Imagine this scenario: you're the offensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins. Your quarterback has six career starts and is in his fifth season. Your receiving corps consists of two rookie third-round picks and a third-year player with less than 600 yards in his career. You, admittedly, have a superstar running back at your disposal, but he'll tear his ACL two and a half games into the season.
At tight end, you have a fifth-year veteran with under 800 career yards, followed by three rookies. Your offensive line has a couple of standouts at center and left tackle, a rookie and a much-maligned second-year player at the guards, and a volatile veteran at right tackle. Now, with what you have at your disposal, go outscore Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. Or Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals.
That's precisely the hand Bobby Slowik was dealt. It's true that he chose to be in Miami, but there was always going to need to be some grace extended as his group figured things out. Through it all, with a 1–5 record included, the Dolphins are averaging 5.2 yards per play, a figure that ranks tied for 18th in the league.
Bobby Slowik is doing a fantastic job with the Miami Dolphins' offense earlier than anyone could've reasonably expected
Now, don't get me wrong. Teams that are in the middle of the pack on offense are rarely going to be competing for playoff spots and beyond. This isn't the ceiling, but it sure is a nice place to start. Heck, the Dolphins' company in the middle of the pack is inspiring in and of itself.
The NFC East-leading New York Giants are tied with Miami. The Pittsburgh Steelers, who have invested considerably in their offense, rank 21st. They're currently looking up at the division-leading Cleveland Browns in the AFC North, who themselves rank 23rd. Heck, even the Denver Broncos, with their addition of former Dolphin wide receiver Jaylen Waddle, are just 26th.
None of those teams are necessarily the gold standard of offensive football, but it sure beats being grouped in with the basement-dwelling Indianapolis Colts, Philadelphia Eagles, and Los Angeles Chargers. In that regard, Slowik deserves some credit.
In the Dolphins' first five games, all of which were losses, it was not uncommon for the stations broadcasting the game to show replays of quarterback Malik Willis bypassing a wide-open, short completion in search of a deep shot. That's not a failure of the offense — it's user error.
Ultimately, the coordinator can't make decisions for the players. Their primary job is to call plays that get receivers open and give the quarterback answers. Slowik has done that. Coincidentally or not, Willis seemed to take the short plays more often in Week 7, and Miami was able to notch its first win. That game needs to be a building block and not something that is recklessly cast aside.
Look, it's obviously a collaborative effort. Oftentimes, fans get angry with coaches who won't publicly throw their players under the bus. Really, though, what does it benefit Slowik, head coach Jeff Hafley, or quarterbacks coach Bush Hamdan to dog Willis in front of the media? They're all in this together.
The proof is nonetheless in the pudding. Willis played his best game last week. It won't be easy, but he'll have a chance to build on it when the Dolphins host the New England Patriots on Sunday. As long as Bobby Slowik keeps dialing it up as he has been, Willis just might.
Add us as a preferred source on Google