Dolphins Philbin: Cards ‘a hot team’
Sep 26, 2012, 9:01 PM | Updated: 10:02 pm
September 26, 2012: Behind Enemy Lines
The Miami Dolphins are making just their third trip to Arizona, but their second in five years. In 2008, the Dolphins visited University of Phoenix Stadium and lost, 31-10. Kurt Warner in that game passed for 361 yards and 3 TDs, recording a perfect passer rating of 158.3.
That Dolphins team was led by Tony Sparano. Joe Philbin is now the head coach.
He spoke to those of us in the local media on a conference call earlier Wednesday:
on Cardinals defense
They’re impressive. Ray Horton has done an exceptional job. I worked with Ron Aiken in college. I think he’s one of the best defensive line coaches I’ve ever been around. He’s exceptional. They’re a well-coached team. They do enough schematically to present some challenges to you. I don’t think they’re over the top in terms of, gosh, they have a new defense every single play. They know their defense. They play it well and they’re athletic. That’s the other thing. I think they have good athletes across the board in the front seven and in the back end. They’re a very good defense.
on Daryl Washington
I like his productivity. I like the way he plays the game. The kid plays fast. He’s decisive in his play. I think he reads the run blocking schemes well. I think he has good blitz ability. He’s a productive football player. You have to figure it out: Do you want to run at him? Or run away from him? He has an ability to get off of blocks. I think he has an ability to chase plays down. He’s a lot to handle, no doubt.
on Ryan Williams
I remember him coming out in the draft as a college player. He gives them a really good complementary back. This guy is going to be a good player in this league. The Cardinals, obviously, with (Beanie) Wells and (Larry) Fitzgerald and (Michael) Floyd, they’ve got some big physical skill guys that are impressive. I think Williams has a really bright future in the league.
on traveling to the West Coast
This is going to be a big test for us from a maturity standpoint. We hav to get some leadership from our older guys. We do have a young football team. We have to get acclimated from a time standpoint crossing three time zones. At the end of the day, at 1 o’clock, I’m confident our guys are going to be ready, and I anticipate that we’re going to play well out there, but it’s not going to be easy. This is a hot team that we’re playing. They’re very good and they’re very confident, as they should be. They’ve played well. They’ve deserved every victory that they’ve gotten this year.
