What must the Miami Dolphins add to their offense in week two?

There was no motion in the Miami Dolphins offense in week one.

Miami Dolphins offensive coordinator Chan Gailey has been around the NFL and for quite a while. Even though he isn’t necessarily a “new age” play-caller, it has never felt like the game has passed him by. His offense is not outdated by any stretch of the imagination, and he is a pretty aggressive play-caller.

While all of this is true, the offense he brought to New England on Sunday was downright awful. Part of it was the less than stellar play from quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. Another factor was the fact that after their first possession, they were trailing for the rest of the game. Another huge factor could be that there was limited time to put together this offense. There are already questions about the offense, but everyone must remember that it is only week one.

There were a lot of things that were out of Gailey’s control, but one thing was not: motion. The Miami Dolphins barely used any motion at the snap on Sunday. Miami used motion at the snap on just 1.8% of their offensive play calls against New England. That number needs to go up dramatically if the Dolphins want to have more than one scoring drive in week two.

Utilizing motion at the snap would help this struggling offense tremendously. Hitting a player in stride while he’s the only player allowed to move provides a tremendous advantage. It would certainly mitigate the losses of Albert Wilson and Allen Hurns. There are a variety of ways to execute motion at the snap. The top 12 twelve teams in terms of motion at the snap won on Sunday.

One of the more popular variations is the jet motion tap pass. This is something that has become prevalent in the NFL for the last couple of years and should be utilized by the Dolphins. The play involves a player, typically from the slot, coming inside, in between the offensive line quarterback, and catching a tap pass from the quarterback as soon as the ball is snapped.

Another option is using orbit motion. Orbit motion involves a player coming completely across the formation behind the quarterback. The momentum built up offers great ability to gain some easy yards. If run properly, teams can use orbit motion to set up a play for a different player, essentially using the motion man as a decoy.

The Dolphins have the personnel to make these types of plays happen, which will in turn make life easier for the quarterback and offensive line. Malcolm Perry and Lynn Bowden, who were both inactive on Sunday, are excellent players to put in these situations. Speedster Jakeem Grant is another option to use with plays involving motion at the snap. Let us not forget about Matt Breida, one of the fastest players in the NFL.

These are not plays that should be exclusive to the young big name play-callers like Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay (who used the most motion at the snap-in week one). The plays described are simple, easily installed plays that can be used to get a struggling offense going. The key to scoring points in the modern NFL is getting your best and most athletic players in space. The Dolphins did very little of that on Sunday. With the offense sputtering, let us all hope the offensive coordinator can figure out a way to get the ball into the hands of the best athletes on the field.