Dolphins players reportedly ‘beyond furious’ with defensive scheme
The Miami Dolphins have not looked good over the past two weeks after kicking off their season with an impressive win over the New England Patriots. They allowed 34 points against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday and 29 against the Buffalo Bills the week before. Neither opponent has what you would call a powerhouse offense.
According to Adam H. Beasley of The Miami Herald, many of the Dolphins players are blaming defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle for Sunday’s blowout loss.
One source said Dolphins players are “beyond furious, irate” at Coyle’s defensive adjustments and game plan.
Players are privately questioning a host of decisions, including Coyle’s call to have Cameron Wake and Jason Trusnik cover speedy Chiefs running back Joe McKnight in space, said another. McKnight exploited the matchups and had two touchdown catches in the second half Sunday.
As Beasley noted, the Dolphins had plenty of issues against Kansas City that had nothing to do with scheming or playcalling. Knile Davis, who started in place of the injured Jamaal Charles, broke a ton of tackles and shook several Miami defenders on his 21-yard score. Cortland Finnegan also failed to bring Travis Kelce down when the tight end grabbed a 20-yard touchdown.
“I don’t think we tackled well enough,” head coach Joe Philbin said. “We have to do better. … I don’t think any phase played well enough to win.”
Offensively, Lamar Miller looked strong but Ryan Tannehill continues to struggle with intermediate and deep throws. While offensive coordinator Bill Lazor has found ways to utilize Mike Wallace as a true No. 1 receiver, Tannehill can’t seem to get Wallace the ball downfield.
The Dolphins have plenty of issues. They have been down two scores heading into halftime of all three of their games the season. They were able to come from behind against New England but have not been as fortunate the past two weeks. One thing that never seems to help is playing the blame game. If Dolphins players are pointing fingers after just three weeks, they could be in for a long year.
