Mailbag: Is the Dolphins’ offense actually improving after a third consecutive win?
The wins keep rolling in for the Dolphins, who picked up their third consecutive victory after beating the New York Jets 24-17 at MetLife Stadium on Sunday. The team plays its next three games at Hard Rock Stadium. Up first: Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers.
In this week’s mailbag, I take a look at whether there are legitimate improvements from the offense during the winning streak and what to expect from both sides of the ball against the Panthers. And a reminder that if you have questions you would like me to answer in future mailbags, you can ask me on Twitter or email me.
Here we go:
Is the [offense] getting better in any way? - @leeconnolly1
Well, I will start with saying that there’s no question this offense runs a little smoother when Tua Tagovailoa is in the lineup, as compared to Jacoby Brissett. It’s fair to ask this question though, considering the three defenses the Dolphins have faced during their winning streak rank 27th (Houston Texans), 31st (Baltimore Ravens) and 32nd (Jets) in yard per play allowed.
Three games might be a little too small of a sample size to definitively say there have been improvements but statistically, the offense has been playing better. In the first eight games of the season, the Dolphins averaged 301.9 yards per game. In the past three games — and keep in mind, Tagovailoa has essentially played in six of the 12 quarters during the streak — the team is averaging 323.3 yards per game. When you take that into account and also consider the emergence of big plays in the passing game and then the team rushing for more than 100 yards for the first time since Week 7, you have to believe they’re getting a bit better. Again, it’s only three games and they have partly taken advantage of some bad defenses. Carolina, which ranks second in yard per play allowed (4.9), will be a good test for the offense.
Miami’s offense certainly got rolling towards the end of the second half against the Jets. In order to get a quicker start, specifically in the second quarter or ensuing drives from their first drive of each game, what is the best way to have continued success consistently? - @Dan_B_Phin_Phan
This remains the roadblock keeping the Dolphins offense from being respectable. For much of the season, it appeared that the “script” at the beginning of halves was the reason for their early success, but tight end Mike Gesicki doused a little water on that Monday, saying the offense sometimes doesn’t even follow the script as long as some people might believe. At this point in the season, it’s hard to say what exactly can fix these issues. One thing I would like to see as a potential solution is more no-huddle offense, just to establish some rhythm during the middle quarters. Tagovailoa spoke about the advantages of it, saying it forces more communication from the defense and can lead to errors on their part. Of course, the offense has to keep the ball moving for no-huddle to be effective so, again, it comes down to execution.
Shut down Lamar Jackson one week, too much success allowed by Joe Flacco another. What should fans expect from Cam Newton? - @miasportsminute
This is a good question because it will be just Newton’s second start since returning to Carolina a few weeks ago. The last time the Dolphins faced Newton was in Week 1 of the 2020 season, and while he had a lot of success against Miami, especially on the ground, he’s in a different system now. While the Dolphins will likely see some of the same option runs as they did with Jackson, I think this matchup is more about stopping running back Christian McCaffrey than it is Newton. In terms of his abilities catching passes out the backfield and the way Carolina moves him around, it will be unlike anything the Dolphins saw against Baltimore. Newton was really efficient in his first start of the season and he’s still a threat when he extends plays, but this offense revolves around McCaffrey when he’s healthy.
How do you think we can attack this Panthers defense most effectively? - @WestonWilbur
I watched the condensed version of the Panthers’ Week 11 loss to the Washington Football Team, and one thing I noticed is Washington had a lot of success running off tackle and then finding cutback lanes. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, running back Antonio Gibson ran nine times for 57 yards wide left. Coming off the offense’s first 100-yard rushing effort since Week 7, it’d be good to see if the Dolphins can replicate that effort and use it to open up things more in the passing game. Carolina is an aggressive defense and probably the best unit the Dolphins offense will have faced since Week 8 against the Bills but they do allow the 14th-most rushing yards per game, so there should be opportunities.
