Explosive plays have hurt the Dolphins’ defense. Here’s how they plan to limit it
Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver utilizes a very unique approach to emphasize the importance of communication.
A clip from the 1994 cult classic “Dumb and Dumber.”
“You remember the scene in ‘Dumb and Dumber’ when they’re driving in the car and he’s like, ‘You want to hear the most annoying sound in the world?’” Weaver said Friday morning. “That was the scene I played for the guys. I’m like, ‘That’s how I want you to be. I want you to be so annoying out there communicating to the guys, it’s just like shut up. Please, I know. I got it. I got it.’ But that, if you want to be good, a noisy defense is a good defense.”
For the past two weeks, big plays have gashed the Dolphins’ defense. Each has come at a seminal point in the game — James Cook’s 49-yard house call put the Buffalo Bills up three scores just before halftime, then DK Metcalf’s 71-yard touchdown reception had the Seattle Seahawks up by 14 at the end of the first quarter — and the team never recovered. Subtract those big plays and the Dolphins would head into Monday night’s matchup against the Tennessee Titans with top-10 passing and rushing defenses in terms of yardage. Better communication might have ultimately prevented these breakdowns.
“We always talk about obnoxious communication, and on that particular snap we didn’t have that and that’s where the breakdowns occur,” Weaver said, referring to Metcalf’s catch-and-run. “It’s real easy — you see it from down to down. You can get nine or 10 guys on the same page, but it only takes one to allow that big play to happen. So for us ultimately, the more we can get in cohesion and for constantly over communicating, the less chance we allow that to happen.”
Added Marcus Maye: “As funny as the clip was, you literally got to be like that. Overcommunication. Talking and playing. Calling things out presnap. Everything. That’s probably the most important thing: communication.”
Weaver especially emphasized this on Monday, according to Calais Campbell.
“We had a pretty tough meeting because he went through pretty much line-by-line situations, and we went through tape and watched it,” Campbell said. “Sometimes you need those. It’s not really a call-out session, it’s just a get better session, but let’s be on the same page, understand who was messing up on what play or caused the issues so we can get it fixed.”
Players will often try to overcompensate after a big gain, Campbell continued, which often leads to even more mistakes.
“A big thing is trust,” Campbell added, “trusting the guys you have next to you to do their job and you do yours and be accountable.”
Granted, it’s just two plays. That might not necessarily a huge cause for concern to the average fan — until the fan sees it again. And again. And again.
“Whenever you give up an explosive that long, it’s usually not more than one person that did something wrong,” defensive line coach Austin Clark said Friday. “Were we out of gap? Were we aligned properly? That’s where you start. You try to knock it out quick because in this league, it’s a copycat league.”
The Dolphins will need to limit the big plays if they want to have a shot against the Titans. Not only does Tennessee have one of the league’s most underrated receiving cores in De’Andre Hopkins, Calvin Ridley and Tyler Boyd, their running back room — led by Tony Pollard and Tyjae Spears — averages 4.7 yards per carry, which ranks in the top half in the league. And while Will Levis has had some silly turnovers to start the 2024 season, it was less than a year ago that the then-rookie quarterback led the Titans to a comeback victory of the Dolphins.
“We got to exercise those demons to an extent, but every year is different,” Weaver said when asked about last year’s lost to the Titans. “This is an entirely new team. There is a bunch of us that weren’t a part of it at all, but the guys that were here, we know that we want to go make it right this week. They have a new team, new staff, new coordinators, new players — same thing here, but those two logos, we know what this means.”
Throw in the Dolphins’ offensive struggles — just 13 points in the last two games — on top of potentially starting a third quarterback this season, it’s clear that the defense must be the difference-maker come Monday night.
