Miami Dolphins playing a strange game with their running backs

The Miami Dolphins did not produce much on the ground Sunday but it was their decisions that were odd with the position.

On Sunday, the Miami Dolphins rotation of running backs was not what many expected and now a full day removed we still are not sure what they were doing.

Miami opened the game at New England with Jordan Howard at running back. That was expected but when Howard came off the field, Matt Breida sat on the sidelines while Miami ran with Myles Gaskin.

When it was third down a series later, it was Patrick Laird that was on the field. Eventually, Miami put Breida on the field but he continued to alternate with Gaskin and frankly, no one really knows why.

This is not to say that Gaskin had a bad game. He had the better game of the running backs rushing nine times for 40 yards. The problem is that Breida, a much faster runner with breakaway speed only touched the ball five times. Howard touched it eight.

Gaskin also caught four passes to Breida’s zero. Why? Maybe the question is what did the Dolphins see in Breida to throw a draft pick to the 49’ers for him instead of just drafting a top running back prospect?

On Thursday night, Clyde Edwards-Helaire rushed for 138 yards on 25 carries in an explosive debut. The Dolphins opted to draft Noah Igbinoghene instead. This is not to say the Dolphins made a mistake but if the running game is going to be a problem, it is something they could have fixed.

Gaskin got a shot on Sunday but again, we are not sure why the gameplan played out that way. From what we have seen on tape with Breida, Gaskin doesn’t have an edge on him.

When pressed about more explosive plays and using Matt Breida more and maybe Malcolm Perry, Flores didn’t say much of anything, instead just saying that the team would “look at everything” and do what is best for the team.