MIAMI GARDENS — Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver called the run defense’s performance against Carolina “disappointing.”
In fact, Weaver, whose run defense is last in the NFL at 174.2 yards per game, said the run defense was so bad that there were times he wanted to “throw up” while watching the game tape of Panthers running back Rico Dowdle rushing for 206 yards in the Panthers’ 27-24 win.
“This guy was running, he was like a runaway freight train, just running downhill,” Weaver said.
But Weaver sees light at the end of the run defense tunnel, and it doesn’t appear to be an oncoming train. Weaver sees ways things could get better fairly quickly. Hang with me. I’ll eventually get to all of the specifics.
As for the Carolina game, the way the Dolphins tell it, the run defense over-corrected last week. There was such an emphasis on creating turnovers leading into the game that defensive players went for the strip instead of tackling the ball carrier.
That can’t happen again this week. On the other hand, it’s unclear what will result if it does happen. No one knows if anyone will lose their starting job or their spot in the rotation. After all, the talent-thin Dolphins don’t have many options when it comes to replacing personnel on their run defense.
What we know for sure is that on Sunday the struggling Dolphins (1-4) host the injury-riddled Los Angeles Chargers (3-2). The Chargers have injury issues on their offensive line and are down to their third-team running back, Hassan Haskins, the third-year man from Michigan who has career totals of 64 carries for 195 yards (3.0 yards per carry) in 37 games. This season he has five carries for 13 yards. In short, Haskins must be stopped.
But how? Weaver said he knows the problem with the beleaguered run defense.
“Certainly our run defense is disappointing,” he said. “We’re not defeated by any means because you could show one play go for minus one (yard) and they can run the exact same play (and) go for 25 against the exact same defense.
“That’s not a scheme problem. That’s a trust/fit/tackling problem, which is what we need to get fixed.”
One area that the trust/fit/tackling problem surfaces is on the defensive line. You’d think having linebackers Jordyn Brooks and Tyrel Dodson being Nos. 1 and 2 in the league in tackling, which was the case leading into the Carolina game, is a good thing.
Weaver said it points to an issue with the defensive line.
“With our guys in particular, I just think there’s plays that should be made by the defensive linemen that are getting to the linebackers,” he said.
Weaver isn’t letting this issue consume him totally. He’s got other issues such as his defensive players going for the strip.
Of course, it should be pointed out that going for the strip against Carolina doesn’t explain what happened to the Dolphins’ run defense in the previous four games this season when they allowed each team to rush for more than 120 yards. In each of those games, the run defense was gashed. Overpowered. Manhandled.
It makes Weaver angry and frustrated. But he deals with those emotions while watching game tape.
“I try not to do anything in anger and frustration,” Weaver said. “I’m in the solution business. I’m in the problem-solving business. So I give myself 24 hours, right?
“There’s 24 hours where certainly there can be a little anger and rage, but then you’ve got to shake it off and you’ve got to get back to, ‘Alright, how do we attack these problems?’ ”
One way to attack the problems is ignoring what fans are chirping about on social media, and that particularly applies to rookie defensive tackles Kenneth Grant, the first-round pick who is off to a disappointing start, and Jordan Phillips, the fifth-round pick.
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“These young bucks aren’t doing that,” Weaver said of staying off social media. “So as much as you preach to them and talk to them about ignoring those things and just continue to put one foot in front of the other and staying level-headed and even-keeled, that’s hard. I’ve had this conversation with Kenny because, I said this a week ago, nobody puts more pressure on himself to go out there and perform than he does.
“And if we go off (Wednesday’s) practice, I think maybe we finally said something that hit because it looked like he was just going out there playing free and not putting that pressure on himself when he has a little mistake and letting that compound throughout the game. And we felt a little bit of that.”
The Dolphins’ run defense has plenty of problems. We’ll see Sunday if Weaver has found any solutions or whether he’ll be wanting to throw up watching the Chargers game tape.
