Dolphins Defense The Miami Dolphins were led by their “bend but don’t break” defense. Although the unit ranked 21st in yards allowed, they were ranked 8th in points. Even when the offense struggled at the end of the year, the defense held strong. Cameron Wake is the defensive leader and one of the league’s best pass rushers. He has 46 sacks over the pass four seasons, including 15 in 2012. His most memorable moment of 2013 came during overtime in week 8. Wake bull rushed through the Cincinnati Bengals offensive line and sacked QB Andy Dalton in the end zone for a game-winning, walk-off safety. Increased attention on Wake has paid dividends for his young counterpart Olivier Vernon. The second-year defensive end finished the season with 11.5 sacks in his first season as a starter. The two defensive ends will be extremely important early in the season while backup Dion Jordan is suspended for the first four games of the season. The Dolphins linebackers had a disappointing season after the team spent much of their available cap space to upgrade the unit in 2013. Dannell Ellerbe and Philip Wheeler both signed big contracts but were unable to make a comparable impact on the field. Defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle hopes that moving Wheeler to the outside and shifting Koa Misi into the middle will pay dividends. Cornerback Brent Grimes signed a one-year contract after rehabbing a torn achilles tendon, and was rewarded with a fouryear contract after an exceptional 2013 season. Grimes proved that he is still one of the best cornerbacks in the league, but he will lead a secondary full of young and inexperienced talent. The secondary lost three important contributors from last season in Chris Clemons, Nolan Carroll and Dimitri Patterson. The Dolphins brought in veteran Cortland Finnegan to add depth and compete for playing time. Jamar Taylor and Will Davis made little impact in their rookie seasons, but the former second and third round draft picks have enough raw talent to find their way into the rotation. Reshad Jones’ performance dropped off from 2012 but he is still one of the most reliable safeties in the league. He will be in charge of helping former Detroit Lion Louis Delmas get accustomed to the system at free safety. Defensive Player to Watch Olivier Vernon broke onto the scene with a tremendous 2013 season. The 6-2, 261-pound defensive end is a homegrown talent that was born in Miami and played college football for the Miami Hurricanes. With Vernon on one end and Wake on the other, the Dolphins are set to terrorize offensive lines for years to come. Their opponents must account for them on every play, and it will force teams to keep more tight ends and running backs home to pass block. Vernon is also a versatile player along the line. The Dolphins occasionally played him at tackle and allowed him to rush the passer from there. This allows the defense to place Dion Jordan, last year’s number 3 overall pick, on the line alongside Vernon and Wake. Dolphins Special Teams Kicker Caleb Sturgis started his career off strong by going 7 for 7 in the first four games of the season, but he struggled after that. In the final 12 games he was 19 for 27. Although the Dolphins did invest a fifth round pick in Sturgis, there is no such thing as a long leash for an NFL kicker. Brandon Fields has been the Dolphins punter since 2007 and he has developed into one of the best in the game. He’s been in the top five in yards per punt for the last four seasons. He was named to the Pro Bowl in 2013 after punting 85 times, including a career-best 74-yarder. Marcus Thigpen has been a solid kick returner for the Dolphins the past two years, although Mike Wallace has expressed interest in returning kickoffs. Prediction The Dolphins have a lot of talent but it all needs to come together. There will be a long list of teams competing for the second wild card spot, and the Dolphins will be one of them. They couldn’t handle the pressure last season, but a calmer atmosphere surrounding the team will alleviate some of that. SCOREBOARD 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 PLAYOFF FINISH - - - - - REGULAR SEASON W-L 8-8 7-9 6-10 7-9 7-9 POINTS PER GAME 19.5 18.0 20.6 17.1 22.5 POINTS ALLOWED PER GAME 20.9 19.8 19.6 20.8 24.4 YARDS PER GAME 312.9 311.5 317.4 323.1 337.6 YARDS ALLOWED PER GAME 359.3 356.8 345.1 309.3 349.3 TURNOVERS 26 24 25 29 28 TAKEAWAYS 24 16 19 19 21 Key Additions: RB Knowshon Moreno, OT Branden Albert, CB Cortland Finnegan Key Subtractions: DT Paul Soliai, S Chris Clemons, CB Nolan Carroll Rookies: OL Ja’Wuan James, WR Jarvis Landry, OL Billy Turner Cameron Wake MATT SULLIVAN/GETTY IMAGES SPORT
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