After two weeks, things aren't going swimmingly for Ndamukong Suh in South Beach. Despite adding the $114 million player this offseason, the Dolphins' defense somehow appears worse in 2015.
Sunday, Miami gave up 396 total yards in a 23-20 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Blake Bortles completed 18 of 33 passes for 273 yards and two touchdowns, while rookie T.J. Yeldon ran for 70 of Jacksonville's 123 rushing yards on the day.
The loss comes a week after the Dolphins needed a spectacular interception and boneheaded penalties from the Washington Redskins' offense to slow Kirk Cousins.
Suh has just three total tackles in his first two appearances and looks far from the game-changing presence we saw for years in Detroit.
"I couldn't tell you," Suh said, when asked to explain his uninspired play, via the Miami Herald. "At the end of the day, we have to go back to the drawing board and figure out what we want to run so guys can make plays and go from there."
It appears Suh might have his own ideas about how the Dolphins could accomplish that change. According to the Herald's Adam Beasley, Suh "freelanced" several times during Sunday's loss, straying from defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle's "script."
Coyle caught the ire of his defensive personnel last season, so this situation could blow up further if the Dolphins begin to deteriorate.
Coach Joe Philbin told reporters he didn't see anything to indicate Suh freelanced Sunday.
"There was a report Suh was freelancing," Philbin said Monday, per the Herald. "I didn't see anything of the sort. Not sure where that came from."
The offseason of promise has seen the shimmer already smudged. Even its shiny new toy appears faulty.
Don't worry, Dolphins fans, Philbin will surely turn the situation around before it spirals into another mess.