Run defense still an area of concern
It should come to the surprise of no one that Miami’s run defense still needs a lot of work ahead of their first regular season game.
Not a lot of things should be taken seriously from watching a Week 1 preseason game outside of the enjoyment that football is officially back. While it is nice to see some positive moments, and to see how the rookies look in their first official game, not much else should be taken from the overall outcome. For what it’s worth, Miami’s rookies looked pretty good last night against Tampa Bay.
Only results from the first half, when the first and second teamers are in there, are worth mentioning when it comes to the first preseason game. And during that time, is when I noticed an area of concern that has been a problem for the Dolphins for quite some time: their run defense.
Now, Miami was better in this category in 2017, ranked 14th in yards allowed, but they had been in the bottom 10 every year prior to that dating back to 2013. And much of that time was with Ndamukong Suh on the team. After the Dolphins elected to cut Suh this offseason, it was apparent that they had a glaring hole left in the middle.
The Dolphins did not add a defensive tackle in the draft this past April, but they did finalize a trade with Detroit shortly thereafter to bring in Akeem Spence to help among the rotation. In addition to Spence, Miami plans to lean on Jordan Phillips, Davon Godchaux, and Vincent Taylor, to fill out that rotation. Who comes out of this as the starters remains to be seen, but it really doesn’t matter either as all players are expected to be heavily involved.
Last night against Tampa, this group had a rough going holding their own in the middle. Taylor had some bright spots, but the Bucs found lanes in between the tackles in the early going. Looking at the final box score wouldn’t indicate that the Bucs found success on the ground since they finished with only 73 yards rushing at 2.6 per attempt. However, they did score points on three of their first four possessions, which included rushing scores from Peyton Barber and Ronald Jones, respectively.
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The success does not speak highly of the Dolphins linebackers either, although the impressive play of former Buckeyes, Raekwon McMillan and Jerome Baker, highlighted much of the night. The potential looks strong in each of those players, but Dolphins fans know what they are getting when it comes to the rest of the linebackers, and there’s little to be excited about.
Again, it’s only a Week 1 preseason game, and there is still some time to get it right, but because this has been an issue for Miami in the past, it remains a concern. The Dolphins will see one of the best backfield combinations in Week 1 of the regular season against Derrick Henry and Dion Lewis of the Titans. You can be assured that Tennessee will try every way possible to exploit Miami’s front seven on the ground.
With some money left over, the Dolphins could still look to add a free agent if they want. A trade is also a possibility, with a receiver like DeVante Parker as a potential candidate to net a tackle or linebacker. There were some positives in last night’s game, but like all other teams at this stage, there are just kinks that need to be worked out, and the run defense of Miami is one of them. However, it doesn’t mean that we need to immediately panic. The Dolphins next preseason game will be Friday, August 17th, at Carolina.