When the general management of the Miami Dolphins signed to Brian Flores, in February 2019, he knew perfectly well the identity that the young coach would give to the franchise.
Flores spent 15 years in New England under the orders of Bill Belichick. Although he worked with offense and special teams, his last eight years with the Patriots did it on the defensive end, first as an assistant (2011), then as a safeties coach (2012-2015), linebackers (2016-2017) and finally as a coordinator in 2018.
In 2020, Flores’ hand begins to be noticed in Miami.
The Dolphins defense is fourth in the NFL, accepting 20.1 points per game. He also ranks fourth in third down, limiting opponents to 34.4% effectiveness.
Of the 14 forced exchanges of the ball by Miami, 10 have been fumbles: three of Emmanuel Ogbah, two of Kyle van noy Y Andrew Van Ginkel, and one of Jerome Baker, Shaq Lawson Y Elandon Roberts.
In the two most recent games, the Dolphins have converted both fumbles into defensive touchdowns, something the team hadn’t done in consecutive weeks since 2000.
First it was Ogbah, who dodged the ball from Jared Goff; Van Ginkel took the fumble and took it 78 yards to the end zone in Miami’s win, 28-17 over the Rams.
Last week, Ogbah again forced a fumble when he captured Kyler Murray, and Lawson picked up the ball and returned it 36 yards for the touchdown that helped the Dolphins to their fourth straight win. 34-31 in Arizona.
“I think Coach Boyer[Josh, defensive coordinator]has done a good job. Our players come in and try to prepare in the right way, they learn the game plan and execute it in practice “said coach Flores of his defense. “We have a very united group. They work hard, they work well together. Every week is a different challenge ”.
This week’s challenge is the Chargers y Justin Herbert, the rookie quarterback who will put the Dolphins’ aggressive defense to the test, particularly when Boyer decides to attack him with blitzes.
“(Herbert) has done a very good job against the blitz. I think that’s partly due to the protection he’s received, his ability to extend plays and give himself a little extra time to get rid of the ball and that he has good receivers, ”Flores added.
Like he did in New England, lFlores’ defense in Miami constantly uses the “Cover 0 Blitz”, in which the cornerbacks stay in personal cover, without the help of the safeties. The rest of the defense is behind the quarterback.
Herbert has a rating of 121.3 points against the blitz, third best in the league, behind only Patrick Mahomes and Derek Carr.
“Herbert is clearly one step ahead; he extends the plays and gives himself a little more time to move in the protection bag or whatever is the case for a particular play, but he has done a good job, “said Flores.
Sunday’s also represents a duel between two of the most promising franchises in the NFL. Dolphins and Chargers are the second and third youngest teams in the NFL, with averages of age of 25.81 and 25.97 years, respectively.
That youth and the signing of some veterans in free agency, such as cornerback Byron Jones, ends Shaq Lawson and Emmanuel Ogbah, and linebacker Kyle Van Noy (all starters), has resulted in a defense that today has Miami ( 5-3) in the fight to qualify for the Playoffs, something that the franchise has not achieved since 2016, when at some point in the season it tied six wins and finished with a 10-6 record.
Ogbah is tied for fourth in the NFL with seven quarterback sacks, more than any Miami player had in all of 2018 or 2019.
But the Dolphins, who now have the attention of the national press in the United States, prefer to ignore the praise.
“People are going to say that we are cool and things like that, but we try to block that. That’s what we are doing, we are blocking it and taking one game at a time”Said Lawson, second on the team with 12 hits to the passers. “It is a season of one game every week. We are just putting our best effort into preparing for that game. We don’t listen to outsiders, or what they say about the team, or how good we are at defense, or anything. We just go in week after week and take it one day at a time. “
Coach Flores’s plan has worked.
Oh, and the next four rivals de los Dolphins (Chargers, Broncos, Jets y Bengals), They combine for a 7-25-1 record.
