The Miami Dolphins Are In Position To Make A Deep Playoff Run
Even though NFL fans and media are dismissing the Miami Dolphins playoff chances that shouldn't be the case as they have all the pieces in place to make a deep playoff run. The Dolphins front office and ownership came into the 2016 season with the mindset of giving Ryan Tannehill one last opportunity to prove to the public that his contract extension was a good investment. As a result of this, the coaching staff was put in a position where they had to implement an offensive system that was heavily dependent on the passing game. This system gave the front office and ownership a chance to see whether Tannehill could make all the throws and if he could carry the offense. Unfortunately, this system wasn't successful because he is inaccurate on passes over ten yards. According to ESPN, over the past two seasons, Tannehill has a completion percentage of 47.8 and 50 on throws from 11-20 yards in 2015 and 2016 respectively. His inaccuracies past ten yards are due to overthrows that lead to incompletions or interceptions, drop passes and an offensive line that isn’t strong and quick enough to hold their blocks. As a result of this, Rodgers does not have enough time to sit in the pocket and go thru his reads to make a good throw which leads to him getting sacked. As a result of this, the offense was unable to keep the ball for extended periods of time, which forced the defense having to go back on the field without the proper amount of rest. Which led to the defense giving up yards and points because they were not able to regain some energy between possessions to be able to stop the opposing offense.
[Every Ryan Tannehill (and Matt Moore) Dropback - Week 14 vs ARI]
However, the Dolphins front office and ownership decided to give the coaching staff permission to alter the system from a predominantly passing offense to a balanced offense after 1-4 start. As a result, Tannehill became more of a game manager who is in charge of handing the ball off more often in hopes of getting the defense to stack the box. In fact, since week six the team has increased the number of carries by 7.3 per game going from 18.2 to 25.5. Once the Dolphins made the opposing defense honor the running game by stacking the box, it allowed them to call some short passes. For instance, the Dolphins can call a play-action bootleg where he would fake the handoff to the running backs and roll out in the opposite direction to hit the wide-open tight end. This allowed the Dolphins to emphasize the strengths of Tannehill, which is the short passing game while still being able to gain a substantial amount of yards per play. Furthermore, it allowed the team to keep drives alive while forcing the opposing team to put more players in coverage to decrease the likelihood of big plays consistently happening thus giving the running backs room to run the ball again. Therefore allowing the offense to stay on the field for a prolonged period. Which means that the defense received the proper rest between drives. Which enabled them to have enough energy to execute a properly tackle to a player. When they are running with the ball or being able to keep up with wide receivers. Not only will the defense get the proper amount of rest but running the ball allows the offense to eat up a substantial amount of the clock. Which gives the opposing offense less time to get in rhythm and put up points. If the Dolphins continue to run the ball, they can reach the AFC championship game or Super Bowl.
