The Dolphins overhauled their defensive scheme, but they’re having similar issues
The Dolphins brought in a new defensive coordinator in the offseason and instituted a new scheme in hopes of bringing the best out of a group that underachieved in 2022.
But the first month of the season has felt like Groundhog Day. Through the first four games of the season, the Dolphins still rank toward the bottom of the league in multiple statistical categories and have regressed in others.
Miami has given up the fifth-most points in the NFL and is tied for fifth worst in yards allowed.
“I just think our whole defense overall hasn’t been as productive,” defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said Thursday.
Though the defense had quality outings in Week 2 and 3, the unit has struggled in its matchups against top-flight quarterbacks Justin Herbert and Josh Allen. And many of the issues came to a head in the Dolphins’ 48-20 loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 4.
Miami only sacked Allen twice as he totaled five touchdowns and Buffalo generated more than 400 yards of offense.
One of the most glaring problems from the blowout defeat was an inability to stop wide receiver Stefon Diggs, who caught six passes for 120 yards and three touchdowns. Fangio opted against shadowing Diggs with cornerback Xavien Howard, keeping him and fellow corner Kader Kohou on their respective sides. Buffalo took advantage, frequently lining Diggs on the second-year player.
“We gave Diggs a lot of attention,” Fangio said. “Obviously not enough as far as schematically. In hindsight, maybe, but I really don’t feel bad about that decision. I have confidence in Kader, and it didn’t work out. But the second-guessing is justified.”
Kohou was moved from his usual slot cornerback position to the outside in Week 3 against the Denver Broncos, but Fangio said he is “still looking at all the different combinations.” That could mean a player such as Kelvin Joseph, who received snaps late against the Bills, or rookie Cam Smith, who has yet to play a defensive snap in the regular season, could be moved into more of a full-time role.
But as far as any other personnel changes, Fangio said he’s not considering anything “earth-shattering.”
The Dolphins brought in Fangio, one of the preeminent defensive minds, to turn around a defense many believed had the personnel to be one of the NFL’s best units. But the Dolphins have been plagued by similar issues they had under Fangio’s predecessor, Josh Boyer.
Miami isn’t blitzing as much as it did in 2022 — the team ranks 21st with a 23 percent blitz rate — but is tied for 19th in sacks with 10. Last season, the Dolphins ranked fourth in blitz rate and tied for 14th in sacks. And the run defense, normally the bedrock of the unit, has also faltered. The Dolphins gave up the sixth-fewest rushing yards in 2022 but rank 22nd in yards allowed through four games.
Inside linebacker Jerome Baker said the defense’s issues were a “lot of miscommunication, a lot of guys getting beat but it’s the National Football League.”
After a season-opening performance in which the Dolphins gave up 34 points, Fangio said any talk of a learning curve with the defense is a “convenient narrative.” And he doubled down on that this week.
“I think it should be there,” Fangio said of the players’ understanding of the scheme. “Obviously, we’ve been up and down with our performances — two good, two not good — but it should be there. I don’t think that’s a reason for the two games that we didn’t play as well as we needed to.”
But outside linebacker Bradley Chubb said the players are still nearing full trust in a scheme that’s drastically different from the previous season.
“I think we’re almost there,” Chubb said. “It’s easy to trust it on paper and easy to go out there in practice and trust it. But when bullets are flying, you kind of want to resort back to your old ways and do stuff that you used to do. I feel like as a team, we’re right there on the cusp of perfecting where we need to be. A play or two might resort back to old things and not do stuff how we know we can do it, and those one or two plays end up hurting us in the long run. That’s when they get their explosive plays. I feel like if we minimize trying to go outside the defense and try to do the next person’s job and try to do the absolute most, I feel like if we get back to those fundamentals and get back to what the defense is asking of us, I feel like we can take this to a whole other level.”
The Dolphins could get a pair of starters — outside linebacker Jaelan Phillips and safety DeShon Elliott — back for the team’s Week 5 home game against the New York Giants. But outside of the unknown timetable for returns from corners Jalen Ramsey and Nik Needham, any improvements likely will have to be internal.
“We’ve just been inconsistent and not in one position, per se,” Fangio said. “Inconsistent across the board, and we need to do a better job of coaching.”
This story was originally published October 5, 2023 at 1:42 PM.
