Miami Dolphins have strong words for Jay Ajayi
By Brian Miller
Talking with the Miami Herald on Tuesday, Miami Dolphins VP of football of operations called out rookie 5th round pick Jay Ajayi. Tannenbaum made it very clear that if Ajayi can’t pass block, he won’t play. The words are strong but another question comes to mind regarding Tannenbaum’s input into who plays and who doesn’t.
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"“There are things we like about him, but if he can’t pass protect, he will never be active. I don’t care how talented he is between the tackles. If Jay Ajayi can’t pass protect, he won’t be active.”"
Ajayi has had a pretty decent camp thus far, at least as far as running the ball and catching the ball. It’s the pass protection that apparently has him closing in on the doghouse. The Dolphins need their 5th round selection to step it up. Considered by many to be a steal in the draft, Ajayi is facing the same rookie pitfalls as everyone else.
The comments made by Tannenbaum seamed to be odd considering that it’s Joe Philbin who makes the decisions on who is active and who is not but there is no question that Tannenbaum is involved. Philbin doesn’t normally call a player out publicly for poor performance so it’s not a surprise that the teams new football czar will. It’s likely a finger poke to get Ajayi motivated to get better in that area.
Oddly enough the Dolphins entire offensive unit has struggled with pass protection and if the offensive line was doing a better job of pass protection then perhaps Ajayi wouldn’t be so singled out. It’s been reported that multiple defenders are often breaking through the line together. A tough task for a rookie running back not known for pass protection.
The Dolphins are in practice seven of their training camp so there isn’t too much to worry about with Ajayi but it’s obvious that something needs to change. When the big guy upstairs says your name in an unflattering manner, it might be a good idea to pick it up.