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Bleacher Report: Lessons Learned from Preseason

Discussion in 'Miami Dolphins Forum' started by ckparrothead, Sep 3, 2013.

  1. ckparrothead

    ckparrothead Draft Forum Moderator Luxury Box

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  2. Zeke0123

    Zeke0123 message board ******* Club Member

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    Nice work Chris :) as usuall a pleasure to read.
     
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  3. gandalfin

    gandalfin Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Excellent write up, per usual. Very fair.
     
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  4. Samphin

    Samphin Κακό σκυλί ψόφο δεν έχει

    I always pump my own stuff...
     
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  5. Larryfinfan

    Larryfinfan 17-0...Priceless Club Member

    In your case, CK, pimp all you want... I have a bit more optimism than you do about some members of this team, that said, they still have to prove it. I'm not a believer that the stats tell the whole story, so including your film observations backs up most of your points...

    I particularly like the section on Gibson. It was perplexing why they signed him, especially as early as they did right after signing Wallace and having resigned Hartline just previous to FA starting. I saw him more of an outside receiver. Then you tie in what they've looked at with Binns, Bumphis, McNutt, etc and it's trend to that "every receiver can play every spot" mentality...Still too bad on Binns injury...

    I think the biggest hole this team has is at TE. Odd to me that we haven't seen some kind of movement from the annual NFL scrap heap this time of year. Although we could potentially see a pickup after week one... I'm really disappointed in Egnew...I thought he just might turn it around this year...likely, he'll be on the outside looking in if they see someone after week one they like...
     
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  6. Bumrush

    Bumrush Stable Genius Club Member

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    Time for you pimp Omar to the local crackhouse and take over for him :D
     
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  7. Alex13

    Alex13 Tua Time !!! Club Member

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    as always good stuff, hope you are wrong on the TE and RG stuff though
     
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  8. Ohiophinphan

    Ohiophinphan Chaplain Staff Member Luxury Box

    Well written and researched. Thanks.
     
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  9. ckparrothead

    ckparrothead Draft Forum Moderator Luxury Box

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    ?

    [​IMG]
     
  10. MikeHoncho

    MikeHoncho -=| Censored |=-

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    Actual analysis is such a breath of fresh air.

    I agree that Martin should look better this year no matter what if only because of Tannehill

    Sent from my LG-MS770 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
     
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  11. xphinfanx

    xphinfanx Stay strong my friends.

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    I hit it.


    Or clicked it. lol

    Nice write up, this is the week we can start counting the win loss record. Looking for more wins.

    Edit: If Tannehill could average 2.5 seconds with the ball he would be dangerous and more than likely stay healthy.
     
  12. ckparrothead

    ckparrothead Draft Forum Moderator Luxury Box

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    Thanks for the kind words.

    As for Gibson and the "every receiver can play every spot" mentality, this is cutting a fine point but I still believe that is largely a myth. Mike Wallace had exactly ONE snap from the slot all preseason, versus 52 snaps on the outside. Brian Hartline had 5 snaps from the slot, as opposed to 50 snaps on the outside.

    Brandon Gibson had 43 snaps from the slot versus only 6 snaps from the outside, and 5 of those perimeter snaps came in the Hall of Fame game when Gibson was a starter in place of Mike Wallace and Brian Hartline who sat out the game. What that means is when Wallace, Hartline and Gibson were all on the field playing, Brandon Gibson only took ONE snap out on the perimeter just as Mike Wallace only took ONE snap from the slot.

    So this stuff about them wanting receivers that can move around and play this position or that position, the coaches have still not shown that at all.

    The reason I think they prefer the style of player they have been shown to prefer at the slot is not because they plan on having that slot player move to the outside or because they plan on having the outside players move to the slot. It has to do with the routes you see the slot players running. When you're running a slant from an inside position on the field, it's nice for that player to be a bit bigger so that he provides a bigger target and can withstand the physical blow he's likely to receive as he comes across the middle. Look at the play to Chad Bumphis in the Saints game that ended up being intercepted. Devlin forced a ball that he shouldn't have forced, but if Bumphis were a bigger player then Pat could have thrown the ball higher and behind and asked the receiver to go up and get it. The play where Marvin McNutt scored a touchdown, that was sort of an out-and-up where he ran vertically along the sidelines. Against a different coverage it probably would have been more of a corner route into the hole between zones on the outside, but with the single coverage in that case he tagged the route vertically and the result was a long touchdown.

    It seems like Philbin has his slot receiver run a lot of routes where bigger players would pay a little bit more dividends than the smaller, quicker guys that can create more separation. Then again, they still use a lot of the routes where the smaller, quicker guys excel better as well. It's a give-and-take.
     
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  13. schmolioot

    schmolioot Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Good work as usual chris.

    The section regarding our overall lack of depth was most interesting/concerning to me.

    It's frightening that as poor as Martin is, we have absolutely no one to replace him should he get hurt. Similarly, Koa Misi is a complete JAG, but nearly irreplaceable on the team as constructed.

    We've seemingly been unable the last 10-15 years of developing and training quality depth at any position so that you have these seamless transitions when players depart via free agency or just get old. the Steelers never seem to run out of LBers for isntance and the next guy up is usually good for a Pro bowl or too. And this goes far beyond and Ireland/Philbin issue. This is a long occuring issue
     
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  14. Bumrush

    Bumrush Stable Genius Club Member

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    Is lack of depth typically correlated with poor drafting, post 3rd round?
     
  15. Claymore95

    Claymore95 Working on it... Club Member

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    A well written piece Chris, one of the better ones I've seen on Bleacher Report. I agree with most of it, especially the TE position, although I'm probably more optimistic (or maybe that's just plain hopeful!) that we'll be ok at RG.
     
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  16. Ohiophinphan

    Ohiophinphan Chaplain Staff Member Luxury Box

    I wonder if the move towards the bigger slot receiver came from a desire to be able to attack the middle of the field more effectively when you do not have the pass catching tight ends available to you?
     
  17. ckparrothead

    ckparrothead Draft Forum Moderator Luxury Box

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    Not going there.
     
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  18. ckparrothead

    ckparrothead Draft Forum Moderator Luxury Box

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    That was my thought as well. But it could also be that the tendency to have his tight ends working in the slot also comes from the same place.
     
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  19. Ohio Fanatic

    Ohio Fanatic Twuaddle or bust Club Member

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    good writeup CK.
     
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  20. PhinFan1968

    PhinFan1968 To 2020, and BEYOND! Club Member

    Good overall summarization there CK. Nice read. Refreshing to see an article where analysis and stats are used to back-up statements...we don't see that often enough.

    EDIT: Please post a link whenever you have an article up...I don't think any of us would see you as self-serving or conceited for it.
     
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  21. gandalfin

    gandalfin Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    I was of the mind that having Brandon Gibson was indeed the interchangeability. My thought as to why we didn't see that in preseason was that they simply did not want to show it, to tip their hand, as it were. I guess this is something that will become evident starting Sunday and on into the season. Certainly CK's point as to the routes that will be preferred for the slot and their going with a bigger receiver does make sense.
     
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  22. RevRick

    RevRick Long Haired Leaping Gnome Club Member

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    Thanks, Chris... that was a very good write up for some of us who know something, but don't have the time to dig into it the way you do now and you and your mates did before. You always help me understand the finer points I don't have time to sit down and study the way I'd like to study. Keep it up, Bro! And when you turn this into a profitable enterprise and write from your yacht, keep us old unknowns in mind.....
     
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  23. ckparrothead

    ckparrothead Draft Forum Moderator Luxury Box

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    Hah. There's no money to be had in sports writing. Even the well known guys don't exactly make that much money. You do it cuz you love it, or you don't do it at all, pretty much. :)
     
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  24. Bumrush

    Bumrush Stable Genius Club Member

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    I know you don't want to derail the thread with an Ireland debate, but I'll presume the answer is yes.
     
  25. djphinfan

    djphinfan Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    I'm thinking that while Gibson might of been a pretty average receiver on the outside, could it be that his talents were always more condusive to the slot and were getting a better player there than we or even him, originally expected?

    I thought our depth looked exactly how you and PFF interpreted their grades..

    I like the angle of reporting your perspective in conjunction with them..I think they are the most legitimate source of non bias quality grading you can find that doesn't have to do with empty stats..

    Man I wish we had Keller...besides Tannehill and Wallace, he was the most important offensive player we couldn't afford to lose..

    Yeatman had a couple of real nice appearances in the preseason..
     
  26. ckparrothead

    ckparrothead Draft Forum Moderator Luxury Box

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    I remain skeptical on Brandon Gibson but he had a strong preseason and I'll give him props for that. The drops and lack of focus bother me because those were issues I saw in his game back in St. Louis that bothered me. The lack of yards after catch bothers me as well because again, it's no surprised based on what we saw in St. Louis.

    But the way he's being used in Philbin's offense makes him potentially a viable player in the slot. I wouldn't characterize it as him being secretly good for the slot the whole time. I think there are quite a few systems out there where he'd be heinous in the slot. But Miami's system might not be one of them.
     
  27. dolfan32323

    dolfan32323 ty xphinfanx

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    Secondary still scares me the most. Hopefully the front 7 can mask some of those deficiencies and an increased pass rush will take some of the pressure off of our secondary.
     
  28. vt_dolfan

    vt_dolfan Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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  29. Lee2000

    Lee2000 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    CK,What do you really think of the Watkins swap for Samuda?
     
  30. ckparrothead

    ckparrothead Draft Forum Moderator Luxury Box

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    As it happens, I wrote about that.

    http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...stions-for-the-dolphins-2013-14-season/page/6

     
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  31. ckparrothead

    ckparrothead Draft Forum Moderator Luxury Box

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    I don't know anything about Watkins other than that his team made a decision to give up on him. I know why they say they did. I have an inkling that he didn't play well there. I haven't watched his tape either during the regular season or in the preseason.

    I do not like the decision to part ways with Josh Samuda. He's a physically gifted player, probably more so than Watkins, and he was only in his second year. He had some issues with hand use against quicker defensive tackles in pass protection. That doesn't mean he can't develop and do better. He came from UMass. He didn't start with the same base of knowledge and technique that other bigger program guys have. I would have preferred the Dolphins give him one more training camp.
     
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  32. Dol-Fan Dupree

    Dol-Fan Dupree Tank? Who is Tank? I am Guy Incognito.

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    Ireland tends to give up on young offensive linemen quickly
     
  33. ckparrothead

    ckparrothead Draft Forum Moderator Luxury Box

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    Older ones, too (Evan Mathis).
     
  34. MikeHoncho

    MikeHoncho -=| Censored |=-

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    Bumpiss should have faught for that ball.
     
  35. ckparrothead

    ckparrothead Draft Forum Moderator Luxury Box

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    Ball never reached any point in the air which he could have fought for it. The defensive back jumped like 8 feet in front of Chad Bumphis and tipped it up.
     
  36. MikeHoncho

    MikeHoncho -=| Censored |=-

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    Looked a lot closer live. He was facing the ball when it was thrown. Was waiting for the ball.
     
  37. ckparrothead

    ckparrothead Draft Forum Moderator Luxury Box

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    He was running a slant not a hook pattern or a comeback.
     
  38. MikeHoncho

    MikeHoncho -=| Censored |=-

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    He looked to have been stopped facng the ball.

    Sent from my LG-MS770 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
     
  39. maynard

    maynard Who, whom?

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    Yeah I pretty much avoid sites that make me keep clicking to access the content. But I will say that Bleacher Report is scaling up its quality, as evidenced by having CK write for them
     
  40. Lee2000

    Lee2000 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    I have always believed Philbin had a profile for receivers. And his moves have tended to reinforce that. He doesn't necessarily require guys as tall as Wallace or Tyms, but he appears to have a profile for minimum size. It looks more like about 5-11 and closer to 200. Collins, Bumphis, and Bess didn't meet that criteria. I am sure there will be exception, but in general that is what I see on the field, both in Miami now, and in Green Bay. The kid from Kentucky might be a tad under that size profile (Green Bay receiver).
     

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