Ndamukong Suh's Poor Play Proves Dolphins Can't Rely on Building in Free Agency

Year after year, the Miami Dolphins make free-agency splash after free-agency splash. 

The theory: One or two key signings will put the team over the top, filling a need and bringing the Dolphins closer to a "complete" team.

The results: a lot of guaranteed money for players who haven't produced anything better than the .500 records we've come to expect from the Dolphins in the past half-decade. 

The logic behind signing defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh was sound. The Dolphins have struggled to stop the run over the past two seasons while anchored by a defensive line comprised mainly of pass-rushing specialists. Randy Starks, Jared Odrick, Cameron Wake and Olivier Vernon are all talented players, but all are much better when pinning their ears back to get after the quarterback than they are when asked to play stout at the line of scrimmage. 

The 6'4", 320-pound Suh was supposed to change that. Suh has been an imposing force in the running game and the passing game, and ranked among Pro Football Focus' top 10 run-stuffing defensive tackles in each of the last two seasons. 

The shiny new $114 million toy hasn't changed the results. The Dolphins have finished in the bottom 10 in run defense in each of the last two seasons, and they are even worse now—the worst in the league, to be exact.

But it should never have come to this, because the Dolphins should know by now that you can't just spend a boatload of money to fix a problem by signing one player and expect the problem to go away. Just ask wide receiver Mike Wallace, signed to a $60 million contract in 2013 in hopes that his insane speed would help solve the Dolphins' problems with their lack of a vertical passing game.

Player	Years	Total (max)	Guar.
Mike Wallace	5	$60,000,000	$30,000,000
Brent Grimes	4	$32,000,000	$16,000,000
Branden Albert	5	$47,000,000	$26,000,000
Ndamukong Suh	6	$114,375,000	$59,955,000

There are two problems with that line of thinking: The first is that it's counterproductive to ask one player to change the complexion of an entire unit (unless that player is a future Hall of Famer, or at the very least a perennial All-Pro at his position). The second is that regardless of how fast a receiver may be, no receiver can make his quarterback more accurate.

Even before signing Suh, the Dolphins knew they had some unsolved issues at linebacker. Jelani Jenkins and Koa Misi both showed growth and potential last season, but neither one was dominant against the run. The Dolphins needed to address the linebacker position and could have done so in the draft, but they went with defensive tackle Jordan Phillips instead.

The Dolphins know they have a problem at linebacker. It's why Kelvin Sheppard and Zach Vigil have split time in the middle (Sheppard has played 105 snaps through four games, while Vigil has played 46). They'll need to get better, more consistent play from those two if the run defense is going to improve. But it's not all on the players.

One of the culprits of the Dolphins' struggles has been the defensive scheme, but according to Andrew Abramson of the Palm Beach Post, players say they aren't expecting any major scheme changes under interim head coach Dan Campbell and new defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo. 

"They've mentioned a few things but honestly this deep in to the season you can only do so much different," defensive end Derrick Shelby said. "We're still going to do some of the things we're doing but maybe just a few little tweaks here and there. Still doing over-under defense, things like that."

There will be tweaks, but wholesale changes, not so much.

"We're not going to run away with what we do and with what we know we've had success with," Campbell said. "However, that being said, we will tweak some things."

After giving Suh the keys to his own personal Brink's truck—metaphorically speaking, of course—one of Campbell's tweaks should be in how the team changes its approach to building a team. Right now, it seems its primary focus is on collecting talent. 

Some of the Dolphins' big signings have helped. Left tackle Branden Albert has been a stabilizing force on the outside. But the Dolphins still have holes at the guard spots that have resulted in some poor pass protection for quarterback Ryan Tannehill. The Dolphins made a smart move in signing cornerback Brent Grimes to a long-term contract after his one-year deal expired in 2013, but the Dolphins still have a hole at the other cornerback spot that's been exposed time after time on Grimes' watch.

One guy, no matter how talented he is, can't fix an entire unit on his own. The Dolphins should start taking a more holistic approach to team building, rather than pinning the hopes of their franchise on one or two new arrivals each year.