Welp, another week, another loss. Sure, a seven-point loss to the Bengals isn\u2019t particularly encouraging (though let\u2019s be honest, that score was closer than a lot of us might have predicted). But there were still a few developments worth discussing. Some are positive. Some are frustrating. A few are both. Here are five things I think I think after Week 5.<\/p>\n
The defense is better than people give it credit for.<\/p>\n
When you\u2019re 0-5 and coming off a four-touchdown torching by Joe Burrow, nobody wants to hear about defensive rankings. But hear me out: This unit is statistically better than people might think.<\/p>\n
The Dolphins enter Week 6 ranked 15th in passing defense, 16th in rush defense, and 17th in total defense. They\u2019re also tied for sixth in yards allowed per carry (3.7).<\/p>\n
Now, before we start organizing a ticker tape parade down Flagler Street, this unit has obvious problems too. They\u2019re 24th in points allowed, 27th in takeaways, and near the bottom of the league in third-down defense. Also, amazingly, they\u2019ve played only one game in which they managed to record at least one sack. The lack of defensive pressure is a serious problem. But considering how young this roster is, the defense has at least shown signs that it can be part of the foundation moving forward.<\/p>\n
Could Ollie Gordon be the answer at running back?<\/p>\n
OK, pitchforks down, people. I\u2019m not saying Ollie Gordon is better than De\u2019Von Achane. But: Is it possible he\u2019s a better fit for the offense right now? Let\u2019s go to the box score:<\/p>\n
De\u2019Von AchaneOliver Gordon IIIGame 1, @ Las Vegas Raiders11 for 36 yards rushing, 4 for 30 yards receiving, no TDsBupkisGame 2, @ San Francisco 49ers20 for 74 yards rushing, 3 for 19 yards receiving, no TDs3 for 7 yards rushingGame 3, vs. Kansas City Chiefs3 for 17 yards rushing17 for 41 yards rushing, 1 TD, 3 for 14 yards receivingGame 4, @ Minnesota VikingsDNP9 for 100 yards rushing, 1 TDGame 5, vs. Cincinnati BengalsDNP18 for 88 yards rushing, 1 TD<\/p>\n
It\u2019s obviously a small sample size, but the Gordon fisherman has 236 yards rushing and 3 touchdowns on 47 attempts (5.0 yards per carry). Achane was averaging 3.7 yards per carry on 34 carries, with 49 receiving yards, and no touchdowns.<\/p>\n
One possibility: Achane is a lightning bolt who thrives on speed, angles and getting to the edge. That style of running works best with perimeter and second-level blocking upfield. Gordon is a 225-pound bowling ball* who wants to lower his shoulder and get north-south. If you told me Gordon\u2019s physical style is easier and less complicated for this young offensive line to block for, I\u2019d believe it.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s something to think about.<\/p>\n
*I say \u201c225-pound bowling ball\u201d with love. I\u2019m a huge Ollie Gordon fan.<\/p>\n
There are just so many self-inflicted wounds.<\/p>\n
The Dolphins don\u2019t need opponents to make life difficult. They\u2019re doing a pretty good job of that themselves.<\/p>\n
The special teams disaster continued with an 81-yard return against Cincinnati to start off the game. Three plays later the Bengals are in the end zone. Next play, Jaylen Wright muffs the kickoff (which he recovers and returns, but that\u2019s not the point \u2014 it Takes No Talent to catch a kickoff!). Later, we get a 25-yard penalty for kicking the ball short of the landing zone. The landing zone is 20 yards long by 53 1\/2 yards wide. That\u2019s over 1,000 square yards! How much bigger do we need to make the landing zone for Riley Patterson to kick into it?! And this is just the first quarter \u2014 I\u2019m not even getting into strip sacks or missed extra points later in the game.<\/p>\n
For every takeaway the Dolphins defense has secured this season, the offense has given away two. Add in penalties (7 in the Bengals game!), missed assignments and blown coverages, and it\u2019s hard for any rebuilding team to overcome that kind of weekly damage.<\/p>\n
I know, this is part of the growth process for a very young team. Suffice it to say, Miami is making things much harder than they need to be.<\/p>\n
OK, fine, let\u2019s talk about Malik Willis.<\/p>\n
The numbers aren\u2019t pretty. On the season, Willis is 24th in the league in completions, 32nd in completion percentage, 25th in passing yards, 29th in passing touchdowns, 33rd in yards per attempt (reminder, there are still only 32 teams) and 31st in passer rating. Even when you factor in his good (but could be better) rushing performance, that\u2019s still not great.<\/p>\n
That said, I have no interest in benching him.<\/p>\n
This season is about evaluation. Willis is a relatively inexperienced quarterback playing behind a young offensive line, without De\u2019Von Achane and top receiver Caleb Douglas. It\u2019s clear the offense is not clicking, some of which falls on Willis, but that includes rookie receivers not being where they\u2019re supposed to be.<\/p>\n
None of that excuses what was easily Willis\u2019 worst game of the season. Against the Bengals he missed open receivers, passed over check-down options, took (another) unnecessary sack by running out of bounds behind the line of scrimmage and turned the ball over three times. Perhaps most concerning, this was the third straight game in which he\u2019s put the ball on the ground.<\/p>\n
The part that worries me isn\u2019t the bad game as much as the repeated mistakes. That\u2019s why I\u2019d keep playing him. The Dolphins need to find out exactly what they have over the next 12 games, if Willis can be someone to build around. But if the same issues continue, the conversation won\u2019t be whether Miami drafts a quarterback in 2027. It\u2019ll be how early.<\/p>\n
The Dolphins may actually have a foundation to build on.<\/p>\n
Putting the quarterback position aside: Maybe it\u2019s just me, but it feels like an identity to this team is starting to emerge:<\/p>\n
A defense that\u2019s quietly been pretty good, even with Kenny Grant missing the season\u2019s first month. And that\u2019s largely without any sort of pass rush to speak of, which speaks well of how good they\u2019ll be in the future.Ollie Gordon emerging as a legitimate contributor. Before the last two games, it was fair to wonder whether Ollie Gordon had a future as a meaningful NFL contributor. These past two games have shown that maybe the Dolphins have someone to build around with Achane in the running back room.Young players across the roster getting meaningful snaps. Maybe that\u2019s the most exciting part \u2014 what the future might hold for the team. The combined record of the Dolphins\u2019 first five opponents is 20-6, and you can make the argument that playing against tough competition only accelerates this young team\u2019s growth.<\/p>\n
Sure, it\u2019s an 0-5 team. But they\u2019re playing good teams close, they\u2019re getting meaningful snaps for young players, and they\u2019re finding more than a few pieces worth building around. That\u2019s not a winning season, but maybe it\u2019s the beginning of a foundation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Welp, another week, another loss. Sure, a seven-point loss to the Bengals isn\u2019t particularly encouraging (though let\u2019s be…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":430565,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[123,135179,125,124],"class_list":["post-430564","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-miami","tag-miami-dolphins-analysis","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/430564","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=430564"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/430564\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/430565"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=430564"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=430564"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=430564"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}