Lots of issues at play here. First of all, Philbin really doesn't care about the running game. It's obvious in the formations, with such a ridiculous abuse of the shotgun. We have no business running such a high percentage of plays from the shotgun with a quarterback on Tannehill's level. He would be markedly more effective under center with a mix of power based runs and play action. Sherman said a few weeks ago that Philbin is the type who wants to abandon the run completely if every run is gaining only a yard or two. And that's a very predictable mindset and fault, coming from a program like Green Bay. I warned about it when we signed him, that a coach who got spoiled by Aaron Rodgers likely wouldn't grasp that you can't have the same imbalance and abuse of finesse with a moderate quarterback instead of a superstar. Philbin made a disgraceful comment before the Cleveland game, that the running game wasn't a priority during preseason but now it's the top priority. Sparano or Cameron would have been ridiculed for something like that but somehow Philbin escaped scrutiny.
Early in the season we lined up in the shotgun on every 3rd and short play, and then we wonder a few weeks later why our running plays in that scenario are being stuffed.
SkapePhin described it well, that the coaching staff and Ireland soured on Reggie Bush early last season. It was obvious they'd let him go. And it was stubborn and ignorant. As I emphasized in the offseason, Lamar Miller may not stutter step but he surrenders yards in different ways than Reggie, by running softly to the edge and all but sitting down if an opening is not there. Those opening two short yardage plays today were ridiculous and set the tone for the entire game, that Baltimore was simply more physical. If there's a disappointment on the entire team so far, it's that we're not as rugged as a season ago, on either side of the ball. Lamar Miller depicts the new Dolphin attitude very well, that we'll prance to daylight if it's wide open but otherwise we can't be bothered to break a tackle or fight for a reception or avoid a sack.
