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McIntosh Will Have a BIG Effect

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Shouright

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We could see a BIG turnaround from this team this year. Long post, but read on.

This is from a Dave Hyde story in the 9/21 Sun-Sentinel:

Last week, a Dolphins player said (a) everyone on the team knows tackle Wade Smith can't play a lick, a fact again underscored by Cincinnati; (b) this offensive line might be worse than last year -- even though four of last year's linemen aren't in the league anymore -- and (c) second-year linebacker Eddie Moore is only on the team as an unheard-of eighth linebacker so as not to cause another public relations storm for Wannstedt, who wasted a second-round pick on him.

"It's a joke," the player said.
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If this is true, then we could see a collective surge of effort and intensity by the offense when McIntosh is inserted. If everyone on the offense knows that Smith can't play a lick, then everyone on the offense probably plays with less effort and intensity because they know that even their best efforts will be undermined by Smith's poor play.

Think about it this way -- if you're in a tug-of-war with 5 guys on your team going against 5 other guys, and you know that one of your own guys is VERY weak, you'll probably pull harder at first to compensate for the weak guy on your team. But if at some point you realize that you CAN'T compensate for the weak guy, and he's not getting any stronger, what are you gonna do? Probably quit -- and that's what the offense may be doing. I'm not saying they're making up their minds to quit, but that they're mentally and physically fatiguing from trying to compensate for Smith.

This could've been happening LAST year as well. The line sure looked a LOT better in Ricky's first year compared to last year, and the only difference was Smith. I know we've bashed Ruddy, Perry, and Nails a lot, but what if they just gave up because they knew that even if they blocked their best on any given play, Smith's poor play would make the play break down? What if Ricky "ran softer" (as the O linemen said last year) because he knew that even if he ran his best, Smith's poor blocking would let defenders swallow him up?

If the offense IS doing this, and if they believe McIntosh is significantly better than Smith (can't imagine they don't), then we could see this offense turn things around pretty quick. If the other 4 guys in the tug-of-war had quit, then they may start pulling hard again when the weak guy is replaced.

And you can generalize this to the whole offense (not just the line), and maybe to the defense too. Even the defense may be quitting because they know the offense can't help the team with Smith out there. After all, the whole team is on the same side in the "tug-of-war" against other teams.

Comments?
 
Sorry...Just don't buy into the whole "Oh Wade plays like crap so I'm gonna fake it." philosophy. These guys are PAID professionals. The film never lies and I am sure the coaches would know if players were taking plays off.

Not only do they risk getting cut, but their future employment as well for another team.
 
phins054 said:
Sorry...Just don't buy into the whole "Oh Wade plays like crap so I'm gonna fake it." philosophy. These guys are PAID professionals. The film never lies and I am sure the coaches would know if players were taking plays off.

Not only do they risk getting cut, but their future employment as well for another team.
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Who said it would be that noticeable? All it takes is a little less effort by each guy to cause a big drop in effort by the whole offense.
 
Nice try dude, but this thing is bigger than even Smith. Plus we don't know if Damien can play a whole game without getting winded. We really don't know whether he will be more or less effective yet.
Throw him in there, but we still have issues far bigger than Wade Smith being the weakest link.

Against Cincy, we tried running from every which a way (southern old man's saying) but people were missing blocks from all over.
The o-line is like an onion....you can take off 10 layers, and it will still stink.
 
I used to start threads like this. Now, I know why they were always ignored. You really can't give an opinion on matters such as this except to say something like, "You may be right"

You can't sit here and debate the topic either way. It all sounds pretty but, it may or may not be a load of crap. There is no way to prove anything.

Soooo.....

You may be right.....In fact, I hope you're right.
 
Come on already. You mean that Wade Smith has caused all this by his presence? I do not really know what game you watched or were watching in the preseason but EVERY ONE of our linemen has had their butt handed to them by the opponent in front of them on a pretty regular basis. Any team can compensate for one position on the line by sliding the protection and sending help on that side. What is really happening is that there has been so many breakdowns across the line that the coaches cannot account for all of them. There is not one guy on the line that is playing well right now; nor is there one that can be used as an anchor to build around, at least to this point.While Smith is not good, far from it, to state that his presence has this ripple effect that is causing other players to lay down is plainly ridiculous.
 
all i know is that when a guy is a turnstile, you make the rest of them look real bad. If they want a job next year making great money, they dont want to feel sorry for a guy who is lame. sorry, bad analogy.
 
I think some of you people don't realize 1) how bad Smith is, and 2) how important the LT position is. What do you think would happen if we put the equivalent of an advanced high-schooler at QB? I think the players would play harder at first to compensate, and then eventually quit after finding out they couldn't.

We have the equivalent of an advanced high-schooler at left tackle, one of the most important positions in football. Jamal Lewis ran for 500 yards on Cleveland last year and only FIFTY this year with Jonathan Ogden out. And that was probably with a CREDIBLE replacement. What do you think would happen if they were starting SMITH every game?
 
Buddy...Wade Smith is just 1 of those 5 guys out there. Dunno if you watched the game but the whole D Line was getting in thte backfield on every play. None of our guys are any good. ANd Where's Jeno James?!
 
BringBackShula said:
Buddy...Wade Smith is just 1 of those 5 guys out there. Dunno if you watched the game but the whole D Line was getting in thte backfield on every play. None of our guys are any good. ANd Where's Jeno James?!
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Saying that the whole line is to blame is PART of what I wrote originally. The theory is that the whole line is giving less effort because they know that even their BEST efforts will be undermined by Smith.
 
shouright said:
I think some of you people don't realize 1) how bad Smith is, and 2) how important the LT position is. What do you think would happen if we put the equivalent of an advanced high-schooler at QB? I think the players would play harder at first to compensate, and then eventually quit after finding out they couldn't.

We have the equivalent of an advanced high-schooler at left tackle, one of the most important positions in football. Jamal Lewis ran for 500 yards on Cleveland last year and only FIFTY this year with Jonathan Ogden out. And that was probably with a CREDIBLE replacement. What do you think would happen if they were starting SMITH every game?
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We do know how bad Smith is....however he doesn't control what the center does or what the RT does or the RG does.

The whole damn line is playing badly. Smith is just the worst of the bunch. There were times where Smith blocked a guy and yet a Mckinney and St Clair blocked each other!!
I don't buy the theory you are selling about playing harder and quiting. That logic may apply to one or two people...but not everyone. You are assuming too much when imply that every person reacts the same way...ie quitting.
 
Haha! One player sucks therefore the entire unit gives up. What a bunch of Mularkey :D If that's true then your team might as well close shop or join Synchronized swimming. I thought the better players are suppose to help the weak ones become better players . With your logic it's the other way around.
 
Justasportsfan said:
Haha! One player sucks therefore the entire unit gives up. What a bunch of Mularkey :D If that's true then your team might as well close shop or join Synchronized swimming. I thought the better players are suppose to help the weak ones become better players . With your logic it's the other way around.
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It may be the other way around....Apparently Jeno James used to be good before he lined up next to Wade Smith.
 
inFINSible said:
It may be the other way around....Apparently Jeno James used to be good before he lined up next to Wade Smith.
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as good as Jeno James is, he can't block 2 people.
 
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