Dolphins vs Jaguars: Breaking Down Miami's Game Plan

The Miami Dolphins are on the hunt to win their fourth game of the season and get above .500, but the Jacksonville Jaguars stand in their way. Jacksonville is just 1-6, but the Jags are a young team that has played hard and has shown significant improvement lately.

It’s imperative that the Dolphins win this matchup, as they’re approaching a difficult stretch of games and need to log as many wins as possible before go through that gauntlet. Miami’s last three games indicate that the players have made progress and that the coaches are better utilizing the talent on the roster.

But to keep the team focused against a "lesser" opponent has been a major issue for this team since Joe Philbin took over as head coach. Last year, Miami lost to seemingly worse teams such as Tampa Bay, Buffalo and the New York Jets, and those losses are what kept the Dolphins out of the playoffs.

In order for the Dolphins to defeat the upstart Jaguars, they’ll need a solid game plan to attack Jacksonville's weaknesses. With the Jaguars’ defense allowing just 13 points a game the last three weeks (compared to 38 a game in their first four games), Miami's offense will need to be prepared and focused.

Let’s jump in to Miami’s game plan, starting with their offensive strategy first.

Offense

Similar to how the Jaguars have improved their play over the last three weeks, the Dolphins offense has also seen major gains in productivity and effectiveness in Miami's last three contests.

According to TeamRankings.com, the Dolphins’ offense has averaged 13.7 points in the first half in the last three weeks, ranking 10th in the league. Prior to those three weeks, Miami averaged only eight points in the first half, last in the league.

The significant jump in points comes from a much more balanced game plan from offensive coordinator Bill Lazor and a more relaxed Ryan Tannehill. Their relationship is symbiotic, as each will shine only if the other can execute on his end of the bargain. By emphasizing Tannehill’s on-field strengths and calling plays that steer clear of the QB's weaknesses, Lazor is proving he can be a quality offensive coordinator.

To see where the Jaguars have weaknesses, we went back and looked at their previous three games. One major theme stood out.

Without trying to discredit the Jaguars’ recent achievements, the quality of their last three opponents was much lower than that of the teams that dominated Jacksonville in the first four games of the season. Their most recent three opponents were the Pittsburgh Steelers, Tennessee Titans and Cleveland Browns—each a deeply flawed team whose quarterback played poorly against the Jaguars. 

That’s why the first key to Miami’s offensive success is to get Ryan Tannehill on the move. Tannehill has been unleashed in the last three weeks, running the ball 14 times for 135 yards, per Pro Football Reference. The use of Tannehill on read-option plays has also positively affected the passing game, as linebackers are prone to freezing a read-option run fake.

Miami’s bread-and-butter passing play has become the one shown below in a screenshot from the Chicago game.

We’ve seen this play once a week since the preseason, and it works every time. With Lamar Miller running the ball so well this year, defenses are trying to limit how often he gets open running lanes. The ensuing reaction off the play action is for linebackers to creep toward the line of scrimmage, the safeties to freeze, and the slot receiver (Jarvis Landry in this case) to speed to the open field for an easy first-down reception.

For the defense, the key is to stay disciplined and read how Tannehill is surveying the field. Will Tannehill keep the ball? Hand off? Or pull the ball out and throw it. How disciplined the linebackers are will determine the action.

Relating this back to the Jaguars, there were numerous instances against Cleveland when Jaguar linebackers bit hard on bootlegs, forgetting to keep a weak-side rusher keyed in on the quarterback. Without proper containment on the back side of the play, the QB has an open throwing window and usually a receiver open on a crossing route. The Browns exploited this multiple times, and Miami should as well.

NFL Game Rewind

Using Tannehill on bootlegs accomplishes multiple things for the offense. First is that Tannehill uses his natural athleticism in space, which has been problematic for defenses to stop this year as they have to defend both against his legs and arm. The second is that Tannehill excels at working the short to intermediate routes, and having an intermediate receiver crossing is right in his wheelhouse.

Miami’s receiver group are also better running intermediate patterns. Mike Wallace’s superb quickness and speed is nearly impossible to defend in man coverage, so defenses have to revert to zone to neutralize him. Whether running vertical routes, comebacks or crossers, he must be accounted for. That means more broken coverages and uncovered receivers for Tannehill to find.

Feature Charles Clay

Now that tight end Charles Clay has found his groove again (and possibly his health), he’s the perfect candidate to play off the attention Wallace gets. Clay is often too quick for linebackers, and uses his body to shield defensive backs from the ball, meaning he is deserving of significant targets on a weekly basis.

That shouldn’t change against the Jaguars.

The Jaguars are one of the few teams with a defensive weapon talented enough to cover Clay, and Telvin Smith is coming off a breakout performance against Cleveland that earned him AFC Defensive Player of the Week as a rookie. The former Seminole is a hybrid safety/linebacker that is extremely fluid in coverage, making him a threat to force a game-changing turnover.

Despite Smith's strong performance against the Browns, Miami shouldn't be deterred from attacking him in the running game and with Clay. Smith is only 218 pounds, meaning he’s vulnerable against Miami’s effective ground game and against the bigger, physical Clay.

NFL Game Rewind

As seen above against the Titans, the Jaguars’ linebackers will give room to running backs that release out of the backfield. Miami exploited this multiple times last week against the Bears, and should continue to happen. Clay can be used in such a role, or in straight up matchups because he’s still too good with the ball in his hands for most linebackers to contain.

Drop the Linebackers

Jaguars’ rookie quarterback Blake Bortles has had his fair share of success this season, throwing for 1,163 yards with a completion percentage of 65.5 percent, per PFR. He’s able to make any throw asked of him, including deep out patterns. These flashes of arm talent helps justify his lofty draft status, and his potential is still sky high.

NFL Game Rewind

Bortles has steep valleys to go along with his bursts of brilliance, however. His 10 interceptions lead the league, even though he’s played in only five games. He stares down his wide receivers like most rookies, but the troubling aspect of his game is his spotty footwork. Instead of aligning his feet with his target, he will often throw off his back foot and sail passes over his receivers.

Bortles mechanical issues when combined with the Jaguars’ very basic route trees makes for a bad mix. Due to poor line play, Jacksonville often plays max protect to give Bortles time to find a receiver. With Allen Hurns, Cecil Shorts, Allen Robinson and Marqise Lee, the Jaguars have some decent weapons. But too often, what little space these receivers can be nullified by dropping the linebackers into coverage.

NFL Game Rewind

As seen above, the Browns dropped their linebackers just a few yards and gave Bortles little to no room to fit a pass for a completion. With a three-step drop, Bortles is more likely to panic when he sees such little opportunity for a play, and turnovers can come in bunches. Miami must clog up the passing lanes by dropping Jelani Jenkins and Koa Misi into coverage whenever possible.

Miami can also feel safe dropping their linebackers because the Jaguars lack a quality running game. Yes, Denard Robinson just ran for 127 yards on 22 carries in Week 7, but the Browns defensive front has been ravaged by injuries, and, even healthy, it does not compare to Miami’s front seven. Cleveland ranks as the worst run defense in the league, while Miami is in the top 10.

Unleash the Beasts

In the truest sense, the Dolphins have been fortunate and wise to stock up with talented pass-rushers over the last few seasons. As a unit, the group of Cameron Wake, Olivier Vernon, Jared Odrick, Derrick Shelby, and Randy Starks creates chaos for an offensive line.

"

Disruption=Production ! Cam Wake ( +19.6 #1 4-3 DE) Olivier Vernon (+4.5 #10 4-3 DE) Jared Odrick (+8.2) Earl Mitchell ( +5.8) Starks (+2.9)

— Daniel Eliesen (@Eliesen_Cover32) October 23, 2014"

But now, the Dolphins defense has started incorporating Chris McCain, and it gets Dion Jordan back this week from suspension. The amount of athleticism, speed and versatility within the Dolphins front line is unparalleled in the league.

On Jordan’s return, defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle said he doesn’t see any issues getting him to fit, (per Juan C. Rodriguez of the Sun-Sentinel)

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It won't be tough...When you have good players you find ways to utilize them and he's certainly a very talented guy...His play speed was excellent in practice. Sometimes when somebody hasn't been practicing, they have fresh legs and look faster, but he's continued that and it showed up on the tape [Sunday]. He brings a real confidence to the group back there. In the first couple of games he's been back, he's back to playing as good as he's played since we've been here 

"

Expect the Dolphins defense to be draped all over Bortles on Sunday, as he takes a sack on 22.4 percent of the plays on which he gets pressured, which is the fifth-highest mark in the league, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required). He’ll have to have the game of his life to overcome Miami's pass rush, which is possible, but only if the Dolphins defense sleepwalks for long periods of time through the game.

Although the Jaguars have been improving recently, their surge has as much to do with the lack of quality they’ve faced than major jumps in the talent on the roster. That being said, they possesses many quality players, including defensive tackle Sen’Derrick Marks, who is possibly the most underrated player in the league.

For the Dolphins to walk away with a win, they must execute the aforementioned keys to the game at a high level and jump out to a quick lead. This should be expected against a lesser opponent, but trap games like this are nothing to brush off. The Dolphins haven’t earned enough respect to count this game as a sure victory, but a win will only help reinforce that this is a changed team from years’ past.

All stats used are from Pro Football Focus' Premium Stats (subscription required) or sports-reference.com. All contract information is courtesy of Spotrac.com.

Ian Wharton is a Miami Dolphins Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report, contributor for Optimum Scouting, and analyst for FinDepth. 

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