Dolphins' Defense-Contender or Pretender? | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

Dolphins' Defense-Contender or Pretender?

bdizzle00

bdizzle00

Super Donator
Club Member
Joined
May 5, 2007
Messages
4,739
Reaction score
8,937
2021 Rankings:

Points Against-16th
Yards Allowed-15th
Rush YPG-14th
PassingYPG-16th
TO's-8th

8 Games against teams with losing records with a combined 35-84 record.
In those games, the Dolphins gave up 16.5 PPG and went 5-3

9 games against teams with winning records with a combined 74-45 record.
In those games, the Dolphins gave up 26.8 PPG and went 3-6

IMO, this D has a lot of room for improvement and is more of a pretender than a contender. Other than NE, the only other team with a winning record we beat was a New Orleans team that was playing with their practice squad. During our winning streak, we basically played most of the worst offensive teams in the NFL. These numbers are not adjusted for Defensive scores.

What say you?
 
bdizzle00 said:
2021 Rankings:

Points Against-16th
Yards Allowed-15th
Rush YPG-14th
PassingYPG-16th
TO's-8th

8 Games against teams with losing records with a combined 35-84 record.
In those games, the Dolphins gave up 16.5 PPG and went 5-3

9 games against teams with winning records with a combined 74-45 record.
In those games, the Dolphins gave up 26.8 PPG and went 3-6

IMO, this D has a lot of room for improvement and is more of a pretender than a contender. Other than NE, the only other team with a winning record we beat was a New Orleans team that was playing with their practice squad. During our winning streak, we basically played most of the worst offensive teams in the NFL. These numbers are not adjusted for Defensive scores.

What say you?
Click to expand...
The defense, as is, would benefit a shitload from a good offense... If you're using it to win games by it self, it simply requires way to much risk to yield a robust output. Put that D in a situation where its playing with a lead quite often while coaching it accordingly, the results might surprise you.
 
Pre-contender?

We are close, i think the D-line/scheme needs to be cleaned up. Our secondary is solid. Our LB core is not the best but i like what we have. Maybe add a thumper with decent speed? Roberts is good at stuffing the run but a liability everywhere else.

A few tweaks and we are legit.
 
The Dolphin defense is average and most of its success was based on confusing young or inexperienced QB’s. When the defense was up against a solid starting QB, they were just ordinary.

They played well against the Ravens and Jackson but that was the game when they went back to playing the defense they played in the 2020 and not how they played the the first half of this season. I don’t think the Ravens were prepared for the defense the Dolphins played that day and Jackson obviously was confused and frustrated.

The rest of the games they won were against young QB’s or backup QB’s. To be considered a top tier defense, they need to play better against teams with above average QB’s.
 
Improve the run defense a bit more, by adding a Mike LB a more stout DT/NT. And continue to play to the strength of the defense.

But adding a more effective offense would help the defense immensely.

As to the overall numbers of the defense. You also need to take into account, the coaches played a more zone scheme the first 9 games and it hurt the numbers in a huge way. But once they switch back to the man scheme and incorporated the zero cover the defense produced at a historic rate.

So an argument can be made the defense is better than the numbers are indicating.
 
Pretender. It doesn't take a genius to see that inexperienced or lesser aware QB's have a hard time with cover 0 blitzes but that actual passers in this league can just find the inherent weaknesses in that scheme to exploit it all day. And this team just didn't really do much well besides a cover 0-based gameplan. So it's a feast or famine defense that can dominate the lesser passers of this league but can't stand up against the teams you actually need to beat to get anywhere in this league.

I'll be disappointed if we don't stay with a 3-4 pressure scheme that uses a lot of man coverage, but I'd trade absolute domination of guys like Ian Book for actually being able to go toe to toe with Josh Allen, Brady's Bucs, or Mahomes Chiefs.
 
bdizzle00 said:
2021 Rankings:

Points Against-16th
Yards Allowed-15th
Rush YPG-14th
PassingYPG-16th
TO's-8th

8 Games against teams with losing records with a combined 35-84 record.
In those games, the Dolphins gave up 16.5 PPG and went 5-3

9 games against teams with winning records with a combined 74-45 record.
In those games, the Dolphins gave up 26.8 PPG and went 3-6

IMO, this D has a lot of room for improvement and is more of a pretender than a contender. Other than NE, the only other team with a winning record we beat was a New Orleans team that was playing with their practice squad. During our winning streak, we basically played most of the worst offensive teams in the NFL. These numbers are not adjusted for Defensive scores.

What say you?
Click to expand...

Held BAL to 10, NO to 3, NEto 24, BUF to 26?. That's with no O help. Not going to say the D is top 10 - still needs a piece or 2 - but closer to contender
 
NBP81 said:
The defense, as is, would benefit a ****load from a good offense... If you're using it to win games by it self, it simply requires way to much risk to yield a robust output. Put that D in a situation where its playing with a lead quite often while coaching it accordingly, the results might surprise you.
Click to expand...
Not enough people factor this in and simply look at the numbers. In all honestly, Miami’s D might have gotten the least amount of help from its offense in the entire league.

The Defense is certainly still thin in spots- especially at LB, but if Miami trotted out the exact same personnel as last season, and added an offense with a semblance of a running game and average O-line play, defensive numbers would improve across the board. There’s a lot of talent in on that side of the ball. With a few decent additions, this defense is much closer to contender than pretender. The game against a healthy Ravens squad who were still the #1 seed in the AFC at the time is a good indicator of what this defense can be when it actually gets a decent game from the offense.
 
dolfan91 said:
Improve the run defense a bit more, by adding a Mike LB a more stout DT/NT. And continue to play to the strength of the defense.

But adding a more effective offense would help the defense immensely.

As to the overall numbers of the defense. You also need to take into account, the coaches played a more zone scheme the first 9 games and it hurt the numbers in a huge way. But once they switch back to the man scheme and incorporated the zero cover the defense produced at a historic rate.

So an argument can be made the defense is better than the numbers are indicating.
Click to expand...
You aren't wrong with your information, but one really has to take into account the quality of opponent we were facing when also when we were putting up great numbers. First half of the season we played Allen twice, Carr, Wentz (who can be hot/cold but had a good game against us), Matt Ryan, Tom Brady. These are developed passers who can read the NFL field and who are able to exploit the space left by the blitz. Once we started the zero cover defense again we didn't face one really developed passer there besides Tannehill, and I'm honestly not sure where to put him since he's a pretty good QB these days but his biggest weakness is pressure and he had only one weapon that belonged running pass routes in the league at the time we played him.

You're going to get different results playing Zack Wilson and Ian Book than you are Josh Allen, Tom Brady, Matt Ryan, etc. Especially when the only thing you're defense has proved truly adept at doing is playing the type of pressure scheme that dominates lesser QB's and is easily exposed versus good ones.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom