Phins afraid?

The Miami Dolphins defense played winning football last week.

And Matt Burke’s unit seemed different in that it attacked more often. It blitzed much more often. It pressured the quarterback much more often than it had previously.

The Dolphins called multiple blitzes for safety Reshad Jones. Linebacker Kiko Alonso had a blitz or two. Rookie linebacker Jerome Baker picked up his first and second career sacks on blitzes.

The average fan -- me, even -- might look at the results the Dolphins got at Cincinnati in mounting pressure on Andy Dalton and believe that if that’s what it was without Cameron Wake and Andre Branch available, then what might it be when those two players return?

But for Burke, in his second year as an NFL defensive coordinator, he has already gotten past the personal debate of doing what seems aggressive and exotic against the cost of giving up big plays.

“Last year, honestly, there were times where if we were giving up plays or getting moved on a little bit, I’d call some crazy pressure and think, ‘Alright let’s go,’ “ Burke said recently. “And it would cause more havoc, you know? So I have to have the restraint to call something to settle them down.”

https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/armando-salguero/article219904670.html

that's called coaching scared.

Gore carrying the load running the football. And Drake as more a complementary runner and pass-catching threat.

It’s happening because the Dolphins believe Drake, the more dynamic back of the two, comes with the high possibility of losing yardage on his run. And Gore, the less explosive back, is more steady in gaining yardage each play.

“That’s the biggest thing,” coach Adam Gase said Thursday. “Frank does a really good job of, ‘We’re second-and-five, third-and-two.’ Or it’s we’re first down, second down, first down. Kenyan is coming along in that area, it’s just that he does give you that element of first-and-10, you get a 60-yard touchdown, where it’s a game changing play.”

The Dolphins logic is they’re going to give Gore the ball more knowing they’re not going to get the explosive play because they value the short positive play more. The team, meanwhile, is going to give Drake the ball fewer times because, while he might turn one of those into a 60-yard run, he might also lose three yards gambling on something he wasn’t supposed to do.

https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/armando-salguero/article219847405.html

when you coach not to lose, you never win.

In the past, blitzing was just plain stupid for the Dolphins - because Jones was the only legit blitzer on the team, and no one else could get close to the QB. But now it appears that Baker could be a good blitzer as well, so maybe it's time for the Phins to start blitzing a bit more? The front 4 certainly isn't generating enough pressure on it's own, so why not? It certainly helped last week. It's never a bad thing to play aggressive on defense.

All I know is, I NEVER want to see Alonso blitz again. He's the worst blitzing LB I've ever seen...just runs into an O-linemen and gets blocked.

As far as Drake, I felt he was overrated last year even when he played well. It is clear that he gets tackled in the backfield WAY too often - though much of that is on the OL not opening holes. I think he's best suited as a third down back, and I've said that all along - so making Gore the main ball-carrier makes sense, because he is clearly the better back. That said, Drake needs to be more involved in the passing game. Put Gore and Drake on the field together - with Drake as a WR instead of Grant, who has shown nothing as a receiver.

On the subject of playing scared, there is no question that we coach and play scared on offense. This team is so scared of turnovers that all they do is go with the most high-percentage plays they can find...and that means quick short passes close to the line of srimmage. While that helps to build the QB's completion percentage, it also allows the defense to sit on the short routes and leaves the offense playing in a tiny box. It's really difficult to sustain drives and score points when you don't stretch the field. It seems like Gase is scared of big plays...unless it's some sort of gimmick play that can make him look "smart".

Why is Gase even mentioning the running game like he gives one single shit about it? What do we average like 18 rushes a game?