All eyes will be on quarterback Teddy Bridgewater when the Dolphins visit the New York Jets this Sunday.
But the focus should be elsewhere.
The focus should be on getting the running game going.
The Dolphins (3-1) are 29th in rushing at 69.3 yards per game. They rank 28th in yards per carry (3.5), and have the league’s fewest rushing attempts (80).
The running game is practically a rumor.
It needs to become a threat on Sunday.
According to coach Mike McDaniel, change starts at the top.
“We need to have really a better commitment, starting with me, in the plays that are called,” he said. “And we need to have better execution by everyone on the team, including the quarterback, at operating the run plays.”
Cincinnati, for the most part, tried to reduce the deep damage from speedy wide receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle by sitting in a two-high shell, keeping both safeties deep.
A good running game forces the defense to make a tough choice — drop one of the safeties in the box to defend the run and expose yourself to Hill and Waddle running deep or knifing through your defense on with yards after the catch, or keep your two safeties deep and continue getting sliced up by a clock-chewing, energy-sapping run game.
The ground game adds the play-action element to the passing game.
Beyond that, it gives the offense confidence.
Those are examples of how a good running game can help Bridgewater be a better quarterback while making the passing game even more fear-inducing.
Granted, these things take time. It’s a new offense, and you can’t expect all facets to be humming at full speed after four games.
That’s understood.
My thing is let’s keep the focus where it should be, and that’s the running game because of its ripple effect. It makes the quarterback better, it makes the offense better, it gives the defense a rest.
The reasons the Dolphins’ running game isn’t working are numerous. But let’s start with the basics.
The running backs, who are built for speed, not power, aren’t breaking tackles.
Raheem Mostert (39 carries, 147 yards, 3.8 yards per carry) averages 1.6 yards after contact per run, 33rd in the league.
Chase Edmonds (28 carries, 85 yards, 3.0 ypc) averages 1.1 yards after contact, 44th in the league.
And the holes aren’t there.
Mostert averages 2.2 yards per carry before contact, 33rd in the league, and Edmonds averages 1.9 yards per carry before contact, 43rd in the league.
The offensive line hasn’t been much better. You see it in the results — 65 yards rushing against New England, a season-high 86 yards against Baltimore, a season-low 41 yards against Buffalo, and 85 yards against Cincinnati.
Downfield blocking, meaning the wide receivers, also plays a role. It’s been an area of concentration, according to Waddle.
“We’re definitely emphasizing the receivers getting on the secondary, so we’re all going to contribute to getting the run game more developed,” he said.
You’ve got to keep your eyes on Bridgewater. He’s the quarterback. He’s the single most important player on the field for Miami.
But Bridgewater, the starter while Tua Tagovailoa is in concussion protocol, is a veteran. He’ll be OK. Get the ball to Hill and Waddle, take a few chances, but don’t do anything crazy, he needs to be himself.
Yes, Bridgewater’s accuracy, in a small sample size, could be concerning. Bridgewater has a 66.7% on-target percent, which, according to ProFootballReference.com, would rank around 29th in the league if he had enough attempts to qualify.
Tagovailoa, by comparison, ranks No. 2 in the league at 81.2%.
Whatever.
Adjust your focus beyond one person and turn it to the ground game, and then think about what its presence would mean, including after Tagovailoa returns.
Throwing lanes open up. Play-calling becomes easier. You have better third-down options, better red-zone options, better short-yardage options.
It’s not football utopia, but it gets you a few steps closer.
Defenses would have to make tough choices every snap.
There have been a couple of glimmers of hope for the running game.
Mostert, who had 51 yards on 11 carries against Baltimore, rushed for 69 yards on 15 carries against Cincinnati to put a little pep in the running game.
“I think our team has felt it, too,” McDaniel said.
But the ground game has wheezed and sputtered overall.
Edmonds talked about the deficiency while offering a four-game assessment of the offense following the Cincinnati loss.
“I think the one thing we need to improve on as an offense, especially myself,” he said, “is the run scheme and getting comfortable with the run fits.
“I know I had a couple of runs today where I wish I had them back.”
Yes, Bridgewater is vitally important to the Dolphins winning this Sunday, and possibly next week.
But the run game is vitally important to the Dolphins winning for the rest of the season.
