How Soon We Forget
KBISBACK said:
Don't be surprised if Wayne starts talking to Jimmy Johnson at some point about becoming the President of the Miami Dolphins.
Wow! How quickly we all forget! JJ was probably the worst evaluator of Offensive talent the Dolphins have ever had with pick after wasted pick falling by the wayside. James Johnson, John Avery, Yatil Green, the names of JJ's Offensive failures just add up over and over again.
Now, is he a great evaluator of Defensive talent, you bet. But he gambles on a lot of players too. This team has offensive problems, most directly Offensive line problems, that have come about from GROSS misjudgements by coaches.
I've been saying for 3 years that Seth McKinney can't play a lick! So we get rid of Ruddy cuz he's got no wheels and go with a guy who gets pushed backwards 3 yards on every play. We get rid of Todd Wade cuz he wants too much money and put in St. Clair who was the Ram's Wade Smith last year. We start Taylor Whitley because on team of offensive guards that can't play in this league, he's the best we've got. Then there's Wade Smith. The guy has lost his nerve. He's done.
I guarantee you that if the Dolphins were forced to keep their skill position players next year, even though there's absolutely no speed there at all, that with at least a DECENT O LINE we'd be a plus .500 team.
But when you do the math, it just doesn't look good for us:
Bad O line that doesn't know it's own assignments. Forget blitzing, just good ol' stunting make this line stand around while their QB is being sacked.
No speed WR to frighten the "D" into playing honestly. We have 3 possesion guys and next year we'll have to wait and see if David Boston can contribute. It usually takes 2 years before players come back 100% from an injury like his. In the meantime, we have no speed on this team. Look at the Jets Santana Moss, who is more likely to drop a pass than catch it. But the fact he's out there flying around really opens things up, including the running game for Curtis Martin. We need a guy like that like yesterday.
No speed at running back. Is it just me or have you guys noticed that bad ankle aside that Minor got old overnight? Where's his burst? He's running the ball lately like Robert Edwards and that guy almost lost his leg! Gordon is slow and doesn't know which "hole" (and I use the term loosely since our line doesn't create holes or creases, more like microscopic fissures) to hit and hesitates in the backfield. Any way you see it, it's still lack of speed.
The only position where there is relative speed is TE which is why we're seeing McMichael having the year he's having so far. He's the only guy that stretches the "D" from the tight end position. But as a pure counterbalance, you have MR. D. Lee who will have at least 2 devastating penalties called on him per game. So the tight ends are a wash. We should have picked up Jed Weaver when we had the chance.
So, pretend you're the Defensive Coordinator and this is the Dolphins offense you're facing. How do you play it? If it's me, on first and second down I leave my corners in man and bring one safety into the box and blitz. One time a LB, next a corner. On obvious passing situations you roll the coverage over on Chambers so he's doubled, put a DB and NOT a LB on McMichael (it would only hurt you if they try to run on third and long and the Phins won't) and blitz at least one LB. Feeley will look for an underneath dump off play and if you're lucky he'll hand you an easy td like he's done the last two weeks. Easy right?
Now, you're the Offensive Coordinator for the Dolphins, what do you do? Well, the first damn thing I do is on obvious passing downs get Feeley OUT FROM UNDER CENTER! I know the guy is a West Coast Offense guy and shotguns are not his strong point, but a shotgun formation buys you 2 or 3 extra seconds that are crucial! I mean, 3rd and 15 and Feeley is under center, what the hell is that? Next I would work in some designed roll outs to get him out of the pocket and give him some extra time. This offensive line is just plain awful, but they can run. They can't block a lick but they can run. Roll outs and bootlegs would take away the aggrasiveness of the pass rush. Lastly, on the very first play of the game, without wasting the time you waste with a play-action fake, I would drop back and throw a fly pattern to either Chambers or Booker. Even if you over throw it due to coverage. You need to send a message to the opposing defensive coordinator that we WILL be going over the top! The Steelers have problems with their DB's. Going long early, just the attempt, will make the DC hold the reins in a bit.
Anyway, that's what I'll be looking for. No more screens or draws or wr reverses, they won't work with a 3-4 defense like the Steelers. What WILL work on them is receivers making DOUBLE and TRIPLE moves in space. That will work, especially if we spread them out.
Lastly, Feely threw the ball hard in the Titan game and DID NOT throw it hard in the Bengal game. If we're going to be successful, he needs to put a bunch of zip on the ball again. We're not going to out finesse anyone out there, not with our lack of speed. All we CAN do is out-muscle them and more importantly, out-execute them.
Let's see what the coaches came up with.
GO PHINS!!
