By Greg Fuchs
For the 2 nd week in a row Miami scored 17 points and for the 2 nd week in
a row the Dolphins lost. Playing on Sunday night in Los Angeles, the
Dolphins lost to the Chargers 23-17. Hopefully on the flight back to
Miami head coach Mike McDaniels will re-discover the offense, which
has been missing in action the past 2 games.
Last week versus San Francisco the Dolphins only had the ball for 19:26
and had 10 drives of 4 plays or less. Against the Chargers they closely
mirrored those stats with only 20:22 of possession as they had no drive
longer than 7 plays or 3:33 long. Only 2 drives were for more than 38
yards. What happened to the high-flying passing game that had been
torturing NFL defenses for the first 11 weeks of the season?
Over the past 2 games that high lying passing game has for the most
part been grounded. QB Tua Tagovailoa, who had been the most
accurate passer in the NFL, was only 18-33 last week as he often missed
open receivers. Against Los Angeles he regressed to 10-28 as the
receivers were rarely open.
Through the first 11 games Miami featured a quick passing attack with
receivers frequently open over the middle of the field and Tua hitting
them in stride right in the hands. Over past 2 weeks the receivers
haven’t been as open and Tua hasn’t been as accurate.
Are defenses adjusting their game plan to contain the explosive duo of
Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle? Yes. Could Tua have made better
decisions and thrown more accurate passes? Also a yes. Have Hill and
Waddle also been a bit banged up physically? Another yes.
So what can the Dolphins do differently? First of all, they might try
running the ball. Against the 49ers they only ran the ball 8 times for 33
yards. This week versus the Chargers they again ran for less than 100
yards as they gained 92 yards on only 19 carries with the 28 of the
yards coming on 3 scrambles by Tua.
Miami needs to commit to running more often, especially on 1 st down.
It will keep the defenses honest and force the linebackers and safeties
to play closer to the line of scrimmage, which will also help the passing
game.
And speaking of the passing game, does Miami have any receivers not
named Hill and Waddle? Granted they are 2 of the best of in the game
but spreading the ball around a bit can’t hurt.
Tight-end Mike Gesicki is getting paid close $11M and he has caught
zero passes the past 2 games. Offseason free agent acquisition WR
Cedrick Wilson, who is making $7.3M, has caught only 2 passes, the
same amount as Trent Sherfield.
An offense that is highly leveraged on throwing to 2 receivers can be
more easily defensed and it appears NFL defensive coordinators are
figuring that out.
But the Dolphins troubles the past 2 weeks doesn’t fall solely on the
shoulders of the offense, as Miami’s defense hasn’t done a good job of
getting the other teams’ offense off the field. Last week, the 49ers had
5 drives of at least 9 plays. On Sunday, the Chargers had 4 drives of at
least 7 plays and 6 drives over 40 yards.
The defense has done a good job of defending the run, but their pass
coverage leaves a lot to be desired. Over the past 2 games they’ve
allowed 64 completions and a 73% completion rate.
3 rd and 4 th down conversions has also been a huge issue the past 2
games for both the offense and the defense. Miami’s offense has only
completed 4 of 20 (20%) 3 rd and 4 th down opportunities while allowing
their opponents to convert 46% of the time (19 for 41).
The bad news is that Miami has played poorly the past 2 weeks. The
good news is that there are plenty of areas to improve and I think they
have the talent to do so, as long as they stay healthy.
Speaking of which, injuries continue to mount for the Fins, who could
be missing a few players for this Saturday’s game in Buffalo. Running
back Jeff Wilson left with a hip injury that could be week to week. Hill is
the biggest concern as he was constantly in and out of the game with a
lower leg injury. He was noticeably limping and was constantly having
ice applied. It’s highly unlikely he will be 100% for Saturday’s game, if
he does indeed play. Safety Eric Rowe also left the game with an injury
and didn’t return.
The Dolphins are now 8-5 with the tough road game in Buffalo looming.
They close out the season at home versus Green Bay on Christmas day
followed by the Patriots in New England while completing the season
hosting the New York Jets. If they go 2-2, they will end up 10-7, which
may or may not be good enough to get into the playoffs.
Miami will need to ramp up their performance on both sides of the ball
if they hope to be a playoff team.
