Familiarity doesn’t breed contentment Dolphins coaches’ knowledge of Patriots guarantees nothing
DAVIE— If there’s any team the new Miami Dolphins offense can get on track against, it’s the New England Patriots, right?
Dolphins coach Brian Flores called plays for the Patriots defense that won Super Bowl LIII last season. He may know the inner workings of coach Bill Belichick’s operation better than any coach on Miami’s new staff.
Dolphins offensive coordinator Chad O’Shea also has a firsthand account of New England’s defense while working as a wide receivers coach there. Several other Dolphins assistants have intimate knowledge of The Patriot Way from their time with the organization.
If there’s any week the Dolphins offense should be able to find its footing, it’s in Sunday’s matchup at Hard Rock Stadium. Right?
Flores was quick to point out what his Dolphins team has to do offensively after its disappointing season opener against the Baltimore Ravens last Sunday.
“That’s a good defense with a lot of good players on it,” Flores said on Wednesday.
“It’s a veteran defense. They can make adjustments. They’re big, they’re fast, they’re physical. We’re going to have to play well across the board, from a communications standpoint, from a technique/fundamentals standpoint and from a making-plays standpoint to have success against this defense. They’ve got a good scheme. They’re very multiple.
“Yes, we know them, but we have to do a
great job of executing.”
The Dolphins scored only 10 points in their season opener, unable to keep pace with the 59 quarterback Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens piled up.
Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick was able to lead a touchdown drive, connecting with rookie receiver Preston Williams shortly before halftime.
But overall, the Dolphins offense failed to find its rhythm or continuity in the opener.
Fitzpatrick constantly had to avoid pressure from Baltimore’s defensive front, which got the best of Miami’s makeshift offensive line, featuring two newcomers and a starter moving positions.
The Ravens finished with 12 quarterback hits on Fitzpatrick — and that’s not including any other plays Baltimore may have gotten a hit on the Dolphins starting quarterback, playing ahead of second-year prospect Josh Rosen.
“I still, in a sick way, enjoy that aspect of it a little bit, getting hit — it makes me feel like a football player,” Fitzpatrick said with a grin on Wednesday. “That stuff is no big deal. It’s part of the game.
“There’s some stuff we got to correct and a lot of things that I can do better. We’ll just learn from the film and move on. But my body feels good.”
The Dolphins had to begin their season with Jesse Davis, the Dolphins’ new $15 million lineman, making a position switch during the first week of the season — his second position change since playing every snap at right guard a season ago.
Two other players, former University of Miami lineman Danny Isidora and fellow newcomer Julien Davenport, started on the right side of the offensive line roughly less than 10 days after being acquired.
Along with Davis at left guard, Isidora at right guard and Davenport at right tackle, rookie third-round pick Michael Deiter also played a new position with the Dolphins at left guard in his first career NFL game.
They were led by nineyear veteran Daniel Kilgore, appearing in his fifth game with the franchise after suffering a season-ending injury in Week 4 of last season.
“It was kinda frustrating,” Davis said. “We couldn’t move the ball, especially getting to second and long and third and long.
“But I think we’re going to stick to the process, trust the process and keep going. Overall in the game, we did some things well, but there are definitely some things we need to clean up.”
While there weren’t many bright spots in the Dolphins opener, Flores did compliment his offensive line for playing well “in spurts.” Fitzpatrick agreed. “I think for two guys to come in basically that week and for a guy to move, they held us pretty good in terms of the communication, snap count and all of the moving parts,” Fitzpatrick said.
“I think a lot of that was good, and they worked really hard that week, we all did, to hammer all that out. I think we’ll continue to get better in that area with guys being more comfortable with each other
Flores also said there could be some lineup changes along his offensive line moving forward.
Davis believes the Dolphins need to establish their rushing offense earlier in games to open up the passing game for Fitzpatrick, with more time to throw, of course.
Second-year running back Kalen Ballage, who started ahead of fourth-year tailback Kenyan Drake, said the Dolphins need to continue working to improve before Sunday’s game with hopes of pulling off an upset.
“We just got to stay into it,” Ballage said. “The NFL is a crazy league and anybody can get beat any week — that’s a proven fact.”