Scheme or Talent? | Page 2 | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

Scheme or Talent?

Well, Timmons looked good... A QB hurry, a couple TFL's and that pick... I hate to admit it, since Reshad is my favorite player on the team, but I think it was his fault on that bomb to Smith, and he missed a lot of tackles.. hopefully just rust
 
I'm not worried. The defense is not going to be great but they'll be better than they were today and likely better than last year. I thought we've all been watching football long enough to not get too caught up in preseason? Pretty hard to gauge the motivation of vets like Wake, Suh, Timmons, Kiko, Rashaad. Wait until the real bulltes are flying.
 
I think people are over-reacting. Last year our big problem was the run defense. With the acquisition of William Hayes to set the edge and Laurence Timmons coming as a linebacker, I expect it to improve significantly. I actually thought the Defense looked quite good when the starters were out there last night. The failure was in the turnovers and they seemed to be caused by some silly offensive errors. The other observation is that some of the 2nd and 3rd stringers we saw are not very good and they will be cut in a week.
Sons of Shula seems fixated on the Defensive scheme and time will tell if he's right. It was interesting to note that the Philadelphia Eagles play the same defensive scheme. I like a lot of the talent on the roster. If Godchaux steps up, as hoped, our D-line could be very good.
Some of our good Defensive players, like Reshad Jones, looked a little rusty and needed the work. I also noticed Cam Wake slow down in a tackle that he would normally monster. The thought occurred to me was that Cam didn't go in for a kill because it was only a preseason game and he preferred to not hurt his opponent. I am totally comfortable with that approach and think that maybe both Coach Gase and Coach Pederson of the Eagles had a tacit agreement throughout the week for players to compete but to try to avoid serious injuries.
 
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spiketex said:
I think people are over-reacting. Last year our big problem was the run defense. With the acquisition of William Hayes to set the edge and Laurence Timmons coming as a linebacker, I expect it to improve significantly. I actually thought the Defense looked quite good when the starters were out there last night. The failure was in the turnovers and they seemed to be caused by some silly offensive errors. The other observation his that some of the 2nd and 3rd stringers we saw are not very good and they will be cut in a week.
The Sons of Shula seems fixated on the Defensive scheme and time will tell if he's right. It was interesting to note that the Philadelphia Eagles play the same defensive scheme. I like a lot of the talent on the roster. If Godchaux steps up, as hoped, our D-line could be very good.
Some of our good Defensive players, like Reshad Jones, looked a little rusty and needed the work. I also noticed Cam Wake slow down in a tackle that he would normally monster. The thought occurred to me was that Cam didn't go in for a kill because it was only a preseason game and he preferred to not hurt his opponent. I am totally comfortable with that approach and think that maybe both Coach Gase and Coach Pederson of the Eagles had a tacit agreement throughout the week for players to compete but to try to avoid serious injuries.
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The reason why Im not brushing it off as 'its just pre- season' - these are trends for this this team last few years. OL concerns, third down defense, screens., middle of the field etc.

I do think the run defense has a possibility of improvement, but I don't think we have solved other problems. That's my concerns- but will see how the season progresses.
 
spiketex said:
I think people are over-reacting. Last year our big problem was the run defense. With the acquisition of William Hayes to set the edge and Laurence Timmons coming as a linebacker, I expect it to improve significantly. I actually thought the Defense looked quite good when the starters were out there last night. The failure was in the turnovers and they seemed to be caused by some silly offensive errors. The other observation his that some of the 2nd and 3rd stringers we saw are not very good and they will be cut in a week.
The Sons of Shula seems fixated on the Defensive scheme and time will tell if he's right. It was interesting to note that the Philadelphia Eagles play the same defensive scheme. I like a lot of the talent on the roster. If Godchaux steps up, as hoped, our D-line could be very good.
Some of our good Defensive players, like Reshad Jones, looked a little rusty and needed the work. I also noticed Cam Wake slow down in a tackle that he would normally monster. The thought occurred to me was that Cam didn't go in for a kill because it was only a preseason game and he preferred to not hurt his opponent. I am totally comfortable with that approach and think that maybe both Coach Gase and Coach Pederson of the Eagles had a tacit agreement throughout the week for players to compete but to try to avoid serious injuries.
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I agree in part, particularly with the idea that it is a preseason game. Schemes are kept simple and players arent giving their all.

I also agree that the run D was a big problem, one that looks to be improved from the little we have seen so far in preseason.

However, I disagree that the run D was our BIG problem. IMO, our BIG problem was that a savvy QB could move the ball at will on our soft secondary. We were exposed by Jimmy Garappolo, then by Flacco in that Ravens game, and everyone else since then.

Nothing we have seen in preseason indicates that we have done enough to prevent receivers from running rampant through our secondary. And frankly, that scares me.
 
It's the scheme. Every NFL team has enough talent to succeed. It's the coaching (scheme, gameplan, etc.) that separates them.

spiketex said:
Sons of Shula seems fixated on the defensive scheme and time will tell if he's right.
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"Time will tell"?

How much more evidence does recent NFL history need to give you?
 
We have way too much talent to be that bad. It has to be the scheme. 3 All Pros on a Defense along with Timmons, Kiko, Xavien, Hayes, Branch, and a few others that are pretty good players should speak volumes on how bad our scheme is.
 
datruth55 said:
Our front office personnel are all from the Bill Parcells school of defense. They're rooted in the 3-4 hence the reason our DEs are so undersized and have been tweeners. Olivier Vernon was a tweener and so is Charles Harris...so is Wake for that matter. The back end in a 3-4 and a 4-3 is relatively interchangeable but the front 7 not so much. We've been in a 4-3 since Philbin got here in 2012 and they still haven't figured out how to draft the right players.

I've said before, Gase may end up being a good coach but as long as Tannenbaum and the rest of this front office is in place he'll never sustain any success here. The front office and the draft have been the biggest issue in Miami since Jimmy Johnson left in 1999. The spiral downward started with Dave Wannstedt and him drafting the Jamar Fletchers and Eddie Moores of the world.
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I agree totally, the biggest problem with this team is Tannenbaum. The guy is a moron. I know nothing about Grier, but T-Bum has done nothing but made some draft day decisions that has retarded the development of our organization. He is a cancer and he needs to be excised. But for some ungodly reason the owner remains oblivious to how much of a moron he is. How do you have OG problems and not draft a Guard until the 5th rd. Asiata might work out, but the guys we passed up. It just makes me want to vomit every time I think of that idiot being involved in personnel decisions.
 
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rickd13 said:
It is obvious to me that the defense's biggest problem has to be it's scheme. This team has way too much individual talent on defense to be as bad as it has been playing. It does, however, have two weak links on the defensive unit. Kiko Alonso and Byron Maxwell . I think Alonso is awful and Maxwell is a liability against any receiver with quickness. Every team has weaknesses in talent but are able to overcome it and those two shouldn't be the reason this defense has played as poorly as it has so far. My conclusion is like Son's of Shula, it is the scheme.
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Too bad we can only get out of one of these contracts next year.
 
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But now getting back to the original question. The Wide-9 major flaw is the inability to stop the run. When we first found out that Joseph was going to employ this system I stated I had reservations about it's effectiveness in the running game. Not everyone, but a lot on here said I was wrong or that I was worrying about something that really was not a problem and I did not know what I was talking about. Fast forward a year and(it pains me to say) I was proved right. So what do we do, we promote a disciple of our previously failed DC. What is the first thing he states? We going to keep the same system that was the ranked in the bottom of the league last year. I have been following this team for 42yrs. and the last 17, I have been witness to some of the stupidest FO and draft day decisions I have ever seen. I hope the insanity stops before I die. I like Gase, but please do not allow him to pick the next DC because I do not see Burke having a long tenure unless he changes his defensive philosophy.
 
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