Isa Abdul-Quddus is the key to a resurgent Dolphins defense

I don’t think any professional sports league exemplifies the slogan “life comes at you fast” any better than the NFL. Take for example, strong safety James Ihedigbo.

A year ago, his seventh season in the league, he was coming of a season where he played well enough for the Detroit Lions to be named a Pro Bowl alternate. Because he felt that his contract no longer reflected his level of play, Ihedigbo decided to stay away from offseason workouts to try to force Detroit to up his pay in the final year of a two-year deal.

The Lions did not acquiesce to his demands, even with Detroit suffering through a miserable 7-9 season where it started off 1-7, and Ihedigbo found himself passed up on the depth chart in the second half of the season by fifth-year guy Isa Abdul-Quddus. This offseason, it ended up being Abdul-Quddus who got paid, signing a three-year deal for over $12 million dollars with the Miami Dolphins.

Okay, so it wasn’t exactly a blockbuster deal, but still.

While Ihedigbo’s fortunes quickly changed for the worse in the course of one season, I think Abdul-Quddus’ career is headed in the exact opposite direction in Miami.

After coming into the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the New Orleans Saints, Abdul-Quddus worked his way into playing time with New Orleans and had a pretty decent second year there, starting three games and notching 45 tackles to go along with seven passes defensed and the only two interceptions of his career. The kid has always had some ability, but he just hadn’t gotten many opportunities to be a full-time starter until last season.

With Ihedigbo slowed by injury and not playing all that well when he was healthy, Abdul-Quddus stepped in to start eight games in 2015. Interestingly enough, the Lions did not win a game that he did not start last season. I’m just sayin’ ...

What I liked the most about Abdul-Quddus when I watched his film is that while he isn’t the biggest safety you will ever see at 6’1, 201 pounds, that dude will lay the wood on you! Didn’t matter how big or small the guy he was trying to tackle -- if they had the ball in their hand he was going to try to lower the boom on them.

At the same time, he never seemed out of control when he was running to the ball, which resulted in him not missing many tackles in the games I watched. You always want your safety to be a sure tackler. If he misses, then that play is probably going to gain a lot of yardage, if not go for six.

Having a guy who is a sure tackler and can also hit hard enough to perhaps jar the ball loose on occasion is certainly a plus, but not necessarily common. That’s the kind of hitter Abdul-Quddus was on film last season, and I gotta tell you, he caught me off guard a few times with the force of his hits.

On top of that, Abdul-Quddus also looked quite good in coverage. Whether in man-to-man or zone, he looked comfortable in all kinds of coverages. He also did a fair share of walking down and covering the slot. And I’m not just talking about tight ends in the slot. Abdul-Quddus did at least a decent job when he was in press coverage against wide receivers lined up in the slot.

Having a well-rounded safety like that is such a luxury for just about any defense. When you don’t have to match up with a nickel back every time a team goes to three wides or against teams with a really good pass-catching tight end, it just makes your defensive coordinator’s job that much easier. You don’t have to worry about being more vulnerable against the run because you had to take a linebacker off the field, and you can still feel comfortable calling all kinds of coverages no matter what kind of formations they come out in.

With Reshad Jones already being a certified beast in his own right, Abdul-Quddus’ versatility should allow the Dolphins to move Jones all over the place and put him in prime position to make even more plays, while not having to worry that it will stress the rest of the defense. Either guy can play in the box and play the deep third well.

Hell, it will be hard for teams to discern whether Abdul-Quddus or Jones is the strong safety at times this season, and that in and of itself can give opposing offenses a ton of headaches. While Jones is the superior player right now, the fact that offenses are already going to be trying to account for him should give Abdul-Quddus opportunities to make plays.

Last season in 16 games with eight starts, Abdul-Quddus ended up with 57 tackles, a sack and a forced fumble. If he starts all 16 games this year with Miami, his numbers should blow those away.

While his signing may have gone under the radar a little bit this offseason with all the other changes in Miami, I expect Abdul-Quddus’ play to be a main ingredient to the Dolphins getting back on track on that side of the ball this season.