Dolphins defensive coordinator maintains Green Bay weather didn’t bother them

The Miami Dolphins had won three straight games entering their Thanksgiving clash with the Packers. Linebacker Jordyn Brooks had his thoughts on the team’s 30-17 setback, apparently something that the team’s defensive coordinator wasn’t necessarily on board with.

Miami’s top tackler this season didn’t mince words following the team’s prime time loss at Lambeau Field (via ESPN’s Marcel Louis-Jacques).

“I thought we were soft. Simple as that, I thought we were soft today. I don’t know if guys (were) too cold…I don’t know what it was. I feel like the elements played a part in how we played as a group, and that was the result that we got.”

When speaking to reporters earlier this week, Weaver had his own take on Brooks’s analysis.

“I think that’s Jordyn—it’s one of those things when you’re talking after the game, you’re reacting purely off emotion. I’m sure that once he watched the tape, I wouldn’t be surprised if he changed his tune, because that game, the missed tackles you could say they kind of equate to softness in the moment, but when you see why they occurred, you would see that softness had nothing to do with it. I give credit to the Green Bay Packers for just making plays and making us miss.”

There was this sobering number, via NFL’s Next Gen Stats:

Dolphins DC refuses to blame Green Bay weather for letdown

Miami’s DC Anthony Weaver also spoke on his defense’s tackling deficiencies.

“Our poor tackling in this showing was certainly one I didn’t see coming. Was it the cold? Who knows. Was it playing on a Thursday? Who knows. It could be a variety of things. You got to give credit to them, right, just in terms of breaking tackles. Josh Jacobs is not an easy guy to bring down. Do we need to be better in our technique and fundamentals and like wrapping up, driving our feet, not diving off the diving board? Absolutely, but I certainly wouldn’t attribute that to the cold.”

Of course, both gentlemen could be correct. Those 20 missed tackles added up to 132 additional yards for the Green Bay offense. The 388 total yards were the second-most allowed by Weaver’s defense this year, and what really stood out was the fact that the Dolphins wound up allowing a distressing 7.3 yards per play—easily the worst such mark for this unit this season.

Considering Miami defenders had limited each of their previous five opponents to less than 100 yards on the ground, Green Bay’s 114 rushing yards was no doubt a disappointing figure.

Regardless of who or what’s to blame, the Dolphins are quickly running out of time if they plan on playing both offense and defense during the 2024 NFL playoffs.