Where to Assign Blame For the Dolphins' Grounded Passing Attack

The Miami Dolphins passing game has been abysmal. Through five weeks, they’re tied for last in terms of EPA per pass, and Malik Willis has the lowest completion rate in the NFL among qualified quarterbacks.

There’s more than enough blame to go around for this fluttering offense, with multiple groups and individuals needing to improve.

WHO'S COME UP SHORT IN THE DOLPHINS PASSING GAME

Bobby Slowik

Miami’s offensive coordinator, Bobby Slowik, is running very similar concepts to those from the previous regime, which makes sense considering Slowik was the senior passing game coordinator under Mike McDaniel.

That isn’t a pass, however, for a scheme that, to this point, hasn’t matched the skill sets of its players or the philosophy on defense.

Jeff Hafley’s defensive system has been ultra-conservative, playing with deep safeties and linebackers to limit explosives and slow down the pace of the game. Rather than matching this with a ball-control style of offense, however, Slowik has thrown haymakers more than about every other offense in football. Through week five, Miami’s offense ranks fourth in pass attempts of 20+ yards, but is fourth-worst in terms of EPA per dropback on those looks, per NextGenStats.

Miami’s pass plays look far too similar to what they ran for Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, especially considering this receiving corps is among the youngest in football and is bereft of top-end talent. Their two-man concepts are non-threatening when being run by rookies Chris Bell and Kevin Coleman Jr., especially when paired with a first down rushing attack that ranks second-to-last in success rate, meaning defenses don’t bite down as hard on play action.

Miami hasn’t put together an honest effort to get Malik Willis easy completions on early downs, instead playing touchdown-to-checkdown for a quarterback who hasn’t been willing to take the latter. Instead, Slowik has pressed early, Miami has fallen behind the sticks, and he has placed Willis in disadvantageous situations for large portions of each game.

Skill Position Players

A lack of top-end talent is one thing, but as former Dolphins head coach Brian Flores once harkened on, many of this group’s mistakes take no talent to fix.

Inexperience has shown up early and often for the receiver group. On crucial downs, receivers line up in the wrong spot, with the primary culprit being third-round rookie Chris Bell, who notably missed a vast majority of the offseason while recovering from an ACL tear. Malik Willis is forced to redirect traffic late in the play clock, rather than having the time to survey the defense pre-snap.

There have also been gaffes in route-running that have made life difficult on the young quarterback. On Willis’ first pass against Cincinnati, a deep shot to Malik Washington, both Washington and coach Jeff Hafley said the receiver turned the wrong direction, pushing the route to the sideline, rather than vertically up the numbers. 

Later in that same game, three of Miami’s eligibles, lined up in a bunch, comically bumped into each other, throwing off the timing of a route concept.

Their scramble drill procedures have been off as well. The spacing has become congested late in plays, and it’s clear players aren’t sure where to go. On Willis’ second interception of Week 5, Malik Washington stayed in one spot, bringing his defender into the window where Willis attempted to throw the ball to Kevin Coleman Jr.

Miami’s top four receivers (including the injured Caleb Douglas) are all in their third year or younger, and they need to grow up fast if they want to make the plays needed to start winning games.

Malik Willis

Miami’s new quarterback bears plenty of blame for Miami’s failed aerial assault. It’s unfair to ask him to put out all of the fires started by his supporting cast, but he will be judged on whether or not he gets burned.

On the aforementioned interception intended for Kevin Coleman Jr., for instance, Willis can’t control whether Washington operates the scramble drill correctly. However, he had more than enough time to see that Coleman was running into defenders and live to play another down.

Despite the sixth-best time-to-pressure in the NFL, Willis ranks 23rd in pressure-to-sack rate, per PFF. As the film has shown, these sacks often happen in back-breaking situations, such as second down inside the 5-yard line in Week 5, where he had plenty of time to throw the ball away, but made an abysmal decision to hold on to it.

Quicker decision-making will be the biggest key for Willis. His process has yet to speed up the requisite level to avoid major mistakes. He needs to be able to consistently get through his progressions, while also deciphering when to abandon the pocket or give up on a play. Thus far, he looks like a quarterback who has only started eleven career games, when this version of the Dolphins needs a higher level of maturation in order to put together complete performances.