The Miami Dolphins are set to hit the road this weekend, off to square off with the Arizona Cardinals late on Sunday afternoon. With the challenge of stopping quarterback Kyler Murray looming large on the horizon for the Dolphins, there will be plenty of headaches to come between now and the end of Week 9. But Miami has their own talented young quarterback to tout in this showcase — and we hope to see more of him and more success from him in Week 9 than what the Dolphins needed of him to secure a win in Week 8.
How can they do that? Here’s three areas of focus for the Dolphins’ offensive attack for Week 9:
Get Tua Tagovailoa some easy throws early
Tagovailoa did well enough in Week 8 against the Rams, but by the time it felt as though he settled into the game, Miami was already up big. Miami’s recent “money play” has been an RPO look that features DeVante Parker in the slot — perhaps giving Tagovailoa that look early on to help him find a rhythm will help him get locked in and be a much bigger part of the offensive attack in Week 9.
As is the case with any young quarterback, building confidence is essential. Miami can help their case with some basic throws early.
Feature Patrick Laird in a majority of snaps
The Miami Dolphins will be without RB Myles Gaskin and likely without RB Matt Breida. So how does the running game work? How does it change? Laird would be the best possible option to take the majority of snaps. He’s still got some of the versatility of a Myles Gaskin and is a capable pass catcher. When you compare that to the presence of Jordan Howard as more of a true power back, Miami will keep the majority of their offense on the table by putting Laird in more of a prominent role and then tapping into Howard in short yardage instances and featuring Lynn Bowden Jr. or Malcolm Perry as the change of pace back.
Continue to move DeVante Parker around
The Miami Dolphins haven’t been one of the NFL’s most active offenses as it relates to motion at the snap, but we saw Miami dip their toes into the water with DeVante Parker last week against the Rams. Parker came in short motion twice early on against the Rams, once on a third down screen that was set up well but not timed up appropriately between Parker and Tagovailoa. The other? Parker’s touchdown reception, which allowed for a clean, well-timed release into the end zone. Miami continuing to do more of the same with Parker against the Cardinals will help keep CB Patrick Peterson on his heels and avoid any clear and obvious “one on ones” between the two, which may tilt in favor of Peterson.
