Dolphins defensive communication has not been great. Why that’s so important now | Opinion
The San Francisco 49ers offense is interesting to watch even before the football is snapped.
The Miami Dolphins’ opponents on Sunday typically line up before the snap, then shift one guy. Then they motion some other guy. Then they might change again. There’s a lot of scripted stuff happening before each play even begins.
And that’s the way head coach and offensive architect Kyle Shanahan runs his attack — to mess with the heads of defenders.
It’s challenging for most teams. But for the Dolphins, who this season have struggled adjusting to teams moving around before the snap of the football, it threatens to be a nightmare.
Why?
Because this season a majority of the big plays (passes of 25 yards or more and runs of 15 yards or more) the Dolphins have allowed have been at least partially the result of faulty communication or assignment busts of some kind.
The Dolphins have allowed 16 such plays in their four games.
So the team sometimes suffering from faulty communication or improper assignment alignment is playing a team whose offense wants to expose faulty communication or improper assignment alignment.
Great (not really).
The challenge for the Dolphins, at least recently, has been getting everyone on the same page after they get everyone on the same page. Allow strong safety-cornerback-linebacker Eric Rowe to explain:
“It’s really the call within the call,” Rowe said. “So whatever call that we have lined up against the opponent, and there’s always checks based on whatever they do. So we as in safeties, corners — everybody — we all have to be on the same page on motion, shift, kind of whatever they do.
“So when I mean ‘breakdown in communication,’ if the offense, they did some sort of motion and then whatever call that we have to give out, we have to give it out clean, faster, crisp so we can execute. Obviously that didn’t happen last game.
“There were a couple calls kind of within the call where not everybody was on the same page just at the end of the day.”
Said another way, Miami defenders call out assignments based on personnel on offense. But then might have to change after the offense shifts or is done with its motions.
That second call — called a check — has been something of a problem.
That problem was highlighted against Seattle last week when safety Bobby McCain was out of the game for a while because he’s responsible for getting the secondary players in their right assignments. And it has been something of a problem with rookie cornerback Noah Igbinoghene in the lineup since the second game of the season because, well, he’s a rookie and he has missed a couple of checks the past couple of games.
That’s why, for example, you saw Russell Wilson complete a 57-yard pass to a seemingly inexplicably open wide receiver with only 19 seconds left to play before halftime. And the reason the Dolphins had to call timeout right after that play, as if to regather themselves.
“... It was plays that we as a defense just had a mental breakdown,” Rowe said. “Just kind of a breakdown in coverage, a breakdown in our communication. That leads to them having big plays, and ultimately that’s kind of what hurt us in the game.”
And that’s what makes San Francisco such a challenge for Miami’s defense. Because that offense is built to expose a defense that isn’t sound on all its assignments.
“Look, this is going to be a tough challenge from that standpoint,” coach Brian Flores said Thursday. “[Shanahan’s] a very good coordinator. We’re going to have to do a very good job defensively with our technique, our fundamentals, our communication.”
The good news for the Dolphins?
First, the team is hopeful veteran cornerback Byron Jones will return to the lineup Sunday after missing the past two games with groin and Achilles injuries. He is the team’s highest-paid player and its signature free agent addition in the offseason. And he is much more experienced than Igbinoghene, who replaced him early in the game against the Buffalo Bills in Week 2.
Secondly, Miami’s coaching staff is stressing to defenders they need to get their calls and checks right during meetings and in practice because it has obviously been a problem.
“...It’s just being overly communicative, loud, before and in the meeting room,” Rowe said.
