After five games, the Miami Dolphins have the second-worst passing offense in the NFL, ahead of only the Tennessee Titans.
Miami’s offensive struggles were to be expected after the team moved on from wide receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle this offseason. this offseason. However, being the second-worst passing offense in the NFL was likely not what the team envisioned when they signed free agent quarterback Malik Willis to a three-year, $67 million contract.
In five games, Willis has thrown more interceptions than touchdowns and has struggled to be a steadying force in Miami’s offense. Ahead of Miami’s Week 7 matchup against the New York Jets, a pair of coaches commented on their quarterback.
Miami Dolphins Coach Gets Honest on Malik Willis and Passing Offense
Miami Dolphins offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik said of Miami’s passing offense, “We got to be way more consistent.”
Regarding quarterback Malik Willis perhaps not taking as many checkdowns as have been available, Slowik said, “I think in general, I would say the pass game in total, we just need to stack more completions, that’s been a big emphasis for us. I think there’s a lot of different parts of that, checkdowns are one of them. Without a doubt, checkdowns are one of them. But you also don’t want to go out there and just be throwing checkdowns when number one is wide open for an explosive.”
Slowik also took some accountability over Miami’s struggles, saying, “I think over the bye week, had a lot of time as coaches, as players, between me and Haf and me and Malik, getting together, talking through a lot of different things and a lot of different thoughts. Generally I don’t think anybody really thinks the pass game is where we want it to be, and I think it all starts with just like, in my mind, I’ve got to coach this better.”
Slowik added, “I got to find a way to help coach this where we’re all seeing the game the same way, and right now I don’t think everybody, all the 11 guys are seeing the game the same way. I think it’s easy to talk about the quarterback, but there’s 10 other guys out there that need to help him.”
Quarterbacks Coach Comments on Willis
Meanwhile, Miami Dolphins’ quarterbacks coach Busch Hamdan added a different perspective on Willis, saying, “It’s a development. Just being real with you, the confidence I have in him is still through the roof. He has shown flashes of having that elite stuff. Just has got to [master] the consistency part of it. On third downs, he’s put us in a lot of good positions. [Defenses] have to make sure there’s an extra player for him if he decides to run. We want to keep building on that.”
On Sunday, the Dolphins will have a difficult test against the New York Jets. Despite New York’s 2-4 record, they currently have the fourth-best pass defense in terms of yards per game allowed. Among the players featured in New York’s secondary is defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick, whom Miami traded to the Jets in exchange for a late-round pick this offseason.
Dolphins Coach Doesn’t Hold Back on Quarterback Malik Willis