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3 Keys to Success in 2016

DKphin

DKphin

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[h=4]QB Ryan Tannehill[/h] The biggest key towards the Dolphins success in 2016 is a relatively obvious one, Ryan Tannehill. Statistically speaking, Tannehill has had a stellar beginning to his career, even erasing some records held by none other than Dan Marino. But that statistical success has not translated to on-the-field success as of yet.
If the Dolphins are going to make any real noise in the 2016 season and beyond, they’re going to need to get more from Tannehill, and a large part of that is going to be reducing the amount of sacks he suffers. Tannehill has been the most sacked quarterback in the NFL since he came into the league.
A significant portion of that falls on the offensive line. Tannehill has been stuck behind a porous, at best, offensive line his entire career. The team has made several moves to bolster the line in front of Tannehill this season, most notably drafting Laremy Tunsil in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft. It will be interesting to see how the line does this season, and if the moves made are enough to keep Tannehill upright more often.
The blame for the struggles that Tannehill has faced; however, can’t be placed solely on the very large shoulders of the guys in front of him.
Throughout his career, Tannehill has been plagued by a lack of strong pocket presence, taking numerous sacks he didn’t need to instead of opting to throw to a check-down receiver, or use his athleticism to break the pocket and make a play. Let’s not lose sight of the fact that Tannehill was a receiver at one time at Texas A&M and isn’t immobile.




[h=4]The Cornerbacks[/h] The second key towards a successful season for the Dolphins will be the play of their cornerbacks. This unit of largely unproven players is, without a doubt in my mind, the biggest question mark the team has coming into the season.
Behind Byron Maxwell, whom the team brought in through a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles, the squad is made up of mostly rookies and second-year players who have rarely seen the field.
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The Dolphins are going to be putting most of their chips in the Maxwell basket.




[h=4]The Linebackers[/h]If the Dolphins are going to have a successful season, the linebackers are going to have to be better.

With that in mind, the Dolphins have taken steps to improve the linebacker situation, most notably bringing in another former Philadelphia Eagle in Kiko Alonso. Much like with Byron Maxwell, the Dolphins are banking on Alonso to have a rebound season in his new surrounding and return to the caliber he once was.
The more intriguing storyline regarding the linebackers; however, is what exactly will happen with Dion Jordan? Jordan has been nothing short of a bust since the Dolphins selected him with the third overall pick in the 2013 NFL draft, struggling to even get on the field thanks in large part to multiple suspensions.
Jordan has applied for reinstatement, but has not yet received it from the league offices, so it may be a moot point. But assuming that Jordan is granted reinstatement, it will be very interesting to see if the Dolphins welcome him back to the team. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that they decide they’ve had enough headaches with him and cut their losses.
However, if the team does choose to employ his services, they would be wise to move him to a linebacker position where his skill set would be most utilized. In his very limited time on the field with the team, he hasn’t shown any reason to believe that he’s the pass-rushing defensive end they want him to be, but in the times he has taken on linebacker duties, he’s done so amicably.
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read more:http://nflspinzone.com/2016/06/17/miami-dolphins-3-keys-success-2016/4/
 
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taking numerous sacks he didn’t need to instead of opting to throw to a check-down receiver, or use his athleticism to break the pocket and make a play.
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Statements like these really bother me when they supply no factual evidence to back them up. He was sacked 45 times. Why not give the number of sacks you are attributing to Tannehill in the article? Lazy. If you're going to write an article, do the homework.

I also don't like listing position groups as "keys" to success. The biggest key to success is 11 guys playing as 1 unit in 3 phases.

The key "areas" we need to improve are red zone scoring and 3rd down conversions on offense, getting better at stopping the run, takeaways and points allowed on defense.

Tom Brady threw 36 TD's last year and 30 of them were in the red zone. 17 of those were inside the 10. He was ranked #1 and had 101 attempts inside the 20. Brady has the #1 receiving target in the NFL in Rob Gronkowski. He also has an offensive coordinator who knows how to exploit match-ups and mix things up inside the red zone. That's something we haven't had outside of 2014 when we sprang a new offense on teams and kept them off balance with the threat of Tannehill runs.

Tannehill threw 24 TD's but only 15 of them were from the red zone. 8 were from inside the 10 yard line. This ranked 18th in 2015 on 73 attempts.

In 2014 Tannehill was ranked 6th in red zone scoring but he had 93 attempts. He had 24 red zone TD's and 27 TD total.

If you were to ask me "What are two of Tannehill's best attributes?, I could say intelligence and running ability. How did the coaching staff utilize those attributes in 2015? They took away his leadership ability to run the offense (audible) and they limited his runs as well as movement in the pocket. He ranked 21st in QB rushing attempts (32) in 2015. Does this make any sense? Especially after he ranked 8th in attempts (56) in 2014 and completely opened up our offense?

Wouldn't a coach want to build on that performance? What do they do? They strip even more power from him. Why? It's not like he turned the ball over too much. He had 12 ints compared to 27 TD's. How do you expect a QB to lead when the rest of the locker room thinks the coaches do not believe in that QB?

2015 Dolphins may have been one of the worst coaching jobs I have seen in my life...from top to bottom.
 
Bill Lazor was absolutely awful in the redzone. Awful.

Not to absolve the players, they all need to up their game, starting with the oline in short yardage situations, but decent playcalling would really help turn around our redzone woes
 
Fin Thirteen said:
Bill Lazor was absolutely awful in the redzone. Awful.

Not to absolve the players, they all need to up their game, starting with the oline in short yardage situations, but decent playcalling would really help turn around our redzone woes
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And let's not forget the constant 'abandoning the run after half time'.

As far as the article goes though, I do agree that RT needs to use his legs some more to escape the pocket. Not sure this can be taught though.
 
Eesti said:
Statements like these really bother me when they supply no factual evidence to back them up. He was sacked 45 times. Why not give the number of sacks you are attributing to Tannehill in the article? Lazy. If you're going to write an article, do the homework.

I also don't like listing position groups as "keys" to success. The biggest key to success is 11 guys playing as 1 unit in 3 phases.

The key "areas" we need to improve are red zone scoring and 3rd down conversions on offense, getting better at stopping the run, takeaways and points allowed on defense.

Tom Brady threw 36 TD's last year and 30 of them were in the red zone. 17 of those were inside the 10. He was ranked #1 and had 101 attempts inside the 20. Brady has the #1 receiving target in the NFL in Rob Gronkowski. He also has an offensive coordinator who knows how to exploit match-ups and mix things up inside the red zone. That's something we haven't had outside of 2014 when we sprang a new offense on teams and kept them off balance with the threat of Tannehill runs.

Tannehill threw 24 TD's but only 15 of them were from the red zone. 8 were from inside the 10 yard line. This ranked 18th in 2015 on 73 attempts.

In 2014 Tannehill was ranked 6th in red zone scoring but he had 93 attempts. He had 24 red zone TD's and 27 TD total.

If you were to ask me "What are two of Tannehill's best attributes?, I could say intelligence and running ability. How did the coaching staff utilize those attributes in 2015? They took away his leadership ability to run the offense (audible) and they limited his runs as well as movement in the pocket. He ranked 21st in QB rushing attempts (32) in 2015. Does this make any sense? Especially after he ranked 8th in attempts (56) in 2014 and completely opened up our offense?

Wouldn't a coach want to build on that performance? What do they do? They strip even more power from him. Why? It's not like he turned the ball over too much. He had 12 ints compared to 27 TD's. How do you expect a QB to lead when the rest of the locker room thinks the coaches do not believe in that QB?

2015 Dolphins may have been one of the worst coaching jobs I have seen in my life...from top to bottom.
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They don't list the specific amount b/c they don't actually know it. I agree, do the homework and provide statistical analysis of the claim you're making. It will be a bit difficult I'm sure b/c there isn't a specific definition of what holding onto the football is and at what point can you blame the OL/QB for it.
 
I agree wholeheartedly w/ Eesti (post #2).

2 things are crucial to Miami being succesful in 2016 and beyond.

1) The coaching staffs ability to adapt, strategize, & gameplan. It appears Gase & VJ are off to a good start. The stubbornness & inflexibility of the staff has been an issue since Shula stepped away. I agree 147% about Ryan being handcuffed last season.

2) OL Depth. Do I Need to say anymore?
 
1. Dolphins score more points then the opponents in each game.
2. Dolphins have few injuries.
3. Dallas Thomas starts 0 games.
 
DuderinoN703 said:
They don't list the specific amount b/c they don't actually know it. I agree, do the homework and provide statistical analysis of the claim you're making. It will be a bit difficult I'm sure b/c there isn't a specific definition of what holding onto the football is and at what point can you blame the OL/QB for it.
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Back in the old days, PFF used to list sacks allowed by each player, INCLUDING the QB. Seems there were never more than a handful on Tannehill. A note of caution, though . . . don't know how PFF arrived at the number.
 
DuderinoN703 said:
They don't list the specific amount b/c they don't actually know it. I agree, do the homework and provide statistical analysis of the claim you're making. It will be a bit difficult I'm sure b/c there isn't a specific definition of what holding onto the football is and at what point can you blame the OL/QB for it.
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They are not alone though. David Carr said in one of those NFL AM's that Tannehill led the league in sacks after 3+ seconds. Not sure where you get data like that so finheaven thinks he's full of **** but at least it's coming from a guy who know how to take sacks :).
 
Maybe there were a few coverage sacks where he held on hoping to make a play that I'd wish he either used his legs or threw the ball away but this taking sacks instead of checking down crap is BS.
 
1. Simply put, Ryan Tannehill must improve in; 'when it counts' situations, i.e. when the game is still up for grabs in the following categories - 3rd down play, 2 minute offense in both halves [this will say a lot about his understanding of the offense and his ability to attack a defense], 4 minute offense and red zone. Outside of that most stats don't mean that much to me but TD:Int ratio does. He also, absolutely, must improve his awareness, both in the pocket and in game situations in general and his leadership needs to be genuine and come with strength.

2. LG/C/RG - we have to be stout in the middle, to both get a push in the run game and anchor/not give ground up the middle in the pass game

3. DT/DT/Mike Backer - another trio in the middle is key. We need to stop the rush on early downs. We fail to do this and we needn't worry about any concerns in the secondary as teams will just run on us
 
He needs to run more this year, too many times I saw him with clear open lanes not even thinking about leaving the pocket. Could be on him or the coaches but he needs to be told that if it's there, he has to take it.
 
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