FOXBORO — After not practicing or playing last week, Danny Amendola was instructed to take it slow and easy this week when practice started in Miami.
That’s when Dolphins coach Adam Gase learned how stubborn the wide receiver could be. With an upcoming matchup with the Patriots on the schedule, there was no way Amendola could slow down. The Dolphins’ leading receiver was not only at practice all week for the Dolphins, but showed his Miami coach just how defiant he [...]
FOXBORO — After not practicing or playing last week, Danny Amendola was instructed to take it slow and easy this week when practice started in Miami.
That’s when Dolphins coach Adam Gase learned how stubborn the wide receiver could be. With an upcoming matchup with the Patriots on the schedule, there was no way Amendola could slow down. The Dolphins’ leading receiver was not only at practice all week for the Dolphins, but showed his Miami coach just how defiant he could be when it came to playing through injuries.
“I’m pretty sure you know what he’s already saying,” Gase said. “I’m just trying to make sure that we go through the week the right way to where he doesn’t put himself in a worse position. This is the first time that I would say that he’s not being very compliant with me. He wants to play in this game as bad as anybody.”
Amendola’s attitude isn’t surprising. From 2013 to 2017, Amendola was one of the hardest working players on the Patriots.
When it came to fighting through injury, the slot receiver always went above and beyond. He fought through torn adductor muscles in his hip during his first season in Foxboro. Then there were surgeries to his knees and his ankles. But as the seasons went on, Amendola was always there. He earned the nickname "Playoff Danny" for his play leading up to two Super Bowl wins.
Bill Belichick wasn’t surprised to hear that Amendola wanted to fight through his knee injury last week to take on the Patriots on Sunday.
“Danny’s a hard worker and he’s a tough competitor,” Belichick said. “No issues with Danny. I mean, he always wanted to be there. I can totally understand what Adam’s saying there, yeah. You like those guys on your team.”
After five seasons in Foxboro, Amendola signed a two-year deal with the Dolphins this past offseason. Heading into Sunday's matchup, Amendola is the Dolphins leading receiver with 469 receiving yards. He's hauled in a Dolphins-high 48 receptions on a team-high 62 targets. The 10-year veteran is catching 77.4 percent of the passes thrown his way.
“It seems like he always makes the play when it’s a tight game and we need somebody to step up and do something, he always seems to be that guy,” Gase said. “I think the guys respect him around here. I know the receiver room is really close and he’s a big part of that. He has just been one of those guys I think everybody just leans on. When it gets tough, he’s the first guy up and he wants to be a part of the solution.”
When the Patriots took on Amendola and the Dolphins in Week 4, the slot receiver was relatively quiet. Amendola finished with two catches on three targets for 21 yards. In that game, Amendola saw several different Patriots cornerbacks. He caught a 3-yard pass with Jonathan Jones in coverage. He also hauled in a 18-yard pass after finding an open spot in the Patriots zone coverage.
Cornerbacks in Foxboro compared Amendola to Julian Edelman and say he was tough to cover in practice as well in that game.
“He’s a competitor and a very savvy guy,” Jones said. “You have to come with it. You know he’s going to fight with his run plays or pass plays. You’re going to have your hands full.”
“Guys like him and Edelman, those guys are hard to cover,” Stephon Gilmore added.
It’ll be interesting to see how the Patriots choose to match up with Amendola this weekend. Jones and Duke Dawson are their "pure" slot cornerbacks, but last weekend, Jason McCourty played in the slot. Whoever it is could have their hands full.
“Similar to a guy like Jules. Really quick in the slot. Really smart, savvy route runner,” Jason McCourty said. “Understands coverages. Knows when to sit it down in the zone. Knows in man [coverage] to take you inside or bring it back out. A very, very experienced slot receiver. Then, you turn the film on and he’s outside for them as well as inside. He's a guy that fills many roles and is making a lot of plays for them.”