Perfect72
It's Only Happened ONCE!
October 2, 2016 | Filed in: 2016 Regular Season, Joe Schad
That was painful to watch. For me. I can’t imagine what it must have been like for coach Adam Gase, quarterback Ryan Tannehill, guard Billy Turner, tackle Ja’Wuan James or cornerback Tony Lippett. Not good at all. Boring. Sloppy. Unproductive. A complete waste of time. Frustrating for me to watch. Now I understand why Gase shook his head so much during the debacle. And Tannehill had a glazed look on his face. Well, you get the picture.
Dolphins coach Adam Gase says, “The tape don’t lie.”
So I decided to give the game tape a closer look. And here are some things I noticed:
More at LINK: http://dailydolphin.blog.palmbeachp...iami-dolphins-at-cincinnati-bengals-a-review/
That was painful to watch. For me. I can’t imagine what it must have been like for coach Adam Gase, quarterback Ryan Tannehill, guard Billy Turner, tackle Ja’Wuan James or cornerback Tony Lippett. Not good at all. Boring. Sloppy. Unproductive. A complete waste of time. Frustrating for me to watch. Now I understand why Gase shook his head so much during the debacle. And Tannehill had a glazed look on his face. Well, you get the picture.
Dolphins coach Adam Gase says, “The tape don’t lie.”
So I decided to give the game tape a closer look. And here are some things I noticed:
- Andy Dalton exhibited pocket presence, awareness and feet movement Ryan Tannehill didn’t. Late in the first quarter, Dalton made the kind of play Tannehill should make more often. On a play-action pass, Dalton rolled to his right (one of Tannehill’s favorite designs). Dalton sensed defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh was bearing down, so he just stopped. Then Dalton allowed his blockers to do their job. Then he stepped forward, began to sprint right, got behind a blocker and threw a deep ball for A.J. Green (in Miami’s case, this would be DeVante Parker), allowing the tall, athletic, leaping Green to make a play on Xavien Howard. Conversely, let’s take a look at a strip-sack of Tannehill late in the second quarter. Tannehill did not step up either to run or to at least avoid direct harrassment when Ju’Wan James had moved rushing Carlos Dunlap deep into the pocket. Hence, Dunlap gets a hand on the ball (Tannehill did not keep two of his hands on the ball) and yet another turnover for Miami. Gase said pocket presence can be taught and learned. We’ll see.
- Laremy Tunsil erred a few times, but showed all the reasons he has Pro Bowl future. At least once, it appeared Tunsil was unsure of which player he was to block. But when Tunsil knew what he was doing, look out. Tunsil was a pass pro neutralizer. He was a pass pro immobilizer. He also had a nice seal block on a slicing run by Jay Ajayi. Conversely, right tackle Ja’Wuan James had some very poor moments for a second consecutive week. In the second quarter, Dunlap’s rush on James led to Tannehill’s fumble. In the third quarter, James and Jermon Bushrod were beaten by a beastly Geno Atkins. And in the fourth quarter, James was pushed back, creating a tipped pass on Tannehill by Dunlap. Bushrod had an embarrassing moment late in the game when Atkins literally ran over him, pushing him back into Tannehill, who tumbled onto his backside. Miami’s offensive line was a patchwork, but took a giant step back after small steps forward in Weeks 1-3.
- Tony Lippett was schooled by A.J. Green a few times, but there is potential in that cornerback. If Byron Maxwellhad whiffed on a 1-on-1 tackle for a 7-yard touchdown by A.J. Green, Maxwell may have been benched. Oh, wait? Oh, that already happened? Look, Lippett is raw. But talented. He has the ideal height, speed, length and nose for the ball to eventually develop into a decent starting cornerback. In the first quarter, Lippett had a nice pass breakup of a pass intended for Brandon LaFell. In the second quarter, Lippett broke up a third-down pass intended for A.J. Green. Even when beaten, Lippett showed some reasonably snug coverage and he competed for the ball, two things Maxwell struggled with early this season. Yes, I know he struggled to tackle, too. The NFL knows what Maxwell is, his strengths and weaknesses. This is the right time to find out (and Tennessee is a more fair test) what Lippett might be in seasons to come.
- Jay Ajayi is redeemable. There was some notion that Ajayi had showed earlier this season why he wasn’t drafted higher. That Ajayi didn’t have the maturity, the mental strength or the protection of the football to even be worthy of a roster spot, let alone dressing out with Miami’s deep stable of running backs. Forget all that. Again on Thursday, Ajayi showed he’s actually worthy of more carries. He says he gets stronger the more he carries the ball (I know, all running backs say that). But why not see, as long as Arian Foster is out, exactly what Ajayi can do? Ajayi showed excellent burst running behind Billy Turner in the first quarter, making a linebacker miss and utilizing a stiff-arm. He also ran a nice route and made a nice catch on a third-down conversion late in the third quarter. Ajayi churns for every yard with extra effort. That’s worth exploring more.
More at LINK: http://dailydolphin.blog.palmbeachp...iami-dolphins-at-cincinnati-bengals-a-review/
