Chop injured! Dolphins battered by the Lions
The Miami Dolphins continued their training camp preparations with a joint practice against the Detroit Lions on Wednesday and it didn’t go well. While there were some encouraging moments and plenty of ugly ones, the session was overshadowed by what appeared to be a significant injury to linebacker Chop Robinson.
Thankfully, Chop tweeted he was okay, so at least from that side we are getting good news.
The same can’t be said about the Dolphins performance vs the Lions. Let’s hope it improves this Saturday in their preseason game!.
Phins struggled hard against the Lions
The Dolphins looked sharp in moments with the offensive line showed flashes of dominance, particularly on the left side with Patrick Paul and Jonah Savaiinaea creating solid running lanes. Rookie running back Ollie Gordon II also made his presence felt, powering through defenders on short-yardage reps and demonstrating the kind of physicality the Dolphins have lacked in previous seasons. There were rhythm throws with Tua as well, but you can bet with the best pay per head that with no Tyreek Hill and a limited Waddle they didn’t have pop.
Overall though, the offense underperformed and backup quarterback, Zach Wilson, had another terrible outing with two interceptions. It wasn’t pretty with the Lions beat reporters unanimously reporting it wasn’t a contest. Even Travis Wingfield who is a half-full type of reporter gave less than a glowing report, so it adds weight to the enemy reporters statements.
On defense, it didn’t go well either, although the Phins seemed to limit the ground game. But beyond the tough hits by rookie Dante Trader Jr. and the run stuffing of rookie Jordan Phillips, there wasn’t much positive reporting on the defense.
The most ugly news was how Lions QB Jared Goff and WR Amon Ra St. Brown had a perfect day and tore up the Dolphins secondary. This isn’t great news because early in this offseason Dolphins brass laughed at fans concerns about the secondary, much like they laughed at fans concern of the offensive line last season. So, we could be in big trouble.
Chop suffering a long term injury would have been devastating!
Now to be fair to both sides of the ball Tyreek Hill, Jaelen Philips were out, and Jaylen Waddle was a part time participant. Then there was the injury to Chop Robinson that knocked him out of practice early.
Robinson, the Dolphins’ young linebacker, is reported to have exited after taking a heavy hit during a scramble for a loose football. While the full extent of Robinson’s injury has not been disclosed, Robinson tweeted it wasn’t anything serious. Robinson is emerging force in Miami’s edge group, showcasing versatility in both run support and pass coverage throughout camp. The Dolphins coaching staff confirmed he was receiving evaluation but remained optimistic about his recovery timeline.
The joint practice provided a mixed bag for the Dolphins with more bits of coal than candy. There have now been a string of bad performances this offseason against other teams. Miami needs to correct this fast!
We get to see how the Phins compete vs. the Lions for ourselves on Saturday. Let’s hope it’s not a stinker.