2025 Miami Dolphins Offseason | Learning from 2024 with Bobby Peters | Scouting The Fins

2025 Miami Dolphins Offseason | Learning from 2024 with Bobby Peters | Scouting The Fins

[Music] [Music] What’s up everybody and welcome back to another episode of Scouting the fins. I’m your co-host Husan Patel. We’re part of the Three Arts per carry podcast network, which is also part of the Five Reasons Sports Network. I’m joined by my co-host, Coach Smith. Coach, how we doing today? So, I’m doing well as we were talking about off air before this, you know, getting ready for our high school camp leaving tomorrow morning, but wanted to get this one in before we left. Uh, you know, today we are bringing back a guest that we had last offseason. I think he’s our first return guest, one of the top minds in offensive breakdowns. And if you’ve been following the Dolphins under Mike McDaniel, you’ll probably come ac come across some of his offensive manuals. And he’s written those for all three seasons under McDaniel. And he’s also got a bunch of other teams. I’ve got all three of the Dolphins ones on my shelf. Um they’re definitely must readads for anyone that wants to understand the offense be on the highlight reel. uh his work bridges that you know the film study the trends and the schemes. Uh we’re looking forward to once again tapping into his insights on what Miamiy’s looking at for the 2025 season. So want to welcome back to Scouting the Fins, Bobby Peters. Thanks for having me, guys. Excited to chat about uh the Dolphins offense. Yeah, man. I mean uh you’ve written what the last three seasons of the Dolphins under McDaniel. you know, both of us reading the 2022, 2023, and 2024 game planning, but last year when you were on the show, we were really excited to see the evolution of Mike McDaniel’s offense from 2023 to 2024, but there was a bit of a step back. Um, obviously some due to his injuries and some other stuff as well. So, what are your thoughts on the Dolphins 2024 offensive uh performance? Yeah. So, um, you know, from where I from where I sit, they were still incredibly interesting. Like scheme wise, they did a lot of really good stuff still. Um, you know, I think we I you know, a lot is made of, you know, the Dolphins have a very hypersp specific offense. There’s certain things that they want to do and they’re going to do every week regardless of what the defense is doing and they find ways to get that done. And, you know, uh, Eric, I know you’re a high school coach, too. And you know, I myself as a high school coach, like you, you know, when you’re when you’re, you know, going through a season, there’s things that you do well and you got to find ways to kind of dress them up and find ways to get to them. And and um I think Mike McDaniel does a great job at that. Um and obviously there’s still there’s still some holes in the Dolphins offense, you know, whether it be personnel wise or or schwise, there’s still some things that I think they could tap into that I think could help them out, uh you know, kind of round out and make a more full attack. Yeah. And you know, as you know, the Dolphins traded John U Smith to the Steelers and you know, Miami has to find a way to replace that production. I think part of it’s going to be a heavier workload for Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Wadd just naturally going back to that. Not sure how much Nick Westbrook Aeen, the the new, you know, big wide receiver three they brought in, as well as Darren Waller, who I’m not sure how much you’ve watched, but based on what you saw from Miami’s offense, do you think they’re going to struggle to replace the type of targets that Johnny was getting in this system, you know, with that combination of guys? No, I think um, you know, I have I have watched a decent amount of Darren Waller. I wrote a book on the 2020 Raiders. Um, and obviously that was, you know, five years ago now. But um I think his skill set fits into what how Miami wanted to use even at an aging, you know, even as you know, five years older than he was back then. I think even as he ages, I think his skill set fits what Johnny Smith was trying was was doing for them last year. I think a lot of those underneath kind of those check shallows where he’s got freedom to sit over the ball or kind of continue on the run against man. Um and then even some underneath choice routes. I mean Darren Waller was one of the best him and Hunter Renfro are two of the best choice route runners that I’ve studied and all all the different manuals I’ve done. And um I noticed you know towards the back half of the season last year McDaniel started to uh dip his toes back into the choice uh concept package something that he really hadn’t used a ton of with you know when Wadd and Hill were kind of you know the the feature guys they were getting into different different other aspects of their offense. So I think um you know I don’t know if you know it’s an apples to apples comparison but I think that Waller can do some of the stuff they were trying to do with with Smith. you you’re saying that you know the when Jaylen Waldo and Tyreek Hill couldn’t get the ball it seemed as if the Dolphins kind of lacked an answer in routes but you’re saying that they had choice routes built in. So let’s talk about those choice routes with John Smith. You know some folks uh have kind of hinted that and we kind of see it through the midway point of the 2024 season. he was the only one keeping the Dolphins offense alive. He was more so the breaking class uh break the glass in case of emergency. Um is there like a schematic fix to integrate you know tight ends better in this offense now that John Smith is gone. You have Darren Waller uh Julian Hill who is primarily you know a point of attack blocker. or is this more so of a philosophical decision that McDaniel intentionally deprioritizes tight end usage? I think some of it’s philosophical. I think you know, especially going back to the 22 season, what when I think of the Miami Dolphins offense, I think of what I call like I call it like the 18 yard stem family. So like what these routes are um their their routes that break anywhere from like 15 to 18. So those are those deep dig cuts over the middle. Um there deep bench routes like those deep comebacks on the outside and then any sort of like double moves or like high crossers that kind of fit into that that family of concepts too. And you know you got Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Wadd they’re tremendous down the field at separating. So like you’re going to live in that world. Um doing so you’re those routes are the primaries and then you’re the tight ends and the running backs are kind of just like they’ll chip protection or they’ll check their protection responsibility then they’ll run flats or they’ll run those little shallow routes or over the ball routes that we were talking about and they’re kind of just like the check down the afterthought. Um, you know, and I think once, you know, teams, you know, started taking away the stuff downfield, whether it be with two high coverages or or, you know, um, you know, different brackets and and stuff, that’s I think when those tight ends have to be able to work and separate against the underneath coverage. And I think there’s, you know, like I said, they started using choice routes more a little bit because they were like, “All right, we’re getting, you know, we’re getting the stuff bracketed downfield. Okay, let’s not have two hold on to the ball. Let’s feature the guy underneath as the primary on those concepts.” And, um, in doing so, you’re going to get the tight end’s going to get more touches. Yeah. And so, you know, talking about another one of those kind of afterthoughts that you talked about, Nick Westbrook, again, he was brought in to be that that big body wide receiver three that, you know, has to block at a high level in this offense. And that seems like it’s been something that Miami’s been trying to find since McDaniel got here in terms of somebody that can do that consistently. And, you know, you’ve written books over the last three seasons. How important is wide receiver blocking in this Mike McDaniel offense? And do you see Westper Aune being a, you know, a needle mover compared to what they’ve had in the past in that role? Oh, it’s absolutely critical. I think, you know, those years, you know, when when whether Mike was in San Francisco or even those these recent years when he’s when he’s been gone, their best rushing seasons come when their receivers are very involved in the run game. Now, there’s a few different types of blocks. Um, you know, there’s like, you know, most dangerous man at the point of attack. So, like when you run an outside zone, you know, they’re they’re, you know, in some versions are responsible for digging out a safety that’s driving into the run fit quickly um at the point of attack. So, their block is literally like in the hole that the ball is intended to run to. Um, and then something that the Dolphins um that I’ve touched on a lot, you know, in previous books and even in this one is their crack toss and their crack seal concepts. So, what those do is they require a wide receiver to pin the endman on the line of scrimmage. But when you do that, the ball gets forced to the perimeter very quickly and very easily, especially when you got the speed that that the that the Dolphins have had over the years at the running back position. Um, now that block, it’s not an easy block. Right now, you’re asking a receiver to pin, you know, against a four down front, you know, like a Nick Bosa type, right? Or, you know, against like the five down fronts, you know, like a Kal Mack, like a stand up backer type, right? Like, so there’s that’s not an easy block. But if you can get a guy who can do that and make that pin down block and hold, you know, block that guy down for one or two counts. I think you, you know, we’ve seen what happens in the Dolph Dolphins running game when the ball can get to the perimeter. I mean, just remember, you know, the best example is that Broncos game from two years ago, right? They were just crushing the Broncos on crack toss and crack steal and those wide receivers were just having a day with that block. And I think when this offense is at their best, that block is at the, you know, that block has been at the focal point of the system. Yeah. You talk about that Broncos game where they put up 70 points. Um, in the McDaniel era, he’s only had two games where the starting offensive lineman from camp to regular season have actually played. And some of that is due to injuries, some of that is due to other stuff. But outside of the offensive line and wide receivers, running backs and tight ends aren’t off the hook either. Um, coach and I noticed a lot of issues with protection pickups and lead blocking from Raheem Auster, Devon Aen, Alec Engel, Julian Hill, and even John Newmith. It seem seems as if the Dolphins are trying to gear up more so towards 11 personnel in the run game. What are some things that, you know, that position group can clean up to lead to a more effective run game uh against those four down fronts or even five down fronts in 11 personnel? Yeah, I think you know, like like you said, like you alluded to, there were definitely a fair amount of of busts up front, right, where guys are working to, you know, they might nobody’s working up to the playside back or you got two guys on the playside back or no one’s going to the the backside linebacker. And I think some of that some of that’s due to the amount of volume the Dolphins carry in the run game. For someone like me trying to study and learn, it’s a lot of fun because I like volume and I like seeing all the different variations. But if you’re running, if you’re carrying too much week to week, guys can get confused. And I think some of that is, you know, during the week, you know, having making sure your guys understand the game plan, make sure making sure it’s concise enough yet expansive enough to still, you know, take advantage of the defense the way you want to. But at the same thing at at the at the end of the day, you know, communication at the line of scrimmage is huge. you know, if your guys aren’t talking up front, okay, hey, who’s working to who? You know, who are we who are we reaching? Who are we who are we accounting for you? Whether it be in the run game or, you know, in the pass protection, too. You know, if you’ve got, you know, linebackers or secondary players running free at the quarterback, well, somebody’s somebody’s responsible for that, right? Whether it’s the offensive line, the running back, or even the quarterback if, you know, the quarterback’s thrown hot off that, right? It just depends on the depends on the protection and depends on um you know, who the offensive line works to in that case. So, um I think communication before the before the ball is snapped is something that could definitely improve. And do you find that to be something that’s an issue across the NFL in that regard? Like, you know, when Ham and I went through our weekly reviews and watching, you know, some of these plays, it seemed like at times, you know, that Mike McDaniels using motion to try to create leverage, try to create numbers advantages. And, you know, when it works, it looks great. But there’s other times, like you mentioned, Bobby, about getting confused about those second level blocks and where they’re going. um any at times you end up with a a free defender running through um and it’s a result of a safety that’s rolling down that wasn’t part of that box count originally. Is that is that something that you see across the league or is that you know more prominent in Miami just because of the number of motions they run? Um it’s probably exacerbated because of how many motions they run. And that’s a great point that that I failed to bring up is the fact that motion affects all of that, right? Like I know specifically there’s a few teams that I that I that I know for a fact they have whenever they have motion their pass protection call changes even though it’s the same pass protection to account for the motion so the offensive line understands okay there’s a guy moving across the formation right this is going to change you know once we get up to the line the post snap picture is going to change just because of the motion and how the defense is going to react to it. So, um, to your point, motion has a huge effect on that and how, you know, you know, a playside backer could turn into a backside linebacker, you know, based on motion or vice versa, right? So, um, there, you know, obviously because of all the motion Miami uses, I think that’s, like I said, exacerbated. Um, it’s definitely seen throughout the league, but the teams that are obviously the teams that can minimize those when you’re minimizing your negative plays and, you know, busted assignments, you know, they’re going to be the better offenses in the league. Yeah. Uh, throw that personnel usage back to 11 personal. The Dolphins used a lot of 21 and 11 personal. In 21 and even in 11 personal, there were two primary players who were the force players or specifically the F position. That was Alec Engold and John Smith. Um, with those formation tendencies, do you think it became easier for those defensives to diagnose even with the motions? Was there any tell in terms of route concepts or protection schemes or where the run was flowing to when both of them were motioning or in the game? Um, I don’t think so. I think this one um you know I mean you know obviously there could be a defensive staff that picks something up but as someone who has gone you obviously gone through every clip and obviously I’ve you know written about a lot of the stuff that that we’re talking about like um for the most part the Dolphins do a good job specifically especially in the run game of like they’ll motion one way they’ll attack that way if defense is overplaying it they’ll motion one way and then they’ll you know run something back the other way too. So they’re the way they use motion doesn’t usually doesn’t usually tip off uh what’s going on. I think in some cases it does but it for the most part there’s not huge tendencies like I actually just wrote a Vikings book this offseason um and you know especially on early downs if I if you show me their formation and you know I know it’s first and 10 I could I could narrow the run the run play call down to about maybe two to three concepts and um when you when I can do that sitting from my computer you know at my house I think um defensive coordinators uh are on to that as well. So, um, they’re definitely, the Dolphins definitely don’t have any like major tells when it comes to that. So, Ham kind of alluded to this earlier talking about continuity along the offensive line. I think a lot of us Dolphins fans feel like Austin Jackson going down towards the middle of the season there was a big turning point in terms of the offensive line and their ability to run the ball. As somebody who has, you know, watched every Dolphin snap from 2024, did you also see a a big drop off in what they were capable to do in the running game after Austin Jackson went out versus what they were able to do in the first half of the season? Yeah, I think that’s fair. Um, and obviously, you know, we can we can discuss the extent of it, but I think I mean, you know, you know this better than myself as an offensive line coach. um the continuity is huge and then if you’re if you don’t have continuity um you know being able to communicate that stuff and and and creating continuity on the fly that’s that’s critical then um so I think you know it’s very hard for teams that don’t you know the I always feel like every year the best offenses in the league or at least the teams that end up towards the top of the NFL record-wise and points wise like we get to the like oh yeah these guys have started 15 of the 17 games together right or you know it’s like oh that’s that’s funny how that works so I think um there’s definitely a trend where if you’re if you’ve got continuity up front, it usually ends up pretty well for the offense. Let’s go ahead and evaluate to a tongue um for a little bit when defensive started rotating post snap or taking away those first reads. In your opinion, how did he hold up on tape? Do you think were there were any recurring blind spots, processing concerns? Were there weeks where he plateaued? Were there weeks that he declined? I think I think this year he did a much better job taking the check down if that stuff wasn’t there down the field. I thought he did a pretty good job of that. Um now there’s still instances where I feel like you know he he he wants to throw that first window. He wants to throw that you know that first read and um you know there’s quarterbacks in the NFL that do like Sam Darnold did that a ton last year. You know he probably forced a few too many and he ended up you know almost in the MVP discussion, right? So, I think, you know, having that is is good as a quarterback because, you know, when you take when the backups were in, that was gone and the backups just were like they they they did not want to push those windows as much as Tua did. Um, so I think um no, I I wouldn’t say, you know, and then obviously, you know, was Tua completely healthy down the stretch, too? I think that that kind of factors into, you know, some of the discussion, but I don’t I don’t know if if he necessarily like there were plenty of clips and I tried to outline them in my book, too, just because I think when a quarterback takes a checkown, it’s like the play worked. The design of the play worked, right? The defense took away what they were supposed to, but if the quarterback’s getting into a checkdown and the offense is still getting 10, 15 yards, like that’s what you want to see because the you’re not always going to get that first guy open, right? And anybody, any coach can sit here and try to draw a first guy open, but it takes it takes a real sound offensive scheme and system to to create the the routes structure around that primary receiver, too. You know, all of us Dolphins fans would like to sit here and say that two is going to play every game in 2025, but if he misses games, it’s not going to really surprise anyone either. Um, they paid a decent amount of money to bring in Zach Wilson as the number two and they drafted Quinn Eers out of Texas to replace, you know, Skyler Thompson, Tyler Huntley, and Tim Bole. Do you feel that Zack Wilson, you know, him specifically compared to the compared to yours, sets Miami up in a better position to be able to win games if Tua does have to miss a period of games again in 2025? Yeah, m maybe a little bit. I’m not a huge Zach Wilson fan, so I don’t know if it’s going to move the needle a ton, but um you know, I think he probably gives you a little bit better play than than what we were seeing previously, right? And like you know, he’s been around the NFL, he’s been a couple systems now. Maybe you know, you know, McDaniel can build a game plan for him, but you know, for for a few weeks here and there, but I I just I don’t uh I mean, obviously, you know, we’re talking about a backup quarterback position, right? These guys, you know, very few guys in the league, you know, can can really separate themselves, you know, in that regard. But I think like you said, especially with two his injury history, I would have liked to see a more, you know, I don’t know what their options were available, right? So I say this, you know, as someone who, you know, who doesn’t necessarily know you what they had available to them, but I would have liked to see them beef up this backup quarterback position a little more than just Zach Wilson. Yeah, they they beefed it up just based on trying to get some type of schematic value, throw power, um, and a little bit of knowledge of the scheme overall with Quinn coming from the Stark system, Zach Wilson coming from the Laflur Shanahan scheme as well. In your opinion, based on this scheme, do you think the ceiling of this offense is tied to Tua’s limitations or is it more about scheme evolution for McDaniel? I think it’s both. Um I think there’s definitely scheme evolution like like the Dolphins do a lot of stuff really well. Like so I I I especially focused on this with them, but this is definitely something I’ve noticed um throughout the NFL. Like last year some of the best offenses using like the screen game in the NFL really took it uh took a step forward and I think Mike McDaniel and the Dolphins were at the forefront of that and I think teams were copying a lot of what he was doing. um they took rules on traditional screens and kind of mod modified them a little bit to try to make them more efficient and it worked. And then they even called some newer screens that I really haven’t seen a ton of. Um so I I outline a ton of those in my 24 book because they they were easy easy ways to create yards and space for for fast guys, right? With that said, they’ve ran a ton of them and kind of relied on them probably a little bit too much in certain situations. And I think that you especially with the backup quarterbacks in, right, they were they were trying to throw their their bang or drift route a ton and then they would try to throw screens. That was basically it, right? there wasn’t a ton else there and um I think that over reliance on certain aspects of the offense. They’ve got to be able to pivot um at times and I I think you know like I said at some you know they they were really setting the trend in the NFL with with that but when you rely on it too much I think it does create that ceiling of the offense. They need to be able to tap into um other aspects of their system. Take this back to the offensive line a little bit here. Um, you know, I think that again, watching all these snaps that you’d agree there was an opportunity for the Dolphins guard play to improve from 2024 and their, you know, big free agent signing was James Daniels at one guard and they traded up for Jonas of Ioniah out of Arizona in the second round. Um, you know, how important is improved guard play to the success of this offense? I know that me watching it like I’ve always felt like the the tackles and the centers were more important in these outside zone schemes than the guards. Uh but obviously for the Dolphins there was room for improvement at the guard position as well. Yeah, I think where the Dolphins could create even more explosives and I think at their best they’re they’re good about this is when those guards have to get up to the second level. taking a good angle to get up to the second level, getting bodies on those backers, getting those backers, you know, you know, creating that that um, you know, that that uh that cohesion with the linebacker so that the linebacker can’t, you know, scrape off and then make the tackle at five yards, right? Because if you get these guys like in, you know, if you get Dolphins running backs in space, they’ve shown over the years they can take it to the house. And um you know when they’re at their best those guards you know you know especially with outside zones you know all the different ways Miami uh um can call those and run those to create you know to get to capture the edge plus all the different crack tosses and crack steals we’ve discussed you know that’s great we secure the edge but if your linebacker is flowing over the top and we’re not getting a guard on them then you know we’re making a tackle you know at five yards you know around you know five yards past the line of scrimmage. So when those guards are playing their best and if they’re getting up to that second level that’s when you see the the house calls. Yeah, and there were not a lot of house calls for Miami last season just because of how the offensive line injuries went and Tua being out. What defensive coordinators want to do specifically in the run game and the offensive line is attack the weakest offensive lineman. Now, structurally and schematically, the offensive line works as a whole. So when defensive coordinators are scheming up these pressures or these stunts or trying to disrupt um either as from the pickers or the loopers or simulated pressures from defensive backs, how does the scheme account for that for an offensive lineman or two for the Miami Dolphins case? You know, it was the two guards for the Dolphins. How does that the scheme account for lower level talent? So specifically with pass protection, I think what you need to what needs to be sound is obviously assignment sound, right? We have to have answers who’s responsible for who, whether, like I said, whether it’s the offensive line, running back, or the quarterback. Um, we have to that has to be clear and and for the most part, you know, in the NFL, that that usually is clear. Um, but, you know, specific to the looks that you’re seeing each week, right? So sometimes you might get an unscouted look, but you still have to have rules in place to help guys out with that. Um, so having that crystal clear and then pre- snap communication, I think getting up to the line of scrimmage, you know, not a ton is on the quarterback protection wise in the Shanahan system, right? And Mike McDaniel obviously I think aderes to a lot of that um when it comes to his protection. So um, you know, the offensive line sliding to the potential threat that could be blitzing, right? That, you know, not working to a backer that’s dropping into coverage, right? um you know making sure that the running back’s not on you know the fifth rusher or you know if they run like a simulated pressure you know we’re not we’re not sliding to a guy you know we’re not sliding to you know one down offensive lineman and our running back’s picking up the fourth guy right I think making sure we’re turning the protection to the the the possible the potential blitz threats I think could help them out because obviously if we’re working to that now we’re getting our our best our best blockers on their on their on their blitzers coming from depth. So, I think when you’re sound in those areas, you allow your offensive lineman, number one, they’re put in better positions like physically on the field, but also they’re given the confidence that they’re going to that they’re going to be able to play better because they’re being put in good position schematically. Coach, do you think Liam Mikeberg and uh Robert Jones were put in good positions or do you think it was just the talent level for those two guards last season? That’s a tough one for me to answer. Um, you know, going through the book, I don’t I didn’t I wasn’t going through it with like a pass catch an evaluation um standpoint, but I you know there’s definitely teams and this is you know I think we can all remember the Super Bowl incident where um you know Brock Pury got pressured on that fourth down with an unblocked guy coming in like there’s definitely some issues with the Shanahan style of pass protection. Um and when you watch it on tape you know defenses can take advantage of it. So I think there’s definitely ways um you know that they can be helped out scheme wise. Um, but at the same time, like I said, I I I don’t know. I didn’t specifically I wasn’t uh you know, if a guard got or a center got beat in pass protection, I wasn’t I usually didn’t write about that clip in the game planning book. So, I would usually, you know, unless like something crazy was was uh caught my eye with the downfield stuff. But, um, no, I I think there’s definitely scheme ways they can help them, right? But, um, yeah, Coach Smith, that’s a question for you, too. Yeah, he would be much better for that than you. You know, I think I think that if everything worked out perfectly, right, if you had the 75% from Terron Armstead that you had in 2024 and you had Austin Jackson all year, I think that you could have essentially gotten by with Leenberg and Rob Jones at the guards. They obviously have their limitations, but I think like we talked about earlier, I thought the the falloff really occurred when Austin Jackson was injured and that kind of exposed them. I’m not sure how big of a difference it makes in 2025 if we have the same issues at tackle, but you know, at least we’re taking a step in the right direction to try to mitigate some of that. Um, so Bobby, you wrote uh about the 2023 Houston Texans as well. Bobby Slowick worked with Mike McDaniel in San Francisco and now he has come to Miami as a offensive assistant. Um, are there things from that 2023 Texans offense that’s different than what you saw with the Miami offense that you feel like they can bring and that we could look for this coming year? Yes, and I’m glad you brought this up. I love Bobby Slick teaming back up with Mike McDaniel because I think his fit on this staff um makes a lot of sense. I think he can help round out those five and sevenst step a pass concept family that I think Miami has been kind of lacking in the last couple years. Um, I think the Texans, especially in 23, I mean, they have, trust me, they had plenty of issues in 24, especially protection-wise, but, um, pass concept wise, they were getting guys open. Um, they there were they were guys open and they they tied a lot of things really well together. And obviously, I like you said, I outlined a lot of that in my 23 Texans book. Um, and I think when you when you take the best of that and you bring it in with what Miami does well, I think you now we’re really creating like, you know, like a soup like like kind of that souped up like version of the 49ers offense that we all remember, you know, over the the last few years. So, yeah, I absolutely love him coming on staff and I’m hoping that that marriage works well. Do you think that specific wrinkle or adjustment on the five, sevenst step drops could solve those recurring offensive stalls, especially situationally on third downs and potentially red zone snaps? Yeah, cuz we’re getting because what what what they were doing is they’re getting the primary receiver open. So, you’re getting the ball out sooner, right? your quarterback’s not having to look to two to three to four to, you know, we’re not asking the offensive line to block as long so we’re getting the ball out sooner and you’re building confidence, right? If two Tu is at his best when he’s getting the ball at the top of his drop, letting that thing rip, right? You know, getting the ball out quick and um you know, when you’ve got sound five and sevenstep concepts, that’s you know, in your in your game planning guys open on that regard. I think that’s that’s what every coach in the NFL that’s that’s their job. I was talking to um someone in the league that’s on a coaching staff a month or two ago and you know he said it’s it’s especially on the offensive pass game side. It’s a race to who can who can design the first read in the progression open as many times as you can in a game. That’s kind of like what coaches are trying to do and what they’re paid to do. Um and I think that’s um Bobby Slope did a pretty good job of that when he was in Houston. I think combining that with the talent that Miami has and what they’re good at, you know, on on the periphery, right? The outside running game with outside zone crack toss, the screen game. Um, I think once you tie all that together, I think we’re really work working with something here. Yeah. What they what they really struggled the Dolphins have over the last two to three seasons is cover two, inverted cover two, and cover four concepts. So, can those can those, you know, wrinkles or adjustments help to minimize the downside against two and four? That’s so that’s very true. I def I’ve definitely noticed especially like two invert I remember that was like the Houston game that it gave it trouble. Um some of that that’s the concepts themselves. Yes, you can work concepts and you can call stuff that that uh you know makes it less of an issue, right? I think some of that is game plan and then diagnosing coverage too. Um like I said, there’s definitely some concepts they can get to that can help with that, but I think once seeing on tape, okay, that gave us trouble last year, um I think there’s ways that they can, you know, obviously fix the pass game. And I think I I I you know I’d like to see some of the stuff that Slo used in 23 to kind of help uh mitigate some of that. So looking back over 2024 and all the snaps that you watched of the Dolphins and we talked about a lot of different names here in terms of skill positions for the Dolphins, is there any players that when you were watching that you felt should have gotten the ball more, right? or or should have been involved more that you know maybe we should look at seeing stuff next year. Yeah, not necessarily. I think when when I when when I think of that question I think of the scheme diversity. I think of finding different ways to get those guys the ball, right? Like obviously Tyreek Hill needs touches, Jaylen Waddle needs touches, John Smith needed touches, right? You got the backs coming out of the backfield that needed touches. Um you know I think obviously just an even distribut some guys are going to get more touches, you know, some weeks than than other weeks, right? just depending on game plan, depending on how the defense plays it, too. So, I think, you know, rounding out the scheme and kind of the aspects of that, I think the the offense will feel more well-rounded and then guy different guys are going to get touches at different times then, too. All right, Bobby, you you always bring an all 22 lens to the discussion that fans rarely get, and we’ll round it out with this very last question. The Miami Dolphins play the Indianapolis Colts week one and they’ve changed their coordinator from Gus Bradley to Lou Anarumo. If you were scripting Miami’s first 15 plays against Lou Anoro’s defense, what would be your goal in those early calls? I love the question. Um, well, Lu Anorumo is a king of disguise. He likes to disguise coverage really well. Um, and you know, he’ll play a lot of different coverages, too. I think if I remember correctly, they base out of a four down front. Um, so run game wise, I’d like to see them get into 21 personnel and try to hammer some of their full flow outside zone stuff. I think especially if they stay in a four down front, I think you can capture the edge and get two double teams at the point of attack against those looks. Um, pass game, I would like to see um less play actions and more like um like the some of those five, seven step stuff, the drop back stuff that we’re talking about. I think that allows the quarterback to see those disguises better, right? So like we’re talking you’re talking about like that two invert stuff. If we’re if if if the quarterback turns his back to the defense because he’s play because he’s play faking, right? And then the defense is rotates to a two invert. That middle safety is just standing there now, right? And the quarterback was expecting him to back battle. So he didn’t see the rotation whatsoever. So I think against a coach that likes to disguise a lot, I think just straight dropbacks allows him to kind of see the rotation of the movement and it allows him to kind of work through his progression from that standpoint. So probably those two aspects I would that would be my starting point. And then, you know, I’d love to see, you know, the Dolphins are such a good endound team, so I’d love to see an end around in those first 15 plays, too. Um, and then maybe one of their creative screens as well. So, yeah, Bobby, thank you so much for coming on. And where can people find your latest work at? Yeah. So, my my website has a lot of my stuff on there. Uh, just alert theost.com. Um, and then my my Twitter, I’m pretty active on Twitter, too. You can see a lot of the stuff I’m I’m working on and and sharing on there. My my handle is b Peters12. Um, and then if you’re if you’re really looking for the deep dives, all my books are on Amazon. Um, you know, I’ve got an author page. You can search my author page is linked um, you know, in the books and the menu bar for my website, too. So, you can go there or you can just Google my name and, you know, an Amazon link to some of that stuff will come up as well. So, there’s a lot of different places you can find me. Yeah. Thank you, Bobby, for coming on and and coach, thank you for being such an amazing co-host. You can stick with us here on Scouting the Fins, part of the three yards per carry podcast and the Fire Region Sports Network.

Scouting the Fins brings back Bobby Peters to discuss the Dolphins disappointing 2024 offensive performance. The Panel discusses what Mike McDaniel, Frank Smith and Bobby Slowik can do to improve the offense in 2025.

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