INSIDER article on Dolphins, need help! | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

INSIDER article on Dolphins, need help!

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Some bits from the article:


1. Wide receiver -- The perimeter passing weapons in this offense may be the worst in the NFL, which certainly handicaps Tannehill. The Dolphins' wide receivers accounted for only three touchdowns in 2012, and they had nobody to threaten a defense with the deep pass. They have two complementary receivers in Brian Hartline, who is a free agent, and Davone Bess, but neither is a difference-maker -- and the Dolphins may let Hartline hit the free-agent market. What they need is a true No. 1 WR with vertical skills to open up this offense, and this is an excellent free-agent wide receiver class. Miami has money to spend, so there are no excuses to not upgrade this position.


2. Cornerback -- This was not a great perimeter cover group in 2012, partly because of injuries and partly because of inconsistent play. Its best corner, Sean Smith, is an unrestricted free agent in a market in which there are not enough corners to fill the demand, and he might get better offers from other teams, even though the Dolphins have money to keep him. Even with a good pass rush, this secondary only produced 10 interceptions last season. By nature, the Dolphins prefer to play a lot of aggressive man schemes, but they don't have the players to get it done. They need a starting "turn-and-run corner," and, at the very least, they could use a nickel guy to cover the slot receiver if they re-sign Smith.


3. Offensive line -- The two areas of concentration here are at left tackle and right guard. Jake Long is a UFA who will demand a huge payday to re-sign, and the more film you watch on him, the less impressed you are with the level and consistency of his play. That may encourage the Dolphins to let him walk and would probably mean that right tackle Jonathan Martin would slide to the left side, where he played some last year when Long was out with an injury. That would also mean a need at right tackle, as the biggest weakness of this unit is right guard John Jerry.


4. Tight end -- Anthony Fasano is an adequate No. 2 veteran, but this passing game needs an elite pass-catching TE who can stretch defenses.


5. Safety -- While strong safety Rashad Jones is a good rising player, free safety Chris Clemons is a UFA, and he may walk. The Dolphins need more impact plays from this interior back end of the defense.


6. Linebacker -- This unit held up well in 2012, but age (middle linebacker Karlos Dansby is 31) and depth are concerns. Can they find a better middle linebacker and/or outside linebacker who could eventually start?
 
Team Philosophies
Offense -- Head coach Joe Philbin and offensive coordinator Mike Sherman made solid strides in building this up-tempo offense in their first year. In the run game, they run a one-cut-and-go attack with more power looks than you might think between the tackles with zone blocking up front. Off the run game, they utilize a lot of bootlegs and rollouts with fairly safe reads and mostly intermediate throws by quarterback Ryan Tannehill, as well as occasional deep shots off play-action.

They are trying to incorporate their backs and tight ends more into the passing game, and they really stress getting in and out of the huddle quickly -- even with some no-huddle looks. The volume of plays that this offense runs is very important to the coaching staff. Also, look for Tannehill to run some read-option plays in 2013 to take advantage of his athletic ability and feet, as they let him use his legs more at the end of the 2012 season.

Defense -- This defense has made the transition from a 3-4 scheme to a 4-3 front under coordinator Kevin Coyle, although the Dolphins can show some hybrid looks with occasional 3-4 wrinkles, and they have interesting versatility when they go to sub packages. Their front seven is a real strength -- both versus the run and in their pass rush -- which helps cover up deficiencies on the back end. Coyle is from the Mike Zimmer school of "attack defense," in which the defensive backs play a lot of man schemes on an island with occasional blitzes in front of them. They may gamble even more in 2013 to create more big plays and turnovers, something they did not do very well in 2012. When this defense is at its best, it gets offenses in a lot of third-and-long situations, which is when it can get most creative.
 
I agree with what he said about the linebackers, and ive been thinking this for 2 full seasons now. I think dansby plotted out BETTER for us than I anticipated, really getting better every season with us, and last year impressed me playing (very well) through a nasty injury... a testament to his toughness. Kevin Burnett I think does better cover work than I anticipated, he's not the thumper dansby is, but they compliment eachother well. As much as we want to find the next guys up, their play has warranted them more time, and in turn, the phins more time to focus on other positions. You can't replace everyone at once, and we will need to get new linebackers in the next season or two, especially at their salaries now, but we can wait. It will suck when it hits, as a position need always does, but we need to focus elsewhere now (WR, TE, OG, OT, DE, FS, CBx2).... lets wait on LB.
 
I could see how this would be a pretty good read if you wanted to get some info on the rest of the league, but for a fan that is up to date on their own team, obviously ESPN wont have anything better than we do.
 
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