Miami Dolphins Melvin Ingram shines in win over the Bills

I remember attending a defensive line film review when I played ball.  As a Free Safety, I wanted to attend different film reviews to understand what players look for and how they study.  Coach Jason Shields was our Defensive Coordinator and I remember him yelling enthusiastically at his defensive linemen, “I want dawgs on my line.”

I want Pitbulls that are lined up, waiting, and looking for ways to attack.  I want dawgs on my teams, do we have any here?   The answer is yes in Miami, as Melvin Ingram is just that.

When Ingram signed with the Miami Dolphins, his role in the media and fan’s eyes was a situational pass rusher that could help bring in some veteran presence on the sideline.  That stigma is out the door.  The Miami Dolphins have a dynamic player that is fostering the same energy and vibe as Joey Porter and Jason Taylor once did.  Ingram’s veteran presence is rubbing off on his teammates as well. Christian Wilkins made the following statement after the Miami Dolphins beat the Buffalo Bills:

"“You can’t tell me nothing bad about Melvin Ingram ever in life,” Wilkins said. “After seeing what he did on the last play, he has the ultimate respect. An 11-year pro beating a rusher, missing a sack, then making a play 10, 15, 20 yards down the field, that’s just a dawg mentality. That’s leadership. That’s ‘want-to.’ That’s will. Again, he is not the only player like that on our team. We’ve got a lot of guys that are just gritty and just compete. I’ve got the ultimate respect for him after a play like that because that takes a lot. That’s will to win.”"

Taking a closer look at the film again, you can see Melvin Ingram did exactly what Wilkins stated in his post-game interview.  With time running out and on the last play of the game, Ingram had the opportunity to sack Josh Allen, the Bills’ Quarterback who was dropping back for his 63 pass attempt, Allen used his play-making ability and juked out of a few tackles, one being from Ingram that would end the game right there.  But instead of just lying in defeat, Ingram rose to the occasion.  He got back onto his feet and found the ball, more importantly, he ensured that Isaiah McKenzie, was not able to run out of bounds to stop the clock, allowing for a potential game-winning field goal. If you want to point the spotlight, Jalen Phillips was on the same pile as Ingram, but it was Ingram, ten years older than Phillips, running down the field to make a game-saving tackle.

Melvin signed with Miami late in the offseason, for a modest one-year contract worth up to 4MM in total.  To everyone’s surprise, Ingram has now become a steal for that price point.  His veteran presence, passion, and confidence are something that just can’t be taught and what was missing in the Miami Dolphins locker room in the Brian Flores era.

The Miami Dolphins are now 3-0.  That right there just sounds awesome.  Their defense is built with sound speed, chemistry, and passion.  All three of those characteristics reside in Melvin Ingram, as this dog has a lot of bites left in him.