The Dolphins’ defense ought to look dramatically completely different in 2023.
Vic Fangio, who agreed to phrases to be Miami’s subsequent defensive coordinator, is predicted to be a part of the Dolphins’ workers after Super Bowl 57. He’s been working as a marketing consultant for the Philadelphia Eagles this season.
When Fangio, one of many NFL’s most revered defensive minds, arrives in Miami, he’ll carry a philosophy and ideas which were adopted across the league.
Here is what to expect from the Dolphins’ new-look defense.
Coverages
Under Brian Flores and Josh Boyer, the Dolphins primarily lived in single-high coverages, which solely put one security deep in protection. Over the final 4 seasons, Miami’s defense has used single-high protection — both Cover 3 or Cover 1 — on about 70 p.c of opposing dropbacks, in accordance to TruMedia. This positioned an awesome pressure on the crew’s cornerbacks, who have been usually requested to shadow opposing broad receivers on an island.
But Fangio’s defense spreads the duty round and makes an attempt to restrict explosive passing performs with two-high protection shells, which place two defenders deep in protection. During Fangio’s tenure as Denver Broncos head coach from 2019 to 2021, his defenses have been in two-high shells on over one-third of opposing dropbacks. In these zone coverages, defenders are ready to control the quarterback and skim and react to make a play on the ball.
Furthermore, Fangio usually disguises his defenses pre-snap — often in a two-high shell — after which shifts to completely different takes care of the snap. The Dolphins ranked among the many lowest charges of pre-snap two-high shells the final two seasons.
Below are the varied forms of two-high coverages the Dolphins may run at a better charge with Fangio:
▪ Cover 2: A zone protection that has two defenders protecting half of the deep subject and 5 beneath defenders, two of that are often cornerbacks protecting the flats.
▪ Cover 4: A zone protection that has 4 defenders protecting 1 / 4 of the deep subject and three beneath defenders.
▪ Cover 6: A zone protection in which one facet of the sector performs Cover 4 — often on the sturdy facet of the sector — whereas the opposite facet performs Cover 2. From 2019 to 2021, the Broncos had the best charge of Cover 6, in accordance to TruMedia. Cover 8 is a variation of Cover 6 in which Cover 4 is performed on the weak facet of the sector, whereas Cover 2 is performed on the sturdy facet of the sector.
There are additionally zone-matching ideas that inform a defender to function in man protection if an offensive participant enters his zone.
Defensive fronts
Fangio makes use of a number of defensive fronts however with unfold offenses taking up in the NFL, extra defenses are primarily working in nickel packages, which substitute a linebacker or lineman for a 3rd cornerback. Fangio’s excessive utilization of pre-snap two-high shells sometimes has his safeties lining up deep, which leads to a variety of gentle packing containers (six or fewer defenders). This can put a pressure on linebackers and might make defenses prone to the run due to a numbers drawback.
But Fangio counteracts it in a number of methods. First, he asks his defensive linemen to play with a gap-and-a-half method. This is completely different from one-gapping, in which a lineman has the duty of capturing by one hole between offensive linemen, or two-gapping, in which a lineman should account for 2 gaps.
With the gap-and-a-half method, linemen are requested to assault a major hole aggressively however with sufficient management to head right into a secondary hole. The defensive entrance can also be tasked with funneling the runner to the sting in order that the safeties can come up from their depth and make a play in the run recreation.
Fangio isn’t identified for blitzing a lot. During his time as Broncos coach, Denver ranked seventeenth in strain charge, sending additional rushers on 26.2 p.c of opposing dropbacks, in accordance to TruMedia. But when Fangio does need to apply strain, he can lean on unique calls that don’t put his secondary in a nasty spot. An instance of that is simulated strain, in which a linebacker or defensive again rushes the passer, whereas a lineman drops into protection. This doesn’t sacrifice a participant in protection however can confuse the offense by bringing a non-traditional rusher into the image.
“It’s not dangerous,” 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said of Fangio in 2018, when he was the Bears’ defensive coordinator. “They hold all the things boxed in. They’re excellent in their entrance seven. They have large guys inside who don’t have to transfer in any respect due to how properly they set the sting on the surface. And they play bodily. They’ve all the time had a cross rush. They have some strain [schemes], however not often run pressures that make their coverages susceptible.”
Conclusion
The Dolphins have items in place to run Fangio’s defense, from a proficient line of defense to security Jevon Holland, who has the flexibility to line up in a number of positions. But with a number of inside linebackers set to grow to be free brokers and a cornerback room whose depth dwindled due to accidents, common supervisor Chris Grier can have to work to add the gamers to full Fangio’s imaginative and prescient.
