Miami Dolphins Coaches Hold the Key to Unlocking Ndamukong Suh's Potential

Whether or not defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh was "freelancing" against the Jacksonville Jaguars is not the Miami Dolphins' biggest problem. Their problems run much deeper than just one person. 

But if the Dolphins defense is going to turn it around after their slow start, Suh is the one person who can—and should—affect change. It's up to the Dolphins coaches to maximize Suh's massive potential. 

Following the Dolphins' 23-20 upset loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald reported that Suh had gone off script at times during the game, to the confusion of his teammates. Since then, Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin has publicly denied the report and shown support for the high-priced defensive tackle.

Year	Sacks	Hits	Hurries	Tackles	Assists
2015	0	0	4	2	1
2014	1	0	6	6	0
2013	0	3	12	3	0
2012	2	1	1	4	0
2011	1	1	4	3	1
2010	2	1	4	7	2

With just three tackles (two solo, one assist) and no sacks to his name, Suh has registered nary a blip on the radar since the regular season began. This is not the first time he has failed to register a sack through two games—but the last time it happened (2013), he was breathing down quarterbacks' necks down after down with 12 hurries and three hits through two games.

Of course, the impact of a defensive tackle is much more complicated than numbers on a stat sheet, but with a contract worth $114 million and $60 million guaranteed, the impact should at least be felt in some tangible way.

Whether Suh was going rogue or not, the Dolphins coaches aren't doing everything in their power to help the matter.

Suh has done his part for the most part, but no defense with such a valuable lineman in the middle should be allowing an average of 142 rushing yards per game. Suh admitted that his game, and his impact, are in need of improvement.

"It's still not quite where I want it to be," Suh said before Wednesday's practice. "Fundamentally, I just gotta get back into the sync of things and that's what practice is for. Getting with the coaches and understanding my mistakes that I made and just get back to work."

That being said, there's not much Suh can do if he's being double-teamed every snap.

Credit: NFL Game Pass

One thing the Dolphins could do is help Suh out by moving him around the defensive line. 

Through the first two games of the season, Suh has lined up predominantly (almost exclusively) as a left defensive tackle in the 1-technique (in the gap between the center and guard) or 3-technique (in the gap between the guard and tackle). By putting Suh in the same place time after time, the Dolphins are tipping their hand and allowing the opposing offensive line to quickly read their keys and get their assignments called, designate the double-team and neutralize the Dolphins' biggest threat on the defensive line.

The Dolphins presumably didn't sign Suh to his megadeal for him to draw double-teams and be neutralized play after play. If the Dolphins want to get their money's worth with Suh, they'll help him out by moving him around a bit. 

Granted, it's easier said than done at times. The Dolphins have two talented defensive ends in Cameron Wake and Olivier Vernon; if Suh is to play on the outside, that means one of those two will have to play out of position.

Credit: NFL Game Pass

That being said, the Dolphins have been known to flex into a 3-4 alignment from time to time; putting Suh at defensive end and both Vernon and Wake at outside linebacker could be an effective defensive look.

Imagine an offensive tackle and a tight end trying to block Suh and Wake off the edge? You can't, because it probably can't be done. 

But let's assume the Dolphins keep him at defensive tackle instead of trying to get creative with their star lineman. Suh's double-teams will allow the Dolphins' young, athletic linebackers to make more plays than they might otherwise make. Jelani Jenkins generated pressure on 12 of his 55 pass-rush opportunities in 2014, but no pressure on any of his nine pass-rush opportunities this year.

Jenkins has also been playing more on the strong side this year as opposed to the weak side last year, while Koa Misi has lined up on the weak side as opposed to the strong side, where he has more experience.

Whether it's the use of their linemen or their linebackers, the Dolphins have options, and they should explore all of them until they find the one that works best to fix their problematic run defense. 

Unless otherwise noted, all quotes obtained via team news release and all advanced stats obtained via Pro Football Focus.