The Miami Dolphins will enter Week 4 of the NFL season hoping to do what no one has done to date — put a cap on the play of Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson. Wilson’s torrid start has been fueled by campaign in the Seattle franchise and fanbase to “Let Russ Cook”. And cook, he has. Wilson set the NFL record in Week 3 for the most touchdowns passes (14) in the first three weeks of an NFL season and will now set his sights on the Dolphins defense.
With the Dolphins taking the practice field with CB Byron Jones not available for the media session of practice and CB Xavien Howard working on the side with the trainers, the Dolphins’ retooled secondary is going to need all hands on deck if they hope to create enough disruption to keep Wilson and his standout receivers out of sync. But it is going to take a total team effort to position for a win, according to Dolphins head coach Brian Flores.
Flores was asked on Monday about how Miami can hope to contain Wilson and the Dolphins coach admitted that Seattle is going to get theirs on Sunday.
“Well, (Russell Wilson) is a great player. We’re going to have to do everything at a high level to limit this offense so from a communication standpoint, from a tackling standpoint, from a pass rush standpoint, we have to play very well to keep this offense limited and contained. I think they’re going to make some plays. They’ve got a good quarterback and they’ve got good players, so they’re going to make a few plays,” said Flores.
“We just need to try to keep – we’ve got to continue to try to have good communication, have good technique and fundamentals, tackle well, defend the deep part of the field, get a good rush and play well. It’s a good offense. It’s a good team led by Russell Wilson, led by Pete Carroll. It will definitely be a big challenge.”
A big challenge may be a big understatement based on Wilson’s first three weeks of the season. Seahawks receiver D.K. Metcalf is third in the NFL in receiving yards (297) through three games and fellow Seattle wide receiver Tyler Lockett is 10th with 259 yards. The Dolphins will need all hands on deck and even then it may not be enough. But Miami has six days to let their injuries calm and hopefully get Jones and Howard both on the field to help the cause.