What’s the Miami Dolphins’ reward for getting stricken by the Chicago Bears’ No. 1-ranked dashing assault final Sunday?
The Cleveland Browns’ third-ranked floor sport.
But after surrendering a season-high (by practically 100 yards) 252 dashing yards at Soldier Field final Sunday, there’s nonetheless cause for optimism for Miami’s run protection in opposition to one other high-powered assault.
Quarterback Justin Fields was accountable for 178 of these dashing yards. Yes, that established a regular-season NFL report for a quarterback, however Miami has held its personal in opposition to the normal run sport to operating backs on early downs.
And that’s what Cleveland kilos opponents with between Nick Chubb, who’s second to the Titans’ Derrick Henry in dashing this season, and Kareem Hunt.
“We do feel like that the traditional run game is something that we’re doing well, that we can build on,” Dolphins defensive coordinator Josh Boyer stated this week. “Obviously, when there are breakdowns, either we’re out of our gap or there’s a missed tackle or there’s something of that nature.”
The Dolphins dropped from sixth to fifteenth in run protection after Sunday’s outing in Chicago. Even within the video games prior, the Dolphins have been stout, aside from permitting Lamar Jackson to go off in Week 2 at Baltimore and quite a lot of Josh Allen scrambles the next week. Does that translate to having bother with getting tailbacks down?
“Sometimes it goes hand in hand, sometimes it really doesn’t,” Boyer stated. “A lot of those scramble plays, you’re probably more often than not set up to defend the pass than you are the run. And then some of them that occur off of play-action, there can be displacement based on the offense doing misdirection or moving the pocket, so there is going to be a little bit of space. And then, obviously, it all comes back to the transition, rush lanes, if you’re in zone coverage, everybody’s got zone vision on it.”
New Dolphins edge defender Bradley Chubb stated of enjoying the normal floor sport: “It’s extra of a line up and play-what-you-see sort factor. A scrambling quarterback is form of like, no matter he sees, he’s going to take. But these guys, they do a superb job too of taking what they will get, as effectively.
“We just got to be disciplined in our gaps and nobody trying to play hero ball, trying to play two gaps at once and knocking off a different guy. That’s when they crease you for 30 or 40 yards at a time. So, if we just play gap, fundamentally sound football, I feel like we will be fine.”
Nonetheless, there are some constants in stopping a ball service operating downhill, no matter place. And the Dolphins might have gotten away from some fundamentals and core ideas in the case of tackling and angles of pursuit defensively in opposition to Fields.
“It’s just trying to get back to the fundamentals, do what we’ve been doing all year,” outdoors linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel stated, “whether it would be tackling, setting the edge, defeating blocks, just doing what we do best.”
Controlling Nick Chubb, the three-time Pro Bowl decide with 841 dashing yards and 10 touchdowns in eight video games, poses a serious problem.
“You’d be hard-pressed not to call him the best back in the league,” Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel stated. “I’d be stunned that there’s a better degree of play. Simply as a result of, he’s exhausting to sort out, they usually hand him the ball, and also you’re making an attempt to cease the ball.
“He forces defenders to tackle him every play. And if you let up at all, he’ll have one of those rugby-scrum explosives where he’ll all of a sudden bust out. We’ve been very forthright with showing the players his best runs of really his entire professional career and to let the guys know what they’re in store for.”
Boyer has emphasised that it’ll take workforce tackling to convey down the 227-pound Chubb and 216-pound Hunt.
“That’s what the coaches always preach,” Van Ginkel stated. “Run to the ball, and if you’re the second, third guy in, you can get punches at the ball, get turnover opportunities.”
Beyond Chubb and Hunt, the Browns are top-of-the-line run-blocking groups on the road. They have 5 Pro Bowls between their two guards, Joel Bitonio and Wyatt Teller.
“It starts up front,” defensive sort out Zach Sieler stated. “If you’re a good running team, it all starts with the O-line.”
Even if the Dolphins carry out effectively in opposition to Cleveland’s conventional run sport Sunday, they’re nonetheless going to wish to do higher in opposition to scrambling quarterbacks sooner or later.
“That starts with me. I’ve got to put the players in better position,” Boyer stated. “I think that, when you look at it, you always reflect and go, ‘OK, if this comes up again, this is probably the route to go.’”
Added Van Ginkel: “A scrambling quarterback, everybody’s got to be accountable for him because, if he escapes the pocket, then defenders have to close in on him to try to limit explosive plays. Traditional running team, if you can be able to defeat blocks, we’re usually in pretty good shape. And then just running to the ball, getting 11 hats to the ball.”
()
Source: www.bostonherald.com