When the opposition takes the field against the Miami Dolphins in 2019, it is becoming a pretty safe bet that things are going to go well. The Dolphins, through their first four games, are conceding a passer rating to opposing quarterbacks of 142.4 this season. That number? It’s horrifying.
How bad is 142.4? The perfect passer rating is 158.3 — meaning the Dolphins pass defense is nearly equal distance away from the 2nd worst team in the NFL as they are to being literally as bad as a team can score in the metric. Opposing defenses are on course to pass for nearly 5,000 yards against the Dolphins this season.
Yes, it’s just four games — the sample size is still small. But if the Washington Redskins, Buffalo Bills, New York Jets and Cincinnati Bengals all come out and zip the ball around on the Dolphins, things are going to get really ugly. And the questions will inevitably come — why hire a defensive coach who can’t seem to get anything positive going defensively?
Make no mistake, Brian Flores’ job is safe in 2020 — and it should be. Flores signed up for a roster overhaul and everyone involved knew what they were getting into this season. But Flores should continue to try to push the right buttons until he finds a better combination of coverages and pass rush attacks. When lying down and hoping the opposition drops the ball is just an arm’s reach away, it’s probably best to keep searching the playbook for something with a little more teeth.
