Poyer wants to change Dolphins' reputation as team that folds under pressure
Veteran safety Jordan Poyer is optimistic his experience and leadership will help the Miami Dolphins improve mentally this season.
Poyer - a former Buffalo Bills captain who joined Miami this year - said Tuesday that the Dolphins have a reputation around the league as a team that usually folds under pressure.
"Playing against this team over the past few years, you kind of get a sense of, 'OK, if you get on top of this team, they might fold,'" Poyer said. "This is just being honest. So what is that that happens in those moments where we get hit in the mouth? What happens in those moments so we're like, 'Hey, we're good. Let's bounce back. We're good. It's a 60-minute game, it's a long game.' I've been in games where I've been up 24 points and ended up losing. I've been in games where we've been down 21 points and ended up winning. So it's just continuing to just play."
Poyer signed a one-year, $2-million contract with the Dolphins in March. The 33-year-old made 107 starts for the Bills from 2017-23. The former All-Pro also played for the Philadelphia Eagles (2013) and Cleveland Browns (2013-16).
As a member of the Bills, Poyer won 12 of the 13 games he played against the Dolphins, including the playoffs.
The Dolphins enter the 2024 season with high expectations after ranking first in total yards last year and second in scoring. Miami won 11 games in 2023 but struggled against better competition, losing to the Bills, Kansas City Chiefs, and Baltimore Ravens. The Dolphins' season ended with a wild-card loss to the Chiefs in which Miami was limited to seven points.
Poyer highlighted how mental growth can be important for Miami.
"(The mental side is) just as big as the physical side of the game," Poyer said. "It's the NFL, not everything is going to happen exactly the way you want it to happen. You're not going to win every single game even though you'd like to. It's really in those moments of adversity, those moments of maybe coming off a loss, being able to handle them in the right way. Whether that be within a game, maybe the offense comes out there and smashes you in the mouth the first series. ... You've got to find a way to compartmentalize and really have that mental capacity to be able to move on."
He added: "There's going to be some ups and downs. ... Usually, those teams that are able to handle those moments, whether it be within a game or within a season, those are usually the teams that you see in the playoffs at the end of the season."
The Dolphins' most recent postseason win dates back to the 2000 season.