DKphin
Club Member
Three Takeaways | John Congemi Breaks Down Dolphins vs. Ravens
John Congemi's three biggest takeaways from Week 1.
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Three Takeaways | John Congemi Breaks Down Dolphins vs. Ravens
- Thread starter DKphin
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I've been saying it since we started this offseason. I knew they were going to tank when they got rid of all of our pass rushers and never bothered to replace them. I said that no secondary can cover forever, and without a pass rush, we're guaranteed to lose almost every game. Some people steadfastly believed that scheme alone could generate pass rush, or that remaining players like Baker could become pass rushers. Scheme most definitely helps … but it's no substitute for having fast twitch speed rushers. Plus, our players are a long way from mastering this complex system of defense, so it's absolutely no surprise we generated zero pass rush.
If you can't stop the other team, you're going to lose. But, if your defense is bad, you can still have a chance if you generate takeaways. We jettisoned our only LB who made a lot of takeaways, Kiko. Nobody is going to throw at Xavien Howard when Eric Rowe is so bad, so that robs X of his INT opportunities. Reshad Jones, Bobby McCain and Minkah Fitzpatrick can still generate takeaways in the secondary, but they didn't. Our defense looked utterly impotent. Until we learn this defensive scheme, we will look pathetic. But, without any natural pass rushers, this offense is going to stink all year long.
On offense, our patchwork offensive line looked like exactly what it is … a collection of retreads and one rookie whose head is still spinning. No run lanes and porous pass protection. It will get better, but it did not inspire much hope.
Our big receivers, Parker, Gesicki (TE) and Williams showed promise. When your QB is running around for his life, he's more likely to throw to guys who are wide open or guys who present a big target. Fitzmagic has always preferred the big targets.
Rosen got his shot, but under less than ideal conditions, he forced things. He'll get plenty of chances later, when he's more ready.
We're understaffed and nobody has mastered any of the new systems yet, so we looked like donkey droppings. But they will learn it, and we'll be somewhat more competitive, and even show some good stretches eventually. All is not lost, it's just one game.
If you can't stop the other team, you're going to lose. But, if your defense is bad, you can still have a chance if you generate takeaways. We jettisoned our only LB who made a lot of takeaways, Kiko. Nobody is going to throw at Xavien Howard when Eric Rowe is so bad, so that robs X of his INT opportunities. Reshad Jones, Bobby McCain and Minkah Fitzpatrick can still generate takeaways in the secondary, but they didn't. Our defense looked utterly impotent. Until we learn this defensive scheme, we will look pathetic. But, without any natural pass rushers, this offense is going to stink all year long.
On offense, our patchwork offensive line looked like exactly what it is … a collection of retreads and one rookie whose head is still spinning. No run lanes and porous pass protection. It will get better, but it did not inspire much hope.
Our big receivers, Parker, Gesicki (TE) and Williams showed promise. When your QB is running around for his life, he's more likely to throw to guys who are wide open or guys who present a big target. Fitzmagic has always preferred the big targets.
Rosen got his shot, but under less than ideal conditions, he forced things. He'll get plenty of chances later, when he's more ready.
We're understaffed and nobody has mastered any of the new systems yet, so we looked like donkey droppings. But they will learn it, and we'll be somewhat more competitive, and even show some good stretches eventually. All is not lost, it's just one game.