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Ronin's Post Falcons Thoughts

Discussion in 'Miami Dolphins Forum' started by RoninFin4, Aug 9, 2014.

  1. RoninFin4

    RoninFin4 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    I won't go into detail since it's a preseason game and most things were pretty vanilla, so just positives, negatives, and general. Here we go.

    Positives:
    - Nice to see an opening drive go for a TD. I thought Tannehill took what the defense gave him and was efficient. Nothing spectacular, nothing bed-wetting.
    - While Atlanta doesn't boast a lot of pass-rushers, I still thought it was a nice job by the O-line in pass pro.
    - Landry, Gibson, and Matthews...probably can't cut any of them over another based on tonight. I thought they all did well and Landry had a nice punt return.
    - Brett Brackett made some things happen, but I'll be surprised if he's on the roster.
    - I thought both Earl Mitchell and Randy Starks did a good job of disrupting Atlanta's runs.
    - Koa Misi made some good reads and I thought his fits were solid; he got juked once, badly, but there's more to work with than I thought there'd be.
    - I think Philip Wheeler playing on the LOS will pay dividends down the road.
    - I like that both Louis Delmas and Reshad Jones can either play in the box or deep.
    - Will Davis has some head-scratching moments, but he's a pretty good athlete.
    - I was impressed with Anthony Johnson, Chris McCain, and Terrence Fede flashed.
    - Dion Jordan, other than the TD, looked pretty good against the run.
    - Jordan Tripp certainly has a quick trigger and is pretty athletic. I think once the game slows down for him, he'll have a chance to crack a starting lineup someday.

    Negatives:
    - Other than Shelley Smith, I think Miami's going to be on the lookout for cut O-linemen. Billy Turner clearly has potential, but he's got a long way to go.
    - Nate Garner, Sam Brenner, Jason Fox...what do they really give you?
    - Dion Jordan didn't do very much in the way of rushing the passer.
    - A.J. Francis almost looks too big now, and based solely on tonight, I don't see how you keep him around. Same goes for Isaako Aaitui.
    - Tackling in general wasn't very good. Some big whiffs from Walt Aikens and Don Jones. There were more.
    - Dannell Ellerbe just doesn't seem in the game. What is he looking at sometimes?
    - Seth Lobato. Miami better hope that Matt Moore gets healthy, Devlin too I suppose...and even then, if something happens to Tannehill I'd be pretty worried.
    - The D got caught with its pants down a few times when showing blitzes, starters on down to the JV's.

    General:
    - Despite missing some weapons, I think you can see the potential for the offense to create mismatches using all different personnel groupings.
    - Miller and Gillislee both ran more powerfully than last year.
    - The amount of penalties for illegal contact was absurd; that's got to change. Fast.
    - 5 that impressed me: Ja'Wuan James, Anthony Johnson, Jordan Tripp, Will Davis, and Terrence Fede.
    - 5 that didn't impress me: Seth Lobato, Jason Fox, A.J. Francis, Isaako Aaitui, and Don Jones.
    - Other than Damien Williams, I didn't notice any injuries.

    *Edit to the last point, I believe Barry Jackson noted that S Don Jones had to leave the game and limped off the field. I haven't heard anything else on it, but that may be something that comes to light today.

    *Edit 2: I re-watched the 1st team defense, and after review I feel a little better. If not for missed tackles by Misi (1), Ellerbe (2), they get off the field without allowing points. CK was also right about Ellerbe on the TD run. He got false keyed, I believe, unless Miami had a run blitz called and failed to scrape across the formation to make the tackle. Watching the play he backs out of the gap after two steps, so I'm guessing that there wasn't a run blitz called. That's sort of par for the course with Ellerbe, IMO. I'll have to rewatch Jelani Jenkins some more, but I think he...or even Jordan Tripp if they give him snaps at WLB, could both eat into Ellerbe's playing time this year.

    The biggest negative, to me, was the dump off to the back #35. Both Wheeler and Wilson took pretty bad angles to the ball on that play. That was kind of a theme for Jimmy Wilson on the night and that's concerning since it appears he'll be in line to replace Reshad Jones during Jones' suspension. Both Barry Jackson and Armando seemed to intimate that when Jones is out, Wilson will be at safety with Jamar Taylor getting snaps in the slot, based on what they've seen at practices thus far.

    All in all, better tackling, angles, and not having Koa Misi on the field in obvious passing situations should help as things move forward. Those would be by 3 quick remedies based on their play last night. Someone with a better understanding of pass drops and more speed would serve better than Misi in those spots. Question is, is does Miami have that guy? I want to say it's Jelani Jenkins, but...

    *Edit 3: Apologies to A.J. Francis. In the game thread I commented that Anthony Johnson saw the field before Francis. That was incorrect. On the first drive Francis is actually in for 2 snaps while giving Earl Mitchell a blow. Francis was in on one tackle on that drive. I'll be interested to see who it comes down to Miami keeping. With Dion Jordan suspended for 4 weeks, on the D-line you're going to have Wake, Vernon, Shelby at DE and Starks, Mitchell, Odrick at DT. I wouldn't risk Fede trying to clear waivers to make it to the practice squad - I think he's a guy you stash and develop. So, IMO, it comes down to a 2-horse race with Anthony Johnson and A.J. Francis. You've got two proven players that play where Francis does at 1-technique with Mitchell and Starks (plays there on occasion in base and predominantly in sub-packages) and two proven players where Johnson does at 3-technique with Starks and Odrick. My gut tells me to keep Johnson just because if you've got to extend Ryan Tannehill, it might become difficult to extend Jared Odrick as well, and Starks is only signed through another season after this one. It'll be interesting to watch.
     
  2. ckparrothead

    ckparrothead Draft Forum Moderator Luxury Box

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    I had Ellerbe as the missing man on that first touchdown run by Rodgers. Misi was aggressive attacking the blocker and sealing the outside. Ellerbe was the guy that should have been scraping behind him to meet the ball, but instead Ellerbe was trying to attack the middle even though the play was clearly flowing to the outside. That was Ellerbe's blown assignment.

    Dion Jordan took on a double team and still managed to make contact with the ball before he got into the end zone, he just wasn't in position to stop him.
     
  3. Dol-Fan Dupree

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

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    A. Johnson looked good, however so did K. Johnson.

    Jason Fox looked terrible.

    However to be honest, in comparing to last year, pass blocking was a billion times better. Laboto, for the most part, had time to pass the ball, especially when there wasn't any blitzes. Tannehill wasn't pressured once.

    I can't think of the last time I saw Miami's first drive of the first preseason game look that good. I am used to 3 and outs or 5 and outs or Henne throwing a terrible throw that causes an interceptoin and a 1,000 page thread on whether or not his terrible throw was a terrible throw.
     
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  4. ckparrothead

    ckparrothead Draft Forum Moderator Luxury Box

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    The big concern with what Koa Misi showed was not his whiffing on Jacquizz Rodgers. It was how stiff and useless he looked out in pass coverage. This had to be the fear with Koa Misi from the start, knowing he's now all the sudden trying to be a 1000 snap guy. I'm not sure I understand Philbin's logic. We graded Koa Misi high in this limited role he had that was customized to hide his weaknesses, so hey lets give him a completely new role in pass coverage that puts him in position to look foolish.

    Maybe that's an exaggeration but the coaches simply cannot act surprised that Misi looked lost out in coverage in the nickel packages.
     
  5. RoninFin4

    RoninFin4 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    I'll have to re-watch that play tomorrow morning. But, I'm not surprised with respect to Ellerbe.
     
  6. ckparrothead

    ckparrothead Draft Forum Moderator Luxury Box

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    Honestly they had no idea what was coming. That's what they looked like. And that's understandable as they'd intentionally done no research into what Miami would be showing them. They didn't know what type of plays to be on the lookout for.

    What you notice though is that they began to adjust. By Miami's second possession, they realized alright Miami is running these inside-zone plays. So they attacked the front side gaps when Miami was in an alignment from which you'd typically run inside-zone. That's when all the sudden the OL went from all five guys making good blocks, to suddenly it seemed like at least four out of five of them couldn't make a block in the run game to save their lives.

    Game-planning will ensure that nobody is shocked to see what Miami is running. Miami will have to be able to execute their counters and option plays.

    The one option play Tannehill executed on the first drive was ugly. Not at all the way that play should look when executed right.
     
  7. RoninFin4

    RoninFin4 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    I'd tend to think Misi would be more of a 2-down guy still, even if he is the Mike. I think the real question is who else do you put out there? I remember them using 3-3-5 alignments with Wheeler, Jordan, and Ellerbe last year. Perhaps that still ends up the case, but maybe with Jenkins...or even Tripp replacing Ellerbe.
     
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  8. dolfan22

    dolfan22 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

    As in any game there were some positives and flashes but overall there wasn't a lot that stood out . Of course with a 44th string QB and a lot of starters out that isn't all that surprising . Lots of missed tackles , poor angles and for all the fast talk , I didn't see it much , on either side of the ball.
     
  9. RoninFin4

    RoninFin4 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Anthony and Kamal Johnson, and I'd say Garrison Smith, all looked better than Francis, Aaitui and Reynolds.

    Atlanta played pretty vanilla defense, and when the best pass-rusher they threw against our 1's was Kroy Biermann, coming off a torn Achilles, I'd hope to see a performance like we saw tonight.

    I'm *almost* disappointed we're playing St. Louis in the 4th game. With Robert Quinn, Chris Long, and Aaron Donald, they'd present a BIG, maybe even too big, of a challenge for the O-line. The best Tampa Bay's going to throw at Miami is Michael Johnson, but other than that...Dallas has George Selvie and Jeremy Mincey.

    I think it's fair to ask if any of those a worthy matchup problem akin to what New England has with Chandler Jones, Ninkovich, Jamie Collins, and a host of interior DL players?
     
  10. ckparrothead

    ckparrothead Draft Forum Moderator Luxury Box

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    For some reason the Dolphins coaches don't want their Mike linebacker to be a 2-down guy. They don't want him to be leaving the field. It probably has to do with the fact that he's quarterbacking the defensive front and the guy responsible for a lot of communication. I believe he's even got a mic in his helmet.

    Really the Dolphins have nobody who will look good in coverage. Jelani Jenkins is fast and has range but is he actually GOOD in coverage? Jordan Tripp the same. Actually I noted in college he was particularly slow at reading routes and relating to his coverage responsibilities.

    There's no easy answer here.
     
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  11. Rocky Raccoon

    Rocky Raccoon Greasepaint Ghost Staff Member

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    The receivers are going to be Wallace, Hartline, Gibson, Matthews and Landry. I don't know how you cut any one of those guys. Gibson just continues to make plays and Matthews keeps getting better and better.
     
  12. TooGoodForDez

    TooGoodForDez Deion Sanders for GM

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    On a different note, I am loving the DB holding 5-yard penalties. I expect those will wipe out the majority of interference penalties which were spot fouls, which was terrible.
     
  13. dolfan22

    dolfan22 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

    Hush .... the I word .... otherwise they all are on the team imo.
     
  14. ckparrothead

    ckparrothead Draft Forum Moderator Luxury Box

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    Wow...what a collection of terrible play on that huge Antone Smith 70+ yard touchdown run which was called back on a ticky tack hold. Jelani Jenkins had just been called for defensive holding in coverage the play before, and then totally blew his run fit on the play, then Jimmy Wilson took a horrible angle, and then Walt Aikens took a terrible angle as well. Yeesh. Awful.
     
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  15. Dol-Fan Dupree

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

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    It is not the first time the other team had no idea what Miami was going to do. All the other times Miami looked terrible.
     
  16. Rocky Raccoon

    Rocky Raccoon Greasepaint Ghost Staff Member

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    Well, I did say none would be cut. Hopefully the "other" thing doesn't happen.
     
  17. A13OVEAVERAGE

    A13OVEAVERAGE Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    I know I'm going to be a little biased being a Dolphin fan, but that has to be one of the best wide receiver groups in the league. (As a whole, 5 receivers)
     
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  18. RoninFin4

    RoninFin4 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Using that as somewhat of a segue, have you looked into Chris McCain all that much? Just seeing him playing the way he was tonight almost made me think that Kevin Coyle is trying to find a more traditional version of guys that he and Mike Zimmer had in Cincinnati with Manny Lawson and Emmanuel Lamur (Zimmer only). Traditional in the sense that it's more of a true LB type than Dion Jordan. Tall, rangy, athletic types who offer some pass-rush ability off the edge.

    Both Coyle and Zimmer were there with Manny Lawson, and I suppose to a certain extent, Ahmad Brooks was trying to be molded into that guy in Cincinnati before that. Emmanuel Lamur emerged for a brief stint in Cincinnati in 2012, then got injured in camp and missed 2013, but they like him so much he's a solid lock to win their SLB job. Zimmer goes to Minnesota and they take Anthony Barr right off the bat.

    Coincidental, or is there more to that you think?
     
  19. A13OVEAVERAGE

    A13OVEAVERAGE Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    That was the play I pulled up talking to Mr. Clean about.. 12:46 left in second quarter. Bad bad bad.
     
  20. Rocky Raccoon

    Rocky Raccoon Greasepaint Ghost Staff Member

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    I don't know if it's one of the best in the league, but it's definitely one of the best groups we've had in YEARS. Really excited about them.

    And that doesn't even include Charles Clay.
     
  21. MrClean

    MrClean Inglourious Basterd Club Member

    I'm going to try to focus on Francis more when I see the replay. I thought I remembered him making a couple of nice stops in the game.

    The Rams front 4 would be the best test to get ready for the Pats' pass rush, I'd say. Tampa Bay could be too. Too bad our dress rehearsal game is Dallas. I just hope I don't have to listen to Dallas' crappy announcers. Babe Laufenberg, Michael Irvin, and some dude. They babble on like they are sitting in a bar drinking and not watching any game at all. Griese and crew are like Curt Gowdy and Al DeRogatis in comparison
     
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  22. Dol-Fan Dupree

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

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    Last preseason Miami couldn't handle any teams vanilla rushes. Moore and Devil had to deal with someone in their face every play.

    I know Atlanta has a terrible pass rush. I know they didn't run many stunts. I know that last year, even with that, we would not have seen such a performance that we saw tonight.

    I am not saying that the line is any good and will do great against good pass rushes. Just saying that in this game, they had a fine pass blocking performance. Something I haven't been able to write in a long time.
     
  23. Dol-Fan Dupree

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

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    One more thing I would like to add.

    Jarvis Landry looked athletic during his punt return. I could not imagine Bess making a similar one in that much traffic.
     
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  24. dolfan22

    dolfan22 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

    Understood and agree, can't see any wr unseating the ones you mentioned . Very solid , potentially a lot more . Kind of Green Bayish style , which isn't a bad thing .
     
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  25. MrClean

    MrClean Inglourious Basterd Club Member

    If that was a ticky tack hold, then 95% of them are ticky tack.
     
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  26. phinswolverinesrockets

    phinswolverinesrockets If he dies, he dies

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    9 of our 34 receiving targets went to running backs. Another staple of the Chip Kelly offense.
     
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  27. Rocky Raccoon

    Rocky Raccoon Greasepaint Ghost Staff Member

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    There were a ton of ticky tack calls all game long, on both sides. Seems to be happening all over the league.
     
  28. ckparrothead

    ckparrothead Draft Forum Moderator Luxury Box

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    I'm very familiar with Chris McCain's college work. I haven't gotten a chance to familiarize myself with his preseason game yet. I'm working on that now. Given how much weight he reportedly gained, it would not surprise me at all if he just looks flat out good. Strength was the biggest issue I had with him on the field as a linebacker. I thought someone might try and make the mistake of bulking him up and being a defensive end when clearly his strength as a player was playing in space as a linebacker. Miami isn't running into that issue as they have him linebacker all the way. So given those two things (him being used as a LB, him having bulked up to 250 lbs) it wouldn't shock me at all for him to be a really nice find.
     
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  29. RoninFin4

    RoninFin4 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Barry Jackson ripped Griese in his post-game notes; something about Griese didn't know Dennis Hickey was the GM or something?

    As for Francis, I remember one nice stop. But other than that I thought he didn't really get much push and just looked sluggish. As I said before, I think he may be too big now and I thought his quickness was lacking.
     
  30. Alex44

    Alex44 Boshosaurus Rex

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    I see it the opposite. The fix was to let corners be more physical again not flag them every play. Its unwatchable.
     
  31. phinswolverinesrockets

    phinswolverinesrockets If he dies, he dies

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    Almost half (15/34) of our pass attempts targeted our RBs and TEs.

    That is a good sign. I hope it continues.

    For comparison, the Eagles offense targeted their RBs and TEs 19/45 times today.

    Pretty similar percentages.
     
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  32. SICK

    SICK Lounge Moderator

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    All I watched was the first series (on miamidolphins.com)....will watch the game tomorrow morning. But holy **** that offense looks fun. Read-option quick screens?! Read-options, Tannehill made some nice progressions. Took what the defense gave him at times. Read-option, WR motion to flat for TD? That was too easy. Great stuff. Has me excited. And that was pretty vanilla from what we'll see in regular season.
     
  33. TooGoodForDez

    TooGoodForDez Deion Sanders for GM

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    Falcons started and played nickel, only 2 LBs throughout the scoring drive.
     
  34. TooGoodForDez

    TooGoodForDez Deion Sanders for GM

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    Better than the spot fouls imo.
     
  35. Lloyd Heilbrunn

    Lloyd Heilbrunn Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Nice first offensive possession.

    Poor first defensive series.

    Once upon a time , the Fins could tackle. Once upon a time , they actually tackled in practice. Coincidence??
     
  36. Lloyd Heilbrunn

    Lloyd Heilbrunn Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    He just had an old guy moment, lost his words on what the position was called.

    Did the same on number of guys on final roster.
     
  37. ckparrothead

    ckparrothead Draft Forum Moderator Luxury Box

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    Not even through with the first half and all I can say is Terrence Fede...WOW.

    Fede the Beast.
     
  38. A13OVEAVERAGE

    A13OVEAVERAGE Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Tonight I learned it is pronounced Fa-Day and not Feed and was thoroughly disappointed.
     
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  39. TooGoodForDez

    TooGoodForDez Deion Sanders for GM

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    The Misi MLB experiment maybe over before it started. I think they should move Ellerbe back to MLB, he is clearly the best LB in the group, and give Jelani time on the outside. Give Misi limited snaps as a backup.
     
  40. ckparrothead

    ckparrothead Draft Forum Moderator Luxury Box

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    Are you sure that's how to pronounce it? I heard an announcer pronounce it that way but that doesn't mean he was right.
     

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