New-look LB corps displaying potential
DAVIE — You know times are changing when a notoriously weak unit on the Miami Dolphins the past few seasons produces the most ooh and ahh moments during the first three days of training camp.
That’s been the case for Miami’s linebackers, who are claiming the middle of the football field as a donot-enter zone during the first few days of camp.
On Saturday, Lawrence Timmons picked off a pass meant for receiver DeVante Parker that cornerback Xavien Howard tipped into the air. He then started scrambling downfield with the interception like he was running a 40-yard dash before pitching the football to cornerback Bobby McCain, who finished off the turnover by running it in for a touchdown.
“You saw that?” Timmons said after practice, talking about one of the defense’s three interceptions on the day. “When I was a [high school] quarterback [I ran] the read option.”
For the second consecutive day Kiko Alonso showed Ryan Tannehill what happens when the quarterback is undisciplined with his eyes, pulling down his second interception of a Tannehill pass in two days.
“I was just dropping into coverage and I was kind of reading his eyes,” Alonso said as the smile on his face widened. “I was in the right place at the right time.”
Hopefully that playmaking trend continues for the linebackers because Miami’s defense certainly needs to see improvement from that unit this year.
The hope is that this new-look Dolphins linebacker unit can go from struggling in 2016 to decent, if not dominant in 2017.
For the past few seasons, the linebackers have been a liability for Miami. That unit is one of the main reasons the Dolphins have struggled to stop the run since 2014.
Last year, Miami gave up 4.8 yards per carry, which was the second highest yards per carry average allowed in franchise history. The team’s 140 rushing yards allowed per game put the Dolphins 30th in the NFL.
Ever since former Dolphins general manager Jeff Ireland got rid of Karlos Dansby and Kevin Burnett, and replaced them with Dannell Ellerbe and Phillip Wheeler, who were both bad free-agent signings, that unit has been allowing big plays.
Miami moved on from Ellerbe and Wheeler two seasons ago, but hadn’t found a decent pair of linebackers until now, despite numerous attempts in the draft and free agency.
Alonso had a reclamation season in 2017, proving that he’s past the knee issues that slowed him for two years and that he could be the playmaker he was as a rookie in 2013 with Buffalo.
And Timmons, a freeagent addition Miami signed to a two-year, $12 million deal this offseason, provides an experienced, physical presence the defense has missed since Dansby’s release.
However, both former inside linebackers are being asked to do something different in Miami considering they are each serving as outside linebackers in defensive coordinator Matt Burke’s new scheme.
“It’s not that different,” said Alonso, who last served as an outside linebacker during his college days at the University of Oregon. “At the end of the day, its run, hit, make plays. That’s what I’m going to try to do.”
Timmons, who has averaged 98 tackles per season for 10 years, says he played everything during his accomplished career with Pittsburgh, which runs a 3-4 scheme.
“In the middle, you’re in the scrum more. On the outside, you’re free,” Timmons said, explaining the difference between being a mike linebacker and playing on the weak side or the strong side. “You get to run around.”