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COACHES CORNER: How can we determine if our Offensive staff are creating success and giving us an advantage?

DOLFANMIKE

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Years ago I used to write a Coaches Corner series here in Finheaven. I'm bringing it back from time to time as opportunities present themselves about popular topics on the forum dealing with X's and O's

Question: How do we determine of our Offensive staff is doing a good job?

I can tell you right here and now what to look for to determine if our coaches are giving us that edge in terms of scheme. While it might not be easy as a fan to understand all the reads, schemes, and other complexities of what is going on there are some really telling signs of an effective offense. If we don't see these things it's definitely a "coaching issue" not a player issue. The argument can always be made that our players talent or intelligence is limiting what our staff can do, but if that's the problem we are going to be a big fail anyway.


- Of course, the most obvious sign of offensive success is are we moving the ball consistently and scoring a lot. This is the ultimate sign of a quality offense. If they get to the endzone being vanilla all the time then all the better, but most teams require lots of coaching adjustments, movements, and quality play calling that compliments everything else that we do, including drafting or signing players.

- Have we eliminated all Pre Snap penalties?

- If we aren't moving the ball (threatening to score all the time) and scoring a lot, are we using formations, motions, shifts, etc that create big plays for us? If we aren't moving the ball and you don't see those things, I can tell you right now we have the wrong guys leading the offense. An effective offensive play caller builds a base offense around the things we do best as a team, and drills his squad over and over on how we can expect to get attacked. Part of that teaching is helping our players understand where we can expect the defense to be and the types of schemes they will likely use to try and stop us. Of course in the NFL they will see a whole lot of looks and schemes, but remember these players don't have school or a job to go to. There is plenty of time to practice all of this and put in all of our adjustments. If every week you have to adjust on the fly in games then you aren't doing a very good job as coaches anticipating what you might see each week. Even worse, if you see teams doing the same thing every week (like stacking the box with 8 to stop the run) and we have no major big plays against that, then our staff is worthless. An old saying in the coaching world is "if you get beat by it expect to see it again next week. "

- If we fail to see big plays every game, then our coaches haven't broken down and figured out the defense. We should have 2-3 big plays every game that give us a chance to win. These don't have to just be "long" touchdown plays, I'm talking more about plays at key times that impact the game in a huge way. Teams like the Patriots have proven that even marginal players can make big plays as a result of great scheme. That's what we should expect to see.

- We should see consistent production each week from our core focus players. Our workhorse types. Guys that we game plan around so hard every week that they always impact a game, even if its creating a more open field because the defense has "sold out" to stop them. It should be obvious when this happens as the game develops. This also leads to our staff being able to identify this and have quality backup plans B, C ,D. Anticipate the best ways to stop you and have a few plans to kill it.

- As the season progresses, we should see offensive improvements across the board. Confidence. Better timing on routes. Better holes for our rushing attack. Improved ball control on O and improved creating turnovers on D, and more general synch in all aspects of Miami Dolphins football. If we don't see it, then that falls squarely on the coaching staff. This one kind of falls on the side of coaches taking responsibility for their players, because the bottom line is regardless of injuries the players on this team have been chosen by this staff. Thus, like New England has proven over and over - Next man up is a thing. If the next man up isn't getting the job done, that's because the staff picked the wrong guy or they haven't prepared him enough for success. Our players should always EXPECT to win because our coaches have done such a great job preparing them that there is no way they can lose.

So just to wrap this Coaches Corner regarding Successful Offensive Coaching up in a nutshell, ... Yes an obvious sign of effective offensive coaching is we move the ball and score. However, if we are not doing that effectively the questions to ask ourselves are:

- Do we have an identity as an offense? Do we have players that are cornerstone producers that serve as our workhorse players that we can count on each week?
- Do we use formations, shifts, and motions to create mismatches often? Are we seeing big plays explode each week as a result of these schematic adjustments and practices?
- When teams "sellout" to stop our base do we have clear adjustments to make them pay for it? Are we seeing big plays and effective offense when teams sell out?
- Are we getting better or worse as the season progresses?

D-Mike
 
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View attachment 73898
Years ago I used to write a Coaches Corner series here in Finheaven. I'm bringing it back from time to time as opportunities present themselves about popular topics on the forum dealing with X's and O's

Question: How do we determine of our Offensive staff is doing a good job?

I can tell you right here and now what to look for to determine if our coaches are giving us that edge in terms of scheme. While it might not be easy as a fan to understand all the reads, schemes, and other complexities of what is going on there are some really telling signs of an effective offense. If we don't see these things it's definitely a "coaching issue" not a player issue. The argument can always be made that our players talent or intelligence is limiting what our staff can do, but if that's the problem we are going to be a big fail anyway.


- Of course, the most obvious sign of offensive success is are we moving the ball consistently and scoring a lot. This is the ultimate sign of a quality offense. If they get to the endzone being vanilla all the time then all the better, but most teams require lots of coaching adjustments, movements, and quality play calling that compliments everything else that we do, including drafting or signing players.

- Have we eliminated all Pre Snap penalties?

- If we aren't moving the ball (threatening to score all the time) and scoring a lot, are we using formations, motions, shifts, etc that create big plays for us? If we aren't moving the ball and you don't see those things, I can tell you right now we have the wrong guys leading the offense. An effective offensive play caller builds a base offense around the things we do best as a team, and drills his squad over and over on how we can expect to get attacked. Part of that teaching is helping our players understand where we can expect the defense to be and the types of schemes they will likely use to try and stop us. Of course in the NFL they will see a whole lot of looks and schemes, but remember these players don't have school or a job to go to. There is plenty of time to practice all of this and put in all of our adjustments. If every week you have to adjust on the fly in games then you aren't doing a very good job as coaches anticipating what you might see each week. Even worse, if you see teams doing the same thing every week (like stacking the box with 8 to stop the run) and we have no major big plays against that, then our staff is worthless. An old saying in the coaching world is "if you get beat by it expect to see it again next week. "

- If we fail to see big plays every game, then our coaches haven't broken down and figured out the defense. We should have 2-3 big plays every game that give us a chance to win. These don't have to just be "long" touchdown plays, I'm talking more about plays at key times that impact the game in a huge way. Teams like the Patriots have proven that even marginal players can make big plays as a result of great scheme. That's what we should expect to see.

- We should see consistent production each week from our core focus players. Our workhorse types. Guys that we game plan around so hard every week that they always impact a game, even if its creating a more open field because the defense has "sold out" to stop them. It should be obvious when this happens as the game develops. This also leads to our staff being able to identify this and have quality backup plans B, C ,D. Anticipate the best ways to stop you and have a few plans to kill it.

- As the season progresses, we should see offensive improvements across the board. Confidence. Better timing on routes. Better holes for our rushing attack. Improved ball control on O and improved creating turnovers on D, and more general synch in all aspects of Miami Dolphins football. If we don't see it, then that falls squarely on the coaching staff. This one kind of falls on the side of coaches taking responsibility for their players, because the bottom line is regardless of injuries the players on this team have been chosen by this staff. Thus, like New England has proven over and over - Next man up is a thing. If the next man up isn't getting the job done, that's because the staff picked the wrong guy or they haven't prepared him enough for success. Our players should always EXPECT to win because our coaches have done such a great job preparing them that there is no way they can lose.

So just to wrap this Coaches Corner regarding Successful Offensive Coaching up in a nutshell, ... Yes an obvious sign of effective offensive coaching is we move the ball and score. However, if we are not doing that effectively the questions to ask ourselves are:

- Do we have an identity as an offense? Do we have players that are cornerstone producers that serve as our workhorse players that we can count on each week?
- Do we use formations, shifts, and motions to create mismatches often? Are we seeing big plays explode each week as a result of these schematic adjustments and practices?
- When teams "sellout" to stop our base do we have clear adjustments to make them pay for it? Are we seeing big plays and effective offense when teams sell out?
- Are we getting better or worse as the season progresses?

D-Mike

As in everything Dolphins, I'll agree in general, but have a few tweaks. Coaches can adjust to injuries . . . to an extent. But, because of cap, NO team is deep enough at every position to successfully play next man up. No, not even BB. Excluding that, yeah, a lot of football is being assignment sound. Beyond that, injuries matter.
Agree completely with game plan/adjustments. Every team makes adjustments every game, but game plans should focus on weaknesses of the opponents and finding mismatches. It's been a l-o-o-n-g time since I've sen that consistently in Miami. I hope the O ex-Chan correct that.
Disagree on core players. Shut down just a couple of guys on the opposing O and victory is more likely. The standard game plan of NE. A top O can say 'well, if you take away Hill, we'll move to Kelce,' or take away the pass, we'll run it.' That's part of the game plan the OC/HC develops. (Side note; I'm always amazed teams that play NE seem unprepared when BB takes away their main weapon.) Now some good teams have enough 'core' players, the D can't stop them all, but "consistent production each week from our core focus players (plural)" seems unrealistic.
I agree on identity and variations in O (another staple of NE). Hate to focus on one guy, but the O needs a QB who can take advantage of EVERY mistake by the D. Guys like Brees se a Dman running of the field and call a quick snap. 'Thanks for the 5 yards.' 28-30 other QBs wait, gentlemanly, until the Dman gets off the field. Ahead in 4Q? Milk the clock. Again, I'm surprised how often that's NOT done. Little things. Yeah, the coaches can tell the QB, but shouldn't have to.
As far as Miami, this is a tough call. New OC(s). Better WRs. A year's experience for the OL and an off-season in the weight room. TT in better health and an of-season to learn the nuances. I have no idea if Miami's O will be better or not. SHOULD be, but I've been a Dolphin fan longer than most here and am on first name basis with disappointment. Still, I'm optimistic and am VERY interested in the OCs.
 
As in everything Dolphins, I'll agree in general, but have a few tweaks. Coaches can adjust to injuries . . . to an extent. But, because of cap, NO team is deep enough at every position to successfully play next man up. No, not even BB. Excluding that, yeah, a lot of football is being assignment sound. Beyond that, injuries matter.
Agree completely with game plan/adjustments. Every team makes adjustments every game, but game plans should focus on weaknesses of the opponents and finding mismatches. It's been a l-o-o-n-g time since I've sen that consistently in Miami. I hope the O ex-Chan correct that.
Disagree on core players. Shut down just a couple of guys on the opposing O and victory is more likely. The standard game plan of NE. A top O can say 'well, if you take away Hill, we'll move to Kelce,' or take away the pass, we'll run it.' That's part of the game plan the OC/HC develops. (Side note; I'm always amazed teams that play NE seem unprepared when BB takes away their main weapon.) Now some good teams have enough 'core' players, the D can't stop them all, but "consistent production each week from our core focus players (plural)" seems unrealistic.
I agree on identity and variations in O (another staple of NE). Hate to focus on one guy, but the O needs a QB who can take advantage of EVERY mistake by the D. Guys like Brees se a Dman running of the field and call a quick snap. 'Thanks for the 5 yards.' 28-30 other QBs wait, gentlemanly, until the Dman gets off the field. Ahead in 4Q? Milk the clock. Again, I'm surprised how often that's NOT done. Little things. Yeah, the coaches can tell the QB, but shouldn't have to.
As far as Miami, this is a tough call. New OC(s). Better WRs. A year's experience for the OL and an off-season in the weight room. TT in better health and an of-season to learn the nuances. I have no idea if Miami's O will be better or not. SHOULD be, but I've been a Dolphin fan longer than most here and am on first name basis with disappointment. Still, I'm optimistic and am VERY interested in the OCs.
I just don't know what to expect with our offense. I'm assuming the Shanahan running game because of studesville but godsey came from o'brien. So I can't figure out which one we will get.

I want to see a lot of motion and shifts like everyone else. I also want to be aggressive which is something flores or Gailey didn't want to do. I think the draft will determine what to expect based on those first four rounds.
 
As in everything Dolphins, I'll agree in general, but have a few tweaks. Coaches can adjust to injuries . . . to an extent. But, because of cap, NO team is deep enough at every position to successfully play next man up. No, not even BB. Excluding that, yeah, a lot of football is being assignment sound. Beyond that, injuries matter.
Agree completely with game plan/adjustments. Every team makes adjustments every game, but game plans should focus on weaknesses of the opponents and finding mismatches. It's been a l-o-o-n-g time since I've sen that consistently in Miami. I hope the O ex-Chan correct that.
Disagree on core players. Shut down just a couple of guys on the opposing O and victory is more likely. The standard game plan of NE. A top O can say 'well, if you take away Hill, we'll move to Kelce,' or take away the pass, we'll run it.' That's part of the game plan the OC/HC develops. (Side note; I'm always amazed teams that play NE seem unprepared when BB takes away their main weapon.) Now some good teams have enough 'core' players, the D can't stop them all, but "consistent production each week from our core focus players (plural)" seems unrealistic.
I agree on identity and variations in O (another staple of NE). Hate to focus on one guy, but the O needs a QB who can take advantage of EVERY mistake by the D. Guys like Brees se a Dman running of the field and call a quick snap. 'Thanks for the 5 yards.' 28-30 other QBs wait, gentlemanly, until the Dman gets off the field. Ahead in 4Q? Milk the clock. Again, I'm surprised how often that's NOT done. Little things. Yeah, the coaches can tell the QB, but shouldn't have to.
As far as Miami, this is a tough call. New OC(s). Better WRs. A year's experience for the OL and an off-season in the weight room. TT in better health and an of-season to learn the nuances. I have no idea if Miami's O will be better or not. SHOULD be, but I've been a Dolphin fan longer than most here and am on first name basis with disappointment. Still, I'm optimistic and am VERY interested in the OCs.

Nice thoughts shared on the response.
I'd argue that if we can't get consistent production from our core players, the workhorses in our base scheme... then whatever we are doing shouldn't be considered our base. Sure, teams like NE will sellout to stop our base ... and I covered how we should respond to that. Them selling out to stop our workhorse should cost them big plays and production elsewhere. If we don't see that our staff has failed. Our base should work against any regular run of the mill defense.
 
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I just don't know what to expect with our offense. I'm assuming the Shanahan running game because of studesville but godsey came from o'brien. So I can't figure out which one we will get.

I want to see a lot of motion and shifts like everyone else. I also want to be aggressive which is something flores or Gailey didn't want to do. I think the draft will determine what to expect based on those first four rounds.
Complete guess on my part, I have no inside knowledge on our staff...but my guess is Godsey will have more to do with implementation of our base scheme and have Bill O'Brien formations and scheme (motions / shifts), etc. He has a background already in being an OC. That's not to say Studs won't have influence. I fully expect to see his Shanahan influence in our scheme too. I suppose to be fair it depends on who we draft. So far our roster could run both IMO but if we Draft guys like RB Harris, TE Pitts, etc all that could lean to one more than the other. Personally, I want to see us run an Alabama friendly scheme in terms of finding some of the things Tua does exceptionally well and go from there.
 
I feel like I've been saying this for years, but we have to be the only team that sucks at executing a simple RB screen.
 
As in everything Dolphins, I'll agree in general, but have a few tweaks. Coaches can adjust to injuries . . . to an extent. But, because of cap, NO team is deep enough at every position to successfully play next man up. No, not even BB. Excluding that, yeah, a lot of football is being assignment sound. Beyond that, injuries matter.
Agree completely with game plan/adjustments. Every team makes adjustments every game, but game plans should focus on weaknesses of the opponents and finding mismatches. It's been a l-o-o-n-g time since I've sen that consistently in Miami. I hope the O ex-Chan correct that.
Disagree on core players. Shut down just a couple of guys on the opposing O and victory is more likely. The standard game plan of NE. A top O can say 'well, if you take away Hill, we'll move to Kelce,' or take away the pass, we'll run it.' That's part of the game plan the OC/HC develops. (Side note; I'm always amazed teams that play NE seem unprepared when BB takes away their main weapon.) Now some good teams have enough 'core' players, the D can't stop them all, but "consistent production each week from our core focus players (plural)" seems unrealistic.
I agree on identity and variations in O (another staple of NE). Hate to focus on one guy, but the O needs a QB who can take advantage of EVERY mistake by the D. Guys like Brees se a Dman running of the field and call a quick snap. 'Thanks for the 5 yards.' 28-30 other QBs wait, gentlemanly, until the Dman gets off the field. Ahead in 4Q? Milk the clock. Again, I'm surprised how often that's NOT done. Little things. Yeah, the coaches can tell the QB, but shouldn't have to.
As far as Miami, this is a tough call. New OC(s). Better WRs. A year's experience for the OL and an off-season in the weight room. TT in better health and an of-season to learn the nuances. I have no idea if Miami's O will be better or not. SHOULD be, but I've been a Dolphin fan longer than most here and am on first name basis with disappointment. Still, I'm optimistic and am VERY interested in the OCs.
Nice discussion. Who would y'all say BB would try and take away for the Dolphins? If he succeeded, who would be the next go-to guy?
 
Thank you coach for the piece..

just personally, because of what I feel Tuas skillset Has to offer, if I don’t see a lot of read option/zone read with west coast principles worked Into the fabric I’m gonna feel like the OC’s aren’t putting our qb in the best position to be successful.
 
Thank you coach for the piece..

just personally, because of what I feel Tuas skillset Has to offer, if I don’t see a lot of read option/zone read with west coast principles worked Into the fabric I’m gonna feel like the OC’s aren’t putting our qb in the best position to be successful.
I don't want Tua running any read options. I think you may be misunderstanding the term, as that is not a WC concept.

Maybe you are referring to RPO packages?

Those concepts aren't WC either, but I can see the value, and possibilities there.
 
I don't want Tua running any read options. I think you may be misunderstanding the term, as that is not a WC concept.

Maybe you are referring to RPO packages?

Those concepts aren't WC either, but I can see the value, and possibilities there.
I’m familiar with both terms Mach, I don’t mind him running for a few carries a game to keep the defense honest, i trust he knows how to protect..and when it comes to the west coast offense relative to Tuas skillset, when I study Tua, he plays the game with angles in mind, he cuts the field into angles, I see all the routes in a west coast scheme being right up his alley.

I didn’t mean that the west coast runs the RPO stuff just that I want some sort of hybrid out there..
 
On the offensive side for Miami, i think there's only one sure facet to the offensive gameplan in 21/22.

In-game adjustment.

Let's face it. It's a new co-OC setup. A raw QB. A crazy young and raw Oline. A patchwork RB room. A good TE stable which give you tremendous end zone production. A decent but injury-prone WR corps.

Throw in what could be an offense-heavy draft class.

Miami doesn't know who it is yet, offensively and nor should they really. This is the year for discovery of real talent level and nailing fundamentals.

Miami is going to have to be organic and smart as the O begins to identify itself. Until the OCs know what they have, there is no point in nailing colours to any philosophy or trying to play to an identity. No saying "this is how we play, deal with it" to the opposition.

So the only aspect i can really say will be a certainty for Miami is a lot of adjustment to what the defense is giving us and don't beat yourself in the process.

Maybe I'm underselling the degree to which this offense is a finished product at NFL standard, but i don't think so.
 
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