MIAMI -- Oronde Gadsden kept looking toward the sideline,
trying to check on quarterback Jay Fiedler.
Fiedler was sacked and injured on the first play from scrimmage
Sunday against the New York Jets. He suffered muscle spasms across
his upper back and did not return.
Gadsden, as well as the rest of the Dolphins, knew the offense
wouldn't be the same without Fiedler.
"I was hoping he would return," Gadsden said. "Once I finally
saw him in street clothes, I knew he was done."
And for the most part, so were the Dolphins. Running back Lamar
Smith, the team's leading rusher, also left the game with a
strained right hamstring.
Damon Huard, who hadn't taken a snap all season, replaced
Fiedler. He completed 16 of 29 passes for 128 yards and threw three
interceptions -- two of which led to late touchdowns and a 20-3 win
for the Jets.
"I don't care who you are or what team you're on, when you lose
your leader it's hard," Gadsden said. "We had a lot of chemistry
with Jay. Without him, it changed us a little bit. We were not in
sync with Damon. It's not anybody's fault. When you're the backup,
you don't get any reps. He's not completely understanding how we
run our routes."
Fiedler left the game after linebacker Mo Lewis tackled him for
a loss, driving his head and right shoulder into the ground.
Fiedler spent several minutes on the field before walking off
without help. He wanted to return, but he felt some pain when he
threw a few passes on the sideline.
"I thought I'd come back, but everything started tightening
up," Fielder said. "I'm just frustrated that I wasn't able to be
in the game and finish up with the team. There's a whole lot of
frustration on my part."
Coach Dave Wannstedt said he expects Fiedler and Smith to play
Sunday at Indianapolis.
"I'm optimistic they'll both be OK," Wannstedt said.
The Jets are hoping running back Curtis Martin will be, too.
Martin left the game in the third quarter with a sprained back.
"Unfortunately, the X-ray wouldn't work and that was part of
the decision to lay it down for the day, because we didn't want to
take a chance without any X-rays," Martin said. "We didn't know
what was the problem. I feel OK, just something ain't right."
Bernie Parmalee ran for 57 yards and scored twice in place of
Martin.
The Dolphins didn't have as much success with their backup
quarterback. Huard struggled in the pocket, missing open receivers
and failing to get a feel for the pressure. He was sacked twice --
on consecutive downs -- which took the Dolphins out of field-goal
range when they trailed 6-3 late in the third quarter.
Even more costly to Miami, Huard threw interceptions on
back-to-back drives in the fourth. The first one Huard threw into
tight coverage and it was picked off by rookie cornerback Tony
Scott. The next one he threw right into the hands of rookie
defensive end Shaun Ellis.
"As the trigger man, you've got to make plays and I didn't make
enough of them," said Huard, who took about 30 percent of the
snaps in practice last week. "You look around the league and I'd
be stupid if I wasn't ready with all the injuries and guys that go
down."
Huard had not played since the preseason. Even then, he couldn't
lead the Dolphins into the end zone. But Huard refused to use his
lack of playing time as an excuse.
"Football is football," he said. "You either get the job done
or you don't. And tonight I didn't."
| |
|
