This run goes for a decent gain, but it does not hit how it’s designed. Randall Cobb motions in to crack Jaelan Phillips, and Breece Hall gets the toss to (ideally) get around the corner behind Nick Bawden. The motion is pretty slow, and not only does Phillips see it, but he bench presses Cobb so far sideways that he takes himself out of the play. Now while Cobb could probably bring a little more on the block, this is putting him in a position to fail. Allen Lazard has not been playing well, but one thing you know he’s good for is run blocking. Having him inactive just to put Randall Cobb out here is just a confusing decision. Even without Lazard, why are we picking the 5’10, 190 pound receiver to make this block when we have no problem splitting CJ Uzomah out wide on pass plays? This could be any of our three tight ends and it would probably change nothing, as it’s not like the Dolphins have extra DBs on the field. Again, the result of the play is fine, it’s just that this is making things more difficult on both Randall Cobb individually as well as the offense as a whole.
The first head-in-hands call of the day comes early for Hackett. It’s 3rd and 11, so we put our best receiver in the slot and have him run a 5 yard quick out into a cloud corner. There are a number of things wrong with this play. First of all, the concept is designed to pick up 5 yards. Second, the #1 receiver on that side is Dalvin Cook, who runs a go route so slow that Garrett Wilson is actually farther up the field after coming out of his break. Third, because that outside corner is never threatened, he sees the out coming from a mile away. No matter how much separation Garrett gets from that linebacker, he wouldn’t have a chance to pick up a first down. On the backside Tyler Conklin is attempting to run a stick-nod on the other side, but that’s never going to be there with the defender playing inside and on top of him since it’s third and long. If you’re dead set on having Garrett run a quick out, put someone with some speed on the outside and have them line up on the line of scrimmage. You can’t high-low the corner when the high and the low are at the same yard line.
After a great 4th down stop by the defense, the Jets are backed up near their own goal line. Nathaniel Hackett chooses this opportunity to pull out the play action pass. Not only is there nowhere for Boyle to throw the ball, since it’s a three man route with Nick Bawden having to navigate traffic at the line before getting into his route, but Jeremy Ruckert is isolated on the backside trying to block a very good edge rusher in Jaelan Phillips. You’d like to see him hold up better in pass protection, but as an offensive coordinator, you’re playing with fire expecting him to do that so close to the goal line. If anything, this is the time to call that stick concept to get some breathing room and set up a 2nd and manageable. Instead, we’re lucky that Boyle manages to avoid the safety.
On third and long (again) we run another “run to the sticks and turn around” concept against man coverage (again). This time, we actually give some help on Jaelan Phillips, and it results in Breece Hall effectively running a nothing route. Garrett Wilson is in press coverage and is never open. Tyler Conklin is also chipping and running a flat, which which makes it incredibly easy for the Dolphins to cover up our three best receivers/playmakers. The only true option for Boyle here is to throw the curl to Jason Brownlee at the top of the screen. I think that’s actually a throw he should make, but that’s also Jalen Ramsey in coverage, which is not a matchup you want to try often. Boyle checks it down to Conklin before Brownlee is anywhere near the top of his route, and the Dolphins predictably rally to make the tackle.
On a short third down from near midfield, the Jets come out in a bunch formation with Garrett Wilson as the #3 receiver. Bunch formations can be really helpful in getting guys open because of how defenses play them. A lot of times, they’ll have first-man-out or first-man-in rules instead of just man coverage across the board, so a good scheme can really take advantage of some of the matchups with switch releases and routes that work away from the leverage. The Jets, of course, do none of that. Jalen Ramsey has the first man out, which is Jason Brownlee on a speed out from the #1 in the bunch. The nickel and LB are banjo-ing the next two receivers, meaning that one of them plays inside the bunch and one outside, and they take whichever of the two breaks to their side. This is where a good route concept could have either Garrett Wilson or Xavier Gipson running an out-breaking route against a linebacker with inside leverage. Instead, Gipson runs a corner and gets covered by the nickel, while Garrett runs a sit over the ball in between two linebackers. Unrelated to the bland route concept, Tim Boyle displays some impressively poor pocket presence, and gets himself sacked instead of stepping to the right and hitting Garrett or Breece Hall for a first down.
Again the Jets come out in a bunch on third and short, but this time they shift to a 2x2 formation. Nobody follows Garrett Wilson to the other side of the formation, indicating zone coverage, and the Dolphins end up bringing pressure. With four linemen and two linebackers potentially bringing pressure against a 5-man protection, the line slides to the left, leaving the right edge rusher as Boyle’s responsibility. He plays it quickly and hits Breece Hall on the flat out of the backfield. The problem on this play is Xavier Gipson’s route. He and Jason Brownlee are running a scissors concept, but Gipson almost looks like he’s faking a stalk block before getting out. I don’t know if it’s designed like that, but because of how long it takes, the nickel is able to sit on top of the route and drive on Breece as soon as the ball is thrown, and he gets there before Breece can make a move. It’s a bit of a case of the defense having a good call for the play we end up running, but the spacing is too tight for the flat to be a viable hot throw. A true swing would also not only help the spacing, but give Breece more room to catch the ball going forward and make a move instead of catching it with his back turned and getting tackled immediately.
This one has all kinds of bad going on. Naked keepers are becoming more and more prevalent in the NFL with the emphasis on playmaking QBs, but they come with some drawbacks. A lot of the time you’re leaving an edge player unblocked, so in a worst case scenario, they don’t fall for the run fake and are flying directly at the QB. The first mistake the Jets make, in my opinion, is that they leave the 4 technique over Max Mitchell unblocked. He jumps into the C gap and sees the play action coming from a mile away. Boyle also comes out too horizontal, which is problematic on nakeds because it effectively shortens the distance between a QB and the potential edge pressure and gives him less time to make a play. So by the time he turns his head, he has a defender 5 yards in front of him and there’s no chance to continue rolling out. At this point, the only option is to throw it to the flat, and if that’s covered, throw it in the dirt and come back for 3rd and 6 instead of 3rd and 10 or more. The only problem - there is nothing in the flat. Jeremy Ruckert is blocking the edge player and never releases on a route. Whether that’s Ruckert’s fault on a missed assignment or the play was designed that way, there are mistakes across the board and this play was doomed from the start.
This one is a little bit of a nitpick, but I see it so often in our offense that I want to call it out. On third and short, we run a slant-flat concept with Tyler Conklin and Breece Hall. The flat is open, but Breece is once again tackled short of the sticks without a chance to make a move. A better ball and we might pick this up, but I don’t like how often Breece is catching these passes with his back to the defense. There’s about 8 yards of space between him and the defender when Boyle releases the ball, but by the time he catches it and turns his head, he’s only a yard past the line of scrimmage and the defender is already in position to make the tackle. Breece is incredible in the open field and I like the idea of getting him the ball in space, but this is not that. Not only are we forcing him to spin all the way around to catch a pass, but he’s not even past the line of scrimmage. If you want a true slant-flat concept, have him run it out of a wing position instead of the backfield and let him actually get somewhat down the field. Otherwise, if we want to get him the ball in space, give him a swing route where he can see the defense and catch it with some forward momentum. Again, it’s a nitpicky criticism, and it’s not like it can’t work, as you’ll see later. But this is the second time this game where this exact thing has happened on a third and short.
Another example of getting Breece Hall the ball in space in a sub-optimal way. The concept this time is good. We have a bunch to the top of the screen, and they’re all running crossing routes while Breece comes from the backfield on the opposite side and runs a flat. The idea is that against man coverage, which the Dolphins are in, there will be a lot of traffic for whoever is covering Breece to navigate, and we can get him on the edge with a chance to turn it upfield. That’s exactly what happens, but we miss a potential touchdown because it’s not executed properly. Jason Brownlee, the #2 in the bunch, is running directly at the linebacker who’s covering Breece, but he makes no effort to set a legal pick or even get in his way. Breece catches the ball and gets the first down purely because of his speed. If Brownlee or Randall Cobb can even just make #51 hesitate going through traffic, this play has a chance to score. I’m not necessarily putting this on Hackett, but it’s another example of our playmakers not being put in the best position they can be put in.
This one is on Tim Boyle. Garrett Wilson and Breece Hall are the two receivers on the right side, while Tyler Conklin and our undrafted rookies are on the left. The Dolphins are playing a soft Cover 4, and Breece is wide open on the spot route. It’s hard to tell where Boyle is looking with the black helmets, but it seems like he’s staring down the middle of the field. He comes over to the right side way too late and throws a back-foot throw that’s tipped and picked off. I don’t know why Boyle is looking to the middle of the field, but he plays this way too slowly. If you want to work the right side of the field, which I certainly would, seeing as your two best players are over there, you have to get your eyes there immediately. Instead of a catch-and-run opportunity for Breece, it’s a turnover in the red zone.
Finally, a simple concept that makes life easier for Garrett Wilson. For context, most of the time he’s has been the #1 receiver on the left side these last couple drives, the Dolphins have been putting Jalen Ramsey in man coverage against him. On this play, Garrett and Xavier Gipson are lined up tight to the line, and the Dolphins have two corners overtop of them. On the snap, they run a switch release, with Garrett running a crosser and Gipson running an outside route that turns into a two-arms-up backpedal because NOBODY covers him. Why? Because there’s a miscommunication on defense when they run the switch release, and both corners try to run with Garrett. Not only does this get Gipson wide open, but him going outside freezes the nickel corner, allowing Garrett to get inside and use his speed to get to the back pylon for a touchdown. Boyle makes the correct decision to throw this ball, but even if that wasn’t open, he’d have a wide open TD anyway if he came to the back side. It’s a perfect example of how these switch releases can affect a defense and scheme guys open without having to rely solely on their ability to separate.
And now we’re back to the same old go-out concept that we must run at least 5 or 6 times a game. The Dolphins are effectively in prevent defense at this point, with a soft Cover 4 shell and a nickel corner overtop of Garrett Wilson. There is a great opportunity to give him a route where he can stem outside and break to the post, run a juke route, a return or whip route, anything to maximize his separation ability and get him the ball going upfield. What he does instead is run a 5 yard out and get tackled immediately. The problem here isn’t necessarily the route, although I could think of several better choices. It’s that Tim Boyle puts no zip on this ball and Garrett has to come back to the line of scrimmage to catch it. And I don’t necessarily blame Boyle for that - everyone knows he doesn’t have that kind of arm talent. If you watch elite route runners across the league like Davante Adams, Keenan Allen, or Christian McCaffrey, you’ll see tons of underneath double moves designed to get them the ball in space moving up the field. With Garrett Wilson, who is up there with some of the best separators in the league, it feels like he has to work so much harder for those kinds of passes.
So we have two elite playmakers (and I would say a good tight end as well in Conklin) that you could argue would start on almost every team in the league. But we seem to do as little as possible to maximize their talents and instead just rely purely on their ability. That’s a luxury for an NFL team to have for sure, but good scheming can get so much more out of that ability. Here are some examples of Miami doing just that. Obviously they have weapons across the board and Tua is a far better QB than Tim Boyle or Zach Wilson, but this kind of offense still works with less talented players.
This doesn’t look like anything special from a scheme perspective, but it’s a case of putting your best player in the best position you can. Tyreek Hill is in the slot against DJ Reed, and the Jets are in a dream coverage for the route concept they’re running. Press man across the board with a single high safety is as clear of a Cover 1 look as you can give, and Jordan Whitehead, the high safety, is even bracketing Jaylen Waddle instead of playing a true deep zone. Tua has all the room in the world to throw this ball, and with Hill’s speed, it turns into a huge gain. Sometimes, the best offense is simple.
This is a beautifully designed screen pass to Tyreek Hill. The Dolphins line up in a 3x1 formation, and DJ Reed is again in press coverage overtop of Hill. Instead of running the screen like that, he comes in on a fast motion, which accomplishes a couple things. First, it gets Reed moving backwards and out of position to press, so that he can’t beat a block to the outside to make a play on the screen. Second, it puts Hill closer to both the QB and the offensive line, so not only is it a shorter throw, but the linemen don’t have very far to run when making their blocks. The result is that the Dolphins blockers outnumber the Jets defenders on that side, and they rip off another huge gain. Compare that screen pass to this one the Jets ran against Buffalo, both against press coverage - it’s just better design and execution across the board.
On the first drive in a goal-to-go situation, Miami lined Tyreek Hill up out wide and threw a fade that went incomplete. This time, they line him up in the backfield. With the Jets in man coverage, this changes the matchup from Sauce Gardner to Jordan Whitehead. Braxton Berrios, the receiver on the same side as Hill, runs a stop route designed to force Whitehead to go around it, giving Hill room to catch and make a move, which he does for the touchdown. It’s a poor tackle attempt from Whitehead first of all, but this flat is the exact same route that the Jets tried to have Breece Hall run on that third down later in the game. The difference is not only that Tua gives him a better ball, but it happens so much quicker.
The Dolphins run this play a ton. It’s not what you would think of as a true downfield RPO, as Tua isn’t really reading a defender post-snap. But check out how many shifts and motions the Dolphins do here. The Jets defense is moving all over the place, and it’s obvious they’re in zone coverage, likely a Cover 4 judging by the DB shell. When Tua hits his back foot, it’s just a two man route, but they’re both wide open. He hits Jaylen Waddle on a glance for 15 yards and a first down. Not only does the pre-snap movement help Tua determine where he’s going with this ball while barely needing to process the defense post-snap, but it capitalizes on his ability to process the defense with a route downfield, a route in the flat, and a run option if he didn’t like the matchup against the pass. We can’t replicate this exactly as the Dolphins do it with our lack of talent, but downfield RPOs are a staple of the most successful offenses in the NFL, and are completely absent from our playbook.
Another simple concept that complements the Dolphins scheme and maximizes their players’ abilities. Tyreek Hill lines up in basically a wing position on the right side, and runs a fast motion to the left. The Dolphins run this motion a lot with Hill - sometimes they throw him the ball in the flat or on a screen, sometimes they use it to clear out the middle of the field and throw behind it, and sometimes they use it as a decoy to run to the other side. Here, they just flip him the ball and trust that he’ll be able to use his speed to beat Jermaine Johnson to the edge, even adding a run fake to the back to stop JJ from flying up the field. Unsurprisingly, this picks up the first down and a lot more. But it also gives defenses another thing to think about, so next time they see that motion, they’re unsure if he’ll get the ball or if it’s just a decoy.
On a third and long on one of the last drives of the game, the Dolphins line up in a 2 back formation that eventually turns into a 3x1 with Raheem Mostert on the strong side in the backfield. When Jordan Whitehead goes with the fullback on the motion, Tua knows it’s man coverage, and by putting a 4th eligible receiver on that side in Mostert, they force the Jets to overload that side defensively - after they’re set, the Jets have just three players to the left of the center. This is probably a screen-run option with a bubble to Tyreek Hill, but it’s an easy run read to give it to Mostert on the left side. Another wrinkle that the Dolphins throw in is to have Jaylen Waddle, the one receiver on the left, come all the way in to block Quincy Williams. Since DJ Reed is on him in man coverage, the Dolphins effectively get a 2-for-1 block there, and then they have 3 offensive linemen against 2 defensive linemen, and Ashtyn Davis has to come from the deep safety spot to make the tackle after the sticks.
If you want my thoughts after watching this game, I think Tim Boyle is worse than Zach Wilson, and the only thing he does better is throw hot. We have one starting caliber offensive lineman in Joe Tippmann, who also made plenty of negative plays. Max Mitchell had one of the worst games I’ve ever watched from a tackle and does not look roster-able, Carter Warren is nowhere near ready to start, and Xavier Newman looks like what we’d expect when we got him off a practice squad. We still have no receiver depth, although I thought Brownlee and Gipson looked at least competent. So just to be clear, there is no offensive coordinator in the world that could make this Jets offense look like the Dolphins offense.
However, what we do have is three guys who all have legitimate arguments as top 15, if not top 10, players at their positions in Breece Hall, Garrett Wilson, and Tyler Conklin. The entire offense should be focused on getting the ball to those three guys. And I don’t mean just line them up and let them do their thing, I mean scheme them open. Have Garrett Wilson run in motion to a bunch, then run a switch release where he comes inside and breaks out against a guy with inside leverage. Run two clearout routes and send Breece on an angle or choice route in that vacated space. If you know they’re in man and you like the matchup, let Conklin run one of those juke routes or underneath double moves that he cooked the Broncos with (and that we’ve barely seen since then). But these static-formation, straight line routes are not it.
You can see from watching the Dolphins offense that while some players might be good enough to make plays, a good complementary scheme can make it better. Motions and shifts affect defenses and make it easier to diagnose coverage, bring defenders away from an area on the field that you want to attack, and get your playmakers in better positions to get the ball and make plays. Downfield RPOs can not only help the QB by giving them an easy read and completion, but also give the offensive line a numbers advantage against a defense that isn’t flying downhill right off the snap. And if you ask guys to do things that they are simply not capable of, like a small receiver blocking an edge rusher, don’t be surprised when they fail at that.
Bottom line - just because Garrett Wilson is good enough to get a clean release on a slant against Jalen Ramsey in press coverage doesn’t mean we have to make him do that.
Nice breakdown. All of these give good insights but one thing that is lacking is that we have no idea what the audibles are. It would really be something to actually take these and have a sit down with Hackett so we get the real insight with what was going on.
Honestly it from our perspective its really looks like poor play-calling, poor QB play and poor O-line play all matched up to one big stinking pile of offensive poo. Right now that is all we got. I’m going to bet that having a good QB will have a huge impact that outweighs the playcalling and poor O-line. But that will have to wait until next year.