Dolphins linebackers rule Sunday

The Miami Dolphins have had a lot of issues with their linebackers this season. And last. On Sunday, the linebackers gave a very solid performance against the Tennessee Titans.

Defensively the Dolphins were different against Tennessee. Not the members of the unit who lined up to play but the attitude and how they played. The entire defense was playing with fire, speed, and when they hit, they hit hard.

Throughout the NFL seasons, game announcers on television will make a comment that they could hear the hits from in their booth. Unless you are actually there, it’s hard to imagine that you could actually “hear” the pads hitting each other. When Kiko Alonso sacked Matt Cassel, yeah you could hear the impact.

Most of those in the section I was sitting in did not thing Cassel would get off the turf. It looked bad from the bleachers. Miami was relentless like this all day and when Ndamukong Suh gave hardy shove to a Titans back a yard off the sideline, he knocked him literally off his feet.

Miami played differently on defense and that could very well be due to the linebacker group. Starting for the Dolphins was Kiko Alonso, Lawrence Timmons, and finally Rey Maualuga. It was a group that Mike Tannenbaum alluded to on Saturday.

Speaking in front of a bunch of fan web-masters, Tannenbaum immediately approached the linebackers specifically saying that there could be a new look to them this weekend and moving forward. Indeed there was.

The only real personnel change was Maualuga but it was impactful as the entire defense played very good. Throughout this season the Dolphins defense has played better than many expected. Linebacker was an issue but fans expected that given the number of injuries at the position.

This weekend, they played well. Kiko Alonso and Lawrence Timmons each had six tackles. Alonso who was on fire Sunday added a sack and a forced fumble. Maualuga added two tackles and three assists. Overall the Dolphins defense sacked Cassel six times with Andre Branch registering two and Charles Harris notching a sack in an impressive performance.

One player Miami needs to lock up now is defensive end William Hayes. His off-field leadership in the locker room was talked about by Ja’Wuan James on Friday in a private closed interview session with the aforementioned web-masters, and on Sunday he continued his strong season with solid play both against the run and the pass.

Overall the Dolphins looked very competitive on Sunday and they looked fast and strong. Reshad Jones has the best game of the season by far and hitting seemed to be a major improvement.

Offensively? Totally different story and one that Miami has to figure out sooner rather than later. That however is a story that simply doesn’t end with good news so why bother talking about it?

This season, the Dolphins are the only team in the NFL through five weeks who have not given up more than 20 points. And it could get a lot better.