Five Things That Have To Happen For Miami To Contend | Page 2 | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

Five Things That Have To Happen For Miami To Contend

The edges on d look fine to me. Charles Harris played very good assignment contain football vs the run Thursday. Of course whether or not he sinks or swims will be about pass rush.

I think we have 3 plus 10 yard box edge pass rush options.
 
Our run defense was middle of the pack last year as was our pass defense. The problem...scoring defense. Our run defense should be OK, we lost some DT talent but gained depth and our LBs are better; hopefully less star power and more teamwork there.

How about improving -14 TO ratio; 29th in the league. RT replacing JC should help a lot, also better OL play. Plus our blossoming secondary and faster LBs combined with improved pass rush should improve takeaways.

Brady gets hurt/withers=Superbowl contender!

RW
 
Bottom line all the differential numbers need to improve dramatically, into plus territory. Otherwise you're a pretender, like we were in 2016 despite the 10-6 record.

Some of the categories are well known, like passer rating differential and yards per pass attempt differential. Others that are very important are yards per point differential, and points per pass attempt differential, and plays per touchdown differential.
 
6. Create an identity.

Every contending team has an identity(ies):

Patriots- Coaching and their short-passing offense led by a HOF QB
Steelers- Coaching, defense, best QB-RB-WR combo in the league
Jacksonville- Defense
Eagles- Coaching
Falcons- High-powered offense

The team's identity in 16' was resilience and balance. When the run game stunk, Tannehill was able to lead us and vice versa. Our run defense was horrible but we were top 10 in takeaways.
 
Phinsfan93 said:
6. Create an identity.

Every contending team has an identity(ies):

Patriots- Coaching and their short-passing offense led by a HOF QB
Steelers- Coaching, defense, best QB-RB-WR combo in the league
Jacksonville- Defense
Eagles- Coaching
Falcons- High-powered offense

The team's identity in 16' was resilience and balance. When the run game stunk, Tannehill was able to lead us and vice versa. Our run defense was horrible but we were top 10 in takeaways.
Click to expand...
That is interesting. I'm not sure what Gase's vision for the identity would be. Based on 2016, I thought he wanted to be a run based offense. But he obviously got away from that in 2017 despite having a quarterback in Cutler who really struggled at times.

So, my question is what is Gase's vision for this team?
 
SF Dolphin Fan said:
That is interesting. I'm not sure what Gase's vision for the identity would be. Based on 2016, I thought he wanted to be a run based offense. But he obviously got away from that in 2017 despite having a quarterback in Cutler who really struggled at times.

So, my question is what is Gase's vision for this team?
Click to expand...

Mine as well. I'll just throw this out there and assume that he wants to model the offense like KC's which means DeVante may be the odd man out.
 
SF Dolphin Fan said:
Here are my thoughts.

1. The offense needs to take a major step
I actually feel pretty confident that this will happen. Miami went 7-1 in Tannehill's last eight starts in 2016 and his qb rating would have ranked seventh overall in that time frame. Certainly arguable that he has quite a bit more talent to work with in 2018. At face value, the offense should at least be a bit above league average with lots of speed in Stills, Wilson, Grant and Drake. I love the Gesicki addition and think that will pay immediate dividends.

2. Pass Rush Needs to Show Up
Preseason is preseason, but still was somewhat disappointed with a lack of pass rush in the opener against Tampa Bay. With a suspect run defense, the pass rush needs to show up pretty big and it can't be just Wake. Quinn and Harris seem like the best bets to complement Wake if Harris can take that next step.

3. Run Defense Needs to be Close to League Average
On paper, Miami's run defense looks to be bottom third in the league maybe even bottom five. That is my major concern, but maybe the team surprises here. Jumping on opponents and getting leads seems like part of the key here.

4. Find Ways to Win
In 2016, Miami found ways to win. Good teams do that, snatching victory from defeat. We saw special teams step up at the right time, crucial defensive plays at big times etc. You can be outplayed and still find ways to win sometimes. That is the case for a lot of playoff teams.

5. Consistent Kicking Game
After the run defense, this is my biggest concern. I'm not sure the starting kicker is currently on the team, but Miami will go through growing pains with Sanders or Joseph. That could cost the team a win or two.
Click to expand...
Good summary. I really don’t know how we wound up in this predicament w the kicking game. Our punter can’t kick it more than 39 yards and we let the best FG kicker we’ve had since Mare go in FA. This situation is a real concern.
 
The biggest difference this team needs to exhibit this year is in scoring touchdowns early in games.
 
#1 on the list should be the Dolphins are fortunate enough to play a cupcake schedule and when playing decent teams catch them at the right time (injuries, etc...). That is the main reason Miami got into the playoffs in 2008 and 2016.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom