Miami Dolphins secondary stepping up in a big way in 2014

Written by Matthew Cannata at 3:00 PM EST | Twitter: @PhinManiacs

It’s no secret that the defensive line for the Miami Dolphins is the heart and soul of the defense. However, the secondary is trying their best to establish themselves as the dominant force on that side of the ball and they’ve been working hard to do so since the season began.  

“I think (Defensive Backs Coach) Lou (Anarumo) and Jeff (Burris) and those guys have done a really good job with the secondary,” Joe Philbin said. “We’ve got a good mix of some veterans and some younger guys who are stepping up and seem to be improving on a weekly basis. I think we do a good job of mixing up scheme coverage wise, be it zone or man and so forth. I think they’ve gotten some help, let’s face it, we have a good pass rush and that’s helped them I think. I was just looking at it today, San Diego’s got an explosive pass offense, so this is going to be I’m sure our stiffest challenge to date. We’re going to have to get ready for it.”

In the offseason, the Dolphins added Louis Delmas and Cortland Finnegan to the secondary and Philbin says that they have fit in well not only on the field, but in the locker room as well. Finnegan said that the chemistry of the secondary has been good and that they are a tight knit group of players.

“Yeah, that’s the DBs (defensive backs). We’re a family, a brotherhood. We have each other’s back. It’s one of those things, you compete, like I said, in practice every week about interceptions and just making plays on the ball. And we’ll continue to do that on Sunday.”

When talking about what the defensive backs have done so far and what they need to do in the future, Finnegan downplayed their progress and said that they still have a lot to work on.

“It’s special in the sense of togetherness, but I’m not saying special in the sense that we haven’t done anything yet. I think at the end of the year, if we find ourselves doing some good things, then we’ll talk. But right now, we’re just gelling right now.” 

“I expect just to win. That’s what we play the game for. All of the extra, that’s just like whip cream on the top. You’d like to have your cake and eat it too, and get a little whip cream (joking). We go out there and compete. I think all of us compete in practice, so we’ll compete on Sunday.

Some could argue that Finnegan has been the reason why the defensive backs are so close as he was the one who took Jamar Taylor and Will Davis under his wing during training camp and really worked with them so they could get better. Although Finnegan has had a bad game or two this season, he’s been a solid addition to the team.

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