My Game Notes

[Dolphin1184]

Sorry this is a little late, but I have been really busy.

QB: AJ Feeley had some very impressive passes and very dumb passes. Sounds fairly normal for an inexperience QB in an offensive system that in itself is inexperienced and hasnt gelled yet. Only problem is, our O-line is going to get someone hurt. The biggest problem with AJ is that he throws to our RB WAY too many times. Those dink and dunk passes to Gordon are going to do NOTHING for this team. He needs to throw to our WRs more and make this passing game more vertical. The big plus is the coherence he is getting with TE Randy McMichael. I love Randy and is one of the only O players playing with heart.

RB: Gordon looked like Eddie George/Troy Hambrick (you pick) on sunday. He had a hard time breaking tackles and finding holes. This isnt suprising considering in thie O-line, holes are few and far inbetween, and the ones that do open up last a split second. Gordon needs to bring his shoulder down and bull through people like he did against Tenessee. He did however, break a few nice runs.

WR: Non existant. Chambers had a few good catches, and it is good to see him step it up in the endzone towards the end of the game. Booker needs to get better. Period.

O-line: GARBAGE. It is unbelievable to see how bad this offensive line really is. My grandma can run a blitz and just shoot through this piece of swiss cheese. Wade Smith couldnt even dream to block. He even caught Theisman's attention. I think they gave Feeley time like once or twice the entire game. This is a huge concern. SOMEONE IS GOING TO GET KILLED OR AT LEAST HAVE HIS CAREER RUINED BECAUSE OF THIS O-LINE. I better see better results next week. My Grade: F.

TE: Awesome. A+. Randy is the only player playing with heart in that offense. When I saw him carrying 2 defenders 5 yards, I know he wanted that game bad. The way he yelled at the O-line is the fire I want to see. Light a fire on that offense's ***.

Defense: Once again the Defense owned. Zach Thomas washed up??

He was everywhere sunday. He was like his old self back in the old days! Seau rules! He is one of my favorite phins. It is awesome to have this legend in this team and contributing! The secondary held themselves well towards the game. Will Poole was absolutely awesome. However, I am fed up with them choking towards the end. ONE MORE STOP AND WE WOULD HAVE HAD A CHANCE. The loss of Chester is huge, but not the end of the world.

Special Teams: A good return by brightful cannot make up for multiple fumbles. There are no excuses for him.

 

[mailmanrobbie]

One question, you spoke of some really impressive passes AJ made. Perhaps I stepped into the kitchen for a Sam Adams, but I didn't see one. If Cincy's D could have actually caught the ball, maybe they were just suprised to see a pass thrown to them, they could of easily had 6 picks.
AJ..... Feels no pressure coming in the pocket, I'll give ya, he only has 2 secs cuz the o line blows, but he must roll out, do something.
Stares down WR, no make that RB or TE, cuz that in the only guys he throws to, but stares them down nevertheless.
Makes worse decisions that Jay, forces balls.
Has no command of the team. The players want Jay in there, and he should be, why ? Cuz he can makes something happen, not that he lit it up the last 4 years, but he improvises better, maybe with time and a better O line AJ is the man, but not now.
There is nothing that will right this season, will take a few drafts to get a good O line, by then the D will be half gone via FA or past their prime, sad but true.

 

[KB21]

I agree that the offense needs to become more vertical, but that's easier said than done when you are having to get rid of the ball quickly to avoid getting sacked.

Teams are going to blitz Miami till they prove they can pick it up and beat it. As long as we are running ****-eyed pass blocking schemes where the tackle doubles down with the guard and allows the end and outside backer to race into the backfield untouched, things aren't going to get any better no matter who is out there.

Outside of Wade Smith's struggles on the outside, everything I saw was scheme related.

Remember this though. In 1970, Miami's offensive line was one that was acquired mostly off the waiver wire. The starting line that year was Wayne Moore, Larry Little, Jim Langer, Bob Kuechenberg, and Norm Evans. Only Moore was drafted by Miami. Langer and Kooch were acquired off waivers. Little was acquired in a trade with San Diego. His coach stated that it was a "nothing-for-nothing" trade. So, these guys weren't highly regarded initially. In their first game together, they gave up 8 sacks. OL Coach Monte Clark almost died after that, worried about what he had. Needless to say, these guys gelled together and became one of the greatest offensive lines of all times.

There are multiple lessons from the story. First, early struggles are not an indication of future failure. Don't condemn players to failure because they struggle in their first few games. Especially along the line. It typically takes more than a year for a line to gell. Second, you never can tell where you will get your next pro bowl offensive lineman. They can come from the first round or be undrafted, more so than any other position. Third, this proves the addage that another person's trash could be another person's treasure. Cleveland didn't think Langer could play. San Diego didn't think Little could play. I believe it was Kansas City that cut Kooch.

 

[KB21]

One question, you spoke of some really impressive passes AJ made. Perhaps I stepped into the kitchen for a Sam Adams, but I didn't see one. If Cincy's D could have actually caught the ball, maybe they were just suprised to see a pass thrown to them, they could of easily had 6 picks.
AJ..... Feels no pressure coming in the pocket, I'll give ya, he only has 2 secs cuz the o line blows, but he must roll out, do something.
Stares down WR, no make that RB or TE, cuz that in the only guys he throws to, but stares them down nevertheless.
Makes worse decisions that Jay, forces balls.
Has no command of the team. The players want Jay in there, and he should be, why ? Cuz he can makes something happen, not that he lit it up the last 4 years, but he improvises better, maybe with time and a better O line AJ is the man, but not now.
There is nothing that will right this season, will take a few drafts to get a good O line, by then the D will be half gone via FA or past their prime, sad but true.

That's pure crap!! You either haven't paid attention to the game, or you had too many of those Sam Adams before the game to realize what was going on.

First, AJ doesn't stare his receivers down. When he gets time, he goes through his progressions, looks the safety off, and makes a great throw. Most of the time, he doesn't have time to go through a series of progressions. You say he should roll out. The only thing that does is cut the amount of field he has to work with in half. Most of the time, the pressure is coming from the oustide as well, meaning that it is difficult to roll out.

Second, how can you tell he makes worse decisions than Jay Fiedler? This is the same Jay Fiedler that has averaged an interception per game for his career. Once again, when AJ gets time, he makes the right read. A play early in the game. AJ sees the defense is in a cover 2 set. He gets time on this play, and he makes a great throw to Chambers on the post route right between the corner and the safety. It was a stick throw that showed his arm strength as well. If that had been Jay, that's a pick because the ball would have hung up in the air too long. That's if he read the cover 2, which is something Jay has never been able to read.

 

[mailmanrobbie]

That's pure crap!! You either haven't paid attention to the game, or you had too many of those Sam Adams before the game to realize what was going on.

First, AJ doesn't stare his receivers down. When he gets time, he goes through his progressions, looks the safety off, and makes a great throw. Most of the time, he doesn't have time to go through a series of progressions. You say he should roll out. The only thing that does is cut the amount of field he has to work with in half. Most of the time, the pressure is coming from the oustide as well, meaning that it is difficult to roll out.

Second, how can you tell he makes worse decisions than Jay Fiedler? This is the same Jay Fiedler that has averaged an interception per game for his career. Once again, when AJ gets time, he makes the right read. A play early in the game. AJ sees the defense is in a cover 2 set. He gets time on this play, and he makes a great throw to Chambers on the post route right between the corner and the safety. It was a stick throw that showed his arm strength as well. If that had been Jay, that's a pick because the ball would have hung up in the air too long. That's if he read the cover 2, which is something Jay has never been able to read.

Are you serious, First NO I didn't have to many Sams.
1) AJ absolutely stares down his recievers.
2)Yes , he does makes awful decisions, much more than Jay, I can't remember Jay throwing 2 TD's to the D in two games.
3) Jay can't make a "stick throw" ? Perhaps you should watch the Dallas game last year, and see the TD he throws to Chambers.
4) Cover 2 is a hard D to read. Perhaps the hardes, that is why most teams feast on the run while dealing with it
5) I'm right !!!

 

[nighttrain76]

All I know in two weeks AJ has thrown 2 passes for touchdowns and 2 for int returned for touchdowns(the same exact play and spot):fire:

 

[mailmanrobbie]

The TD in the Cincy game should have been picked off. Pure luck , forced ball, bad throw. I agree with the Vets on the team. Jay should be our QB.

 

[Dol-Fan Dupree]

Are you serious, First NO I didn't have to many Sams.
1) AJ absolutely stares down his recievers.
2)Yes , he does makes awful decisions, much more than Jay, I can't remember Jay throwing 2 TD's to the D in two games.
3) Jay can't make a "stick throw" ? Perhaps you should watch the Dallas game last year, and see the TD he throws to Chambers.
4) Cover 2 is a hard D to read. Perhaps the hardes, that is why most teams feast on the run while dealing with it
5) I'm right !!!

3) I saw the touchdown throws to chambers. Those were amazing catches.

5) you are wrong

 

[djfresh47]

AJ was unimpressive to me, he's inexperienced so he gets the benefit of the doubt. Was it me or was he trying to force the ball way too much. The Oline did play like crap and averaging 1 yd a carry isn't gonna take any pressure of him. The D wants Jay to start but with a 2nd rd pick invested in AJ he gets the nod. He does throw the damn ball to Lamar Gordon for minimum game way too much. I think he has shown some chemistry with McMike, or McMike might be the best TE in the NFL right now. A problem I've seen with him is he doesn't really spread the ball around, it's Chambers, McMike, or Gordon, Booker had 1 catch. He has tried to make some stupid plays which almost resulted in INTS. Either way he gets to the end of the year so we can see if we have possibly a Hasselbeck or a Rob Johnson.

 

[Ross]

AJ was unimpressive to me, he's inexperienced so he gets the benefit of the doubt. Was it me or was he trying to force the ball way too much. The Oline did play like crap and averaging 1 yd a carry isn't gonna take any pressure of him. The D wants Jay to start but with a 2nd rd pick invested in AJ he gets the nod. He does throw the damn ball to Lamar Gordon for minimum game way too much. I think he has shown some chemistry with McMike, or McMike might be the best TE in the NFL right now. A problem I've seen with him is he doesn't really spread the ball around, it's Chambers, McMike, or Gordon, Booker had 1 catch. He has tried to make some stupid plays which almost resulted in INTS. Either way he gets to the end of the year so we can see if we have possibly a Hasselbeck or a Rob Johnson.

So throw the season for next year?

I'm not in that boat yet. Not until we are out of the Playoff picture...