Dolphins defense sticking to script despite midweek change to Saints rookie QB Ian Book
The coronavirus’ impact on Dolphins games has continued past the team’s Week 15 matchup with the New York Jets.
The team was well into preparation for a New Orleans Saints offense led by quarterback Taysom Hill until Thursday’s news that Hill and backup Trevor Siemian were being placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list, leaving rookie Ian Book to make his first career start against the Dolphins on Monday night. New Orleans is also reportedly signing veteran Blake Bortles to back up Book.
While Book, a fourth-round pick from Notre Dame in the 2021 Draft, is a relative unknown in the pros and hasn’t attempted a pass in a regular-season game, not much will change for a defense that has been one of the best during the team’s six-game winning streak.
“If he’s in the NFL and he’s playing quarterback, he’s going to be a good player,” cornerback Byron Jones said Thursday. “Preparation still stays the same. I’m sure he’s a mobile guy who can run and throw as well so we’ll be working, just the same way we work otherwise.
“Honestly you just prepare the same way,” Jones continued. “The meetings don’t really change, the structure doesn’t change. I guess coaches will probably find some film of the new quarterback coming in but they still have 10 other players on the field that are consistent. I still have to guard the receivers, linebackers got to still tackle their running backs and so on and so forth.”
Coach Brian Flores and his coaching staff got an up-close look at Book at the Senior Bowl in January. Flores said Friday that the team would go back and review Senior Bowl film, as well as college tape, as they shift their game-planning to the rookie.
“They’ve got a lot of good offensive players,” Flores said of the Saints, “and Sean Payton is, I would say a great head coach but certainly one of the best offensive minds in maybe the history of the league. He’ll have his group ready. ... We’re preparing for their entire team. Ian Book, having spent a lot of time with him, he showed good command of the offense in the Senior Bowl. I’m sure that’ll be the case on [Monday]. Smart. Tough. I’m sure they’ll put him in very good positions and he can make some throws. And also a good runner with the football as well.”
The Dolphins are 2-1 this season against rookie quarterbacks this season, with wins against the New England Patriots’ Mac Jones and New York Jets’ Zach Wilson, and a loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars’ Trevor Lawrence. Facing an inexperienced quarterback in Book and a lackluster offense — the Saints offense is ranked 21st by Football Outsiders’ efficiency metrics — it seems like a matchup prime for the Dolphins’ exotic blitz packages, or at least the appearance of them.
According to NFL Next Gen Stats, the Dolphins blitzed Wilson last week on 37.9 percent of his drop-backs, right in line with Miami’s blitz rate of 38.7 percent but Jets offensive players said afterward they had just as much trouble with situations in which the Dolphins showed pressure pre-snap and gave another look after the snap.
“That’s football,” Flores said. “You make it look like one thing and it’s another and you try to disguise things. We’re doing that really in all phases — offensively, defensively and in the kicking game.”
After a tough first-half schedule that included games against Derek Carr, Tom Brady and Josh Allen twice, the Dolphins defense has taken advantage of a schedule that has mainly included young quarterbacks and journeymen. During the six-game winning streak, the defense is allowing a passer rating of 60.3, the third-best in the NFL.
While Book may not have carved a reputation in the NFL, Flores and players have maintained the Saints offense remains one worthy of their attention, with players such as running back Alvin Kamara and Payton, who returned to the team after missing one game with the coronavirus, still in the fold.
“I know that he throws a very good ball. It’s a tight spiral,” said rookie offensive lineman Liam Eichenberg, who played with Book in college. “He’s a pretty accurate quarterback. You know what you’re going to get with him. He’s a pretty consistent guy so it’ll be good to see him out there on the field.”
This story was originally published December 24, 2021 at 12:28 PM.
