Mike Oliva of DolphinsTalk.com recaps the Wednesday Morning Headlines, community news, and more for your Miami Dolphins.
Morning Headlines
Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores was asked about this week's opponent, the New Orleans Saints, and shared his thoughts on them. Flores said, "That's a tough, physical team across the board – offense, defense, special teams. They've got a lot of great players. Obviously they're well-coached, really across the board. Sean Payton, (Pete) Carmichael, Dennis Allen, 'Riz' (Darren Rizzi). I think they do a great job….Like I said, we'll have our hands full."
Miami Dolphins defensive tackle Christian Wilkins caught a 1-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter Sunday vs. the Jets. He became the first defender in the NFL to score on offense since LB Elandon Roberts had a 38-yard touchdown reception as a member of the Patriots on Dec. 29, 2019.
Co-Offensive Coordinator Eric Studesville was asked about trusting defensive tackle Christian Wilkins to play fullback and the trust the team has in putting a defensive player on offense and to throw him the ball in a big spot. Studesville said, "We are going to call the plays that we think are going to give us the best chance. It wasn't trying to call one necessarily for Christian. We thought that was the best play at the time that we had on our call sheet for that situation being down on the goal line. We had scored previously – Duke (Johnson) had scored earlier in the game on a goal-line package play and that was our next play up that we had listed and so we went with that. We had great confidence in all the execution – the line selling it, the tight end route, the fullback route with Christian and then the back in protection and then obviously Tua (Tagovailoa) making the throw."
Last Sunday's win vs. the Jets was Miami's first victory after trailing at halftime since Dec. 26, 2020, at Las Vegas when the Dolphins also trailed by seven at the break.
Dolphins tight end Mike Gesicki had five receptions for 43 yards on Sunday. His five receptions moved him into third place in team history among tight ends, passing Anthony Fasano.
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Quote of the Day
How would you describe how well [CB Byron Jones] is playing?
Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer: "He had some production for us last week. I thought he had a very solid game. I think he does a lot of good things. There are a lot of things that he does on the field that even when the ball doesn't go his way, a lot of people don't see. He's one of those guys that works on his craft on a daily basis. He's very good at film study. He seems to be playing some of his best ball, and we're going to need that this week with the Saints coming up. This is a big game for us and I'm sure Byron will come in here, work hard and continue to do some of the things that he's been doing. We've been getting a lot of production out of Byron, for sure."
Miami Dolphins in the Community
In the past, Miami Dolphins linebacker Jerome Baker has visited Milking R Dairy to support farmers and students across the state of Florida. Retweet the post below and add #WPMOYChallenge Baker to vote for Jerome Baker in the Walter Payton Man of the Year Challenge.
Trivia
On Christmas Day 1971, the Miami Dolphins played in the longest game ever played (82 minutes and 40 seconds). Who was their opponent in that game? (scroll to the bottom for the answer)
On this Day
Behind two touchdown passes from Dan Marino the Dolphins went to 12-4 on the season. Marino connected with tight end Bruce Hardy for two touchdowns in the first half to put Miami up 14-0. In the second half, the Dolphins scored two rushing touchdowns, one by Tony Nathan and one for Ron Davenport to give the Dolphins 28 points on the day. The Dolphins defense intercepted Buffalo quarterback Bruce Mathison three times in the win.
Answer to Trivia Question: Kansas City Chiefs
