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Retooling The Offense

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PhinsAllDay

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This offense is horrible and i cant see how adding Tannehill to it next year. With the possible chance of us not winning another game and getting a high draft pick , should we draft a QB if a top prospect is available at our pick ? TE has to be addressed because the JT is not cutting it . I think Landry is gone next season and Devante Parker is in his 3rd season and still hasnt looked like a top pick. The O Line has to be redone because its just awful. How should the Dolphins go about retooling the offense ?
 
PhinsAllDay said:
This offense is horrible and i cant see how adding Tannehill to it next year. With the possible chance of us not winning another game and getting a high draft pick , should we draft a QB if a top prospect is available at our pick ? TE has to be addressed because the JT is not cutting it . I think Landry is gone next season and Devante Parker is in his 3rd season and still hasnt looked like a top pick. The O Line has to be redone because its just awful. How should the Dolphins go about retooling the offense ?
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No chance of a high round QB. Everything else, maybe
 
We need to fix the O-line and add a real tight end. I wouldn't focus anywhere else on that side of the ball (obviously need to resolve Landry). With decent line play and RT back at the helm what we have can and will work well enough.
 
It's pretty complicated now. I don't think people realize just how far the Ajayi "trade" set us back. So, we would have at least gotten a 4th for Ajayi if we had let him leave when he becomes a free agent. So, we literally gained nothing by getting rid of him, except the message that Gase sent that demoralized the team.

Now, we pretty confidently know we are not keeping Ju'Wuan James, so good news, his salary is off the books; but bad news, we need a RT. Jesse Davis has the job until further notice. We definitely know we can't throw money after Bushrod after this fiasco of a season. So, that's our entire right side of the OL to be replaced--two so far. Looking hard at Pouncey, who we either keep and pay through the nose, or cut and pay through the other end ... bad contracts always gonna bite ya there. So, that's maybe 3. Now we have the injured journeyman Ted Larsen ... I have an open mind, but thus far I'm not convinced. I'm guessing that one of Larsen and Pouncey will be replaced, but not sure which one honestly. So that's definitely 3. Tunsil likely stays, although we've been disappointed with him.

Fasano has been as good as advertised, but unfortunately that's been almost exclusively as a blocking TE. We still need a chess piece who can pass protect, run block, and be a seam threat and a big red zone target. That's 4. We probably need to replace Landry, and my preference would be to keep him, but if we must move on from him, I'd replace him with another chess piece TE. Yeah, that's TWO TE's, but I think we have the WR corps to do that and still have flexibility. So, that's 5. Oh yeah, and we need to replace Ajayi, because Williams is a 3rd down back, Drake is an injury-prone (knocking on wood that I'm wrong!) speed back. So, that's 6.

Six starters on offense alone .... assuming Tannehill comes back healthy.

On Defense Wake continues to defy Father Time, but remember, Father Time is still undefeated ... so it's a big gamble every year. Hayes will be what, 33? AWOLrence Timmons will be old if he returns, as will Reshad Jones, so that's 4 definite starters who are old in the middle of a defense rebuild that isn't finished yet. Sure, we're doing well with Tankersley, X Howard (well he hasn't been to great this year, but he's talented), Lippett (OK for a 3rd boundary CB), McMillan (projection, but I have faith), and Harris (shown flashes).

Assume we bring in 3 FA's and get rid of Ju'Wuan James, Julius Thomas, and (it pains me to say it ... but also ...) Jarvis Landry on offense. Yeah, even with draft picks, we can't fully rebuild this next offseason. Too much need.
 
This offseason has to be about fixing the offensive line above all else. Gase will never have a chance to succeed as a head coach with this unit and, more specifically, Miami won't contend unless it's upgraded. I'd spend at least one premium pick on the offensive line and get a sure thing starter in free agency. I'd let Asiata play the rest of the year to see if he might be the answer at one guard spot. If so, that would be huge.

I think the 10-6 playoff run last year set the expectations really high, but the truth is this team doesn't have a strong foundation. Some veterans have slipped a bit this year as well. Wake is still a good player, but he's not making as many game changing plays. The Dolphins have no one that steps up when Suh is double-teamed and that is a shame and a waste of his talent.

I keep saying this should be a foundation draft coming up for Miami. The Dolphins are honestly right up there with the worst teams in the league and it's because the team is not winning in the trenches.

Prioritize getting a difference maker on the defensive line and building the offensive line. All other needs can wait, unless the team gets lucky with middle to late round picks.
 
Digital said:
Fasano has been as good as advertised
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He really hasn't been, actually. I'd bring him back at league minimum salary only because our TE room is a disaster and at least he'll do his job, even if he's not doing it well.
 
I believe you design a new offensive line starting with the center. Centers are the quarterback of the offensive line. They are usually in charge of checking that the line assignments are understood and inplace after a play has been called. I saw Paul Brown use this approach when he started the Bengals franchise, and then again a few years latter I saw Forrest Greg do the same thing when he became the Bengals coach. Two years after that they were in the Superbowl. Clearly single position replacements has not worked for us; probably because this offensive line has been a shambles for years.

Once you have a center, you select a tackle based on whichever hand the QB throws with - left tackle for right handed QB's or a right tackle for left handed QB's. After that you replace your remaining tackles and guards based on the best available lineman candidate and how they compare to the current player we have on the team at that position. There is no point in drafting a player who isn't potentially an equal or better replacement just because you are re-establishing most of your personnel. This is not quite a cut and dried approach, but it is a method that should yield the best offensive line you can get based on the talent of the available players, using either draftees, free agents or someone currently playing on the team.

I feel it will take two years to establish a new offensive line because you usually can't get all the linemen you want at the skill levels you need in a single year. It makes sense to replace an existing offensive line over two years in order to allow the new players to work with an established group their first year, which allows the second years new players to step into a working group. This should also minimize the drop off in coordination and execution that you would expect to experience when changing the whole line all at once.

This approach would use at least the first 3 draft positions of 2018 on the offensive line. The selections for the remainder of the draft should be best player available compared to who we have and the degree of need for a given positions replacement. The second year would also require 2 to 3 high draft choices for the offensive line. After that we will probably need to replace the backups. We still have a lot of holes to fill so using a prime part of the draft for just one side of the ball needs to be limited in order to allow us to take advantage of the strength of the draft instead of grabbing whoever is available just to fill a hole. Otherwise we will be forever chasing our tail to fill holes rather then using the draft to build depth everywhere which would eventually provide our future starters.

I am more interested in how we choose who we draft rather than who it is we draft. I will be interested in how we use free agency in conjunction with the draft to help fill some of our holes. I will also be interested in seeing how the new players are used: will they be starters or redshirted? I am not as jaded about the front office as many on this board are. I felt we had a good draft last year and expect that we will have a successful draft next year. I have no expectations as to the quality of the players in this draft, I only hope we can make the best out of what is available.

Every team has its ups and downs but lets face it, this year was a perfect storm of absurd personnel events, injuries and weather dragging down a lot of initial hope I had for a great year. Makes me think of the sinking of the Edward Fitzgerald. I refuse to let this blind me to the potential we have in making improvement to the team and fully expect to see a competitive team next year. Possibly even this year although our injury situation will probably keep us out of any contention for a playoff berth.
 
My thing is if we are picking top 7 and one of the top DE is sitting there you have to take him, wake will be older, and we need more youth there, and I am not taking a guard that high
 
In the offseason we will need to acquire starters at TE, RB, LG, RG, and C.

Oh, and the defense gets no pressure on the QB and we are atrocious against the pass.

What a mess.
 
Digital said:
It's pretty complicated now. I don't think people realize just how far the Ajayi "trade" set us back. So, we would have at least gotten a 4th for Ajayi if we had let him leave when he becomes a free agent. So, we literally gained nothing by getting rid of him, except the message that Gase sent that demoralized the team.

Now, we pretty confidently know we are not keeping Ju'Wuan James, so good news, his salary is off the books; but bad news, we need a RT. Jesse Davis has the job until further notice. We definitely know we can't throw money after Bushrod after this fiasco of a season. So, that's our entire right side of the OL to be replaced--two so far. Looking hard at Pouncey, who we either keep and pay through the nose, or cut and pay through the other end ... bad contracts always gonna bite ya there. So, that's maybe 3. Now we have the injured journeyman Ted Larsen ... I have an open mind, but thus far I'm not convinced. I'm guessing that one of Larsen and Pouncey will be replaced, but not sure which one honestly. So that's definitely 3. Tunsil likely stays, although we've been disappointed with him.

Fasano has been as good as advertised, but unfortunately that's been almost exclusively as a blocking TE. We still need a chess piece who can pass protect, run block, and be a seam threat and a big red zone target. That's 4. We probably need to replace Landry, and my preference would be to keep him, but if we must move on from him, I'd replace him with another chess piece TE. Yeah, that's TWO TE's, but I think we have the WR corps to do that and still have flexibility. So, that's 5. Oh yeah, and we need to replace Ajayi, because Williams is a 3rd down back, Drake is an injury-prone (knocking on wood that I'm wrong!) speed back. So, that's 6.

Six starters on offense alone .... assuming Tannehill comes back healthy.

On Defense Wake continues to defy Father Time, but remember, Father Time is still undefeated ... so it's a big gamble every year. Hayes will be what, 33? AWOLrence Timmons will be old if he returns, as will Reshad Jones, so that's 4 definite starters who are old in the middle of a defense rebuild that isn't finished yet. Sure, we're doing well with Tankersley, X Howard (well he hasn't been to great this year, but he's talented), Lippett (OK for a 3rd boundary CB), McMillan (projection, but I have faith), and Harris (shown flashes).

Assume we bring in 3 FA's and get rid of Ju'Wuan James, Julius Thomas, and (it pains me to say it ... but also ...) Jarvis Landry on offense. Yeah, even with draft picks, we can't fully rebuild this next offseason. Too much need.
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All good thoughts. IMO the roster needs a major rebuild. The OL is the biggest key and it will take a couple of years if they build through the draft. They shouldn't try to replace 4 starters in one season. Specifically target 2 positions like RG and LT and keep Pouncey and Davis for one more season. By the way I much preferred Tunsil at LG instead of LT. He played better and seems to be much more effective in small space work. His punch and body frame fits the guard position better. Then in 2019 I would draft a C and RT (if Davis isn't cutting it). The next two drafts I would focus on OL and the front 7 on defense.
 
DuderinoN703 said:
Fix the OL. Get an OL coach who doesn't do speed and crack. Get a TE who can do something. Get a real running back and compliment him with Drake/Williams. Get Tannehill healthy while grooming a rookie who will take over down the line.
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You used way too much common sense. You made sound simple.
 
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