[h=2]Miami Dolphins Talking Points: Transition to 4-3 defense shouldn’t be too difficult[/h]
by Ben VolinA trio of Dolphins talking points to jumpstart your Monday:
1. Transition to 4-3 defense shouldn’t be too difficult.
Throughout the offseason, we’ve told you that the Dolphins are switching to a 4-3 defense under new coordinator Kevin Coyle after playing the 3-4 scheme since the 2005 season.
Several players will be playing different positions or have different gap responsibility this year to better take advantage of their pass-rushing speed: Outside linebackers like Cameron Wake and Jamaal Westerman move to defensive end, defensive end Randy Starks and nose tackle Paul Soliai move to defensive tackle, inside linebacker Kevin Burnett becomes the “Sam” linebacker, Karlos Dansbybecomes the “Mike” and strong outside linebacker Koa Misi becomes the “Will” linebacker.
But Coyle doesn’t expect the transition to be too difficult. In a recent interview with the Cincinnati Enquirer – Coyle coached the Bengals’ secondary for the last 11 seasons – Coyle said that the Dolphins ran a true 3-4 defense just 12 percent of the time last year.
The rest of the time the Dolphins were in sub packages – Nickel, Dime, goal line, etc. – many of which looked like the 4-3 defense, especially when Wake lined up with his hand in the dirt.
Plus, most of the players have played in a 4-3 defense before, most likely in college and high school. And considering that the NFL is now a passing league, the Dolphins figure to spend a lot of time in their sub packages again this year, especially the Nickel package, as more and more teams run base offensive plays with three wide receivers.
That’s why the Dolphins signed Richard Marshall this offseason to be their Nickel corner – Marshall is known as one of the better run-stopping cornerbacks in the league, and has finished in the top 10 in solo tackles among cornerbacks for each of the past six seasons.
Since NFL rules allowed the Dolphins two extra weeks of classroom time in April because they have a first-year head coach in Joe Philbin, Coyle had plenty of time to teach the defense. According to the Enquirer, Coyle taught the defensive playbook three times.
“As far as installing things, this was the most extensive that I have been able to do it because of all the classroom time that we had,” Coyle said. “The first couple months weren’t easy because we were putting together a new playbook and change is not easy. Once the players started coming in and working out, though, it started to feel comfortable.”
Coyle, who didn’t speak with South Florida reporters during the team’s minicamp in June, also addressed two topics he is familiar with.
One was Chad Ochocinco, who joined the Bengals with Coyle in 2001 and spent 10 seasons together. Coyle is surprised that Ochocinco’s one-year tenure in New England didn’t work out, and gave the impression that Ochocinco is no lock to make the Dolphins’ roster.
“The biggest thing I wondered about was why didn’t things work out in New England, because I thought they would. But he has been explosive off the ball during the practices here,” Coyle said.
“He’s an extremely hard worker, I’ve never worried about that. I also know what some of the negatives and some of those issues have been. The biggest thing now is that he has to come in and make the team. If he can do that then it will be a win-win for both sides.”
Coyle also talked about his experience on HBO’s Hard Knocks with the Bengals in 2009.
“Basically what I shared with people here is that I found it to be a positive for the Bengals,” he said. “The cameras are everywhere but NFL Films does such an outstanding job that after a few days they blend right in. The beauty of the show is you get to see people how they really are. You can’t let it be a distraction.”
2. Ryan Tannehill featured in ESPN Magazine.
The Dolphins’ rookie quarterback has a Q&A in the July 23 issue, and while it’s a pretty cut-and-dried interview, there were two interesting exchanges.
Q: What’s it like having Chad Ochocinco in the Miami locker room?
TANNEHILL: He brings a lot of athleticism to the outside for us. Off the field, he’s definitely a character, always making guys laugh. This morning in the meeting room, he took one look at the script for our minicamp practice, then turned to David Garrard and said, “Hey Dave, I’m open already.” I thought that was hilarious.
Q: Your wife, Lauren, did a modeling shoot and almost shut down the Internet. How are you dealing with that?
TANNEHILL: It’s flattering. I’m proud she has been getting so much attention. It happened, and there’s nothing wrong with it. I’m thrilled she’s my wife.
3. Meet Brian Gaine, the Dolphins’ No. 2 in charge.
Yet another member of the Dolphins organization was profiled this weekend – Gaine, the newly-promoted assistant GM whose life story was told in the Bangor (Maine) Daily News.
Gaine, 39, is a rising star in the NFL front office community, and he interviewed for the Rams’ GM job this past offseason before sticking with Miami and earning a promotion to the No. 2 job in the front office behind Jeff Ireland.
Gaine, who played college football at the University of Maine and had a brief NFL stint before becoming a scout, came to the Dolphins with Ireland and Bill Parcells in 2008 as the assistant director of player personnel, and has been promoted twice since April 2011. His responsibilities include evaluation of players at the professional and collegiate levels as well overseeing the player personnel department.
“I’ve been very fortunate at a young age in this business to be surrounded by some great people who have had a great impact in my life and have given me an opportunity to prove myself,” he said.
The most interesting nugget in the story? His coach at Maine was none other than
Kirk Ferentz, who just so happens to be a
close long-time friend of both Philbin and Mike Sherman. When Philbin was interviewing for the Dolphins job, Ferentz likely gave him a glowing report on Gaine, who works closely with the coaching staff to find the right players.
