This is why we Should be Excited About the Dolphins Defense

As the NFL season nears, there are still many questions surrounding every team, and the Dolphins are no exception. The Dolphins offense seems to have stayed the same for the most part and even improved in some positions, but fans have been worried about the Defense, and understandably so. The fans feel that with the departure of Christian Wilkins, Andrew Van Ginkel, Xavien Howard, Deshon Elliot, and others, the defense seems depleted and much worse than last year.

The worry also extends to Jaelan Phillips’s and Bradley Chubb’s injuries and whether they will be healthy enough to start the season. Another worry is that the players have to learn yet another completely different defensive scheme for the second year in a row, and that might affect the defense in the first couple of weeks of the season.

But in my humble opinion, there is nothing to be worried about. In fact, I think we should be extremely excited about the Dolphins’ defense this year. Yes, it is true that they lost many important pieces, but people seem to ignore that the Dolphins have also added many talented players on the defensive side.

Of course, it is not easy to replace someone like Christian Wilkins, but the Dolphins have signed enough Defensive Tackles to give the defense more depth, and don’t forget they still have Zach Sieler, who is coming off a career year. Also, the addition of Calais Campbell hasn’t been talked about enough, he might not be in his prime, but he is a veteran leader and a great locker room guy, he also happens to be familiar with Anthony Weaver and his scheme during his time playing for the Ravens. I think Calais can have a bigger impact on the team than some people might think.

The injuries of Jaelan Phillips and Bradley Chubb were devastating last season, but even if they are not healthy enough to start the season, the Dolphins have acquired some potentially great players to play in their position until they get back into the field. Chopp Robbinson and Mohamed Kamara seem incredibly talented and capable of rising up to the occasion in case they have to start to begin the season. In any case, let’s hope Phillips and Chubb are fully recovered by the season opener.

One of the Dolphins main problems on defense last year was tackling, the linebackers weren’t necessarily having their best season in general. In my opinion, the addition of Jordyn Brooks seems like a big upgrade over Jerome Baker. He brings more speed and physicality to the defense and better tackling. The Dolphins also added more depth with the signing of Anthony Walker, which could be an underrated move that people haven’t talked much about.

In the secondary, the Dolphin’s biggest losses were Xavien Howard and Deshon Elliot, but I think we got upgrades over both. Xavien Howard had been declining in the past two seasons, and I think the Dolphins made a smart move to release him. Not only was it good to get rid of him, but we got an amazing replacement in Kendall Fuller, who is an amazing player at that position and had arguably a better season than Xavien Howard last year. Deshon Elliot was a big loss for the Dolphins, but Jordan Poyer is a good replacement and a more experienced player. The Dolphins also recently added safety Marcus Maye, a very solid player who adds good depth to the defense.

Last but not least, there is the new defensive coordinator. I personally think Anthony Weaver is a much better coach than Vic Fangio. I know Vic Fangio has more experience, and his scheme is supposedly one of the best in history, but he is a terrible coach. He didn’t want to be in Miami and never built a relationship with the players. What I hated the most about Fangio was his stubbornness, inability to adjust his game plan and the fact that he called plays from the suite. I hate it when coaches are calling plays from the suite; it makes no sense to me. You need the coach to be there on the sideline talking to the players and hyping them up because coaching is not only about calling plays. Also, I felt that Fangio’s scheme didn’t work against quarterbacks like Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, Jalen Hurts, and Mahomes, who are good at scrambling. His scheme is a conservative, non-blitzing system that only works against certain teams.

I feel like Anthony Weaver will bring more aggressiveness to the defense and more blitzing when needed, not like Fangio, who publicly said that he only blitzes when he wants to, not when he needs to. Anthony Weaver already has a better relationship with the players and coaches than Vic Fangio in Miami. Also, I think his system is simpler and easier to learn, so it won’t take long for the players to be on the same page, as opposed to last season, where it took them a while to get settled with Fangio’s system. And most importantly, I am sure Anthony Weaver will be coaching from the sidelines, which automatically makes him a better coach than Fangio. He will be able to hype up players more and make them better.

Also, Vic Fangio seemed to hate Cam Smith for no apparent reason, and Smith didn’t really get a chance to play at all. Hopefully, Anthony Weaver will give him his chance and help him grow and develop into an elite cornerback.

So, I don’t think we should be worried about the Dolphins’ defense at all; I think we should be even more excited than last year, especially if Jalen Ramsey is Healthy to start the season this year, unlike last year, when he missed many games to begin the season. Hopefully, Phillips and Chubb will also be able to start the season healthy. Of course, I am not a prophet, and I don’t know for sure what is going to happen; this is just my humble opinion.