Dolphins countdown

Ndamukong Suh is gone.How will the defense play out?

Editor’s note: With the start of Miami Dolphins’ training camp five days away, the South Florida Sun Sentinel looks at some of the team’s top storylines on the eve of the 2018 season.

It’s tough to determine what run-stuffing defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh meant to Miami’s defense, and therefore it’s tough to determine what his absence will mean.

But early indications are Suh, who was released by Miami this offseason and eventually signed with the Los Angeles Rams, will be missed greatly.

After all, Suh, a five-time Pro Bowler and a three-time All Pro, is being replaced by an unspectacular crew of defensive tackles that includes Jordan Phillips, Akeem Spence, Davon Godchaux and Vincent Taylor. Defensive end William Hayes is also expected to see time inside. None has ever made a Pro Bowl, and none is as good, as feared, or as respected as Suh.

Just as importantly, none has showed he can hold his ground against a double-team block as well as Suh, which could mean offenses employ that technique to blast huge holes through the middle of the Miami defense.

Still, it’s tough to quantify exactly what Suh meant to Miami’s defense.

In Suh’s three seasons Miami ranked 28th against the run (2015), 30th (2016) and 14th (2017).

But it’s tough to blame Suh.

In 2016, he had a career-best 72 tackles, and in 2015, his first year in Miami, he had 61 tackles, the third-best total in his eight-year career.

Curiously, last season, when Suh had just 48 tackles, third-fewest in his career, the

Dolphins run defense had better numbers.

Miami defensive coordinator Matt Burke must devise a system that takes advantage of what his current defensive tackles do well, not what worked when Suh was on the field.

To that end, the defensive tackles might not round into form until midway through the season, when Burke discovers their areas of expertise.

In the meantime the linebackers and defensive ends might be under even greater pressure to shut down the run. The concern there is linebacker is possibly the most suspect unit on the team.

With the exception of veteran Kiko Alonso, the linebackers aren’t much different than the defensive tackles because they’re also unproven.

The way it looks now Miami’s starting defensive tackles will be Phillips, an inconsistent three-year starter, and Spence, a fiveyear veteran and part-time starter acquired in a trade from Detroit in May. Hayes, whose strength is run defense, and Godchaux, a 2017 fifth-round pick who showed promise as a rookie, would likely be the primary backups. Taylor, a 2017 sixth-round pick who saw action from scrimmage late last season, would serve as the fifth man in the rotation.

Suh, who never missed a start with the Dolphins, carried a $26.1 million salary cap number for the 2018 season, which included a base salary of $16.9 million. That’s the main reason he was released.

Miami, which designated Suh a June 1 cut and therefore saved $17 million against this year’s cap, is better financially without Suh. But there’s room to question whether the defense will be better without Suh.

Training camp practice schedule

Thursday (8:30 a.m.); Friday (8:30 a.m.); Saturday, July 28 (8:30 a.m.); Sunday, July 29 (8:30 a.m.); Monday, July 30 (8:30 a.m.); Wednesday, Aug. 1 (8:30 a.m.); Thursday, Aug. 2 (8:30 a.m.); Friday, Aug. 3 (8:30 a.m.); Saturday, Aug. 4 (11 a.m. scrimmage at Hard Rock Stadium); Monday, Aug. 6 (8:30 a.m.); Tuesday, Aug. 7 (8 a.m.); Sunday, Aug. 12 (8:30 a.m.); Monday, Aug. 13 (8:30 a.m.); Tuesday, Aug. 14 (8:30 a.m.)