Dolphins explain what has been needed to adjust to Fangio defense and one of his strengths
After the Dolphins permitted 433 yards and 34 points in a season-opening win against the Chargers, Vic Fangio said it was a “convenient narrative” to attribute the struggles to adjusting to a new defensive coordinator.
“We should be adjusted,” he said at the time. “I’ve got to adjust too and know what best fits our players.”
Seven weeks later, these Dolphins defenders are playing much better — they allowed a season-low 218 yards against the Patriots on Sunday — and are now buoyed by the return of six-time Pro Bowl cornerback Jalen Ramsey.
For the first time this season, Miami is in the top half of the league in total defense; opponents are averaging 329.4 yards per game, which is 15th best from a defensive standpoint.
Miami is still allowing too many points; opponents are scoring 25.5 per game, which is 25th from a defensive perspective. But the Dolphins are fourth in sacks with 27.
As they turn their attention to Sunday’s game in Germany against Kansas City (9:30 a.m., NFL Network/NBC 6), multiple players say part of the reason they’re playing better is because they now have a better grasp of Fangio’s defense and because they have had time to integrate a few key new players, including linebacker David Long Jr. and safety DeShon Elliott, and learn their tendencies.
“Like any great defense, it takes time,” linebacker Jerome Baker said last week.
“You can’t just have a new defensive coordinator and new linebackers playing next to each other and expect them to be peanut butter and jelly. It takes time. We’re getting used to it and... it’s working out.”
What has taken time in acclimating to Fangio’s defense, cornerback Eli Apple said, is “communicating and lining up and making changes to the different motions and different shifts we see from offenses.”
Like most coaches, Fangio wants things done a certain way, no matter the results. Even when Long seemed to be playing well, Fangio was measured in his praise, offering mixed assessments.
So did Dolphins players have to fight instincts to resist doing things acceptable to previous coordinator Josh Boyer but unacceptable to Fangio?
Baker said he’s “sure” that was a factor. “Of course, there’s human nature of guys are going to do that,” Baker said. “But we’re professional athletes. We had training camp, we had OTAs. I’m pretty sure a lot of guys dropped those old habits fast if you want to stay here.”
What’s expected of players at various positions has changed in the move from Boyer to Fangio. Defensive backs don’t blitz as often. The nose tackle, Raekwon Davis, said he has more of an ability to rush the quarterback. And the cornerbacks are navigating a new scheme.
“Our last defense was: If you didn’t know how to play man coverage, you’re not going to last in this defense,” Baker said. “This defense is more: If you don’t understand zone drops and zone matches, it will be pretty hard.”
One reason Fangio’s defense takes time to learn is the size and nuanced nature of the playbook.
“There’s a lot of verbiage, a lot of communication,” Apple said. “You got to have 11 guys playing together and communicating as one.”
Baker said Fangio “has a lot of plays. It’s not a defense where you just come in and think you can go in and know everything. It’s a lot. He has a genuine playbook. It’s not just like one of those playbooks where calls are kind of similar.”
Has Baker mastered the playbook?
“Hell, no,” he said. “Saturday nights, I’m sitting there going over tip sheets, going over game plans just to keep my mind in it. Our defense is not hard, like schematically hard. But one call could have six checks. You have got to not just know it but know it quickly. With Vic, at the linebacker position, you have to be smart. You have to know what he’s seeing, what he’s feeling, before he actually says it.
“A lot of times, I’m like, ‘all right, he might have called this, but I know what he meant.’ He wants man coverage but he wants the front like this. I might have to change the front. You really have to know your stuff.
“Our last defense [with Boyer], once you called it, that’s how we were playing. It might be, ‘I’m talking to the DB, we might work together, but it’s not our whole defense [that has to be] changed’ with one call, as it can be with Fangio.
Though the importance of halftime adjustments sometimes can be overstated, Apple said Fangio has made a difference with some of his this season. Such as?
“In Sunday’s game, that involved tightening up different run fits and coverages,” Apple said.
One key to Fangio’s defense is confusing the quarterback by presenting similar looks before a play, but varying what scheme is used out of those looks.
Long said those plays with presnap disguises are “where a lot of guys are able to make plays, especially against good quarterbacks. It’s a focus to try to make everything look the same.”
That’s where Ramsey’s return helps.
“In many ways, not the only way, your corner’s abilities govern the defense,” Fangio said. “If you feel confident in them that they can play good outside the numbers on the routes you get out there, it has an effect on what you do defensively. There is no way around that.”
And Fangio adds: “There are a bunch of coaches in the Hall of Fame. It’s just coincidentally a bunch of players that they had are in there with them. Good players make good coaches.”
The defense will need to be at its best against a Chiefs team that ranks fourth in yards per game (381.5) and 12th in points (23.4).
Two-time league MVP Patrick Mahomes “is one of those guys you really have to game plan for, but you really can’t game plan for someone that can scramble and make throws from all over the place,” Apple said.
