X's Early Report Card Includes an A and an F

When Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator Vic Fangio addressed the media Thursday, he was asked a very relevant question about four-time Pro Bowl cornerback Xavien Howard.

"Xavien Howard is a Pro Bowl player and veteran, but I believe he’s got three penalties, two pass interference and an illegal contact. Were they all legitimate calls and is that a point of concern? Or is that just football?"

Before he began his answer, Fangio pointed out, "I think there were four of them in the first two games."

Yes, indeed, it's four penalties in the first two games for Howard, three against the Los Angeles Chargers and one against the new England Patriots. Two have been for pass interference, one for illegal contact and one for defensive holding.

That obviously is a troubling stat for Howard, who had seven penalties all of last season and whose career high is 10 in 2017, his second season in the NFL.

"Yeah, it’s a concern," Fangio said. "You’ve got to be able to cover without fouling, to use a basketball term.”

Here's the thing, though, and something that Dolphins fans should know by now: Howard can cover. And well.

He proved it against the Patriots on Sunday night with a statistically brilliant night, the penalties notwithstanding.

HOWARD'S HIGH COVERAGE GRADE

The highlight of Howard's night clearly was his drive-ending interception of Mac Jones in the second half when he used great body positioning to get in front of DeVante Parker near the sideline and was able to stay in bounds for his first pick of the season.

But the advanced stats from Pro Football Reference show a great performance overall in coverage for Howard, with a paltry 38.1 opponent passer rating when targeted.

That's heavy duty work right there, considering the 2022 NFL leader in lower opponent passer rating when targeted was Seattle rookie Tariq Woolen at 48.7.

Howard has been better than that mark through the first two games of 2023 with a 46.6 mark, based on seven completions in 11 targets for 55 yards with the one interception and no touchdown allowed.

By comparison, Howard's opponent passer rating when targeted in 2022 was 101.2, a poor number that reflected his belief he shouldn't have been selected to the Pro Bowl after playing through injuries for most of the season.

But penalties aside, it sure does like Howard is back in form with his coverage.

Yes, he needs to stop being so handsy in the back end, but in the big picture this is a great development for a Dolphins defense that was counting on him heavily, particularly with Jalen Ramsey sidelined for the first half of the season.

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