Early Tuesday afternoon NFL.com’s Judy Battista published an article about teams that are looking to ‘nix negative narratives’ in the upcoming season. Among these narratives were the underachieving Arizona Cardinals, the defense-less Cincinnati Bengals, and the quarterback killing Chicago Bears. When it was the Miami Dolphins turn under the microscope, the writer took aim at the team’s poor record against stiff competition.
“Are the Dolphins all flash with no toughness,” questioned Battista. “Let’s set aside for a moment whether Mike McDaniel’s squad can win in the cold. This is about being able to physically overpower opponents when needed. Too often last season, it looked like Miami could not.”
She stayed true to her word and fully avoided the cold weather criticism, but she did cite the teams Week 2 matchup against an NFC North opponent as a supporting piece of evidence.
“In one game against the Packers, the Dolphins twice had first-and-goal from the 9-yard line.,” Battista recounts. “They got just three points from those two drives. The first was blown up when running back De’Von Achane tried to run around the right end and was thrown for a 6-yard loss on first down. The second drive included three straight plays from the 1-yard line. On fourth-and-1, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was sacked. Miami lost the game by 13 points.”
Sticking to the theme of the article, Battista shifts her focus to how the Phins plan to address the issue.
The Phins Add Size In The Offseason
The Dolphins’ draft was, for better of for worse, very size centric. With their first round selection, the team addressed the defensive line. Just twenty three picks later, the team gave up their third round pick to move up and secure an offensive lineman, before heading right back to the defensive line well on day three.
“The team’s intention to get bigger and tougher was plain in the draft. The Dolphins’ top three picks — two defensive tackles and a guard — weigh nearly 1,000 pounds combined,” Battista added. “Sixth-round running back Ollie Gordon II is a bulldozer who can run between the tackles, a different style for a team that has previously tilted smaller and speedier.”
The writer used the word ‘speedier’ like an insult to describe the team that lead the entire NFL in yards and touchdowns in 2023. Gordon should add a great ying to star running back De’Von Achane’s yang as current RB2, Jaylen Wright, brings much of the same to the plate.
The writer concludes with stating that a philosophical change is needed if this Dolphins’ roster wants to make any headway in AFC playoff push.
Two Hard Nosed Signings
The Dolphins had an underrated offseason, signing a handful of depth players while keeping their core returning starters mostly untouched. A couple players who snuck into Miami’s free agency class were tight end Pharaoh Brown and wide receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine.
The Palm Beach Post interviewed both players with the intention of answering questions on the Dolphins’ team toughness.
“All the drills that I was brought up in playing football are all banned now,” Brown told Joe Schad. “Nutcracker, bull in the ring, like we was really playing ball. I remember being young and I’m in the middle of the ring and guys running at you and you got to come meet them. It’s kind of like a fight in the backyard.”
Brown is a blocking tight end, doing most of his work as the second or third tight end in a formation. Nick Westbrook-Ikhine is a wide receiver who prides himself on his run blocking.
“It’s a gritty game,” Westbrook-Ikhine told Schad . “I feel like with wide receiver blocking, you’ve just got to get dirty, you’ve got to find a way to make it work. It’s not going to look pretty half the time. You’ve got really athletic DBs, safeties, linebackers, d-ends sometimes and it’s just finding a way to get a piece of them at the right time so the back can get through. So yeah, it’s something I’m excited to do. I’ve always enjoyed blocking and as a receiver. I feel like it’s a lost art.”
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