Zim’s Grades For The Game: Wild Card Edition

[gofins60]

This is exactly why I don't understand all the hate a young HC is getting. Yes, his playcalling is immature, what did you expect, he is a young offensive HC. He will learn.

I understand what you're trying to say, but you're missing something very relevant. Yes, McD is a young HC with a lot to learn, but that's not the real problem. Usually, when Coordinators become Head Coaches, it's after years of being an OC or DC, calling plays and running their side of the ball. They have years of experience calling plays, making adjustments, and learning how to be flexible and adapt to overcome adversity due to smart opponents or injuries which affect what you normally do. And, over the years they pick up how to deal with in-game management.

McDaniel never had those years of experience as an actual OC calling plays and running an offense. He was an Assistant with a title of Run Game Coordinator, but Kyle Shanahan ran the offense and called the plays. So, McDaniel probably just helped design plays. He was then named OC for the 2021 season, but still didn't run the offense or call the plays. IOW, McDaniel basically went from Assistant Offensive Coach to Head Coach without having those years of experience needed to actually be a Head Coach. This is why he only looks good when everything is perfect and is going his way. When defenses learn how to disrupt his offense, he's clueless.

So, is Miami supposed to wait 5-10 years or more until the Head Coach gains the experience he should already have? IMO, McDaniel is not ready for a HC job... he's not even ready for an OC job!

 

[ForksPhin]

I understand what you're trying to say, but you're missing something very relevant. Yes, McD is a young HC with a lot to learn, but that's not the real problem. Usually, when Coordinators become Head Coaches, it's after years of being an OC or DC, calling plays and running their side of the ball. They have years of experience calling plays, making adjustments, and learning how to be flexible and adapt to overcome adversity due to smart opponents or injuries which affect what you normally do. And, over the years they pick up how to deal with in-game management.

McDaniel never had those years of experience as an actual OC calling plays and running an offense. He was an Assistant with a title of Run Game Coordinator, but Kyle Shanahan ran the offense and called the plays. So, McDaniel probably just helped design plays. He was then named OC for the 2021 season, but still didn't run the offense or call the plays. IOW, McDaniel basically went from Assistant Offensive Coach to Head Coach without having those years of experience needed to actually be a Head Coach. This is why he only looks good when everything is perfect and is going his way. When defenses learn how to disrupt his offense, he's clueless.

So, is Miami supposed to wait 5-10 years or more until the Head Coach gains the experience he should already have? IMO, McDaniel is not ready for a HC job... he's not even ready for an OC job!

This has been our pattern over and over. Flores was a DC who didn’t call the defense. Philbin was an OC who didn’t call plays. Sparano was never a coordinator. Gase was an OC-in-name-only who basically had Peyton Manning calling the offense.

We have a type. The type is the “hot name” with minimal experience running an offense or defense, much less running an entire team.

 

[ThePeopleShow13]

It’s time for the final grades of the season. The 4th coldest playoff game of all time was played in K.C. Tonight. It should have been played in Miami in 65 degree weather but our coaching staff and our QB choked away a 3 game lead in the division. The only word I can come up with is pathetic. On to the grades:

QB — F : If there were a grade lower than F, Tua would be getting it. Awful. Absolutely awful. The past 3 weeks for Tua have been sobering to say the least. There is no way I would pay Tua this offseason. Absolutely 0 Chance. Looking back…Tua was only good against the weak “Joe Dolfans” of the league. Against any team over 500…Tua was awful the entire season. Tonight was the pinnacle. I think we’ve seen Tua’s ceiling and that’s just not good enough. I don’t know what we do at QB going forward, but I do know it’s going to be a very rough offseason around here.

RB’s — C : These guys actually had a decent first half. Regardless, I’m not going to penalize them for running behind an Eichenberg centered OL. The future is actually bright here. If we can get another tackle and guard that are worth a ****, Achane can be VERY scary next year. Unfortunately, no one on this team was scary tonight.

TE — D + : This is definitely a place to upgrade next year. The blocking was average and their receiving abilities just aren’t there. They were their usual below average selves again tonight.

WR — D : At least Tyreek got his. He definitely wasn’t perfect but he was the only receiver that made a play. I’m not sure how having Waddle and Hill out there we didn’t have someone open all game….But keep in mind we had an awful QB throwing the ball tonight. A “D” is a solid grade here taking Tua into account.

OL — F : Just not good enough by the entire interior OL. Eichenberg must be cut this offseason. He’s a clown. Hunt had a horrible game. We need a tackle and a guard this offseason. Not to mention, we also need a center because Williams is a free agent. I know we have to keep Armstead around another year…But I really wish we could cut the cord on him. This is going to be a very rough rebuild on this line.

DL — D : No pash rush at all the entire night. Wilkins wants top 5 DT money? In my opinion, NO CHANCE. The only time anyone noticed him is when he got flagged for the roughing the passer call. He’s nowhere near a top 5 DT in the league. The only guy I keep is Sieler. He’s a dawg. Period. Time for a refresh of the entire DL.

LB’s — D : Duke Riley is absolutely clueless out there. On top of that the two hand touch of Mahomes was pathetic. I’m not sure how the best TE in the league is that wide open play after play….But that was an awful look for our LB’s. We need another edge rushing LB this year and definitely we need a MLB that can play the game. Not great tonight.

DB’s — D - : The rookie Rice tore this entire group to pieces. Is he that good? Obviously, these guys had no pass rush to help them out either. This isn’t breaking news but Kohou isn’t it. However, I actually like our secondary going into next year. One thing to mention though is Howard has to go in my opinion. We’re paying him a lot of money and he’s on the training table more than Armstead. OK…I exaggerate to make a point. But you know what I mean.

ST’s — D - : The only thing saving them from the F is Berrios. Bailey averaged about 6 yards per punt and while Butker was driving kicks through the end zone, Sanders was having trouble making it to the 20 yard line. If I’m in charge, Sanders and Bailey are cut tomorrow. Crossman doesn’t even get on the plane back to Miami.

Coaching — F : Again, Fangio did what he could with what little he had. He at least dialed up some blitzes. Regardless, I still blame him for the Titans loss. So…I’m not over that yet. McGenius? He proved he’s anything but. Can someone please explain to me why, with 10:30 on the clock in the 4th quarter and down by 3 scores…We didn’t run the hurry up? Anyone? That alone is a total failure. The play calling has sucked the past 3 games. While It’s too early to fire him… his seat should be getting warm next year if we can’t man up against a decent team. We’ll see what he comes up with next year… But as of now….I’m not impressed.

Conclusion: An absolute pathetic ending to what was a promising season. It’s distressing to me because I thought we had our QB. Now, I really doubt we do. I thought we had a very good HC. Now, I’m not so sure. When I look ahead, I’m not a feeling very positive. We’re over the cap. We have a lot of dead weight signed to some very long term deals that are tough to get out of. We have some young talent that really should get paid… But I’m afraid we don’t have enough of it. It all equals a very tough job ahead for a GM that has never really impressed me much. Regardless, I’ll always be a Dolphins fan and I’ll always love hanging out with you degenerates (Except for Joe Dolfan….He’s weak). Here’s to a good offseason….We’re gonna need it.

I appreciate your grades each week. There is only one thing I want to add. You have given out a ton of D’s and F’s the last 3 weeks. Tua has not played well behind our OL with 13 different starting combinations this year and it only got worse near the end. I would agree that he has been soft against adversity. However, I would argue our entire offense starting from McDaniel’s play calling down has been soft against adversity. This team is more interested in celebrating TDs than playing 4 quarters of football. Injuries hurt the team a lot this year, but I think the culture needs to change if we want to be a contender. Guys like Eichenberg need to be cut. We need to bring in or draft a TE worth a damn in the passing game. We need to draft 1-2 IOL that actually have some fight in them (maybe a true center for the first time since Pouncey).

 

[gofins60]

This has been our pattern over and over. Flores was a DC who didn’t call the defense. Philbin was an OC who didn’t call plays. Sparano was never a coordinator. Gase was an OC-in-name-only who basically had Peyton Manning calling the offense.

We have a type. The type is the “hot name” with minimal experience running an offense or defense, much less running an entire team.

Right, and I've mentioned this over and over again. However, I never include Sparano, because Parcells was actually running the team until he split. Sparano was old-school and wanted a tough team, but his problem was that the GM and Front Office refused to use early draft picks on offensive skill position players. Tony had a good defense but an offense that had to settle for FGs instead of TDs due to a lack of talent. Sparano's OCs Dan Henning and then Brian Daboll were forced to run a vanilla offense because they lacked playmakers. So, I won't disparage Tony (RIP) because Parcells put him in that job and he did the best he could.

 

[DrMultimedia]

This has been our pattern over and over. Flores was a DC who didn’t call the defense. Philbin was an OC who didn’t call plays. Sparano was never a coordinator. Gase was an OC-in-name-only who basically had Peyton Manning calling the offense.

We have a type. The type is the “hot name” with minimal experience running an offense or defense, much less running an entire team.

Sparano had at least done OC at college for 4 years, and also head coach for 4 years. He took a small college to the championship game (I was actually there that year).

 

[Archaeopteryx]

The Tua grade seems unfair. It was cold, and the Chiefs players were covering his receivers, some of the Chiefs even chased Tua and tackled him. One Chief player was so mean to Tua that he caught a pass that Tua was trying to throw to a Dolphin receiver.

 

[ForksPhin]

Sparano had at least done OC at college for 4 years, and also head coach for 4 years. He took a small college to the championship game (I was actually there that year).

Hey, Cam Cameron had some college head coaching experience.

My point was that Sparano was never an NFL coordinator. He was an offensive line coach and a TE coach in the NFL.

We consistently take guys who were VPs and elevate them to CEO. For once, I want to hire someone else’s former CEO.

 

[royalshank]

Having a pop at Duke Riley when we all know nobody envisaged him playing at LB let alone in a playoff game says all we need to know. That team can't or shouldn't be put in a position to have that many players out and be expected to compete no matter the weather conditions or home or away. I stopped watching the games 3 weeks ago. Ravens, Bills and Chiefs. Anybody could see what was going to happen. Sorry to say that but the team hasn't the depth to even come close to backing up the players that have gone out injured.

No need to be sorry. You could indeed see it coming. Phillips injury really gutted me - I was at that game and we lost Holland too. Then the Chubb injury was the nail in the coffin where I felt any hope of a SB run go out the window. Last night they put a graphic up that showed our defensive starters who were out:

Howard
Phillips
Baker
Chubb
Van Ginkel
Holland

And they circled the edge guys and said “that’s 25 sacks not on the field” - basically half of our sack total. That’s also 4 pro bowl or near-pro bowl level players. And Baker - as we saw in the bit he played vs Buffalo - is a lot better than his backups.

Crazy thing is, even w the injuries, Fangio ran his mash unit well - the last two weeks the guys played well enough to win had our offense not regressed to the state that it did.

 

[royalshank]

Hey, Cam Cameron had some college head coaching experience.

My point was that Sparano was never an NFL coordinator. He was an offensive line coach and a TE coach in the NFL.

We consistently take guys who were VPs and elevate them to CEO. For once, I want to hire someone else’s former CEO.

Sparano was not a prior coordinator or HC
Philbin was not a prior coordinator or HC
Gase was not a prior coordinator or HC
Flores was not a prior coordinator or HC
McDaniel was not a prior coordinator or HC

All of our coaching hires under Ross have been “specialist” guys - run game coordinator, consultant to the pass game etc.

Just saying.

 

[ForksPhin]

No need to be sorry. You could indeed see it coming. Phillips injury really gutted me - I was at that game and we lost Holland too. Then the Chubb injury was the nail in the coffin where I felt any hope of a SB run go out the window. Last night they put a graphic up that showed our defensive starters who were out:

Howard
Phillips
Baker
Chubb
Van Ginkel
Holland

And they circled the edge guys and said “that’s 25 sacks not on the field” - basically half of our sack total. That’s also 4 pro bowl or near-pro bowl level players. And Baker - as we saw in the bit he played vs Buffalo - is a lot better than his backups.

Crazy thing is, even w the injuries, Fangio ran his mash unit well - the last two weeks the guys played well enough to win had our offense not regressed to the state that it did.

“Liked” this for the last sentence. With all of the injuries, the defense found a way to keep us in the games against the Bills and Chiefs. McD couldn’t find a way to do that on offense.

 

[Blake the great]

I haven’t heard anyone talk about how bad Kaden Kohou was this year.

Yeah he's regressed. But it's not as alarming as how bad our offense has been and how bad our QB play has been against good teams. Kohou is our 3rd CB after all and he was undrafted.

 

[Blake the great]

It’s time for the final grades of the season. The 4th coldest playoff game of all time was played in K.C. Tonight. It should have been played in Miami in 65 degree weather but our coaching staff and our QB choked away a 3 game lead in the division. The only word I can come up with is pathetic. On to the grades:

QB — F : If there were a grade lower than F, Tua would be getting it. Awful. Absolutely awful. The past 3 weeks for Tua have been sobering to say the least. There is no way I would pay Tua this offseason. Absolutely 0 Chance. Looking back…Tua was only good against the weak “Joe Dolfans” of the league. Against any team over 500…Tua was awful the entire season. Tonight was the pinnacle. I think we’ve seen Tua’s ceiling and that’s just not good enough. I don’t know what we do at QB going forward, but I do know it’s going to be a very rough offseason around here.

RB’s — C : These guys actually had a decent first half. Regardless, I’m not going to penalize them for running behind an Eichenberg centered OL. The future is actually bright here. If we can get another tackle and guard that are worth a ****, Achane can be VERY scary next year. Unfortunately, no one on this team was scary tonight.

TE — D + : This is definitely a place to upgrade next year. The blocking was average and their receiving abilities just aren’t there. They were their usual below average selves again tonight.

WR — D : At least Tyreek got his. He definitely wasn’t perfect but he was the only receiver that made a play. I’m not sure how having Waddle and Hill out there we didn’t have someone open all game….But keep in mind we had an awful QB throwing the ball tonight. A “D” is a solid grade here taking Tua into account.

OL — F : Just not good enough by the entire interior OL. Eichenberg must be cut this offseason. He’s a clown. Hunt had a horrible game. We need a tackle and a guard this offseason. Not to mention, we also need a center because Williams is a free agent. I know we have to keep Armstead around another year…But I really wish we could cut the cord on him. This is going to be a very rough rebuild on this line.

DL — D : No pash rush at all the entire night. Wilkins wants top 5 DT money? In my opinion, NO CHANCE. The only time anyone noticed him is when he got flagged for the roughing the passer call. He’s nowhere near a top 5 DT in the league. The only guy I keep is Sieler. He’s a dawg. Period. Time for a refresh of the entire DL.

LB’s — D : Duke Riley is absolutely clueless out there. On top of that the two hand touch of Mahomes was pathetic. I’m not sure how the best TE in the league is that wide open play after play….But that was an awful look for our LB’s. We need another edge rushing LB this year and definitely we need a MLB that can play the game. Not great tonight.

DB’s — D - : The rookie Rice tore this entire group to pieces. Is he that good? Obviously, these guys had no pass rush to help them out either. This isn’t breaking news but Kohou isn’t it. However, I actually like our secondary going into next year. One thing to mention though is Howard has to go in my opinion. We’re paying him a lot of money and he’s on the training table more than Armstead. OK…I exaggerate to make a point. But you know what I mean.

ST’s — D - : The only thing saving them from the F is Berrios. Bailey averaged about 6 yards per punt and while Butker was driving kicks through the end zone, Sanders was having trouble making it to the 20 yard line. If I’m in charge, Sanders and Bailey are cut tomorrow. Crossman doesn’t even get on the plane back to Miami.

Coaching — F : Again, Fangio did what he could with what little he had. He at least dialed up some blitzes. Regardless, I still blame him for the Titans loss. So…I’m not over that yet. McGenius? He proved he’s anything but. Can someone please explain to me why, with 10:30 on the clock in the 4th quarter and down by 3 scores…We didn’t run the hurry up? Anyone? That alone is a total failure. The play calling has sucked the past 3 games. While It’s too early to fire him… his seat should be getting warm next year if we can’t man up against a decent team. We’ll see what he comes up with next year… But as of now….I’m not impressed.

Conclusion: An absolute pathetic ending to what was a promising season. It’s distressing to me because I thought we had our QB. Now, I really doubt we do. I thought we had a very good HC. Now, I’m not so sure. When I look ahead, I’m not a feeling very positive. We’re over the cap. We have a lot of dead weight signed to some very long term deals that are tough to get out of. We have some young talent that really should get paid… But I’m afraid we don’t have enough of it. It all equals a very tough job ahead for a GM that has never really impressed me much. Regardless, I’ll always be a Dolphins fan and I’ll always love hanging out with you degenerates (Except for Joe Dolfan….He’s weak). Here’s to a good offseason….We’re gonna need it.

I agree man, I really question how far we can go with this squad (primarily with mcdaniel and Tua). Tua was very inconsistent. But he was consistently bad against good teams in big games. Good thing we played alot of bad teams this year otherwise we may not even make the playoffs and Tua definitely doesnt make the pro bowl without those crappy teams. And that's been a trend in his career not just this year. Same with McDaniel.

 

[ForksPhin]

Soaring was not a prior coordinator or HC
Philbin was not a prior coordinator or HC
Gase was not a prior coordinator or HC
Flores was not a prior coordinator or HC
McDaniel was not a prior coordinator or HC

All of our coaching hires under Ross have been “specialist” guys - run game coordinator, consultant to the pass game etc.

Just saying.

Yup, you’re reiterating my point. More embarrassingly, a few of them were called “coordinators” but they never had the real game day responsibility of coordinators.

I look at McD and I almost have a level of sympathy for him. He’s never called plays in his life. He comes here with the grand plan that he is going to call plays….while trying to learn how to be a head coach for the first time in his life. The combined learning curve is incredibly steep.

We see the results of this when we are wasting timeouts, getting to the line with the play clock draining, getting delay of game penalties in unacceptable spots.

 

[royalshank]

Yup, you’re reiterating my point. More embarrassingly, a few of them were called “coordinators” but they never had the real game day responsibility of coordinators.

I look at McD and I almost have a level of sympathy for him. He’s never called plays in his life. He comes here with the grand plan that he is going to call plays….while trying to learn how to be a head coach for the first time in his life. The combined learning curve is incredibly steep.

We see the results of this when we are wasting timeouts, getting to the line with the play clock draining, getting delay of game penalties in unacceptable spots.

Exactly. It was all too much for him. It’s one of the reasons I believe he’s terrible at challenges too. He’s not paying attention as a HC needs to but rather thinking about the next play call.

 

[Jeep]

Is it bad that I was rooting for White to play at about the middle of the 1st quarter?