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Now that pre-season is over

Jeep

Jeep

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Everyone has said at least once.. relax, its only pre-season.. means nothing..


Well now that pre-season is over.. is it ok to worry now??

Here are my concerns...


1) Feidlers inability to connect with a receiver for over 20 yards..

I think there was 2 maybe 3 pass plays that went for over 20 yards?? I know Ricky caught a short pass coming out of the back field against the Falcons and ran it for over 20 yards.. There was the nice pass to Chambers last night.. but thats all I can remember..

2) Offensive line.. I am concerned about the ability to open holes for Ricky and protection long enough to read the field.. Last night they were not able to pick up the blitz by NO and Feidler was in the grasp when he was able to dump the ball for an INC...

I know there was a lot of shuffling players around trying different personnel... but still on a one on one basis.. the OL got beat and in my opinion is very questionable..

3) The linebackers, Seau gave up that one pass to Tampa Bay that everyone has commented on and has been discussed to death.. but Tampa was the only quality test of the pre-season..

I love Jr, I think its great we have him and I like the way he roamed into the back field last night to stuff a run for -1 yard.. But, he was burned badly and I think last night was the first time all pre-season I saw Greenwood make a tackle.. So I think a few passes to the TE's can easily exploit the poor pass coverage by the linebacker corp... remember Gonzales and KC last year??

4) The Defensive Backs.. Surtain has missed all of pre-season and TC.. will he be ready to go or will it take a few games to get back in stride?? Luckily Houston is our first game...

Marion and Madison, last year they we beat badly for some TD's, I believe Buffalo scored a real back breaker last year in Buffalo and this year, Jax kicked their butt once again for a score this pre-season. I know it was a crossing pattern and they were playing some sort of zone defense, but Marion took the wrong read which left Madison all alone and he was out of position, it was an easy 6 points..

I do like having Knight and he is a definite improvement over Freeman, T-buck is a positive... But how will they hold up against a quality team??

5) Punters, Neither Stemke nor Royals had a good camp.. It looks like Royals will keep his job but are we in for another shank when the game is on the line??

6) Bates... Will Wannys influence this off-season make any REAL changes?? If we continue to play the cover 2 defense with the occasional Jr blitz.. I can foresee problems..

I believe the Phins will romp all over the average teams and totally dominate both sides of the ball.. But I believe a good game plan and good execution by an above average teams can exploit our weaknesses and win games.. Just like Tampa Bay did in the first pre-season game..

So if I cant start worrying now... when can I??
 
If I remember correctly Williams didn't have a great camp last year. Anyway he's the type of runner that need a few carries to get into rythm and in preseason he can't do that.

And last year we where badly questionning the OL too and they did a pretty good job opening holes for RW.

As for Seau you can't judge a guy by one play because a lot of guys wouldn't be playing in this year. We'll see this season.

I wouldn't worry too much about the defensive backs. There's nothing we can do at this point anyway.
 
Seau took a bad angle 4 games ago against a much fast player. He's played well ever since. And yet we're still analzying that one bad play??

What is Fiedler now, 1/3 on deep passes for the preseason?? One was overthrown. The other should have been caught. I agree it's a concern from last year and we need to improve it. But I'm not ready to judge one way or the other right now. Just haven't seen enough in games. One thing's for sure, Fiedler is throwing better than last year.

OL's a legit concern. I think the run blocking inside will improve when the season begins just because we'll be pulling out all the stops schematically. But Smith is a concern there. And pass protection as a whole is as well.

Can't wait to see the game tonight.

Ugh, and I just learned that Drew Rosenhaus is dating Jackie Johnson. I'm crushed.
 
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Just like Tampa Bay did in the first pre-season game..
Click to expand...

I understand your concerns for TE coverage because of last year.. But to imply that because of one play by a guy new to our system in our first preseason game against last year's super bowl champs in the their SECOND preseason game is indicative of how the Phins TE coverage will play out over the season is, well CRAZY.

Were the Broncos not a good Team last year and didn't the Phins beat them in Denver?
Or how about the Raiders? -beat em
Or how about San Diego? -beat em
And what weakness did Buffalo beat us by exploiting other than Ray Lucas?

Okay so the KC game last year was ugly, but as I recall thats the ONLY game that got out of hand and were still in it till the 4th QTR... You don't think Miami will learn from the mistakes in TE coverage last year?

We beat some good teams last year, and if anything we have improved personell wise since then, (LB, Safety)... My concern is not so much winning against the teams that are good, its winning against the teams that are not so good and winning on the road...
 
Originally posted by Jeep
Everyone has said at least once.. relax, its only pre-season.. means nothing..


Well now that pre-season is over.. is it ok to worry now??

Here are my concerns...
Click to expand...

Don't force yourself to worry....
:lol:


1) Feidlers inability to connect with a receiver for over 20 yards..

I think there was 2 maybe 3 pass plays that went for over 20 yards?? I know Ricky caught a short pass coming out of the back field against the Falcons and ran it for over 20 yards.. There was the nice pass to Chambers last night.. but thats all I can remember..
Click to expand...

You take what you can get. Neither Brian nor Fiedler had really time to sit in the pocket and scout the field. Nor have our WRs gotten enough seperation. Actually before I would worry about any of our QBs I would worry about our WRs to turn up the heat for the season opener. I look for results first and foremost. Based on that our 1st string O outscored every opponent and their first stringers. That is the bottomline.

2) Offensive line.. I am concerned about the ability to open holes for Ricky and protection long enough to read the field.. Last night they were not able to pick up the blitz by NO and Feidler was in the grasp when he was able to dump the ball for an INC...

I know there was a lot of shuffling players around trying different personnel... but still on a one on one basis.. the OL got beat and in my opinion is very questionable..
Click to expand...

That is a problem area still. But it is not an unsolveable problem. If our OL would continously suck I would say...BIG PROBLEM. But they don't. They are playing very inconsistent. So far I am not happy with Wade and Nails but then again they weren't very good last pre-season either. I am happy with Smith though.

3) The linebackers, Seau gave up that one pass to Tampa Bay that everyone has commented on and has been discussed to death.. but Tampa was the only quality test of the pre-season..

I love Jr, I think its great we have him and I like the way he roamed into the back field last night to stuff a run for -1 yard.. But, he was burned badly and I think last night was the first time all pre-season I saw Greenwood make a tackle.. So I think a few passes to the TE's can easily exploit the poor pass coverage by the linebacker corp... remember Gonzales and KC last year??
Click to expand...

Seau (with the exception of game 1) is constantly a factor. I believe he had like 3 or 4 tackles every game (from game 2 to 4) in very limted action. You see him quite a lot roaming in the backfield as well. Remember even if Seau gets blocked he might have just been the reason that Taylor gets a sack because Seau occupied a lineman. I am happy with his aquistion so far but I like to see more of him as well.

4) The Defensive Backs.. Surtain has missed all of pre-season and TC.. will he be ready to go or will it take a few games to get back in stride?? Luckily Houston is our first game...

Marion and Madison, last year they we beat badly for some TD's, I believe Buffalo scored a real back breaker last year in Buffalo and this year, Jax kicked their butt once again for a score this pre-season. I know it was a crossing pattern and they were playing some sort of zone defense, but Marion took the wrong read which left Madison all alone and he was out of position, it was an easy 6 points..

I do like having Knight and he is a definite improvement over Freeman, T-buck is a positive... But how will they hold up against a quality team??
Click to expand...

this pre-season it looked like we were more agressive in the backfield. Mistakes happen, that's why we have pre-season games. A lot of times what you don't see on TV is that the coverage is excellent and forces the QB to throw incomplete, throw the ball away or he gets rushed out of the pocket. That's one of the reasons why I like going to the game. You see the entire field and you can tell why things happen the way they are.

Same as for Seau and the OL....more intensity I expect.

5) Punters, Neither Stemke nor Royals had a good camp.. It looks like Royals will keep his job but are we in for another shank when the game is on the line??
Click to expand...

I disagree. Accept for one shanked punt Royals was good. He was excellent when placing the punts. This is his strength BTW.

6) Bates... Will Wannys influence this off-season make any REAL changes?? If we continue to play the cover 2 defense with the occasional Jr blitz.. I can foresee problems..
Click to expand...

I've seen a more agressive style. They are trying to fit Seau in very well and take advantage of Knights very aggressive style. What impressed me the most we did this on the road as well. Look at the first quarter from JXV (we allowed 20 yards) and NO.

I believe the Phins will romp all over the average teams and totally dominate both sides of the ball.. But I believe a good game plan and good execution by an above average teams can exploit our weaknesses and win games.. Just like Tampa Bay did in the first pre-season game..
Click to expand...

They will kill bad teams, destroy average teams, beat good teams and battle great teams. Remember, the reasons why some teams are better than others are: better players, better coaches, better schemes.

So if I cant start worrying now... when can I??
Click to expand...

You can worry. But don't let this spoil your fun. I have seen a lot of this team this year and this will be a fun team.
 
I think you're wrong about Greenwood. He was pretty active during the Falcons game and looked good. Ricky is another story. Fifteen carries for 8 yds. during the pre season. Maybe it isn't anything to worry about but that sure doesn't seem like he's prepared for the regular season. I'm not worried about the deep passing game. I worry about protection for Fiedler. It only takes two five yard passes for a first down.
 
Least of your worries should be Ricky.

A guy who came off an 1800 rushing year and is lighter, faster, more muscular. Nothing to be worried about there ;).

Only thing I'm worried about is injuries.
 
Long Passing game...

I know everyone is concerned about the long passing game and Fiedler's accuracy (based upon last year), but, if our OL doesn't show dramatic improvement I don't care who's throwing the ball...we aren't going to have a long passing game. There's not enough time for the receivers to get separation or for the QB to see what's going on.

If things go south this season I have a feeling it's going to be because of the OL (both running and passing)...hope not, of course...we shall see
 
Originally posted by Jeep
Everyone has said at least once.. relax, its only pre-season.. means nothing..


Well now that pre-season is over.. is it ok to worry now??
Click to expand...

I'll wait until after Houston before I start worrying about things. If I started worrying in preseason I'd have ulcers by November and would need triple bypass surgery for the heart attacks free falls in December.
 
Why worry about an OL that allowed Ricky 1800 yards last year? Barring injuries (and you can say that about any position) they will be good again.
 
I guess I'm still one not to see what's wrong with our line right now. Barring injury I think we will be just where we were last year. On that longball (that I remember) Jay had plenty of time.
 
The O-line and being mentally prepared to play a 16 game schedule !! That requires 150% from EVERY player on the Dolphins roster ...

:goof:

:D

Marino1983
 
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