Much has been made this week about the sheer speed the Dolphins possess on offense. With the likes Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, Raheem Mostert, and De’Von Achane, they have elite speed. Or as Raiders DC Patrick Graham put it ‘they can run-run‘.
Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce played in the league for nine years from 2001-09. And when he was asked Friday what offense the Dolphins offense reminds him of, he made a strong comparison.
“The Rams. On the turf,” Pierce said referencing the St Louis Rams’ Greatest Show on Turf offense. “Like that was real. When they were rolling with Kurt Warner and [Tory] Holt and [Isaac] Bruce and Marshall Faulk. Even later on down the road, didn’t even matter if it was on grass, they were fast. Like it was on you right now. The speed is legit. You can’t mimic it. We’re doing the best we can in practice.
“But the good part about it like I said, we went against these guys last year and really felt the speed of Hill and Waddle and those guys over there. So we understand that, and we respect it. But at the at the end of the day, with speed you have put hands on them, right? Physicality needs to show up.”
It’s one thing to have to deal with great speed at receiver where the defense lines up their fastest players. It’s another thing to then also have to account for the running backs coming out of the backfield as well as making plays in the passing game.
De’Von Achane leads the team in rushing (457) and yards from scrimmage (774). He’s a legit game breaker whose career has been mired by injuries, including when the Raiders faced the Dolphins last season.
“Just dynamic. Everything’s explosive. Everything’s a big gain,” Pierce said of Achane. “Everything’s an explosive gain in the run game, the pass game, route-running. I think, obviously you look at the size, you think a smaller guy, but he runs like a big boy. He runs behind his pads, does a good job. He gets on you fast, and the arm tackles is not going to work with a player like this. You have to chest him up. You have to just put the body blows on him to slow him down throughout the game.”
That’s your Holt, Bruce, and Faulk comps right there. Tua Tagovailoa is a far cry from Kurt Warner, but with those weapons he may not have to be.