Running game should be better for Dolphins

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The Miami Dolphins were historically bad when it came to running the football during the 2019 NFL season. The Dolphins were last in the NFL in rushing with just 1,156 yards gained on the ground.

Six NFL players – Derrick Henry of the Tennessee Titans, Nick Chubb of the Cleveland Browns, Christian McCaffrey of the Carolina Panthers, Ezekiel Elliot of the Dallas Cowboys, Chris Carson of the Seattle Seahawks and Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens – gained more yards running the football last season than the entire Dolphins team.

Here’s a great trivia question to stump NFL fans – name the two quarterbacks to lead their team in rushing during the 2019 campaign. Jackson, who set a new NFL single-season rushing mark for QBs, was one of them. But if you got Dolphins QB Ryan Fitzpatrick as the other answer, you win a cookie.

In his 15th NFL season, Fitzpatrick, 37, rambled for 243 yards.

That total was enough to lead the Dolphins, and that stat is truly embarrassing. Miami needs to run the football significantly better this season in order for people in Florida to bet on the Dolphins as a legitimate AFC East playoff threat.

Beefing Up the Backfield

The Dolphins signed RB Jordan Howard as a free agent. Photo by: YouTube.com screenshot.

During the offseason, the Dolphins set out to address their needs in the backfield. Matt Breida was acquired in a trade with the NFC champion San Francisco 49ers. Jordan Howard, who’s had stints with the Philadelphia Eagles and Chicago Bears, was signed as a free agent.

Among NFL running backs from 2016-18, only Elliott and Todd Gurley churned up more yards on the ground than Howard, 25, who gained 3,370 yards over that span. A shoulder injury limited him to 525 yards last season. Howard has also suited up for playoff teams each of the past two seasons.

Breida averaged 5.1 yards per carry for the NFC West champion 49ers last season. He rambled for 623 yards on 123 carries and scored one touchdown. Equipped with explosive speed, he broke 18 runs of 10 yards or more. On average, that means he made a big play 14.6 percent of the times when he ran the football.

A Net Gain

Historically, when the Dolphins run the football well, things tend to go well for them. Miami’s most recent playoff appearance came in 2016. That season, Jay Ajayi rambled for 1,222 yards on the ground. Miami was ninth in the NFL in rushing that season with 1,824 yards gained.

A half-dozen of Miami’s 23 postseason squads have featured a 1,000-yard rusher. The legendary unbeaten Super Bowl champion 1972 Dolphins featured a pair of grand runners. Larry Csonka ran for 1,117 yards, while Mercury Morris contributed an even 1,000.

There were 17 Dolphins playoff clubs that included a running back with 800 or more yards on the ground. Of those that didn’t, several teams – especially the Miami clubs of the early-to-mid-1980s – were prominently led in the ground game by a backfield by committee formula.

Miami’s 1984 Super Bowl team that lost to the 49ers included Woody Bennett (606 yards), Tony Nathan (558) and Joe Carter (495) in the backfield behind rookie quarterback Dan Marino. The following season, four runners went over 250 yards on the ground, led by Nathan’s 667 yards.

Running Still Matters

The NFL might no longer be the run-dominated league that it was in the early 1970s when Miami ruled as kings of the hill. Sharing the workload between Csonka, Morris and Jim Kiick, those Dolphins teams could continually punish and simply wear out a defense.

Certainly, today’s NFL is first and foremost a passing league but to suggest running the football has become an afterthought would be pure folly. Five of the top six NFL teams in rushing yardage during the 2019 season were all postseason participants. Two of the top three – San Francisco and Tennessee – played in their respective conference championship games. Baltimore, which led the NFL with 3,296 yards on the ground, also posted an NFL-best 14-2 regular-season record.

The Dolphins will need to run the ball to succeed this season, whether it’s with the veteran Fitzpatrick or 2020 first-round draft pick Tua Tagovailoa at the helm of the offense. Sending the rookie Tagovailoa on the field to figure out and adjust to NFL defenses without a capable running game at his disposal would be suicide for the kid.

Finishing 2-2 to close out a 5-11 campaign last season, Miami actually averaged 100.75 yards per game on the ground. It was a big increase over the Dolphins’ season average of 72.25 yards per game.

That’s where Breida and Howard could really make a difference in Miami. Last season, Breida was a dangerous weapon in San Francisco’s three-back system that saw him, Raheem Mostert (722 yards) and Tevin Coleman (544) all run for over 500 yards. They were the first team to suit up three 500-yard rushers in the same season since the 1978 New England Patriots.

Working in combination with two-time 1,000-yard rusher Howard, they could provide a dynamic duo in the backfield for Miami.

 

How Major League Soccer will Return

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Major League Soccer will return with all 26 teams set to arrive in Orlando starting June 24. The “MLS is Back Tournament” will take place between July 8-August 11. Yesterday morning, the league announced all rules and new COVID-19 regulations for the tournament, which will take place at ESPN Wide World of Sports at Disney World Resort in Florida. The return is just a few weeks away.

The Group Stage (July 8 – July 23)

In a World Cup style format, teams are to to be placed amongst six different randomly drawn groups. The Western and Eastern Conference will have 3 groups each, but different layouts when it comes to how many teams will be placed in each. Group A will feature Orlando City SC along with five other teams from the Eastern Conference. However, Groups C and E will feature four clubs each from the East. Atlanta United and Toronto FC will split into the remaining of the two Eastern groups. On the Western side, groups B, D, and F, will all have four teams each. LAFC, Seattle Sounders, and Real Salt Lake will be placed in separately in these groups.

In a traditional style group stage in any tournament around the world, each team has a chance to play against all the other teams in the group. With the league announcing there will only be three group stage matches, participants in Group A won’t be able to faceoff against the entire group. To aid the grouping and numbers, Nashville SC will temporarily play as an Eastern Conference team. All three group stage matches will count towards the 2020 regular season. The draw for the groups will happen this afternoon at 3:30 EST.

The Knockout Tournament (July 25 – August 11)

After the group stage, set to end on July 23, the top two teams from each group, and the four best third place teams will be seeded into a knockout tournament. There will only be one match in knockout play, with a tie game going directly into penalty kicks.

  • Round of 16 – July 25-28
  • Quarterfinals – July 30-August 1
  • Semifinals – August 5-6
  • Final – August 11

All times are TBA.

What to Play for

MLS announced after the new CBA deal was reached, that there is a $1.1 million prize pool. The tournament will allow the players to earn bonuses. It’s been rumored that there is also a trophy that will be lifted on August 11, but there’s one prize that makes this tournament serious.

Other than the fact that the three group stage matches will count towards the regular season, teams will be playing hard all tournament because of a 2021 CONCACAF Champions League spot that will be granted to the winner. Regardless if it’s an American or Canadian club, this one time berth into the CCL will be replacing the spot that is usually awarded to the top team in the conference that doesn’t have the winners of the Supporters Shield.

Inter Miami CF was cleared to return to full team training earlier this week. Fans will hope it’s enough time to put the club ahead of the rest, turn around the 2020 season, and qualify for the CCL in its inaugural year.

The league also announced that the 2020 regular season will take place shortly following the finale of the “MLS is Back Tournament.”

 

 

Meyers Leonard is Key to a Winning Miami Heat Team

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Meyers Leonard accepted his role as soon as he arrived in Miami.

A winning role.

He’s a player that compliments his fellow big, Bam Adebayo, perfectly. He spaces the floor due to his respected three point shooting, which leads to drawing the big man out of the paint for Bam and others. He also can take the defensive assignment of a true big, since Bam seems to thrive when playing perimeter defense due to his quickness.

Meyers played the first 49 games of the season with the Heat, but missed the next 16 due to an ankle injury. After Meyers went out with this injury, the Heat lost 7 of there next 9 games without him. Miami started the season 34-15 with Meyers, but went 7-9 in their last 16.

This is because Meyers is much more than a role player. When people talk about the reasons the Heat were so good this year, his name usually doesn’t come up.

But it should, especially after the Heat struggled to find consistency without him. They rotated several players next to Adebayo, from Derrick Jones Jr. to Jae Crowder to Kelly Olynyk, but none had the physical presence that allowed Adebayo to be his roaming, disruptive best. The difference was also seen during the season series against the rival Philadelphia 76ers — Miami turned that around when Erik Spoelstra chose to give him a second stint in each half, rather than shelving him after one.

He’s also a guy that makes teammates more comfortable on the floor with his willingness to communicate and direct, which is especially important in the postseason.

This is not only because the game slows down in the playoffs, but also with the many young guys in Miami’s rotation. Inexperienced performers such as Kendrick Nunn, Duncan Robinson, and Tyler Herro need their vocal leaders that they can look to in a tough playoff game.

And speaking of the postseason, Meyers definitely doesn’t shy away from big moments himself…

There are definitely many important pieces on this Heat team. But it seems as if one of those irreplaceable pieces — which is least spoke of — is indeed, The Hammer.

And now, after the extended break, he’s healthy. And in a contract year.

So it should be a solid finish.

The 5 Best Dolphins of All-Time? Here’s one list.

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Over the years the Miami Dolphins have seen some incredible talents walk through their doors, even if not as many the past decade or so. The latest of those is Tua Tagovailoa, who is just one of several that could have bright NFL futures ahead, but instead of speculating over what lays ahead we’re going to look back at some of the stars from yesteryear.

Here is a list of five of the best to have donned the Dolphins jersey.

 

Number 5. Zach Thomas 

Even allowing for the fact that Thomas was a round five pick, his arrival in Miami was underwhelming to say the least. He had a decent college career at Texas Tech but question marks remained over his size and attitude.

By the time he retired after a 13-year NFL career, those questions had been well and truly answered. Seven Pro-Bowls, five first team All-Pro honours and he was twice named Linebacker of the year.

All bar one of his professional years were spent with the Dolphins – the other being at the end of his career in Dallas – and he called it a day having landed 1,700 tackles. Doubters, what doubters?

And he should be in the Hall of Fame.

 

Number 4. Dwight Stephenson

Stephenson was snapped up in round two of the 1980 draft after he’d been part of the Crimson Tide side that had just won back to back National Championships. He wasn’t the headline maker of the Dolphins but he was a big player and was a vital cog as they made two Super Bowls in three years during the mid-eighties.

Of course, Stevenson might be held in even higher regard had he not been forced to call time on his career after just seven years. Then again, five Pro-Bowls and five All-Pro awards in consecutive seasons along side winning the NFL Man of the Year award and being named in the 100th anniversary side isn’t a shabby legacy.

 

Number 3. Larry Little

For a brief moment it looked like Little had missed his chance to compete at the top when he went undrafted. The San Diego Chargers offered him a chance though and two years later he was jetting into Miami. Little wasn’t keen on the move but he quickly had an impact on the Dolphins. Fast forward five years and he had made three Super Bowls – winning two – and had been honoured with five All-Pro and four Pro-Bowls. From there on out Little was a Dolphin through and through before retiring in 1980.

 

Number 2. Larry Csonka

Csonka was a machine that would not be stopped. He was the Dolphins round one pick in 1968 but a couple of serious blows to his head early on in his pro career left things in the balance. He overcame the odds to return to the field. Thank goodness he did. Four seasons followed with Csonka an ever present in the team.

Of those four years, the final three ended in Super Bowl appearances with the Dolphins triumphant in 1973 and 74. Csonka was named Bowl MVP for his contribution in the latter. He moved on after that but couldn’t stay away and returned in 1979 for one last season, which saw him awarded the comeback award after recording a career high of 12 rushing touchdowns. Who says ‘never go back’?

 

Number 1. Dan Marino

Then there was one – Dan Marino. Who else? We’ve touched on the team that dominated in the early to mid-seventies and it’s fair to say that if Marino played then, he would not have looked out of place.

For 17 years he loyally served the Dolphins as he carried them to 10 play-off appearances but, sadly, just one Super Bowl, which ended in defeat. If anyone deserved the glory of a Super Bowl win then it was Marino too. However, just like a horse who underachieves in the Kentucky Derby odds, Marino never quite made it as far as he deserved.

Over his career he threw more than 61,000 yards with his second season seeing him throw 48 touchdowns and 5,084 yards – records that stood for 20 and 27 years respectively. We could list all his honours but, quite frankly, that would be exhausting instead we leave you with the thought that this is just a snapshot of what Marino achieved – nine Pro-Bowls, five years of leading the league on passing yards, another three where he led on passing touchdowns, a league MVP award and a place in the Hall of Fame.

There you have it, five legendary Dolphins. Over to you, class of 2020, just some small shoes to fill.

 

Miami Hurricanes

Miami Hurricanes in curious spot in Street & Smith’s ACC rankings

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It’s that time of year again. The preseason lists have come out, and the Miami Hurricanes are not getting much respect, at least from one publication. Street and Smith released their projected rankings for the Coastal Division in 2020. Miami finished fifth.

North Carolina tops the list, followed by Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh, and Virginia. The publication references Miami’s 13-16 record since the 2017 season.

Mark Richt certainly is not going to walk through the door anytime soon. However, Miami quickly reloaded this offseason and put themselves in a much better position to compete.

They were able to land coordinator Rhett Lashlee, who quickly put his stamp on the program in recruiting. It started with landing D’Eriq King, Since then, the program has added names such as Quincy Roche and Jarrid Williams. Are the pieces new? Yes, they are. That’s part of what made Miami’s offseason rebuild so impressive. They were able to get a new influx of talent in a short amount of time.

Miami Hurricanes played ACC tough in 2019

I get that these moves may contribute to some growing pains. That may be why Miami is penciled into the fourth spot in these rankings. However, consider last season. They were able to beat Virginia by a 17-9 score on October 11. They narrowly lost to UNC on September 7 by a 28-25 margin.

With the new talent the program has, they should definitely be higher. I would certainly argue that they got better this offseason. I think any regression that they are probably going to suffer will be due to players playing with each other for the first time and not based on skill. However, you never know.

It will be interesting to see what this edition of the Miami hurricanes can do. It is evident that Manny Diaz and his staff have a plan. Next, it’s all about execution.

Inter Miami returning to training in Fort Lauderdale

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The return of Inter Miami CF is closer than ever as the club announced this afternoon that they have received approval from Major League Soccer to begin full team training as early as this week.

 

The MLS debutants played only two matches to kick off their inaugural campaign and were on the heels of making their much-anticipated home debut versus the Los Angeles Galaxy prior to MLS, and the rest of the sports world shut down due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

 

MLS lifted the team training moratorium on June 4 and Inter Miami was one of the first clubs to release their plans to return to training with a comprehensive explanation of procedures which highlighted all of the main points in helping both stop contamination and keeping athletes and staff members safe as they returned to training.

 

Before sending their plans to MLS, Inter Miami CF had to have its plans approved by the Club’s medical staff and local infectious disease experts.

 

According to MLS, “A strict schedule of COVID-19 testing will also be required, and full team training is mandatory after previously being in the phase for voluntary small group training.”

 

On May 6, players began to slowly return as part of the voluntary individual training sessions, but now the club has the green light to return to full team training at Inter Miami CF Training Center.

 

Inter Miami CF will now begin preparations for their return to the pitch as MLS has also agreed on a summer return in late-June with a Tournament in Orlando with three group games and a 16-team knockout round.

 

Heat should seek second round with the Bucks

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As it stands right now, the Miami Heat would face the Indiana Pacers in the first round of the NBA playoffs. As the 4-seed, the Heat find themselves in the same half of the bracket as the Bucks and defending MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo. While some may say that’s not ideal, the Heat should seek that second-round match up with Milwaukee.

 

Miami is one of two teams this season (Denver the other) to have multiple wins over the 53-12 Bucks. The Heat were one of three teams to win in Wisconsin, doing so without Jimmy Butler. Then, in Miami, the Heat held Milwaukee to a season-low 89 points en route to snapping a six-game Bucks winning streak.

 

During those contests, the Heat made Antetokounmpo work for every bucket. Coach Erik Spoelstra rotated multiple defenders at Giannis, and the Heat limited him to just 13 points that night in Miami.

 

Leading into a second-round tilt with Milwaukee will afford Spo more than enough time to sharpen those defensive efforts. Miami will have fully integrated Andre Iguodala and Jae Crowder by then, giving the team even more options for Antetokounmpo beyond just Bam Adebayo.

 

The Heat would ill-afford slipping to the 6-seed, because that would likely signal a first-round tilt with Boston. The Celtics are 2-0 versus Miami this season, including a convincing 19-point drubbing at TD Garden in early December.

 

The Celtics have length on the perimeter to frustrate Miami’s offensive efforts, and the Heat have always struggled to contain shoot-first point guards, ala Kemba Walker. While the Bucks have the reigning MVP, the rest of their roster lacks the potent punch of someone like Walker.

 

Upsetting Milwaukee in the playoffs could also have a Durant-like effect on Antetokounmpo’s free agency decision come 2021.

 

This is not to say that the Heat would have an easy first-round opponent before facing the Bucks. Although Miami is 2-0 versus the Pacers this season, neither game featured Indiana’s best players: Victor Oladipo and Malcolm Brogdon.

 

Miami may also see the 76ers in the first round. The Heat were 3-1 against Philadelphia this year, including a rousing victory 117-116 overtime win in December. Jimmy Butler versus his former team would incite endless intrigue and entertainment, and Adebayo could give Joel Embiid fits.

 

Best case scenario for the Heat is they see an Indiana team that’s still integrating Oladipo and a hobbled Brogdon with Myles Turner and Domantas Sabonis. They’ll be without Jeremy Lamb, too. They’d move on to an upset win over Milwaukee in the second round and face the battered winner of a series between Boston and Philadelphia for a spot in the NBA Finals.

 

Transfer U: D’Eriq King’s former LT Williams joins him at Miami

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Over the past couple of years, Canes coach Manny Diaz made the most out of the transfer portal, landing valuable contributors such as KJ Osborn, Trevon Hill, Bubba Bolden, and even a few more this year in Quincy Roche and D’Eriq King. Diaz found himself yet another possible gem from the same school as King in Houston grad transfer Jarrid Williams. 

 

 

Williams picked the Canes over FSU, Baylor, Ole Miss, and USC. The offensive lineman will play his final year of eligibility in Coral Gables and if everything goes as planned, Williams should win a starting job at one of the tackles spots to protect King once again.  

 

Williams played three seasons at Houston, with his best one coming in 2018. While blocking for King at right tackle, he earned All-AAC honors from Pro Football Focus, allowing only 12 total pressures amongst 465 pass-blocking snaps to finish with a 98.5 pass-blocking efficiency rating. 

 

2019 was not as pleasant for Williams. Similar to King, he played in four games before suffering a season-ending injury. Because he already used his redshirt in 2015, Williams had to apply for a medical hardship waiver to preserve a year of eligibility, which was granted.

 

Houston coach Dana Hoolgorsen expected Williams to return (like he also did with King) but Williams elected to enter the transfer portal in late April of this year. 

 

Miami had quite possibly the worst offensive line in the country last year, allowing 51 sacks. Much needed help for offensive line coach Garin Justice will arrive in 2020 as they now add Williams, Florida transfer Isiah Walker (if granted a hardship waiver to play immediately), as well as 2020 signees Jalen Rivers and Chris Washington. 

 

More Top High School Hoop Prospects Look to Take Over G-League

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The up and coming idea of another transition to get to the NBA began on April 16th, when the number 2 prospect in the 2020 class, Jalen Green, announced he’d bypass college and join this select G-league team. This lead to 5 star athletes, Isaiah Todd, Daishen Nix, and Kai Sotto, to follow along and join this team as well.

As great as this team sounded already, there are more rumors that opened up today after Oklahoma State was hit with a postseason ban due to NCAA violations. With the number 1 player in the 2020 class, Cade Cunningham, committed, there are rumors flying around about what he will do next. College? Overseas? G-League?

Cade Cunningham was offered a lucrative deal that was believed to be at least as much as Jalen Green’s as well. But if he elects to continue with the college route, Kentucky will most likely be atop of his list after he committed to Oklahoma State over them.

 

With all of this being speculated, there is even more news connected to this G-League team. The number 1 player in the class of 2021, Jon Kuminga, has been “50/50” on whether he’d reclassify up to the class of 2020. Today, Corey Evans from Rivals stated “Bank on Kuminga reclassifying into the 2020 class and turning pro.” This is very promising for the new G-League avenue, but continues to look worse and worse for the future of college basketball.

 

 

Miami Heat in favorable position as latest season odds come out

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Some new odds came out on Friday courtesy of BetOnlne. All things considered, the odds have the Miami Heat in decent positions.

Miami has a 50/1 shot to win the NBA Championship. The Lakers are the favorites at 11/5 odds followed by the Clippers, Bucks, and Celtics. Miami has a 18/1 shot to win the Eastern Conference.

Milwaukee is the favorite to win the conference, followed by the Celtics and Raptors.

There is one other particular number that could be of interest to NBA fans. The odds of a play-in tournament in the Western Conference are very high at -1000.

Ours are favorable to Miami Heat

These odds are right about where I expected the Miami Heat to be. They are certainly an extremely talented team. However, there are other veteran teams in the Eastern Conference with more playoff experience. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to see a full back half of the schedule.

As some of you may recall, Miami was up-and-down following the return from the All-Star break. Immediately following the All-Star break, they dropped their first two games.  Their final game before the stoppage was a 109-98 loss to the Charlotte Hornets.  On a more positive note, they found some sort of groove in the middle of February, winning four games in a row.

Now, it will be interesting to see how the Miami Heat function with this revamped schedule. They certainly have the talent to make a deep playoff run. It’s going to be interesting to see how the rookies and younger players bounce back from the long layoff. Can they recapture the same magic that they had at the beginning of the season?

In any event, this is going to be an exciting continuation of the season. With a ton of talent in the Eastern Conference, the Miami Heat now get their chance to prove if they can go toe-to-toe with the NBA’s best.