Dolphins rush to succeed
Running game bolstered by variety of personnel packages using TEs.
DAVIE — The Miami Dolphins’ rushing attack won’t look the same every week, but against the Atlanta Falcons, coach Adam Gase found a way to succeed on the ground, and he stuck with it.
After the Dolphins’ furious comeback culminated in a 20-17 victory over the Falcons, Atlanta safety Ricardo Allen said he found Miami’s offense to be relatively predictable.
“Our coaches came in and told us exactly what they were going to run . ... They drew the formations up, and if you can see the cards from halftime, the same plays they ran were the same cards (the Falcons coaches) drew up.”
Through four weeks, the Dolphins run game was ranked 31st in the NFL, averaging just 74.8 yards per game. In Atlanta, though, the Dolphins (3-2) were able to get their running game on track as Jay Ajayi exploded for 130 yards on 26 carries.
How did they do it? In previous weeks, the Dolphins have utilized a great deal of 11 personnel (one running back, one tight end, three wide receiv-
ers) in an effort to get their three most talented wide receivers on the field: Jarvis Landry, DeVante Parker and Kenny Stills. With Parker out of the lineup due to an ankle injury, the Dolphins gave the Falcons a heavy dose of 12 personnel (one running back, two tight ends and two wide receivers), which helped jump-start the ground game.
Julius Thomas was one of three tight ends whose blocking was vital to the Dolphins’ improved output in the rushing game. He was pleased by the success the offense found with multiple tight-end sets.
“We go into the game and we just try and do exactly what the coaches ask of us, and they felt that our best opportunity to run the game was in some 12 personnel,” Thomas said.
“We played some 13 personnel (one running back, three tight ends and one wide receiver) and we were able to have success in it. We’re excited about that, and we’ll continue to do what we have to do.”
Right tackle Ja’Wuan James took pride in the fact that the Falcons defense was unable to stop their running game, despite knowing what was coming.
“That’s a good feeling for an O-lineman — we don’t get too many,” James said. “I think it’s just a credit to the work that we continue to put in, especially our tight ends when they come in those extra packages: Anthony Fasano and ‘Q’ (MarQueis Gray) coming in. They’re adding a lot to our running game right now.”
While the Dolphins experienced success on the ground, they regularly changed personnel in order to get their best receivers in on passing downs. The Dolphins occasionally like to go up-tempo and line up without huddling, but James understands that the offense might have to slow down in order to get the desired personnel on the field depending on the down and distance.
“It takes away up-tempo sometimes, but it also allows us to focus on those plays and really hone in on what we need to do.”
In the future, the Dolphins might very well be able to utilize an up-tempo offense more consistently, as coach Adam Gase envisions an offense that has enough versatile players that he’ll essentially be able to change personnel without substituting.
“When you’re going no-huddle, you like to stay in the same personnel groupings,” Gase said. “You don’t want them to change out . ... There’s a lot of different things you can do to tire out the defense, especially the defensive line.
“The situation we were in, where we’re kind of moving personnel around, that’s what we wanted to do for that game. Every week will be different. Next week, who knows what we’ll wind up doing. So we’ll go through our preparation this week, and it’ll probably look different next week.”