Dolphins consistent at being ranked last offensively
By Brian Miller
The Miami Dolphins are not going to turn this season around. Sorry it simply isn’t going to happen. Not this year.
From penalties that we discussed earlier in this post, to an inept offensive unit, Miami’s most consistent performances on the field is keeping their bottom of the league rankings in almost every offensive category.
The Dolphins are on the verge of completing one of the worst statistical seasons in team history. This years Miami Dolphins may be the lowest points per game team that has ever been fielded. Even under Cam Cameron.
Think about that for a moment. Miami scored more under Cameron than under offensive guru Adam Gase. In that 1-15 season Miami posted six games where they scored more than 20 points. They were shut out only once. This years team averages just over 15 points per game. In 2007 Miami scored more than 15 points in nine of their games.
Where’s this offense we heard so much about? Cutler was supposed to know this system. He was going to have the best weapons of his career with DeVante Parker, Jarvis Landry, Kenny Stills, Julius Thomas, and Jay Ajayi. Hiccup.
Through 10 games the Dolphins rank 31st in points scored averaging 15.7 per game. They rank 30th in yards at 292.3. Cutler and Matt Moore have combined for an average of 211.9 yards passing per game. Good enough for 20. It was under 200 at the start of Sunday’s game. Rushing? Miami is ranked 29th with 80.4 yards per game. Thank goodness for big runs the last two weeks.
Here is what is killing the Dolphins though. Miami is 44/125 on third downs. They are only 2 of 13 on 4th downs. They average only 4.8 yards per play but only 3.6 yards per running play. 6.1 per pass. That is not good enough to win in this league. Then again, Miami hasn’t won a game in four weeks.
So where is the problem? Kenyan Drake and Damien Williams could be blamed. So could DeVante Parker and Julius Thomas. Jay Cutler of course can be blamed as well. The bulk of the blame however has to lie on the offensive line. They simply are not getting the job done and when you factor in the penalties which have now amounted to 635 yards, the penalties are almost as much as the Dolphins rushing yardage. 804.
To put it simply the Dolphins are far more than just underachieving. There are serious issues on both sides of the ball but offensively the Dolphins are just offensive. With games against the Denver defense, a trip to Kansas City, and two games against the Patriots and Bills left on the schedule, they may yet drop one more spot to the bottom.