The Dolphins' Defensive Collapse Had More to Do With?

This is maybe the weirdest occurrence of the season. I'm honestly not sure. However, it does feel like the majority of the defensive line are involved, not just one player. That would, to me, suggest either scheme or some mentality issue. I wonder if it might not be related to the problems we've had at LB and secondary? Perhaps the holes there have lead to more 'defensive' (for want of a better term) approach, because of a lack of confidence in the supporting cast - either in the minds of the DL or the coaches, or maybe both?

 

We can blame the coaching for a lot of things, but poor execution was the killer more often than not.

 

The loss of Ellerbe wasn't an option.

 

The coaches not adjusting to changing personnel realities.

I'd say the biggest issue was the collapse of the defensive tackles.

 

Said as your hand hovered above the ban button.

 

Since I'm the only one who voted coaching, I guess I ought to explain why.

Going back to the Chiefs game, the only players missing were Reshad Jones & Dion Jordan; both were suspended. The Chiefs were also without Jamaal Charles. Alex Smith completed only one pass the ENTIRE game that traveled further than 10 yards downfield in the air (an 11 yard pass). Kevin Coyle routinely had Cameron Wake and Olivier Vernon dropping into coverage against Kansas City's running backs and got burned on multiple occasions. You can argue that's on Wake and Vernon to execute, but why are they the ones in coverage in the first place? They're the best two pass-rushers and were squaring off against Eric Fisher and was it Ryan Harris that week? They shouldn't have been put in that situation in the first place.

The Green Bay game showed a lot of what makes Coyle appear good at times. He mixed up coverages, mixed up blitzes, Wake and Vernon got pressure in 1-on-1 situations, yet ultimately at the end of the game Philip Wheeler is left alone in 1-on-1 coverage on the perimeter. Why is Philip Wheeler the LB who is out in coverage (Jelani Jenkins was on the field). Why is Philip Wheeler even on the field? Ever since that game Wheeler's played considerably less and it hasn't affected the pass D in a negative manner, quite the opposite actually.

Against Detroit, I was at this game, and I thought Coyle called one of his gutsier games. He left Brent Grimes 1-on-1 against Megatron quite a bit in the first half. Grimes got beat once, but that was about it. He started doubling Megatron in the 2nd half and proceeded to watch as Golden Tate absolutely torched Jimmy Wilson and Jamar Taylor in the slot all day long; Wilson to a greater extent as Finnegan got hurt and Taylor played more on the perimeter. That said, Coyle chickened on that final drive only rushing 3 players, usually Vernon, Odrick/Starks in the middle, and Wake. He resorted to doubling Megatron with Dion Jordan and Brent Grimes. Ultimately his play selection ended up putting Reshad Jones in 1-on-1 coverage as a single-high safety against Theo Riddick on the final TD pass. Jones was originally out of position, but got himself into position enough to where Matthew Stafford made a brilliant throw for a score. My question would be, is why would you have Reshad Jones in that position? Anyone else recall the play where Reshad Jones got toasted by Darren Sproles in the Saints game in 2013? Same coverage and result. To me, that's not knowing the strength of your own players. That falls hand-in-hand with not putting them in position to be successful; that's on coaching before you even get to execution.

The Denver game, I think we *know* a lot of what happened based on what Section reported in Club, so I'm not sure how much we can reveal here other than that Coyle was VERY apprehensive about having Jamar Taylor, and then Lowell Rose/Walt Aikens in coverage. That said, Coyle did not learn from the 2nd Buffalo game in 2013 when the Bills simple double-teamed both interior linemen all day long. That's exactly what Denver did. And what the Jets did. And what the Ravens did. The correct adjustment was actually, as intimated by Louis Delmas, put forth by the players during halftime of the Jets game and it involved using Miami's 3-4-esque package with Reshad Jones in the box. The Jets ran for 210 yards in the first half; just 67 in the second half. Yet, as Delmas said, that suggestion was put forth by the players, not Kevin Coyle. Again, that's not even being good at being reactionary, which Coyle often is.

I'll grant you not having the horses was a factor in the New England game as Miami was missing Jenkins, Misi, and Delmas. But you do have to wonder how that defense fell apart so quickly in the 3rd quarter after only allowing 7 points in the first half (I won't count the blocked FG against the D).

I did not watch the Minnesota game; I've seen bits and pieces as I was at my great-grandmother's 96th birthday party, but I find it alarming that an offense led by a rookie QB, Matt Asiata and a bunch of also-rans at WR put up as many yards and points as they did.

In the past 5 weeks Miami's yielded 32.1 ppg and I believe someone already posted how atrocious the run defense has been. Part of that, IMO, has to do with the fact that Miami's primarily rotated just 3 DTs - Mitchell, Starks and Odrick - along the interior all season long. Perhaps they've been somewhat sapped with the amount of reps they've gotten? Coyle's scheme also puts Cameron Wake at the offense's strength more often than not as Olivier Vernon struggles playing 5/6 techniques and has to play wider causing Wake to play a 5 technique, most often against BOTH a RT and a TE. Couple that pounding with the fact that when he's pass-rushing, he's more often than not going to be double teamed or at the very least, there's a back chipping him. As strong as Wake is, it's a fact he's only 262lbs and that has to be tough for him to hold up throughout the course of a season. We've seen him take on BIG tackles - Denver used Louis Vazquez and Chris Clark (as a T eligible) to double him. The Jets used Austin Howard and Wake only broke free when Jeff Cumberland was tasked with blocking him. Even Sebastian Vollmer, whom Wake has victimized often in the past, had is way with Wake in the Patriots game. Those 2 sacks Wake had against Minnesota? Against the Vikings backup RT as Phil Loadholt's been on IR for some time now.

That translates to Kevin Coyle not putting Cameron Wake, the defense's best player, in optimal positions for him to succeed. Part of that is having to cover for OV; part of that is misuse of total personnel on defense, which we now know Coyle has autonomy over, on game day. We've seen the over-reliance on the piss-poor tackling Jimmy Wilson, whom Coyle often calls ill-timed blitzes for on 3rd downs pretty frequently; a problem that's been persistent since Coyle's arrival in 2012. The whole Dion Jordan saga has long been drawn out. The defense as a whole does not tackle well AT ALL. That's on the players execution, yes, but I would put forth the question as to who is responsible for incorporating those fundamentals and drills into practices, and if they're proven to be ineffective, as is the case now, who is responsible for adjusting? That's Kevin Coyle.

For those falling back on the injury crutch, I will cite the Bengals vs. Broncos game last night. Paul Guenther, the DC, who was the LBs coach under Mike Zimmer when Kevin Coyle was on staff as the secondary coach in Cincinnati, used Dre Kirkpatrick (a bust) to great effect last night when Terrance Newman went out. Well, that Denver game only saw Miami without Cortland Finnegan at the outset of that game. Why was Miami's defense not as successful as Cincinnati's? Hint: they run the same scheme.

This is why I voted that it's on coaching. Ultimately it's Kevin Coyle's defense and his responsibility to put his players in optimal positions to succeed. Far too often he fails at that or out-thinks/overcompensates when trying to do so and that's why you see turd games (Buffalo, Kansas City) mixed in with a fantastic stretch of play as we saw from week 1 to roughly the final drive of the Detroit game.

 

He's been pretty...what's the right word...ineffective, I suppose, since the Denver game. I hope the past month is not the beginning of the end for him.

 

It's Obama's fault!

 

I voted coaching too. Before I scrolled down to read this. Although I think it was partly both, I do not think Coyle schemes often enough to the strengths of his players. Too much trying to fit a square peg in a round hole.

 

I voted the players not executing. I've seen way too many missed tackles.

 

The main problem I see is lack of discipline executing assignments. Both Vernon and Wake fail to set the edge when they over commit to the inside run. I am sure they know there are players that are struggling to fulfill their assignments. I am sure they are cheating a little to help out. The problem is that without consistent discipline you get burned on boot legs, reverses, and cut back lanes.

Unfortunately, I am not sure whom to blame. It could be that coaches do not consistently preach disciplined defense. It could be the players are not taking the advice to heart. It could be that the players are not capable of being disciplined.

 

Trust me when I say, one simply does not just hover over a ban button.

 

Thats it.

 

Branden Albert. The defense was dominant before his injury because the team was better on offense, and was better at being in the lead in the second half, which would one-dimensionalize other teams' offenses. When the team's offense was no longer as good after the Albert injury, other teams were still in games in the second half more often and could continue to run the ball, keeping the Dolphins' defense off-balance and forcing its defensive linemen to continue to do the hard work in the trenches for a full 60 minutes. The only anomaly in this regard following the Albert injury was the Buffalo game, where the team was leading late and forced Buffalo to pass. Prior to the Albert injury there was a much higher rate of being ahead late in games and one-dimensionalizing opposing offenses. After the Albert injury there has been but one game of that nature (Buffalo).

 

You know, when they were on, they looked 'elite', but man were they inconsistent.

This defense and its abilities sort of mimic my golf swing. There are times when I dominate a few holes in a row, then.....let's just say that it looks as if I have never played the game.

I am not sure if they are incapable of discipline, but they did seem to look for someone else to make plays when it got ugly. Unfortunately, no one really stepped up in those situations, and it led to some ugly play.

 

Along with everything mentioned in this great post, Ro, I think not having the veteran Dansby here QB'ing the defense, lining guys up properly, recognizing formations and such, and keeping the fire lit under everyone's *** has stung a little. We lack that with the inexperienced Misi and Jenkins. Not putting Wake, one of the best defenders in the NFL, in the greatest position to succeed is what really burns my chaps though.

 

Signing Ellerbe and Wheeler and then cutting Dansby and Burnett was the single stupidest decision made by Philbin/Ireland/Coyle/whomever, since Philbin was hired. Instead of focusing on team weaknesses in free agency, they took a strength, the starting LB corps, and made it a weakness. I'd like to know for sure who ever first thought up that idea and they'd be the first one I'd get rid of. If it was Ireland's idea, then it is already taken care of.

 

This is a good point. I do think it's interesting that Jelani Jenkins overtook Koa Misi by the Raiders game as the "green dot" guy who has the defensive signals coming in through his helmet and is setting up the defense. At that point, he'd only been starting for 2 weeks; hopefully he gets better. I do think that if Miami can find a viable upgrade in free agency (Brandon Spikes) or the Draft (Thompson, McKinney, Perryman) they ought to do it. Koa Misi missed a LOT of time, as he's always done, and missed a LOT of tackles, which your MLB shouldn't do.

As far as Wake goes, until Coyle is fired and the scheme is changed, or they realize that Olivier Vernon is not the most effective DE to have opposite Wake (which is why I won't totally fault them for doing what they did to Dion Jordan; I think they saw him and thought he could be Carlos Dunlap...) in this scheme, I fear Wake's going to continue to struggle against the run and that will ultimately bring down his total performance.

 

You missed the third reason. Injuries. And I think it had more to do with it than anything. But since it is not an option in your poll I'll go with Mr. Coyle. Even when they were healthy enough they were collapsing in key moments, then again we were down Linebackers from the first game.

 

Depth. That starting bunch was to fragile when players started going down.

 

1) Wake- Still a very good DE for the Dolphins, but it is apparent age is starting to rear its head as he has had some games where he was never heard from this year. Yet he is still the best player on this defense

2) Grimes- While he hasn't been as effective this year as he was last year, he is still a top CB in the NFL and the best player in the Dolphins secondary. Age becomes a factor with Grimes when looking at how he will play beyond this season.

3) Jones- After a subpar season in 2013, Jones played very well this year after missing the first four games due to suspension.
He is young enough and talented enough to be a player you can build the future defense around.

4) Jenkins- Another young player who stepped up this year and showed that he is the best LB on this team right now. Unfortunately he was the only LB on this team who played at a high level for the majority of this season.

5) Vernon - Just like last season Vernon started this season strong as a pass rusher but also like last season, his play seemed to drop off as the season went along. He is still young and hopefully he can improve his stamina in future years so he can play more consistently throughout the entire season.

6) Odrick- A player many on this forum seem to think deserves a new long term contract. I might be in the minority on this forum but I just think Odrick is a mediocre DT at best. If he is looking for big money in his next contract, I would have no interest in seeing the Dolphins be the team who signs him to that big money contract.

To me, the rest of the starters on the defense as well as the backups are average to below average NFL players. None of these players, including Jordan and Odrick are players that seem to upgrade the play of the defense. They are mostly journeymen type players who could easily be replaced by other journeymen type players around the league.

Basically I see five above average starters on defense and the rest of the players as mediocre or worse. The problem is that the two best players on the defense at this time are also two of the oldest players on the team.

While I am not sure Colye is the best this team can do in regards to a DC. I also recognize that he just doesn't have a lot of talent to work with. I think earlier in the year, he was able to get more out of this defense than imagined, based on the overall lack of playmakers on the defense.

Eventually with a few injuries and playing against better offenses in the second half of the season, the lack of talent on defense became apparent.

Coyle may may not be a great DC, but in regards to who is at fault for the decline of the defense this year. I think it is the fault of the players and the former GM who drafted them or signed them in free agency. Because the majority of the defensive players on this roster just aren't that good.

 

I think we can dispense with the "Branden Albert Theory". I'm not directing this at you personally as I've seen MULTIPLE people try and use this same theory.

First and foremost, 4 days after the game he was injured, which by the way, Miami had a lead in late in the 4th quarter, Miami went out and WON against the Buffalo Bills. The Bills just happen to lead the NFL in sacks and have held Aaron Rodgers and Peyton Manning to two of their worst statistical performances of the season. If you were going to feel the lack of Branden Albert's presence, this was the game it would have been most damning. Yes, Dallas Thomas was a catastrophe, but Miami still went out and WON this game.

The game after that Miami went out and put up their 2nd highest point total of the season in Denver with 36. They were also more efficient in the redzone in this game than any before or after, with or without Branden Albert. The defense, however, got shredded and gave up the 2nd most points all year with 39.

Miami won the game immediately after the Denver game against the Jets with their offense hardly seeing the field for a half. As much as I would have liked to have seen Branden Albert play in that game, he certainly wasn't going to help Miami's defense not miss tackles, not read false keys, and not being able to get off the field on 3rd downs.

The game after the Jets was the Ravens, a game in which Miami took a lead into the half and were within 4 going in to the 4th quarter. The defense subsequently got the brakes beat off of them as the Ravens ran it down their throats.

The New England game was up next, and again, within 1 point at half time, only because of a blocked FG returned for a TD. Maybe Branden Albert makes a better block on that play than Jason Fox, maybe he doesn't. But, looking at how many players Miami was missing defensively and how Kevin Coyle decided it'd be a good thing to matchup Philip Wheeler 1-on-1 with Rob Gronkowski...yeah, that's on Branden Albert.

Miami then goes to play Minnesota and equals their highest point total of the season at 37 without Branden Albert.

I think saying that Branden Albert is a reason for the defense's demise is a fantasy that people are trying to use to make them feel better about Miami's not being in the playoffs and their odds for next season, when in fact, Miami's offense fared quite well without him, winning 3 games and putting up 2 of their highest point totals of the season. The REAL problem is that the defense collapsed by virtually any measure since the Denver game and hasn't recovered. Miami's gotten poor play from their DTs, which usually doesn't happen, so I think people look to shift blame. Miami's gotten poor play from it's two best defensive players - Cameron Wake and Brent Grimes, and Grimes case, it's been the worst stretch of play of his Dolphins tenure - but since that's not the norm, people look to shift blame. Miami's also trudged Jimmy Wilson out there week after week, and teams have exploited him just as they have every time he's had to play safety. But, since Jimmy Wilson playing safety isn't the norm, people want to shift blame.

They conveniently notice that Branden Albert, arguably the team's best offensive player, is out, and that must be the reason. If you're going to try and peg this as an issue related to the offensive line, which I'd say is still incorrect, point to the fact that Miami's playing a top 5 center out of position all year long, rotating guards, didn't sign McKinnie when Albert went down to prevent James from shifting over; didn't sign Winston to prevent Dallas Thomas from playing RT; didn't just plug in Jason Fox to prevent Dallas Thomas from playing RT; it's not Branden Albert. And, even then, I'm pretty sure NONE of that fixes the defensive woes. Even in two of the games Miami won - New York and Minnesota - the defense has played as equally awful as they did in the Baltimore and New England games. Even with Branden Albert in the lineup, Miami's defense has allowed point totals of 27, 29 and 34.

That Branden Albert is being used as the crutch for Miami's missing they playoffs is about as hilarious as some saying Dave Wannstedt is more accomplished than Jim Harbaugh (another thread). If you're going to blame an injury on the collapse, blame Cortland Finnegan's before Branden Albert's as it's caused Kevin Coyle to panic with his gameplanning in more than one game. Even then, I'd still say you're barking up the wrong tree as the collapse has been in total on the defensive side of the ball.

Another note as it relates to this:
Miami's point per game total was 26.3 in all the games leading up to the Detroit game.
Miami's point per game total since the Detroit game is 22.8.
That's roughly a field goal's difference.

Albert's being gone hasn't drastically affected the offense, so how does he get blame for the defense's struggles? In my opinion, the lens focusing on why Miami missed the playoffs should be pointed squarely on the defense. That's not to say the O-line isn't STILL a mess and can be improved...more or less addition by the subtractions of Colledge, Satele and Thomas, it's not why the defense collapsed.

 

Kinda torn here. I don't like the often time clueless look Coyle had on the sidelines when things were going to hell. His defense often looked like he did - disheveled and confused. But those injuries in the secondary had a lot to do with things too I think.

 

The offense missed Albert a lot in the Ravens game. 5 sacks between Dumervil and Suggs. I do not believe they'd have had that many if Albert had been in there. Also we only averaged 3.9 yards rushing, and having Albert would likely have helped improve that number too. Improve in those areas on offense and you probably have a closer score than 28-13.

As for Albert's absence causing the defense to regress, you are probably right, it didn't.

 

The issue regarding Albert is that prior to his injury, the offense was scoring at about the average level in the NFL -- about 25 points a game. The defense on the other hand was surrendering well below the league average -- just under 19 points a game. Since Albert's injury, the defense has surrendered about the league average -- 26 points a game. The offense on the other hand has sunk to about 22 points a game. So the defense has regressed to the mean, which should be expected, while the offense has sunk below it, which shouldn't be expected, and is explained best by Albert's injury.

 

This does not prove that Albert's injury was the cause of the defense regressing in any way, shape or form.

 

I am from a swing state.

 

We're a pretty young team with a lot of average talent.

How many veteran players do we have?

How many elite players do we have?

People act like we should have been a 12- or 13-win team. We're a 10- or 11-win team that probably lost a couple games because of the injuries we sustained and whatever "bad coaching" you all want to cry about. Oh, and the schedule was also notable tough.

I do not understand the ridiculous amount of negative energy about this team.

 

Well, Miami's had what, one playoff performance since 2001? This year's team is probably a 10-win team that underachieved, mostly due to coaching, and does so year after year. The Dolphins historically, since 2000, have choked in big games year after year; and often times those games were at home. Those same coaches who oversaw this year's and last year's disappointment are being brought back. The cycle continues, and probably will continue so long as Stephen Ross owns the team.

 

There is no information we could consider that could prove it, but before Albert's injury, the team had a halftime lead that one-dimensionalized the opposing team three times -- Oakland, Chicago, and San Diego. In those games the opposing team averaged 52 rushing yards per game, and 240 total yards per game. Since Albert's injury the team has had no halftime leads that would one-dimensionalize an opposing offense, and those opposing teams have averaged 144 rushing yards per game, and 366 total yards per game. On top of that, the Dolphins averaged 137 rushing yards per game before Albert's injury, and since his injury they have averaged only 86 rushing yards per game.

What you have essentially is a greater one-dimensionalization of the Dolphins' offense, along with a lesser one-dimensionalization of opposing offenses. Under those conditions, the defense is going to be off-balance (not knowing whether to anticipate the run or the pass) and forced to wage a more tiring battle in the trenches against the run game for a full 60 minutes.

The Indianapolis Colts with Peyton Manning constructed its defense on the premise that Manning would get the team out to early, big leads, and the personnel it had on defense -- pass rushers and cover men -- would make it difficult for opposing teams to mount a comeback, having been one-dimensionalized and facing a tough Colts pass defense. The Dolphins this year had nearly half of its games (three of eight) fit that bill prior to Albert's injury, and none of its games fit that bill after Albert's injury.

The pass defense is the strength of the team, and the offense was playing well enough to get opposing teams to have to pass prior to Albert's injury. After Albert's injury the offense has been able to put no teams in that position.

 

No, the trend is directly linked to not having a QB. Don't over-think it.

If Tannehill can continue to develop this franchise will be great over the next decade.

There's a lot to smile about in Miami right now.