

The Facts: A change in uniform has Amendola in the good graces of the Dolphins defensive backs. In a few weeks, he’s gone from hated to beloved since being acquired in March from the rival New England Patriots during free agency. “We hope to bring a championship to this city and with him being in New England, he’s got a couple piled up,” Dolphins cornerback Bobby McCain said. “At the end of the day, he is here, and we’re ready to go get it.”
Diehards Line:
Those were encouraging words from McCain considering he once thought of Amendola as his No. 2 most-hated player in the NFL behind Tom Brady. Last year, McCain and Amendola got into an on-field skirmish. McCain was fined $9,000 for throwing a forearm. The incident is in the rearview mirror now that they are teammates. In addition, the Dolphins are already starting to benefit from Amendola’s presence. He won two Super Bowls in New England as one of the key receivers. It has only taken a few offseason practices for teammates to notice his work ethic. At 32, Amendola is easily the Dolphins’ oldest and most experienced receiver. He’s been able to develop relationships with Kenny Stills and Jakeem Grant because they all played at Big 12 schools. Amendola and Grant attended Texas Tech while Stills was at Oklahoma. What has excited Amendola the most is new offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains’ plans to put the receivers in position for mismatches. With the departure of Jarvis Landry, who is now with the Cleveland Browns, the Dolphins hope to explore more no-huddle opportunities. They have failed in recent attempts but feel they have the receivers unit to finally make it work.