Man-to-man shortcomings a constant theme for struggling Dolphins defense

One of the final plays of the Dolphins’ 30-28 loss to the Atlanta Falcons last Sunday might have been a microcosm of a defense that struggled throughout the 2021 season.

Holding on to a one-point lead, the Dolphins were in a Cover 1 defense, a man-to-man concept with one deep safety — in this case, rookie Jevon Holland — covering the middle of the field. Their top cornerback, Xavien Howard, was matched up on the outside with Atlanta’s phenom, rookie tight end Kyle Pitts.

Pitts ran a go route, streaking downfield, and Howard followed step for step. But quarterback Matt Ryan lofted a perfectly-placed ball into the hands of Pitts, and Holland wasn’t able to arrive in time to dislodge the ball. The completion placed the Falcons well within field-goal range and they shortly thereafter kicked the game-winning score.

One of the biggest disappointments in the Dolphins’ 1-6 start to the season has been the defense, which led the league in takeaways in 2020 and was the bedrock of the team’s success in a 10-6 campaign last season. The unit has particularly fallen short in man-to-man defense, a staple under head coach Brian Flores.

“I don’t think you want to be the same thing over and over against people,” defensive coordinator Josh Boyer said, “so you try to change the picture — whether that’s changing the front or changing the coverage, especially against a lot of the good quarterbacks that we face. We always try to apply pressure to them and apply pressure to the offensive line. I think a good mix of calls is always kind of what you’re looking for.

“The other thing is when you do something over and over again, teams prepare for it and they have a lot of plans for it,” Boyer added. “It’s not one of those things that you can consistently year after year do the same thing over and over again.”

Players and coaches have emphasized in the past that successful coverage is just as dependent on the pass rush up-front as it is on the players in the secondary. Through Flores’ tenure, he’s generally relied on blitzing to generate pressure. According to Pro Football Reference, the Dolphins’ blitz rate has dropped from 40.8 percent (second-highest rate in the NFL) in 2020 to 32.2 percent (fifth-highest rate) in 2021. The change in blitz rate has been followed by a dip in pressure; in 2020, the Dolphins had a 24.8 percent pressure rate (11th). In 2021, that number has decreased to 23.2 percent (18th).

The Dolphins haven’t drastically altered the rate at which they’re in man-to-man as opposed to zone defense, but their success in man coverage has diminished from the 2020 season to 2021.

According to Sports Info Solutions, the Dolphins defense was in Cover 1 — a man-to-man concept with one deep safety covering the middle of the field — on 196 opposing drop backs in 2020, only second to Cover 3, a zone concept with one safety covering the middle of the field.

On plays using Cover 1, the defense allowed opponents to complete 56.6 percent of passes for 1,419 yards and seven touchdowns. The unit was able to intercept five passes and register 17 sacks when in a Cover-1 defense.

Through seven games of the 2021 season, the Dolphins defense has already allowed five touchdowns in Cover 1 and is on pace — even on a 16-game schedule — to allow 500 more yards. The unit has intercepted one pass and registered five sacks so far in a Cover 1 defense.

“At the end of the day, we’re definitely a man team,” Howard said. “Zone helps also, so we just try to mix different coverages up.”

Though the Dolphins returned their bookend cornerbacks, Howard and Byron Jones, neither has played at the level of their 2020 seasons. The two have dealt with their respective injuries but neither has used it as an excuse for their drop-off in play.

Jones said the secondary has covered well but hasn’t finished plays in the same manner as last season.

“We’re covering,” Jones said, “but in terms of getting the ball out or getting another interception or changing a [pass breakup] to an interception and stuff like that, I think we could do a better job of, especially in man coverage because we are a defense that’s predicated on playing man.”

With the Dolphins facing the Buffalo Bills and quarterback Josh Allen, who has dominated his matchup with Miami’s defense, the question of whether to blitz and when to play man-to-man is again of utmost importance.

In seven games against the Dolphins, Allen has had his most success facing man coverage. He’s completed 58 percent of his passes with 12 touchdowns and one interception against Cover 1 and Cover 0, a man-to-man concept with no deep safety in the secondary. Conversely, he has completed 83 percent of his passes but thrown just two touchdowns with two interceptions against Cover 2 and Cover 4, zone concepts that have two deep safeties covering half the field.

“He’s very comfortable in that offense right now,” linebacker Jerome Baker said. “They’re hitting on all cylinders. We’ve got to switch it up on him. We have to give him different looks. Honestly, it’s going to be a tough one. We’ve got to go out there and execute. We can have all the schemes we want, different packages, pressures and whatever, but it doesn’t matter if you don’t go out there and execute. For us, our thing is really to just focus on the little things. That’s definitely our approach Sunday.”