Cowboys scouting report: Breaking down the Dolphins defensive scheme

Cowboys scouting report: Breaking down the Dolphins defensive scheme

Mike McCarthy’s second season in Dallas was essentially his first true season because

the 2020 campaign was marred by a number of injuries,

a limited offseason because of the pandemic, and the loss of Dak Prescott for the whole year.

However, McCarthy’s Cowboys in 2021 looked just as good as some had imagined when he was appointed.

The Cowboys won six straight after narrowly losing to the defending Super Bowl champion Buccaneers.

One of those victories came against the Vikings on the road,

where Cooper Rush made his first-ever start. Specifically,

the offence was blazing hot and appeared unstoppable.

Next was a home game against the 4-4 Broncos,

who appeared prepared to part ways with third-year head coach Vic Fangio after trading superstar Von Miller.

The Cowboys ended up losing the game handily.

After being shut out for the first three quarters,

they finally scored in the fourth,

when it was evident that the Broncos defence was no longer playing aggressively,

to somewhat alter the final score at 30-16.

Nevertheless, Dallas, who started the game as 10-point favourites and lost by two touchdowns,

was humiliated by the defeat.

Fangio, who is usually a fairly reserved person with unremarkable quotes,

all of a sudden had a lot to say:

“It’s the Broncos, as Jimmy Johnson used to say,

” Fangio grinned as he started his press conference.

Fangio said, “I just thought we had the right stuff to give ourselves a chance.”

“All we needed to do was execute the proper procedure,

which I oversee, so you can be confident that it will be handled appropriately,

and I felt comfortable with that.” I don’t say,

“Oh, that’s great, teams just haven’t played them properly.”

McCarthy essentially laughed off the idea as the debate topic soon

shifted to whether or not Fangio had just invented a formula for stopping the Cowboys’ potent offence:

McCarthy retorted, “This is a copycat league,

and I just told [that] the team, so get ready, I hope they do,

too,” at his news conference on November 8.

“Vic played us really rough. It’s encouraging to hear him pounding his own drum.

The league is undoubtedly a copycat league because of how popular Fangio’s defensive strategy has become.

The two-deep safety strategy that Fangio has used to

great effect for decades is currently used by 14 teams in the league,

and even more teams have in one way or another adopted components of the scheme into their own defences.

The Cowboys have actually played 10 such teams already this season,

including six contests (Cardinals, Chargers, Rams, Eagles twice, Panthers) against

defensive coordinators that have direct coaching ties to Fangio.

It would be an understatement to say the Cowboys have seen this defence a lot.

If Fangio was able to stun the Cowboys in 2021,

he won’t be able to do so this week as he attempts to stop an offence that McCarthy is now leading.

Regarding the plan, it’s not too hard to comprehend.

The foundation of a Fangio defence is having two safeties play deep,

at least at the snap, and using a range of coverages to stifle deep plays.

Fangio primarily employs Cover 6 and quarters coverage,

flooding the deep part of the field and only surrendering underneath routes.

Run by the man himself,

the Fangio defence primarily focuses on zone coverage,

currently ranking tenth in the league in terms of the number of zone coverage plays per game.

The defence blitzes infrequently, with Miami having the fourth-lowest blitz rate in the league.

Additionally, the defence frequently deploys extremely light boxes,

which successfully challenges offences to run the ball.

The Cowboys were successfully lured into this trap by the Bills,

who employ a similar scheme but have no real connection to Fangio.

Several times in the first half of the game,

Prescott attempted a run play,

with differing degrees of success,

which hindered the passing offense’s ability to settle into a rhythm once they were trailing.

In terms of the players themselves,

Fangio may have the best team he has ever worked with.

Despite the loss of edge rusher Jaelan Phillips for the whole season,

Miami is second in sacks and third in pressure rate.

That’s because Miami’s defensive line is also led by Zach Sieler,

Christian Wilkins, Bradley Chubb, and Emmanuel Ogbah.

Xavien Howard is still a reliable presence in the secondary, and Jalen Ramsey, a perennial All-Pro,

has returned after tearing his meniscus during training camp.

Security Jevon Holland, one of the league’s top safeties, has maintained his quick rise to prominence.

Despite their skill, this defence has been erratic throughout the season;

they are third in EPA/play allowed but just 13th in defensive DVOA.

Fangio defences have struggled mightily this year,

and their run defence has been particularly exposed.

Miami ranks 20th in run defence DVOA and 17th in EPA/carry allowed,

but they rank sixth in terms of overall rushing attempts faced.

In summary, their offence typically scores so much that opponents can’t afford to run the ball,

hence their run defence is a weakness that is rarely exploited.

Do you recognise this?

The Cowboys have little prior experience playing the Dolphins,

but they are well-versed in the defensive strategy that they will face this season.

Even though the players executing Fangio’s plan are different,

McCarthy and Prescott ought to arrive with a solid grasp of how to defeat it.

This is crucial because Miami’s explosive offence will make it difficult for Dallas’ defence to make stops.

This could easily become a gunfight,

which is perhaps exactly what McCarthy wants given the way he and Fangio interacted during their last meeting.

Get more related news on https://dailysportnews.co.uk