Miami Dolphins 2020 off-season was an investment in offense
By Kevin Hood
Miami Dolphins 2020 off-season was an investment on offense.
What did the Miami Dolphins invest in during the 2020 NFL Off-Season? When examining the 2020 NFL Free-Agency and 2020 NFL Draft, you start to see what the Miami Dolphins wanted to improve on.
They invested heavily in their Offensive Line and Secondary. Those two groups, when looked at, seem to be two different investments, but I believe they are the same. The investment made during the 2020 NFL offseason is time. Extended plays on both sides of the ball to set up playmakers of both sides to affect the game.
With this article, I want to focus on the offensive investment of time.
When looking at the stats of the 2019 Miami Dolphins, one thing that stands out is the lack of a rushing attack and a large number of sacks. The lack of quality offensive linemen did not allow the offense time to set up the plays before the defense came to make a stop. With three new offensive linemen come the way for the draft, and two via the 2020 NFL free agency period, I expect the offense to get the much needed time to get the ball into their playmaker’s hands.
Those players are Guards Ereck Flowers, Solomon Kindley, Tackles Austin Jackson, and Robert Hunt, and Center Ted Karras.
When reviewing the stats provided by PFF, one key stat that had a considerable discrepancy between the Miami Dolphins offensive line and opposing teams were percent of clean dropbacks. Combined, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Josh Rosen had only 427 of their 708 drops back clean. That is only around 60%. While opposing Quarterbacks had 420 or their 576. Just below 73%. The decreased number of clean dropbacks limits what the quarterback can do on a given play.
The given time a quarterback has to throw in the pocket can be illustrated by looking at average time to throw, the average time in the pocket, and the average time to sack. Those stats of Miami’s verse their 2019 opponents are below.
Average time to throw: Miami 2.45 seconds/opponents 2.66 seconds.
Average time in the pocket: Miami 2.65 / opponents 2.67 Seconds
average time to sack: 3.54 seconds/opponents 3.83 seconds
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These stats illustrate the lack of time the offensive line provided during the 2019 season.
The offensive line wasn’t the only investment in time the Miami Dolphins made during the 2020 NFL offseason. Offensive Coordinator Chad O’Shea was also let go for having an offensive scheme described as too complicated. A system that required a significant amount of time for each play to be set up. Offensive Chan Gailey was brought in to replace O’Shea, who is known for a simple offensive system that is less complex. Gailey will bring a spread offense that will spread out the defense with multiple receivers.
If Miami’s offense can use the gained time from their new system and offensive line players, it should be enough to double their win total for 2019 and make a long-awaited trip to the NFL playoffs.