Let's not lose sight of the fact that their defense has led to them having to pass more because they've been playing from behind so much as well. There's a lot that needs to be fixed here.
Really?
Let's see:
Week 1: They were down 3-0 until midway through the 2nd qtr. Miami then scored and it was a 10-7 game. In that first half, Miller had all of 3 carries. Tannehill, on the other hand, dropped back to pass 18 times. Miami ended up winning the game 17-10. Miller ended up with 13 carries, but most of them came in the 4th qtr with 7 minutes left.
Week 2: Miami never trailed by more than 7 points the entire game. Miller had all of 2 carries in the 1st qtr. And when Miami tied the game at 20-20 less than 5 minutes into the 3rd qtr, Miller saw a total of 4 carries for the rest of the game (all in the 3rd qtr). Tannehill, meanwhile, had dropped back to pass 22 times after the score was tied 20-20. Miami lost the game 23-20. 22 passes vs. 4 rushes in a tie game.
Week 3: Miami got down early to Buffalo and trailed 14-0 at the end of the 1st qtr. However, still too early to abandon the run. Miller had a grand total of THREE first half carries, two of which both went for 5 yds each. Meanwhile, Tannehill dropped back to pass 24 times. 24 passes to 3 rushes. Even down 14-0, that's absurd and has nothing to do with the defense letting them down.
Week 4: Miami finally came out and tried to establish the run with a grand total of 4 rushes in the 1st qtr. Yet despite only being down 10 pts, they abandoned the run the rest of the game. Miller had 3 carries THE REST OF THE ENTIRE GAME. Tannehill, on the other hand, finished with 44 pass attempts.
There are other teams that have gotten behind far more than the Dolphins have through the first 4 weeks. But, guess who leads the league in pass attempts with 171 through 4 weeks (43 attempts/game
)? Similarly, guess which team is dead last in rushing attempts/game at 16.2? Yep, Miami.
This has NOTHING to do with the defense and everything to do with the most horrendous play calling we may have ever seen in the history of the NFL. The Cardinals are 3rd in the NFL with a 4.4 ypc average and the Dolphins are at 4.3 (tied for 9th) and yet don't run the ball? Even the Rams, who are the 3rd lowest in the NFL in rushing attempts/game are at 21 attempts/game. That's 5 fewer attempts per game lower than the 3rd lowest in the entire NFL. Many teams are almost double what Miami has done.
That's why Miami is 1-3 and why they fired the coach. It's ridiculous. The other team with a similarly skewed pass/run ratio? Detroit (41 passing attempts/game and 17 rushing/game). No wonder they are 0-4 as well. And their games were even closer than Miami's as they were in every single game they played this year.