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Miami defense/team underachieving

Breed

Breed

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12th in scoring defense
13th in yardage allowed
11th in rushing yards allowed per game
8th in passing yards allowed per game

Opponents have a combined 457 rushing yards on 159 carries, that's a 2.87 ypc, 2nd in the NFL. This in large part because of our defensive line. But our corners have also done a very good job in run support; something that has been lacking in the past. Thomas and Crowder deserve some credit too....

Our pass defense has looked suspect giving up 6.43 yards per attempt (19th in the NFL), 8 TDs (27th) and only causing 3 INTs. At first glance, our secondary has to be in the bottom 10 of the NFL and our corners must be average at best. But, how many of those TDs were caused by bad field position caused by our offense? I'm not going to deny, our safeties are very poor and have given up some big plays, but our corners have been above average (IMO) overall.

Of the 861 yards passing the Dolphins have allowed this year, 330 of those yards have gone to tight ends/running backs. Of the 8 TDs we've allowed through the air, 3 have been to tight ends/running backs. Most of those yards have been allowed because of poor coverage from our LB/S core.

Leading WR performances against the our D
Andre Johnson-9 receptions for 101 yards
Drew Bennett-5 receptions for 84 yards
Eric Moulds-4 receptions for 76 yards
Troy Brown-5 receptions for 58 yards
Hines Ward-5 receptions for 53 yards
David Givens-2 receptions for 47 yards
Josh Reed-4 receptions for 39 yards

Also....
How many of those yards from Bennett and Givens came from a gimpy Travis Daniels?

Bottom line: Our defense should rank around #7-8 right now, even with the poor coverage from our LB/S core, our defense is good enough to win us games.

I know I've mentioned this before, but......

2000-Lamar Smith was our leading rusher (1,139 rushing yards, 309 carries) averaging 3.69 ypc. As a team, we averaged 3.82 ypc (24th), but carried the ball 496 times.. We were 3rd in scoring defense. Dolphins finished 11-5

2001-Lamar Smith was our leading rusher (968 rushing yards, 313 carries) averaging just 3.09 ypc. As a team, we averaged 3.52 ypc (29th), but carried the ball 473 times. We were 11th in scoring defense. Dolphins finished 11-5.

2003-Ricky Williams was our leading rusher (1,372 rushing yards, 392 carries) averaging just 3.5 ypc. As a team, we averaged 3.73 ypc (27th), but carried the ball 487 times. We were 3rd in scoring defense. Dolphins finished 10-6.

These are just a few examples of us having a poor running game to go along with a poor QB, only to come out with a winning season. The only real difference between those teams and this team.........those teams ran the ball. We are on pace for 340.63 carries this season, as we've run the ball only 109 times as a team so far.....10 of those carries belong to Daunte Culpepper. With Culpepper not starting, if we stay at the current pace running the ball, we'll likely end up around 320-330 carries as a team. The 2000 Dolphins ran it 496 times, the 2001 Dolphins ran it 473 times, the 2003 Dolphins ran it 487 times..........so you can see the dropoff.
 
Breed said:
12th in scoring defense
13th in yardage allowed
11th in rushing yards allowed per game
8th in passing yards allowed per game

Opponents have a combined 457 rushing yards on 159 carries, that's a 2.87 ypc, 2nd in the NFL. This in large part because of our defensive line. But our corners have also done a very good job in run support; something that has been lacking in the past. Thomas and Crowder deserve some credit too....

Our pass defense has looked suspect giving up 6.43 yards per attempt (19th in the NFL), 8 TDs (27th) and only causing 3 INTs. At first glance, our secondary has to be in the bottom 10 of the NFL and our corners must be average at best. But, how many of those TDs were caused by bad field position caused by our offense? I'm not going to deny, our safeties are very poor and have given up some big plays, but our corners have been above average (IMO) overall.

Of the 861 yards passing the Dolphins have allowed this year, 330 of those yards have gone to tight ends/running backs. Of the 8 TDs we've allowed through the air, 3 have been to tight ends/running backs. Most of those yards have been allowed because of poor coverage from our LB/S core.

Leading WR performances against the our D
Andre Johnson-9 receptions for 101 yards
Drew Bennett-5 receptions for 84 yards
Eric Moulds-4 receptions for 76 yards
Troy Brown-5 receptions for 58 yards
Hines Ward-5 receptions for 53 yards
David Givens-2 receptions for 47 yards
Josh Reed-4 receptions for 39 yards

Also....
How many of those yards from Bennett and Givens came from a gimpy Travis Daniels?

Bottom line: Our defense should rank around #7-8 right now, even with the poor coverage from our LB/S core, our defense is good enough to win us games.

I know I've mentioned this before, but......

2000-Lamar Smith was our leading rusher (1,139 rushing yards, 309 carries) averaging 3.69 ypc. As a team, we averaged 3.82 ypc (24th), but carried the ball 496 times.. We were 3rd in scoring defense. Dolphins finished 11-5

2001-Lamar Smith was our leading rusher (968 rushing yards, 313 carries) averaging just 3.09 ypc. As a team, we averaged 3.52 ypc (29th), but carried the ball 473 times. We were 11th in scoring defense. Dolphins finished 11-5.

2003-Ricky Williams was our leading rusher (1,372 rushing yards, 392 carries) averaging just 3.5 ypc. As a team, we averaged 3.73 ypc (27th), but carried the ball 487 times. We were 3rd in scoring defense. Dolphins finished 10-6.

These are just a few examples of us having a poor running game to go along with a poor QB, only to come out with a winning season. The only real difference between those teams and this team.........those teams ran the ball. We are on pace for 340.63 carries this season, as we've run the ball only 109 times as a team so far.....10 of those carries belong to Daunte Culpepper. With Culpepper not starting, if we stay at the current pace running the ball, we'll likely end up around 320-330 carries as a team. The 2000 Dolphins ran it 496 times, the 2001 Dolphins ran it 473 times, the 2003 Dolphins ran it 487 times..........so you can see the dropoff.
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Pretty much dead on as far as assessing the Defense. A poor offense that can't run with any consistency will put the Defense in bad situations all the time due to the net result being unfavorable field position. Add in untimely TOs like this past Sunday and it puts the defense further against the wall.

Too many 3s and outs due to no consistency in moving the ball will leave your defense on the field too long. That element is pretty much a constant at every level of football. Simply put our defense is good but not good enough to dominate despite TOP disadvantage and bad field position. To be completely honest only a handful of defenses can overcome this week in and week out. For instance at present probably the Chargers, Ravens, and Bears are the only defenses in the league that could do that with any consistency. And not every game or every one of those teams (MAYYYBE one out of the three)would end up 14-2, 15-1 and that ain't happening! Another exception would be like the 2000 Ravens defense.

You are also re-stating something I have been stressing about on a few posts and that is our corners are not nearly as bad as they are being made out to be. After careful observation of the games the weakness in the defense is that the safetys and LBs are mediocre at best and sometime downright awful at pass coverage. Both Tillman and Hill are guilty for being lost in coverage. Among the LBs IMO Spragan is the weakest link but all of them including Zach are leaving much to be desired in pass coverage.
 
The stats are lying to you my friend, this defense isnt what we had in the early 2000's anway. It doesnt matter if we hold teams to a 1 YPC average, or that were top ten in all those categories. Check the category for third down conversions against us, it does no good to stuff the run and get decent coerage when we cant make a stop on 3rd and 15.



Breed said:
12th in scoring defense
13th in yardage allowed
11th in rushing yards allowed per game
8th in passing yards allowed per game

Opponents have a combined 457 rushing yards on 159 carries, that's a 2.87 ypc, 2nd in the NFL. This in large part because of our defensive line. But our corners have also done a very good job in run support; something that has been lacking in the past. Thomas and Crowder deserve some credit too....

Our pass defense has looked suspect giving up 6.43 yards per attempt (19th in the NFL), 8 TDs (27th) and only causing 3 INTs. At first glance, our secondary has to be in the bottom 10 of the NFL and our corners must be average at best. But, how many of those TDs were caused by bad field position caused by our offense? I'm not going to deny, our safeties are very poor and have given up some big plays, but our corners have been above average (IMO) overall.

Of the 861 yards passing the Dolphins have allowed this year, 330 of those yards have gone to tight ends/running backs. Of the 8 TDs we've allowed through the air, 3 have been to tight ends/running backs. Most of those yards have been allowed because of poor coverage from our LB/S core.

Leading WR performances against the our D
Andre Johnson-9 receptions for 101 yards
Drew Bennett-5 receptions for 84 yards
Eric Moulds-4 receptions for 76 yards
Troy Brown-5 receptions for 58 yards
Hines Ward-5 receptions for 53 yards
David Givens-2 receptions for 47 yards
Josh Reed-4 receptions for 39 yards

Also....
How many of those yards from Bennett and Givens came from a gimpy Travis Daniels?

Bottom line: Our defense should rank around #7-8 right now, even with the poor coverage from our LB/S core, our defense is good enough to win us games.

I know I've mentioned this before, but......

2000-Lamar Smith was our leading rusher (1,139 rushing yards, 309 carries) averaging 3.69 ypc. As a team, we averaged 3.82 ypc (24th), but carried the ball 496 times.. We were 3rd in scoring defense. Dolphins finished 11-5

2001-Lamar Smith was our leading rusher (968 rushing yards, 313 carries) averaging just 3.09 ypc. As a team, we averaged 3.52 ypc (29th), but carried the ball 473 times. We were 11th in scoring defense. Dolphins finished 11-5.

2003-Ricky Williams was our leading rusher (1,372 rushing yards, 392 carries) averaging just 3.5 ypc. As a team, we averaged 3.73 ypc (27th), but carried the ball 487 times. We were 3rd in scoring defense. Dolphins finished 10-6.

These are just a few examples of us having a poor running game to go along with a poor QB, only to come out with a winning season. The only real difference between those teams and this team.........those teams ran the ball. We are on pace for 340.63 carries this season, as we've run the ball only 109 times as a team so far.....10 of those carries belong to Daunte Culpepper. With Culpepper not starting, if we stay at the current pace running the ball, we'll likely end up around 320-330 carries as a team. The 2000 Dolphins ran it 496 times, the 2001 Dolphins ran it 473 times, the 2003 Dolphins ran it 487 times..........so you can see the dropoff.
Click to expand...
 
jac3477 said:
The stats are lying to you my friend, this defense isnt what we had in the early 2000's anway. It doesnt matter if we hold teams to a 1 YPC average, or that were top ten in all those categories. Check the category for third down conversions against us, it does no good to stuff the run and get decent coerage when we cant make a stop on 3rd and 15.
Click to expand...

True. We are not as good as in years 2000 - 2002 on defense. The 3rd down conversions are due to the fact that the coverage problem is in the middle of the field. Check out how many of those conversions were to TEs and WRs who go down the middle to split the defense. Then when we adjust to compensate that leaves the cbs on an island in man to man. A lose-lose situation on 3rd downs.
 
Tigers2003 said:
True. We are not as good as in years 2000 - 2002 on defense. The 3rd down conversions are due to the fact that the coverage problem is in the middle of the field. Check out how many of those conversions were to TEs and WRs who go down the middle to split the defense. Then when we adjust to compensate that leaves the cbs on an island in man to man. A lose-lose situation on 3rd downs.
Click to expand...

Exactly....

I'm actually suprised the defense has been as good as it's been considering how many holes we have....
 
If we cant stop 3rd downs stats dont mean diddly. Sad but true.
 
FanMarino said:
If we cant stop 3rd downs stats dont mean diddly. Sad but true.
Click to expand...

Just curious....

Where did the 2000-2003 teams rank in 3rd down conversions (defense)?
 
Only if the offense could get some points on the board and we would be 4-1 and not 1-4.
 
Brown42000 said:
Only if the offense could get some points on the board and we would be 4-1 and not 1-4.
Click to expand...

......and why haven't we been able to score? Predictable playcalling, lopsided playcalling (70% pass).......and when we do get in the redzone......we rarely run. These things can be fixed.......
 
Our defense is certainly not as good as 00-02 and we wasted that opportunity thanks to Wanny and his Fiedler-love. What our corners/safeties gain in run support, they lose in pass cover.

We're not running it every down because our OL isn't good enough to open enough holes and Ronnie can't make something out of nothing the way Ricky did. We're averaging below 4 yards per carry so even if we get below 4 yards on the ground each play, we're still not getting the 1st downs. That's why we need to pass. Our running game bogs down.
 
Regan21286 said:
Our defense is certainly not as good as 00-02 and we wasted that opportunity thanks to Wanny and his Fiedler-love. What our corners/safeties gain in run support, they lose in pass cover.

We're not running it every down because our OL isn't good enough to open enough holes and Ronnie can't make something out of nothing the way Ricky did. We're averaging below 4 yards per carry so even if we get below 4 yards on the ground each play, we're still not getting the 1st downs. That's why we need to pass. Our running game bogs down.
Click to expand...

Explain this..

2000-Lamar Smith was our leading rusher (1,139 rushing yards, 309 carries) averaging 3.69 ypc. As a team, we averaged 3.82 ypc (24th), but carried the ball 496 times.. We were 3rd in scoring defense. Dolphins finished 11-5

2001-Lamar Smith was our leading rusher (968 rushing yards, 313 carries) averaging just 3.09 ypc. As a team, we averaged 3.52 ypc (29th), but carried the ball 473 times. We were 11th in scoring defense. Dolphins finished 11-5.

2003-Ricky Williams was our leading rusher (1,372 rushing yards, 392 carries) averaging just 3.5 ypc. As a team, we averaged 3.73 ypc (27th), but carried the ball 487 times. We were 3rd in scoring defense. Dolphins finished 10-6.

These are just a few examples of us having a poor running game to go along with a poor QB, only to come out with a winning season. The only real difference between those teams and this team.........those teams ran the ball. We are on pace for 340.63 carries this season, as we've run the ball only 109 times as a team so far.....10 of those carries belong to Daunte Culpepper. With Culpepper not starting, if we stay at the current pace running the ball, we'll likely end up around 320-330 carries as a team. The 2000 Dolphins ran it 496 times, the 2001 Dolphins ran it 473 times, the 2003 Dolphins ran it 487 times..........so you can see the dropoff.
 
You guys seem to be countering the arguement while ignoring it.

"If we cant stop 3rd downs stats dont mean diddly. " - FanMarino

If that was true, we would be giving up more yards than the average team. Maybe our defense should be applauded for forcing teams into 3rd downs consistently, and once our pass coverage matures we will have a dominant defense.

2nd in the NFL in yards per carry is NOT a deceptive stat. The corrolation between rushing attempts and record is well explained.

If you disagree with the arguement, that's fine. But don't dismiss the work he put into it so casually.

I think its an excellent point, and one I had not considered.
 
That' some good stuff. Thanks for the info. Now e-mail it to MM and tell him to hand off more !:lol:
 
think about how much worse our passing defense would look if JP Losman actually threw agaisnt us, and Kerry Collins didnt miss wide open WRs left and right.

they played good sunday, but they have been pretty bad this year.
 
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