Barry Jackson Article: Great Notes and Insight...Discuss Away

[Dr. Phin]

Great, so looks like if we finish 7-9 Ross will take a half measure and boot Ireland but keep Philbin. That would be such a failure.

We are doomed with this buffoon Ross in charge. The guy has no balls and relies on his buddy Peterson to tell him what to do with his own team.

Exactly! He should have cleaned house when we got rid of Morono. If he does this half-measure crap again, it will just mean another 3 years of failure.

 

[Dr. Phin]

Folks...I am just making a prediction of what will happen. I think they should keep every thing together for the sake of continuity.

Continuity of what? Sucking?

 

[rent this space]

Dawn Aponte needs to stay put, she is doing very well in her current position

 

[J. David Wannyheimer]

Dawn Aponte needs to stay put, she is doing very well in her current position

Which is doing what? Saving Ross's money? We're rolling well under the salary cap because the team is in woeful financial straits right now.

 

[rent this space]

Which is doing what? Saving Ross's money? We're rolling well under the salary cap because the team is in woeful financial straits right now.

The Dolphin's are better cap-wise than almost the entire league because they are writing smart contracts for the first time in a loooong time. And being $40 million under the cap(again) means more to the team than it's owner

 

[spiketex]

Here is the question I would ask each fan...do you view the Fins issues as a personnel problem or schematic/execution problem?

IMO there are places we could have upgrades personnel...no question. However, as example, when all theses sacks were being yielded, how many of us said, "2 TE Sets and run the ball more"? How many said, "give Miller the ball more and allow the line to plow ahead and can the stretch plays". I just don't think Joe and has staff have utilized the talent they have they best they could with the exception of TE and the work Kaci Rogers has done.

Feel free to disagree, but Joe needs to improve folks for us to have a chance

That's a good question. I'm increasingly of the belief that it may be a schematic/execution problem. The protracted difficulties experienced by the O-line may simply be that they are trying to implement a scheme that mightn't be that good. Turner, the O-line coach has been here for one a half seasons and I'm not seeing much progress (except for the last 2 games). This issue with Jonathan Martin (one of the smartest guys on the entire team) and Jake Long's desire to depart, may also reflect frustration with the system. The fact that other teams are able to successfully remake their O-lines, but we struggle year after year using high draft picks and purchasing expensive free agents. It remains a lingering canker.
I am less critical of the Defense. I can't help but like Coyle and recognize the progress that has been made with the additions of Grimes and Patterson at CB. The linebackers are the one group that hasn't jelled as I had hoped but I remain optimistic further progress can be made. Message to Philip Wheeler - you received a big pay raise, let's see what you can do - very underwhelming to date, but maybe he and Ellerbe just need a decent haircut.

 

[HoneyB]

He praised Lamar Miller and criticized Daniel Thomas:

"Thomas has just 26 yards on 20 carries in his career. The Dolphins still need to find a short yardage back, unless Thomas suddenly becomes good at it."

The thing is, why should we need to find a short yardage back? And since when do you find a really good RB that gets the short yards but can't get you most everything else? That's really more of a fullback to me, if you find that guy.

Lamar practiced with Frank Gore in the offseason. Tell me that Gore can't get you big yards AND short yards. Or let's look at the Packers, who we're compared to in scheme. Tell me that Eddie Lacy is not tough enough to get you short yards, and that they're out looking for a 3rd down back somewhere. You know what I mean?

If you look at yards per carry, Miller shines at 4.8 (below). But while Miller hands off his job to Thomas on tough yards, Gore handles the snaps, (and as a result gets more carries). Lacy's stats are based on 1 less game played, so while his are similar to Miller, his yards and TD numbers will go up after they play this week.

Miller = Avg: 4.8, Carries: 93, Rushing Yards: 448, TD's: 2
Gore = Avg: 4.2, Carries: 146, Rushing Yards: 618, TD's: 7
Lacy = Avg: 4.0, Carries: 112, Rushing Yards: 446, TD's: 3​

So that brings us to productivity. In NFL Rushing leaders stats, the 3 backs appear in a different order:

Gore = Yards per Game: 77.3 (ranked 6th)
Lacy = Yards per Game: 74.3 (ranked 10th)
Miller = Yards per Game: 56.0 (ranked 20th)​

http://espn.go.com/nfl/statistics/player/_/stat/rushing/sort/rushingYardsPerGame

Barry Jackson seems to think the way to solve this running deficit is to hire a helper for Miller. A lot of fans feel that the thing to do is just give Miller more carries. I think we need option#2 in the short run, but in the long run, I think what you really need is a tough, all-purpose back that is still fairly fast, can break tackles, grind with his legs, and not run out of bounds. Coaches have already admited, that Miller gets more "quality" attempts than Thomas, so they seem to think that simply increasing Miller's carries this year won't necessarily improve his average or translate into TD's.

So chalk this one up to another one of those unanswered questions about the team.

 

[spiketex]

I could see Ross trying to be this day and age's Branch Ricky and making her the first female GM. She has the title and pushes the numbers and Joe and Brian Gaine make the roster moves.

She has a title and doesn't just push the numbers - that's a bit dismissive. She plays hardball with every single player agent in the business. Believe it or not, Ireland isn't handling the negotiations, it's Dawn Aponte. From what I can gather, she is excellent at it and we're lucky to have her. I also don't think that Ross would be afraid to shatter the glass ceiling and give her the opportunity to run it on the basis that she taps into others with the expertise on the roster.
In the corporate world, the women who shatter the glass ceiling tend to be that much better than the guys, to get the opportunity. They also tend to be very successful, irrespective of industry. It would be pretty radical but there is no reason why a woman could not be very successful, if supported by the right people.

 

[MD]

The Dolphin's are better cap-wise than almost the entire league because they are writing smart contracts for the first time in a loooong time. And being $40 million under the cap(again) means more to the team than it's owner

With the personnel decisions that are being made being 40 million under the cap means nothing more than having 40 million. I'd much rather be up against the cap with a team that is a serious contender instead of a team the continues to find satisfaction in being 40 million under the cap.

 

[Valandui]

Wouldn't GM actually be a step down for Aponte? She has Parcells' old position now, just without the same level of control.

 

[roy_miami]

I think some people made up their mind about Philbin when he went against their better judgement and started Tannehill as a rookie. Personally, I'm still in wait and see mode and am willing to give him the ENTIRETY of the season to get us to at least 9-7. I also think most have already forgotten that it was the coaching staff that got a lot of the credit for the 3-0 start, remember Sherman and Coyle almost blushing when asked about their halftime adjustment superiority? And the press wondering if the league would follow suit with the Thursdays off? I say we let this thing play out a little more before affixing the terrible coach label.