Big Props for Bobby
Bobby McCain is in his second year playing safety for the Miami Dolphins, and his head coach certainly sounds happy about the way he's performing.
Brian Flores threw some major compliments in McCain's direction Monday morning, speaking more glowingly about the six-year defensive back than he normally does about any of his players.
“I think Bobby is a very important part to our defens," Flores said. "I think safety, linebacker — but specifically safety — you are the quarterback of the defense. A lot of what he does is getting guys lined up pre-snap so that we can have a good, let’s call it post-snap, play. I think he’s done a good job of that. I think in some instances, we’ve been aligned correctly, we’ve been in the right places, but we either haven’t made the play or had a bad post-snap read.
"I think Bobby, he’s played well so far this year. His leadership and his communication, I think he’s tackled well so far, so I think he’s played well. We need him to continue to play well and we need other guys to kind of play the way that he’s been playing. His leadership definitely shows up on our team and I’ve been very pleased with him.”
It's not just words that Flores is throwing out, though, because the snap count indicates the level of confidence he has in McCain.
Through three games, McCain leads all defensive players in snaps with 181, four more than linebacker Jerome Baker.
On the stat sheet, McCain has done well also.
According to advanced stats, McCain has allowed only two completions on the five times he's been targeted and the opponent passer rating on those five throws is 52.1, which is the lowest allowed by any Dolphins defensive player.
It should be noted that advanced stats assigned the long John Brown touchdown catch in the Buffalo game to cornerback Xavien Howard, though McCain said after that game the play wasn't all on Howard.
What has been missing from McCain's stat sheet has been "splash plays," such as an interception, forced fumble, fumble recovery or sack.
But early in his second season at safety after playing cornerback his first four seasons with the Dolphins, it's apparent that McCain has made significant progress at his new position.
