WharfRat
Practice Squad
I gotta agree Gram... talk is cheap. Let's see them get it done, everyone knows the talent is there, it's time to apply that talent and make the actions speak instead of the mouths!
D Talking a good game / Dolphins new D scheme Thomas happy
- Thread starter MDFINFAN
- Start date
I gotta agree Gram... talk is cheap. Let's see them get it done, everyone knows the talent is there, it's time to apply that talent and make the actions speak instead of the mouths!
I have to agree with both of you (I'm glad its not just me). Too many times Miami's D has been all big hat....no cattle. Originally, JJ installed a very vanilla D...for two reasons:-
>With changing personnel and a young cast, it is easier for players to just play.
>He did it in Dallas, to great success
Well, first off...this is an established defensive personnel. They are all capable of working within a more comprehensive system. Secondly, when Dallas was at the height of their success, they had an overwhelming talent advantage most of the time. Unfortunately, no team has the talent these days to simply line up and say: "our guys will just beat you on ability alone". Wanny has changed the D slightly, but he still uses player talent to get it done. Now is the time to use some quirks, and keep opposing offenses guessing.
The other major key is half time changes. How often has this D played great in the first half, only to get picked apart because of an offensive co-ordinators' superior second half tactics. This point is of course related to the vanilla scheme....teams always know what to expect from Miami.
Sorry to waffle. In a nutshell, I agree with both Wharf and Gram. The personnel department has assembled a great defensive unit. But I can't get excited until both the coaches and players show that they can get it done.
PS....It will be interesting to see if Wanny's increased input on defense this year will work as well as it should.
PPS..watch to see if Miami has solved the problem of teams getting good matchups with the Phin LBs ..(ie, in coverage). A recurring theme is offenses getting back in to games by starting with little dink passes to RBs......or WRs somehow running against Zach. Personally, if I was an opposing OC, that is the first thing that I would try to eploit. WIth Junior's lapse against TB (I know that it was probably just a mental error) that will just exacerbate the trend.
Oooops.....waffling again.
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Do or do not.......there is no try
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rickykicks@$$
☠️ Banned ☠️
Well it's funny I guess we got the #3 ranking just because nobody else wanted that spot. BTW only one team can win the SB it was not our year.......You people dont like our D go root for the Bungles.........
When was the last time we had a losing season? You want to complain about something put it on the ones that call the plays not the players. Zach has more hart then any of you sitting there complaining, I'd like to see one of you make it through one pro game much less a whole season.. better yet a whole career. How many probowlers did we have last year? And on what side of the ball did
they come from? You people are starting to sound like Jill fans. Sadd,
very very sadd.
When was the last time we had a losing season? You want to complain about something put it on the ones that call the plays not the players. Zach has more hart then any of you sitting there complaining, I'd like to see one of you make it through one pro game much less a whole season.. better yet a whole career. How many probowlers did we have last year? And on what side of the ball did
they come from? You people are starting to sound like Jill fans. Sadd,
very very sadd.
Take a chill pill dude. People are entitled to express their opinions without being accused of being Bill fans...or sad for that matter. Unwittingly, you partially supported the point anyway. Yes, look at where the D ranked...yes look at the pro bowl players........BUT look at that D giving up an 11 point lead to New England when it was all on the line. We will never know for sure, but if Tampa or Baltimore (Superbowl vintage) had been in that position against NE....do you really think that they would have buckled??
No one is saying that this defense is not full of stars. We are simply being realistic. We want proof that this defense is going to do it when it matters. This defnese may send 11 players to the pro bowl...but you know what..it means nothing unless they can stop teams in big games. Pro bowl schmo bowl....I want a Superbowl.
Fact: If this defense plays as soft as they did in big games last year....this team will not contend for a Superbowl.
BTW....Sad (d?) :a fellow poster not being able to contend an opinion without resorting to personal attacks.
dolphan39
Maria & LauRen Aha!
sorry '87, but you gotta take every year as a new year - look at all the Red Sox and Cubs fans there are 
you cannot completely take away the 30-3 wins we got because our D collapsed ag the Bills, Vikes and Pats on the road. You can just hope that this year is different.
At least, the Yanks are not in our division
you cannot completely take away the 30-3 wins we got because our D collapsed ag the Bills, Vikes and Pats on the road. You can just hope that this year is different.
At least, the Yanks are not in our division
This is sad that when someone states the truth, a homer comes along say something like this. We loved the phins as much or more than you, and I suspect I'm older and have been on the Phins bandwagon much longer. But we also see the reality, we don't blind ourselves with junk like the #3 D. That's just stats, I'd rather be the #10 and make the plays that get us to the next level. We need to Dominate on the road as well as home..A #3 D that can't win on the road, is really not a #3 D.
rickykicks@$$
☠️ Banned ☠️
First of all I never said they were Jill fans read it again. Second the blame should be placed on the coachs not the players so I never said that people were saying we did not have stars. Third there are 31 other (team fans) that want their D to prove something, but 28 of them did not play as well as ours last year.
I'll tell you what sad is, you defending a fellow fan (over) your team you dont watch FOOTBALL because your fellow fan does you watch it to root for your team. Get the concept?
I think the coachs blew the final games not the players.
We played vanilla because thats what was called for.
How long do you think a player in this league would last if he did not play the play that was called? These guys dont play worse because they dont want to win they play what they are told.
Every team in the league knows what we are going to run before
our players do. Thats where the problem lies. DUDE!!!!!
dolphan39
Maria & LauRen Aha!
Defense is like pitching - and we were 9-7 as a starter. Our "ERA" of 18.8 pts/game was 4th best, but what killed us was the inconsistency. It is what made our stats meaningless. We gave up points when it mattered the most. Up 30-3 we were able to keep SD and the Jets out of the endzone, but we could not repeat that on the road when desperate the last 3 road games
rickykicks@$$
☠️ Banned ☠️
Well, thank you for that insightful, yet... insulting opinion.
Please tell me what the truth is about "our team" that makes me
disagree with a fellow fin fan? How about the fact that our D was the #3 D in the league yet, some of "our fans" think because we did not win the SB we leave a little to be desired, or were not good until we win the SB? Sounds to me like some of "us" are a little spoiled.
I have been a fin fan for a long time and just because you are older you deserve.... what? I talk to fans of other teams most of them say what a good team "we" have every year I would agree. I like all the players on this team and I belive each and evey one of them want to win.
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We all want our tema to win.....but there isonly 1 winner. Does that mean that the other 31 teams are losers? NO - it just wasn't there time to shine! There can only be 1 top dog!
I am hoping that we are that dog this year!
I am hoping that we are that dog this year!
dolfan87
The Human Bullet
Rickykicks@$$; You want to blame coaching for something that the players didn't do? Explain to me then why that same coaching worked perfectly when at home? Explain to me the Chiefs, @Jets, @Bills, @Patriots, Vikings games last season?
How do you think the coaches felt when the schemes the defense could execute while playing in Miami, failed them on the road?
Frustrated I am sure.
You want to bring up our number three ranking, but where does that ranking get us when it's 4th and three, and Culpepper runs for a first down? Where does it get us when 11 points are scored in under 5 minutes at the end of the Pats game? Where does being number three put us when Ricky Williams (the man you decided was your screen name) rushes for over 220 yards, and we still get picked apart in Buffalo? How about that number three ranking holding the Chiefs under 40 points?
You see, rankings are fun for people who need validation that their team is the best at something, however in the real world, our number three defense, helped(?) us to a whopping 9-7 record, and no spot in the playoffs.
How do you think the coaches felt when the schemes the defense could execute while playing in Miami, failed them on the road?
Frustrated I am sure.
You want to bring up our number three ranking, but where does that ranking get us when it's 4th and three, and Culpepper runs for a first down? Where does it get us when 11 points are scored in under 5 minutes at the end of the Pats game? Where does being number three put us when Ricky Williams (the man you decided was your screen name) rushes for over 220 yards, and we still get picked apart in Buffalo? How about that number three ranking holding the Chiefs under 40 points?
You see, rankings are fun for people who need validation that their team is the best at something, however in the real world, our number three defense, helped(?) us to a whopping 9-7 record, and no spot in the playoffs.
ohall
A Miami Dolphins fan, not a players fan.
That's the part that is telling to me. They play so good at home. To me it comes down to a lack of execution on the player’s part last year, on the road at least. But at the same time coaches are supposed to be plugged into a team, and they should make moves and choices to help them out. That’s the last thing either Bates or Wanny did for this D on the road.
All I know is no matter who the DC or the HC has been the Dolphins D has always folded late in the season on the road when the games count. Hopefully the additions we've made and the schematic changes the coaches have made will help them to over come this major flaw.
Oliver...
rickykicks@$$
☠️ Banned ☠️
I guess the fact that the Tampa Bay Bucs who could not win a game just one year earlier all of the sudden with the same D that could not win on the road late in the year in the cold now have a superbowl ring why? Gee maybe it had something to do with the coach....I dont know just a guess, what do you think? A, D-FENCE
THAT ALWAYS RANKED VERY HIGH BUT FOR SOME REASON COULD NOT WIN ON THE ROAD LATE IN THE YEAR IN THE COLD. sound familiar?
Yeah, it's the players. I dont know what world you live in but, my world has a D that produced 6 probowlers and the #3 ranked D yet not one dolphin coach made the squad I wonder why? And if I am not mistaken had we held on to the ball late in those games and run the clock out there would not have been enough time to have a comeback on our D.
How many points did the D give up in those last three road games from what I remember not much.
Sounds to me like you need a SB to get your validation why dont you play then maybe your hard work and hart will win them a SB
since they cant seem to do it for you.
I read it again...and it may be a stretch here, but saying: "you people are starting to sound like Jill fans" seems to insinuate some sort of Bill allegiance. As for 28 other teams not being as good as the Phin defense statistically, that is simply returning to the previous argument. Yes, they deserve credit for the overall performance, but as many posters have pointed out, it comes down to consistency, and getting it done at crunch time. It is not a case of needing a Superbowl to prove the defenses' merits, it is more that if the D doesn't improve from last year, this team won't make the Superbowl...period.
Honestly?? I don't understand that paragraph at all.
Well if you read some of my previous posts, you will see that I agree about the play calling. However, I don't think that the coaches can be held totally responsible. Do coaches miss tackles?? Do coaches miss assignments?? Do coaches drop interceptions?? Do coaches commit dumb penalties?? There is plenty of blame for the coaches, expecially when it comes to half time changes. However, ultimately, the guys on the field must execute.
I think that we agree about the play calling to a large extent, and you make valid points. However, we may have to agree to disagree overall.
rickykicks@$$
☠️ Banned ☠️
fair enough!