What's Really Behind the Miami Dolphins' Sudden Resurgence?
Somehow, the Miami Dolphins no longer have a losing record.
Just three weeks ago, the Dolphins were in a downward spiral. Losses to the Jacksonville Jaguars, Buffalo Bills and New York Jets gave the team a 1-3 record and dropped the axe on then-head coach Joe Philbin. Philbin was replaced by former tight ends coach Dan Campbell.
Campbell had never been a head coach at this level; he hadn't even been a coordinator, but his impact has been as positive as it has been immediate in Miami.
Under Campbell, the Dolphins have gone 2-0. His debut was a convincing victory over the Tennessee Titans on the road, before his home debut saw the team dominate the Houston Texans by a scoreline of 44-26. Campbell has distanced the team from the passive, almost submissive aura that engulfed Philbin's Dolphins.
Not much can be read into the results of such a small sample against such poor quality of opposition. Both the Titans and Texans have lost five games apiece, while combining for just three victories. They are two of the worst teams in the whole league.
While the results themselves are largely inconsequential, how those results came about are significant.
The Dolphins never needed Campbell to be a genius. He didn't and doesn't have to be a great head coach. For the Dolphins to compete for a playoff spot in the AFC, they only needed their coaching staff to be competent.
Under Philbin, the Dolphins weren't just losing, they were proving to be incompetent. In the simplest of terms, the coaching staff showed no understanding of their opponents' strengths or weaknesses through the first four weeks, nor did they show any understanding of their own strengths or weaknesses.
Altering the Dolphins' appearance on the offensive side circled around the team's usage of Lamar Miller.
Through the first four games of the season, Miller averaged 9.25 carries per game for 32.75 rushing yards. As a receiver, he saw 2.5 receptions per game for 21.75 receiving yards. In the two games since Philbin was fired, he is averaging 19 touches per game for 177 yards.
He has 33 rushes for 288 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns under Campbell, despite being rested for the second half against the Texans.
Not only were Philbin's Dolphins reluctant to give the ball to Miller, when they did give it to him, they rarely let him run between the tackles. Miller is an explosive runner, but he's also an intelligent one who can set up blocks and work between the tackles.
When Philbin ran the Dolphins, offensive coordinator Bill Lazor put a greater emphasis on outside runs from the shotgun than inside runs from under center.
This play comes on a 1st-and-10, early on during the Dolphins' first drive against the Texans. Lazor uses a wide receiver end-around motion to draw second-level defenders away from the middle of the field, but Miller takes the ball between the tackles.
By lining up under center and handing the ball off to Miller, the Dolphins give Miller an opportunity to manipulate the defenders in front of him.
He takes advantage of that opportunity by setting up his blocking for a shallow cutback to space in the middle of the defense. Miller manipulated Jared Crick, the defender engaged with his right guard immediately in front of him, by showing patience to press the front side of the play.
At the perfect time, he showed nimble feet and good awareness to accelerate back across the face of the defender and go through a wide open hole.
Miller's movement had set up the second-level linebacker also, giving Miller an opportunity to adjust his direction again and run to space. Miller was able to gain 10-plus yards for a relatively easy first down. While this play wasn't defended well, it highlighted how the coaching staff played to their strengths.
Having a back with Miller's wide skill set allows the coaching staff to be versatile in how they use him. That wasn't happening under Philbin, meaning defenses could key in on him more easily.
By making Miller a consistent threat between the tackles, he is offered the opportunity to break outside of his own accord. When he is directed outside from the beginning of the play with pulling linemen, he rarely had options. He simply had to follow his blockers.
This unpredictability creates hesitation in the defensive front and makes passing the ball to every level easier. Early on in this game, the Dolphins were using a quick, outside passing game to complement Miller taking the ball up the middle.
Two plays after his previous carry, Miller took the ball up the middle from a shotgun alignment.
Since Lazor became the offensive coordinator in Miami, the Dolphins have heavily relied on a shotgun alignment that keeps one tight end and three receivers on the field. Running from this alignment suits Miller because it naturally creates space for him.
It also still allows him to take the ball working between the tackles when Tannehill uses a read-action or read-option to hold the backside defender.
That is what Tannehill did on this play. He may not have actually been reading J.J. Watt, but by simply handing the ball off and keeping his eyes on the defensive back, he prevented the defensive end from crashing down on the play.
Because of Watt's hesitation, Miller had time in the backfield to make his decision while the offensive line in front of him had numbers to account for defenders.
Instead of taking the ball and being led toward the sideline, Miller is directed upfield. He has options. A potential cutback lane could open up, but that's rare with an unblocked defender on the backside. Instead, Miller is going to work the middle to the left.
The play is designed to work through the middle, but Miller quickly recognizes that his blocking has broken down. He makes an instant, good decision to turn outside the left tackle and run to the edge. He gains seven yards and a first down.
While the quality of opponent has been a notable red flag over the past two games, the Dolphins had one of the best running games in the NFL by using these types of runs last season.
Although they only ranked 12th in yards per game, the Dolphins ranked second in yards per attempt and were the second-best running team by DVOA. DVOA is a Football Outsiders metric that measures efficiency on a snap-by-snap basis while considering opponent quality and down and distance.
Using Miller correctly not only revitalizes the Dolphins running game, but it also balances the offense as a whole, making the passing game more effective. When the Dolphins were previously trying to work off of play action, they were too predictable because they never committed to running the ball between the tackles.
This may be a simple change, but it's one that can and will have a huge impact on the team's success moving forward.
Most of the change on the offensive side of the ball is about coaching, but the return to full health and effectiveness of offensive tackle Branden Albert has also been huge. Albert is one of the better starting left tackles in the NFL, while the Dolphins didn't have anything close to a competent replacement for him.
Simply having a blindside starter who isn't constantly disrupting the design of plays or forcing the quarterback to always move off his spot or throw under pressure is a huge alteration for any offense.
Coaching alterations on the defensive side have made a significant impact also. Campbell fired Philbin's former defensive coordinator, Kevin Coyle, to replace him with Lou Anarumo. Anarumo has run a more aggressive defense that has stopped giving up too many easy plays underneath.
However, more importantly, Cameron Wake's hamstring has healed.
Wake and Ndamukong Suh were the foundation pieces of the Dolphins defensive line entering the season. The defensive line as a whole was the foundation of the defense. Therefore, it was massively important for both Wake and Suh to be fully healthy and effective at all times.
Through the first month or so of the season, it was clear that Wake wasn't fully healthy. His explosiveness wasn't where it was previously, limiting his impact on the passing game. Against the Titans, he had four sacks and two forced fumbles.
Against the Texans, he had two sacks, two forced fumbles and a pass deflection.
For both of his sacks, Wake exploded around the right tackle of the Texans before athletically extending his body to knock the ball out of the quarterback's grasp. Wake has always been a hugely explosive player who relies on his speed rush to set up his full pass-rushing repertoire.
Without his explosiveness over the first month of the season, he couldn't force his way into the backfield.
Having Wake at full health coming off the edge should further spread the protection to loosen up some of the attention going Suh's way. The high-priced defensive tackle was able to get consecutive sacks of Brian Hoyer in the second quarter against the Texans.
Those were his first sacks of the season.
Small things can have big repercussions in the NFL. Because everything is so finely intertwined, using one player correctly or incorrectly can cause a ripple effect to impact whole units or whole teams. The Dolphins have a lot of talent, but they're not one of the most talented teams in the league.
Only the most talented teams in the league or the teams with the best coaches can get away with getting so many little things wrong. Right now, Campbell is making the right decisions, and the Dolphins roster is healthy. They may not be a great team, but they should be much better than they have been.
The coming weeks will reveal a lot about where the Dolphins will be at the end of the season.
Relatively speaking, their schedule has been soft so far this year. They are about to encounter the New England Patriots, Buffalo Bills, Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys and New York Jets.
Regardless of how they come out of that stretch, it's already clear that moving on from Philbin was the correct decision.
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