It came as a shock to Fins fans when RB Daniel Thomas hurt his ankle in last Sunday’s loss against the Carolina Panthers (20-16). As fans have realized, Miami’s running game has in no way improved since the start of the season, but Thomas is still a great player. This season he has accounted for 279 yards of the Dolphin’s offensive yardage and is always available when Lamar Miller needs to take a breather.
With a lack of depth at the RB position, Miami will now have to rely on Mike Gillislee, one of Miami’s fifth round draft picks.
With Daniel Thomas likely out for the rest of the season, time to see what we got in Mike Gillislee.
— Matty I (@TheMattyI) November 25, 2013
Fans seem pretty excited to see what Gillislee can do and whether or not he can potentially be the spark in Miami’s running game. Even Gillislee himself if ready to go! The entire year Gillislee has been watching games from the sideline and that experience has him fired up.
As he said in an interview, “Just by me watching, it made me hungrier and ready to take advantage of this opportunity that I’ve been given.”
Gillislee attended the University of Florida where he played as a running back for the Gators. In his senior season (2011-12), Gillislee ran for 1152 yards and had 10 touchdowns.
Some fans are unsure who is going to start, Gillislee or Marcus Thigpen, who has proved from week to week that he does have speed. Some fans joked about the cryptic nature of Joe Philbin on the matter.
You'd think you were a Watergate interrogator trying to ask Philbin basic questions about Mike Gillislee.
— Andrew Abramson (@AbramsonPBP) November 26, 2013
What would be the positives of starting Thigpen over Gillislee?
1. Thigpen has played consistently since week one of the 2013-14 NFL season. This means he is reliable and has the first hand experience with playing under pressure.
2. The offensive unit already knows his style of play. This makes it easier for the players to protect him and block for him.
3. The coaches and fans already know his ability, so there is not a large margin for disappointment when you already know the man can run.
Benefits of Gillislee starting over Thigpen?
1. Fans have never seen him play in an actual NFL game. This could make the crowd go wild in a game that is crucial to the Dolphin’s slim chance of a wildcard playoff spot.
2. He could be an amazing RB and the coaching staff just doesn’t know it yet. He has to get a start sometime, whether it be in this game or a future one. It is definitely worth it to give him a chance.
3. Fans want to see him play which is good for Miami’s coaching staff who is under fire for choosing Caleb Sturgis over Dan Carpenter.
It's troubling that an injury is what takes the Dolphins coaching staff to finally activate Mike Gillislee but it was about time.
— Hector Mejia (@datkidhec) November 26, 2013
Either way, Gillislee has to become an active player for the Dolphin’s Sunday game at the New York Jets. The Dolphins have a team plagued with injuries right now, suggesting there is a potential for Thigpen or Miller to sustain some type of injury. In that case, it is in the team’s best interest to add Gillislee to the active roster.
Hopefully Gillislee will be able to help with the Dolphins run game. In their game versus the Panthers, the Dolphins only ran for a total of 54 yards which took 17 attempts to get. To put this into perspective, Cam Newton ran the ball eight times for a total of 51 yards, almost as much as the dolphins ran between their two running backs. Clearly there is a problem with both Miami’s offensive line and their running backs. Fans are really starting to see the effects of losing a star running back like Reggie Bush, who even with a terrible, injury plagued offensive line could produce some sort of yardage.
Sunday’s loss was not really due to Miami’s run game alone. Ryan Tannehill threw some very wobbly balls to Mike Wallace that, if they were more precise, could have gone for touchdowns. Mike Wallace is a good receiver, but he is no acrobat. Brian Hartline has also been pretty absent from Miami’s passing game. In Sunday’s game he had 5 catches for 78 yards which came much later in the game after the Dolphins were already doomed for another loss.
To end on a positive note, Miami is finally utilizing Dion Jordan who they specifically drafted to help out Cameron Wake. Jordan sacked Newton in Sunday’s game, finally increasing his season sack count to two. This upcoming Sunday the Dolphins will face the New York Jets in the ice cold New Jersey weather. It is vital that the Dolphins beat the Jets if they want any chance at making the playoffs.
