Miami Dolphins D Turning Corner On Turn Overs
The entire off-season, Miami Dolphins Head Coach Joe Philbin and Defensive Coordinator Kevin Coyle preached the significance of creating take aways and winning the turnover battle in games as it was intricate to the teams success. In week 1 against the Cleveland Browns, the defense’s emphasis on turnovers showed up when it counted.
Aside from the 3 interceptions the Dolphins registered, the defense was stripping at the ball carriers and ball hawking the football. Brent Grimes‘ pass break up that could have easily been ruled a fumble, Reshad Jones‘ diving pass deflection on a 3rd down, and Derrick Shelby’s strip sack that was almost recovered are evidence of the evolving attack mentality.
It was a great start towards winning the turnover battle for the season, as it exemplifies the fact that the Dolphins boast a winning record in games during the Coach Philbin era when they win the turnover margin.
After posting 16 Quarterback hits and 6 sacks on Cleveland’s QB Brandon Weeden last week, the Dolphins front seven will be tasked with containing a phenomenal young talent in Colt’s QB Andrew Luck in week 2 of this young NFL season. Blessed with innate pocket presence and athletic ability to go along with a brilliant football mind on his broad shoulders, Luck gave the Dolphins D fits last season as he went on to throw for over 400 yards and put enough points on the board to secure a victory against the Fins.
After dominating a Cleveland offense that boasts more quality front line Offensive Linemen than the Colt’s, the Fins‘ pass rushers need to maintain their rush lanes and keep Luck operating from the pocket as the threat for the big play becomes more prominent when he breaks containment.
With rookie Dion Jordan getting healthier and Olivier Vernon earning praise from Coach Coyle for his performance against one of the best Left Tackles in the league in Joe Thomas, so add that to a defensive line that harassed Luck last year but couldn’t seal the deal taking him down and the Dolphins pass rush should be significantly improved to the point where the heat should be on Luck for 60 minutes.
This weeks match up could go a long way towards building momentum as the Fins enter a tough stretch of opponents the next few weeks. The Dolphins seems up for the task and poised to make some real noise as one of the elite defenses in the league, the key is for them is to do it consistently and not rest on their laurels.
Continuing the trend of turning the corner on turnovers as it’s proven to be the winning recipe for Miami.