PBP: Miami Dolphins: 5 Statistics that Must Change

[Perfect72]

October 2, 2016 | Filed in: 2016 Regular Season, Joe Schad.

I was speaking with a few Miami Dolphins on Friday about how first-year coach Adam Gase was dealing with a 1-3 mark at the quarter-pole of the NFL season. Gase has the pressure of calling plays. And having faced Pete Carroll and Bill Belichick in his first two games. And meeting three playoff teams, perhaps two Super Bowl contenders, on the road, in what seems a bit unfair.

At times it seems Gase is perplexed by the number of players who fail to execute as they are instructed. He’s tried so many different things and so little has actually worked. The consensus seems to be that yes, Gase is youthful, fiery and energetic. But with Miami at or near the bottom of the league in so many categories, a key is this: Gase has, according to the players, stayed on message, strategic and level-headed.

“He’s tried to keep us calm and not lose our minds,” linebacker Neville Hewitt said. “He’s honest with us in telling us what we need to fix.”

The opportunity exists, with four consecutive home games against teams that entered Sunday with a combined record of 5-7, to show marked improvement and perhaps even hit the halfway mark at 4-4.

For that to happen, The Dolphins must improve these five statistics:

1. Third-down offense (28 percent, 32nd in the NFL). Like Gase, Dolphins offensive coordinator Clyde Christensen is a direct and candid guy. Last week, Christensen said: “We’ve been anemic on third down. Those are crushers, because all of a sudden you look up and there’s not enough carries for a running back, there’s not enough balls to go around, there’s not enough time of possession, there’s not enough anything.” Gase has admitted some frustration in play-callling and an impatience that has led to an imbalance between passing and running. Miami has a weakness at tight end recieving. And quarterback Ryan Tannehill simply needs to be more accurate and more effective on third down, under immense pressure or not. DeVante Parker needs to emerge as a threat in this area.
   
2. First-half points per game (5.8, 31st in the NFL) Miami has gotten off to terribly slow starts. Through four games, the Dolphins have scored 14 points in the first quarter and 9 points in the second quarter for a total of 23-first half points. That’s unacceptable. Most of Miami’s offensive success has come late in games, when forced to go up-tempo. Some believe the Dolphins offense is too ineffective to go fast too often. I say, “Why not try?”
   
3. Opposing rushing yards per game (129.8, 28th in the NFL) Miami made some strides in this category against Cincinnati and frankly, there was nowhere to go but up. Dolphins coaches have tried to stress the importance of detail and the importance of following the intended structure and assignements of the “Wide Nine” defense. They’ve tried to talk about fitting into the proper gaps and better tackling (they can’t really tackle in practice) and limiting yards after catch. Mario Williams did not seem too interested in run defense early in the season though he made improvement in Thursday’s game. Miami does not really trust Cameron Wake, their most skilled defensive linemen aside from Ndamukong Suh, to play regular run downs.

More at LINK: http://dailydolphin.blog.palmbeachpost.com/2016/10/02/miami-dolphins-5-statistics-that-must-improve/

Your thoughts?...

 

[darefugee]

points per game. Our team must accumulate more points per game than the opponent.

There's the statistic that must change.

 

[Stoobz]

Team IQ.

 

[rickd13]

How about wins and losses.

 

[SF Dolphin Fan]

Hopefully things can turn around. But it comes down to two things for me....stopping the run and running the ball better. That may be an oversimplification, but if you look at the losses to Seattle and New England Miami failed to convert fourth and one (inches vs. Seattle). If the Dolphins convert both those games could have been in the win column.

 

[Aqua and Orange]

5.8 points in the first HALF? How in the blue blazes is there one team worse than us in that stat?!

Even for an inept franchise, this season is setting all sort of benchmarks for "how low can they go". I feel like even the optimists that usually say things like, "we are one stills catch from 2-2" are shaking their heads and saying, "we are one missed Browns field goal from 0-4".

 

[royalshank]

I don't see any of this crap changing significantly this year. Four games in and they haven't shown us anything in terms of looking like they can adjust and improve.

 

[Digital]

I agree with all of it. The 'what' is easy. It's the 'how' that is the area of disagreement.

Our running game must improve. The biggest difference between successful running teams and us, is that their OL opens run lanes. Our OL must improve.

Our passing game must improve. The biggest difference between successful passing teams and us, is that their OL provides clean pockets. Our OL must improve.

Our run defense must improve. The biggest difference between successful run-stopping teams and us, is their LB corps stuff the run without needing an extra safety in the box to do it. Our LB's must improve.

Our pass defense must improve. The two biggest differences between successful pass-stopping teams and us, are that their CB's are better than ours and their pass rush is more consistent than ours. Our CB's and our pass rush must improve.

That's the 'what.' Better players would be a great answer to the 'how' but that's not really an option. We added an excellent OL in Tunsil. IMHO, we discovered a decent OL in Steen. We added a good CB in X. Howard. We obtained a good LB in Kiko. These are starts. But, we need to continue, because we need 1 or 2 more CB's, 2 more LB's, and at least 2 more OL.

 

[Dolfan5000]

Third down percentage is the most alarming. It needs to improve. The defense can make some plays but they can't stop everything, we have the skill players on offense to make that stat go up. Need better play by Ryan (move in the pocket, it will only help, don't deer in headlights the rush). Need better play by the OL, namely James, Bushrod and Turner. I'm pretty disappointed with the overall team play. I just want to see some wins and better awareness by Ryan. Maybe stick with Ajayi or Drake for the majority of the game. Just stay on the field, give the D some rest and score TDs way more often.

 

[Sons Of Shula]

Third down percentage is the most alarming. It needs to improve. The defense can make some plays but they can't stop everything, we have the skill players on offense to make that stat go up. Need better play by Ryan (move in the pocket, it will only help, don't deer in headlights the rush). Need better play by the OL, namely James, Bushrod and Turner. I'm pretty disappointed with the overall team play. I just want to see some wins and better awareness by Ryan. Maybe stick with Ajayi or Drake for the majority of the game. Just stay on the field, give the D some rest and score TDs way more often.

Like offenses on 3rd downs.

O-lineman are skill players too, they're just not ball carriers.

 

[Dolfan5000]

Like offenses on 3rd downs.

O-lineman are skill players too, they're just not ball carriers.

Used a generalizing term. I did go on to mention the OL.

Further on, I wonder how much an extended week to heal will help this team. Maybe with Albert and Pouncey back, the running game can improve. I've never been impressed with Pouncey, but the team really needs something to help. I wouldn't be opposed to kicking Urbrick out to guard and putting Bushrod at RT. Could help? Who knows. I just want to see more consistency out of the run game.