The biggest personnel surprise of the Dolphins season so far and what has led to it
That Myles Gaskin — who seemed on the bubble to make the team three months ago — would be the Miami Dolphins’ leading rusher through two weeks of the season is shocking enough.
The fact he’s had the opportunity to achieve that, with two far more accomplished running backs on the roster, speaks to the coaching staff’s willingness to be open-minded about playing time, without favoritism to the highest-paid players or biggest names.
Jordan Howard and Matt Breida — snagged during the offseason to fix a tepid Dolphins running game — are both healthy, and that’s what makes the Dolphins’ playing-time allocation at that position perhaps the coaching staff’s most surprising personnel decision to date.
Through two games, Gaskin has played 88 offensive snaps, a reward for his good work in training camp and early in the opener against New England.
Howard, who entered this season with the NFL’s third-most rushing yards since 2016, has played only 17 snaps. Breida, who has the NFL’s third-highest per carry average among active backs, has played 30 snaps.
The two veterans appear to be handling their diminished roles professionally.
“I’m not the type of guys who’s going to complain about how many carries I get, if I make it to the Pro Bowl,” Breida said. “I told [coaches] whatever they ask me to do, I’m going to do. At the end of the day, we want to win. We want to win championships. That’s what we want to do. If I was paid to worry about how many number of yards I’m getting, that would be a different story. I’m paid to win championships. That’s our end goal.”
Nevertheless, this much is clear: Breida’s and Howard’s playing time and workload are well below what they’re accustomed to.
Breida — averaging six rushing attempts per game — has run well in limited opportunities, with 12 carries for 59 yards through two games. Last year, he averaged 9.5 carries per game for San Francisco. Two years ago, he averaged 10.9.
Howard, who has struggled, is averaging just 6.5 carries per game, compared with 15.2 per game in his NFL career entering this season.
Though Howard has two touchdowns, he has just 11 yards on 13 carries.
His 0.8 per carry average is worst among 53 NFL backs with at least 13 carries. And even fullback Chandler Cox (25 offensive snaps) has played more than Howard so far.
Gaskin, meantime, has been a revelation, perhaps the most improved player on the roster.
The seventh-rounder touched the ball just 43 times as a rookie last year (36 carries, seven receptions).
This season, he already has 26 touches: 16 carries for 86 yards (5.4 average) and 10 receptions for 62 yards. That 5.4 rushing average is well above his 3.7 rushing average as a rookie.
“He’s running hard; he’s playing well,” right tackle Jesse Davis said. “As a player, he’s carrying a different kind of confidence with him. His ability to lead us with the running game has been fun to watch.”
The Dolphins also believe Gaskin is particularly well equipped for this offense when Miami spreads the field and emphasizes the pass. That gives him an edge over Howard, who is considered a below-average receiver.
And though Howard has started both games, the staff has felt no need to use him much after his early-game carries yielded negligible yardage.
Running backs coach Eric Studesville said last month that Gaskin - who left Washington as the 14th leading rusher in FBS history — is “head and shoulders above where he was last year. The effort he puts into the game is starting to really show. He’s playing more confident, playing faster. We’re seeing some of the skill set he’s had in the past and we’re starting to see what his potential is.”
Offensive coordinator Chan Gailey cannot worry about pleasing players with more touches, not with an 0-2 team desperate for a win on Thursday at Jacksonville.
“There is only one football; nobody ever gets it enough,” Gailey said. That’s just the way it happens in this game. When you have good receivers, you have a good tight end, you have good running backs, everybody cannot touch it as much as they would like to touch it or as much as anybody would like for them to touch it.
“You have to do what the defense allows you to do. Matt played well [Sunday] and did some really good things. Myles continues to do some good things. Jordan runs hard for us on the goal line and in some other places. We’re just going to continue to try to do what they do best.”
What’s clear is that overall improvement is needed, despite the good work from Gaskin and Breida, whose 4.9 average per carry is on par with his career 5.0 average.
The Dolphins’ 186 rushing yards through two weeks are sixth-lowest in the league and their 3.8 yards per carry average is tied for eighth-worst.
Miami’s offense has been far from balanced. The Dolphins have run the ball 49 times and passed it 77.
“Right now, we’re content to take the run game when we can get it, and then be efficient with it,” Gailey said. “That’s the biggest thing is to be efficient when you do run it. We’ve got more than I want zero and one-yard plays in the run game. We’re dictated a lot of times on the defense. I hope we can run the ball a little bit better in the future.”
Breida said he’s on board, regardless of his workload.
“We’ve got a plan every week,” he said. “I trust in the plan. I trust in the coaches. All of us have a role to play on this team, and whatever that role is, we’re going to play it to the best of our ability.”
FYI: Patrick Laird, the fourth back on the roster, has played just seven offensive snaps in two games.
NOTABLE
The Dolphins say cornerback Byron Jones will miss Tuesday night’s practice with a groin injury, putting his status very much in doubt for Thursday’s game at Jacksonville.
Here’s what Brian Flores said during his Tuesday press briefing.
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This story was originally published September 22, 2020 at 1:46 PM.
