Miami Dolphins players know they need to improve their run defense

Written by Matthew Cannata | Twitter: @PhinManiacs
One of the biggest weaknesses on the Miami Dolphins lsat season was their run defense. Simply put, many teams were able to run at will against the Dolphins and of course, that put them at a huge disadvantage. While they were able to get by most of the season, it let them down the most against the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills, who rushed for 152 and 203 yards, respectively. Players on the defense said that things have changed though and that they should be much improved from the 2013 season.

"We're looking forward to doing better against the run this year," linebacker Dannell Ellerbe told the Sun-Sentinel, "and I have a full belief that we will."

Head Coach Joe Philbin agrees with Ellerbe’s sentiments and points to the improved linebacker play during preseason.

"I thought definitely in the preseason it has been better," Philbin said. "I thought our defense did a great job limiting explosive plays during the course of the preseason. I know it's the preseason, but it's still football and it still matters."

The Dolphins made a few changes on defense with the addition of Earl Mitchell, Cortland Finnegan and Louis Delmas. However, the core of the group is in place and the defensive tackle position is led by veteran Randy Starks.

"Since I've been here we've been like, top 5, sometimes top 10," Starks said of the Dolphins' run defense. "And the last couple of years we've been slipping. That's one of the things we've talked about, we want to get back to Dolphins football."

If the Dolphins run defense is anything like last year, it will be another long year for the team and would put the team in jeopardy of losing many more games than last year due to the fact that they play many teams this year with great rushing attacks

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