The Dolphins defense is in the bottom 5 for giving up most points in the AFC. They just give up WAY too many big plays to be taken seriously. Give up way too many easy points.
The Dolphins have a terrible WR and TE corps when it comes to receiving. There is a MASSIVE lack of real true NFL talent at those positions.. Hell, we don't even have a TE who can split the seam for our young QB.. all we have is slow plodders.
In this day and age you need quick strike ability that is dependable. And the Dolphins have garbage at those positions.
ESPECIALLY in the playoffs where defenses play a lot closer to the vest and tighter - you just gotta have it and the Dolphins don't.
This stat is the most dependable when it comes to an NFL teams' success - it has been proven over the years.. And look where Miami is ranked - right with garbage teams like the Chiefs and Bucs:
http://mule.he.net/~budsport/pub/killer.php
The Dolphins have a 1st year starting QB (who I do like btw).
This team would go absolutely nowhere even if they did make the playoffs. People who bring up the Cards need to give it up.. They had an outstanding WR corps last year with Fitzgerald, Boldin and Breaston - along with a very experienced QB.. that's what got them far. Miami has nothing remotely close to that.
If you think a worn down old Ricky will bring you to the promised land to the SB, you've got another thing coming. I like him and all, but as a 2nd back coming in games, not as a sole back with Ronnie and Cobbs on the shelf.
The Dolphins are still a work in progress that has more work to do. I like the direction this team is headed in, we will be good for a long time I believe as the regime keeps the course building this team. But we're not there yet.
If anyone thinks I am a doubter, or has some serious issues with a realist, let me tell them in advance to go F themselves.. My thoughts are realistic and the truth. Whether you like it or not.
Some nice pieces are coming together, but they need more time to build up some key, vital positions.
That's a great post. Bottom line, we don't pass the ball well enough or stop the pass well enough. Those traits are extremely difficult to overcome in the playoffs. A team like Pittsburgh with a +1.5 YPPA Differential is much more likely to do playoff damage than the Dolphins. Frankly, momentum means squat. I used to get into that argument all the time as guest on Las Vegas sports talk radio handicapping programs. Inevitably they'd have someone alongside me on the panel who was spitting out the typical momentum based drivel. It's not how good are you playing, it's how good are you? If the foundational aspects are in place then a team is eligible to surge, regardless of recent outcomes. I remember when the Oilers entered the playoffs on a long winning streak but were a blatant statistical reject. Kansas City bumped them out in the first round, a so-called big upset on the road but it was merely the disguised superior team, winning as it should.
Not every result is going to logically fit. Giants over Patriots cannot be explained statistically. I see that outcome taken for granted on site after site, never emphasized enough how much of a fluke it was. The Giants did have one overwhelming strength -- pass rush -- but it would not have been enough in the vast majority of cases against a team the caliber of New England.
The 2009 Dolphins don't have any strength comparable to Giants '07 pass rush.
Here are some quotes by Dungy and Vermeil, in an article from NFL.com. Vermeil is the guy who first turned me onto the importance of YPPA, in an article in the long gone Inside Sports magazine in summer 1987:
http://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=09000d5d80358f1f&template=without-video&confirm=true
Yards per pass attempt
"This stat is a favorite of at least two coaches who won recent Super Bowls -- Tony Dungy of Indianapolis and the retired Dick Vermeil.
"It doesn't matter how often you throw, if you're throwing and having great success ... that's a determining factor," Dungy said. "There are times in every game when you have to throw the ball, and if you're throwing it efficiently, you're going to win most of the time."
"Yards per pass attempt has one of the most direct correlations to the won-loss record," Vermeil said. "It covers a wide range (pass attempts, completions, sacks, net yardage) and it reflects on a lot of different things."
Dungy, of course, has one of the greatest throwers of all time,
Peyton Manning, on his team, and Vermeil coached the Rams when their offense reached record heights in 1999. Dungy said his reliance on the passing game numbers helped keep him and his team going a year ago when critics were harping on the Colts' problems stopping the run on defense.
Indianapolis gave up more than 185 yards rushing in four of its first seven games in 2006. But the Colts won all four. One reason? Their average gain per pass was more than a yard better than the opponents in those four games, nearly two yards better than their opponents over the course of the season.
"We weren't that concerned about (the rushing stats)," Dungy said.
"They're trying to keep our offense off the field by running the ball, and they're kicking field goals, and we're scoring touchdowns."
He will take that trade-off every time.
For Dungy, the defining figure is seven yards per pass, and last season, the Colts were the only team in the AFC to average more than seven yards per pass play and the only team in the NFL to average more than 7.5. They averaged 7.53 yards per pass play on offense and 5.79 on defense.
"I know most people look at rushing (yardage) and the number of rushes," Dungy said. "We didn't want to be where we were, but there are times that can be misleading ... In the long run, you're going to have to throw the ball efficiently to win in the NFL. That's just how the game is now."
