AMakados10
Club Member
Grier is soft. McD is soft.
We’re going to have a soft, finesse team.
It is what it is.
We’re going to have a soft, finesse team.
It is what it is.
How Physical Are the Dolphins Right Now?
- Thread starter Dolph N.Fan
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Ray R
Club Member
Oh, you're just a big "softie". - LOL
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In general, a team's physicality mirrors the personality of the HC. Would Miami be more physical with no personnel changes and Harbaugh were the HC? Would BALT be less physical with no personnel changes and Mcd were the HC?
Dolph N.Fan
Active Roster
Sporano had the team on the right track with the physicality but the problem was all those physical players weren't very talented. Then Philbin was allergic to physicality and aggression and got rid of all that for a boring limited finesse team. Gase continued it. Flores reversed a little a bit but the talent took a dip. It's very hard to have a nice balance of talent and physicality like say San Francisco.
Dolph N.Fan
Active Roster
Miami built needing the playoffs to have to go through Miami for any real success. The problem is you most likely still have to win in the cold in DEC/JAN to get that homefield advantage. There's no avoiding it.
gofins60
Club Member
I remember Dan Campbell taking Philbin's finesse team and putting a whooping on the Texans. I also remember Philbin taking old-school Sparano's o-line, switching to finesse blocking schemes, and then the same guys went from doing well against the physical d-lines of the Jets and Bills to being pushed around. This is a generalization, but it seemed to me that even with several 1st round picks, Philbin's o-line was bad at pass-blocking, with Tannehill being sacked more than any other QB during his first 4 seasons (although some were his fault). And then, with mostly the same guys, Gase's o-lines seemed to be a little better at pass-blocking, but they were absolutely terrible at run-blocking. During the Gase regime, Miami's o-line really struggled to convert 3rd or 4th and short on the ground, and they probably gave up more tackles for a loss in the backfield than any other team.
It's amazing how the line's performance changed depending on the HC and his philosophy. So yes, I do believe that what the HC wants to do can have a big effect. It doesn't seem possible for a football player to make it all the way to the NFL without being somewhat physical. Even Jonathan Martin, picked in the 2nd round, must have been half-decent before his mental issues overrode his physicality. When he started his coaching career, Shula was a tough, no-nonsense guy, and we all know how tough those 70s and early 80s Dolphins teams were. On the other hand, McDaniel is a chill, laid-back, player-friendly coach, with his team not able to step up when the stakes are high.
gofins60
Club Member
Good point, but I'd add this: The problem with Sparano's team was that overall, they needed more talent at the offensive skill positions. They had a defense that could go toe-to-toe with top teams, but their offense too often had to settle for FGs instead of TDs, meaning that they lost games they could have won if they had better talent.
I looked at every draft from 2000 through 2011, and during that time Miami picked just 2 offensive skill position players (QB, WR, RB, and TE) in the 1st round (RB Ronnie Brown and WR Ted Ginn). And, in the first 3 rounds of all those drafts, they only picked about 7 or 8 players at those positions in total. IOW, Miami kept emphasizing defense and the o-line, but never put enough emphasis on the skill position players, especially in the passing game.
And today, it's almost the complete opposite. McDaniel's team is all about the skill positions, but they sometimes ignore the running game, and don't put nearly as much emphasis on building the o-line as they should.
Yep, another year of the power puff girls!
Hopefully with our new DC we can improve on our tackling because it was atrocious at critical times 
I guess mediocre would be a ⚄ 5
I understand that perception about the team, but ANYONE who overcomes alcohol addiction, isn’t soft. Consider that before making that statement about McD.
We got a new DC so I believe we will improve . Really way to early to know.
Right now there is no right or wrong answer, we could have the horses to be physical, but it all depends on our DC, and what he wants to do. As well as how our line looks eventually, and how much we run.
Anthony Weaver comes from the Ravens...Physical defense.
Anthony Weaver coached the D-Line, which normally tend to be more physical.
Miami though still having insanely good receiving talent, they really do have the horses to run the ball, but in order to get the most from those RBs, the line will need to get a little more physical...even in a zone blocking system.
Get the right players up front on both sides, make sure to get players to buy into more physical play, and Miami can be more physical...But is that what Miami wants to do? Nobody honestly really knows.
Anthony Weaver comes from the Ravens...Physical defense.
Anthony Weaver coached the D-Line, which normally tend to be more physical.
Miami though still having insanely good receiving talent, they really do have the horses to run the ball, but in order to get the most from those RBs, the line will need to get a little more physical...even in a zone blocking system.
Get the right players up front on both sides, make sure to get players to buy into more physical play, and Miami can be more physical...But is that what Miami wants to do? Nobody honestly really knows.