Maybe Vic Fangio isn’t as stubborn as he’s portrayed to be.The Miami Dolphins’ grizzled defensive coordinator, who probably has forgotten more football than most of the general public knows, is seemingly softening his stance on having cornerbacks shadow upper-echelon receivers, which has been a point of contention within the team for weeks.
The last time the Dolphins faced the Buffalo Bills, Fangio wasn’t willing to let Xavien Howard shadow Stefon Diggs, even though a request was made before and during the game, and the Bills attacked Kader Kohou effectively.
Diggs caught six passes for 120 yards and scored three touchdowns in that 48-20 loss to the Bills, and Fangio acknowledged his game plan was flawed the following week.
Kohou addressed his performance in that game this week.
“I didn’t have a good game. That’s really it,” Kohou said about a game where it seemed as if Buffalo was targeting the second-year cornerback who Miami was using on the outside in that outing instead of having him play his usual nickel spot.
Dolphins planning to play without Howard
When Xavien Howard was sidelined by a hip injury in Miami’s 30-0 victory against the New York Jets in Week 15, the Dolphins allowed Jalen Ramsey to shadow Jets leading receiver Garrett Wilson, and that contributed to Miami’s dominance of the Jets offense.
Wilson was held to three receptions for 29 yards, and Ramsey only allowed one of those completions before Miami loosened the clamps.
“They handled it well that day,” Fangio said of the Jets game when asked about it Thursday. “And I think if we want to do it again, I think they’ll handle it well again.”
With Howard sidelined by a right foot injury he suffered in last week’s 56-19 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, it seems Fangio is warming up to the idea of not letting the Bills target Kohou with their best weapon and assigning Ramsey to Diggs.
“I’ve done it a couple years in my career a lot every week, I guess,” Fangio said about having a cornerback travel with a receiver, moving where he moves, aligning where he lines up. “But when you have two corners that you think are pretty good, then you’re less likely to do it.”
Diggs has dominated Dolphins
Even though Diggs has accounted for 1,096 yards and scored eight touchdowns on his 100 receptions in the previous 16 games, he’s cooled off plenty since Ken Dorsey was fired as the Bills’ offensive coordinator, catching five or more passes in just three games in the last eight contests.
But in the eight games Diggs has played against the Dolphins in the regular season he’s averaged 5.75 receptions, which he’s turned into 632 yards (or 79 per game), and has scored seven touchdowns.
Kohou has a 131.1 opponent passer rating when targeted this season, per Pro Football Reference. He’s allowed eight touchdowns, and 82.7 percent of passes thrown in his area are completed.
None of those stats are ideal, which is why it seems as if Fangio is committed to having Kohou remain Miami’s nickel cornerback.
That also could have something to do with the improved play of Eli Apple, who enters Sunday’s game with a 91.0 opponent passer rating.
Apple, an eight-year veteran, has allowed one touchdown this season, and opposing quarterbacks are completing 63.2 percent of passes thrown into his area.
“I think Eli recently has played better than he did earlier in the season. And, you know, he’s a veteran. He knows his limitations. He who’s he’s covering,” Fangio said. “He knows his strength and weaknesses and whatever we’re playing and does a good job.”
No matter the route Fangio and Miami’s secondary take, the Dolphins are weary of what Bills quarterback Josh Allen and Buffalo’s offense is capable of, and will be on high alert of Buffalo trying to exploit mismatches.
“We need guys to step up,” Kohou said. “We have to have a next guy up mentality.”
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