What’s Hayes Resigning Say About Phins Direction?

Most fans give a thumbs up to Miami resigning William Hayes. BUT…

Hayes is a DE with a specialty in run defense

Hayes is a fan favorite and made an obvious difference in the Dolphins 2017 defense.

William Hayes is back on a one-year contract. Let the applause ring out. But with Cameron Wake, Andre Branch, Charles Harris, Robert Quinn, and Cameron Malveaux all likely to make the roster… what gives with adding another DE? Despite the benefit of Hayes’ elite run-stopping skills, how many Defensive Ends is too much?

1. Branch, Harris, and Quinn are locked in due to financial and draft-pick commitment.
2. Wake is a Dolphins lifer and a leader. Dolphins brass wouldn’t cut him after all the money in Free Agency is gone. It wouldn’t be right, and the staff would take a big hit on its rep among the players. Plus they just guaranteed $3 million of his 2018 contract. So Wake will be on the 2018 roster, barring a trade.
3. Malveaux could be cut, but he’s cheap and young and played well in a similar role as Hayes. And if you haven’t looked closely at his tape, he was quite successful at his job. You can check out a film study of Malveaux in this Phinsnews article.

So Miami will either have 5 DE’s, if not six, on the roster going into 2018. With 4 of those DE’s being starter material due talent, money, or draft pick commitment, that’s overkill–isn’t it? Given the holes elsewhere, why have half of them on the bench collecting splinters for most of the game? This mega collection of DE’s would be a waste… unless they intend to use them all.

Sometimes we all can get caught up a bit too much in the boxes of strict positional or scheme terminology. Will Miami run a 3-4 or 4-3? Who will be the ‘WILL’ linebacker? Who will be the ‘SAM’? Ect.

Hayes will continue in his role as a specialist

Titles attached to positions or schemes are irrelevant gameday. On the field, it’s all about assignments and a player’s techniques and abilities to carry out his job successfully. And despite football’s love of terms and lingo on everything from routes to schemes, the only aspects that must be 100% definitive is the communication of assignments to a player on a particular play.

Matt Burke hinted at this lack of distinction on players positions last season by saying ‘he just sees Linebackers as Linebackers’.

The term of ‘hybrid player’ in football’s vernacular has been growing in use for some time. ‘He’s a football player’, or ‘can play multiple positions’ has become a positive term and no longer a pejorative. Smart systems and coaches can take advantage of a players versatility… of course, bad systems and bad coaches can overreach and misuse as well.

Okay, all with that fancy-pants talk behind us: The Hayes signing says Miami will be using their DE’s in more roles than what is commonplace for a ‘standard DE’. Harris, Quinn, and Brach will likely be highly involved in a stand-up “LB” role, alleviating the need for a dedicated ‘LB’ to play the ‘SAM’. This DE / LB role (5-7 tech) was something Miami used with great frequency last season. I expect to see an expansion of it in 2018. Also, Miami loves their Nickle packages, especially with Jones and McDonald to support the run. These factors will make a dedicated ‘SLB’ not as crucial as in most schemes, and I don’t expect a ‘SAM’ to be selected at #11.

Creativity is useful in play design as well as the use of personnel

Two things to notice from last year: Miami loves using a 4-3 “NT” (0, 1, and 2i tech)  and a stand-up DE who can drop on occasion. 

Here’s a look at the 1st QTR (18 defensive plays) of Week 17 against the Bills:

These were the plays where DE’s were in ‘Stand Up’–near half of the downs.

Here is Miami using an SLB to Blitz or DE to drop.

Phins employing an alignment using a 4-3 “NT” (0,1, and 2i tech)… every ‘D’ snap but 3 in 1st QTR

To use standard jargon, some of Miami’s ‘DE’s’ will play the role of hybrid ‘SLB’s’. The Wide-Nine gives a similar look and setup for the DE’s is comparable to OLB’s setup in a 3-4–minus the 3 & 4 point stance. So there’s that. And given that Quinn played a year as an OLB and Harris is a former basketball player who has had some experience in coverage in college, they both can take some of Timmons’ outside responsibilities for 2018. Also, Chase Allen showed some pop and could end up part of the equation.

Here’s a quick look at Charles Harris’ growth in setting the edge and handling blockers… big improvement from Preseason. I see him being a major factor in 2018.

A Defensive Tackle that forces a double team is essential

Given these tendencies and the trade of Suh, Miami’s biggest hole on the defense right now is a premier Defensive Tackle. You might scream, “What about a cover linebacker?!”

I wouldn’t say that talk is crazy in the least… But I would say have you considered Stephone Anthony? You can find a thorough film study on him here. Thanks to some prodding from Marco Morrison (thanks, brother, BTW), I dug even deeper into his numbers post article. Over the course of two Pats games, two Bills games, and the Chiefs game, Anthony was involved in 55 plays of pass defense. In those 55, 15 plays directly attacked him in man (4-5 plays) or his zone. In those 15 ‘attacks’ the QB’s were 5-15 for 15 yards with a throwaway and a coverage sack, due to Anthony’s coverage.

Given the 5th Rd Pick used to acquire Anthony, his production, pedigree, and the fact that Gase’s father-in-law, Joe Vitt, a current Miami consultant, was involved in the push to acquire him, the dire need for a cover LB is lessened–even if it’s just in the minds of the staff. Phinsnews does see Miami adding an LB, but not with #11.

If these assumptions end up correct, Miami may very well end up using their top two picks on Defensive Tackle and Tight End in that order (unless there’s a trade back or Mayfield falls) with LB, OL, and QB getting attention in the mid-rounds.

Miami will make full use of their army of Defensive Ends

For over a month, I have been pushing Vita Vea to be the pick at #11–even put it on my wishlist here. In no way did I actually think they’d head in that direction. So if they do draft Vea, it’s pure luck on my part. But with Suh gone, it does seem a much stronger possibility with the bookie betting software sites at this point… that is, if Oakland passes on him.

Jordan Phillips and Davon Godchaux are quality players and I like them both, but I just don’t see Gase riding the season on them with solid but unspectacular Vincent Taylor and Gabe Wright in reserve.

Phillips is in the last year of his contract, so he could become overpriced next year. And even though he has shown growth and at times can be dominant, he still has a bit of uncertainty heading into 2018. Even if his consistency knock proves to be a non-issue, will his endurance also improve? Those are two big ifs. Godchaux is an excellent find for sure, I love him going forward, but neither Phillips or Godchaux has the consistent double-team drawing power of a Suh… or Vea.

So what to do at Defensive Tackle?

Despite the successful focus on the edge of the defense, the interior of the D-Line is where success is generated. Suh’s ability to draw a double team was crucial, but his price and attitude was the reason he became expendable. In a follow-up article, Phinsnews will delve deeper into why Vea is the missing piece and a rare talent. But even if Vea isn’t the selection at #11, Gase and Co. must add quality talent to the defensive interior at some point. If they don’t bring in a Free Agent DT, then they certainly will come draft day. So far, Miami has exceeded expectation and offered some pleasant surprises to the Phinsnews staff… But they are one elite tackle away… whether he’s on the team now, or still to be acquired remains to be seen. Go Fins!!!