Miami Dolphins

[mdonnelly21]

I don't think this is being talked about right now. 

This isn't the same Miami team that put up 70 points up against Denver. 

From what I have seen is that ever since De'Von Achane went down, Miami offense hasn't been nearly as explosive.

This guy was averaging 12 yards per carry and 9 catches for 67 yards and 2 TDs. And although these numbers were certainly not going to stay....

His speed (4.3) was something that had to keep defenses honest. 

This means you couldn't quite key on other guys the way you can now. 

Everyone also knows todays NFL is either 2 RB system or RB by committee. Now Mostert has to take a bulk of the carries not keeping his legs fresh. 

I think once Miami gets Achane back and healthy they will start to get back to that first quarter Miami team we have seen. 

 

[RaidersAreOne]

Achane is an awesome talent but I worry about his durability. He's already been hurt twice and his frame is small, small (5'8, 188 lbs). They'll need to be smart with bringing him back and limiting touches to keep him healthy.

[mdonnelly21]

1 minute ago, RaidersAreOne said:

Achane is an awesome talent but I worry about his durability. He's already been hurt twice and his frame is small, small (5'8, 188 lbs). They'll need to be smart with bringing him back and limiting touches to keep him healthy.

If they can keep him healthy, I do think they are a SB contender. He is the key and missing piece ATM. 

Just having all that speed on the field at one time is hard for even a great defense to handle. And we just seen that same Denver team limit KC to 9 points. 

That too me is such a big gap.

[Soko]

Mostert’s touches in the first 4 games (pre-Achane injury): 52 rushes, 13 receptions.

Mostert’s touches in the last 4 games (post-Achane injury): 51 rushes, 4 receptions.

It’s not because Mostert has dead legs. 

Miami is insanely talented but they aren’t unbeatable. The line has been banged up, Hill and Waddle have been dealing with minor injuries themselves. The competition has gotten tougher compared to the first quarter of the season. The massive runs and 70 point games were never going to be sustainable. The defense isn’t playing amazing football, which doesn’t help. Tua isn’t at the elite level that the numbers sometimes portray, so when we see him play not so much at that high level vs elite competition, it stands out. 

[mdonnelly21]

3 minutes ago, Soko said:

Mostert’s touches in the first 4 games (pre-Achane injury): 52 rushes, 13 receptions.

Mostert’s touches in the last 4 games (post-Achane injury): 51 rushes, 4 receptions.

It’s not because Mostert has dead legs. 

Miami is insanely talented but they aren’t unbeatable. The line has been banged up, Hill and Waddle have been dealing with minor injuries themselves. The competition has gotten tougher compared to the first quarter of the season. The massive runs and 70 point games were never going to be sustainable. The defense isn’t playing amazing football, which doesn’t help. Tua isn’t at the elite level that the numbers sometimes portray, so when we see him play not so much at that high level vs elite competition, it stands out. 

I hear you, but also keep in mind. A Good defense can help the defense look better. 

Staying on the field longer keeps the defense fresher. And also takes pressure off of them to play big. 

But I'm sure there are other injuries this late in the season, but I'm assuming a majority of teams are having injuries. 

I still think Achane is the biggest difference IMO.

[stl4life07]

This Dolphins team seems like the same team as past years. They are great when the weather is ideal or if they are at home in Miami. When they have to go to play the Bills in Buffalo or the Chiefs in Kansas City or the Bengals in Cincy late in the season they wont be as great. They arent built to grind it out in a physical game. They cant win ugly. They are built for speed and thats not going to work in poor conditions. 

So it dont matter if they have Achane or any fast track guys. The Dolphins in reality has a distinct ceiling. Thats perfect weather or playing at home in Miami. Too bad the Chiefs, Bills, Bengals, or Ravens dont play in perfect weather conditions or in a dome. Maybe Miami could beat the Jags in the playoffs in Jacksonville but outside of that unless they are hosting a playoff game I just cant see them going on the road late in the season and beating any of those other top tier teams. 

[Soko]

1 hour ago, mdonnelly21 said:

I hear you, but also keep in mind. A Good defense can help the defense look better. 

Staying on the field longer keeps the defense fresher. And also takes pressure off of them to play big. 

But I'm sure there are other injuries this late in the season, but I'm assuming a majority of teams are having injuries. 

I still think Achane is the biggest difference IMO.

The offense doesn’t do the defense any  favors, in this case. They’re 23rd in average time of possession per drive on offense. It’s not like running up the score gives the defense all sorts of rest. If Miami was a ball control offense, then sure, but it’s not. 

Achane is certainly a ding, because he’s a good player. But there’s a plethora of other injuries, and a ton of other reasons why Miami hasn’t been dominating like they were earlier. The biggest being, that instead of getting the Chargers in Week 1 and Broncos in Week 3, they’ve gotten the Eagles in Week 7 and Chiefs in Week 9. 

They’ve been beating up on crappy teams and playing well below that vs the elite teams, it’s what they’ve shown. 

EDIT: Another thing to add - it’s not like they were beating the breaks off everyone even with Achane. NE didn’t do well containing the run, but it’s not like Miami massacred them in either trip (one was with Achane, one was without). Buffalo beat them in the first quarter of the season, that’s with Achane. Miami slaughtered the Chargers defense, Panthers defense, and Broncos defense, and then looked anywhere from pretty good to not so good vs the rest. 

Edited November 7, 2023 by Soko

[Soggust]

25 minutes ago, mdonnelly21 said:

I hear you, but also keep in mind. A Good defense can help the defense look better. 

Staying on the field longer keeps the defense fresher. And also takes pressure off of them to play big. 

But I'm sure there are other injuries this late in the season, but I'm assuming a majority of teams are having injuries. 

I still think Achane is the biggest difference IMO.

I do not have an opinion on whether or not you are correct because I think these stats could be interpreted either way, but I think it's helpful to add to the conversation.

[roger murdock]

I think the simplest explanation is that they had an insane outlier week against Denver and besides that have a good but not historically great offense.

[RaidersAreOne]

 

[Jakuvious]

People try way too hard to draw some huge conclusion about the Dolphins. It has nothing to do with Achane. It isn't the weather or the location of the game. They aren't frauds. They're just talented enough and have a well enough designed scheme that they can run over subpar teams. But they can't win in enough varying ways and they don't have a good counterpunch when their go-to concepts on offense get countered, so they can't do the same against great teams. They'll either develop, learn how to win some of these close games, and find a way to punish teams that have good enough coaching to adapt to their go to plays on offense, and they'll take the next step, or they'll just exist as gatekeepers punishing all the poorly coached and undertalented teams, while struggling to perform against the legit ones.

[Tank4Drake]

Dolphins are fine. They played a road game against two of the best teams and a neutral game vs the Chiefs. This is not rocket science. They play the Cowboys at home later in the year, I expect them to win that, along with a split against Buffalo. They are a great team that’s gonna keep getting healthier. Ramsey and Waddle have dealt with injuries all year. If Achane, Ramsey, and Waddle are all 100% at the same time, this team can go toe to toe with anyone in the league. 

[Jlowe22]

The Dolphins are fine, they have some weaknesses but it was just premature to call them historically great on offense after shellacking the Broncos.  Sean Payton has a long history with his defenses making other teams look historically great on offense.  Making guys like Mariota look like league MVP and giving up 6 TDs to Eli Manning.

[BetterCallSaul]

3 hours ago, mdonnelly21 said:

A Good defense can help the defense look better. 

100% agreed. 

[mdonnelly21]

3 hours ago, BetterCallSaul said:

100% agreed. 

😂😂