craig Davis has covered South Florida sports and teams, including the Dolphins, for four decades. Follow him on Twitter @CraigDavisRuns

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Christian Wilkins remorseful about emotional outburst

Christian Wilkins

Dolphins rookie Christian Wilkins remorseful over emotional outburst

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Football is an emotional game. When your team is 0-5 and desperately trying to hang onto any semblance of hope, that emotion can be amplified. That was the case with rookie defensive tackle Christian Wilkins, who found himself ejected from the game almost the moment it started.

Some would argue that the punch Wilkins threw wasn’t enough to warrant an ejection, but the referees felt differently. Wilkins sat out the rest of the game, watching as the Dolphins came close to pulling off their first victory of the season. Unfortunately for the players, they fell apart in the second half – a recurring pattern – and ultimately lost by a score of 21 to 31.

“I was just really extremely selfish.” Wilkins said after the game. “This is the ultimate team sport. It’s not just about me and I don’t think I’ve ever been more disappointed in myself about something, especially something that was in my control. It really, really shouldn’t have happened, there’s no place for it in this game and that is not the standard I hold myself to. Because I love this game I try to respect this game as much as possible and play it as competitively as possible. This game is meant to be competitive, not combative at all. I really let myself down and my teammates down in just a selfish moment so early in the game.”

Anyone who knows Christian Wilkins describes him as a humble, fun-loving guy who is passionate about football. Throwing a punch seems so out of character for him. Even Wilkins himself couldn’t believe he’d done it.

“It just happened so quickly, it was only the second play of the game.” Wilkins said. “I just tried to come into the game with some energy on edge and just fired up. It’s an emotional game. So again like I said it all happened so fast but there’s no place for it in this game and just no place for it for me because I don’t want that reputation on myself. That’s not something I’m proud of, that’s not something I intended on doing coming into this game or anything like that.”

Wilkins, 23, has not been the playmaker everyone expects him to be in his rookie year. Through six games, Wilkins has only 18 tackles and a pass deflection. Those aren’t the numbers of a first round draft pick. However, his role at Clemson was to open the way for other players to make players. That, also, isn’t happening. It’s hard to stay positive when losing seems to be the agenda. The level of talent is so low on the roster, there isn’t much anyone can do.

However, this one isolated incident should not be a cause for concern. Christian Wilkins isn’t the type of guy to regularly pick fights. It’s unlikely he’ll become the next Ndamukong Suh, with a reputation for dirty plays. Wilkins is clearly contrite over his mistake, and intends to not make it again.

“You know, it’s just a learning experience, too, you live and you learn.” He said. “That’s just a message to myself. A learning experience for my teammates and also a learning experience for people watching at home, kids watching at home. There’s no place for it, you have to play the game the right way.”

It’s clear that the tank is taking its toll on the players. Their desire to win does not coincide with the front office’s roster moves. No doubt, they will keep trying to compete and avoid the dreaded 0-16 season. If they can hang on until 2020, their suffering, hopefully, will be rewarded.

Luis Sung has covered the Miami Dolphins for numerous outlets such as Dolphins Wire for six years. Follow him on Twitter: @LuisDSung

Do you believe in FitzMagic?

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FitzMagic Believes he’s the ‘Perfect Man’ to Help Lead Young Dolphins Through Rebuild

When Ryan Fitzpatrick joined the Dolphins earlier this year, he was just thankful for an opportunity to start.  And although it hasn’t been all sunshine and roses, the 36-year old QB continues to show the world why he was given the nickname #FitzMagic.

Last week, Fitzpatrick was brought in late in the third quarter to try and spark Miami’s offense-and that’s exactly what he did.  His impressive performance earned him the starting QB spot for Miami’s Week 7 match-up vs Buffalo.  And the man known as #FitzMagic, didn’t disappoint.

Fitzpatrick looked sharp on Sunday, completing 21/31 for 282 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception.  It wasn’t a perfect game but the offense looked light years ahead of what we’ve become accustomed to throughout the first five games of the season.

That’s what he said

Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to get the win.  But Brian Flores liked what he saw from Fitzpatrick so much, that he named him the team’s starting QB for Monday Night’s game vs the Pittsburgh Steelers.

“I thought he played well. I thought he moved the ball well offensively. I thought he made some good throws. I thought he got out of some trouble. They got a good pass rush, he got out of trouble a couple times and made some plays for us. We got to continue to build and get better, and finish a game. We gotta finish the game.”

When asked if Fitzpatrick did enough to warrant the start Monday at Pittsburgh, Flores kept things short and sweet.

“I mean, yeah, he played well. So, yes, he did.”

The Dolphins will take on the 2-4 Pittsburgh Steelers in Northwest Pennsylvania next Monday Night.  And if there was ever a game the Dolphins should be invested in winning, it’s this one.  After all, the Steelers traded their first-round pick to the Dolphins in exchange for DB Minkah Fitzpatrick.  The more games Pittsburgh loses, the better the draft pick.

So is it possible for the win-less Dolphins to overcome all odds and defeat the superior Steelers’ on prime time? Ryan Fitzpatrick was asked what he could do to help turn an 0-6 team around, much like he did a previous 0-8 team.

“Well, and I said this at the beginning, I think I’m the perfect man for the job, because I’ve been through it, I have zero ego, and all I want to do is go out there and win. I want to bring an energy. I want what I’m doing out there to be infectious to other guys. We have a lot of young guys that haven’t really played much at this level, and we have some guys that are a year or two into it. But I want to be that ‘stable guy’ that they can look to when things get a little shaky, and I’ve been in this situation a lot before. It’s something that I embrace. I’ve had a different career than a lot of different quarterbacks, but this has been a career that I’ve loved and a position that I like being in.”

In #FitzMagic We Trust

Josh Houtz (@houtz) is a die-hard fan of the Miami Dolphins, and believes in #FitzMagi

Miami Heat suspend Dion Waiters before zero tolerance season

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“I let the culture slip.”

With those words — spoken after last season by Miami Heat president Pat Riley — you knew the next season would be different. Riley felt burned after he gave much-criticized lucrative long-term contracts to non-stars in 2016 and 2017 and then those players returned the reward by slacking on their conditioning.

And before it even begins, this season is different.

First, Riley banished James Johnson from training camp not for failing the conditioning test — he passed — but for failing to meet Riley’s special weight requirement.

Now, Dion Waiters, who had weight issues last season but got himself in better shape this offseason, has been told he isn’t “in Heat shape” by Erik Spoelstra (we posted that video), and has been steered toward a bench role as Duncan Robinson and Tyler Herro have gotten preseason starts.

And he’s been openly unhappy about it.

So now he’s been suspended for one game.

Notice the language.

“Number of unacceptable incidents.”

Remember Waiters telling Ira Winderman that he wasn’t cool with coming off the bench, even after he flourished in that role against Charlotte in the third preseason game?

Remember this from Spoelstra about what he wants from Waiters, which Waiters then somewhat contradicted right after?

Here was Waiters:

There was some speculation that Waiters was away from the team for three days this week after Charlotte game because of a disciplinary action, though my sources did confirm an actual personal issue unrelated to his unhappiness.

Even so, it doesn’t seem to be stopping.

Here are some tweets that tell the story:

 

Instagram always remembers, and this doesn’t appear that it is going away anytime soon. Unless Waiters ends up elsewhere:

We know how this goes.

Just ask Hassan Whiteside. In Portland.

Herro and the Miami Heat Heels

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Tyler Herro’s meteoric rise has captivated the Heat fans and the national media. His elite shotmaking ability, a valuable skillset put on display throughout summer league and NBA preseason has the rest of the league taking notice.

However, on October 17th vs the Orlando Magic it was his toughness and his WWE heel-like trash talk that went viral on social media platforms.

 

 

It’s a toughness his teammates love and embrace.

Jimmy Butler once again expressed how much he “loves that kid” and Justise Winslow was the first teammate to console Herro, who didn’t need much consoling, after the scuffle. Winslow did it with huge grin on his face, akin to an older brother watching his little brother win his first fight. And Winslow he wasn’t the only one. There was a a noticeable slight grins on the faces of nearly all of Herro’s teammates and coaches.

This shouldn’t be a shock to anyone who’s familiar with the Miami Heat culture. They like tough and serious players. It’s why after drafting the silly Michael Beasley in 2008 they’ve drafted players who are nothing like Beasley such as Winslow, Josh Richardson, Bam Adebayo and now Herro and KZ Okpala.

Butler is known for his tough love, and verbally challenging his teammates. The difference with Herro and why they’ve bonded so much in a short time is because Herro “talks back.”

Herro’s trash talking is nothing new, this is the same Tyler Herro who was walking into high school gyms getting booed by opposing fans, silencing them with his play on the court, all the while smirking at opponents. Often, they tried to rattle him first, but he didn’t back down.

And it’s not just Herro. Butler in an interview with Heat broadcaster Eric Reid said “Justise Winslow doesn’t back down from anyone.” If you recall, Winslow who’s usually stoic was the opposite of that in the playoff series against the Philadelphia 76ers. A technical foul for stepping on Joel Embiid’s mask, getting into scuffles, and screaming expletives at Ben Simmons thought the series.

There probably hasn’t been a team with this number of players who exhibit the Miami Heat DNA since the fights between the Heat and New York Knicks in the late 1990s. Udonis Halem has never been bashful, Dion Waiters can talk up a storm, Olynyk has been in skirmishes, and James Johnson almost used everything he learned from his MMA background on Serge Ibaka last year before cooler heads prevailed.

The “Big Three” of LeBron James, Chris Bosh, and Dwyane Wade were hated but they wanted to be loved. The heel role didn’t suit them or their personalities. To the contrary, this heat team is tailor maid to be villains. Jimmy Butler said he wants this Heat team to be “hated”, with their physicality and their bluntness trash-talking, they’re well on their way.

NBA GMs love Spoelstra, like Miami Heat a little

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The NBA’s general managers have spoken.

The annual polling of teams’ primary decision-makers was released today on NBA.com and, as usual, there are some surprises. What comes across most is how balanced the league is this season, compared to recent seasons.

We’ll get to thoughts on other teams and players in a minute but, first, how do they see the Heat.

Well, first, no one sees them winning the title this season. Neither, naturally, do we. We do — or at least I do — see them contending for the third spot in the conference behind Milwaukee and Philadelphia. No GM does, however. The Heat received no third place votes, while 18 percent of the GMs have them finishing fourth. The consensus? Seventh, also behind Boston, Brooklyn, Toronto and Indiana.

So what about players?

The Heat did not get votes for MVP, player to start a franchise with, or player who forces the most adjustments. Nor did the Heat get consideration for any particular position, in terms of being the best in the league (small forward, where Jimmy Butler, is kind of loaded).

Bam Adebayo did receive votes in the “breakout season” category (Sacramento’s DeAaron Fox was first). And while Tyler Herro did not register in the Rookie of the Year thinking (tough season to do that), he did receive 7% of the vote for “biggest steal” at his draft position, which was 13th. And Derrick Jones Jr. got 7% of the vote for most athletic player.

Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Anthony Davis switched teams this offseason, so all beat out Butler in the biggest offseason acquisition category. Butler did receive a vote for best perimeter defender (Leonard and George outpaced the field). The Heat were not among the eight teams receiving votes for “most improved team.”

But this is where it gets interesting.

Remember when ESPN blowhard Dan Dakich said Erik Spoelstra was just another coach? While sitting in the same booth as our buddy Jorge Sedano?

Well….

Jorge has final say on this:

Should the Dolphins Trade RB Kenyan Drake?

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Heading into the 2019 season, it seemed as though Dolphins’ RB Kenyan Drake was in-line for a bigger workload in Chad O’Shea’s offense.

Unfortunately, that did not happen.

And despite playing second-fiddle to Kalen Ballage throughout much of the offseason, he still remained the most explosive player on Miami’s offense. Truth is, he was not only the team’s best RB between the tackles, he had the most value as a pass-catcher and in a NE-style offense, this was just as important.

However, once Chris Grier began to purge the roster, Drake’s name immediately became involved in trade talks.

Prior to Miami’s 43-0 loss to New England, Fox Sport’s Jay Glazer reporter Drake asked for a trade, which angered the 25-year old RB.

Reports from Drake and ‘sources’ around the team suggest he never asked for a trade, and wasn’t overly concerned with what the future entailed. But all of that has changed in recent weeks. And with the emergence of Mark Walton as the heir apparent and current RB1, trade rumors have once again started to circulate.

What can Miami expect in to get in a trade?

Which begs the question, what would it take for the Dolphins to part ways with the RB most known for his improbable run that will forever be remembered as the ‘Miami Miracle’?

Ideally, a player of his skill set and youth would fetch a third-round pick. Unfortunately, the Dolphins are unlikely to see a team part with a day two pick. After all, if reports are true, Miami already tried to lock Drake up long-term. And if he is indeed on the trade block, the price tag may be too rich for any team long-term.

So what is fair compensation?.

Personally, I think if a team offers the Dolphins a fourth-round pick, Chris Grier would be ecstatic. This should also appeal to the handful of teams that need a RB. A RB that has the skills as both a runner and pass-catcher.

In the end, no one knows if Drake will be traded before the October 29th deadline. But what we do know is his future in Miami is bleak. And for a front office looking for every and any, opportunity to land draft capital, it would be in both sides interest to strike a deal.

Time will tell, but for now it appears Kenyan Drake’s days in Miami are numbered.

Josh Houtz (@houtz) is a die-hard fan of the Miami Dolphins, and will miss Kenyan Drake if traded.

Josh Rosen out, Ryan Fitzpatrick in for Dolphins

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Brian Flores clearly wants to win, even if the Miami Dolphins organization does not.

And in that context, he’s gone back to Ryan Fitzpatrick as the starter at quarterback, as the Dolphins travel to Buffalo.

That means Josh Rosen, after three starts and an overall 52.0 passer rating for the entire season, is back on the bench. And it means there will be much debate about whether it was worth trading a second-round pick to Arizona for him, and whether he has any future with this franchise.

Rosen was repeatedly hurried and hit in Sunday’s loss to Washington, but his performance also paled in comparison to that of Fitzpatrick, who rallied the Dolphins to within 17-16 before a two-point conversion failed.

And Rosen hasn’t been that good when given time either, as our Chris Kouffman of Three Yards Per Carry noted:

And Joe Schad of the Palm Beach Post has a sentiment that is similar to ours.

Rosen may have been put in a terrible spot. Awful offensive line. So-so skill players. A coaching staff that, at times, has seemed clueless or worse.

But he hasn’t shown much either. Some escapability and improvisation. Some toughness. But not much special in terms of arm strength or anticipation. And it’s clear that Flores hasn’t been satisfied with his command of the offense.

We thought that, at worst, Rosen would compete with the next quarterback — likely drafted this April — to be the starter at the start of next season. Now that appears unlikely.

Fitzpatrick? Well, he is what he is.

Buffalo is one of his former teams, and Fitzpatrick knows that stadium and the conditions well. The Bills are good, really good, but it shouldn’t stun anyone if there’s some FitzMagic on Sunday. Flores clearly wants that. Do you? Does Steve Ross?

HEAT shuffle prospects with eyes on Sioux Falls Skyforce

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Today the Heat began the process of finalizing the prospects it intends to funnel to their G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce.

Within hours of each other, the Heat announced that they have waived guards Jeremiah Martin and Mychal Mulder and signed guards Skyler Flatten and Bubu Palo.

Martin’s tenure in Miami started in July, while Mulder was signed a month ago. Neither prospect flashed enough to warrant consideration for two-way contracts.

Bubu Palo is a longstanding member of the Skyforce, playing the last five seasons in Sious Falls.

Flatten had a productive career at South Dakota State, starting every game of his senior season last year.

The shuffling of prospects throughout preseason to get looks at different players is not foreign operating procedure for the Heat in recent seasons.

The organization is widely regarded as one of the teams who has utilized the G League in many of the most forward thinking, innovative ways since 2006.

 

 

The Dolphins' free agent signings fit into coach Brian Flores' scheme. (Tony Capobianco for Five Reasons Sports)

Dolphins’ HC Brian Flores is safe, for now

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Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald is reporting the Dolphins HC Brian Flores is safe through 2020.

It is no secret that the 2019 Miami Dolphins are in the middle of one of the worst teams in the history of the NFL. And after the roster was stripped of an elite left-tackle and a disgruntled defensive back, it was obvious that there wasn’t much success on the horizon. Truth is, whether you believe in #Tankovailoa or you want to see Miami win a game or two, there’s not going to be many wins in 2019. The same might be true in 2020, but it’s all part of the process.

Nevertheless, there’s still a crowd of people that believe Brian Flores is at fault. And no matter how depleted the cards are he’s been dealt some think he’s the one to blame and should be re-evaluated at season’s end.

That’s not going to happen.

According to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, the Dolphins have no intentions of moving on from head coach Brian Flores at the end of the 2019 season. In fact, his source goes on to say that he will not lose his job ‘under any circumstances’

 

This is good news for a franchise that in recent years, has cast aside one head coach after another, like a piece of recycled paper.  Flores and the Dolphins never really stood a chance in 2019 and given the current circumstances, can’t do much to right the ship this season.
But if it takes one historically bad year to land the franchise quarterback they have long hoped for since Dan Marino’s retirement, than so be it.  It won’t be in 2019, but things are going to finally look up for the Dolphins.  And head coach Brian Flores will be a part of that.