Dolphins Notebook: Pro Bowl Voting, Van Noy Up for Award, Fejedelem Faces Former Team
That cornerback Xavien Howard is one of the two Miami Dolphins players leading the AFC at his position in Pro Bowl voting is almost a no-brainer. Punter Matt Haack on the other hand? Not so much.
But that's what the update released by the NFL on Thursday revealed, as the Dolphins were one of five AFC teams with more than one leader at his position. The other teams were Kansas City, Buffalo, Cleveland and Pittsburgh.
RELATED: An Appreciation for Howard's Incredible Season
Based on performance, the two most worthy Pro Bowl candidates for the Dolphins through Week 11 clearly are Howard and kicker Jason Sanders, with defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah probably the third choice.
The Pro Bowl fan voting leader among AFC kickers is Rodrigo Blankenship of the Indianapolis Colts. Blankenship is 23-for-26 on field goal attempts and 27-for-29 on extra points this season, but his longest field goal is only 44 yards. Sanders is 24-for-25 on field goals and has made all 26 PAT attempts, and he's got eight field goals of 50 yards or more.
The good news for Sanders is that fan voting counts for only one-third of the vote tally, with players and coaches accounting for the rest.
Players and coaches will vote on the Pro Bowl teams on Friday, Dec. 18 and the Pro Bowl rosters will be announced on NFL Network in late December.
Fans can vote through Dec. 17 at NFL.com/ProBowlvote or on Twitter. To cast a vote on Twitter, fans should tweet the first and last name of the player, the player’s official Twitter handle, or a hashtag including the player’s first and last name. All three of these methods must include the hashtag: #ProBowlVote.
VAN NOY NOMINATED
The Dolphins selected linebacker Kyle Van Noy as the team's nominee for the 2020 Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award.
The award, created in 2014 and named after the late founding owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers, is presented each year to the NFL player who best demonstrates the qualities of on-field sportsmanship, including fair play, respect for the game and opponents, and integrity in competition.
Four former players from the NFL Legends Community will select eight finalists and players will vote on those final eight when they vote for the Pro Bowl on Dec. 18.
Center Daniel Kilgore was the Dolphins' nominees last year when Washington running back Adrian Peterson won the award.
The Dolphins have never had a winner of the award.
INJURY UPDATE
The only change on the Dolphins' official injury report Thursday involved rookie running back/wide receiver Malcolm Perry, who was limited in practice after not practicing Wednesday.
Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa again was listed as a limited participant.
RELATED: Tua and Other Injury Concerns
Running back DeAndre Washington missed a second consecutive practice because of a hamstring injury.
HOLLINS THE AMBASSADOR
Wide receiver Mack Hollins announced on Twitter on Thursday he had become an ambassador for Special Olympics.
"I am so grateful for the time I have spent with @SpecialOlympics athletes," Hollins tweeted. "Today, I am proud to officially join their movement of inclusion as a Champion Ambassador!"
Hollins has appeared in 11 games in 2020 in his first full season with the Dolphins and his work on special teams has been impressive enough that he's the team's candidate for the Pro Bowl as a special-teamer.
FACING OLD FRIENDS
The game against the Bengals will match Dolphins special teams captain Clayton Fejedelem against his former team.
Fejedelem joined the Dolphins as an unrestricted free agent in the offseason after spending his first four NFL seasons with Cincinnati.
Even though the Bengals dropped a 19-17 decision against the New York Giants last week in their first game without rookie quarterback Joe Burrow, their special teams had a big day, including a 103-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Brandon Wilson and a successful fake punt by Shawn Williams (he gained 7 yards later in the third quarter on fourth-and-6 from the Cincinnati 20).
“I still talk to a handful of the guys over there," Fejedelem said. "I haven’t been doing much talking this week. You’ve got to keep everything in-house, but they have a good unit over there. (Bengals Assistant Head Coach and Special Teams Coordinator) Darrin Simmons, he’s a good coach. They’re going to come out and have a good game plan, but, yeah, they’ve got guys like ... I talk to Brandon Wilson. You saw last week he had a 103-yard kickoff return. They have good players and we’re going to have to execute. We’re definitely excited for the challenge.”
