Details on how Dolphins used personnel Sunday — including surprises — and how they played
Dolphins co-offensive coordinator George Godsey wasn’t kidding last week when he suggested there would be a role for everyone.
In Sunday’s win against New England, that included a designated short-yardage running assignment for backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett, a part-time package off the bench for the team’s top two defensive rookies and a modest role for Mike Gesicki on a day the Dolphins needed more blocking than receiving from their tight ends.
Examining how the Dolphins used all of their personnel in Week 1, and how they performed in those roles:
▪ Quarterback: Brissett converted two key short-yardage situations into first downs — one on a fourth-and-1 and another to help seal the win late. That was a smart use of personnel and not surprising, considering the Colts used Brissett on 17 such plays last season — replacing starter Phillip Rivers — and Brissett converted three of those 17 into TDs and nine into first downs, gaining 19 yards in total.
As for Tua Tagovailoa, the good news was his brilliant execution on the first drives of both halves and how he got the ball out quickly on short throws (13 for 14 for 113 yards and a touchdown on passes of 9 yards or less).
But he was just 3 of 13 for 89 yards on passes thrown at least 10 yards, though two of those passes were dropped. And he struggled when under pressure, which was one of the big negatives of his rookie season.
▪ Running back: Though Salvon Ahmed averaged more yards per carry than Myles Gaskin last season, Gaskin remains the clear-cut No. 1 back, logging 29 snaps Sunday compared with 16 for Brown (who received three of his five carries when Miami ran out the clock late) and 11 snaps for Ahmed, who handled a Wildcat carry.
And though Brown had a key 5-yard run on that final Dolphins possession, Gaskin was Miami’s only back who averaged more than 3.2 per carry: He closed at 5.4 per attempt, rushing nine times for 49 yards and catching five passes for 27 yards.
▪ Receiver: Even with Will Fuller serving the final game of an NFL suspension, the Dolphins gave limited offensive snaps to Jakeem Grant and Mack Hollins (seven apiece) and 22 to Albert Wilson.
DeVante Parker played 45 of Miami’s 54 offensive snaps and Jaylen Waddle logged 43; both were targeted six times and both caught four passes.
Fuller’s addition against Buffalo on Sunday (1 p.m., Fox) likely will further diminish the offensive snap counts of Grant, Hollins and Wilson. And it’s questionable if Preston Williams — once deemed healthy from a November foot injury — will even be active some weeks.
▪ Tight end: With a young offensive line needing help in pass coverage, the Dolphins curtailed the role of Gesicki, their best receiving but least-distinguished blocking tight end.
Durham Smythe played 38 offensive snaps, compared with 21 for Gesicki. With Adam Shaheen unavailable, rookie Hunter Long played nearly as much as Gesicki (18 snaps), and competent blocker Cethan Carter logged 13 snaps.
Gesicki assuredly will have a larger role in future games, but the Dolphins were more comfortable going with a Smythe/Long combo in late-game running situations. This marked only the second time in Gesicki’s past 34 games that he didn’t catch a pass; he was targeted twice.
▪ Offensive line: Per Pro Football Focus, left guard Solomon Kindley graded out as the Dolphins’ best offensive lineman, and right tackle Jesse Davis graded out the second best.
Liam Eichenberg, making his NFL debut at his college position (left tackle), committed two penalties and appeared to allow one sack after tripping on Kindley’s leg. Right guard Robert Hunt graded out best in pass blocking.
Davis graded out the best run blocker and Michael Deiter the worst, per PFF.
Left tackle Austin Jackson, off the COVID-19 list, logged three snaps on special teams but none on offense; the other backup linemen — Greg Mancz and Robert Jones — didn’t play at all.
Brian Flores said on Monday that “Austin is our left tackle” but “Liam did a nice job.”
▪ Defensive line: The snap counts were skewed because Raekwon Davis’ knee injury limited him to five of Miami’s 75 snaps. John Jenkins filled that void by playing 45 snaps and Adam Butler played 48, the same workload as Emmanuel Ogbah (48) and a bit more than Christian Wilkins (42).
Zach Sieler — who had one of only two Dolphins tackles for loss (Ogbah had the other) — played 28 snaps and now has 12 tackles for loss in 561 defensive snaps since the start of the 2020 season. During that same period, Wilkins has just four tackles for loss in 679 defensive snaps.
The Dolphins relinquished 4.5 yards per rush last season and were only slightly better on Sunday (4.2).
More troublesome was the fact Miami sacked Mac Jones only once (the NFL called it a team sack and didn’t credit any individual). In fairness, Elandon Roberts’ third-down sack was wiped out by a personal foul penalty and a holding penalty on the Patriots prevented what likely would have been an Ogbah sack.
Ogbah and Butler each rushed 30 times; Ogbah had three pressures, Butler two. Wilkins mustered just one pressure on 22 pass rushes. All that must improve.
As for Davis, Flores said the Dolphins are still doing tests on his injured knee, adding: “Raekwon is a tough kid. He’s eager to get back out there.” Davis limped off on Sunday and returned wearing a brace on the knee but ran sprints along the sideline.
▪ Linebacker: Rookie Jaelan Phillips played only 22 of Miami’s 75 defensive plays — slightly less than Brennan Scarlett’s 26 — and rushed the passer on 20 of those snaps, producing just one pressure.
The Dolphins used Phillips several times in pass coverage in the preseason finale against Cincinnati but opted not to do that Sunday.
The most notable clarity offered Sunday was how the Dolphins plan to use their linebackers, at least against opponents with a similar run/pass bent. Roberts and Sam Eguavoen each logged 36 snaps, with Eguavoen playing on traditional passing downs and producing four quarterback pressures on 14 pass rushes.
Duke Riley, who had a significant role early in training camp, played only one defensive snap.
Jerome Baker played 74 of Miami’s 75 snaps and was the Dolphins’ poorest performer among any defender who played more than five snaps, per PFF.
Andrew Van Ginkel played 53 snaps but rushed the passer just 15 times and had three pressures. He was beaten in coverage, when he slipped, on Nelson Agholor’s TD pass, and allowed all three targets to be caught for 26 yards.
▪ Safety: The Dolphins have such trust in 34-year-old Jason McCourty that he played 74 of Miami’s 75 snaps. He allowed three of four targets to be caught for 33 yards but also made a great play in coverage on a long throw.
Rookie Jevon Holland played 24 snaps — mostly in dime situations — and forced a fumble that New England recovered. He wasn’t targeted in pass coverage, and PFF rated him the Dolphins’ second-best defensive player on Sunday, with Ogbah first and Howard third.
Eric Rowe (65 snaps) missed a few snaps because of an injury that forced him to leave the game briefly; he forced a fumble but also allowed seven completions in nine targets for 54 yards. Brandon Jones played 11 snaps.
▪ Cornerback: Though Justin Coleman was listed first on the depth chart, he played only two snaps compared with 35 for Nik Neeham.
Coleman allowed a 22-yard completion to Jakobi Meyers on one of those two snaps; Needham permitted just 9 passing yards in his coverage area all day.
Xavien Howard and Byron Jones logged every defensive snap and were excellent. Howard — who had the game-sealing forced fumble and recovery — allowed 20 yards in receptions and Jones just 27.
It’s clear that if Jones or Howard is forced out of a game by injury, Needham is the backup boundary cornerback. Noah Igbinoghene and Trill Williams were inactive Sunday.
This story was originally published September 13, 2021 at 12:32 PM.
