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http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/...or-offensive-showing-20131231,0,3509664.story
By Chris Perkins10:03 a.m. EST, December 31, 2013
DAVIE – What did you want Mike Sherman to do?
Sherman, the Dolphins’ second-year offensive coordinator, has come under fire for the offense’s poor showing this season. That’s deserved. The offense ranked 27th overall and 26thin scoring.
There’s rumors Sherman could be fired. I could see that happening.
But it won’t fix the core problem – the Dolphins, despite a two-year rebuilding job, don’t have enough talent on offense.
And that gets back to the original question: What did you want Sherman to do?
More rollouts? Yes. He could have done that with quarterback Ryan Tannehill.
More screen passes? Yeah, OK. That’s fine.
That’s two plays. Then what?
The Dolphins had one Pro Bowl selection on offense, and that was center Mike Pouncey.
It’s little wonder they couldn’t move the ball effectively. Overall, their offensive talent wasn’t good.
Wide receiver Brian Hartline (1,016 yards receiving, 4 TDs) was good. Tight end Charles Clay (759 yards, 6 TDs) was good. Wide receiver Mike Wallace (930 yards, 5 TDs) was decent. Tannehill (24 TDs, 17 INTs) was decent. Everyone else was average to below-average.
Sherman was tasked with calling passing plays with an offensive line that allowed a NFL-worst and franchise-record 58 sacks. When he called deep passes Tannehill couldn’t accurately deliver the ball to Wallace.
So there’s your passing game. It can’t protect the quarterback or throw deep. And midway through the year they lost their top slot receiver, Brandon Gibson, to a knee injury. Good luck calling pass plays.
As for the claim Sherman abandoned the run too quickly recall early in the season when Sherman said it’s actually Philbin who wanted to pass more often. Sherman said he prefers to maintain a balance, keep banging away with the run. But then he smiled and said he could be convinced to do things the way Philbin, his boss, desired.
Philbin chose to abandon the run, not Sherman.
Why? Consider the running backs. Lamar Miller (709 yards rushing, 4.0 yards per carry) and Daniel Thomas (406 yards, 3.7 ypc) couldn’t gain yards on their own. They needed a clean hole, and that wasn’t the case very often.
Beyond that, Miller isn’t a starting-caliber NFL running back. He’s a change-of-pace guy, a long-ball threat. His longest three runs of the season totaled 120 yards. That’s great.
The problem is on his other 174 carries, Miller averaged just 3.4 yards per carry. That’s why Philbin abandoned the running game. It usually put the offense in bad situations.
I could understand Sherman being fired for one reason -- he’s not creative. It took him 12 games last year to figure out running back Reggie Bush is an effective weapon as a slot receiver.
But to blame Sherman for the offense’s problems this season is wrong. The problem is the players, not the coach.
Copyright © 2013, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
By Chris Perkins10:03 a.m. EST, December 31, 2013
DAVIE – What did you want Mike Sherman to do?
Sherman, the Dolphins’ second-year offensive coordinator, has come under fire for the offense’s poor showing this season. That’s deserved. The offense ranked 27th overall and 26thin scoring.
There’s rumors Sherman could be fired. I could see that happening.
But it won’t fix the core problem – the Dolphins, despite a two-year rebuilding job, don’t have enough talent on offense.
And that gets back to the original question: What did you want Sherman to do?
More rollouts? Yes. He could have done that with quarterback Ryan Tannehill.
More screen passes? Yeah, OK. That’s fine.
That’s two plays. Then what?
The Dolphins had one Pro Bowl selection on offense, and that was center Mike Pouncey.
It’s little wonder they couldn’t move the ball effectively. Overall, their offensive talent wasn’t good.
Wide receiver Brian Hartline (1,016 yards receiving, 4 TDs) was good. Tight end Charles Clay (759 yards, 6 TDs) was good. Wide receiver Mike Wallace (930 yards, 5 TDs) was decent. Tannehill (24 TDs, 17 INTs) was decent. Everyone else was average to below-average.
Sherman was tasked with calling passing plays with an offensive line that allowed a NFL-worst and franchise-record 58 sacks. When he called deep passes Tannehill couldn’t accurately deliver the ball to Wallace.
So there’s your passing game. It can’t protect the quarterback or throw deep. And midway through the year they lost their top slot receiver, Brandon Gibson, to a knee injury. Good luck calling pass plays.
As for the claim Sherman abandoned the run too quickly recall early in the season when Sherman said it’s actually Philbin who wanted to pass more often. Sherman said he prefers to maintain a balance, keep banging away with the run. But then he smiled and said he could be convinced to do things the way Philbin, his boss, desired.
Philbin chose to abandon the run, not Sherman.
Why? Consider the running backs. Lamar Miller (709 yards rushing, 4.0 yards per carry) and Daniel Thomas (406 yards, 3.7 ypc) couldn’t gain yards on their own. They needed a clean hole, and that wasn’t the case very often.
Beyond that, Miller isn’t a starting-caliber NFL running back. He’s a change-of-pace guy, a long-ball threat. His longest three runs of the season totaled 120 yards. That’s great.
The problem is on his other 174 carries, Miller averaged just 3.4 yards per carry. That’s why Philbin abandoned the running game. It usually put the offense in bad situations.
I could understand Sherman being fired for one reason -- he’s not creative. It took him 12 games last year to figure out running back Reggie Bush is an effective weapon as a slot receiver.
But to blame Sherman for the offense’s problems this season is wrong. The problem is the players, not the coach.
Copyright © 2013, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
