Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Can defensive coordinator Matt Burke boost Miami’s sagging run defense from last season?
Editor's note: With the start of Dolphins’ training camp eight days away, the Sun Sentinel takes a look at the team's top storylines in a 10-part series. Today, Chris Perkins tackles whether Matt Burke can fix the defense, which struggled mightily against the run last season.
Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator Matt Burke has a huge challenge on his hands. He must turn one of the NFL’s worst defenses last year — 29th in total defense and 30th in rushing defense — into a quality unit while using many of the same starters.
Burke, in his first year on the job, will focus first on stopping the run, something the Dolphins also failed to do effectively in 2015, when they finished 28th in rushing defense.
Don’t underestimate the run defense issue. It affects the offense. Miami was last in the NFL at 57 plays per game last season partly because the offense didn’t convert effectively on third downs, but also because the porous run defense allowed opponents to eat up the clock.
The Dolphins, who used five of their seven draft picks this year on defense, return the majority of their starters on the front seven. They’re led by ends Cameron Wake and Andre Branch, tackles Ndamukong Suh and Jordan Phillips, and linebacker Kiko Alonso. They’ll likely have two new starters at linebacker with veteran free agent Lawrence Timmons and rookie second-round pick Raekwon McMillan.
There’s promise because Wake and Suh made the Pro Bowl, Timmons, who has five consecutive 100-tackle seasons, is a legitimate tough guy, and Alonso, an undersized middle linebacker, will likely move to the weakside where athleticism is more important than bulk.
There’s doubt because Phillips is coming off a disappointing season, McMillian, who brings an aggressive mentality, is a rookie, and, again, many of these returnees were key players on the failing run defenses of the past two seasons.
The Dolphins added depth among ends Charles Harris, their first-round pick, and William Hayes and tackles Davon Godchaux, their fifth-round pick, and Vincent Taylor, their sixth-round pick, and that should help. Hayes has a reputation as a run-stuffing specialist.
Most likely, however, due to limited hitting in training camp and the limited playing time of key contributors in preseason games, it’ll be tough to measure the run defenses improvement until the regular season begins.
As for the pass defense the Dolphins, who were a respectable 15th in the league last season, also have questions.
The pass rush, led by Wake (11.5 sacks last season), Suh (5.0 sacks) and Branch (5.5 sacks), should get a boost from Harris, a pass-rushing specialist.
There are three primary starting candidates at cornerback among returning starters Byron Maxwell, Xavien Howard and Tony Lippett, and there’s rookie Cordrea Tankersley, the team’s third-round pick. Bobby McCain will return in the slot. Strong safety Reshad Jones, limited to six games last year due to a shoulder injury, is back, and
free safety Nate Allen, a free-agent signee, will probably be the other starter.
If you think you’re seeing a lot of familiar names, you’re right. The Dolphins basically return eight starters on defense.
That means Burke’s biggest challenge is turning a lot of last year’s questions into this year’s answers. Dolphins’ training
camp schedule: July 27, 8:20 a.m.; July 28, 8:20 a.m.; July 29, 8:20 a.m.; July 30, 8:20 a.m.; July 31, 8:20 a.m.;
Aug. 2, 8:45 a.m.; Aug. 3, 8:20 a.m.; Aug. 4, 8:20 a.m.; Aug. 7, 8:45 a.m.; Aug. 8, 8:20 a.m.;
Aug. 13, 8:20 a.m.; Aug. 14, 8:20 a.m.; Aug. 15, 8:20 a.m.
All open practices will take place at the Baptist Health Training Facility at Nova Southeastern University in Davie. Practice times are subject to change; for the most updated information, call 954-452-7004 or go to Dolphins.com/ TrainingCamp