Miami, FL
Chris Perkins: Miami Dolphins’ defense hasn’t arrived yet, but it’s en route
MIAMI GARDENS — All day Sunday, the Miami Dolphins defense put in its work in the team’s 31-16 victory against the hapless New York Giants. The results were encouraging. They defense recorded a season-best in sacks (seven), a season-best in quarterback hits (14), didn’t allow an offensive touchdown, and held the Giants to 85 yards rushing, the second-best total of the season.
The Dolphins defense, which was blamed for a lot of the problems of last year’s 9-8 season and therefore made some major changes in the offseason, turned in a solid game Sunday.
“It felt like how it’s supposed to feel,” linebacker David Long Jr. said.
It was quite a bounce-back performance after getting smoked at Buffalo, 48-20, last week and allowing 34 points in the season-opening 36-34 win at the Los Angeles Chargers.
There was only one thing the Dolphins defense didn’t do against the Giants.
“We didn’t get the ball,” veteran safety DeShon Elliott said. “That’s not championship football. And we had a lot of (coverage) busts. There’s a lot of (stuff) we can work on.
“Overall, we got the win as a team but I think we definitely could play better as a defense.”
Elliott is right.
The Dolphins defense could be better, and it should be better. They’re not yet where they want to be, or where they should be.
For example, the Dolphins lost the turnover battle Sunday 3-0 something that didn’t escape notice by coach Mike McDaniel.
“It was a tremendous job by our defense to handle a three-turnover output by our offense,” he said.
Still there were good things happening. Linebackers Zach Sieler (2.0 sacks) and Emmanuel Ogbah and Jerome Baker (1.5 sacks each) were strong, and so was linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel (1.0 sack).
Cornerback Eli Apple, who re-gained his boundary job in the nickel formation, had a team-best nine tackles.
The defense did well playing its third game without edge rusher Jalean Phillips (oblique). Once again, Van Ginkel and Ogbah did well in his place.
And the nickel package once again features Apple and Xavien Howard as the boundary cornerbacks with Kader Kohou moving to the slot.
But overall the defense remains a work in progress, and I think it’ll take them until Thanksgiving to get their groove.
The Dolphins defense has been trying to find its footing throughout this early part of the season. Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio and cornerback Jalen Ramsey were brought in to ensure this unit fares better than its No. 15 ranking in 2022, and much better than their 23.5 points per game allowed last year, which was ninth worst in the league.
That plan was dealt an immediate body blow when Ramsey, likely the best player on the defense when healthy, sustained a knee injury on the second day of training camp and is out until late in the season.
That’s one reason the Dolphins defense hasn’t been ideal through five games.
They’ve only produced five takeaways (two interceptions, three fumble recoveries), which puts them in the middle of the pack in the NFL.
Aside from that, the Dolphins defense entered the Giants game in the lower half of the league in most defensive categories.
They were tied for 26th in overall defense (374.5 yards allowed per game), 25th in pass defense (251.0 ypg), 22nd in rushing defense (123.5 ypg), 28th in scoring defense (29.8 points allowed per game), and tied for 25th in third-down defense (46.2% conversions allowed).
The Dolphins defense won’t get big-time credit for limiting the hapless Giants, nor will it get credit if it repeats the performance, or even does slightly better next week against the winless Carolina Panthers (0-5).
But that’s OK.
This is all practice for the bigger games on the schedule such as at Philadelphia, last season’s Super Bowl runner-up, in two weeks, or the game in Germany against the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs two weeks after that.
And there’s no big rush to get things done.
“We’re just putting this thing together, slowly but surely,” defensive tackle Raekwon Davis said.
The Dolphins know they’ll be judged by how they play in their biggest games this season.
Sunday’s victory was OK, but last week’s loss at Buffalo is more significant.
The Dolphins already knew their defense could hold up at home against a team such as the Giants. They need to know their defense can hold up on the road against a team such as Buffalo.
“We didn’t have the best week last week,” Sieler said.
And they need to know it can hold up on the road against teams like Philadelphia and Kansas City.
The Dolphins are in first place in the AFC East again thanks to Buffalo’s 25-20 loss to Jacksonville in London. The Dolphins improve to 4-1 Sunday, and the Bills are 3-2.
This game against the Giants was good, it’s the type of opponent this Dolphins defense showed it could handle last year.
The defense needs to show it can step up and fight with the heavyweights.
“This was the fifth game?” Elliott asked. “We’ve got 12 chances to get better, 12 chances to be great.”
The Miami Heat may do everything in their power to acquire Cleveland Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell after missing out on Damian Lillard and Bradley Beal in recent years.
Mitchell and the Cavs were eliminated from the postseason on Wednesday, marking a second straight early playoff exit. Most believe Mitchell, 27, is the sole reason Cleveland made it past the first round. The lack of support when it matters most could lead to him refusing to extend his contract past the 2026 season.
“I think if Donovan chose not to extend, he would be able to kind of direct the trade a little bit because of the one year on his contract,” analyst Brian Windhorst said on an episode of ESPN’s Get Up. “The Miami Heat have been star hunting for a year now. They’re always star hunting. They have some players on their roster who would potentially be interesting to Cleveland, but not as deep in draft picks as others.”
Mitchell’s player option for the 2026 season is likely insignificant because he will either switch teams or extend his contract prior. The Heat should think twice before going all-in for the five-time All-Star due to the lack of success of front-loaded rosters. The Phoenix Suns Big Three had championship expectations this season but were swept in the first round, leaving their future in jeopardy.
There’s no doubt Mitchell is one of the league’s top shooting guards, averaging 26.6 points, 6.1 assists, and 5.1 rebounds on 46.2 percent shooting in 55 games last season. Tyler Herro, a young player (Jaime Jaquez Jr. or Nikola Jovic), and draft capital are a sufficient package, but holding onto depth is arguably more important for a team that has reached the NBA Finals twice since 2020.
Anthony Pasciolla works as a contributing writer to Inside the Heat. He can be reached at ampasciolla@gmail.com or follow him on Instagram @anthony.pasciolla.
Follow all of our Miami Heat coverage on Facebook HERE
Subscribe to our YouTube channel HERE
The Miami Dolphins’ 2024 NFL regular season schedule was officially released Wednesday. Fans already knew who the opponents were — now they know the dates and times of the contests.
Miami will open the season at home against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The matchup pits quarterbacks Tua Tagovailoa and Trevor Lawrence against each other for the second time since they first met in the 2019 CFB National Championship game between Alabama and Clemson. Lawrence’s Tigers won the contest.
The last time the two met was in 2021 when Lawrence helped Jacksonville pull out a 23-20 last-second victory.
Miami plays division rival Buffalo in the comfort of Hard Rock Stadium in a Week 2 Thursday Night Football matchup on Sept. 12. It will be the first of five prime-time games that include a home Monday Night Football matchup against Tennessee on Sept. 30, a trip to Los Angeles for Monday Night Football against the Rams on Nov. 11, a Thanksgiving Thursday Night Football matchup in Green Bay Nov. 28, and Sunday Night Football in Cleveland on Dec. 29.
The Dolphins will be well-traveled in 2024 — with nine road games and trips out west to Los Angeles and Seattle, the Dolphins will cover 25,869 miles. Miami will travel to Indianapolis, Houston, Cleveland, and Green Bay as well, among others.
A notable game on the schedule is the return game for former defensive tackle Christian Wilkins, who will be coming to Miami with the Las Vegas Raiders on No. 17.
Overall, the Dolphins will play seven games against six different playoff teams from the 2023 season, including four against division champions from a year ago. Five of those seven contests will be played on the road as the AFC plays nine road games in even years.
The Dolphins have a Week 6 bye week and seven road trip afterward, including right out of the bye, when they go to Indianapolis Week 7.
The Dolphins will face the New York Jets twice in the final five weeks, including the season finale at MetLife Stadium on either Jan. 4 or 5.
Sept. 8, Jacksonville at Miami, 1 p.m.
Sept. 12, Buffalo at Miami, 8:15 p.m. (Thursday night)
Sept. 22, Miami at Seattle, 4:05 p.m.
Sept. 30, Tennessee at Miami, 7:30 p.m. (Monday night)
Oct. 6, Miami at New England, 1 p.m.
Oct. 13, Bye week
Oct. 20, Miami at Indianapolis, 1 p.m.
Oct. 27, Arizona at Miami, 1 p.m.
Nov. 3, Miami at Buffalo, 1 p.m.
Nov. 11, Miami at L.A. Rams, 8:15 p.m. (Monday night)
Nov. 17, Las Vegas at Miami, 1 p.m.
Nov. 24, New England at Miami, 1 p.m.
Nov. 28, Miami at Green Bay, 8:20 p.m. (Thursday night, Thanksgiving)
Dec. 8, N.Y. Jets at Miami, 1 p.m.
Dec. 15, Miami at Houston, 1 p.m.
Dec. 22, San Fransisco at Miami, 4:25 p.m.
Dec. 29, Miami at Cleveland, 8:20 p.m. (Sunday night)
Jan. 4 or 5, Miami at N.Y. Jets, TBD
GREEN BAY — The Green Bay Packers will host the Miami Dolphins at Lambeau Field on Thanksgiving night on TMJ4, according to reports.
The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman reported the news on X.
Source: Packers-Dolphins in the Thanksgiving night game at Lambeau Field. Kickoff is 7:20 p.m. CT.
— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) May 15, 2024
Last season, the Dolphins finished 11-6 and lost in the Wild Card Round against the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Packers finished 9-8, defeating the Dallas Cowboys in the Wild Card Round before narrowly losing to the San Francisco 49ers in the Divisional Round.
The full 2024-2025 NFL schedule will be revealed at 7 p.m. CT Wednesday on NFL Network and ESPN 2.
Talk to us:
At TMJ4 News, we make every effort to listen to you and follow up on the issues that matter to you personally. If you have a story idea, tip, or comment about this story, let us know using the form below. Visit tmj4.com/tips for more ways to reach out to us and make your voice heard.
It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.
Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.
Report a typo or error
Caitlin Clark's WNBA welcome is a reality check
Life as an MLB catcher: Violet bruises, ballooned ankles — and now, broken arms
'Babes' gives us a funny (and gross) portrait of parenthood : Pop Culture Happy Hour
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25450606/xt50crop.jpg)
Fujifilm’s new X-T50 has a film simulation dial — and a questionable price
Slovakia's prime minister expected to survive assassination attempt as shock reverberates across Europe
See it: Tesla crashes into Columbus convention center at 70 mph
Colorado Rockies game no. 116 thread: Zac Gallen vs José Ureña
Fox News Politics: Georgia the whole day through
Death of missing Oregon girl found in stream ruled homicide
At least 2 dead as tornadoes hit Alabama, damage homes across Southeast
Southern border migrant encounters decrease slightly but gotaways still surge under Biden
Slovakia PM Robert Fico in ‘very serious’ condition after being shot
Authorities seek public's help identifying baby abandoned in shopping cart at Lomita business
148 House Democrats vote against bill to deport migrants who assault police
Possible to cooperate with 'some' far-right personalities, says Michel
-
News1 week agoCompass Direct LLC’s 2024 Registration in North Carolina
-
World1 week agoTech compliance reports, Newsletter
-
News1 week agoMan, 75, confesses to killing wife in hospital because he couldn’t afford her care, court documents say
-
News1 week agoColumbia University cancels its main commencement ceremony after weeks of turmoil
-
World1 week agoPentagon chief confirms US pause on weapons shipment to Israel
-
World1 week agoConvicted MEP's expense claims must be published: EU court
-
Politics1 week agoRFK Jr said a worm ate part of his brain and died in his head
-
Politics1 week agoPresidential polls show deadlocked race as party conventions quickly approach