AJayi Trade from a purely Football Perspective

[phintim]

Here is a bigger issue than just Ajayi none of our backs are effective. Thats my major stink with this trade. We have Drake who bounces it outside usually for no gain, is not a great blocker and other than getting hurt thats about it then there is Williams that has had maybe 2 productive games for him and other than that has stunk up the place killing drives. I would have dumped him for somebody and Drske being so young I guess keep him around for the year but Drake runs dumb to me. Anyway 3 backs 2 highly inferior and we have issues well then its on the coaching not finding the right talent or unable to coach it. Also Cutler Gases boy does not know how to distribute the ball, suddenly Moore comes in and Fasano and Caroo start catching balls. How does a veteran QB unable to do that?

 

[BlueFin]

While I'm sure there are non-on the field reasons Ajayi was traded, I want to look at this strictly from a football perspective.

What does Ajayi do well? He runs great between the tackles and is great at breaking tackles. That's about it right? He doesn't catch well, and he doesn't pass protect well. And apparently he doesn't know his assignments very well either.

From a coaching standpoint.... what do you do when teams take away what he does well by crowding the Line of Scrimmage with defenders?

You can't flex him out to get him lined up in space against a LB or throw him passes out of the backfield because he's not good at that.

You can't pass the ball as effectively because he can't block to help in protection and he can't catch very well. So as an OC, you're limited to what you can do with him on the field and it makes you predictable and easy to defend.

It's difficult to scheme around it because you basically have a player in a key position where as long as he's on the field and not getting ball in the run game, you're basically playing 10 on 11.

If what he does well isnt' working...... you're almost forced to take him off the field...but when you do..... he makes a stink about it.

If you go back to Gase's days in Denver, they had RB's that were versatile. We don't have the offensive line or receivers to employ a power running attack, they just don't block well enough. So you need scheme, deception and unpredictability which we don't have with Ajayi as the RB. I think Gase realized this and decided that it was worth making a move because CLEARLY what we're doing now on offense isnt' working.

Your thoughts?

Yes...plus his knee is bone on bone and he can't practice...and he wants more money.

Add it all up...get a draft pick and move on.

 

[oasis]

One of the worst mistakes you can make is trying to run your offense through the wrong player(s). And by wrong I don't mean untalented, I mean just the wrong fit for your offense and other personnel. Ajayi had his limitations and if they knew they didn't want to give him a $5M+/yr deal after this season, might as well get something for him. It's not like he was going to power us to a SB run this season.

We've run our passing game through Landry for some time now, and again, while he might be very talented, you see where it has gotten us.

 

[J. David Wannyheimer]

This move was 0% to do with his health and maybe 10% to do with Ajayi being useless in the passing game. Sure, those were issues, but that's not why you tell the front office you want to cut the guy if he can't be traded in the next 24 hours.

It was 90% insubordination.

There were areas where Ajayi's game was hurting the offense, but overall his talent was a net positive for the team. Let's not pretend this was a "football oriented" move. This was a human resources driven decision. If you move on from him during the off-season, that's a football oriented decision.

 

[Viggen]

Too bad we missed out on AP as a fill in. Damn

 

[aquabob]

While I'm sure there are non-on the field reasons Ajayi was traded, I want to look at this strictly from a football perspective.

What does Ajayi do well? He runs great between the tackles and is great at breaking tackles. That's about it right? He doesn't catch well, and he doesn't pass protect well. And apparently he doesn't know his assignments very well either.

From a coaching standpoint.... what do you do when teams take away what he does well by crowding the Line of Scrimmage with defenders?

You can't flex him out to get him lined up in space against a LB or throw him passes out of the backfield because he's not good at that.

You can't pass the ball as effectively because he can't block to help in protection and he can't catch very well. So as an OC, you're limited to what you can do with him on the field and it makes you predictable and easy to defend.

It's difficult to scheme around it because you basically have a player in a key position where as long as he's on the field and not getting ball in the run game, you're basically playing 10 on 11.

If what he does well isnt' working...... you're almost forced to take him off the field...but when you do..... he makes a stink about it.

If you go back to Gase's days in Denver, they had RB's that were versatile. We don't have the offensive line or receivers to employ a power running attack, they just don't block well enough. So you need scheme, deception and unpredictability which we don't have with Ajayi as the RB. I think Gase realized this and decided that it was worth making a move because CLEARLY what we're doing now on offense isnt' working.

Your thoughts?

However, that ability to run between the tackles is by far the most important skill for a running back. It was something Lamar Miller wasn't particularly good at, and it bit us in the @ss on multiple short yardage situations.

The problems with our running game is our terrible offensive line and terrible QB play that can't make the defense "pay" for crowding the LOS.

 

[Elle Clouds]

Oh now The Dolphins can make football decisions? I wish they did the same when our starting QB went out and they decided to coerce a retired player back into live action for $10 million

 

[rent this space]

The Ajayi trade from a football perspective is a horrific one. We can dress this one up with rose tinted glasses all we want.

You need talent. And if you choose to jettison the talent, you need to have a suitable replacement in house. We have neither.

pretty sure we can duplicate 3.3 YPC and 0 TD's with what's left

 

[J. David Wannyheimer]

pretty sure we can duplicate 3.3 YPC and 0 TD's with what's left

We don't have anyone on the roster who can replace his physical presence and intangible effect on the opposing defense.

But the crappy production we've had from our running game this season, yeah, we can definitely replace that.

 

[DolfanDuBbZ~]

The Ajayi trade from a football perspective is a horrific one. We can dress this one up with rose tinted glasses all we want.

You need talent. And if you choose to jettison the talent, you need to have a suitable replacement in house. We have neither.

You don't need any type of glasses to believe this offense needs to be stripped down and replaced. Actually it's the minority opinion.

 

[Mogwai]

It's strange how many people suddenly believe a player is absolute trash once they're involved in a questionable move away from the team.

It is a shame Ajayi wasn't advancing as a receiver or blocker. That's definitely crucially important to Gase. But it also speaks poorly of Drake that he didn't seize that 3rd down back role. Team would have been much stronger with Ajayi and Drake playing to their roles.

We'll just have to see from a purely football perspective whether Ajayi can outproduce the typical late 4th rounder throughout the rest of his career in the league.

 

[cafinfan408]

Watch what the kid does in philly with a solid line and unstacked boxes

 

[montequi]

What has Grant shown in the backfield to warrant your expectations of him possibly playing RB?

Nothing yet, but many teams have designed plays for small fast guys. End-around plays, reverses, etc...

 

[pmj]

Ajayi was a gimmick, and his gimmick was breaking tackles. Wait till we get a new rb in there. Defenders won't even try tackle them behind the LoS bc they had only planned to try that against Ajayi. theyll have to come up with a new plan to stop the run.

 

[Aquablood]

Ajayi was a gimmick, and his gimmick was breaking tackles. Wait till we get a new rb in there. Defenders won't even try tackle them behind the LoS bc they had only planned to try that against Ajayi. theyll have to come up with a new plan to stop the run.

I think I missed the sarcasm in your post. Breaking tackle is a gimmick?