Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Depth is focus on defense
Team building for attitude at crunch time
Matt Burke, the Miami Dolphins’ first-year defensive coordinator, had an interesting answer when asked what he regards as the strength of his unit.
“I think we have a lot of depth relative to where we’ve been,” he said.
Typically one can point to a specific area as the strength of a defense — pass rushing, run stopping, blitzing, tackling, coverage, etc.
But the Dolphins, whose defense ranked 29th in the NFL last year, chose to add talent at all positions this offseason, rather than spending for superstar talent at one or two positions.
Above all, they wanted guys with attitude.
“When you have a bunch of hard-nosed, never-die type of players, you’re always going to want those type of guys, because that’s how all this league is,” head coach Adam Gase said. “It comes down to the last drive of the game, one side or the other to win or lose.
“Whether its physical toughness or mental toughness, those are going to be critical factors. When we evaluate guys, we’re looking for that.”
Granted, there are still question marks at some of the defensive spots, but the Dolphins like to think they’re working toward stocking the cupboard across the board.
Consider the linebackers: The Dolphins acquired free agent Lawrence Timmons from Pittsburgh, extended Kiko Alonso’s contract, restructured Koa Misi’s contract and drafted Ohio State’s Raekwon McMillan in the second round. Throw in Neville Hewitt, who started five games last season, and the Dolphins feel they’ve built quality depth at a position that needed it.
The same goes at cornerback, where Tony Lippett, Byron Maxwell, Xavien Howard and slot Bobby McCain all return with starting experience. Add third-round pick Cordrea Tankersley from Clemson and the Dolphins think they have another deep group. The notable exception might be a quality backup at slot/nickel.
At safety, the Dolphins returned Reshad Jones, who missed most of last season with a shoulder injury, and special teams standout Walt Aikens, who doesn’t play much from scrimmage. So they brought back restricted free agent Michael Thomas and acquired veterans Nate Allen (Oakland) and T.J. McDonald (Los Angeles Rams). Allen and Thomas, who both having starting experience, figure to battle for the starting job at training camp. (McDonald must serve an eightgame suspension to start the season.)
At defensive end the Dolphins returned Pro Bowl selection Cameron Wake along with Terrence Fede, Nick Williams and a few others. So they resigned Andre Branch, acquired William Hayes (Los Angeles Rams) and drafted Missouri’s Charles Harris in the first round. This group appears strongest as a pass-rushing threat, and it will be important to see how well they can set the edge against the run. But the Dolphins hope they’re deeper and better than a year ago.
At defensive tackle the Dolphins returned Pro Bowl selection Ndamukong Suh and fellow starter Jordan Phillips and then drafted Davon Godchaux (fifth round, LSU) and Vincent Taylor (sixth round, Oklahoma State).
At a glance, the Dolphins seem to have carried out their approach of getting help everywhere on defense.
“I think we had issues at every level of defense that we have to address, tackling probably being one of the foremost ones,” Burke said.
Poor tackling and injuries were primary factors in the run defense finishing 30th in the NFL, but the Dolphins went beyond just adding help among the front seven.
“I think we’ve added players at all three levels of the defense that’ll all help us in the run game,” Burke said.
And in the bigger picture the Dolphins feel their all-around defensive depth will pay dividends come the season.
“You give up a 30-yard run, let’s say, in a game,” Burke said. “It’s never one person or even one sort of spot. A [defensive lineman] doesn’t hold an edge and a linebacker misses fit and then a safety misses a tackle. It’s complex.”