The Jets vs Dolphins week 11 game was a quite entertaining game. The Dolphins won the game 24-17. The Jets played a tough first half and had a good plan going in. The Jets went into the game with a different game plan than weeks past, mixing in more cover 2 and 4 concepts, flipping Bryce Hall at times and really played the Dolphins tough.
A few noticeable adjustments defensively:
1. The Jets flipped Bryce Hall a few times which they haven't done all season. They used him to the backside of 3x1. The rcb position has been an issues and they tried to compensate by flipping him. Interesting usage because it was at times against a te. It didn't seem to be personnel based.
2. The Jets played some more 4 deep concepts which everyone has been asking for but it hurt them in the 1st series with 3 blown coverages. They really had a bad 1st series to start each half.
3. They played a ton of man free concepts on 3rd down and seemed to help defensively.
4. They benched Jarrad Davis for Williams, who was more active in the run game and really played well in the first half. CJ Moseley still looks lost. He is really struggling in the run game.
5. Used Davis as a hole defender at times in man free which helped on some key 3rd downs. He did a nice job on a few occasions and seems more comfortable in the box. He did have a pick but that was more of a bad throw in my opinion.
6.Philips at DE gave them a much needed boost in the run defense.
The Jets 1st drive was their worst:
The Dolphins got 4 big plays against them in the pass game. 3 blown coverages and a soft coverage on 3rd and 11 on the goal line really hurt them on the Dolphins 1st drive.
The first play was the 2nd of the game. On 2nd and 7, the Dolphins go condensed and run bootleg with the TE running a basic out cut with the other te flashing across. The CB gets caught with his eyes in the backfield and they get a 25 yard gain.
On a key 3rd and 1 the Jets go man free, the Tight end fakes blocking and then releases. Michael Carter gets fooled and the Dolphins hit the tight end for an 18 yard game.
3. On 2nd and 11, they play cover 4/2 read down on the goal line. Tough to tell from the camera angle. Carter never plays the out cut, for a 7 yard gain. His eyes never leave the qb and he doesn't get under the out route.
4. On 3rd and 4 they bring the strike, and #2 wr is wide open. Tua misses him and takes the check down to the running back. After 2 missed tackles, they get the first down. It should have been a touchdown. 2 plays later the Dolphins score.
After this series the Jets play good defense in the first half.
On the next drive they get the Dolphins into a key 3rd and 5. They go 5 man pressure, play man free and get a nice interception with man free coverage.
Nice scheme and gives the offense the ball in good position.
On the next series, they get a 3 and out and come up big on a 3rd and 5. They go man free, get good pressure on Tua and get off the field with a nice defensive series.
In the next series, the Dolphins tried to run the ball. You saw the immediate impact of Kyle Philips as he played the run on a few plays. On a key 2nd and 6 he made a great play that stifled the Dolphins.
Here he defeats the trap block, gets underneath it and makes a nice play for a 1 yard gain.
Welcome back Mr. Philips!
The defense played exceptionally well the rest of the half and it was 7-7 going into halftime.
Now to start the 2nd half on 2nd down, they run a very similar concept ast they did earlier and hit #1 on the vertical. The CB reacts and stays in the flat in what looks like a cover 3 concept with the Jets rolling with motion. They set it up with the earlier flash motion play(see my above clip) and they hit it for 40 again.
It gets called back, but after 2 big gains in the run game in which CJ Moseley gets eaten up, the Jets run a 3 under 3 deep 5 man pressure. #2 just runs a sail route, the cb, it looks like jumps the short route and 21 davis is late to get over the top. Big 60 yard gain and touchdown.
That was a bad way to start the 2nd half. Absolutely, no reason for the cb in cover 3 to not stay over the top of #2.
On the next series defensively, they are still only down 14-7. After a 9 yard gain, Nathan Shepherd makes a great play on 3rd and 1 and really stuffs the qb sneak. He forces the punt and the Jets hold.
The Elijah Moore show ties it up and they make it 14-14. Its a close game but the Dolphins then go on the offensive.
On first down they steal a play from the Colts playbook and run a variation of playaction/same side boot and hit Waddle on the drag. They get 15 yards. (see video below)
On a key 3rd and 7 the Jets go man free and put Pinnock on Waddle. Tua sees the mismatch and throws to Waddle for a big 1st down. Tough matchup for Pinnock against an elite wr. (see video below)
On the same drive to start the 4th quarter, they run a trick play and hit Giesecki for a nice 20 yard gain.
The Jets actually stop the Dolphins on the goal line on 3rd and 4 but Franklin-Myers takes a really dumb penalty and gives the Dolphins a td after a great play by Bryce Hall. Just a game changing play and one that was pivotal. 2 plays later, the Dolphins score and they go up 21-14. The Jets change the coverage and go zone on 3rd and 4 which was surprising because their man free concepts were working great.
The Jets give up another late field goal after a very questionable 3rd and 3 call. They get a sack but are called for defensive holding. It keeps the Dolphins drive going and end up falling behind 24-14. That late score ends up giving them no chance of coming back and fall to the Dolphins 24-17.
Game Notes: 1. The Dolphins caught the Jets a few times with their best WR Waddle lined up in the slot and got favorable matchups vs the Jets safeties.
2. Quincy Williams played really well at Linebacker and should start the rest of the season.
3. Bryce Hall had an excellent game, both against the run and in the pass game.
4. RCB is a major issue and needs to be addressed.
5. Michael Carter is excellent in man but needs to improve with some zone coverages.
6. Lack of discipline in a few situations caused some big penalties that really hurt them defensively.
7. CJ Moseley has been surprisingly struggling and hopefully his injury is not too severe.
I hope you enjoyed this article and look for some more in the near future.
The Miami Dolphins were a top defense in 2019. One of the reasons was their 3rd down package. The Dolphins were 1st in the NFL in 2020 in that category.
Kudos to 1st year dc Josh Boyer on a great job.
They held teams to 31% efficiency which is very good. Boyer was also the passing game coordinator for the Patriots in 2019 and they were also #1 in the NFL in that department with a 25% success rate by opposing teams. That is an impressive statistic.
The Dolphins do a great job showing different looks and especially love their mug looks with LB's walked up to the line of scrimmage. They try to create some confusion in pass protection when doing this.They also do a great job bringing pressure but also simulating pressure, forcing 6 and 7 man protections and then dropping 7. They do a great job with this in their 3rd down package.
Here are a few examples of what the fronts look like, but as we get into the article you will see some of the confusion they cause with their pressures and various looks.
One of the teams they had great success against were the Jets. The Jets were 5/30 against the Dolphins on 3rd down over two games. They confused the Jets with various pressures, mug looks and stunts. That' a 16% offensive efficiency which was impressive.
You can see plenty of the looks and pressures on my youtube channel!
Here are a few Mug looks and pressures vs Jets
vs the Jets During week 6
3rd and 4
Double mug look with the safety on the rb. Show pressure but only bring 5. The Jets run a swing but the dolphins run it down for a 2 yard gain forcing the Jets to punt. The coverage is 0 which is straight man to man with 2 rat players on the lb.
One thing you notice about the Dolphins is that they love to engage and drop, occupying an off lineman and then dropping. This allows another rusher to come unblocked, or get a matchup they like by forcing the issue. They try to dump it to the back here but he is tackled after a 3 yard gain. They punt on 4th down.
great pursuit to the football
3rd and 7 situations
They go with a 3 man defensive line and 3 lb's who are showing pressure. As an offense either you keep the back in or throw hot. The Jets keep the back in and the dolphins run a cross stunt with the 2 inside lb. Both The Rb and C take the same lb freeing up the other lb.
3rd and 12
They run a 4-2 mug look from 3-3 personnel. The great thing is you don't know whose dropping and whose coming. Here they bring 4
They give their mug look but bail and play 1/4,1/4 half. Still get pressure with a 4 a man rush.
They sell the fact they are coming and bail. They force max protection and a 3 man route by the Jets and essentially double every wr downfield. Great design
3rd and 3 vs the Jets
Love what they did on the next 2 plays vs the Jets on 3rd and 3.
On both looks they show their odd look. 3-2 dime personnel. The first time out of the odd look, they bring the mike.and peel the outside lb to take the back.
3rd and 3 part 2.
They give the same odd look, Darnold thinks he has the back 1x1 but the safety drops and covers him., They change the coverage and don't bring the mike. 3 man rush. Darnold wants to work the man side with Mims on the slant(not open) back, (not open) so he runs for 4 yards.
An excellent scheme by the Dolphins.
Below is every 3rd down and 1-3 vs the Jets. You will notice, they love to play their odd look on 3rd +1-4 with 2 olb on the line of scrimmage in those situations.
3rd and 10 vs the Bills
Here they run a more traditional 3-2 look.
Another look you will see from the odd is bear or traditional odd like below and then run different schemes off it.
These looks are just a few of the ways Miami will play 3rd down. From these looks, they can run different variations of blitzes and coverages.
Here's one of the looks vs the Rams.
Here's another of the same look:
Lets Looking at a few games. Against, the Patriots, they played a ton of man free coverage in passing downs because their is no fear of any wr in the Patriots passing game. They also dropped 8 on a number of occasions but mostly played man free with 2 rat defenders..
Here's some clips vs the Patriots
3rd and 11
The Dolphins play man free with 2 rat defenders and a free safety. The Patriots go tunnel screen and it's well played by the Dolphins
3rd and 9
The Dolphins show man vs empty but when the Patriots motion the rb it becomes man free. That helps them because the rb now is covered by the lb and better against the screen the Pats try to run. LB is looking for the rb and has him his way so the Pats don't get the rush they were expecting. Easier for the lb to sift thru blockers and make a play and he was eyeing the back.
On 3rd and 5
they play their 3x3 nickel look. They play man free with 2 rat defenders and a free safety.
They go coverage against the Patriots and match up well. No wr gets separation, so Cam tries to force it in.
Vs Arizona
The Cardinals have one of the most athletic qb's in the game. The Dolphins game plan in that game was to show many double mug and odd mug looks where they had 6 men on the line of scrimmage. The Cardinals were 5-12 on 3rd down and some were pure scrambles.
On 3rd and 4 vs the Cardinals come out in empty. Dophins are in nickel showing 6 man pressure.
Here the Dolphins bring 6 in a read it type stunt with cover o out of their 3 hands down 3 lb front. Meaning if someone steps to the linebacker you drop into coverage. Watch the lbs on this.
c
3rd and 9 they Dolphins go man again Right call and the pressure gets home but Murray gets away and gets 12 yards. 1 play later he scores a td. Instead of a sack, field goal , the Cards get a td on the drive. Just a great athletic play by a tremendous athlete.
This was a great scheme and took away passing lanes with the shorter Murray and disrupted things in the pocket. But, he is such a tremendous athlete, he made a few plays.
Vs Chargers, (the next 2 plays go hand in hand)
(man free coverage with a safety jumping crosser)
The Chargers run Allen across the field many times in stack, cluster formations. The Dolphins took the crossing route away by playing the cb on #1, and the Safety jumping allen when he crossed and the safety looking for a crosser back the other way. It's man free with the variation on #2.
3rd and 12
later in the game
The Chargers run it early in the game but the defensive back #40 blows the coverage. He loses leverage but the safety who was in coverage makes a great tackle for a 9 yard gain.
9 yard gain great scheme but the SS 40 lost leverage
3rd and 5
Dolphins
The Dolphins do a great job on this concept and the Chargers try to hit Henry on the mesh with allen again. The safety comes off nicely and makes the play short of the first down. This time he maintains leverage and does an excellent job.
Here are the 2 clips
Heres some coverage analysis against the Raiders.
D & D front coverage result
3rd 8 3-2 2 man double inc
You can see the double coverage as the Dolphins anticipate the crossing routes by the condensed wr on the bottom and alignment in the trips by #2
Later in the game they change it up but run a 3-2 front again, this time bringing the sam off the edge with mike taking #2/3 inside. Great understanding of route concepts. Excellent 4 man pressure.
3rd and 8 personnel front blitz coverage
dime 3-2 show sam fire 2 man with safeties jumping crossing routes
Here are some more clips of the Jets game week 6.
But overall these are some of the schemes you will see from Flores week in and week out and hope this gave you some insight into his 3rd down package.
Here's an excellent YouTube video on the opportunistic defense.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzvvkWdsEjE
I hope you enjoyed my coverage of the Miami Dolphins Defense
