Dolphins coach Brian Flores wants to ride ‘hot hand’ at RB. One problem: There is none
Brian Flores’ plan at the running back spot is simple enough. The Miami Dolphins coach has two running back he trusts, and he wants to ride the hot hand.
Kalen Ballage and Kenyan Drake — and the whole roster — haven’t made it quite so simple as it sounds, though.
Ballage started both of the Dolphins’ first two games and managed just 5 yards on nine carries for an average of 0.6 yards per carry. Drake hasn’t been significantly better — he has just 31 yards on 10 carries for an average of 3.1 per rush.
“We’re going to try to get both guys in the game and if we get a hot hand, we’ll stay with that,” Flores said Wednesday in Davie. “That’s been expressed to both guys.”
Miami (0-2) mustered just 21 yards on 12 carries in a season-opening loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Sept. 8 at Hard Rock Stadium. The Dolphins followed it up Sunday by going for 42 yards on 15 carries in a 43-0 loss to the New England Patriots in Miami Gardens. They now rank as the second-worst running team in the NFL with their 31.5 yards per game and 2.3 yards per carry ranking only ahead of the Cincinnati Bengals.
It’s impossible to pin all the blame in one place. The Dolphins signed two of their starting offensive lineman less than 10 days before the start of the regular season. They still start a rookie at right guard. They have yet to lead, which means they have run the ball fewer times than any other team in the league.
“The last couple games, obviously the score hasn’t been anything close to what we wanted it to be and when you’re down 30 points — and it kind of happens fast, kind of happens early — obviously the run game is not going to be something that’s emphasized,” Ballage said. “Hopefully moving forward we’re in tighter, closer games, and we’ll be able to run the ball and control the game more.”
Even before the blowout loss Sunday got out of hand, Miami couldn’t establish any presence on the ground, though. Five first-down runs in the first half netted 6 yards. The only second-down run went for 2 yards. Early in the second half, the Dolphins had to start going pass happy to make up a two-score deficit, which eventually ballooned to a six-score loss.
Despite the lack of production from Ballage, Dolphins offensive coordinator Chad O’Shea is still happy with what he has seen from the tailback.
“Kalen — I’ve been impressed with him as a runner, and we really stressed to the team that it takes all 11 to be successful, and this is certainly true of the running back position,” the offensive coordinator said. “They rely so heavily on not only the offensive line, but the tight ends and the receivers to block-run for us, and for the quarterback to get in the right play, whether it be an alert at the line of scrimmage or the right identification of the front. There’s a lot of pieces to the puzzle in the run game.”
Establishing anything on the ground might be the easiest way for Miami’s offense to put together anything resembling a threat Sunday when the Dolphins travel to Texas to face the Dallas Cowboys.
The passing game has only been marginally more productive than the running game, but Drake and Ballage are still two of the more proven players on offense. Drake has never averaged worse than 4.5 yards per carry in a season and averaged 5.3 in limited action as a rookie in 2018.
“I think I’ve only had like 10 carries, so I’m not really too worried about he season or anything like that,” Ballage said. “I think I’ve done what I can do with the carries that I’ve had.”