Why Has the Miami Dolphins Defense Been One of the League's Best?
The truth is, it may be a misnomer to call the Miami Dolphins defense "one of the league's best."
The "one of" part is debatable.
Yes, the Dolphins defense is that good, and while it may not pitch another shutout this season like it did against the San Diego Chargers in Week 9, it is probably not done making life difficult for nearly every offense it faces.
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The Dolphins' dominance is thanks to a defensive line that features two explosive edge-rushers and a brick wall in the middle, a secondary that features quick, versatile, feisty cover corners and hard-nosed playmakers on the back end and a linebacker group that has adjusted to life without one of its star players and has improved over last season.
| 2013 | 23.4 | 368.8 | 39 | 51.7 |
| 2014 | 18.9 | 304.6 | 40.2 | 57.1 |
Indeed, the Dolphins may feature a more complete defense than any in the NFL. There's a sense of toughness and pride in the way the Dolphins defense flies to the football.
"They're courageous," defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle said of his defense. "We pride ourselves on the fact that, when we do put our tape on, we see the things that we preach and that they know what reflects being a Miami Dolphin defensive player is. There were some great shots of it in the game the other day—swarms. There was a play at the end of the game where we had nine guys in on the tackle on a minus-yardage play with about four minutes left in the fourth quarter. Just guys swarming to the football."
The Dolphins had the ball for the final 6:41 of the game, but I think I found the play Coyle was talking about. With a 37-0 lead at this juncture in the game, the Dolphins could have easily let their foot off the gas and still have been safe. Nope, not this group.
It played with the same ferocity in garbage time of the fourth quarter as we saw from it in the early minutes with the game still hanging in the balance.
Make no mistake; this is no pattycake offense that the Dolphins dominated. Just a few weeks ago, Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers was considered a strong MVP candidate. The Dolphins helped put that discussion in serious doubt with a strong performance, but it's hard to hold Rivers at too much fault for what unfolded on Sunday.
The Chargers simply ran into a buzzsaw.
Much of the Dolphins' defensive playmaking on Sunday was attributable to their defensive front generating severe pressure on Rivers. On 1st-and-10 with 11:01 remaining in the second quarter, the Dolphins sent a four-man rush at Rivers and dropped their secondary into zone coverage.
Defensive tackle Jared Odrick (circled in red) got underneath the shoulder pads of Chargers guard Chad Rinehart, allowing Odrick to bull-rush Rinehart backward.
With nowhere to step up in the pocket, Rivers could not get everything he wanted on the throw. The result was a pass that sailed on him, going over the head of Chargers receiver Malcom Floyd. One person whose head the pass did not go over was safety Reshad Jones, who made an athletic leaping grab. But make no mistake; he is fully aware that he owes a big assist to the big men up front.
"First of all, I want to thank our D-line, who played incredible; linebackers too, for getting to the quarterback, and just pressuring him, not letting him step up and make easy throws," Jones said after the game. "We just played with technique in the back end and made plays when we had the chance to."
The Dolphins defensive line is loaded with playmakers, and Odrick is far from the only one.
I've had a slight man crush on defensive end Olivier Vernon for some time now, and it's thanks to plays like this that he continues to impress me.
Vernon was matched up with Chargers left tackle King Dunlap on 3rd-and-9 with 2:16 remaining in the third quarter. The Dolphins sent a five-man rush at Rivers, with safety Reshad Jones coming through the A-gap to provide extra pressure up the middle.
As it turns out, the Dolphins defensive line didn't need the extra help. Vernon got there on his own.
He got into Dunlap's pads and used his solid hand technique to swipe away Dunlap's hands, allowing him to get free and charge hard and fast after Rivers. A split second later, Vernon had collected his thoughts enough to go after the ball, which was still in Rivers' hands. He knocked it out, the Dolphins recovered and Rivers' day was done.
The defensive line really took over the game; in total, the Dolphins created pressure 15 times on 31 dropbacks by Chargers quarterbacks, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required).
Thanks to that pressure and thanks in part to their own solid coverage ability, the Dolphins were also able to notch three interceptions of Rivers. Jones' interception was largely thanks to pressure, but cornerback Brent Grimes had two interceptions against Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen, mostly without the help of the defensive front.
Grimes may not be the biggest or most physically imposing cornerback, but he is tough, fast and has great ball skills and route recognition. His first interception was thanks in large part to his ability to read the dig route by Allen. He dropped into a short zone, and once he saw Allen break to the middle, he headed that direction and beat him to the ball, muscling his way through the receiver to make the pick.
His second interception was thanks to the aforementioned long speed, as he covered Allen all the way downfield and essentially became a receiver on the play, tracking the ball in flight and making a leaping grab. The fact that the 5'10" Grimes was able to beat the 6'2" Allen to the ball tells you all you need to know about his competitiveness.
It's a toughness and competitiveness that spans across the Dolphins' entire defense.
And it's thanks in large part to those traits, combined with a whole heap of talent and smart coaching, that have allowed the Dolphins to become one of the league's best defenses this season.
The Dolphins defense has been underrated for a while, but if it continues to play at this level, it will soon begin to garner the national attention it deserves.
Unless otherwise noted, all quotes obtained via team news release.
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