A bunch of Friday night notes:
### No ex-Dolphin on TV is more critical of the Dolphins than NFL Network’s Heath Evans, and Evans was in epic form today, first bashing ex-Dolphins cornerback Sam Madison ---who criticized Evans recently --- and then trashing Ndamukong Suh.
To refresh: After Evans said Suh should be suspended for four games for grazing the head of Washington's Alfred Morris with his foot in the regular season opener, Madison (Evans’ teammate in 2005) --- tweeted: “I wish #heathevans would have never put on a Miami Dolphins jersey. #hater #soft and so one-sided.”
Evans responded diplomatically on Twitter but went on the attack against Madison and Suh during an appearance today on WQAM's Hochman, Crowder and Krantz Show, leveling shots at both Suh and Madison:
On Madison: "He called out my analysis as one-sided.... The truth is, If Sam was any good... at his current job, he'd have my job. Well he doesn't and he doesn't know what he's talking about when it comes to the Dolphins. Everything I've said about the Dolphins has come true yet again. So all the Dolphins fans can... whine and gripe and complain."
On Suh: "What does Suh have so far? Three tackles, no TFLs. A shin to the face of a running back. No sacks, no pressures. He's not getting double teamed. He's getting cut down. He looks like he's playing out there to protect himself. You should break down what he's getting per tackle right now....
"This is where I get tired of lazy analysts not watching every single game and every single play of Suh," Evans said. "I'm not going to stand up on my soapbox and beat the drum unless I'm sure what I'm talking about. Warren Sapp was the first one to [say] 'Just watch this. This guy is a very limited player. He gets a lot of hype for a lot of other things he shouldn't get hype for. Watch his tape.' So two years ago, I started doing it. Playoff teams, the guy doesn't show up....
"People were hitting me up on Twitter after Week one vs. the Redskins, saying he was double teamed. Count the double teams. You can count them on one hand. He was losing one-on-one matchups. The first two drives on eight plays, he fell subject to the same block two times. The same no-good right tackle cut him down four times on the same block.
"No awareness, no understanding of the scheme he's facing. Why do you think no legitimate, true Lombardi contender was after him in free agency? The Lions who knew him better than anybody weren't going to pay him what the Dolphins were. There was no one in that race for Suh except for the Dolphins. Ask yourself why. Dolphins fanatics don't want to answer that question because it makes them look like, 'Dog gone, our management is screwing this up again.'
"This guy isn't even playing anywhere near as good he played in Detroit and I don't think his Detroit play was worth $120 million. Suh is playing very tentative football. He's playing like he's trying to protect himself from not getting hurt."
Evans, on that WQAM interview, praised Ryan Tannehill but said "this offensive line is still garbage for the Dolphins. Everything I've said about the Dolphins so far is perfectly true.... Let this coaching staff look at the Patriots film and say how they are masking two rookies on their offensive line."
### The Dolphins have used only three cornerbacks in their first two games (Brent Grimes, Jamar Taylor and Brice McCain). But rookie Bobby McCain said he got more work in practice this week, both in the slot and in the boundary, and hopes to get a chance.
“I’m really antsy; you want to play but I know my role [involves] being patient,” he said.
### Safety Walt Aikens is still bemoaning being beaten by Allen Robinson on a double move for a touchdown against Jacksonville. “I hold myself to a higher standard,” he said. “I’m mad at myself. It’s about me making more plays.”
Aside from that play, he said he has generally received good feedback from coaches.
### After being impressively disruptive (and disruptively impressive) in training camp, Terrence Fede has found that getting to the quarterback has been considerably tougher in games. He doesn’t have a sack in preseason or in 79 regular season-snaps, 38 of which were plays in which he rushed the quarterback. He does have two QB hurries in the first two games.
“There’s a lot I need to improve on with technique in the pass rush,” he said.
### CBS’ main 4:25 p.m. game isn’t Dolphins-Bills, but a matchup we would traditionally see on Fox (Chicago-Seattle). Beginning last season, the NFL started cross-flexing a handful of games between CBS and Fox, and this game was given to CBS because it was deemed more attractive than any AFC game available for the second game of the double-header window.
Dolphins-Bills, the other CBS game in the late window, will go to 22 percent of the country --- primarily the state of Florida, south Georgia, the Northeast and New England. Spero Dedes and Solomon Wilcots, CBS’ No. 5 team, handle the call.
### With Chris Bosh and Josh McRoberts missing a lot of time last season, Luol Deng too often was cast as a stand-still three-point shooter, and he said at the end of last season that “I’m better in motion. I don’t really like to just stand still. Not having someone like Josh definitely hurts my game.”
Deng was asked by 790's Ethan Skolnick if he expects to go back to a role of being a cutter instead of a space.
“Definitely, I want to get back there but at the same time, it helps me being familiar with the system," Deng said. "Last year, being new to the system, and everything the team went through, it was difficult to be consistent. I'm not asking to have the ball in my hand all the time. My strength comes off what other guys are doing. I play off of other guys. The chemistry is going to come from everyone playing a lot of minutes together."
Erik Spoelstra didn’t elaborate on Deng’s role during a conversation this week but said they spoke during the summer and “we’re both more comfortable. It does take time to build a relationship and comfort level. We started to hit our stride in the spring. Luol is coming in terrific shape this year. I'm excited about him feeling more comfortable in our culture and system.”
### DuJour Magazine and the Forge had a party Thursday night to welcome Amar’e Stoudemire to the Heat. Stoudemire, Heat coaches and other players had a private dinner afterward.
“It’s a beautiful thing,” he said of being honored and the private dinner. “We can celebrate the team this year. We have a pretty good team. We're excited about the season. We have a good range of players. Solid coaching staff. We've got a well-rounded group. Very team oriented type of team. Everyone gets along.
"The sky is the limit for us. From a roster standpoint, we match up with the best of them. It's just a matter of us putting it all together.”
He is accepting of a role off the bench. “Whatever Spo needs, I’m here for,” he said.
### Skolnick and Israel Gutierrez have capably handled the afternoon-drive slot on 790 The Ticket for the past week-and-a-half, but station general manager Doug Abernathy said today that he isn’t ready to name them permanent hosts.
“I haven’t witnessed anything that would deter me from putting them in there,” he said. “I’ve been impressed. I’m excited. They have big shoes to fill [with Dan Le Batard’s move to 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.]. You need consistency.”
Besides wanting to see if Skolnick and Gutierrez can sustain the quality of their show, Abernathy cracked about wanting to see “how much money they can make me” in terms of revenue and ratings.
He said he has no timetable for making a decision but doesn’t plan to audition others in the role at this point.
Twitter: @flasportsbuzz
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