The Miami Dolphins’ offense will look significantly different in 2020 when compared to the 2019 version under former offensive coordinator Chad O’Shea. With the Dolphins making a change with their offensive play caller, the team will have the opportunity to pair their talent to the vision of their new offensive coordinator, Chan Gailey. One area that the Dolphins can improve this season? The frequency of motion in 2019 was a sore spot for the Dolphins — they were among the 5 worst teams in the NFL with the frequency of pre-snap motion last season according to Graham Barfield of NFL.com.
What is the value of pre-snap motion? It can help to overload defensive sets, it can help to identify man versus zone coverage in pre-snap looks and it can provide quick leverage on passing concepts for the offense.
Miami implemented very few motions to accentuate these advantages in 2019 and it would behoove them to be more assertive with their efforts in creating motion and adding new layers to their offense in 2020. Ryan Fitzpatrick thrived this past season despite the lack of motion, illustrating high football intelligence none the less to diagnose in the pre-snap and quickly dispersing the football to Miami’s receivers.
Chan Gailey will have a prime opportunity to add new layers to the Dolphins’ offensive attack by adding more motion in the pre-snap — a fascinating layer when considering the Patriots under Josh McDaniels implemented motion in nearly twice the frequency (64% versus 35% of offensive snaps) as the Dolphins did last season. Gailey’s offense won’t echo the Patriots’ system as much as O’Shea’s offense in Miami — but it would be well served to reflect more recruitment of motion before the snap.
