MIAMI GARDENS, Fla.: Jalen Ramsey and Xavien Howard have been speaking concerning the affect they may have on the sector collectively since earlier than the Miami Dolphins even acquired Ramsey this previous offseason.
Now that the duo has shared the sector for 4 video games, the Dolphins are yielding constructive returns of two veteran cornerbacks who have been good alone however are proving to be higher collectively.
Entering Monday evening’s matchup in opposition to the Tennessee Titans, the Dolphins have the ninth-best go protection within the NFL — up from No. 25 by way of the primary 4 weeks of the season.
The connection between Ramsey and Howard is a giant motive for that.
“He’s a great teammate,” Ramsey mentioned of Howard. “Obviously he’s been elite in this league for just as long as I have. It’s great to team up with him. He teaches me new techniques that I hadn’t tried yet or maybe that I’ve put in the back of my toolbox for a little bit and he brings them back up. That’s been good. We just challenge each other.”
Miami acquired Ramsey in a March commerce with the Los Angeles Rams, and his affect was fast, even after a torn meniscus sidelined him for the primary seven video games of the season. The All-Pro cornerback may very well be seen roaming the sector throughout practices, hyping up his teammates on the sidelines throughout video games, and being a vocal chief throughout group conferences.
“When I tell you, never in my career have I seen someone with a months-not-weeks injury, be as involved in a team,” mentioned Miami coach Mike McDaniel. “Mind you, he had two practices under his belt with this team. To have two practices and have the wherewithal to understand your impact on people and how your injury — I mean our team was in the tank until he talked to the team. He explained, ‘hey, I’m going to do this.’ And then he did it each and every day.”
Ramsey has performed in 5 video games since coming back from a July surgical procedure to restore a torn meniscus in his left knee. He has three interceptions and 10 solo tackles. He’s solely been focused 22 instances and has allowed solely eight receptions.
In Week 11 in opposition to the Raiders, Ramsey intercepted quarterback Aidan O’Connell twice, certainly one of which sealed the win for Miami.
“A lot of interceptions are tips, an overthrow, a really bad throw by the quarterback or something along those lines,” mentioned Dolphins defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. “These were just two really, really great plays.”
Howard, an eight-year veteran and Miami’s longest-tenured participant, is coming off a down 2022 season marred by accidents, however has returned to type in 2023. He has 32 solo tackles and an interception, and has allowed 36 receptions on 53 targets. In the 4 video games that he and Ramsey have performed collectively, Howard has solely allowed 10 receptions.
Howard admitted in the course of the offseason that he would want to regulate to a brand new protection below Fangio that might require him to play extra off protection as a substitute of press-man protection that he’d performed for many of his profession.
“I’ve got to get used to that,” Howard mentioned in August. “It’s totally different because I’ve got to have that confidence like I’m playing man when we’re playing off also. It’s different.”
Both Howard and Ramsey’s consolation inside Fangio’s protection has coincided with the elevated play of the protection as a complete.
Through the primary 4 weeks of the season, the Dolphins protection was ranked twenty sixth total, permitting 374.5 factors per sport. In Weeks 5-12, Miami had the No. 1 protection, permitting 263 yards per sport and 4.4 yards per play.
The Dolphins have held their opponents to below 300 yards in 5 straight video games, together with simply 245 given up in a win over Washington final week. Commanders quarterback Sam Howell entered that matchup because the NFL’s chief in passing yards (3,339), however was held to a career-low 127 yards passing and 5.5 yards per go try.
Both Howard and Ramsey performed 95% of defensive snaps in that sport.
In certainly one of their many conversations with one another, Ramsey recalled telling Howard that this group has the items and potential to be higher than the Los Angeles Rams group that Ramsey helped win the Super Bowl within the 2021 season.
“Just look at it on paper and who we had on the roster in L.A. then,” Ramsey mentioned, “and you put this Miami team on paper and look at our roster, and there’s a lot of similarities. So we have the capability of being that.”
Ramsey additionally pressured the significance of not leaping forward, however specializing in one group at a time, beginning with the Tennessee Titans.
“We cannot think about that all the time,” he mentioned. “We have to go game by game, week by week, day by day really, because if you get caught up in all that, you’re going to get lost and there’s no need for that. You have to keep growing every day.”
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(This story has not been edited by News18 employees and is printed from a syndicated information company feed – Associated Press)
