Is Miami Capable Of Complimentary Football?
Nov 19, 2023; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (1) stands on the field during the first half against the Las Vegas Raiders at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
Generally after playing ten games it’s not particularly difficult to assess an NFL team. You can usually tell what they do well, what they struggle with, and you have some sense of whether or not they have a shot at the playoffs or can make a deep postseason run.
However, the 2023 Miami Dolphins after 10 games, are a bit of a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde enigma. It’s almost maddenin how close they feel to being a complete football team. Yet their inability to put it together in all phases at the same time keeps us asking if they ultimately have what it takes.
The offense has been boom or bust, and unfortunately lately it’s been more bust. The first three weeks of the season the Dolphins averaged 43 points a game and in the last three they have averaged 21. The third down conversion rate continues to be a significant issue and it fell under 30 percent last week against the Raiders. When you couple that with being unable to convert a fourth down, this issue will continue to haunt the Dolphins going forward unless coach McDaniel can get his offense to execute better and sustain drives.
As bad as they are at sustaining drives right now, the inability to take care of the ball is the true achilles heel of this offense. This team has won the turnover battle only three times all year and on the season they have a minus four turnover differential, which puts them far below league average.
The Defense has been going the opposite direction and is currently the reason this team is still leading the division. Is it because they are finally figuring out how to play in Vic Fangio’s scheme? Is it because Jalen Ramsey is now healthy and playing lights out football? Both are probably true, but I am giving the slight edge to Ramsey’s presence. In his 3 games as a Dolphin he has three interceptions and is allowing a mind blowing QBR of 0.0 when targeted.
With the scheme working and Ramsey playing at a HOF level there is no reason to think this defense won’t continue to get better and better as the season rolls along.
The defensive scoring has been a near opposite situation of the offense. In the first three games of the year the Dolphins gave up 23 points a game and now in the last three, including one against the reigning Super Bowl Champions, they are giving up 17.
The special teams have not necessarily been as unpredictable and enigmatic as the other two phases, but they certainly haven’t been special. It definitely feels like the best case scenario for this group is that they are able to essentially stay out of the way. There is no reason to think they will become a standout unit that helps win games, they just need to not be the reason for losses.
Right now, the dolphins seem like a car that keeps having to go back into the shop. Everything is going great, and then they get a flat tire. The moment the flat tire is fixed, the brakes start going out. The moment the breaks are out, the check engine light comes on.
All football teams are faced with a seemingly never ending line of adversity throughout their season, but Miami feels like their faults are genuinely fixable. If they can just get healthy. If their respected coach could just crack the code on sustainable drives. If their quarterback could just protect the ball. If their defense could just keep it up. These are all big ifs, but they don’t seem unreasonable. The challenges facing many other organizations are far steeper and more unmanageable.
The truth in Miami is if they can find a path through some of their shortcomings and start to play complimentary football down the stretch, they might be as difficult as any team in the league come playoff time. If they can’t produce complementary football when it matters the most, they will be watching the Super Bowl in February, like the rest of us.
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