Adjustments Miami Dolphins Must Make After Bye Week

Something had to change.

The Miami Dolphins are 1-3 headed into the bye week, an unacceptable start after owner Stephen Ross beset the 2015 Dolphins with playoff hopes and expectations. 

There are a lot of different factors at work in the equation that has led to the Dolphins' worst start since Joe Philbin's first year as head coach, which has in turn led to this being his last year as head coach.

Quarterback Ryan Tannehill has not continued to improve, as he had for the previous three years. The offensive line has shown no signs of coming together despite two years and tons of resources spent on the positions.

The defense was once the strong suit of the team, but through four games, it's proven to be lacking in toughness and generally misused according to the talents on hand.

Now that Dan Campbell has taken over as the leader of the on-field product, here are some of the things he must do if he is going to be more than just an interim head coach and, just as importantly, his team is going to get back on track.

Run the Ball More

Lynne Sladky/Associated Press

Balance between the running game and passing game can often be a product of the score. After all, teams aren't likely to throw the ball when up by 20 points and they're not likely to run the ball in the opposite situation either.

So far this season, the Dolphins have been trailing for three hours, 17 minutes and 16 seconds out of a possible four hours of game time. They have been tied for 32:22 and been ahead for just 10:22 at the end of their Week 1 win over the Washington Redskins.

So, it makes sense that the Dolphins have run the ball less than any other team in the NFL and have accumulated the second-fewest rushing yards of any team through Week 4.

With that said, it hasn't taken more than a three- to seven-point deficit for the Dolphins to go right into pass-crazy mode. Against the Jets, Ryan Tannehill attempted 44 passes and the Dolphins ran the ball 11 times.

It's quite interesting, really, that the Dolphins have such a heavy concentration of play-action passing in their offense. Tannehill fakes a handoff on 19.7 percent of his dropbacks. 

Maybe new head coach and former tight end coach Dan Campbell will be more adamant about instilling that toughness of a running game into the offense. Right now, that's the Dolphins' best hope for finding some balance on offense.

Ryan Tannehill Must Get the Ball out Quicker, If That's Even Possible

Tim Ireland/Associated Press

Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill has been one of the league's least effective deep passers over the past few years.

In the past, his ineffectiveness on deep balls has been attributed to a lack of great deep-ball receivers. Given a brand new cast of pass-catchers, though, Tannehill's struggles persist.

He has attempted just 25 passes that traveled 20 or more yards. At 14.6 percent of his attempts, he goes deep with the 10th-highest frequency of any quarterback in the league. With just eight completions, though, Tannehill's accuracy is the 10th-worst of the 32 qualifying quarterbacks.

And once again, Tannehill is one of the most frequently pressured quarterbacks in the league. He has faced some kind of duress on 43.2 percent of his dropbacks, tied for the third-highest rate in the NFL.

More startling than the amount of pressure is how quickly that pressure is getting to Tannehill. 

The Dolphins quarterback stands in the pocket for 2.52 seconds on average. That's right around the middle of the pack (14th out of 31 qualifying quarterbacks). The same could be said for his average of 2.47 seconds to attempt a pass (18th). When Tannehill is sacked, though, it generally happens 2.8 seconds into the play (fifth-quickest).

It's tough to imagine and seemingly impossible to ask, but Tannehill must get the ball out even quicker than he has been in order to counter the almost immediate pressure he faces on a down-to-down basis.

Play to the Strengths of the Talented Defensive Line

Lynne Sladky/Associated Press

Of the many narratives that surround the Dolphins right now, their struggle on the defensive line is one of the biggest storylines.

Cameron Wake and Ndamukong Suh have the talent to absolutely wreck a game plan. Instead, the two of them are getting wrecked by the media for their lack of production.

Through four games, Wake has just one tackle and Suh has 10 tackles.

At least Wake has something of an excuse. With a nagging calf injury that's bothered him since the beginning of the season, Wake may still find his footing. Suh, on the other hand, signed a contract worth $114 million total and $60 million guaranteed. His impact was supposed to be immediate.

One of the biggest problems, though, is with the scheme. The Dolphins have run a two-gap defense in the front seven this season, which does not play to the strengths of Suh and Wake. The two are explosive athletes who excel when they are allowed to play aggressively and attack the backfield.

Instead of attacking the line of scrimmage, they have been asked to hang back. Quite literally, the two dogs have been put on leashes.

According to NFL.com's Ian Rapoport, this was the key point of contention in the Dolphins' closed-door meeting with defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle. And if the Dolphins ever want to add to their piddly one sack on the season, it should be the focal point of the Dolphins' bye-week adjustments.

Move Brice McCain to the Slot

Rob Foldy/Getty Images

When the Dolphins signed Brice McCain as a free agent, it was widely assumed that they would put him in the slot and move Jamar Taylor to the outside. Through four games, that's not been the case.

In 2014, McCain ranked second in the NFL among slot cornerbacks in cover snaps per reception, yielding one catch every 12.9 times he was on the field in coverage. McCain is once again playing well in the slot, currently giving up a reception every 21.1 times he's on the field in slot coverage.

However, he's been in the slot just 63 times of a possible 139 plays in coverage.

He's allowed three receptions on nine targets in the slot for 33 yards, but on the outside, he's given up 12 receptions on 15 targets for 204 yards.

The Dolphins might prefer Taylor not be on the field at all, but by putting Taylor on the outside and McCain in the slot, the Dolphins could upgrade at one of the two spots. At that point, it would make sense to roll the safety coverage over to Taylor's side of the field to help him out when he's on the boundary.

Ramp Up the Toughness, Weed out Complacency

Alan Diaz/Associated Press

Okay, so this isn't a schematic adjustment or anything like that. But it's an adjustment that needs to be made. Interim head coach Dan Campbell has already stated that it will be made:

"

We need to change the culture such where it is so competitive on Wednesday, Thursday and maybe even Friday that these guys—it is very intense, it is very heated, it may even teeter on the fact of having to break a few things up, but that is when you really get good, that is when the juices start flowing, that is when you get the most of your players, is when they're having to compete during the week because you can't just go through the motions on Wednesday, Thursday, even Friday and then you just turn it on Sunday. It doesn't work that way, it just doesn't.

"

If there was any sense of complacency seeping into the Dolphins' locker room, that complacency is likely out the window now that the Dolphins have named Campbell the new interim coach.

He has made it very clear that practices will be ramped up, putting more pressure on the players. The only thing the players can do is try to keep up.

The Dolphins entered the 2015 season with playoff hopes and expectations. Through four games, it appears the playoff talk may be put on the back burner. For now, all the Dolphins can worry about is getting better as a team.

Advanced statistics courtesy of Pro Football Focus. Unless otherwise noted, quotes obtained via team news release.