Miami Dolphin's Greatest Offense: No Name Defense
Thu, Feb 3, 2022
by
CapperTek
The Miami Dolphins have made the biggest improvement over the last couple of years. They were once at the bottom of the league table, and now they are among the stars.
Anyone taking a good look at this rising team will see that this change comes from their No Name Defense.
What Is A No-Name Defense?
The term “No-Name Defense” was first coined in early 1970. It was a phrase aimed at the Miami Dolphins by Tom Landry - the Dallas Cowboys coach.
The term means there are no high-profile players in the defensive lineup.
By itself, this doesn’t seem like a massive issue; however, we all know that the best players across the NFL have fantastic coverage from the media. Tom Brady, Joe Burrows, if they are doing well on the field, then their names will be known.
Usually, a No-Name Defense will not be able to hold their own against a named offense. But every once in a while, these underdogs can pull through.
2019 To Now
In 2019 the Miami Dolphins had the worst scoring defense lineup in all of the NFL's history. Okay, that was a bit dramatic, but they had the worst scoring defense for the past 20 seasons - That’s still pretty bad.
In fact, their 2019 was so horrible that everyone just kind of left them to it. No one considered them a real threat, and scoring wasn’t really an issue.
However, in the 2020 games, we finally realized that their tactics had changed. They still didn’t have anyone of note on the team, but when Patrick Mahomes was intercepted for the third time by Xavien Howard, we all took a step back.
Xavien Howard was the real player in Miami's defensive lineup.
In that change-up, the Miamis allowed 12 less points to be scored per game, flipping from -10 to +10! The NFL odds did a full 180!
In the last 10 seasons, no other team has made the same dramatic turnaround.
No-Name Defense - Named
These amazing defensive players now deserve to have their names splattered among the front pages too. It’s time to turn this no-name team into headliners.
Xavien Howard - Cornerback
From the amazing play brought forward in 2020, to his current outstanding performance, Xavien Howard is the superstar in the Miami Dolphins defensive line.
In his 2020 season, Howard was getting a name for himself as a master interceptor. He reached a career-high with his 8th interception during the 13th week.
However, in the same week, he had an altercation with Tyler Boyd and was ejected from the games.
In 2021, Howard agreed with the news reports. He deserves a raise and praise for his amazing efforts. The Dolphins didn’t agree, it seems, and now Howard is openly admitting that his stay with the Miami Dolphins is due to bureaucracy. He doesn’t feel appreciated, but he also doesn’t want to get fined.
Emmanuel Ogbah - Edge Rusher
Ogbah hasn’t always been on the Miami Dolphins’ roster. He started his NFL career with the Cleveland Browns, and then after two years, swapped to Kansas City Chiefs. He stayed there for one year and then hopped over to the Dolphins.
He made this change in 2020, the same year that the Dolphins started to sharpen their defenses.
His contract is for two years, and judging by his history; we cannot expect Ogbah to stay in one place for long.
While he is with the team, you can expect Ogbah to lead the defense. He had 9 sacks and forced 3 fumbles in his first season alone!
Andrew Van Ginkel - Edge Rusher
Van Ginkel was there for the hardships of the 2019 games and for the growth in the 2020 games. Seeing how far they can fall and how to bring the team back is pivotal knowledge for his games to come.
Van Ginkel’s most remembered play so far was the recovery of Jared Goff’s fumble. Goff is a superstar in his own right, so catching this fumble was a game-changer. Returned to the Dolphins, this one move helped give them a 78 yard touchdown!
Bryon Jones - Cornerback
Jones originally played for the Dallas Cowboys and stayed there for 4 years. In 2020, he made the move to the Miami Dolphins.
Of course, Jones was never a “No Name,” having been in the Pro Bowl and the second team for the All Pro in 2018.
Summary
We hope that The Miami Dolphins can keep these defensive heroes and continue to climb back up the rankings!
It all comes down to Xavien Howard and if the Dolphins can afford his deserved pay-rise.