Vic Fangio calls Dolphins defense's justification for struggles "a convenient narrative"
Vic Fangio did what most seasoned coaches would do following a poor performance from their unit.
The Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator, who has spent 22 seasons as a coordinator or head coach in the NFL, fell on the sword, taking ownership for his unit’s struggles stopping the run in the 36-34 fourth-quarter win against the Los Angeles Chargers.
In that season-opening game, the Dolphins allowed a league-leading 233 yards rushing yards and three touchdowns. As a result, Miami holds the distinction as the NFL’s worst run defense heading into the Sunday night game against the New England Patriots, a team that will more than certainly test Miami's run defense.
“That’s mainly my fault,” Fangio said. “I did not have the guys ready to perform the way I thought they could. I didn’t do a good job in preparing them.”
Dolphins were focused on containing Mike Williams
According to Fangio, the Dolphins’ top priority against the Chargers was to contain receiver Mike Williams, who was held to four catches for 45 yards. And with quarterback Justin Herbert’s scrambling ability, Miami needed to maintain pass-rushing integrity.
But that defensive strategy seemingly left Miami vulnerable to the run, and Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel, who is rarely ever critical of players, insinuated that some members of the Dolphins front seven weren’t consistently following through with their assignment.
“I think there are a lot of people with the right motivations that were trying to independently make plays and not thinking about technique and fundamentals. So that’s been my message to them, which is my message to all players.
“It’s humanity,” McDaniel continued. “If you’re able to worry completely about what you can control, and only that, it’s amazing what individuals can do.”
Reinforcements coming on defense
This is where a seasoned NFL coach comes in and takes ownership for a unit’s struggles, especially when your resume is as extensive as Fangio’s is.
Brian Flores did it quite often during his run as Miami’s head coach, and so did Joe Philbin, and various other head coaches and coordinators.
Falling on the sword is what coaches do in front of the media, but behind the schemes they provide cut-ups of players playing hero ball, spotlighting players not fulfilling their assignments, which messes with the integrity of the defense.
Some players blamed the struggles stopping the run on the defender’s need to get adjusted to Fangio’s scheme, which the Dolphins have spent six months learning.
But Fangio isn’t buying that.
“That’s a convenient narrative,” Fangio said. “We should be adjusted. I got to adjust too, and know what best fits our players moving forward, and that could change from week to week."
What also could change is the personnel Miami uses in its base defensive package, which could be enhanced by better utilization of personnel. Brandon Jones is a three-year starter, and the Dolphins expect David Long Jr., one of the team's top free agent additions this offseason, to play more than a handful of plays.
Last week Andrew Van Ginkel, a converted outside linebacker, replaced Long as the nickel linebacker paired with Jerome Baker. That decision will be a game-to-game decision for Miami's coaches.
