I agree on almost all. Smith did gain 10 pounds of muscle, showing his commitment, and is noticeably better in tackling. Although he is not adapting quickly to Nolan, I had hoped for more on his cover skills. I do believe this will come. Hartline has been to "recipient" of Henne's worst passes. He has been getting open more than last season, and could have much better numbers.
Actually, Jason Allen has 3 Ints. Two in Min game (should have been 3 minus the Sapp offsides gaffe) and one yesterday vs. GB. Should have had another that was giftwrapped at Buffaloe. He's GOT to be the most improved. Yes, VD has lifted his game to a high level, and yes he's the better corner, and yes he might make the pro bowl this year, but you've got to remember, Jason Allen was a gnat's butt crack from being washed down the river forever, now he's leading our defense in Ints. THAT is a shift in quality that surpasses all others I can see.
Can you recall any other pass rusher getting into a 4 point stance? I've been tryin to sort out why Wake does that. I'm thinking that he has an option as to whitch arm comes first into the blocker which may be a bit of an advantage. Yet, he does lose that split second to raise the arm.
Simple really. Having played as a Nose Tackle I can tell you that not only does the four point stance afford you better position to gain leverage when first engaging an OL, but the amount of concentrated "burst" you can generate out of a 4 vs. 3 point stance in unquestionably higher. Why? From a 3 you tend to stand up too quickly, although you do have much better balance if you decide to change direction a moment after the snap. From a 4 it's more directionally focused. You're going forward and fast. No two ways about it.That's why sprinters use it.
Thanks for the input ST Lou. I have seen the stance used by Olympic sprinters and NT's. I have not on DE/OLB but, you now shed light on the subject. If I understand correctly, going straight ahead your "locomotion" is increased but, moving side to side you lose maybe half a step. Maybe Wake is on to something. Thanks again.
The four-point stance is becoming more popular and a lot of players use it if you really look, especially on pass rush downs. It's all about the first step. That's really all it is, getting the deepest first step possible and then working off it. I hate to say that Jason Taylor made the thing popular but there was a point in the mid-2000's when he started to experiment with it more because he liked the first step he could get off it and he's been using it ever since. I think it's more popular in college on passing downs and it's filtered into the NFL since the NFL has become such a pass heavy league.
Jason Allen has had 2 potential interceptions carom right off his hands, one against Buffalo and another one yesterday against Green Bay. Combine those with his official 3 interceptions and the 1 interception against Minnesota called back on that penalty, the guy could potentially be sitting pretty at 6 interceptions in 5 games. Pretty unbelievable. Especially considering he was dog food against the Jets and Patriots, and really just 'ok' against the Bills. Extreme volatility in his play from game to game.
Wake has given credit to JT for his improvement. In hindsight, one more year with JT may have been even more special for Wake.
I don't think Cameron Wake needed one more year with JT. He's special already. What he has needed to become everything he could be is repetitions and he arguably wouldn't be getting those if he had to deal with Jason Taylor's presence. Wake had 240 snaps before this GB game. Only Karlos Dansby, Chris Clemons, Yeremiah Bell and Vontae Davis had more. Those reps, and all the time and reps he spent at the position in camp (Sparano kept pointing out he had the most reps of anyone, while everyone was obsessed with whether it was 1st string or 2nd string) have been helping him tremendously to get where he is. I criticized the front office for their ditching Jason Taylor but until/unless there's an injury and our lack of pass rusher depth gets exposed (knock on wood, twice)...it appears they made the right call, through five games this year.
For me, Davis, who is playing like a shutdown CB Bess just keeps getting better and better... and he is starting to score TD's Wake going from a situational pass rusher to full time player
Jason Allen is one of the most shocking improvements I've seen as a Dolphins fan. Talk about a guy completely turning the corner from solid special teamer to solid starting cornerback. That doesn't happen every day. I don't even think there was small talk on this site about him being anything more than 5th CB/ST. Hell, people had Nolan Carroll ahead of him in their mock depth charts. Some didn't have him making the team. I think the Miami Herald had him "on the bubble" in their roster projections heading into preseason play. Others: Vontae Davis, Cam Wake, Davone Bess, Chris Clemons. Though I'm not too sure how improved Cam Wake is because I thought he was held back by the defense we ran last year, and I don't think he got enough reps. Every time he stepped on the field last season he made an impact and his pass rush presence was felt.
I would add Davone to the list. Marshall has helped, but the guy has seemingly taken his game to, dare I say, an elite level. I see him playing better ball...not by much as I think he was outstanding last year (especially on third down), but improved nonetheless. HD, very true. I would have to say Jason Allen is most improved as far as what we had previously and how he is playing now. We are not talking a small improvement with Jason Allen.
The JT decision is debatable, and I can see both sides. I believe having him around would have helped Wake some in his continued improvement vs the run, in coverage, and vs double teams. This is really the first time Wake is seeing a lot of things in game conditions. JT has been through them thousands of times. I do agree on the reps, no replacement for those. However, I think JT would have taken most reps away from Misi, which may not have been a bad thing.
I agree that JT being here would have primarily impacted Misi. I think where he would have been most helpful was while we were missing Ike. It also would have hurt the Jets while they were missing Pace.
I was one who saw Jason as a 5th CB/ST. It was easy, at the time, to see Davis, Smith, and Will Allen fighting to start with Carroll as #4. Jason Alen's turnaround has been remarkable.
