Dolphins Sean Smith Not Getting It Done
By Brian Miller
uNov.11, 2012; Miami, FL, USA; Tennessee Titans wide receiver Damian Williams (17) makes a catch as Miami Dolphins cornerback Sean Smith (24) looks on during the first quarter at Sun Life Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE
In two games, Miami Dolphins cornerback Sean Smith has been torched. Repeatedly. Out of position? Yes. Too far off the line? Yes. Too big a cushion? Yes. Lining up against great WR talent? No! That is the sad truth.
Against Indianapolis Sean Smith wasn’t toasted repeatedly by Reggie Wayne, no, it was some guy name T.Y. Hilton. This week against the Tennessee Titans? I couldn’t tell you who it was. Seriously. And I was at the game. The point is that somewhere along the line of this season, Sean Smith has started to fail at doing his job. Covering WR’s. His problems on the field has made life a living hell for a once top 5 defense. Now, to quote the song used in Hard Knocks…”And the cracks begin to show”!
For two weeks now opposing QB’s have targeted Sean Smith. Often giving a 5 yard cushion, Smith isn’t jamming on the line and in fact isn’t hitting the WR’s at all. The lack of physicality puts Smith immediately at a disadvantage and he doesn’t possess the speed to recover quick enough. Both the receivers and QB’s know it. Sean Smith is getting killed.
The play of Smith has created a bigger problem for the defensive front. Once stout against the run, the defense is trying to make big plays instead of just making sound technical plays. QB’s who are pressured can literally wait until the last second and hit the open receiver on Smith’s side. With Smith not playing well in pass protection, opposing offenses are catching the Dolphins off balance and attacking them with a running game that is starting to make the once top ranked rushing defense look very average.
There is a lot of reasons why the Dolphins are playing poorly and to single out Sean Smith is not an indictment of the blame being solely his. However in the secondary, Smith is the leader, or should be. Last week against the Colts, Smith dropped several interceptions and this week added three more dropped INT’s. You can not recover from bad play and Smith is playing badly.
Today offensive coordinator Mike Sherman said that the Dolphins looked as though they hadn’t practiced one snap all week. The same could be said about Smith.