Jody Gomez-US PRESSWIRE
Paul Soliai is entering his sixth season in the
NFL. All with the
Miami Dolphins. The last two have seen him as the starting nose tackle for the (then) 3-4 defense. New defensive coordinator
Kevin Coyle is from the
Cincinnati Bengals organization so he has learned under guys like
Dick LeBeau,
Mike Zimmer, and
Marvin Lewis. That means more of a 4-3 base defense. These are guys that utilize the nose tackles as the anchors for the run defense.
It was rumored that the defensive change would lead Miami to allow Soliai to walk this past off-season as a free agent (2011 Soliai was Franchise tagged). Even his agent
David Canter was vocal in assuming that one of the several other teams interested in his client would be the one to land him. Luckily (in my opinion anyway) for the ‘Phins phaithful the organization did re-up with Soliai.
Soliai’s career is in an upturn. Improvements have been made every season, culminating in his first Pro Bowl game in 2011. The Dolphins rush-defense was #3 overall vs the run, yielding just 3.7 yards per carry. Against runs up the middle Miami was #12. Their success vs the run started with the strong play of Soliai. In the new defense he can play with his fellow nose tackle (likely
Randy Starks and
Tony McDaniel) and attack as 2-gap players (Coyle could have flexibility here). This will allow linebackers like
Karlos Dansby and
Kevin Burnett to run free and make plays. The last time we saw a similar defense in Miami was the
Dave Wannstedt era. Remember when
Tim Bowens and
Darryl Gardiner were occupying would-be blockers and allowing
Zach Thomas and
Robert Jones to roam and make plays? Well the 2012 Dolphins are looking for similar results.
