Why are the Dolphins coming off their third straight losing season for the first time since Richard Nixon's first year in the White House in 1969?
Take a look at how the team played in the red zone last year. The Dolphins ranked 24th in the red-zone efficiency, coming away with six points just 47.17 percent of the time they penetrated the 20-yard line. By comparison, the Dolphins scored a touchdown on 52.94 percent of their red-zone trips in 2010.
The major decline in efficiency contributed to the team dropping five games by three points or fewer last year -- a fact not lost on the Dolphins, whose 20.6 points per game ranked 20th in the league.
“We were awful last year,” tight end Anthony Fasano told The Miami Herald. “That was probably the worst part of our offense, at least early on in the season.”
The Dolphins hope to turn field goals into touchdowns this year by incorporating a no-huddle offense into their West Coast attack that will focus on throwing the ball in the red zone, including in goal-to-go situations, according to the newspaper.
Miami coach Joe Philbin had success in the red zone as offensive coordinator in Green Bay last year, where the Packers found the end zone on 65.22 percent of their red-zone possessions en route to averaging a league high 35 points per game. The Packers scored passing touchdowns on 31 of 42 red-zone touchdowns and their touchdown percentage trailed only Detroit (66.13 percent) and the Jets (65.38 percent).
“Again, I’m not panicking yet because we’ve only been in pads for two days. That’s a heavy install. That’s a lot of teaching,” Philbin said on Monday. “Red zone’s got some specific things both schematically on both sides of the ball that you have to work through. We’ll take a good look at the tape. We’ll correct it.”
If David Garrard, Matt Moore or Ryan Tannehill -- whoever wins the starting quarterback job -- can guide the offense into the end zone just a little bit more this year, the defense should be able to take care of the rest.
After all, the unit finished 15th overall (345.1 yards per game), third against the run (95.6 ypg) and sixth in scoring (19.6 ppg) last year -- not bad considering the Dolphins opened with seven losses.
For more up-to-the-minute news and analysis on the Miami Dolphins from blogger Dave Carey, follow@CBSSportsNFLMIA.