Behind Enemy Lines: Week 15 Q&A with Dolphins Wire

With a Week 15 matchup between the New York Giants and Miami Dolphins on tap, we go behind enemy lines for a chat with Dolphins Wire.

The New York Giants (2-11) and Miami Dolphins (3-10) will square off on Sunday afternoon in Week 15.

The Giants opened the week as 3.5-point home favorites, and the spread hasn’t changed at all as of Sunday morning, with Big Blue still at -3.5

With this matchup on tap, Giants Wire took the opportunity to hold a Q&A with Dolphins Wire managing editor Kyle Crabbs.

Giants Wire: What happened with Josh Rosen and that entire situation that led to Ryan Fitzpatrick earning his starting job back? Miami seemed relatively sold on Rosen, who many believe has gotten a raw deal early on in his career.

Kyle Crabbs: By the time Rosen got into camp and the coaching staff really had the chance to get their hands on him, it became apparent pretty quickly that Rosen’s prior coaching hadn’t adequately prepared him for life as an NFL quarterback.

Rosen had zero experience in identifying the MIKE and making protection calls at the line of scrimmage — which resulted in irregular results in live game action and slowed Rosen’s ability to read and react.

By halftime of the Washington game in Week 6, it was clear Rosen’s inconsistencies here were preventing the Dolphins from getting an assessment on the rest of their roster, which is the primary objective for 2019. As a result, the switch to Fitzpatrick was made.

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Which Miami Dolphin is next in line for a contract extension?

If the Dolphins want to continue to extend their long-term talent, here’s where they can start.

Xavien Howard. Jesse Davis. Allen Hurns. Jakeem Grant. Eric Rowe. DeVante Parker. While everyone was too busy freaking out about the Dolphins trading players away this season, the Dolphins themselves have been busy identifying which pieces on their rebuild roster are viable long-term assets to the team — and have been acting accordingly to lock them into place on longer contracts. Each of the previously mentioned players has received a contract extension from the Dolphins in the past six months.

And the Dolphins probably aren’t done inking contract extensions, either. But who would be the next logical addition to the updated payroll? The Dolphins have several options. The team could opt to extend one of their many new additions, such as Vince Biegel. Heck, they would be wise to. But that isn’t an overly pressing issue for Miami, given Biegel’s status as a restricted free agent and his lack of ceiling.

Rather, two members of the 2017 NFL Draft class for Miami loom large and critical contributors to the Dolphins and both should be considered “next” in line for a new contract.

The first is Dolphins linebacker Raekwon McMillan. The former Ohio State linebacker had a bit of a shaky start to life under Brian Flores and company this summer and at one point appeared to have his starting role in jeopardy. That’s sorted itself out quite nicely as McMillan has commandeered the Dolphins’ run defense and is playing arguably his best pro ball to date. McMillan, a 2nd-round draft selection in 2020, is entering a contract year next season. He currently acts as one of the more consistent run defending linebackers in the league and although his raw statistics are down from last year’s 105 tackle pace, McMillan is a stud in the middle.

The other is another Dolphins defender — defensive tackle Davon Godchaux. Godchaux, who is serving as Miami’s nominee for the Walter Payton Man of the Year award in 2019, is enjoying a career year. Through 13 games, Godchaux has totaled 60 tackles, 1.5 sacks and 6 quarterback hits — all career highs. Only Pittsburgh’s Cameron Heyward (a two-time Pro Bowler), has more combined tackles among defensive tackles through 13 games this season.

If the Dolphins want to lock in more critical players of the future, the middle of their defense is the next place to look.

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Dolphins’ defensive interior can serve as stout foundation for future

Miami’s defensive interior will serve as a strong foundation for the future of the Dolphins’ defense.

The Miami Dolphins’ roster has plenty of needs, no one can debate this to be anything other than the absolute truth. But when combing through the roster to identify pillars of long-term stability, one area of this team stands head and shoulders above the rest. The defensive interior group featuring defensive tackles Davon Godchaux and Christian Wilkins, plus linebackers Raekwon McMillan and Jerome Baker is as impressive as a group as Dolphins fans could have possibly hoped to see materialize. They’ll serve as the foundation around which the rest of Brian Flores’ defense is built.

The objective is clear: play stout up the middle and force teams to exert energy to run sideways before gaining positive yardage. From there, strong team defense and tackling habits can help ensure defensive efficiency.

Has the plan always worked this season? No. The Dallas Cowboys and Baltimore Ravens combined to hang 500 rushing yards on the Dolphins in those two games combined. But the rest of the schedule? Factoring out Miami’s porous efforts against Dallas and Baltimore (both within the first three weeks of the season), Miami is averaging 125.5 rushing yards allowed per game. Since Miami’s Week 5 bye, the defense is averaging total 360 yards per game allowed.

Elite? Certainly not. Respectable numbers? Most certainly. The Tennessee Titans are 17th in the NFL with 359.5 yards per game conceded.

And it’s no coincidence that the defensive respectability has come with the improvement of Christian Wilkins and the reassertion of power in the middle by LB Raekwon McMillan. Depth is needed behind them, that’s most certainly true. But if the Dolphins can build around this core for 2020 with edge rushers and secondary players, Miami’s defense is going to look a whole lot better next season with Brian Flores and company finally getting some firepower off the edge.

This are difficult times to be a Dolphins fan. But the young defensive core in the front seven should be a highlight of every week remaining in 2019.

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