The Miami Dolphins’ ground game has been abysmal this season. While the savvy play of quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick has allowed the Dolphins to move the ball through the air in spurts of games, the Dolphins simply lack the firepower up front or in the backfield to consistently create chunk yardage and generate movement at the point of attack. It’s understandable, given the talent the offense is currently working with up front, but it’s also incredibly frustrating to watch holes quickly collapse.
And when the holes are actually there for the taken, primary back Kalen Ballage’s vision in the backfield has been a disappointment. Ballage is best when he’s provided a runway to work through the line of scrimmage, not when he’s forced to feel for space and then make anticipatory cuts to daylight. It’s not his strength and it’s apparent every time you watch him run into the backs of his blockers in the backfield.
And yet Miami doesn’t really have any other options other than a pair of rookies in Patrick Laird and Myles Gaskin, so head coach Brian Flores has tabbed Ballage as the continued starter.
“I mean right now I would say Kalen (Ballage) is the starter. That’s kind of my thought process. Again, that’s without taking a deep dive into Philly and what they do,” said Flores during yesterday’s press conference.
“…I would say Kalen would be the starter. At the same time, we’ll see how this goes. All of those guys played yesterday. I think we could see all of them, we could see the majority of one of them. We’ll just see how it goes.”
It’s surprising that Laird or Gaskin isn’t getting a more extended look, although the snap counts from the Cleveland game would indicate that a committee approach may be in the cards before the season is through. But for at least one more week, Ballage will serve as the designated starter in the backfield for the Dolphins — and hopefully find different results than the rest of the year has provided him.
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