What Improvements Have The Dolphins Made To Their NFL Defense?

If you are an ardent fan of the NFL, it would be very difficult to discuss anything defense without at least referring to the "Fangio system". And while it is a system that has existed for a while now, it is still in use today. The system itself uses light touches, predominant two-high coverages, and simulated pressures to keep the opponent at bay,

Fangio, who installed this system, is part of the Miami Dolphins team as their defense coordinator. This is coming only after a year of no playoff appearances, during which the Denver Broncos fired him.

With his return to the Miami Dolphins NFL team, he brought certain changes and improvements to the club. According to Fangio, these improvements would "make it more difficult to score points against the Dolphins". Read on to explore more about how improvements have been made to the Miami Dolphins' defense.

Who The Edge-Rushers Would Be

In 2021, Jaelan Philips was drafted into the Dolphins team as their new and talented edge-rusher. And in his debut season, he bagged 10 sacks which was quite impressive for a rookie.

Following Fangio's introduction to the team in 2022, Philips again had a great season with 10 sacks. But this time, with a significant increase in pressuring the opponent's quarterbacks. The only other edge defenders from other teams who had a better season were just five in number.

Furthermore, aside from Philips, the Dolphins also moved to get Bradley Chubb, a pass-rusher who played before for the Denver Broncos. It's only fitting that Fangio recruited Bradley from his former team considering he had seen him in action while there.

Now, although Chubb has had some injuries since he got drafted in 2018, his record shows great improvements. To be specific, in 2022, he recorded 10 sacks, just like Philips, as well as 57 total pressures. This is his best record so far in his career.

Thus, this shows that Chubb is a good fit along with Philips, and together, they are a formidable duo against any team.

Easing The Light Box Dilemma

Fangio is a defensive coach who is more inclined to try out lightbox techniques. But this is quite different from what the Miami Dolphins are used to.

A lightbox in the NFL means that the team would have fewer defenders close to the line of scrimmage. This allows for the offense to run easily for the ball. But this may sometimes be quite detrimental to the defense as it may not always turn out well.

An obvious example of how much things may go wrong is seen in the Los Angeles Chargers play in the 2022 season. That season, the team played with a 54% lightbox rate, according to what the head coach wanted. This, however, did not bode well as the team did not have the right defensive players to cover up for this, so they struggled against the run as a result.

However, lucky for Fangio, his team has lots of efficient defensive linemen who can alleviate this issue. One such lineman is Christian Wilkins, who got drafted in 2019 by the Miami Dolphins. His presence in the back line puts a stop to even the best-opposing running backs like Christian McCaffrey from gaining yards.

Other key players on the team, like Zach Sieler and Emmanuel Ogbah, also make it possible for Fangio to enforce his lightbox formation. Zach ranked second as NFL's player with the most stops and seventh among those with the highest stop rate (10.3%). Fangio can run all the light boxes he wants with players like this without worrying about getting burned in the run game.

What the Two-Deep Coverages Will Look Like

To complement Fangio's known preference for nickel defenses and two linebackers, the Miami Dolphins have two in the persons of Jerome Baker and David Long. These two will contribute to the defense's pass rush, coverage, and run defense. But how will Fangio use them?

When dealing with Fangio, one can always expect him to use a lot of two-high coverage. This serves as the foundation for the team's play, although he may make some changes during the game.

But this is also a major change for the team's defense because they usually play with a single-high safety, as seen in their last season's games. However, compared to Fangio's Broncos in 2021, the team played two-high safeties, winning them 72% snap on their plays.

So it is expected that Fangio would once again use this system with the Miami Dolphins this season.

Final Comments

Vic Fangio's improvements to the team's defense have boosted their performance all-round. With a combination of skilled players and tactical coaching, the Dolphins will surely take their defense to new heights in the upcoming NFL season.

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