Anyone worried about our Run Defense, Fergusson | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

Anyone worried about our Run Defense, Fergusson

BenchFiedler

BenchFiedler

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After 4 preseason games, I can say that I'm not comfortable with our run defense.

The most disturbing thing that I also noticed is how Jason Ferguson is not palying like Jason Ferguson of 08 season. Maybe his age is catching up to him.

You guys may not like what I have to say, but we are way way more effective at stopping the run with Paul Solai, Langford, and T. McDaniel in our 3-4 defense. I would put Starks as a pass rusher on 3rd down with Merling but I think that Fergusson may have lost a step from last season..
 
I kind of get what you're sying, but part of it doesn't add up. There were times that our run D looked bad and times it suprised me how good they looked. You take the one long run out of the Carolina game, and we shut down what was a very potent rushing attack last yr.

Not that preseason stats mean much but we were 8th in the league in run D.

I put very little stock in that except that the 6 teams above us areall teams I would expect to be good run D teams.
 
I'm concerned about Fergie's durability but I have to imagine that with someone that has that many years on his legs, he's not necessarily looking to overexert himself in the preseason.
 
I mean it is obvious that we need to address NT next season . . . Soliai is a bonus, if he works out . . . that would be fantastic, he definitely has the talent, but regardless . . . . we need more competition for that NT position other than Dotson, who is a bit undersized for the position and is a better fit at DE in the 3-4. Whether that is going after a guy like Wilfork or drafting a guy early, that and ILB are the 2 priorities going into the next draft.

Ferguson was a blessing last season, and has more than made up for that 6th round pick we gave up for him, but its true that he is getting older and we have to have security at that NT position, more than any other on this defense.

As far as the run D, Matt Roth was critical in making us a top 10 run defense, and trust me, his presence will be missed . . . hopefully the increased pass rush will make up for his loss.
 
BenchFiedler said:
After 4 preseason games, I can say that I'm not comfortable with our run defense.

The most disturbing thing that I also noticed is how Jason Ferguson is not palying like Jason Ferguson of 08 season. Maybe his age is catching up to him.

You guys may not like what I have to say, but we are way way more effective at stopping the run with Paul Solai, Langford, and T. McDaniel in our 3-4 defense. I would put Starks as a pass rusher on 3rd down with Merling but I think that Fergusson may have lost a step from last season..
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Not worried to the extent that I am panicing, but I am certainly concerned.

Our first team D looked a bit shaky in preseason. That said, I wouldnt be surprised it we held a bit back. These guys (the starters) know whats up, they will flip the switch to full speed on sunday.

I hope:)
 
very concerned !...third downs are brutal for us as well...we never seem to stop third and anything !
 
Matt Roth will be missed the first week for sure. I think we have some strong run support from our DB's this year that we didn't have last year. Davis, Wilson and Bell can all stuff the run as good as anyone.

The problem will come if we have to sell out our backfield just to stop the run because that's when Matt Ryan will have easy throws and be able to burn us deep.
 
The whole d-line is very average. None of those guys are pro-bowlers.

Langford is probably the best of the bunch. Merling was statistically similar to Langford last year... and he's a backup. Starks falls inbetween. I mean he was a backup last year.

Old Fergy is ok, but do you really want a 35-year-old taking on double-teams every play?

So the d-line is the weakness of the defense, and you would kind of prefer it to be the strength. It's not like we have a guy pencilled in as a starter who can't play, which many teams do.

And with Ayodele as the next line of defense behind Fergy, it looks like our safeties may get a bunch of tackles this year.

Yeah, I'm concerned about the run-defense.
 
If you look at ATL closely we are very evenly matched teams.....their run D is just as suspect if not more so. ATL's pass D is (after 4 weeks of preseason) still being built. Our D is better at getting turn overs so I give us a slight advantage.
 
I think the NT spot is where I'm most concerned. Now that we have an open roster spot I would feel better if we picked up another one. I know good ones don't fall off trees and it will be priority one in the off season through the draft and free agency. You can't run the 3-4 without a stud playing there and Ferg is a warrior but 'time keeps on ticking ticking ticking in to the future'- Sorry didn't mean to get all Steve Miller on ya.
 
I think Starks is a liability in the running game. In the Tampa game he was continuously out of position getting shoved around. I know it was preseason and hopefully it was a fluke, but he looked bad in that game.
 
Rich said:
The whole d-line is very average. None of those guys are pro-bowlers.

Langford is probably the best of the bunch. Merling was statistically similar to Langford last year... and he's a backup. Starks falls inbetween. I mean he was a backup last year.

Old Fergy is ok, but do you really want a 35-year-old taking on double-teams every play?

So the d-line is the weakness of the defense, and you would kind of prefer it to be the strength. It's not like we have a guy pencilled in as a starter who can't play, which many teams do.

And with Ayodele as the next line of defense behind Fergy, it looks like our safeties may get a bunch of tackles this year.

Yeah, I'm concerned about the run-defense.
Click to expand...

You do realize that outside of Roth, these are the same guys that were the 10th ranked run D in the NFL....you're assessment holds no weight.
 
Rich said:
The whole d-line is very average. None of those guys are pro-bowlers.

Langford is probably the best of the bunch. Merling was statistically similar to Langford last year... and he's a backup. Starks falls inbetween. I mean he was a backup last year.

Old Fergy is ok, but do you really want a 35-year-old taking on double-teams every play?

So the d-line is the weakness of the defense, and you would kind of prefer it to be the strength. It's not like we have a guy pencilled in as a starter who can't play, which many teams do.

And with Ayodele as the next line of defense behind Fergy, it looks like our safeties may get a bunch of tackles this year.

Yeah, I'm concerned about the run-defense.
Click to expand...

Well, DL was our strength last year. No reason to believe they won't be this year. Not too worried about Fergie. Our 3-4 NT is more of a technique and agility position rather than a big guy who bull rushes blockers. Fergie has the technique down, disrupt the play and free up space for our two ILB to make the play. Not a whole lot of glory in that, but it is very neccessary.

Starks is sort of an underated player. The guy played the most out of all the DL last year and is a very good pass rusher. Langford is a beast. The guy is great against the run and solid versus the pass. Not many 3-4 DL make the Pro Bowl at all.

I do think our safteies will get a lot of tackles this year, but don't be suprised if most are near the line. We have two very good tackling and hard hitting safeties who like to come up and hit the runninbacks. If you want to be concerned with anything, it should probably be the pass coverage over the middle of the field by our safties.
 
FinsFan_In_Iraq said:
You do realize that outside of Roth, these are the same guys that were the 10th ranked run D in the NFL....you're assessment holds no weight.
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Well, we also had Holliday last year, who started, and was better than both Starks and Merling.

I mean if 18-12th is average(C), 11-6 is good(B), and top 5 is great(A)... these guys should be around a 13 this year, with the downgrade(loss of Holliday), and Ferg getting older. So C, C+, B- ... something like that.

It's not a position stacked like our Linebackers, where Crowder is good(B+), Porter and Taylor are great(A).
 
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