The Phins pass defense hasn’t defended much through 4 weeks
Through the first quarter of the 2019 Season, opposing offenses facing the Phins pass defense have had little if any resistance. The easy evaluation is that the Dolphins secondary is hot garbage…
… End of story.
But, with plenty of games left to the season, a curious fan may want to look under the hood and get a clearer understanding of why… and if it can be fixed.
The reason why secondary has been Swiss cheese is multifaceted: poor pass rush, Howard is underperforming, Rowe is hot and cold, Jones is undisciplined, crowded zones from poor spacing, and D-ends dropping to the wrong spots. You could add to this Bobby McCain ‘telling’ his assignment in Week 1 but has been mostly fixed.
Good news first:
- Phins have diminished the use of Cover 1 and wholesale man coverage. Employing more Cover 2 and plays mixed with zone and man has capped the top of the defense and limited the deep and huge-chunk plays. This hasn’t stopped the mid-range chunk plays though.
- You’d figure Howard has to improve… although he is battling a knee issue. This ongoing knee problem was my primary concern in his extension. Let’s hope he both improves and can overcome these chronic knee issues he’s battle since his rookie camp.
- While Rowe gets beat, he does make plays as well. So, if the rest of the issues can sure up, he’s not a total liability. Also, the return of Cordrea Tankersley offers at least a little hope that the cavalry will arrive.
This article will examine the ‘crowded zones’ issue and how the D-Ends drops haven’t been precise enough.
First, let’s define ‘crowded zones’.
Man cover is easy to understand. The defender’s assignment is guarding a player one-on-one. The key matchup between the two players is physical. Conversely, in zone coverage, the defenders are assigned to an area and the mental aspects of a player are the most crucial for their success. While the objective of zone coverage is to guard the entire field, some zone plays focus on certain parts of the field. ‘Crowded zones’ come when too many defenders are in one area leaving another area overexposed. A good rule of thumb is if you can hold hands with another zone defender, someone done screwed up.
Here are just some of the plays in the first half of the Chargers game where players were in the wrong zone
- Bottom left: Rowe is losing his man match up
- Top middle: Why is Sam Eguavoen that deep when the corner is in man and the receiver in the upper right has a 10-yard cushion?
- Bottom middle: Baker has crowded the zone, arrives late to the receiver (bottom right) who picks up the 1st Down
- Similar to the 1st play. LBs drop too deep, the middle zone is crowded with 5 defenders leaving a 10-yard cushion to the short zone. Chargers get easy completion and good gain on this one.
- In essence, Phins are ‘guarding’ 2 receivers with 7 defenders. That’s never a winner. This MUST be the players not understanding the assignment.
- This play is the same as the previous two. This isn’t a broken record.
- 5 defenders are guarding at 10-yards and they can practically hold hands.
- On this one, S Doug Middleton fixates on the shallow dig route, comes up, and doesn’t take account of the TE running the post who gets chunk yardage.
- There is no way this is the design of the play.
- Yup, same as the last three plays. The three players in the rectangle are so close they can hold hands and sing Kumbaya.
- Because of this crowded zone, the corner playing man doesn’t get the help he expects and the Chargers get an easy 1st Down.
- Here’s changeup, the zones are spread right, but Sam Eguavoen after chipping drops into a zone that already is filled with a defender. The RB leaks out to the empty flat and gets easy and good yards.
- This zone issue comes from Taco dropping too deep ( he did this a few times in Week 4). He should have dropped to 5 yards instead of 10. Understandable as this is something he hasn’t done much if at all in the pros.
- The good news is that he got to the 10-yard depth that quick back peddling.
Trent Harris drops and makes the tackle, but a little better technique could have created a big play
All of these plays by the Chargers could have easily been erased. These plays didn’t occur because Miami was ‘out talented’, but rather they were due to mental mistakes. This means the Dolphins pass defense can show substantial improvement over the course of the season… if the players get a better grasp on their assignments within the scope of the other players’ assignments.
Reps and film study can create better visualization and fix these flaws. Players that work hard and are learners will fix this. The question is, does Miami have these types of players? With two weeks to prepare, we’ll get a very good idea this week against the Skins. Jerome Baker and Sam Eguavoen will be center stage.
The more tape I watch the clearer why the team hasn’t quit on the staff… as was reported by many after Week 1. The players are seeing the tape and have no one to blame but themselves for the most part. Given the basic level of the assignments and how they are failing in them, the preponderance of responsibility at this point isn’t on the coaches, but the player themselves.
The players will need to do a far better job if they want to blame Flores and the staff.
The pay per head sportsbook services are ‘only’ giving the Redskins 3 1/2 points over the Phins, so the game should be close. Fixing these basic pass coverage issues could make all the difference. Go Phins!!!
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