NFL First Thoughts: Miami Dolphins
Under new DC Vic Fangio, Miami's defense will no longer be boom-or-bust.
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Everyone is going to hype the Miami Dolphins’ offense and talk about how explosive it could be in 2023. It’s lots of fun to talk about Mike McDaniel and the weapons they’ve assembled. But what’s more important, or could be, is Vic Fangio’s presence, and how different the Dolphins defense might look this upcoming season under his direction.
Last year, under prior defensive coordinator Josh Boyer, it was all about bringing pressure, lots of Cover 0, lots of extreme blitzes. The Dolphins had the third highest blitz rate, and their pressure rate was also high. They played very little Cover 2, and very little zone on the back end. It was all about aggression and bringing pressure. That led to teams having a very high depth of target downfield when playing the Dolphins. Part of that was due to teams having to catch up to the Dolphins, but when you’re playing that style of defense, it allows a lot of deep throws downfield because that’s where quarterbacks against the blitz most often take their shots.
Fangio’s scheme is the complete opposite. It’s a Cover 6 scheme where he tries to show opposing QBs the exact same look on every snap. The genius behind Fangio’s defensive scheme is what it does to quarterbacks post snap. Some of the best offensive minds, Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan, among others, say the Fangio defense is the hardest defense to attack in the NFL because of how confusing it is.
Teams won’t attempt to be boom-or-bust against the Dolphins this year. Fangio’s scheme, more than any other in the NFL, forces teams to make the conservative decision and usually the least efficient decision on every single play. His scheme also tends to slow teams down from a pace standpoint, the idea being that they use up more time pre snap to process what they’re seeing.
Fangio is going to benefit in a big way returning to his coordinator roots. He was a disaster as head coach in Denver trying to juggle all his various responsibilities, and his defenses, while talented, rarely got to play with a lead. That won’t be the case in Miami. Now his defense is finally paired with an explosive offense, and when opponents try to play catch-up against his scheme, they’ll be throwing into a sea of defenders in the secondary.
Despite having one of the best offenses in the league in 2023, the Dolphins very well could transform into an under team. Opposing teams will be forced into a more methodical style of play, and the improving Dolphins defense, led by one of the great coordinators in today’s NFL, should provide much more resistance while being hard to score on.