The Miami Dolphins will meet the New Orleans Saints on Sunday in London – and for one player it’s a very special match: Jay Ajayi, born in London, is looking forward to his first match in front of the compatriots.His role will also be more than important from a purely sporting point of view, the game will be shown live on Sunday (15.30 hrs) at DAZN.
You could literally see his eyes shining when Jay Ajayi was approached for his London premiere after the first real training session on English soil – in style with drizzle – “My three smallest siblings have never been to London, they were all born in the USA.My parents will be there, my family will be watching.And it’s in London,”it gushed from Miami’s running back, who soon couldn’t help but grin.
He definitely appreciates the chance to “play in his hometown and home country.At the same time, I won’t let that distract me from my goal – I want to win and play well.But I will definitely enjoy the experience, I will enjoy what happens here.Because if I’m honest, it’s a rare thing for me too.Being here now is crazy and pretty cool, and I’m gonna enjoy it.”
Only a few hours before the Dolphins had landed in London, after a short stay in the hotel we went directly to the training ground.And Ajayi was always in the spotlight: Whether he stretched out on the sidelines far away from what was happening or whether he did some runs during the casual walkthrough exercises – the cameras were directed at him, he was the centre of the action.
Afterwards Ajayi posed with selected fans, the interest in him was by far the greatest after the training session.
For a few short moments, the euphoria spread to other players as well, for example, Receiver Jarvis Landry said after the training session:”These international matches are getting bigger and bigger and the support of fans, especially here in England, is outstanding.We’re really looking forward to it, hopefully our fans in the stadium can set the tone.”
At the same time, however, another theme was omnipresent:”The Saints don’t care how far we’ve travelled and whether we have a bye week later in the season.We must not feel sorry for ourselves, we must win a game.That’s what we came here for,”said Landry.
Head Coach Adam Gase told SPOXnüchtern:”The situation is just like that, there is nothing you can do about it.For us it’s about being prepared for this game.That’s what our boys focus on, and they let us do the rest.”
Doing the rest – in the case of the Dolphins, that also means getting the bitter taste of the bankruptcy against the New York Jets out of their mouths as quickly as possible “Defensively we want to correct some mistakes.We simply have to find our way into the game better than we did last week.We had such a slow start and then started to skid, which was simply not ideal for us.We haven’t played well, there’s no excuse for that,”warned Gasses in a conversation with SPOX.
Specifically, this meant, among other things, that the run game didn’t get going at all against the jets.Miami needs a strong run game, otherwise defenses can easily reveal Jay Cutler’s deficiencies.And the Saints have also shown against Carolina that they can turn up their pass rush.
The good news for all Dolphins fans: Ajayi, who moved from England to Maryland with his family at the age of seven years and finally discovered his enthusiasm for football in Texas, can also cover up line problems.A breakthrough tackle all 4.3 touches – the fourth-best score after Week 3 together with Marshawn Lynch.
And yet the Dolphins inevitably look at the overall picture.Due to the hurricane and the resulting game shift away from Week 1, Miami will not have a Bye Week this season.Meanwhile, after the London game, the Titans and Atlanta wait for the Dolphins, followed by the second duel with the Jets.In other words, in three weeks you’ll be much smarter than what Miami’s team really has to offer.
This begins with the duel against New Orleans, which for Miami could be a first step in the right direction.How does the Secondary beat the once more strong passing-open?Can Miami control Ajayi’s game and clock?
Eventually, this impression will become stronger and stronger, fans in England will soon be able to watch even more games.After NFL Vice President Mark Waller had already unfamiliarly aggressively announced last week that a fixed team in London would be “feasible in four to five years”, Ajayi was sure on Friday:”The fans are there, the games are sold out.This is an important part.I think London would be a good place to look for a new city for an NFL team, give everything and accept a football team here.”
nearby
Miami Dolphins (1-1) – New Orleans Saints (1-2) (Sun, 15.30 hrs live on DAZN)