Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Coyle likes Grimes' 'natural cover ability'

BY NICK ST. DENIS

Torrey Smith hauled in six receptions for 121 yards in the Baltimore Ravens' 26-23 victory over the Miami Dolphins Sunday, gaining much of that ground while lined up against Dolphins cornerback Brent Grimes.

According to ProFootballFocus, Grimes surrendered 99 yards -- the most he's given up since 2010 -- in coverage. He was also flagged for pass interference, albeit in questionable fashion, as most PI calls are.

Still, Grimes has held his own most of the season, and his coaches are confident in using him in a number of different ways.

"We just know he’s got a lot of natural coverage ability. He makes plays on the ball," Dolphins offensive coordinator Kevin Coyle said Tuesday, via MiamiDolphins.com. "We were anticipating because their receiving corps was again a little short. We wanted to get the best matchups in certain situations that way.

"There were coverage’s where we wanted to get him matched up against [Smith]. There were other coverage’s where we had him going opposite of him. We’ll see how things go down the road, but he needs to keep making plays for us.”

Coyle was asked if Grimes, who has 18 tackles, one interception and six passes defensed through five games, has a primary side of the field.

“No, we are not at that point yet," he said. "He plays on both sides.”

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