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Finsiders: Five observations from week 3 of OTA's

Daytona Fin

Daytona Fin

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1. Experiment Becomes Reality: It looks natural now to see linebacker Koa Misi in the middle of the Miami Dolphins defense. Although the pads aren’t on yet, all indications are that Misi is here to stay in the middle and he already looks comfortable doing it. This will allow the Dolphins defense to use the athleticism and coverage skills of Dannell Ellerbe, where his instincts will match up with his natural alignment.

Another position that mirrors the linebacker positional change is that of the starting cornerback opposite Brent Grimes. Former Pro Bowl veteran corner Cortland Finnegan looked to be the man to fill that spot when he was signed, and so far are indications point to him fulfilling that role. Finnegan looks healthy, energized, and eager with his fresh start in Miami, and I believe the energy that Grimes and Louis Delmas bring to the secondary could be contagious to Finnegan.
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2. Quick Hitch: One of the nuances of Bill Lazor‘s offense is that the quarterback must be able not only to make quick decisions with the football, but also to catch and deal with a snap quickly in the shotgun formation. This offense relies on the signal caller to be able to catch the shotgun snap and get the football out to the perimeter with accuracy and quickness. This is going to be a learned skill, because it’s not the most natural thing to do for a quarterback that was brought up in this system. This technique is primarily used on the bubble screens or when the running backs are involved in the passing game horizontally behind the line of scrimmage. This pass really stretches the defense from sideline to sideline if executed correctly. And by all indications, this group of quarterbacks headlined by Ryan Tannehill are handling the assignment very well.
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Last week, Nate Garner, who can play every single position along the offensive line, primarily lined up at the backup left tackle position behind Branden Albert. This week, Garner was on the side backing up rookie Ja’Wuan James, while James’s backup last week, free agent acquisition Jason Fox, manned the left side of the line with the #2s. This might be an experiment for Fox, but may allow him to show to this staff that he also has position flexibility like Garner.
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4. Red Zone Emphasis: It’s no secret that to be an effective offensive unit in the NFL, that you have to average at least 24 points a game (the league median was 24.4 ppg last season). The Miami Dolphins were not close to that, as they only averaged 19.6 points per game, good for 26th overall. That number has to go up for the team to be successful, and it starts with red zone execution. Today in practice, we saw a lot of movement, especially with the quarterback on the perimeter, throwing on the run. There was also a high emphasis on flat routes, fade routes, and crossing routes. Those types of patterns can get the defense on their heels and turned around, as well as make them cover the entirety of the field instead one quarter of it. The team also had a blitz pickup period inside the red zone, and if the Dolphins become proficient at attacking the pressure, it will lead to some easy points.
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http://www.thefinsiders.com/blog/2014/5-observations-from-week-3-of-otas
 
As far as point #2, I was watching something about the AFL on they NFL network. They were talking about (Chargers coach) Sid Gilman who said the field is 100 yds long by 53 & 2/3 yds wide and there is no way you can defend it all.

It appears that Lazor is taking a page from Sid's book.
 
2. Quick Hitch: One of the nuances of Bill Lazor‘s offense is that the quarterback must be able not only to make quick decisions with the football, but also to catch and deal with a snap quickly in the shotgun formation. This offense relies on the signal caller to be able to catch the shotgun snap and get the football out to the perimeter with accuracy and quickness. This is going to be a learned skill, because it’s not the most natural thing to do for a quarterback that was brought up in this system. This technique is primarily used on the bubble screens or when the running backs are involved in the passing game horizontally behind the line of scrimmage. This pass really stretches the defense from sideline to sideline if executed correctly. And by all indications, this group of quarterbacks headlined by Ryan Tannehill are handling the assignment very well.

I really like this. A sure way to cut down on QB sacks and pressures is to get the ball out quickly. Mix in a few quick draw plays to keep the D off balance.and we are good to go.
 
Good stuff!

Adding all this motion and variable formation stuff is fantastic. The misdirection, unpredictability and quick hitting plays are going to do wonders for our productivity once the offense gets it all down.

Last year we really lacked screens to slow down the rush. For a QB, the bubble screen is pure gravy. Near zero chance of INT but a decent chance for a big gain.

I can't wait to see this in the regular season.

Sent from my phone, so please forgive any typos.
 
I'm glad it's all looking good in practice. We'll see how it looks when the real games begin. I've been let down by our team so many times it's getting real hard to get my hopes very high in May.

Ozzy rules!!
 
Just the fact that the offense may be looking as good as the defense right now gets me excited. How many years has it been since any Dolphins fan could say this, it was always excuses as to why the offense was behind right now. Probably doesn't mean a thing yet since it is so early, but thats ok
 
fishfanmiami said:
I really like this. A sure way to cut down on QB sacks and pressures is to get the ball out quickly. Mix in a few quick draw plays to keep the D off balance.and we are good to go.
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Week 1 vs. Belicheat and the Patriots will be a real test and very interesting since he has no clue how this offense will look like.
 
I agree with this guy that red zone is important, but I don't think this was our biggest struggle last year. Tannehill seemed to convert higher percentage of his chances in the red zone than any QB I can remember. That's what still gives me hope he can pan out. The run game did struggle, but I think the improvement will come as much from o-line improvement as scheme.
 
Tannehill hasnt had a Brandon Marshall WR that can actually catch TDs from Dolphin QBs. We get a guy like that and I think our offensive production will go way up.
 
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