The Miami Dolphins were willing to try anything to change their luck, and it showed in their Week 8 game against the Atlanta Falcons.

But beyond the changes in game planning and personnel usage was something more simple, and that was offensive coordinator Frank Smith spending the game on the sideline as opposed to the coaches’ booth.

How much of a factor that played in the 34-10 victory against the Falcons is debatable, but it obviously didn’t hurt and one would assume the Dolphins are going to do it when they face the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday night.

“I think it was something that I hadn’t planned on,” head coach Mike McDaniel said after the game. “It was more of a reaction to the work week. I just thought that for some of the stuff we were trying to get done offensively, Frank just did a phenomenal job staying on the guys. They responded to him during the week. I really wanted them to have that extension of the work week and practice on the field. I think Frank is a problem solver, a solution man, so to speak. He invested in the players. They responded to him, so I wanted to continue that going into this game. When you start the season at 1-6, you’re looking for things to adjust and change up. Who are the people that are going to step up and how do they engender a response? Frank certainly did that this week. I’m very proud of the job he did. Obviously, it’s all about the execution of our players. They really responded in kind to him, which we were all fired up about.”

With Smith on the sideline, the Dolphins topped the 30-point mark for the first time all season while snapping their three-game losing streak.

Again, no way of knowing if one thing led to the next, but it clearly didn’t hurt.

“Football can be very complicated or very simple, depending on the way you look at it,” McDaniel said. “I think Frank really pushed the guys all week. We’ve been talking about our communication within the offense, the way we break the huddle, the way we approach the line of scrimmage, and keeping it about the most fundamental parts of the game, which we were failing at the week previous. In that process, I saw them literally run to the line of scrimmage every play. I think we had a pre-snap penalty on Wednesday, one or two. We had one on Thursday, and then we had zero on Friday. I just wanted to lean into that. I wanted the guys to have that consistency with which they responded to, to try to get this done in this game. Fortunately, you’re able to do stuff like that when you have a lot of good coaches on staff. I was able to, without blinking, have Frank down and Bobby Slowik up and didn’t lose the information that you get from upstairs because it’s a very vital job, too. In cohesion with the rest of the staff, I thought everyone did a very good job executing that adjustment that we’ve made this season.”

For the record, the Dolphins had two pre-snap penalties against the Falcons, both false starts by left tackle Patrick Paul.

But nobody is going to complain after an offensive performance that featured no turnovers and helped the Dolphins control the ball for 37:58.

“Mike wanted to change it up a little bit because of how he had things going this past week with Frank,” QB Tua Tagovailoa said. “Frank, he will continue to harp on the things that we’ve talked about. I think you need someone like that on the sidelines, whether you’re looking at the plays or whatnot. I think he helps a lot with the leadership aspect of getting the guys going, keeping the guys in it regardless of the score. Then continuing to play with good operation. I think that’s what led to guys not
straying from that, with the personnel groupings, operation with the guys up front, all of that.”

Defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver always has been on the sideline and that didn’t change against Atlanta.

Something obviously changed on defense, too, because the Dolphins turned in easily their best performance of the season on that side of the ball as well. Whatever it was that the Dolphins did differently, rest assured they’ll try to replicate that Thursday.

As for the offense, you can start by assuming Smith will be on the sideline again.

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