The Miami Dolphins finished the 2013 season with an 8-8 record, knowing that one more win would have claimed their first playoff berth since 2008. The offense struggled to score points throughout the year, leading to the firing of offensive coordinator Mike Sherman and the hiring of Philadelphia Eagles quarterbacks coach Bill Lazor to replace him. What kind of offense will the Dolphins use in 2014?
“My style. Big-play offense,” wide receiver Mike Wallace recently told the team's radio show, The Finsiders. “I see Ryan’s excited about it. He’s called me about eight, nine times."
The Dolphins became predictable last year, lining Wallace up on the right side of the offensive line nearly every play, and rarely putting him in motion. Opposing defenses too often knew where Wallace would be, and could shade their defensive scheme to shut down the speedster. When he was able to beat coverage, quarterback Ryan Tannehill and Wallace always seemed a step off on their timing, with the ball either under- or over-thrown more than it was caught.
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“I think it’s going to work really well. It was a whole new situation for me. He had to get used to me and I had to get used to him. It was just different. But I think after a whole year and another offseason together we’ll be fine.”
Head coach Joe Philbin, also sitting down with The Finsiders group, downplayed the chages coming to the Miami offense - exactly like the head coach of a football team should. “When you cut down to it, we’re going to throw routes with three-step drops, five-step drops and seven-step drops. There will be in-breaking routes, out-breaking routes, double moves. While some of the terminology will be different, a lot of the core fundamentals of quarterback play don’t change.”
Tannehill, meanwhile, explained that he is working on the deep passes that elluded him last season. “That’s one thing I’ve really been working on , just being more consistent on my deep throws,” Tannehill explained. “I think it’ll match up with our passing and what we put in going forward.”