"Re-grouping" at Halftime

[ForksPhin]

There has been a lot of discussion relating to Philbin's decision to run out the clock with 2:21 left in the half against Buffalo on Sunday. I have been amazed by the number of fans who are supporting Philbin's decision and talking about getting to halftime and "re-grouping" vs. taking the chance of something going wrong. Obviously, I think giving away a possession like Philbin did was a horrible coaching decision. But, the support for Philbin got me wondering why everyone seems to see "re-grouping" at halftime as an important aspect of Philbin's coaching. My initial response was if we had played a good half of football, scored some points, and maybe had a lead, "re-grouping" wouldn't be so important.

So I decided to look back at some recent Dolphins games to see how the team played in the first half. Here are the last 10 games played and the Dolphins first half performances:

@ Buffalo (9/14/14) - 0 points (trailing)
NE (9/7/14) - 10 points (trailing)

NYJ (12/29/13) - 7 points (trailing)
@ Buffalo (12/22/13) - 0 points (trailing)
NE (12/15/13) - 7 points (trailing)
@ Pittsburgh (12/8/13) - 10 points (leading)
@ NYJ (12/1/13) - 6 points (leading)
Carolina (11/24/13) - 16 points (leading)
San Diego (11/17/13) - 10 points (tied)
@ Tampa Bay (11/11/13) - 7 points (trailing)

A few observations:

- The Dolphins have only 2 scoring drives in the first half this season...and the only TD drive came after the blocked punt vs. NE when the Dolphins gained possession at the NE 15 yard line.
- The Dolphins have scored more than 10 points in the first half only once in their last 10 games. They have scored 7 points or less 6 times in their last 10 games.
- In 9 of their last 10 games, the Dolphins have had TWO OR FEWER scoring drives in the first half. In 5 of their last 10 games, the Dolphins have had ONE OR FEWER scoring drives in the first half.
- The Dolphins have been trailing at halftime in 5 consecutive games dating back to last season.

So, now I understand why a lot of fans think that "re-grouping" at halftime is the normal course of action - because the Dolphins under Joe Philbin's leadership and Ryan Tannehill's quarterbacking rarely play well in the first half, particularly over the past 10 games. To me, this is mainly about preparation and game-planning. It seems like the Dolphins under Philbin are reactive. They don't plan well to attack their opponents, or to understand how their opponents are going to attack them, which means they are constantly back on their heels early in games. They have only had a halftime lead in 3 of their last 10 games - and their largest halftime lead was 10 points against Carolina. They went on to lose the Carolina game after being SHUTOUT IN THE SECOND HALF.

Something is amiss with this team under this head coach.

 

[finfan54]

He delegates his OC and DC to run there side of the ball. He is not an OC type who calls plays so he sees a gameplan in a collective environment.

So that's why you get Lazor saying its on him and Joe seeing the big picture.

I would say we are a reactive type team which should make people happy really. Its how you finish.

But I must insist that players have to execute.

Jarvis Landry is not executing on special teams. But lets not go there with our favorite guy.

 

[ForksPhin]

He delegates his OC and DC to run there side of the ball. He is not an OC type who calls plays so he sees a gameplan in a collective environment.

So that's why you get Lazor saying its on him and Joe seeing the big picture.

I would say we are a reactive type team which should make people happy really. Its how you finish.

But I must insist that players have to execute.

Jarvis Landry is not executing on special teams. But lets not go there with our favorite guy.

Isn't Philbin the head coach of this team? We can't hold him harmless for this team's shameful first half performances. Playing terribly for the first 30 minutes of just about every game recently is not a recipe for winning.

 

[finfan54]

Isn't Philbin the head coach of this team? We can't hold him harmless for this team's shameful first half performances. Playing terribly for the first 30 minutes of just about every game recently is not a recipe for winning.

Of course you can and he will be. But it doesn't have to be a pile on crap on one guy for the sake of getting rid of him.

That's what this site is all about. got to get rid of the next guy. Does anyone think Bill Belichick inspires people to be pumped up for games? Has anyone ever listened to his press conferences? I think people perceptions of what a leader is is far skewed towards a personality type.

 

[ForksPhin]

Of course you can and he will be. But it doesn't have to be a pile on crap on one guy for the sake of getting rid of him.

That's what this site is all about. got to get rid of the next guy. Does anyone think Bill Belichick inspires people to be pumped up for games? Has anyone ever listened to his press conferences? I think people perceptions of what a leader is is far skewed towards a personality type.

I am not talking about inspiring players in Philbin's case. I am talking about the fact that his team plays terribly in the first half of games. The offense just doesn't score points in the first half, period. So, when given time to see what is happening on the field, it seems like the Dolphins adjust fairly well and play better in the second half, in most instances. But that tells me that the preparation and game-planning prior to games is not up to par. We can't score, meaning our execution is poor, or we are not prepared for what the opposing defenses are throwing at us.

Constantly playing poorly in the first half and hoping to adjust and play better in the second half is not typically going to lead to a winning record.

And as far as "piling on" Philbin....he is in his third year as head coach. The honeymoon is over. After 34 games, he is under .500. This is about piling on, this is about wondering whether this man is capable of coaching the Dolphins to a winning record.

 

[buxster07]

OP has a valid point. I too have been wondering about this and I want to put this on the coaches - particularly Lazor b/c he should be dictating on offense. Instead it is reactionary. I don't think Lazor is seeing the field well enough on the sidelines, and needs to be in the booth. I think he needs the half, to process info from the 1st two quarters, and thus counter punches in the second. Whatever it is we are doing initially clearly doesn't hold up, and second half is about band aids / patchwork. I posted a thread about it and it got trolled. But oh well, to each their own I guess.

 

[truedolfan57]

You can't blame any coach for the turnovers in the first game. In any game, really. The dolphins had no problem moving the ball in the first half of the NE game, they just got stalled with 3 consecutive turnovers.

 

[ForksPhin]

You can't blame any coach for the turnovers in the first game. In any game, really. The dolphins had no problem moving the ball in the first half of the NE game, they just got stalled with 3 consecutive turnovers.

So the coach isn't responsible if his players make mistakes? If that is the case, how do we judge coaches? Sure, Lamar Miller fumbled. But Joe Philbin is the man giving Lamar Miller carries in his offense, and actually deciding that Lamar Miller is his starting RB. Sure, Ryan Tannehill threw a bad interception, but Ryan Tannehill is Joe Philbin's starting QB. And yes, Mike Wallace fumbled, but Dolphins coaches have to preach ball security, so indirectly, that has to fall on Philbin as well. This is Philbin's team. Ultimately, he is responsible for everything. If his team is playing error-filled football, who else is to blame??

 

[roy_miami]

Well he fired Sherman and hired Lazor. Isn't that a start?

 

[truedolfan57]

So the coach isn't responsible if his players make mistakes? If that is the case, how do we judge coaches? Sure, Lamar Miller fumbled. But Joe Philbin is the man giving Lamar Miller carries in his offense, and actually deciding that Lamar Miller is his starting RB. Sure, Ryan Tannehill threw a bad interception, but Ryan Tannehill is Joe Philbin's starting QB. And yes, Mike Wallace fumbled, but Dolphins coaches have to preach ball security, so indirectly, that has to fall on Philbin as well. This is Philbin's team. Ultimately, he is responsible for everything. If his team is playing error-filled football, who else is to blame??

The players. The players are to blame. I will bet you everything I have, not one player that coughed up the ball, or turned the ball over, is blaming their head coach. You can judge a coach on a hundred different things. game management, preparation, practices, adjustments, etc. The players on the team (on this team), is derived by the head coach and GM, at minimum. If the whole team turned the ball over all game, for a majority of games, then yes, you can blame the head coach. If it's one or two individuals, then it's on those individuals. The first half was played like ****, by those who turned the ball over, and then in the second half, it was corrected.

 

[ForksPhin]

The players. The players are to blame. I will bet you everything I have, not one player that coughed up the ball, or turned the ball over, is blaming their head coach. You can judge a coach on a hundred different things. game management, preparation, practices, adjustments, etc. The players on the team (on this team), is derived by the head coach and GM, at minimum. If the whole team turned the ball over all game, for a majority of games, then yes, you can blame the head coach. If it's one or two individuals, then it's on those individuals. The first half was played like ****, by those who turned the ball over, and then in the second half, it was corrected.

I think we are straying from the original topic. The fact is that the Dolphins are a HORRIBLE team in the first half of games. That is related to the coaching staff preparing players for the games, in my opinion.

In the 10 games I listed, the Dolphins are averaging 7.3 points per game in the first 30 minutes. That is brutal. Unless you defense is shutting teams out regularly, you are not going to win games consistently with that type of performance.

 

[truedolfan57]

I think we are straying from the original topic. The fact is that the Dolphins are a HORRIBLE team in the first half of games. That is related to the coaching staff preparing players for the games, in my opinion.

In the 10 games I listed, the Dolphins are averaging 7.3 points per game in the first 30 minutes. That is brutal. Unless you defense is shutting teams out regularly, you are not going to win games consistently with that type of performance.

to be fair, the OC from 8 of those games have proved to be a horrible OC. I do agree, the 2014 fins need to step up in the first half. Lets see if they can bounce back from a loss.

 

[dolpns13]

Of course you can and he will be. But it doesn't have to be a pile on crap on one guy for the sake of getting rid of him.

That's what this site is all about. got to get rid of the next guy. Does anyone think Bill Belichick inspires people to be pumped up for games? Has anyone ever listened to his press conferences? I think people perceptions of what a leader is is far skewed towards a personality type.

Did you see the video of how BB prepped his team in 2009 when NE came down to Miami? They destroyed us in that game. Go back and watch the video of how he prepped them. That's all out took to get them ready

 

[ForksPhin]

Also, I just went back and verified that the Carolina game, where the Dolphins scored 16 points in the first half then never scored again, was a TD and 3 FGs.

So, over the last 10 games, the Dolphins offense has not scored more than ONE TOUCHDOWN in any first half. And yes, the offensive coordinator has changed. Two factors haven't changed - Joe Philbin has been the head coach and Ryan Tannehill has been the quarterback.

 

[zach attach]

I'm going to vomit if I hear Joe say anything about an "Explosive offense" again. The points made by the op show that Joe either does not believe in an explosive offense, or he cannot deliver it. Both of which are bad.