Dolphins make Tuesday roster moves; Philbin addresses assorted issues

Tuesday afternoon update:

The Dolphins have cut "7-11", receiver Chris Hogan, from their practice squad Tuesday to make room for former Florida A&M receiver Brian Tyms, whom the team believes has more physical gifts. Miami added no one to its active roster on Tuesday but cut linebacker Sammy Brown, who was picked up off waivers from the Rams a week ago.

Tyms spent part of training camp with the 49ers and recently auditioned for the Dolphins. He has an intriguing combination of size (6-3), speed (4.4 in thr 40) and leaping ability (38.5 inch vertical jump). Tymes did not play high school football and had 38 catches as a senior at Florida A&M.

Defensive lineman Chas Alecxih, released in the final round of Dolphins cuts, also joined Miami's practice squad on Tuesday.

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Highlights from Joe Philbin’s Monday news conference reflecting on Sunday’s 30-10 loss to Houston:

### On the state of his team: “This is the first time we had been in the locker-room to play a real NFL game. We’re looking for a reference point trying to find out exactly where we are. We’ve got a group of guys this game is important to. They’re professional. They care. I think we have a lot of work to do. I didn’t coach the game well enough nor did they play well enough to earn a victory. We’ve got to make dramatic improvement between week one and two. I expect us to play better this week. We’ve got show some resolve. We’ve got to start establishing how we’re going to play a football game on our home turf."

Philbin said the good news was “I thought we played physical. The effort was excellent.”

### On Ryan Tannehill’s five tipped balls, Philbin said on “one or two, [he] needs better eye control. Couple of the others we need to a better job – especially in the three step game – you’ve got to take guys on firm on the line of scrimmage. We’ve got to do a better job in protection. Sometimes he has to hold his foot a little bit and find the right throwing lane. At times, the receiver has to protect the quarterback. There is culpability across the board. You have to give J.J. Watt some credit. He obviously has a knack [for batting balls].

### On Tannehill’s play otherwise: “There were some good throws in the second half and first half. When he came off to the side, it wasn’t like he was so flustered. It wasn’t like we saw a ton of bad decisions. His [accuracy] was OK. Maybe five throws could have been a little better. I think he will be more accurate this week. On one or two occasions, [he] could have gone the other way with it.”

On one fourth and goal from the eight late in the game,  Tannehill “might have been a little fast in that situation throwing the ball in the flat to Anthony Fasano. With the distance what it was, probably should have put the ball in the end zone.”

### Any concerns about Tannehill losing confidence? “Not right now. I spoke to him on the plane. We chatted a while.”

### On the fact no receiver other than Davone Bess caught a pass until the fourth quarter: “That’s a good stat. I did not know that. There were a couple opportunities we had we didn’t cash in on. We would like to get better distribution. We had 11 to running backs, nine to the receivers. You would like to have more chunk plays. We had a 32-yard screen to Daniel Thomas, a 41-yard play to Jorvorskie Lane. You would like to get the ball down the field a little bit and completed passes to your wideouts. We need to get that going a little bit.”

### He said Brian Hartline “said he felt good” in his first game after missing preseason with a calf injury. “Hopefully, another week will help him be more comfortable. There were things from a  technique point that weren’t quite right yet, which isn’t surprising.”

### Philbin said the offensive line play “was OK. It was average. First half, it was pretty good. We didn’t have a lot of negative yardage runs. Mike Pouncey played an excellent game. He did some things I hadn’t seen in a long time.”

Philbin said rookie right tackle Jonathan Martin “did OK. He played a pretty clean game in [terms of] no penalties, showed good awareness. One of the tipped passes, he didn’t get out there quick enough to get his hands down. Overall, it was a relatively good first performance.”

### Defensively, “at times, we did some really good things. Our effort was good. The tackling was relatively good.  I don’t think they scored a touchdown off our defense unless we had a giveaway. Cam Wake knocked the quarterback down a couple times. Randy Starks had [two sacks]. Second one, he beat the guy relatively quickly. Two sacks -- you would like to get one or two more [overall]. There are signs we will have more pressure on the quarterback.

### I asked Philbin if he believes his team needs to upgrade at receiver or cornerback with any of the available free agents. Philbin did not directly answer, saying “Jeff Ireland and his staff consider any player at any position. If there’s somebody that can help us be a better team, I’m sure they’ll explore that option.”

### He praise Legedu Naanee for an “excellent block” on Marcus Thigpen’s punt return for a touchdown.

### What troubled him most Sunday?  "The four giveaways. If that happens, you open yourself up for those kind of plays to happen to you."

### He declined to discuss the status of Daniel Thomas, who reportedly suffered a concussion, saying only: “I’ve been pleased with his progression. I think he is going to be a good football player.”

 

Comments

[Master Chief]

On the fact no receiver other than Davone Bess caught a pass until the fourth quarter: “That’s a good stat

How is that a good stat???? This team is a joke, the WR are a joke. No talent at the skilled positions.... never seen anything like this before. What a great GM we have...... NOT!!!!

[another Ozzhole idea]

why dont they swap players with the Marlins..Both teams suck

[andy]

is ireland related to ross like samson and ,loseria

[octavio de armas]

As long as the ROSS/IRELAND tandem is running the DOLPHINS this team will never be good.

[FinsUp84]

Buckle up, fellas. It's gonna be a bumpy ride this season. Actually, as long as the Dolphins front office is still run by Stephen "Clueless" Ross and Jeff "Clock's Ticking" Ireland, it's gonna be a bumpy road for a long time to come. Brings a tear to my eye just thinking about how irrelevant the Dolphins have become in the last 10 years. PATHETIC!

[Stephen Ross and Jeff Ireland Suck Moose Cocks]

My "Posted By:" name says it all...

[Thank God for the Heat]

You can't put lipstick on a pig Philbin, This team blows!

Philbin looks like Coker's twin. Bad omen

[sickandtired]

team is a mess from top to bottom. gotta believe these players have tuned this guy out after just one regular season game. Have not competed yet in any of the 5 games. How many times can you hear "we didn't play well enough", "I didn't coach good enough"....blah, blah, blah. We get it. ALL OF YOU STINK!

[9r's]

pain is weakness leaving the body fireland.com

[Penguin]

Philbin's modest assessment after pre-season games that they had been "out coached" is less appealing now that the season has started.

[Cusefinfan]

SAVE the DOLPHINS, fire a Ireland.

[SunnyDee]

2-14. This "we have to do a better job" garbage is getting old already. Anyone see how Brandon Marshall played on Sunday? He may not be a "professional" but at least he can play his position...

[2 watt]

armando dropping acid huh.?
lol

[keylime]

Yeah....Brandon DROPPED 3 touchdown passes and a few others as usual last Sunday....BUT keep throwing to him and he's gotta catch something I guess....

Glad he's gone....Unfortunately, this regime did nothing to replace, upgrade, or...oh wait...they just signed a receiver to the wait for it...wait for it..."Practice Squad"....and that is the headline for this so called news article...what a joke.....The only excitement this year will be to watch College football and see who the most exciting player coming out will be. Oh wait...it won't matter...we won't get him even if we do have the Number 1 pick....

[UCheat]

Dolphins played well in the first quarter, then The Great Experiment turned the ball over three times and the game was over.

By the way, anyone seen Egnew?

[vaustn]

WHAT'S REALLY AGGRAVATING about these so-called 'intellegent' coaches (philbin, cameron) the team has had....is they have NO COMON SENSE for the game. EVERYTHING in the game ISN'T JUST ABOUT THINKING. It's freaking tackling and running and catching!!!
PHILBIN HAS THE SAME VIBE AS CAMERON DID. 1-15 SEASON on the way if he keeps up this NONSENSE. Cameron changed out a bunch of players too and see where that led !!!!

[Joe]

That s good to know....thanks.We got ANOTHER receiver.Where????????Oh yeah....for the practice squad.Ummmmm....like even I can do that.How bout a decent wr for the REAL TEAM???????That s like adding Joe Flacco s nephew who played optimist receiver to make your practice squad?????How would THAT help improve Tannehill for blankety blank sake?????Geez.......get Braylon or something.....oh yeah....we passed on him too cause he was too much used-goods.Now the free-agent s playing great.Ireland s gone real soon it seems.At least by next year I d sure say.The blind leading the blind.

[Jakester]

How can Ross not see that Ireland is incompetent?? well, he's a moron so he's not going to see it...How can Ireland walk around So Fla. and not be totally embarrassed of himself. We are NEVER going to improve until he's gone. We need a darn receiver! We need better scouts, better recruiting better all around darn it! I'm sick of this...been a fan for over 40 years and I'm watching other teams improve and we just stink it up even more. Ross is an IDIOT! Ireland is an IDIOT! Trump, help us! Cuban, help us! Don't show up to the games? Is that we it takes? Until these two dopes are gone, we are going NOWHERE folks!

[Lifetime DolFan]

Wow, an amazing number of whiners here. Two years ago, the 49ers were consistently bad, and they built a program that works. Last year, they're offense was mediocre at best, but they took steps to make it better this year (good start). One game with a new regime, with a new plan; you don't punch the eject button after one game (ask Troy Aikman and the 1-15 Cowboys). You need a plan, patience, and persistence. It's been a long time since the Phins have had a "good" team, but this is not Cam Cameron here -- he would have kept all of the drama players. I like Philbin's approach; time will tell...

[Terry King]

I'VE ALWAYS BELIEVED IN THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT IN ANY PERSON BUT IRELAND HAS NO IDEA WHAT HE IS DOING! THIS FOOTBALL TEAM SHOULD HAVE KEPT CHAD JOHNSON! SIGN OR TRADED FOR ANOTHER RECEIVER(GAFFNEY) AND CUT EGNEW! WHY IS HE ON THE TEAM! IRELAND HAS A SHORT LEASE WHEN IT COMES TO TALENTED BLACK WIDE RECEIVERS! NON TALENTED ONES HE LOVES! THIS FOOTBALL TEAM CAN WIN IF IT GETS UPGRADED AT THE RECEIVER POSITION! NAANEE IS A JOKE! EVERY TIME PASSES ARE THROWN HIS WAY BAD THINGS HAPPEN! WHY? CANNOT GET SEPARATION! WHEN EVALUATING RECEIVERS THAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU LOOK AT! HOW CAN YOU HAVE 12 RECEIVERS IN CAMP AND CANNOT PRODUCE AT LEAST ONE GOOD ONE? BECAUSE THE BEST ONE IS CUT! WHAT IS THE SENSE IN HAVING HIGH DRAFT PICKS WHEN YOU ARE A POOR EVALUATOR OF SKILL PLAYERS! THE LAST 5 YEARS HOW MANY GOOD WR OR DB HAVE THE DOLPHINS DRAFTED! EXACTLY! MAYBE 2-3 TOTAL! OVER THE SAME PERIOD! HOW MANY GOOD OL/DL DRAFTED? SEE MY POINT! IRELAND AND PARCELLS ARE FROM THE 80'S/90'S FOOTBALL! THE DOLPHINS ARE A TOUGH TEAM BUT NOT A SKILLED ONE! THIS IS WHY IRELAND MUST GO! HE NOT A BAD GM IN TERMS OF BUILDING TOUGH BUT HE IS AWFUL AT BUILDING OR FINDING SKILL! MY ADVICE TO HIM IS TO GO ALL OUT SIGN AND TRADE FOR A GOOD RECEIVER NOW OR BYE/BYE TOMORROW! IT STARTS SUNDAY IF WE LOSE AGAIN AND CANNOT SCORE AGAIN THE CHANT SHOULD ST! JEFF MUST GO! JEFF MUST GO! WE ARE DOLFANS AND WE ARE SICK OF SAME OLE SH....T!

[navydolfaninva]

Hard to judge Philbin after one game... he has to play the hand he's dealt. The 'Fins have to have much better pass protection. How in the world is Tannehlll going to be able to complete a pass with defenders in his face all the time? He'll get better. Defense DID keep Houston out of the endzone in the second half. There are some good things to point at (believe it or not), but we can't expect this team to do much beyond 1 or 2 wins this season. I do believe Ireland is gone after this year.

[0-16' Dolphins!]

0-1,Fire J. Ireland

[Jakester]

It is not fair to place judgement on Philbin in his first year...he deserves time to get something going. Ireland, on the other hand, has had more than ample time and has nothing to show for it. We NEED better scouting. We NEED players who can make the difference. We Have NEITHER. Also, not fair to judge Tanny after one game. Luck sucked. Tanny is tough, I think that shows. He will work hard each and every game. But who does he have to help down field? A veteran WR to aid his progress and be able to give him the confidence to become a top tier QB?..not yet. Or a young player to build together for the future? This team has not been constructed properly. It's been patched up hoping to fill the gaping holes. Ask yourself, how have other teams improved? Why have they improved? This ownership is never going to be a winner. Ross is not a NFL caliber owner. He is an embarrassment. Until he sells the team, we fans will never experience a winner.

[brian penaflor]

what did you expect ....chris hogan can catch the football...thats why he was released.