In the
first of a series of articles, the writers at Dolphinshout will analyze changes in key areas of the Miami Dolphin football team. This installment focuses on the
defensive front seven.
The
responsibility of the front seven begins most notably with pass rushing. In
today’s NFL, money goes to the players that pass the ball, protect the passer, catch the ball, rush
the passer and cover the receivers. The front seven is the main force in
rushing the passer, but must also shut down the running, while covering the
middle of the field.
The pass
rush is where the players on the front seven earn their reputation. The Miami
defensive backs take the blame for the lack of big plays on the defense, but
balls fluttering in the air are easy pickings compared to perfect passes thrown
in rhythm. Pressuring the QB disrupts the passing game and takes the pressure off
the coverage unit. The QB has a much better chance of completing passes the
longer he has to survey the field.
The brain
trust of the Miami Dolphins is well aware the DBs are not solely to blame for
the team’s inability to create turnovers. Moving from a base 3-4 to a base
4-3 defense, changes the roles of several players in the component most experts believe is the
overall best unit on the team. There is talent left from the Sparano
regime, but Kevin Coyle’s defense attacks differently from the scheme coached
by Mike Nolan.
The
pressure is now applied mainly by the defensive ends where it previously came
from the outside linebackers. Where there was a primary nose tackle in a 3-4,
there are two tackles in the 4-3. The following illustration shows the difference
in the two alignments side by side.
The
dolphins will interchange these two formations in a hybrid defense; the base
scheme is pictured on the right. Under coach Coyle, the Miami defense changes
from the left picture to the right picture. In this simplistic interpretation,
a defensive lineman replaces a
linebacker.
The change
does not seem drastic, but the type of players required for the scheme to work
presents issues when transforming to the new the system. Paul Soliai manned the nose
tackle position in the 3-4, but he is now joined by Randy Starks at the under
tackle position. The NFL game is evolving from common five and seven step QB drops
replaced by 3 step drops in a rapid-fire up-tempo sling fest.
In this
modern passing game, the QB releases the ball so quickly, the outside linebackers
in the 3-4 are mitigated by the release time of the football. Here is a look at
the same illustration with the arcs of the pass rushers added in red.
Notice the
distance required to get the passer in a 3-4 versus the distance in a 4-3. As
the game evolves to a quicker tempo, the pass rushers have to find ways to get
to the QB fast. Lining up closer is one obvious advantage as the red lines
indicate. There is an added benefit in the 4-3 by having two tackles coming up
the middle. Any pass rush coming around the end is going to have issues
reaching the passer in the 3-step drop.
Bringing pressure up the middle can disrupt the timing of the up-tempo offense. The 3-step drop with only a single nose tackle is much easier than a 3-step drop with two tackles. Fortunately, Miami has two players already on the team capable of playing the positions, Soliai and Starks, but there needs to be rotational players to rest the starters. For that the Dolphins will need Jared Odrick to bulk up. A heavier Odrick cannot man the DE position in a 4-3, because he does not have pure pass rusher speed.
Bringing pressure up the middle can disrupt the timing of the up-tempo offense. The 3-step drop with only a single nose tackle is much easier than a 3-step drop with two tackles. Fortunately, Miami has two players already on the team capable of playing the positions, Soliai and Starks, but there needs to be rotational players to rest the starters. For that the Dolphins will need Jared Odrick to bulk up. A heavier Odrick cannot man the DE position in a 4-3, because he does not have pure pass rusher speed.
The Dolphins
began reshaping last year by drafting DE Olivier Vernon but the process was
not complete until they jumped up to the number three spot in the draft to add
Dion Jordan. With Cameron Wake at RDE, the addition of Jordan on the left side will strike fear
in QBs and the Miami defensive line has now made the complete transition to the new
defensive scheme.
Soliai,
Starks and Odrick at the tackles with Wake, Jordan and Vernon at the ends, are
as solid a group as there is in the NFL. Keeston Randall, Vaughn Martin and
Dereck Shelby will fight it out with a large group of rookies for the final two
or perhaps three DL roster spots.
The linebackers
feature free agents Danell Ellerbe and Philip Wheeler joining Koa Misi in
a change from four linebackers to three. By releasing Karlos Dansby and Kevin
Burnett, the Dolphins cut ties with two older free agent linebackers but the
need for more change is still evident when looking closely at the alignment.
The areas
circled in red demonstrate how the roles of the OLBs change from one scheme to
the other. The simple diagram shows why Dansby and Burnett are no longer with
the Dolphins. The need for speed becomes obvious when shown graphically. The
OLBs in the 4-3 have twice as much ground to cover and the two aging veterans
were a mismatch for the defense.
Both OLBs
needed to be replaced with more speedy players and the dolphins are probably
not done, but will wait for next off-season to tweak in the LB corps. Dion
Jordan and Cameron Wake will be used in hybrid type roles leaving the LB corps
manned by more special teams’ demons than by actual starting caliber LBs.
The Names
Jason Trusnik, Austin Spitler and Josh Kaddu don’t inspire thoughts of
greatness and hoping a host of rookies led by Jelani Jenkins will sure up the
LB corps is wishful thinking. The Linebackers may be the weakest unit on the
team. The free agent acquisitions are still unknowns, but there is a lot riding
on the two new players stepping up in a big way.
In conclusion,
the defensive front seven is a unit with impressive talent on the line, backed
by an unknown group of linebackers. The line will hold its own and the
linebackers should be sufficient without being spectacular. The group will be outstanding
if Ellerbe and Wheeler make the leap from spot starters to true every down
players. The group could go the other direction if these two players fail to
step up.
As go
Ellerbe and Wheeler, so goes the front seven…
