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Dolphins remain one of league's most explosive offenses -- and showing new dimensions

Daniel Oyefusi, Miami Herald on

Published in Football

Through the first two games of the 2023 NFL season, the Dolphins’ offense has showcased the elements that made it one of the league’s most explosive units in 2022: unmatched speed on the outside, a quarterback as pinpoint as any passer in the league and an offensive-minded head coach with the wits to scheme up favorable looks.

Miami leads the NFL in yards per play (7.3), and Tua Tagovailoa leads the NFL with 715 passing yards.

The Dolphins have come out of the early part of the season with wrinkles to some of their staple concepts and have improved in multiple areas, particularly rushing and blocking, which were points of emphasis during the offseason.

In the Dolphins’ Week 2 win against the New England Patriots, the Dolphins ran for 145 yards, the fourth most the team has totaled since Mike McDaniel became head coach.

The Denver Broncos, whom the Dolphins will host for their home opener Sunday, offer a new look for Miami’s offense. Coached by former Dolphins assistant Vance Joseph, the Broncos rank 10th in blitz rate, according to TruMedia, sending extra rushers on 29 percent of opposing dropbacks.

Tagovailoa has been effective against the blitz through two games, completing 21 of 31 passes for 260 yards and two touchdowns, according to Pro Football Focus. And his quick release could also come in handy if Denver decides to blitz often. Tagovailoa has the quickest average time to throw (2.35 seconds) but leads in the NFL in yards per attempt (9.5) and average completed air yards (8.5).

 

“That’s just understanding presnap where we need to go with the ball,” Tagovailoa said after practice Wednesday, “and then also post-snap adjusting and making that adjustment quick.”

He added: “You’ve got to understand where those blitzers are coming from. You got to understand where you want to protect them. We’re going to have to find out, if there are blitzing from here, where the openings are going to be and we’ve got to figure out how we want to attack it in that sense.”

Waddle status uncertain

The Dolphins offense could be preparing without one of its biggest playmakers, though.

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