What's wrong with Dolphins Run Defense??? | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

What's wrong with Dolphins Run Defense???

BenchFiedler

BenchFiedler

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The Run Defense was suppose to be our bread and butter. We are ranked 21st and we give up an average of 122.6 yds per game. This mean that teams are not only taking a lot of time off the clock to keep our so-so offense off the field, but also making our defense vulnerable to play-action passes.

I'm not sure if Big Paul or Starks have regressed, but this does not look good for neither of them at the end of the season since they will be free agents.

Is it Wheeler and Ellerbe over-pursuing plays or not comfortable yet with this defense?

Is it Rashad Jones not as good as last year on run support?

I see that teams run easily on Vernon's side, maybe this is an issue as well.

Any opinions?
 
Considering most of the front 4 is the same and the major difference is in the LB group. Well, there you go! Like most I thought the combo of Ellerbe and Wheeler were upgrades over Carlos and Barnette but clearly thats not the case.

It almost looks like, besides, Wheeler not being able to tackle consistently. They both, miss a ton of gap responsibility.

The other thing I've notice is BIG PAUL is LAZY! I can't tell you how many times I've notice him dogging it on plays...

Finally, we have some really small DE specifically I'm referring to Wake and OV. They get pushed around quite a bit and to be honest I think the lack of size/strength is part of the reason why Wake has never developed an inside move. Bottom line is this: If and when he does go inside he is quickly swallowed and to a lesser degree Tackles have been able to get away with a good deal amount of "just holding him enough " to negate him when he goes outside.

I'm more convince we are running the wrong front with our personnel. We are a lot more suited for a 3-4 base compared to a 4-3 one!

Wake, OV, D.Jordan(maybe)- OB
Wheeler, Ellerbe, Misi- MLB
Starks, Odrick- Ends
Big Paul- Tackle
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Starks and Soliai are MUCH better than last year vs the run. Wheeler and Ellerbe are MUCH worse than Burnett and Dansby last year. Wake and Jones are also MUCH worse than a year ago. OV has been a bit below average and better last year.
 
Ever since we made the move from a 3-4 two gap scheme to a 4-3 one gap scheme, our run stuffing abilities have gone down hill.
Olivier Vernon is terrible at setting the edge and Wheeler and Ellerbe need to be kept clean in order to pursue the ball.

Soliai, Starks, and Odrick are still solid in the 4-3 system, but they were much much better as two gap defenders against the run.
So to answer your question, the whole team is struggling against the run right now and there is no easy fix.

I would solve this by putting Odrick back in as a DE on run downs. That will stop the run and is a good temporary fix.
 
DzakkH13 said:
Ever since we made the move from a 3-4 two gap scheme to a 4-3 one gap scheme, our run stuffing abilities have gone down hill.
Olivier Vernon is terrible at setting the edge and Wheeler and Ellerbe need to be kept clean in order to pursue the ball.

Soliai, Starks, and Odrick are still solid in the 4-3 system, but they were much much better as two gap defenders against the run.
So to answer your question, the whole team is struggling against the run right now and there is no quick fix.

I would solve this by putting Odrick back in as a DE on run downs. That will stop the run and is a good temporary fix.
Click to expand...

Agreed with Odrick and I think I saw some of this last week.


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Run d has been crap, it appears to me injury has limited wake and combine that with wheeler and jones being poor have been the main causes, Vernon has Been ok I think and our 3 dts have been pretty good. Ellerbe I find it hard to tell, I think he has done ok
 
DzakkH13 said:
Ever since we made the move from a 3-4 two gap scheme to a 4-3 one gap scheme, our run stuffing abilities have gone down hill.
Olivier Vernon is terrible at setting the edge and Wheeler and Ellerbe need to be kept clean in order to pursue the ball.

Soliai, Starks, and Odrick are still solid in the 4-3 system, but they were much much better as two gap defenders against the run.
So to answer your question, the whole team is struggling against the run right now and there is no easy fix.

I would solve this by putting Odrick back in as a DE on run downs. That will stop the run and is a good temporary fix.
Click to expand...



^ this
 
The LB play has been terrible. That is the issue.
 
Sherman's offense has hurt the team, and so has Coyle's defense. This whole team has regressed this year when they should have improved. It's the coaches, along with Ireland and some of his off-season acquisitions that are bad.
 
gofins60 said:
Sherman's offense has hurt the team, and so has Coyle's defense. This whole team has regressed this year when they should have improved. It's the coaches, along with Ireland and some of his off-season acquisitions that are bad.
Click to expand...

Coaching is our biggest problem right now IMO. They can still make changes to help put the players in better position, but they better do it soon before we lose more games.
 
Wheeler, Jones and Ellerbee are all terrible. Glad we gave them all big contracts
 
DzakkH13 said:
Ever since we made the move from a 3-4 two gap scheme to a 4-3 one gap scheme, our run stuffing abilities have gone down hill.
Olivier Vernon is terrible at setting the edge and Wheeler and Ellerbe need to be kept clean in order to pursue the ball.

Soliai, Starks, and Odrick are still solid in the 4-3 system, but they were much much better as two gap defenders against the run.
So to answer your question, the whole team is struggling against the run right now and there is no easy fix.

I would solve this by putting Odrick back in as a DE on run downs. That will stop the run and is a good temporary fix.
Click to expand...

Tuff to move Odrick back to last year's rotation. Remember we had McD and Randall bringing 400 snaps to the mix. This year we have nothing else inside. Also, Odrick has been our best pass rusher as we stand with 5 sacks, 11 hits, and 17 hurries. That puts him at #6 of all DT's and NT's, one spot behind Geno Atkins with 6- 8- 20.
 
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