We usually have one (defer receiving the ball to start) or two (taking a knee to end the first half) fewer possessions in the first half. Would maximizing our opportunities in the first half make a difference or is it as you suggest, simply down to poor HC planning?
"Re-grouping" at Halftime
- Thread starter ForksPhin
- Start date
- Joined
- Aug 28, 2006
- Messages
- 13,539
- Reaction score
- 22,040
Deferring to the second half could contribute somewhat. But I think it also puts Philbin's feeling about his offense in focus. I think if Philbin was confident that his offense would take the opening kickoff drive the field, and score 7, he would take the ball every time. I think any coach would rather have a 7-0 lead and play the game from there.
I don't think Philbin has any confidence in his offense, or his offensive coaches' abilities. That leads to deferring, and running out the clock with 3 timeouts while trailing 9-0.
roy_miami
2020 cant get here soon enough
We all know the offense stinks. That is not some crazy revelation. Here's a different spin on the numbers:
Last season when Tannehill had an average performance 82 passer rating +/- 5 points our offense averaged 20.2 points per game, in fact, our offense never scored more than 23 points when our QB had an average game.
This season, under Lazor and the upgrades on offense an average performance from Tannehill has us at 33 points per game.
Even forgetting about the averages for a second, with the QB play being equal we've already bested our best performance from last season by 10 points, against what was touted as what was supposed to be a very good defense, that like us plays a bend but don't break and is very good at keeping teams out of the endzone.
33 points this season vs 20 points last season is progress people. Obviously Joe Philbin will get zero credit for that but whatever.
Last season when Tannehill had an average performance 82 passer rating +/- 5 points our offense averaged 20.2 points per game, in fact, our offense never scored more than 23 points when our QB had an average game.
This season, under Lazor and the upgrades on offense an average performance from Tannehill has us at 33 points per game.
Even forgetting about the averages for a second, with the QB play being equal we've already bested our best performance from last season by 10 points, against what was touted as what was supposed to be a very good defense, that like us plays a bend but don't break and is very good at keeping teams out of the endzone.
33 points this season vs 20 points last season is progress people. Obviously Joe Philbin will get zero credit for that but whatever.
Its the latter. He cannot deliver it. Hopefully Lazor can
- Joined
- Aug 28, 2006
- Messages
- 13,539
- Reaction score
- 22,040
So after two+ years of Philbin, the offense still stinks, right? That is pretty obvious. And Philbin was hired for his offensive coaching experience with Green Bay.
So where does this leave us?
roy_miami
2020 cant get here soon enough
I don't know if it still stinks. We're already 1 of 2 at scoring 30+ vs 1 of 16 last season. We have never scored more than 23 points when the QB had less than 90 passer rating before, we've already increased that by close to 50%. Was that one game an anomaly or will it become more the norm? We'll just have to wait and see.
You realize we did make major changes this off season right? Joe Philbin is attempting to fix things so I don't know why you're lumping this season in with last, or just looking at first halves, or just looking at games post bully-gate, but as I've shown, by some measures there is hope that our offense is greatly improved.
- Joined
- Aug 28, 2006
- Messages
- 13,539
- Reaction score
- 22,040
I explained in my initial post why I was just looking at the first half of recent games.
nyashfan
For Earth Below
Interesting topic. I have used the word "regrouping", for better or worse. I don't believe that halftime is about coaches making magical halftime adjustments and sudden alterations of game plans. I think that football is a game of natural ebbs and flows of momentum and that halftime provides the opportunity for a natural momentum shift. Therefore, given the putrid offensive output by the Dolphins through 2:21 remaining in the first half, Philbin probably assessed that a 9-0 deficit as a worst case scenario was still manageable, especially as the Dolphins would receive the 2nd half kickoff. One more offensive failure that gives the Bills a short field and a potential 16-0 halftime lead and the game is essentially over.
Just one week earlier Philbin faced a 10 point halftime deficit against a very good opponent. And his team won the 2nd half 23-0. So why is it irrational or cowardly for Philbin to accept a 9-0 deficit at halftime and "regroup"? You could argue that Philbin's contentment with such a situation shows that he believed in his team's ability to overcome such a deficit.
Just one week earlier Philbin faced a 10 point halftime deficit against a very good opponent. And his team won the 2nd half 23-0. So why is it irrational or cowardly for Philbin to accept a 9-0 deficit at halftime and "regroup"? You could argue that Philbin's contentment with such a situation shows that he believed in his team's ability to overcome such a deficit.
Last edited by a moderator:
- Joined
- Nov 16, 2005
- Messages
- 6,733
- Reaction score
- 2,413
This may be true, but my reasoning for saying it was a good decision has nothing to do with past performances. For me, it was simply about the circumstances of that game. When Buffalo knew the phins were in a passing only situation, their defense absolutely destroyed the offense. The only time the phins offense was effective was when they got the running game going. Once Moreno was out, Miller wasn't getting it done. With how dominant Buffalo's defense was in pass only situations, the chance of a sack fumble or a rushed pick were higher, imo, than getting into field goal range.
So taking the 9 point deficit and coming up with a plan to run the ball more effectively in the second half was the obvious and correct decision. And it worked, the offense came out and instead of trying to have Miller go up the middle where he had been failing, they started running lots of different sweeps and they also started doing more screens (which would've been a lot more effective if the players executed properly).
So taking the 9 point deficit and coming up with a plan to run the ball more effectively in the second half was the obvious and correct decision. And it worked, the offense came out and instead of trying to have Miller go up the middle where he had been failing, they started running lots of different sweeps and they also started doing more screens (which would've been a lot more effective if the players executed properly).
Phinfan407
Active Roster
Good post! I'm tired of seeing us come out the gate slow and that's attributed to Philbin and the coaching staff. Adjust your practice plan if you have to. When you hit the practice field it should be full go, competitive situations. I think he needs to put the players in some uncomfortable situations during the week because we aren't handling adversity well at the moment.
- Joined
- Nov 22, 2008
- Messages
- 9,631
- Reaction score
- 3,014
Ah the fire Philbin echo chamber is in full gear I see.
Here's food for thought, if your QB isn't who your fans think he is, maybe the coach is doing his best to keep games from getting away from them.
Eventually the blame needs to fall on the talent of the players. From line play to QB play.
Here's food for thought, if your QB isn't who your fans think he is, maybe the coach is doing his best to keep games from getting away from them.
Eventually the blame needs to fall on the talent of the players. From line play to QB play.
- Joined
- Aug 28, 2006
- Messages
- 13,539
- Reaction score
- 22,040
I have mentioned that both Philbin and Tannehill have been the constants here. I think there are clearly game-planning and preparation issues, with the Dolphins not playing well early in games on a consistent basis. I also think there is an issue with Philbin lacking confidence in Tannehill. But, better preparation and game-planning, and focusing on things Tannehill does well should lead to better performances from Tannehill and the rest of the offense.
- Joined
- Nov 22, 2008
- Messages
- 9,631
- Reaction score
- 3,014
Better game planning and preparation does not account for tackles being unable to block. Or lbs unable to tackle or taking terrible angles. Game planning does nothing when a QB is unable to take advantage of one of the best deep threats in the league. Philbin has his faults, but the failure of players being unable to consistently perform is an indictment or further indictment of Ireland.
On offense this year, the QB must show growth. Have you seen that individual growth?
- Joined
- Aug 28, 2006
- Messages
- 13,539
- Reaction score
- 22,040
I completely disagree. As a head coach, you are tasked with working, and winning with, the talent at your disposal. If your tackles can't block, then you better develop a protection scheme where they are given help by TEs or RBs. Or you rely on quick throws to defeat the pass rush. I think we saw Buffalo do some of that to neutralize Miami's pass rush on Sunday. That is just one example.
I haven't seen any improvement from Tannehill yet. I also haven't seen ANYTHING from Philbin in 2+ years that tells me he should be the head coach of the Dolphins. From the bullying nonsense to the team's overall performance, Philbin seems to be absent. He constantly talks about getting mistakes corrected, having an explosive offense, being accountable, blah, blah, blah.....none of it comes to pass.
roy_miami
2020 cant get here soon enough
Yeah, lets just throw 8 o-linemen out there because we're stuck with Jonathan martin and Tyson Clabo, we'll just play with 1 receiver, 1 Rb and a QB. What could go wrong with that plan? Or lets just stop attempting to go deep because our QB can't take advantage of our $60 million one trick pony's only trick.
If somebody told you before last season that we'd be 8-6 with just Buffalo and the Jets at home standing in our way of the playoffs in spite of:
-below average QB play
-losing Dustin Keller before the season
-losing Brandon Gibson early in the season
-half of our o-line evaporating due to a scandal. (Are any of the guys we finished the season with playing anywhere in the league right now?)
-no running game
-horrible LB play
-our field goal kicker got hurt and went to ****
-basically a red shirted draft class including the guy we traded up to 3 for
-and not the greatest offensive coordinator
You wouldn't just yes to 8-6 but you would say HELL YES I'LL TAKE IT!!
In spite of all of that the system got us in position to make it to the playoffs. The system almost prevailed in spite of worst case scenarios almost across the board. Its almost impossible for pretty much any system to overcome poor QB play, with a horrendous GM on top of it, but ours was close. And if Tannehill just gave us two mediocre performances week 16 and 17 I'm pretty sure we win one of those games.
I think the system is solid. I think if Tannehill and Wilson traded places we'd be the team with the 22-10 record and Seattle would have the fans questioning their head coach. Solid system + good game manager + cool under pressure = SuperBowl capable Head Coach.
Here's what people need to understand, outside of a few outliers on the top and bottom most coaches are in the middle. Most are capable of winning SuperBowls with great QBs. What separates guys like McCarthy, Mike Tomlin, Rex Ryan, Pete Carroll and Marvin Lewis is little more than talent on the team, and more specifically QB talent in most cases. Those guys aren't anything special, just average coaches. Is Mike McCarhty a great coach or does he just happen to have one of the great QBs of our generation? Everybody likes to slag off Rex Ryan but pair him with Aaron Rodgers and he's amazing all of a sudden.
Terrible coaches like Tony Sparano or Dave Wannstedt are actually not as common as we Dolphin fans would tend to believe. Throw Jeff Ireland in there and we just ran really bad in hiring morons. Thanks a lot Bill ****ing Parcells.
Joe Philbin is not the problem but, his window is closing. Once a team starts to lose faith in the system its like trying to reverse a freight train, you can do it but its going to take a long time. Nick Saban realized that and thats probably why he cut and ran, he ****ed up with the QB decisions and he realized it was over, and I kind of respect his decision.
If I were Ross I would probably give Philbin and his system another shot with a new QB assuming Tannehill doesn't work out, but it may also be best for both Philbin and the team to start fresh.