Dolphins executives opine on Ajayi, defensive approach and more

[AL R]

Dolphins nuggets on Thursday night/Friday morning:

• Jay Ajayi was a revelation for the Dolphins, finishing fourth in the NFL in rushing yards and seventh in yards per carry. But team officials said this week that they do not see a finished product, by any means.

“I think he has just scratched the surface of what he can be,” GM Chris Grier said. “I think he’ll become more patient at times and stuff. I think part of it too is the offensive line. Guys have to stay healthy. He’s adjusting to different guys in (the game) each week, a couple weeks here and stuff. With Jay, the one thing is he wants to be good; he wants to be great.


• Former defensive coordinator Vance Joseph’s wide nine defensive approach didn’t exactly pay dividends, with Miami finishing 29th in total defense and 30th in run defense.

But the Dolphins said this week they’re committed to that system, with Matt Burke replacing Joseph, who left to become head coach of the Denver Broncos.

This is a few paragraphs more at link



Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/s...y-jackson/article129074059.html#storylink=cpy

 

[hoops]

ahh there it is "prototypes"

size prototypes

as I expected

 

[Travis34]

Well nothing too ground breaking here but I didn't hate what they had to say either.. glad they realize the OL is still a major issue.

 

[datruth55]

Former defensive coordinator Vance Joseph's wide nine defense approach didn't exactly pay dividends, with Miami finishing 29th in total defense and 30th in run defense.

But the Dolphins said this week they're committed to that system with Matt Burke replacing Joseph, who left to become head coach of the Denver Broncos.

Why so?

"We don't want to change a whole lot," GM Chris Grier said. "We're trying to do where there will be continuity. That's the one good thing organizations like the Patriots and stuff that have won, is that you're not always changing every time someone leaves. We're trying to have it where if a guy leaves, we can keep going and we can keep building. There are a lot of things the defense did well and there were things that can be improved on, but I think that will come as we keep adding positions and building the people that fit the scheme of what we're looking for."

I think the approach here is sound. Seahawks are the same way and they've had a few coordinators leave over the years. Patriots have actually changed scheme on defense a few times...going back and forth between 3-4 and 4-3. However, I wish it wasn't this wide nine defense we were sticking to.

 

[datruth55]

ahh there it is "prototypes"

size prototypes

as I expected

That's the way it was done when Jeff Ireland was here.

 

[aquabob]

Has anybody run a wide 9 exclusively and had consistent success?


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[hoops]

That's the way it was done when Jeff Ireland was here.

well goes without saying that we have to better with who we draft that fits the prototypes but i don't think undersized lbs are on the table...thus they are sniffing guys like anzalone 6 foot 3 and 236...i think they want more height at lb in addition to range and athleticism and instincts obviously

isn't jelani Jenkins like 5 foot 11 or something? i would say rule out any smurf lbs in the first 2 days of the draft or free agency (the latter of which im hoping we avoid outright)

 

[Ryan1973]

The wide 9 defense needs to go! It sucks bad!

 

[datruth55]

Interesting tidbit from the Big-O show:

Does Gase get his way if he wants a player?

Tannenbaum told Alzugaray that Gase's opinion carries "quite a bit" of weight. "But we do have checks and balances. We want to make sure we get it right.... We've got to get the right players at the right price. Because in a salary cap system, we have finite resources and we can't screw that up. We lost some good players, be it Lamar Miller, Derrick Shelby, Rishard Matthews, Olivier Vernon. Those are good players. If you pay them certain prices, it's going to prohibit you from doing certain things. We are disciplined and yet opportunistic."...

Tannenbaum seems focused on free agency in his answer but I wonder how much pull Gase has in the draft and does Gase even look at defensive players in free agency and the draft...that's a concern I have with him.

Tannenbaum goes on to say you want to keep homegrown talent but we kept no one from last year. I wanted to keep Miller and Matthews last year and the emergence of Ajayi made the Miller re-signing a moot point but Matthews would have prevented us from taking Carroo and over paying in terms of draft picks...all of which we could have used to upgrade the defense this year through the draft.

The article also talks about how we need more speed on defense, which Grier mentions and I totally agree with that. Especially at the linebacker spot.

 

[AL R]

Has anybody run a wide 9 exclusively and had consistent success?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Scwartz defenses run in and have over the years and have had some sucess with it, that being said there are several who say it can be less effective against the run and the short passing game. Sound familiar?

 

[datruth55]

well goes without saying that we have to better with who we draft that fits the prototypes but i don't think undersized lbs are on the table...thus they are sniffing guys like anzalone 6 foot 3 and 236...i think they want more height at lb in addition to range and athleticism and instincts obviously

isn't jelani Jenkins like 5 foot 11 or something? i would say rule out any smurf lbs in the first 2 days of the draft or free agency (the latter of which im hoping we avoid outright)

I think Jenkins is listed at 6 foot.

I mentioned Anzalone fitting in here since he couldn't stay healthy at Florida. Another often injured linebacker is exactly what we need lol.

Grier did mention there are some exceptions but you don't want a team full of exceptions. It's going to be hard to upgrade speed at linebacker if everyone has to be 6'3"+ and 240+. Those guys are rare and usually go early in the draft.

 

[hoops]

Scwartz defenses run in and have over the years and have had some sucess with it, that being said there are several who say it can be less effective against the run and the short passing game. Sound familiar?

short passing game is why you need more speed at lb...to limit the rac...we also need more speed cause we can't contain a qb once he breaks contain if our life was depended on it at the 2nd level...a lot of that is paysinger in the nickel was a joke but we could also use more athleticism and range at strong in base

kikos range is pretty good...they need to add pieces next to him that can fly...of course instincts would be wonderful and without them gonna be a lot of late lbs regardless of athlete in the run game and in zone drop feel for route combinations...still paysinger in the nickel should NEVER EVER EVER happen again

 

[AL R]

Interesting tidbit from the Big-O show:



Tannenbaum seems focused on free agency in his answer but I wonder how much pull Gase has in the draft and does goes even look at defensive players in free agency and the draft...that's a concern I have with him.

Tannenbaum goes on to say you want to keep homegrown talent but we kept no one from last year. I wanted to keep Miller and Matthews last year and the emergence of Ajayi made the Miller re-signing a moot point but Matthews would have prevented us from taking Carroo and over paying in terms of draft picks...all of which we could have used to upgrade the defense this year through the draft.

The article also talk about how we need more speed on defense, which Grier mentions and I totally agree with that. Especially at the linebacker spot.

The lack of the speed on the defense is so apparent, especially watching this team live at the homes games, IMO anyway from watching live.

 

[hoops]

I think Jenkins is listed at 6 foot.

I mentioned Anzalone fitting in here since he couldn't stay healthy at Florida. Another often injured linebacker is exactly what we need lol.

Grier did mention there are some exceptions but you don't want a team full of exceptions. It's going to be hard to upgrade speed at linebacker if everyone has to be 6'3"+ and 240+. Those guys are rare and usually go early in the draft.

yeah i think they are gonna try and look for the 6 foot 1 or plus types with range and athleticisim...and yeah they gonna require high picks...they always do if they test well regardless of what the actual lb tape looks like...and they bust plenty as a result...see stephone Anthony in new Orleans etc

so miamis gonna ride a dicey path here if they value so much range and athleticism and speed over instincts...let's hope they get it right...cause there's a lot of that in this class

 

[VCU2000]

Interesting tidbit from the Big-O show:



Tannenbaum seems focused on free agency in his answer but I wonder how much pull Gase has in the draft and does Gase even look at defensive players in free agency and the draft...that's a concern I have with him.

Tannenbaum goes on to say you want to keep homegrown talent but we kept no one from last year. I wanted to keep Miller and Matthews last year and the emergence of Ajayi made the Miller re-signing a moot point but Matthews would have prevented us from taking Carroo and over paying in terms of draft picks...all of which we could have used to upgrade the defense this year through the draft.

The article also talks about how we need more speed on defense, which Grier mentions and I totally agree with that. Especially at the linebacker spot.

Matthews didn't want to be here. You can't force a player to stay. He chose Tennessee.

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