3rd down

[Finole]

Okay, so I already posted a breakdown of Mularkey's calls on 1st and 2nd down. As promised, here's 3rd down...

(Remember, an offense gets an average of 10-15 drives per game. Against Houston, the Fins had 10 drives.)


1st DRIVE
3rd and 20. Obvious passing situation. 11-yard pass to Welker comes up short.

2nd DRIVE
3rd and 3. Instead of a run, Culpepper passes to Ronnie for a 12-yard gain. Nothing wrong with that call.
3rd and 16 - pass tipped at the line of scrimmage because Houston's d-line was tossing our o-line around like a bunch of rag dolls.

3rd DRIVE
3rd and 23. Obvious passing situation. 11-yard pass to Ronnie comes up short.

4th DRIVE
3rd and 4. Culpepper passes to Booker for an 18-yard gain. Nothing wrong with that call.
3rd and 15 - incomplete pass. Looked like a mis-communication between Culpepper and the WR.

5th DRIVE
No third down. Hail Mary on 2nd down ends the half.

6th DRIVE
3rd and 3 - short pass to Ronnie for a 1-yard gain. Questionable call.

7th DRIVE
3rd and 6 - Culpepper is hit as he throws. Now the o-line did give him 4 seconds here, so you can't fault them for that.

SIDE NOTE: I know some might disagree with me, but Carey blocked his guy around and behind Culpepper. If Carey could have laid a 2nd block on his guy, and given Culpepper another half second, he would have gotten this pass off. Now, I know 4 seconds should be enough time. But in this case, it wasn't. We needed Carey to be better than good. We needed him to be great. And he wasn't. Culpepper, Carey, and the WR take the blame here.

8th DRIVE
3rd and 20 - long pass to Booker broken up by the CB. Nothing wrong with the call. Just wasn't executed.

9th DRIVE
3rd and 4. Mularkey calls a pass. Culpepper is chased out of the pocket because of poor pass protection, and doesn't come up with the exceptional play. Questionable call. As far execution: Fault the o-line first. Culpepper second.

10th DRIVE
3rd and 3 - pass dropped by Booker. Would have been a 1st down. Can't blame Mularkey for that.
3rd and 9. Culpepper hits Chambers for a 16-yard touchdown. F-ing great call.

So, in 10 drives: The Fins had 3rd and short - 5 times... 3rd and long - 6 times. I'm not sure how to classify 3rd and 6. Some would say long, others would say short.

Anyway, Mularkey called all pass plays on 3rd down. But we only had 5 short yardage situations...

1. We converted by passing. Good call.
2. We converted by passing. Good call.
3. Pass to Ronnie comes up short. Questionable call.
4. Incomplete pass. Questionable call. BUT... Culpepper was chased out of the pocket. I don't think that was what Mularkey had in mind when he called the play.
5. Booker dropped what would have been a 1st down. Good call.

Maybe a third questionable call on 3rd and 6. But Culpepper was hit as he threw. Can't blame Mularkey for that.

The final analysis... When you break it down, and really look at it, Mularkey only had 3 or 4 questionable calls the whole game. Maybe the people calling for Mularkey's head need to find a new scapegoat.

And let me say again, I'm not married to Mularkey. I'm just trying to look at the facts, and make a rational decision. Personally, I think the two-point conversion has colored a lot people's opinion of Mularkey's play-calling. He actually made the right call more than 95% of the time. Most teachers would give him an "A."

And as far as Culpepper goes: He made a handful of mistakes (like every other QB in every other game on Sunday) but played very well for the most part. He made quick decisions almost every play. He shows more and more mobility each week as he eludes the pass rush when possible. Frankly, if I were Culpepper, I'd be pretty pissed off that my o-line wasn't protecting me better after coming back from knee surgery. Only 1 of the 5 sacks were his fault. Five dropped passes, a Hail Mary, and a spike added 7 incompletions to his stats.

My main problem with Culpepper has been the fact that he hasn't been able to hook up with Chambers for the long pass with any consistency. Also, I'm not a fan of throwing it short of the 1st down marker on 3rd and long. But Culpepper only did that 3 times. He threw 39 times. So I was happy with his decision-making 36 times.

 

[endorphin]

Thanks again for the analysis...you home sick today bro?

 

[aleta]

Ok!!

But you are forgeting who many time we run the danm ball, that is part of the play calling and in my opinion ,you are not supposed to throw it all the time. If that is good calling for you, that is ok with me, but it is call onedimentional too.GO DOLPHINS!!:mad: :dolphins:

 

[Finole]

But you are forgeting who many time we run the danm ball, that is part of the play calling and in my opinion ,you are not supposed to throw it all the time. If that is good calling for you, that is ok with me, but it is call onedimentional too.GO DOLPHINS!!:mad: :dolphins:

On which plays would you run instead of pass?

3rd and 20?
3rd and 16?
3rd and 23?
3rd and 15?

Because that's what Mularkey was faced with.

Even when it was 2nd or 3rd and short, we often got the 1st down by throwing. Do you have a problem with converting 1st downs?

 

[Ark139954]

dude i just read your post and figured out that we passed it every time on third down. unless im some sort of genious than i will venture to say that the patriots will also realize this and prepare for passes on thrid down. mularky is an a-hole. does he not realize that a run here and there would be helpful. out of the 10 drives...six could have been runs and none were.nvm that 1 doesnt count b/c we didnt have a third down on one drive. lets see...6/9 could have been runs...0/9 were runs.

 

[emocomputerjock]

dude i just read your post and figured out that we passed it every time on third down. unless im some sort of genious than i will venture to say that the patriots will also realize this and prepare for passes on thrid down. mularky is an a-hole. does he not realize that a run here and there would be helpful. out of the 10 drives...six could have been runs and none were.nvm that 1 doesnt count b/c we didnt have a third down on one drive. lets see...6/9 could have been runs...0/9 were runs.

Dave Wannstedt is that you??? Soothe our fears by telling us there's no shame in punting!

On topic, this post needs to stay near the top of the page. Too much analysis in here to let slip away.

 

[Finole]

dude i just read your post and figured out that we passed it every time on third down. unless im some sort of genious than i will venture to say that the patriots will also realize this and prepare for passes on thrid down. mularky is an a-hole. does he not realize that a run here and there would be helpful. out of the 10 drives...six could have been runs and none were.nvm that 1 doesnt count b/c we didnt have a third down on one drive. lets see...6/9 could have been runs...0/9 were runs.

What do you mean 6/9 could have been runs? First off, there were twelve 3rd downs, not nine. There were ten drives. You can have more than one 3rd down per drive, you know.

Secondly, all twelve could have been runs. So what? The question is... which 3rd downs should have been runs?

Only three 3rd downs were questionable calls. And even then, you could make an argument that a pass play was the way to go. We clearly had more success throwing than running.

As far as the Pats go, are you serious? I hope that was a joke. Mularkey has called running plays in several 3rd and short situations this season. As far as I can tell, he calls the play that gives us the best chance at success. I know a lot of fans may disagree, but it's true.

I would appreciate a specific example of Mularkey's so-called bad play-calling. All I've heard so far is statements like "Mularkey sucks" or "Mularkey has to go" or "Mularkey is vanilla" but without any actual examples of what he has done so wrong.

And please don't cite the 2-point conversion attempt from the Houston game. Saban made that call, not Mularkey.

 

[Quick Release]

Again, awesome post!

 

[D_BO]

Okay, so I already posted a breakdown of Mularkey's calls on 1st and 2nd down. As promised, here's 3rd down...

(Remember, an offense gets an average of 10-15 drives per game. Against Houston, the Fins had 10 drives.)


1st DRIVE
3rd and 20. Obvious passing situation. 11-yard pass to Welker comes up short.

2nd DRIVE
3rd and 3. Instead of a run, Culpepper passes to Ronnie for a 12-yard gain. Nothing wrong with that call.
3rd and 16 - pass tipped at the line of scrimmage because Houston's d-line was tossing our o-line around like a bunch of rag dolls.

3rd DRIVE
3rd and 23. Obvious passing situation. 11-yard pass to Ronnie comes up short.

4th DRIVE
3rd and 4. Culpepper passes to Booker for an 18-yard gain. Nothing wrong with that call.
3rd and 15 - incomplete pass. Looked like a mis-communication between Culpepper and the WR.

5th DRIVE
No third down. Hail Mary on 2nd down ends the half.

6th DRIVE
3rd and 3 - short pass to Ronnie for a 1-yard gain. Questionable call.

7th DRIVE
3rd and 6 - Culpepper is hit as he throws. Now the o-line did give him 4 seconds here, so you can't fault them for that.

SIDE NOTE: I know some might disagree with me, but Carey blocked his guy around and behind Culpepper. If Carey could have laid a 2nd block on his guy, and given Culpepper another half second, he would have gotten this pass off. Now, I know 4 seconds should be enough time. But in this case, it wasn't. We needed Carey to be better than good. We needed him to be great. And he wasn't. Culpepper, Carey, and the WR take the blame here.

8th DRIVE
3rd and 20 - long pass to Booker broken up by the CB. Nothing wrong with the call. Just wasn't executed.

9th DRIVE
3rd and 4. Mularkey calls a pass. Culpepper is chased out of the pocket because of poor pass protection, and doesn't come up with the exceptional play. Questionable call. As far execution: Fault the o-line first. Culpepper second.

10th DRIVE
3rd and 3 - pass dropped by Booker. Would have been a 1st down. Can't blame Mularkey for that.
3rd and 9. Culpepper hits Chambers for a 16-yard touchdown. F-ing great call.

So, in 10 drives: The Fins had 3rd and short - 5 times... 3rd and long - 6 times. I'm not sure how to classify 3rd and 6. Some would say long, others would say short.

Anyway, Mularkey called all pass plays on 3rd down. But we only had 5 short yardage situations...

1. We converted by passing. Good call.
2. We converted by passing. Good call.
3. Pass to Ronnie comes up short. Questionable call.
4. Incomplete pass. Questionable call. BUT... Culpepper was chased out of the pocket. I don't think that was what Mularkey had in mind when he called the play.
5. Booker dropped what would have been a 1st down. Good call.

Maybe a third questionable call on 3rd and 6. But Culpepper was hit as he threw. Can't blame Mularkey for that.

The final analysis... When you break it down, and really look at it, Mularkey only had 3 or 4 questionable calls the whole game. Maybe the people calling for Mularkey's head need to find a new scapegoat.

And let me say again, I'm not married to Mularkey. I'm just trying to look at the facts, and make a rational decision. Personally, I think the two-point conversion has colored a lot people's opinion of Mularkey's play-calling. He actually made the right call more than 95% of the time. Most teachers would give him an "A."

And as far as Culpepper goes: He made a handful of mistakes (like every other QB in every other game on Sunday) but played very well for the most part. He made quick decisions almost every play. He shows more and more mobility each week as he eludes the pass rush when possible. Frankly, if I were Culpepper, I'd be pretty pissed off that my o-line wasn't protecting me better after coming back from knee surgery. Only 1 of the 5 sacks were his fault. Five dropped passes, a Hail Mary, and a spike added 7 incompletions to his stats.

My main problem with Culpepper has been the fact that he hasn't been able to hook up with Chambers for the long pass with any consistency. Also, I'm not a fan of throwing it short of the 1st down marker on 3rd and long. But Culpepper only did that 3 times. He threw 39 times. So I was happy with his decision-making 36 times.

Good work, but I think you are looking at this wrong. as a situational breakdown sure, he looks to have called a decent game.. When you look at why we were in so many 3rd and longs, there's where it all goes wrong for MM.. You showed the plays, but looking at it, we were 3-12 on 3rd down, not good.. We had alot of 3rd and longs because of stupid play calls.. I guess people just see what they want to see..

 

[MartinTheSNAKE]

Okay, so I already posted a breakdown of Mularkey's calls on 1st and 2nd down. As promised, here's 3rd down...

(Remember, an offense gets an average of 10-15 drives per game. Against Houston, the Fins had 10 drives.)


1st DRIVE
3rd and 20. Obvious passing situation. 11-yard pass to Welker comes up short.

2nd DRIVE
3rd and 3. Instead of a run, Culpepper passes to Ronnie for a 12-yard gain. Nothing wrong with that call.
3rd and 16 - pass tipped at the line of scrimmage because Houston's d-line was tossing our o-line around like a bunch of rag dolls.

3rd DRIVE
3rd and 23. Obvious passing situation. 11-yard pass to Ronnie comes up short.

4th DRIVE
3rd and 4. Culpepper passes to Booker for an 18-yard gain. Nothing wrong with that call.
3rd and 15 - incomplete pass. Looked like a mis-communication between Culpepper and the WR.

5th DRIVE
No third down. Hail Mary on 2nd down ends the half.

6th DRIVE
3rd and 3 - short pass to Ronnie for a 1-yard gain. Questionable call.

7th DRIVE
3rd and 6 - Culpepper is hit as he throws. Now the o-line did give him 4 seconds here, so you can't fault them for that.

SIDE NOTE: I know some might disagree with me, but Carey blocked his guy around and behind Culpepper. If Carey could have laid a 2nd block on his guy, and given Culpepper another half second, he would have gotten this pass off. Now, I know 4 seconds should be enough time. But in this case, it wasn't. We needed Carey to be better than good. We needed him to be great. And he wasn't. Culpepper, Carey, and the WR take the blame here.

8th DRIVE
3rd and 20 - long pass to Booker broken up by the CB. Nothing wrong with the call. Just wasn't executed.

9th DRIVE
3rd and 4. Mularkey calls a pass. Culpepper is chased out of the pocket because of poor pass protection, and doesn't come up with the exceptional play. Questionable call. As far execution: Fault the o-line first. Culpepper second.

10th DRIVE
3rd and 3 - pass dropped by Booker. Would have been a 1st down. Can't blame Mularkey for that.
3rd and 9. Culpepper hits Chambers for a 16-yard touchdown. F-ing great call.

So, in 10 drives: The Fins had 3rd and short - 5 times... 3rd and long - 6 times. I'm not sure how to classify 3rd and 6. Some would say long, others would say short.

Anyway, Mularkey called all pass plays on 3rd down. But we only had 5 short yardage situations...

1. We converted by passing. Good call.
2. We converted by passing. Good call.
3. Pass to Ronnie comes up short. Questionable call.
4. Incomplete pass. Questionable call. BUT... Culpepper was chased out of the pocket. I don't think that was what Mularkey had in mind when he called the play.
5. Booker dropped what would have been a 1st down. Good call.

Maybe a third questionable call on 3rd and 6. But Culpepper was hit as he threw. Can't blame Mularkey for that.

The final analysis... When you break it down, and really look at it, Mularkey only had 3 or 4 questionable calls the whole game. Maybe the people calling for Mularkey's head need to find a new scapegoat.

And let me say again, I'm not married to Mularkey. I'm just trying to look at the facts, and make a rational decision. Personally, I think the two-point conversion has colored a lot people's opinion of Mularkey's play-calling. He actually made the right call more than 95% of the time. Most teachers would give him an "A."

And as far as Culpepper goes: He made a handful of mistakes (like every other QB in every other game on Sunday) but played very well for the most part. He made quick decisions almost every play. He shows more and more mobility each week as he eludes the pass rush when possible. Frankly, if I were Culpepper, I'd be pretty pissed off that my o-line wasn't protecting me better after coming back from knee surgery. Only 1 of the 5 sacks were his fault. Five dropped passes, a Hail Mary, and a spike added 7 incompletions to his stats.

My main problem with Culpepper has been the fact that he hasn't been able to hook up with Chambers for the long pass with any consistency. Also, I'm not a fan of throwing it short of the 1st down marker on 3rd and long. But Culpepper only did that 3 times. He threw 39 times. So I was happy with his decision-making 36 times.

I totally disagree with you, i enlarged 5 plays right there that could have been called for a run, and calling a run on a 3rd and 20 isnt to bad because chances are you wont get a first down.

Murlarky is the worse OC ive seen so far, To have as much talent as we have in Our RB and to only run the balll 12 times is ridiculous

 

[D_BO]

On which plays would you run instead of pass?

3rd and 20?
3rd and 16?
3rd and 23?
3rd and 15?

Because that's what Mularkey was faced with.

Even when it was 2nd or 3rd and short, we often got the 1st down by throwing. Do you have a problem with converting 1st downs?

And why were we in sooo many 3rd and insurmountable yardage situations...

Because we couldn't do **** on 1st down, because of many poor decisions by our OC.. Players do run the plays, so yes, alot of the blame goes on them, but a 15 to 12 ratio is not good on 1st down..

 

[Finole]

Good work, but I think you are looking at this wrong. as a situational breakdown sure, he looks to have called a decent game.. When you look at why we were in so many 3rd and longs, there's where it all goes wrong for MM.. You showed the plays, but looking at it, we were 3-12 on 3rd down, not good.. We had alot of 3rd and longs because of stupid play calls.. I guess people just see what they want to see..

We were in just as many 3rd and short situations as 3rd and long situations.

The six times we were in 3rd and long situations were because of sacks, tipped passes, collapsed pockets, rushes for no gains or a loss, and penalties. All things beyond Mularkey's control.

Hey, lookit, I'm no fan of losing. Prove to me that Mularkey called a bad game, and I'll gladly jump aboard the "Mularkey sucks and needs to go" bandwagon.

 

[Finole]

I totally disagree with you, i enlarged 5 plays right there that could have been called for a run, and calling a run on a 3rd and 20 isnt to bad because chances are you wont get a first down.

Murlarky is the worse OC ive seen so far, To have as much talent as we have in Our RB and to only run the balll 12 times is ridiculous

2 of those 5 plays we converted the 1st down by passing. But you would rather run simply for running's sake?

1 of those 5 plays should have been converted by passing, but Booked dropped the pass. Blame Mularkey for that if you like.

And 2 of those 5 plays, I agree, we should have run. I course, there's no guarantee that Ronnie wouldn't be tackled behind the line of scrimmage because of poor run-blocking. Still, you gotta pound the rock. But I doubt anybody would have been any happier with 14 rushes instead of 12.

 

[Finole]

And why were we in sooo many 3rd and insurmountable yardage situations...

Because we couldn't do **** on 1st down, because of many poor decisions by our OC.. Players do run the plays, so yes, alot of the blame goes on them, but a 15 to 12 ratio is not good on 1st down..

15 passes and 12 rushes is a pretty balanced attack.

Would you have been happier with 20 rushes and 7 passes? Because that would almost certainly have meant fewer 1st down conversions, and at least two more run stops behind the line of scrimmage.

 

[D_BO]

We were in just as many 3rd and short situations as 3rd and long situations.

The six times we were in 3rd and long situations were because of sacks, tipped passes, collapsed pockets, rushes for no gains or a loss, and penalties. All things beyond Mularkey's control.

Hey, lookit, I'm no fan of losing. Prove to me that Mularkey called a bad game, and I'll gladly jump aboard the "Mularkey sucks and needs to go" bandwagon.

A 15 / 12 pass to run ratio on 1st when we can't protect the QB is all the proof I need that he did not call the gameplan well........ It's as simple as that..