With injuries piling up, Joe Philbin working hard to limit reps in practice

The Miami Dolphins got through training camp with limited injuries but they have certainly had more than their fair share of short-term, long-term and season-ending injuries over the past several weeks. Making matters worse is the fact that the majority of these injuries happened to key players on the team in vital positions on the field.

With all that in mind, Joe Philbin has been working hard to manage all of these nicks and bruises while limiting practice repetitions for those who need it the most. However, he also said that he needs to be smart when deciding whether or not to use pads and how much.

“You are allowed 11 practices in full pads over the first 11 weeks, I believe. Then you are allowed three (full pads practice) over the last six weeks. Last week, in Denver, I believe we had shoulder pads on. We didn’t put the pants on. This week, we did the same thing. Really, we are only allowed one more time in shoulder pads. It’s really just discretion. We don’t really want guys on the ground in December anyway, so the pants aren’t necessarily the important part.”


As far as practice repetitions goes, Philbin said that it depends on the player, how old they are and how they respond to treatment and other various factors.

“It all depends. Sometimes, I think two of the things you just mentioned are instances where we could monitor their repetitions. Really the position coaches have a lot to do with it. I think they have the best handle on their guys. They are with them the most. They see them the most. They kind of study them the most. Certainly, as guys deal with certain injuries, we monitor their development, their progress and how much they are capable of doing. Our training staff and our medical staff do a great job. It’s a little bit of a combination.”

The Dolphins could use some good fortune the rest of the season and limiting the injuries, or even stopping them completely, will go a long way towards making that happen.

This story was written by Matthew Cannata. Follow him on Twitter: @PhinManiacs

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