RELOADED FRONT SEVEN SHOULD FEAST ON FINS
FOXBORO — Matt Judon hangs off the edge of the box Sunday afternoon. It’s third down.
The crowd roars, enveloping him and every other player on the field in noise. Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa attempts to bark signals from a crouched position, drowned out by the sea of sound. Judon licks his chops.
Or at least, he should. Across the line of scrimmage, a young, injured, porous Miami offensive line stares back. It’s a group that could single-handedly undermine the Dolphins’ hopes Sunday.
Here’s the rundown on their downtrodden O-line. Starting left tackle Austin Jackson remains in COVID-19 protocols and is unlikely to play. Even if he does play, Jackson will be considered prey on passing downs. Over the summer, his preseason film resembled that of a street free agent. His backup, Greg Little, would have been a street free agent if the Dolphins didn’t take him off Carolina’s hands for a seventhround pick last month.
Then there’s left guard. Either Miami sticks with rookie Liam Eichenberg, a solid second-round prospect who’s split time between left guard and right tackle this summer, or Solomon Kindley, the NFL’s 74th-ranked offensive guard in 2020, per Pro Football Focus. Kindley started 13 games last season, mostly at right guard.
At center, the Dolphins are starting Michael Deiter, a backup last year to new Patriots backup Ted Karras. To his right, Robert Hunt, a former secondround guard in his second season, and
Jesse Davis, a classic jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none at right tackle. The finest verbal bouquet Bill Belichick could toss this group during his opening press conference Wednesday was this: “Young offensive line. I think they’ll just continue to get better because they have a lot of youth on their offense, and I’m sure as they grow they’ll continue to improve as a unit.” Get the picture?
To conclude, Miami’s O-line ranked in the bottom third of the league in pass-blocking last season at PFF and 27th in pass-block win rate, an ESPN metric that measures how often linemen sustain blocks for 2.5 seconds or longer. Behind that line Tagovailoa unloaded the ball 2.61 seconds after the average snap, a top-10 figure among quarterbacks born from scheme and necessity. Facing a fierce Patriots front, it reasons Miami will try to bail its young quarterback again via more quick throws and RPOs. “You just have to play your keys against an RPO system and somebody like Tua,” Judon said during a morning press conference Thursday. “Against an offense like that, you just have to play what you see. From the center to the right side and the center to the left side, you might see a whole different play.”
Judon explained the Dolphins might block a running play to the offense’s right and pass-block to the left, leaving it up to Tagovailoa to determine where he distributes the ball based on a mid-play read. The Patriots have faced RPOs for years, and incorporated more into their own offense last season. But they won’t be a cure-all for Tagovailoa or his counterpart and former college backup, Mac Jones, who will be supported by a far better offensive line on Sunday.
Defensively, the Pats will set to match Miami’s weakness with a newfound defensive strength: their pass rush. Over 34 preseason snaps, Judon forced a fumble, tallied three hurries, two QB hits and was in coverage on a short incompletion. His play awareness and all-around talent were on display throughout the summer, though he places Dont’a Hightower’s instincts above everyone else’s.
“He diagnoses plays instantly,” Judon said of Hightower. “Some people need to take read steps, some people need to see here to here (first). By then, he’s already done it.”
Hightower’s return has often been mentioned in connection with Kyle Van Noy’s. Both players left New England last year, albeit for different reasons, and are again playing inside and outside linebacker in Belichick’s defense. Like Judon, they’ve helped mentor second-year pass rusher Josh Uche, who averaged almost a sack per practice in training camp and could one day boast the versatility of his veteran teammates.
Said Van Noy earlier this summer: “This group is talented and special just because we push each other. A lot of competition. Can’t have everybody on the field, so it’s good to compete with each other and make each other better . ... It’s going pretty good.”
But for all the versatility and complexity usually associated with his position, Judon simplified his learning curve in the Patriots’ defense down to four words Thursday: “See ball, get ball.”
That approach should never be easier to execute than it will be Sunday.