Miami fans are no doubt concerned about injuries. Joe wishes he could comfort these particular fans.

Earlier, Joe let you know that the Dolphins are among the league’s most banged up teams.

Now it seems they may be forced to endure a major hit to their rushing attack ranked fourth in the NFL, so says Omar Kelly of the Sun-Sentinel. He’s got a fresh report from Fins practice on Thursday.

So this time I won’t say that Justin Smiley, the Dolphins starting left guard, who is nursing yet another shoulder injury, is AWOL.  …But Smiley sure was missing from Thursday’s practice, and we haven’t been given an explanation why YET.Could Smiley be in the training room getting his shoulder electronically stimulated? Sure. But I couldn’t name you an injured player not on the IR who didn’t attend the team’s stretch.

The point I’m trying to make is this shoulder injury, which has been a reoccurring thing throughout Smiley’s NFL career (he’s had both shoulders surgically repaired), appears to be more than soreness.

Considering this is the second practice he’s missed I think it’s safe to assume the Dolphins top pulling guard is a long-shot to play against Tampa Bay on Sunday.

Joe keeps getting a vibe that the Bucs are catching the Dolphins at the right time. Not a vibe that the Bucs are better than the Dolphins. Just that the Bucs’ best might be good enough to win Sunday.