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As he left Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday, Miami Dolphins receiver Albert Wilson met with head coach Adam Gase and especially wanted to tell how he had scored for the game he had injured.
"I was about to take her home," Wilson told Gase.
So the guy has a hip injury that will force him to miss Thursday's game against the Houston Texans and will almost certainly cost him the rest of the season, but staying in the end zone was what he thought the most .
It's a state of mind to just balloon there.
And that's one of the reasons that, among the many serious injuries that the Dolphins have managed this season, Losing Wilson is the most painful. No, not painful as in physically painful, but rather painful to affect the ability of the team to continue at the same level of success.
Losing Wilson hurts the Dolphins in production. On a boastful level. And on the simple question of pure talent, because, frankly, he could have been their best player so far this season.
"Whenever one of our guys gets hurt, it hurts, especially when he knows what we are doing and what he is doing and that he knows what we want and what. he's performing it correctly, "Gase said Monday. "And this group played well together. These four guys were playing really well each other. Football is selfless. Nobody was worried about who received the ball. It was all about how are we going in the end zone? "
Wilson has visited the end zone four times for the Dolphins in seven games. He therefore shares the lead role of the team with Kenny Stills in scoring. He also sent Jakeem Grant a 52-yard touchdown.
So in seven games, Wilson was largely responsible for five touchdowns.
It will be difficult to replace. But that's not the only reason why losing Wilson is bad.
Wilson, you see, has done so much that it will be difficult, if not impossible, to find a person who does everything that she has done.
He considered an option running in the backfield. He was not only effective in Jet Sweep type games, but was an effective lure against the fake. He was obviously a threat to throw. It was probably the best option of the team for bubble screens.
We have not finished.
Wilson was perhaps the only receiver of the Dolphins who could systematically turn a short throw into a big play. His speed was a threat at a time when he had football and not because the other team had to respect what he was doing.
He was the second receiver of the team. And, of course, he produced points.
So, how can a guy replace all that?
This is the exercise that Dolphins coaches had to do starting Sunday night. I imagine they will continue their work until the end of the season, because replacing someone who does all of this is not about putting Jakeem Grant in Wilson's place – no disrespect to Grant.
It's about putting Grant, maybe Kenyan Drake, Kenny Stills on his return, and maybe DeVante Parker in roles that Wilson has filled himself.
Wilson's idea of taking short passes and transforming them into scores is something we have not seen other Dolphins receivers.
Stills is a downstream threat but only if he stands behind the defense. Parker does not seem to be stopping four meters from the line of scrimmage, catching the pass, and then rushing back through the field.
Amendola has this kind of agilify but not the speed.
It will be an Albert Wilson by committee, type of assignment.
And all of a sudden, you see why not having Wilson is more depressing than not having, for example, Josh Sitton, Ryan Tannehill or William Hayes.
Tannehill was replaced by Brock Osweiler and, although the Dolphins no longer have athleticism or the threat of running to the quarterback, Osweiler seems to be doing better than Tannehill.
Losing Sitton was hurt not only by his experience but also by his help to the left attack Laremy Tunsil. And Ted Larsen is not the player that Sitton was. But we are talking about guards here.
Do not win or lose games. Wilson virtually won the game in Oakland by himself. And then almost done again against Chicago.
"Will you be able to replace Albert Wilson tomorrow? Probably not, "noted Gase. "You will have to try to spread the ball where some guys are replacing one aspect of the game."
And that brings me to Wilson's behavior. He was only 5 feet 9 inches and 186 pounds, but his vision of the game was that no one could cover him, no one was better than him, no one could stop him from playing.
The man has brought a confidence and a heart to the range of dolphins that will be impossible to replace immediately.
This one really hurts.
Follow Armando Salguero on Twitter: @ArmandoSalguero
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