Miami Dolphins offensive coordinator Bill Lazor denied that players have a problem with him or his offense.
NFL Media's Jeff Darlington reported prior to last week's pivotal matchup that several Dolphins offensive players believe Lazor's "abrasive" tenor was wearing thin on the locker room and were frustrated by the offense's inconsistency.
Lazor told reporters Monday he didn't read the report, but believes he acts appropriately toward his players and values their input.
"I think it's about what a normal NFL offensive team would be," he said, per the Palm Beach Post. "So I've had players tell me how much they appreciate the standard of expectations we have and I've had some players in a very professional way over time come up and maybe say, 'Hey, I think this other approach might help us at times.'"
Darlington's piece laid out the specifics of the consternation within the Dolphins' locker room, but fairly added that patience was necessary as Lazor moved on in his first year as Miami's coordinator.
One big question from Darlington was how much freedom quarterback Ryan Tannehill is given to read defenses and change plays at the line of scrimmage.
Lazor addressed that concern, stating that audibles and changes are built into the play-calling and praised his young quarterback for making appropriate reads.
"Ryan (Tannehill) has more options than a lot of quarterbacks that we've coached," Lazor said. "Now, we do certain things differently. Some of them are what you would call verbal audibles, some of them are right at the snap, some of them are built in options. It's how we choose to play football. Ryan has the ability to handle those things and in my opinion does them very well. I think that's one of his strengths. He uses all of the different options, whether they be audibles or built in options to get the ball distributed around the field. That's probably when we've played our best offensively, is when he's used all of those things."
Wins quiet a lot of frustration, as last week proved. However, if Miami spirals in their effort to earn a playoff bid these issues could return full-throated.
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