Balance Is the Miami Dolphins' Best Offensive Weapon

When the Miami Dolphins offense is balanced, it is a difficult unit to stop.

Ryan Tannehill has proven throughout his four-year career that he can be an efficient quarterback, with a high completion percentage, a respectable touchdown-to-interception ratio and a game-managerial passer rating.

When Tannehill is not at his best, it's when he is asked to carry the burden for the entire offense. The Dolphins are 5-23 as a team when Tannehill throws more than 35 passes, and they are 23-9 when he throws 35 or fewer passes. This year alone, the Dolphins are 1-6 when Tannehill throws more than 35 passes in a game.

Likewise, especially this season, the Dolphins offense always seems to do its best work when it features the running game—or at least enough of it to balance out the passing game. The Dolphins are 3-0 when rushing for more than 130 yards in a game. They are 3-2 when they rush for more than 100 yards in a game, and they are 2-5 when they rush for fewer than 100 yards in a game.

"Yeah, I would say so," said interim head coach Dan Campbell of whether balance is the key to the offense. "Just I'm a bigger, I'm a big believer in that. That you do need more balance."

Yes, the Dolphins have very talented skill position players in the passing game in the form of Jarvis Landry, Rishard Matthews, DeVante Parker, Kenny Stills and others. What they do not have, however, is an offensive line that can pass protect and keep pressure away from Tannehill long enough for the quarterback to find open receivers downfield.

What Landry and Matthews do best is getting open quickly off the line of scrimmage on short routes that allow Tannehill to get the ball out of his hands quickly. It's a running game via the passing game. Pair that with an effective, consistent running game, and defenses are forced to crowd the line of scrimmage every time the Dolphins offense takes the field.

Once that happens, it's up to Tannehill to take advantage with accurate and effective intermediate and deep passes. Tannehill has never been a proficient deep passer; this season, he has a 37.7 percent accuracy rate (counting both catches and drops as accurate passes). That's tied with Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler for the 11th-lowest percentage out of 33 qualifying quarterbacks, according to Pro Football Focus. 

In fact, Tannehill hasn't been above 38 percent deep accuracy in any season since his rookie year. 

The Dolphins haven't had those effective deep threats in their passing game, which has impacted Tannehill's numbers, but perhaps all he needs is a little more balance on offense to take the pressure off of him to constantly deliver at a high level. The Dolphins have not ranked higher than 22nd in the league in rush attempts since Tannehill's first year in the NFL.

The good news is, it looks like the Dolphins are finally getting away from the pass-happy approach that has permeated their offense for the past year and a half.

With the firing of Bill Lazor, the Dolphins jettisoned an offensive coordinator who blatantly ignored the running game at the drop of a hat, and with a new offensive coordinator in Zac Taylor at the helm, the running game became a much more crucial component to the offense this past week against the Baltimore Ravens. The Dolphins ran the ball 26 times for 137 yards on the day.

It was the first time in two calendar years that Lamar Miller has had 20 carries or more in a game. It was just the fourth time this season the Dolphins have had more than 25 carries in a game as a team and just the third time they've had more than 130 yards in a game.

The question then becomes, is this a mentality that the Dolphins can continue? The answer to that question ultimately depends on factors that are outside their immediate control. For example, if the Dolphins are trailing by 17 in the second quarter against the stats, I'm pretty sure most people would suggest against a run-heavy approach on offense in that situation. However, if the defense is playing well and the offense is staying on schedule, a balanced approach is definitely the Dolphins' best bet for the remainder of the season.

The NFL has been trending more and more toward the passing game for more than a decade straight now, but when the Dolphins begin their coaching search this offseason, they would be best served to find a coach who isn't afraid to employ a balanced attack. 

Unless otherwise noted, all quotes obtained via team news release.