Miami Dolphins using defensive front from long ago. And Broncos took advantage | Opinion

The first time the Denver Broncos pulled their left tackle and left guard and ran a sweep to the right side against the Miami Dolphins last Sunday it seemed, well, different. Because the Broncos had not done that a lot this season.

Then they did it again, sometimes by only pulling the guard or the tackle or both again.

And now it was if the Dolphins were playing Vince Lombardi’s Green Bay Packers instead of Vic Fangio’s team.

It was if the Dolphins were seeing a classic Packers sweep right out of the 1960s.

Well, guess what? In some respects the Dolphins were indeed playing against the vestiges of Lombardi’s classic sweep, with guard Jerry Kramer leading and Jim Taylor toting the ball in the lane created through the defense.

“Part of the reason is — you hit on it when you went all the way back to the ‘60s,” Fangio told Denver reporters this week. “Miami plays some fronts that were popular in the ‘60s. We play those fronts here a little bit. We mix them in and disguise them a little bit more.

“Because of the way they play their defense, those runs were appealing to us. We put them in, and the guys did a great job of executing them.”

So the Broncos put in a couple of plays the Dolphins had not seen from them on tape.

And the Dolphins — billed as a multiple, modern-day, attacking defense — did indeed use fronts that were popular in the 1960s, as they apparently have been doing all season. And they got gashed using them.

The Broncos rushed for 189 yards and averaged 5.7 yards per rush against Miami.

“I would say, like, the game’s been around for a while,” Dolphins defensive coordinator Josh Boyer said Tuesday. “I don’t think anyone’s re-inventing anything. So whether they think it’s a run from the ‘60s against a front from the ‘60s, it’s all been done before.”

Boyer, by the way, is a very bright individual. When he worked in New England he helped devise the game plan that held the Los Angeles Rams to a field goal in Super Bowl 53 and authored something of a sequel — changing things around, of course — in a Dolphins victory over the Rams this season.

But he’s not big on revealing secrets or tricks or truths that might diminish Miami’s chances of winning future games. That’s why he didn’t come right out and concede the Dolphins are playing some 1960s fronts.

But in Boyerspeak, he absolutely did just that.

“We do numerous different things,” Boyer said. “We’re very multiple with our fronts. I would say a lot of the plays, I wouldn’t say they’re unfamiliar. We saw San Francisco ran some of the same plays [as Denver].

“I think it comes down to making sure on a down-in, down-out basis we’re putting our players in a good position to succeed. And when things come up, being able to adjust and put our guys in better spots.”

The search for better spots needs to continue because when the Dolphins face teams that have tried to attack their Lyndon Johnson administration front with 1960s plays of their own, they’ve had some success.

Obviously, the Broncos had that success. But the San Francisco 49ers, which Boyer mentioned, also had some moments.

Yes, the Dolphins blew out San Francisco 43-17 and I was happy to go to In-N-Out afterward. But don’t forget the 49ers rushed for 131 yards on only 19 attempts. That’s a 6.9-yard-per-attempt average, which is not sustainable if repeated in a game that’s competitive.

The other thing of interest is when Fangio, a very good defensive coach, says he also employs those ‘60s fronts but disguises them a little bit more.

Maybe Boyer should consider disguising his a little bit more, also.

Boyer believes the Miami defense is doing that by serving up a menu filled with a variety of variables to confuse and confound.

“We’re always trying to put stress on the offensive line, the quarterback,” he said. “If we can do that with variations and fronts, if we can do that with movement -- I think if you do the same thing over and over again, obviously, sooner or later, people are going to catch on to that.

“From a play-caller and football coach, it’s all a reoccurring cycle, whether it’s the power run game, whether it’s the K-gun, whatever you want to call it. Whatever any defense or offense ... Bear front, it’s all been done before.

“Ultimately what you’re trying to do is put your players, with whatever you have available to you, in position to make plays. And you’re trying to attack opponents based on things that they do.”