JakeMcAwful
Irish Dolphan
- Joined
- Apr 25, 2010
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http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2016/09/07/nfl-miami-dolphins-2016-scouting-report
Decent read, no new information provided - pretty much outlines most of the concern areas for the team.
I definitely get the feeling that knowledgeable media-types are optimistic about this team if a few key additions (Foster, Williams, Maxwell, Alonso) play at a good-calibre level. There's a lot of if's though.
Coaching is rarely called into question, so obviously a lot of respect for Gase around the league. I have low expectations, but honestly I'm not sure what will happen this year.
1. Everyone seems to have forgotten that Ryan Tannehill had shown steady annual improvements until last season, when Miami’s offense crumbled around him.
Tannehill’s inconsistent ball placement and decision-making deserves some of the blame, but some of the instability had to do with the coaching staff, O-line and receivers.
The O-line is all but guaranteed to improve now that Ja’Wuan James is back healthy at right tackle (Jason Fox was a major liability). Also, first-rounder Laremy Tunsil at least injects talent into the problematic left guard position.
Also consider: new head coach Adam Gase’s system is predicated on three- and five-step timing, which naturally nullifies a pass rush. That helps the receivers, as well as Tannehill.
4. In Miami, Gase has a different type of receiver to build his route combinations around than he had in Chicago or Denver.
Instead of a big-bodied X-iso type target like Alshon Jeffery or Demaryius Thomas, it’s a shifty, five-tool shallow and intermediate weapon, Jarvis Landry.
The previous regime frequently used Landry in motion and on shifts, including the backfield. Presnap movement is not a defining characteristic of Gase’s system.
However, a defining characteristic of Gase himself is humility and adaptability. It’d be surprising if he didn’t construct an extensive movement-based package for his new third-year star receiver.
9. Included in the Maxwell trade from Philadelphia was linebacker Kiko Alonso. After missing his 2014 sophomore NFL season in Buffalo with a knee injury, Alonso took most of 2015 to regain his form.
Overall, he never played well enough to eliminate doubts about his potential for 2016. (Hence Philly’s decision to trade him.)
If Alonso can become what he was in Buffalo, the Dolphins will have a fast and fluid linebacker patrolling the middle alongside up-and-coming fourth-year pro Jelani Jenkins.
If Alonso is more like what he was in Philly, the Dolphins will have real concerns, not just in nickel, where most of Alonso’s snaps will come, but also in their base 4-3, where the scheme demands that linebackers stack and shed blocks inside.
Decent read, no new information provided - pretty much outlines most of the concern areas for the team.
I definitely get the feeling that knowledgeable media-types are optimistic about this team if a few key additions (Foster, Williams, Maxwell, Alonso) play at a good-calibre level. There's a lot of if's though.
Coaching is rarely called into question, so obviously a lot of respect for Gase around the league. I have low expectations, but honestly I'm not sure what will happen this year.