keithjackson
junkyard dolphin
Four weeks into the seasons, we can begin to gauge what we have on our hands with these Miami Dolphins and have some bye week fun! At two-and-two you might expect a mixed bag, some good, some bad and a whole lot of mediocre. So let's look at the stats and see where the dolphins are amongst the league leaders and the bottom dwellers, and share a few giggles and digs.
The general script seems to be that the opponents score first, and the Dolphins score just before halftime (1td & 2fg in the drive before the half) and then score again on their first drive of the first half (2 FG and Miller fumble at the 1 yardline). They continue to score more points in the third quarter than any other team in football, until the fourth quarter where our QBs have a 53.2 QBR (#31 in the NFL). (Last year, Tannehill had an NFL-worst 59.2 QBR in the 4th quarter.) Our offense plays great in the Redzone with a 110.1 QBR (#9), just like last year (101.8 QBR #6). Inside the opponents' ten yard line we drop to a 91.2 QBR, but we should see that improve as Tannehill led the NFL last year with a 110.8 QBR last year. Strangely, he has a 129.6 QBR in 2WR sets (#4), but a 68.2 QBR in 3WR sets (#30).
Perhaps Bill Lazor's "fast paced offense" is having an effect on the amount of plays. The Dolphins lead the league with 52 offensive drives, and subsequently our 51 defensive drives are #2. We rank #2 in offensive plays with 278, and #4 in defensive plays with 282. With all these plays, it is a testament to Philbin that his team continues to be amongst the least penalized in the game, with 4.5 penalties/game (#3) and 0.06 penalties per play (#1). We have only allowed 2 first downs via penalties, which is also an NFL-best. Speaking of, we are #7 in first down differential (90 for v 73 against). Further into the game of hidden yardage, we are even with 8 giveaways (#4) and 8 takeaways (#27) , however we have scored 30 points off TOs, while only allowing 10. Amazingly, we have 5 fumble recoveries (NFL best), but have also surrendered 5 (NFL worst).
On special teams, there are short fields all around! We enjoy the third best starting field position in the NFL at the 32.7 yardline, but our opponents start on average at the 31.1, which is fourth worst. Our feast is due to one of the leagues best kickoff return units, as Jarvis Landry is averaging 29.3 yards on kickoffs (#4). We are also #1 in drives starting in the opponents' redzone with 6, a whopping 11.54% of drives (the second closest is Bufallo with 3). Our famine is due to What may be the league's worst coverage unit on returns: #31 punt return against average, #32 punt return against yards, #26 KO return against average, #32 KO return against yards, and one KO returned for a TD. It doesn't help that Brandon Fields has slumped to a 41.6 punting average (#30).
On defense, despite so many plays, we are #2 allowing 4.7 yards per play. Our rush defense is #10 with a 3.8 yards per rush against average, and we have only allowed 17 rushes for 10+ yards (#2). We are even better only allowing 9.9 yards per catch (#2), keeping most plays in front of us and not conceding big yardage. We are also #2 in net yards per passing attempt (6.0) despite having the fifth most passing attempts against (151), partly due to our 11 sacks (#4), sacking QBs on 6.8% of drop backs (#6). We allow 60.9% completion (#7) and are also #9 in QBR allowed. Opponents convert 40.3% of their third downs (#12). The average drive drive against only consists of 5.5 plays (#8), results in a TO 15.7% (#8), and gains 24.6 net yards (#3). (Interestingly, the AFC East rules this average net yards per drive against category: NYJ (#2), NE (#4), and BUF (#7).) Despite this, we are middle of the pack with 90 points allowed by the defense.
On offense, our rushing and passing plays are almost identical, respectively gaining 5.0 yards per play (#5) and 5.1 ypp (#28). Obviously, this is good and bad. We have a top five rushing attack: 565 total yards (#5), 142.3 ypg (#6), Lamar Miller's 277 yards (#6), Miller's 5.7 average (#2), (Knowshon's 5.5 average (#4)), 17 ten-plus yard runs (#2), and 29 rushing first downs (#6). Where our run game is shining, our passing game is practically droopy, and because of it our total offensive 5.1 yards per play is #28 in the league. The average air distance a pass travels to the receiver is 4.27 yards (#29), and our 9.7 yards/catch is crap (#31). Our longest pass play is 35 yards (#31), and we only have three passes of 25+ yards (#31). (The only team with a lower adjusted net yards per passing attempt is the Patriots.) Surely our league-worst 13 drops don't help the situation, but Mike Wallace is refreshingly only accountable for one of those. It's also refreshing that we have given up less sacks (9) than we've gotten; we are being sacked on 5.5% of drop backs (#17), which is an improvement from last year. Despite our passing game and thanks to our running game, we are only going three-and-out on 9.62% of our drives (#2), and have the #11 scoring offense in all of football.
So there's a look at some of the notable stats four games into the season, and big part of why we are 2-2. Hopefully we can improve upon what needs improving and solidify where we excel. (All stats were taken from sportingcharts.com and pro-football-reference.com).
Hope you enjoy!
The general script seems to be that the opponents score first, and the Dolphins score just before halftime (1td & 2fg in the drive before the half) and then score again on their first drive of the first half (2 FG and Miller fumble at the 1 yardline). They continue to score more points in the third quarter than any other team in football, until the fourth quarter where our QBs have a 53.2 QBR (#31 in the NFL). (Last year, Tannehill had an NFL-worst 59.2 QBR in the 4th quarter.) Our offense plays great in the Redzone with a 110.1 QBR (#9), just like last year (101.8 QBR #6). Inside the opponents' ten yard line we drop to a 91.2 QBR, but we should see that improve as Tannehill led the NFL last year with a 110.8 QBR last year. Strangely, he has a 129.6 QBR in 2WR sets (#4), but a 68.2 QBR in 3WR sets (#30).
Perhaps Bill Lazor's "fast paced offense" is having an effect on the amount of plays. The Dolphins lead the league with 52 offensive drives, and subsequently our 51 defensive drives are #2. We rank #2 in offensive plays with 278, and #4 in defensive plays with 282. With all these plays, it is a testament to Philbin that his team continues to be amongst the least penalized in the game, with 4.5 penalties/game (#3) and 0.06 penalties per play (#1). We have only allowed 2 first downs via penalties, which is also an NFL-best. Speaking of, we are #7 in first down differential (90 for v 73 against). Further into the game of hidden yardage, we are even with 8 giveaways (#4) and 8 takeaways (#27) , however we have scored 30 points off TOs, while only allowing 10. Amazingly, we have 5 fumble recoveries (NFL best), but have also surrendered 5 (NFL worst).
On special teams, there are short fields all around! We enjoy the third best starting field position in the NFL at the 32.7 yardline, but our opponents start on average at the 31.1, which is fourth worst. Our feast is due to one of the leagues best kickoff return units, as Jarvis Landry is averaging 29.3 yards on kickoffs (#4). We are also #1 in drives starting in the opponents' redzone with 6, a whopping 11.54% of drives (the second closest is Bufallo with 3). Our famine is due to What may be the league's worst coverage unit on returns: #31 punt return against average, #32 punt return against yards, #26 KO return against average, #32 KO return against yards, and one KO returned for a TD. It doesn't help that Brandon Fields has slumped to a 41.6 punting average (#30).
On defense, despite so many plays, we are #2 allowing 4.7 yards per play. Our rush defense is #10 with a 3.8 yards per rush against average, and we have only allowed 17 rushes for 10+ yards (#2). We are even better only allowing 9.9 yards per catch (#2), keeping most plays in front of us and not conceding big yardage. We are also #2 in net yards per passing attempt (6.0) despite having the fifth most passing attempts against (151), partly due to our 11 sacks (#4), sacking QBs on 6.8% of drop backs (#6). We allow 60.9% completion (#7) and are also #9 in QBR allowed. Opponents convert 40.3% of their third downs (#12). The average drive drive against only consists of 5.5 plays (#8), results in a TO 15.7% (#8), and gains 24.6 net yards (#3). (Interestingly, the AFC East rules this average net yards per drive against category: NYJ (#2), NE (#4), and BUF (#7).) Despite this, we are middle of the pack with 90 points allowed by the defense.
On offense, our rushing and passing plays are almost identical, respectively gaining 5.0 yards per play (#5) and 5.1 ypp (#28). Obviously, this is good and bad. We have a top five rushing attack: 565 total yards (#5), 142.3 ypg (#6), Lamar Miller's 277 yards (#6), Miller's 5.7 average (#2), (Knowshon's 5.5 average (#4)), 17 ten-plus yard runs (#2), and 29 rushing first downs (#6). Where our run game is shining, our passing game is practically droopy, and because of it our total offensive 5.1 yards per play is #28 in the league. The average air distance a pass travels to the receiver is 4.27 yards (#29), and our 9.7 yards/catch is crap (#31). Our longest pass play is 35 yards (#31), and we only have three passes of 25+ yards (#31). (The only team with a lower adjusted net yards per passing attempt is the Patriots.) Surely our league-worst 13 drops don't help the situation, but Mike Wallace is refreshingly only accountable for one of those. It's also refreshing that we have given up less sacks (9) than we've gotten; we are being sacked on 5.5% of drop backs (#17), which is an improvement from last year. Despite our passing game and thanks to our running game, we are only going three-and-out on 9.62% of our drives (#2), and have the #11 scoring offense in all of football.
So there's a look at some of the notable stats four games into the season, and big part of why we are 2-2. Hopefully we can improve upon what needs improving and solidify where we excel. (All stats were taken from sportingcharts.com and pro-football-reference.com).
Hope you enjoy!
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