AJayi Trade from a purely Football Perspective | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

AJayi Trade from a purely Football Perspective

JTech194

JTech194

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While I'm sure there are non-on the field reasons Ajayi was traded, I want to look at this strictly from a football perspective.

What does Ajayi do well? He runs great between the tackles and is great at breaking tackles. That's about it right? He doesn't catch well, and he doesn't pass protect well. And apparently he doesn't know his assignments very well either.

From a coaching standpoint.... what do you do when teams take away what he does well by crowding the Line of Scrimmage with defenders?

You can't flex him out to get him lined up in space against a LB or throw him passes out of the backfield because he's not good at that.

You can't pass the ball as effectively because he can't block to help in protection and he can't catch very well. So as an OC, you're limited to what you can do with him on the field and it makes you predictable and easy to defend.

It's difficult to scheme around it because you basically have a player in a key position where as long as he's on the field and not getting ball in the run game, you're basically playing 10 on 11.

If what he does well isnt' working...... you're almost forced to take him off the field...but when you do..... he makes a stink about it.

If you go back to Gase's days in Denver, they had RB's that were versatile. We don't have the offensive line or receivers to employ a power running attack, they just don't block well enough. So you need scheme, deception and unpredictability which we don't have with Ajayi as the RB. I think Gase realized this and decided that it was worth making a move because CLEARLY what we're doing now on offense isnt' working.

Your thoughts?
 
I think you are on to something, but honestly I think the single biggest reason for this trade is that we simply did not want to pay him. There are the knee issues, attitude issues, and like you say lack of production issues. Getting a 4th for him is really not that bad of a deal when you take all of that into consideration. I think the main reason teams trade players like KB, Garappolo, and probably even Ajayai is that they don't want to pay them at the end of their contracts, that's how the NFL works now days. Get something for your talented players you don't want to pay or risk losing them for nothing, can't pay em all.
 
No, thats not entirely correct. His favorite play is the outside zone stretch. Gase is the one that turned him away from those outside runs he was so good at in college. Actually, he was also a very effective pass catcher out of the backfield in college too, but Gase wanted him to concentrate on other things so rarely practiced it.

Much of what you mention is Gase's vision of how he wants to use Ajayi, not really what Ajayi can not do.

Now it is true that he doesn't have great vision for the hole, but in the open field he actually does a great job of spacing. It is also true that he is hit and miss (literally) in pass pro.

But let's not try to type cast Ajayi because of Gase's vision of how he wants to fit him into the team. Ajayi was doing what Gase wanted. He was doing most of it well. Sure, he could have stuck to Cutler's hip and practi ed timing and catching routes after practice, and apparently he didnt. He could have worked on his blocking after practice, and apparently he didn't. But let's not act like it is because he is some one dimensional power only back.
 
Honestly, we can probably pass the ball more affectively on 1st down, lets see sunday night.
 
I wonder if the reason why our offense was so ineffective was that we got ten men in the box and still couldn't pass the ball. Maybe the idea is that with only 8 in the box, we can actually get the pass off?
 
Digital said:
No, thats not entirely correct. His favorite play is the outside zone stretch. Gase is the one that turned him away from those outside runs he was so good at in college. Actually, he was also a very effective pass catcher out of the backfield in college too, but Gase wanted him to concentrate on other things so rarely practiced it.

Much of what you mention is Gase's vision of how he wants to use Ajayi, not really what Ajayi can not do.

Now it is true that he doesn't have great vision for the hole, but in the open field he actually does a great job of spacing. It is also true that he is hit and miss (literally) in pass pro.

But let's not try to type cast Ajayi because of Gase's vision of how he wants to fit him into the team. Ajayi was doing what Gase wanted. He was doing most of it well. Sure, he could have stuck to Cutler's hip and practi ed timing and catching routes after practice, and apparently he didnt. He could have worked on his blocking after practice, and apparently he didn't. But let's not act like it is because he is some one dimensional power only back.
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This ain't college, where he was more physical than most, and if he can't do what the coaches want him to do WTF good is he? If you are unwilling to pass block you are indeed playing 10 on 11.
 
I think the truth is Gase didn't want his me first attitude as the face of the team. His ability to catch was limited, pass protection was awful and couldn't be responsible enough to know the playbook almost 2 years into a system. That's not exactly a feature back. But, I don't think Gase really needs to have a blockbuster RB. We'll see soon enough.
 
1 dol fan said:
I wonder if the reason why our offense was so ineffective was that we got ten men in the box and still couldn't pass the ball. Maybe the idea is that with only 8 in the box, we can actually get the pass off?
Click to expand...
Ten men in the box?? Stills, DVP or Landry had no cb to cover him?
The problem is we still tried to run against 8 men box every time without deception, ie play action. And Ajayi complaint when he got less carries.
Our best hope with this OL is quick hit west coast offense. And with Ajayi demanding the ball, it's not a good fit.
That being said, a pro bowl rd in his prime for a 4th is too little return in my book.
 
Agreed. I think Ajayi's 200 yard games last year were similar to when we introduced the wildcat. Teams were caught off guard and didn't know how to defend it. I think teams have figured out Jay Ajayi this year, which explains his drop in production. So, Ajayi has become a gimmick RB like the wildcat was a gimmick play. He's not a long-term solution at RB, and, honestly, there are very few workhorse backs in the league anymore. That's just not the makeup of the league anymore. I see us platooning Williams and Drake, and even throwing Grant in here-and-there, for the rest of the year.
 
If any RB is consistently running into 10 defender box then past 12-15 every WR should be wide effin open. For every move their is a counter and that's on Gase to figure out.
 
His greatest asset was yards after contact. With the box stacked, we should have been able to pass the ball. Cutler, though, couldn't throw downfield so that shortened the field even more.
 
montequi said:
Agreed. I think Ajayi's 200 yard games last year were similar to when we introduced the wildcat. Teams were caught off guard and didn't know how to defend it. I think teams have figured out Jay Ajayi this year, which explains his drop in production. So, Ajayi has become a gimmick RB like the wildcat was a gimmick play. He's not a long-term solution at RB, and, honestly, there are very few workhorse backs in the league anymore. That's just not the makeup of the league anymore. I see us platooning Williams and Drake, and even throwing Grant in here-and-there, for the rest of the year.
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What has Grant shown in the backfield to warrant your expectations of him possibly playing RB?
 
The Ajayi trade from a football perspective is a horrific one. We can dress this one up with rose tinted glasses all we want.

You need talent. And if you choose to jettison the talent, you need to have a suitable replacement in house. We have neither.
 
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