MIAMI GARDENS — Jordan Poyer agrees with Dolphins owner Stephen Ross in one way.

"On paper, this team is up there in the top 5 of all teams," Poyer said Monday. Poyer was answering a question about Ross' belief that if Miami stays healthy it's "certainly" a Super Bowl Contender.

But the former Bills safety knowns this game is not played on paper.

"That really doesn't mean anything," he said about amassing that talent. "That didn't mean anything when I was in Buffalo, that didn't mean anything on any of the teams I've been on in the past because injuries and then when adversity happens. When those moments come up, whether it's in a game, within the week, within the season, how are you handling those moments."

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Poyer signed a one-year contract with Miami after spending seven years in Buffalo, several of those with Super Bowl expectations and none ending with the Bills in the Super Bowl.

"You could be the most talented team, once you take a loss and fingers start pointing this way or that way when your team starts to come apart … the talented teams that are able to stay together through those adverse moments, through those bad times, those are usually the teams you see in the playoffs."

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Poyer, 33, missed about two weeks after fracturing a bone in his thumb early in training camp. He will return to practice this week but is not sure if he will play in the final preseason game Friday at Tampa Bay.

Poyer spent that time learning the defense.

"It's been tough to sit back and kind of watch but at the same time you gain a lot of perspective," Poyer said Monday. "Every chance I got I was in walk throughs, out at practice watching how our team plays, how our defense plays. Anything I've seen in practice always standing next to the guys, make sure I'm getting coaching points from them, from coaches."

Poyer was asked to speak about some of those observations while he was out.

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"Work ethic, the way they practice," he said. "The way guys are getting to the ball, how they are communicating.

"You can feel the energy throughout the building. I wasn't here last year, I didn't know what training camp was like. This is definitely good energy."

Tom D'Angelo is a senior sports columnist and golf reporter for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at tdangelo@pbpost.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Miami Dolphins' Jordan Poyer: Stephen Ross right, but talent not enough