Five things to immediately improve the Dolphins offense

We are one quarter of the way through the 2020 NFL season and the Miami Dolphins have managed just one win. The defense is improving but the offense isn’t.

We’ve seen some good things out of this team and as expected from such a young team we’ve seen some not so good.

This team has the potential to win some games. Once again it’s evident that these players love playing for Coach Brian Flores. Effort is never a problem following a game, but there are some places for improvement.

If I were coach of this team, these are five things (in no particular order) that I would do that I think could improve this team on the offensive side of the ball.

Get Matt Breida more involved. Plain and simple. This isn’t a knock on Gaskins. He epitomizes what this team is about. He’s tough, he’s smart, he gets the most out of his talent, the problem is he doesn’t scare anyone. Speed kills in football. You can’t teach it. Matt Breida brings that to the table. The Dolphins offense is lacking that chunk play ability right now and Breida would immediately bring that potential to the field.

Get Jakeem Grant more involved too. The theme here is the same as number one. I love what Parker has been able to do in the passing game, but again, Parker doesn’t scare anyone deep down the field. The Dolphins offense needs to scheme Grant into the game plan. You could see the potential when they dialed up an end around in the Jacksonville game. Grant’s speed was instantly noticeable on that play which resulted in a big gain. Miami needs to take shots with Grant. In the first four games it’s hard to remember any deep shots down the field where Grant’s speed was put to use.

Increase offensive creativity. Where is it? We get a glimpse here and there but we need more of it. Early in the Seattle game Lynn Bowden entered the game and lined up in the wildcat, kept the ball and gained 5 yards then was never heard from again. Why is that? How about some Malcolm Perry? Maybe an end around where he can keep or throw? Right now I’m not seeing the Dolphins put any stress on defenses. I’d love to line up in eye formation and run the ball down teams throats 25 or 30 times a game, but those days are gone. NFL offenses are predicated on creativity and exploiting matchups. That just doesn’t seem to be happening with the Dolphins right now.

Make Mike Gesicki a priority in each and every gameplan. When they throw the ball his way, more often than not, good things happen. The fact of the matter is, he’s just not getting enough targets. The Dolphins are struggling when they get in the red zone, evident by the 5 field goals kicked against the Seahawks. The old question asks, who catches passes in the red zone? The answer is tight ends. Especially 6’5” tight ends with great hands and freakish athletic ability. Why isn’t Gesicki getting multiple high point attempts in the end zone? Gesicki is on the verge, if used properly, of becoming a tight end that could be mentioned with some of the better names like Ertz, Kelce, or Kittle. Chan Gailey just needs to force the issue a little here and I’m confident he will be rewarded.

Get Tua Tagovailoa some reps. I’m not going to stand here and jump up and down that the rookie needs to be starting. I’ll go on the record and say I’d be fine if he did but that’s not what I’m advocating for…just yet. With that said though, I do feel as though Coach Flores needs to start getting him some reps. There is no secret around the fact that this is Tua’s team and Fitzpatrick is simply keeping the seat warm. The organization has made it clear that this is a multiple year rebuild, which I’m ok with, but who’s to say he’s not ready? Herbert is showing up in Los Angeles. Burrow in Cincinnati. Tua needs to get some live game reps so that when the surrounding talent gets to where we hope it to be, he’s ready. This could also inject life into an offense that has been ok to this point but is lacking something.

The Miami Dolphins are on the upswing, there is no doubt in my mind about that. A tweak here and a tweak there may be all they need.