Run Dolphins, run!
Team needs new tactics, Omar Kelly says.
DAVIE — We’re only one week into training camp so it’s not too early for the Miami Dolphins to undergo an identity metamorphosis.
Someone needs to sit coach Adam Gase down for an intervention to convince him that the Dolphins need to feature a balanced, play-action based offense that leans on the running game.
Do so now and we might avoid an identity change come October, which is around the time Gase switched his approach in 2016, and that decision pushed Miami to the playoffs.
Problem is, Gase hasn’t been shy about admitting he disliked that Jay Ajayi-centric offense, and wants Miami to feature a pass-oriented, uptempo attack like the one he called plays for in Denver.
But Ryan Tannehill is no Peyton Manning.
I admire Gase for sticking with his gut, remaining adamant about building the offense that matches his vision. But too often his play-calling becomes one-dimensional, which explains why the Dolphins had the fewest rushing attempts in the NFL last sea-
son.
Someone needs to stress to Gase that nine of the 12 teams that advanced to the postseason last year finished as a top-10 performer in rushing yards per game, and six of those playoff teams — Jacksonville, Minnesota, Carolina, Buffalo, Philadelphia, and the Los Angeles Rams — finished in the top 10 when it came to rushing attempts per game.
Someone must point out that during Gase’s two-season reign as Miami’s coach and offensive play-caller the Dolphins have a 12-2 record in contests when his team rushes for 100 or more yards in the regular season, and a 15-4 record in games where the Dolphins attempt 20 or more runs.
The Dolphins ranked last in rushing attempts per game (22.5) last season and 29th in rushing yards per game (86.8). But the most troubling stat was Miami’s four rushing touchdowns in 2017, which set a new franchise low.
Gase can say what he wants about taking what defenses give his team, and being forced to throw when trailing, which are legit excuses for Miami routinely abandoning the run game, but someone should remind Gase that the last two times the Dolphins produced a winning record this decade, the last two seasons Miami qualified for the playoffs, the team did it with balanced offenses.
In both those seasons Miami rushed for over 1,800 yards, which means the team averaged more than 100 rushing yards per game.
Neither of those offenses were pretty, but
“I think we have a nasty front and I think we can get it done.”
Laremy Tunsil, left tackle on the run game
both were effective enough.
The Dolphins averaged 25 rushing attempts per game in 2016, gaining 1,824 yards and scoring 14 rushing touchdowns.
And in 2008 the Dolphins averaged 28 rushing attempts per game, gaining 1,897 rushing yards and scoring 18 rushing touchdowns.
That’s how teams that don’t feature elite quarterbacks need to play, and last we checked Tannehill has never been selected to a Pro Bowl, much less led the NFL in any passing category in his six seasons.
So why does the offense’s fate, and the team’s success annually rest on his shoulders and arm?
Miami’s roster features a talented all-purpose back in Kenyan Drake, who led the NFL with 444 rushing yards in the final five games of 2016, and has averaged 5.0 yards per attempt during the 166 attempts he’s had over his first two seasons.
And if that’s not good enough there’s Frank Gore, a five-time Pro Bowler who has rushed for more than 1,000 yards in nine of his 13 NFL seasons, and intents to prove he’s still got thread on his 35-year-old legs.
“I think we have a nasty front and I think we can get it done,” left tackle Laremy Tunsil said Sunday of running the ball. “We definitely have some good running backs back there.”