AFC Notes: Browns, Dolphins, Patriots

Browns

Former Browns OC Todd Haley believes Myles Garrett‘s altercation on Thursday night ultimately “comes back to coaching.”

“This to me, this comes back to coaching,” Haley said on SiriusXM Radio, per ESPN. “This falls squarely right on the head coach. Because the head coach talks to every assistant coach, who then talk to their groups of players. And there’s an old saying in coaching: ‘You’re either coaching it or you’re allowing it to happen.'”

Haley added that Browns HC Freddie Kitchens has allowed “clown shoes, visors, whatever it may be” around the organization, while Garrett targetting quarterbacks too low or in the head is “happening too much.”

“If you’re not coaching it, you’re allowing it to happen, and when I watch the Cleveland Browns, I see a lot of stuff being allowed to happen, whether it’s clown shoes, visors, whatever it may be,” Haley said. “Myles Garrett hitting the quarterback low, hitting the quarterback in the head, it’s happening too much.”

Kitchens told reporters that he does not give much thought to Haley’s comments but admitted they must do a better job of “maintaining our composure.”

“I don’t really give much thought into what Todd says,” Kitchens said. “I’m not even gonna respond to it. I know the way we continue to talk about maintaining our composure, and we have to do a better job of maintaining our composure — everybody.”

Dolphins

Dolphins HC Brian Flores told his team that he is not concerned about their position in the 2020 NFL Draft and is focused on winning games this season. 

“He said he’s not worried about the draft,” said RT Jesse Davis, via Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. “He’s worried about winning games; [that’s] what he told us. He was telling us, ‘We’re trying to win these games, guys. F [expletive] the draft, we’re not worried about that. We’re worried about the next opponent. We’re worried about getting a win.’ He’s done a good job.”

Dolphins LB Jerome Baker said the team’s draft stock “was the elephant in the room” and Flores assured them he’s focused on winning. 

“It was the elephant in the room and he addressed it and cleared things up,” Baker said. “You hear the outsiders and whatever, but the coach said we aren’t worried about next year. He showed he’s about winning and said he believes in us, that our focus isn’t on next year or the year after that. Our focus is on right now and we have the pieces to win. We believe that.”

Regarding the Dolphins’ two-game winning streak, Davis said Flores wants them “to taste success” and will continue “to challenge us” in their remaining weeks. 

“Flo has mentioned it; he wants to get this team to taste success before we start worrying about future stuff,” Davis said. “This team is so young we don’t necessarily know what it’s like to win two games in a row and go for a third. Where his mindset is, is to challenge us to see what we can do now.”

• Dolphins signed WR Allen Hurns to a two-year, $8 million extension. (NFLTR)
• Dolphins activated OT Julien Davenport from injured reserve. (NFLTR)
• Dolphins waived OT Andrew Donnal.

Patriots

• The Patriots have officially ruled out DB Patrick Chung and RB Damien Harris from Sunday’s game against the Eagles. 
• Patriots placed S Obi Melifonwu on the practice squad injured list. (NFLTR)