Miami Dolphins Don't Need to Continue Blitz-Happy Ways in 2015

The best coaches adapt their scheme to the personnel on their roster. That's why the Miami Dolphins should scale back from their blitz-happy ways of the past few seasons under defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle.

In 2013 and 2014, the Dolphins were among the most aggressive defenses in football when it comes to blitzing. According to Pro Football Focus, the Dolphins ranked in the top 10 in blitz percentage.

For clarity, PFF defines a blitz as:

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Someone pass rushing that the offense wouldn't expect. For example, in a goal-line situation if there are six defensive linemen and they all rush the passer, that wouldn't count as a blitz. However, in a base 3-4 defense if an ILB rushes instead of an OLB, it would count, even though it is still potentially just a four-man rush.

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In essence, this means that the Dolphins have relied on the element of surprise to generate pressure on opposing passers. But that was then, and this is now.

Year	2013	2014
Blitz %	36.2	32.1
NFL rank	6	10

The Dolphins have assembled a group of defensive linemen who should be able to create pressure on their own without any tricks or deception, but instead on pure talent. With Cameron Wake and Olivier Vernon pinching the pocket from the defensive end spots, along with Ndamukong Suh and either Earl Mitchell or Jordan Phillips rushing up the middle, the Dolphins could find themselves the beneficiaries of an aggressive pass-rush despite a conservative game plan.

Yet, in organized team activities, the Dolphins have reportedly been focusing on an aggressive game plan that's focused on generating more turnovers.

"One of the things we showed to the team the first day of OTA practice was our turnover ratio over a three-year period," Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin said. "While the trend is positive, we're moving it in the right direction, we've got to accelerate it more and part of the way of doing that is you can get your hands on the football. You've got to make those plays when they present themselves. So that's something that’s going to be a big emphasis from now until the season ends."

Year	2012	2013	2014
Turnovers	16	24	25
NFL rank	T-28	T-19	T-13
Turnover margin	-10	-2	2
NFL rank	T-24	18	T-14

This is hardly the first time we've heard such reports coming out of Dolphins camp; they've been focusing on generating more turnovers for years. In Coyle's first year as the Dolphins coordinator, his defense ranked 28th with only 16 turnovers.

Since then, they've stepped up their game each year and ranked 19th in 2013 with 24 turnovers, followed by ranking 14th in 2014 with 25 turnovers. So, despite their aggressive ways, they've still been mediocre when it comes to the one area Coyle has tried and tried to improve. 

Maybe it's time to switch things up? Coyle eluded to that in describing the ways in which he's tried to simplify their defensive approach:

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It all starts with looking at what our players doing best. Once we establish that—and we spent a lot of time looking at everything through the end of the season and assessing the issues we had; the problems we had and things we need to do better. We have developed and come up with a plan that we think will allow our players to utilize their talents to the best of their ability and to get the kind of repetition that we need in order to play fast and decisive on defense.

It's been a process. It's an ongoing process as we're evaluating players each and every day we're learning more about them. Ultimately, that's going to be our charge to put together a defense that is aggressive, attacking. And yet our players can handle everything with it.

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Make no mistake; just because the Dolphins feature a dominant defensive line, doesn't mean they should sit back in their shell on every play. There will be times when the Dolphins need to force the issue—perhaps when they're playing from behind and need to make a play, or maybe when they want to catch the offense off guard after lulling them into a false sense of security.

NFL Game Rewind

That's exactly what happened against the Jacksonville Jaguars on the first play in the second quarter, when quarterback Blake Bortles was under fire by the Dolphins defense.

Bortles rolled to his left, thinking he would have an open lane to an easy completion. But with six rushers, including a linebacker and defensive back, the Dolphins forced Bortles to throw early and off-balance. 

NFL Game Rewind

That allowed safety Louis Delmas, whose eyes were already on the quarterback, to undercut the pass and make the interception, returning it 81 yards for a touchdown.

Aggressive play calls will be necessary at times, but with a defensive line that features four of the best pass-rushers at their positions, the Dolphins don't need to feel the pressure to make a quarterback feel the pressure. That should take place on its own. 

What else are they paying Suh and Wake a combined $16.5 million this year to do, if not to create pressure on opposing quarterbacks? Let that money go to good use. Besides, with so many question marks at cornerback—like, for starters, who will line up opposite Brent Grimes in the starting unit—the Dolphins may need to give their coverage unit as much help as possible.  

The Dolphins will find the right balance through their installation process on defense, but based on their talent, that balance should be weighted more heavily toward a conservative approach than an aggressive approach. 

Unless otherwise noted, all quotes obtained via team news release. Salary information provided by Over The Cap.