PFF Ranks Miami's Defensive Line 28th | Page 5 | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

PFF Ranks Miami's Defensive Line 28th

SF Dolphin Fan said:
I don't know if they were factoring in metrics that included turnovers, key stops, or even third down efficiency. That's where Miami came up big.
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Exactly. And that in itself can be misleading in terms of overall ranking. A team can be a takeaway machine, make 4th down plays with regularity and have great 3rd down metrics; which give the illusion they're a really good defense. These are all great stats, but as we all know vary from year to year. Miami needs to keep the scoring defense in the top 5 or so, to be considered a top of the league type defense.

As for the defensive line, I think they are over rated to a degree. They don't stop the run very well and only have one lineman capable of rushing the passer in Ogbah. Now if they step up in the run game and get an additional pass rusher who plays, predominantly with his hand in the dirt, and helps set the edge perhaps the ranking is a bit higher than 28th. Imo it all starts with stopping the run.
 
dolfan91 said:
Exactly. And that in itself can be misleading in terms of overall ranking. A team can be a takeaway machine, make 4th down plays with regularity and have great 3rd down metrics; which give the illusion they're a really good defense. These are all great stats, but as we all know vary from year to year. Miami needs to keep the scoring defense in the top 5 or so, to be considered a top of the league type defense.

As for the defensive line, I think they are over rated to a degree. They don't stop the run very well and only have one lineman capable of rushing the passer in Ogbah. Now if they step up in the run game and get an additional pass rusher who plays, predominantly with his hand in the dirt, and helps set the edge perhaps the ranking is a bit higher than 28th. Imo it all starts with stopping the run.
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I take issue with the descriptor "illusion".

If they consistently do those things you mention, it is reality, and part of the philosophy, unless you think it just "dumb luck". I don't happen to think it's merely dumb luck.

Do they need to tighten up on yds allowed? Absolutely.

Do they need to generate a better pass rush without sending 6? Absolutely.
 
Mach2 said:
Hard to reconcile all of those rankings with our overall performance.

The whole is greater than the sum of its parts?

Must be one hell of a coaching staff........lol.
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In a way, that's great news. I do think the coaching staff gets a lot out of the talent. But the talent is better than these rankings IMO.
 
SF Dolphin Fan said:
I respect PFF and find some of their information useful, but ranking Miami's defensive line 28th seems extremely low.

Admittedly, there's no way to know how good Phillips will become. That's an unknown and the team really needs him to be a plus player.

But the Dolphins do have nice depth and solid starters in Ogbah, Wilkins and Davis. I think it's an overall unit that's top half in the NFL.

Am I looking at it with aqua colored glasses?
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yeah, that one doesnt’ add up to me. I think when all is said in done we have a top 10 front 7 that is very versatile and capable of getting to the QB. Last year we could’ve done a better job stopping the run, but I think in total, our front 7 is damn good. Our secondary might be the best in the NFL this year.
 
Goonies said:
Last time a rookie won defensive player of the year was in 1981 Lawrence Taylor. While Holland receiving that award would be amazing , I don’t expect that his rookie year. I do expect him to be better then McCain his rookie year.
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I’m a moron and meant defensive rookie of the year lol
 
Csonked Out said:
I don’t have a problem with this. Our production last year came from a strong secondary and a ton of blitzing.
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This! Ogbah had a great season and Raekwon Davis was really starting to come on but as a whole the DL didn't do a whole lot in 1 on 1 situations. We blitzed a ton because we had great corners playing who could cover guys with no help and being able to do so is what led to most of the turnovers and sacks. I have no issue with their ranking but I believe having Phillips will make a huge difference, I would assume having 2 guys who can win in 1 on 1 matchups makes it much more difficult for the offense to gameplan against.

The issue I have with PFF is if they rank our DL that low and assuming our LB's probably didn't do well either, they better have the secondary in the top 5. I doubt they do though because I don't believe they take into account the fact that our corners were often asked to play man-to-man with no help. The fact is if a team finishes 6th in PPG allowed (only this low because of a disastrous final game), 1st in takeaways, 1st in 3rd down def % and 7th in red zone def and you believe two of the three units played extremely poorly, the other unit must be playing at an elite level for the team defense to finish where it did.
 
Thats a joke. I would rather be on a down low any how. With the emergence of R.Davis late in his rookie season, look for upgrade right from the start.
 
Alex Thrasher said:
This! Ogbah had a great season and Raekwon Davis was really starting to come on but as a whole the DL didn't do a whole lot in 1 on 1 situations. We blitzed a ton because we had great corners playing who could cover guys with no help and being able to do so is what led to most of the turnovers and sacks. I have no issue with their ranking but I believe having Phillips will make a huge difference, I would assume having 2 guys who can win in 1 on 1 matchups makes it much more difficult for the offense to gameplan against.

The issue I have with PFF is if they rank our DL that low and assuming our LB's probably didn't do well either, they better have the secondary in the top 5. I doubt they do though because I don't believe they take into account the fact that our corners were often asked to play man-to-man with no help. The fact is if a team finishes 6th in PPG allowed (only this low because of a disastrous final game), 1st in takeaways, 1st in 3rd down def % and 7th in red zone def and you believe two of the three units played extremely poorly, the other unit must be playing at an elite level for the team defense to finish where it did.
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I've attributed our struggles to the linebackers for awhile now, and I think it become more apparent last year. Davis and Wilkins did a great job clogging the lanes and forcing double teams, and our LBs just didn't take advantage of it.

Then in the off-season... we brought in 3 new ones (Riley, Scarlett, and McKinney). If this isn't a sign that the coaches were unhappy, I don't know what would be. I'm thinking that if the clean up crew would do a better job, everything would improve.
 
Feverdream said:
I've attributed our struggles to the linebackers for awhile now, and I think it become more apparent last year. Davis and Wilkins did a great job clogging the lanes and forcing double teams, and our LBs just didn't take advantage of it.

Then in the off-season... we brought in 3 new ones (Riley, Scarlett, and McKinney). If this isn't a sign that the coaches were unhappy, I don't know what would be. I'm thinking that if the clean up crew would do a better job, everything would improve.
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Good point. I'd probably put Miami's linebackers in the 18-22 range, with the caveat that a healthy McKinney could be fantastic in this scheme.

I'm taking a wait and see approach with McKinney because he's not great in coverage. I want to see how Miami uses him on passing downs. What's the plan there?
 
SF Dolphin Fan said:
Good point. I'd probably put Miami's linebackers in the 18-22 range, with the caveat that a healthy McKinney could be fantastic in this scheme.

I'm taking a wait and see approach with McKinney because he's not great in coverage. I want to see how Miami uses him on passing downs. What's the plan there?
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Very VERY few Linebackers are plus in both run and passing support, so I think most teams just say, "screw it" and do a lot of rotating depending on down and distance. Baker isn't especially good in run support, and McKinney's weakness is in coverage, but Baker plays WSLB and McKinney is a Mike, so that puts them in their best position MOST (but not all) of the time.
This is one reason why Parsons was so well thought of, he really was good in both areas, but guys like this are rare, very rare... so we are back to rotation, and I think that's what happens this year. Riley is also a coverage linebacker, so he's Baker's back up, but I won't be surprised to see him come in at for McKinney on 3rd down and 10.
I see Flores playing even more match up football than he did last year. With better tools, he should be able to up his scheme game.
 
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