Tag: Eric Studesville

Dolphins co-offensive coordinator says the offensive line isn’t solely responsible for the poor running game

In Eric Studesville’s eyes, everyone is to blame.

The Miami Dolphins offensive line has been one of the biggest issues for their team this year.

The group has severely hindered their passing attack, as Tua Tagovailoa can’t allow plays to develop downfield, meaning most decisions need to be made quickly. That’s why Tagovailoa has to get the ball out in 2.54 seconds (third-fastest in the league), and why he averages just 7.2 intended air yards per attempt (fifth-fewest in the league).

Production in the run game has been tough to come by all year as well, and a lot of people have placed the blame for that on the big men in the trenches. However, co-offensive coordinator and running backs coach Eric Studesville believes that the line isn’t the only problem.

“It’s not one unit that’s responsible for it,” Studesville said in his media availability. “There’s different runs, runs hitting different places, there’s different schemes, so if we’re running a toss play outside, that may be a different emphasis on who’s the point of attack blocking than if you’re running a dive play inside. To put the responsibility on five guys and say that they’re the only ones who affect what happens in the run game, that’s not what we do.”

Studesville is right here. While the line has been one of the reasons why they’ve struggled, it’s not the sole reason. For the majority of the season, Miami’s running backs have had some trouble finding the right holes and attacking them as soon as they open up.

Tight ends and wide receivers haven’t always had the perfect blocks either, resulting in some outside runs resulting in losses of yards.

So, while the offensive line has been one of the Dolphins’ biggest problems this season, they aren’t the only problem plaguing the run game.

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2021 NFL coaching changes: Miami Dolphins

Dolphins turn to dual offensive coordinators.

The Dolphins enter their third season with head coach Brian Flores but the offensive coordinator position has been constantly churned with a different one for each of the last five seasons. That’s not exactly a model of consistency.

Flores’ first year tabbed Chad O’Shea to run the offense since both were fresh from stints with the Patriots. The Fins went 5-11 that first year and the offense gave up 56 sacks while featuring the NFL’s worst rushing attack. O’Shea was released after just one season.

For the second year with Flores, he went back into the past to lure Chan Gailey out of retirement. He had last ran the  Jets offense (2015-2016) and his lengthy resume included two head coaching stints and numerous other offensive coordinator jobs in the league. He helped turn around the franchise that ended with a 10-6 season. Gailey had a history with Ryan Fitzpatrick and helped the mid-season transition to 1.05 pick Tua Tagovailoa. Gailey resigned at the end of the season.

All of Flores’ previous coaching jobs had been on the defensive side of the ball, so he relies more on the offensive coordinator than many other NFL teams where the head coach may call plays and has a more direct hand in the offensive scheme and personnel. Flores went with an unusual approach for 2021. Not only do the Fins have a different offensive coordinator for the fifth-straight season, they actually have two.

Flores promoted up Eric Studesville and George Godsey to become co-coordinators. It’s highly unusual to give both the same title.

Coaching tendencies

Offensive Coordinator (Run Game) Eric Studesville  – Starting in  1997, Studesville started coaching the running backs in the NFL for the Bears (1997-2000), Giants (2001-2003). Bills (2004-2009), Broncos (2010-2017), and finally the Dolphins (2018-).  Studesville was also the assistant head coach for the Broncos (2017). That’s 23 years of coaching running backs, and he’s also been the run game coordinator for the Fins for the last three seasons.

The Dolphins’ backfield has been one of the least productive for the last three years though that’s hard to pin on Studesville. There hasn’t been a top back in Miami in many years, and the last two with Flores had the lead backs of Myles Gaskin and Patrick Laird. There’s been little to work with and the offense has tended towards passing more often in the last few years if only due to trailing in games.

While the play-calling duties are still not certain, both coordinators will be involved and the offensive scheme is not expected to change much from what Gailey has left behind.  While the Dolphins ranked only No. 28 in rushing yards by running backs (1,380) last year, they completed 104 passes for 849 yards to the position, ranking Top-5 for each.

The Fins have been in a full rebuild for the last two years, and the improvement in the backfield should be seen this year with a better offensive line and a likely upgrade in personnel.

Offensive Coordinator (Pass Game) George Godsey – The Dolphins promoted Godsey into the co-coordinator role after two years as their tight ends coach. He spent time with the Patriots, Texans, and Lions over the previous nine seasons and was the offensive coordinator in Houston (2015-2016).

Like Studesville with his backfield the last two years, when Godsey ran the offense in Houston, he had little to work with as well. The starting quarterbacks were Brian Hoyer (2015) and Brock Osweiler (2016). The Texans drafted Deshaun Watson the year after Godsey left.

Godsey had experience with Ryan Fitzpatrick and then helped to transition Tagovailoa into the offense. The Fins are all-in with their second-year quarterback and Fitzpatrick may not resign. While Fitzpatrick was more of a pocket passer, Tagovailoa brings more mobility to the position with three to six rushes per game last season.

As with Studesville, any deviation from the offensive scheme of last year is difficult to forecast.  They should see higher rushing numbers but that depends more on adding new personnel.

The offensive scheme should be an evolving one with input from two different coordinators. Since both were there last year under Gailey, there shouldn’t be much difference at least in the earlier part of the season.

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Personnel changes

This is the season that the Fins under Flores should take shape. They are armed with four picks in the first two rounds – 1.03, 1.18, 2.04, and 2.18. With a solid defense, there’s a good chance that at least three of those first four could go to the offense – wideout, running back and offensive line. All three could be Week 1 starters.

Myles Gaskin and Salvon Ahmed will return as the top two backs from last year’s roster. Gaskin turned in several solid games in the second half of 2020 but only totaled 142 runs for 584 yards on the season. The Dolphins need an upgrade for their backfield that hasn’t seen a top rusher in many years. Studesville helped squeeze that they could from the mishmash of players these last two seasons, but the team needs a true No. 1 back and has the draft capital to make that happen.

Tagovailoa returns for his first full season. There was speculation that the Fins could end up trading for Deshaun Watson, but that appears to be just offseason chatter.

Devante Parker enjoyed a breakout season in 2019 (72-1202-9) when he feasted on the prevent defense in a throwaway season. He dropped back to only 63 receptions for 793 yards and four scores last year while helping to break in the rookie quarterback. He still managed two 100-yard efforts with Tagovailoa.

Preston Williams Is a 6-4, third-year player that has flashes of talent and twice was lost for the year in Week 9 each season. He tore his ACL and then injured his foot. The Dolphins are expected to use one of their first four picks on a wideout and may even consider burning their 1.04 on a top wideout in the draft to give Tagovailoa three solid wideouts, at least until Williams leaves again in Week 9 this year.

Mike Gesicki returns for his fourth-year after a breakout 2020 campaign that saw him with 53 catches for 703 yards and six scores, four of which came from Tagovailoa in the second half of the season.

Fantasy football takeaway

How the dual coordinators work out remains to be seen and it will likely evolve as the season progresses. Keeping continuity by promoting two position coaches  will help Tagovailoa’s development continue, as will spending an early pick (or getting a top free agent) on wideout.

There is no consensus early on as to whether the Fins buy an early wideout or running back in the draft, but both should be addressed. The Dolphins already showed improvement last year though mostly on defense. While the passing effort naturally declined with the rookie, there’s every reason to expect at least incremental improvement from Tagovailoa with a chance for fantasy relevance if they upgrade the offensive line and skill players around him.

Parker and Gesicki are the only offensive players that are locked into being fantasy starters.  But any early pick on a running back could turn into a fantasy star in this improving offense. The dual coordinators will be worth watching during the season since it is a new flavor to offensive schemes.

Report: Dolphins promoting two to serve as co-offensive coordinators

Report: Dolphins promoting two to serve as co-offensive coordinators

The Miami Dolphins’ offensive coordinator search is reportedly over. Nearly four weeks after the Miami Dolphins saw 2020 offensive coordinator Chan Gailey resign from his post in the aftermath of the 2020 season, the Dolphins’ extensive interview process saw plenty of names attached to the position — but no decisions made. Until now, apparently. The Miami Dolphins, according to a report from ESPN’s Cameron Wolfe and Adam Schefter, are promoting offensive assistants George Godsey (tight ends/quarterbacks) and Eric Studesville (running backs) to co-offensive coordinators of the Dolphins’ unit in 2021.

The news comes after weeks of waiting out a decision the speculation that the Dolphins may have been sitting on someone else still coaching in the playoffs to take the position. Bills QB coach Ken Dorsey was a popular name, as was Bucs assistant head coach and run game coordinator Harold Goodwin. But now, just a few days before the big game to close out the season, Miami has presumably made their decision.

The Dolphins used both coaches in a coordinator role throughout the course of last week at the 2021 Senior Bowl — and apparently Dolphins head coach Brian Flores liked what he saw from their collective effort.

The upside for Miami here? This approach should yield to more stability with the coordinator position — this will be Flores’ third different offensive coordinator situation in as many seasons. And, better yet, the Dolphins’ terminology for their offense presumably won’t change — they’re keeping the hire in-house which means many of Miami’s young players won’t have to start from scratch and absorb a new playbook.

But this is an unconventional approach. The good news for Brian Flores is that much of his unconventional style, including the “bullpen quarterback” in 2020, came up roses for him. If this decision does the same, the Dolphins’ offense will be in great hands for 2021 and beyond.

Dolphins OC candidates split play call duties during Senior Bowl game

Dolphins OC candidates split play call duties during Senior Bowl game

The Senior Bowl is a well-known evaluation tool for college prospects looking to make a lasting impression on head coaches and general managers across the NFL. But the 2021 Senior Bowl was unique for the evaluation window it offered the Miami Dolphins beyond the players on the field. It seems as though the Dolphins were committed this week to conducting an on-field evaluation of two of their internal candidates for their vacancy at offensive coordinator. Running backs coach Eric Studesville and tight ends (and quasi-2020 quarterbacks coach) George Godsey took turns throughout the course of the week with being hands on with the players — and head coach Brian Flores confirmed that effort extended into Saturday’s Senior Bowl game.

“We split – so Eric (Studesville) called half the game and George (Godsey) called half the game. I thought both guys did a nice job and I’m confident in all the guys on our staff,” said Flores.

“I thought they did a great job. As I said the other day, we’re still working through those – the coordinator situation.”

Flores and his staff definitely enjoyed a week of valuable evaluation of the prospects — but the evaluation of the offensive coordinator candidates was just as critical. The Dolphins can ill-afford to continue to see their play caller role cycle through coaches on an annual basis and create a lack of continuity with how the team installs offenses. Changing vocabulary will be harmful to player development and chemistry, too. There’s plenty at stake — which is why if this week’s evaluation helps provide the Dolphins clarity to hire a coach who can serve in the role for several seasons and take the best aspects of the 2020 offense but expand upon the weaknesses, we should all be happy.

Even if that means an internal hire that isn’t considered as sexy as some of the other candidates at the beginning of the process.

Dolphins RB coach Eric Studesville breaks down 2020 running backs

Dolphins RB coach Eric Studesville breaks down 2020 running backs

The Miami Dolphins’ running back reclamation project produced significant change this offseason. In the immediate aftermath of the 2019 season, in which the Dolphins produced their worst rushing attack in franchise history, Miami completely reshaped their backs with the signing of Jordan Howard and the trade of Day 3 of the 2020 NFL Draft to acquire Matt Breida from San Francisco. The fresh faces in the room figures to offer an exciting new challenge for running backs coach Eric Studesville — who was one of several Dolphins assistant coaches to meet with the South Florida media yesterday.

One of the first questions posed to Studesville was what dynamics each of the fresh faces in the room brings to the table.

“We’re excited about the addition of Jordan Howard, his experience, being in two different places and what he brings here. He’s a smart guy. He’s been able to pick things up so far, and what we’re talking about – teaching concepts. You love his size. He’s got good feet for a big back. He’s got good vision. I think he’ll have a chance to be a physical presence for us, as well as effective in the pass game with what we’re asking for,” said Studesville.

“Matt Breida obviously with his experience, his speed. You see his burst and quickness early on as soon as he touches the field, so we’re excited about him.”

These are different players with their strengths and weaknesses. Breida is the twice reigning fasted player in the NFL based on live-game action, he’s a blazer who has frequented in an outsize zone heavy rushing offense in San Francisco to start his pro career. Howard, on the other hand, met more success in a between the tackles role with the Chicago Bears early in his career before a brief (and productive) stop in Philadelphia in 2019.

But just because they’ve played in different styles before doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be ready to see either of them step into Miami’s offense and be ready to shoulder the load on any given week — because that’s what Studesville expects.

“I coach these guys to be complete backs. They all have to be able to have the entire skillset, whether that’s running, blocking, catching the ball, evading people, running routes, whatever those things are,” he said.

“They are all coached that way. Now they all do it differently and at a different level. However, the expectation is that you can do that because you never know when you’re going to need one of these guys to step in.”