Sports Buzz What The Tannehill Trade Does For Miami’s Future Cap Flexibility

[Ray R]

This is exactly why the Harbaughs have been so successful in the NFL. Almost all the defenses now are designed for speed to rush the passer and shut down the passing game. There are only so many snaps per game that those small fast defenses can hold up against power football. It's not the DT's that get worn down, it's the safety sized LB's. By the 4th quarter, they simply don't have the power or energy to stop smashmouth football.

I personally prefer an aerial circus, sling that ball around the yard. It is in vogue right now too. But going oppo and fielding a smashmouth offense would be very successful these days, and the needed OL would be pretty easy to get. Everybody wants ZBS dancing bears with long arms to stop edge rushers. Those old power-pig slobberknockers are not in demand, and dominating in the run game is very doable.

Great sibilance.

 

[Digital]

Great sibilance.

I think someone may have explained all this to Ross years ago, and it's a large part of his fascination with the Harbaughs. Just a hunch though.

 

[ANUFan]

Gase did a lot of stupid things... trying to fit square pegs into round holes, tipping his hand with playcalling, not playing certain guys enough etc.

Hopefully he hasn't learned from that stuff and continues the trend with the Jets. The last thing we need is for him to become more humble and self aware.

 

[SammySmif]

Ive always loved how balanced the pats offense is. You can do anything out of the 22 package if your te can catch and the 12 is the go to for most teams now. 12 is the ultimate package for most offenses and im happy we will be doing it more.

Problem with gases offense was it was too easy to predict. Way too pass heavy, especially near the goal line. With the pats offense, they can come out and run from an I to start the game or come out in shotgun and throw with the same package on the field. I loved seeing them do that based on the defense they were facing.

 

[ANUFan]

On neutral downs, smart teams go big to pass - not run. When you think about the spacing, it makes sense. If you spread out a D with 3 or 4 WR's, the D matches up with 5 or 6 DB's, and the passing lanes become congested. The running lanes, however, become less congested. This is why runs on short-yardage situations are more successful out of spread looks.

In a passing league, more teams should look to go big, because D's match up with fewer DB's and as the running lanes become more congested, it opens up the passing lanes. How many times have we seen Brady whip around on a quick play-action to hit Gronk down the seam or Edelman running a slant? Think about the throwing lanes on these plays. Brady typically doesn't even need to out air under the ball, because the LB's, and often the Safeties, aren't in position to affect the pass.

So far, we haven't seen a team pass 80%+ of the time from heavy looks, but I think we will within the next 10 years. At that point, the D is really in a bind, and they'll have to consider playing pass first, which would then obviously open up the running game out of heavy sets. Even the great 2017 Jaguars D struggled to defend the pass vs heavy sets, and NE's D last year defended the pass much better against 3 WR+ than 2 TE looks.

On that note, I think Foster Moreau (LSU) is the most underrated TE in the draft. He's a very good blocker and near-elite athlete. He didn't see a lot of opportunities in the passing game, but he looked solid when they called his number, and it's a developmental position anyway. His ability as a blocker gives him a leg up, and he profiles as kind of a poor-man's George Kittle. Remember that Kittle fell to the 5th Round due to a lack of opportunity as a receiver at Iowa.

Nice Player!!!

 

[Trifecta Nation]

I find one thing kind of interesting looking through a lot of these kind of cap threads: many of you advocate using our newfound cap space to extend X and Tunsil to big paydays. Most realize that will take upwards of $90 million or more per player to do so. Yes, it's a starting cover corner and a starting left tackle who we see as a pro bowlers - which means that amount of money would be a given - but I think making any assumption that we're actually going to do this is a mistake.

If we're really patterning ourselves after New England, I guarantee you that they're not locking up almost $200 million in two contracts for guys who are non-QBs. Hell, even Brady gives them the home team discount so they don't hardly average that for him in the past many years. What they would do is let the LT and CB walk and trust their ability to find the next guy who can do what they're going to demand of him. They don't pay the Nate Solders, the Ty Laws....they just don't break the bank. They just trust the process and find new players. So don't have a heart attack if you eventually see X and Tunsil playing elsewhere too while the Dolphins let them walk.

Trust the process!! :biggrin

 

[phins_4_ever]

Hopefully he hasn't learned from that stuff and continues the trend with the Jets. The last thing we need is for him to become more humble and self aware.

I doubt he has. Look at his personal hire on offense. He still will be the big man and call plays. He left us thinking that he did everything right.

 

[Digital]

On neutral downs, smart teams go big to pass - not run. When you think about the spacing, it makes sense. If you spread out a D with 3 or 4 WR's, the D matches up with 5 or 6 DB's, and the passing lanes become congested. The running lanes, however, become less congested. This is why runs on short-yardage situations are more successful out of spread looks.

In a passing league, more teams should look to go big, because D's match up with fewer DB's and as the running lanes become more congested, it opens up the passing lanes. How many times have we seen Brady whip around on a quick play-action to hit Gronk down the seam or Edelman running a slant? Think about the throwing lanes on these plays. Brady typically doesn't even need to out air under the ball, because the LB's, and often the Safeties, aren't in position to affect the pass.

So far, we haven't seen a team pass 80%+ of the time from heavy looks, but I think we will within the next 10 years. At that point, the D is really in a bind, and they'll have to consider playing pass first, which would then obviously open up the running game out of heavy sets. Even the great 2017 Jaguars D struggled to defend the pass vs heavy sets, and NE's D last year defended the pass much better against 3 WR+ than 2 TE looks.

On that note, I think Foster Moreau (LSU) is the most underrated TE in the draft. He's a very good blocker and near-elite athlete. He didn't see a lot of opportunities in the passing game, but he looked solid when they called his number, and it's a developmental position anyway. His ability as a blocker gives him a leg up, and he profiles as kind of a poor-man's George Kittle. Remember that Kittle fell to the 5th Round due to a lack of opportunity as a receiver at Iowa.

Some truly sage insight in there @j-off-her-doll thanks!

 

[South Beach]

We have around $35M and cap space is not a problem.

The draft will cost roughly $5M. The only players drafted, who will count, are those picked in the first four rounds. As mentioned by another, a pick kicks off the last man on the cap list who counts for $500K. A look from last year:

Fitz- $3,7M - $500K = $3.2M
Gesicki- $1.5M - 500K = $1M
Baker- $900K - 500K = $400K
Smythe- $700K - 500 K = 200 K

Final cost- $4.8M

Practice squad guys get $129,200 a year if they stay. 10 players total
Cost- $1.3M

Insurance for injuries- Most like to have at least $5M in reserve.

FYI- The practice squad can have up to 4 players with up to 2 years NFL experience. The others can have up to 9 games.

 

[Bumpus]

With that money my hope is the team locks up Howard and Tunsil long-term.

This.

We can accomplish it now w/o necessarily crushing the future. Why not just get it done?

 

[NY8123]

I'm all for two things 1) please go and sign your young talent and 2) please don't give out stupid contracts like T-bag loved to do. After that let's find our long term QB.

 

[13marino13]

https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/barry-jackson/article227844804.html

And that gives the Dolphins $38.3 million in cap space at this moment — more than what they probably need this offseason.

Miami needs to allocate $6.9 million to sign its draft class and another $5 million or so to sign a practice squad and keep as a safety net to sign players during the season.

Miami has poked around on fullbacks in free agency, including conveying preliminary interest in Michael Burton, who played only 49 snaps for the Bears last season but was graded out as the second-best fullback by Pro Football Focus.

Detroit drafted Burton, 27, in the fifth round out of Rutgers in 2015 and he played for new Dolphins quarterbacks coach Jim Caldwell with the Lions. He has appeared in 55 NFL games for the Bears and Lions, starting 11 of them, and has done his best work blocking. He has 8 carries for 11 yards in his career and nine receptions for 53 yards.

New coach Brian Flores’ former team, the Patriots, used a fullback. Last season, Patriots fullback James Devlin played 35.8 percent of New England’s offensive snaps.

According to Sharp Football, New England last season used a formation with two backs, two tight ends and one receiver 36 times of the time, compared to zero percent for the Dolphins. (Eleven percent was the NFL average.)

https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/barry-jackson/article227844804.html

And that gives the Dolphins $38.3 million in cap space at this moment — more than what they probably need this offseason.

Miami needs to allocate $6.9 million to sign its draft class and another $5 million or so to sign a practice squad and keep as a safety net to sign players during the season.

Miami has poked around on fullbacks in free agency, including conveying preliminary interest in Michael Burton, who played only 49 snaps for the Bears last season but was graded out as the second-best fullback by Pro Football Focus.

Detroit drafted Burton, 27, in the fifth round out of Rutgers in 2015 and he played for new Dolphins quarterbacks coach Jim Caldwell with the Lions. He has appeared in 55 NFL games for the Bears and Lions, starting 11 of them, and has done his best work blocking. He has 8 carries for 11 yards in his career and nine receptions for 53 yards.

New coach Brian Flores’ former team, the Patriots, used a fullback. Last season, Patriots fullback James Devlin played 35.8 percent of New England’s offensive snaps.

According to Sharp Football, New England last season used a formation with two backs, two tight ends and one receiver 36 times of the time, compared to zero percent for the Dolphins. (Eleven percent was the NFL average.)

I'm thinking the Patriots may be on to something here... Ya think?

 

[13marino13]

I'm all for two things 1) please go and sign your young talent and 2) please don't give out stupid contracts like T-bag loved to do. After that let's find our long term QB.

Sounds like a plan