Some Phans have chosen to judge our team, at least in part, after two disappointing losses. I cannot do the same this early in the season but, try to respect every Phan's opinion. I believe that many are into the "Off With Their Heads" mentality on the FO and coaches without looking fairly at the players. Let's take a closer look, after only two games, at the complete picture to decide what is fact or fiction. I base the rankings on PFF. Miami's Defense is the absolute worst in the entire NFL, ranked at #32. Miami's pass coverage is the absolute worst in the entire NFL @ #32 Miami's run D is the absolute worst in the entire NFL @ #32. Miami's pass rush is # 29. DC Nolan, who we all loved last year has forgotten how to coach D, and should now be the HC. NT/DT- Soliai is ranked at #33. Maybe he should have come in worse shape, with less money. DE/3-4- Starks is #6 because of his run D. Odrick is #17, Merling is #24, and Langford is #31 of 31 listed. I'm with Sparano on this one, no idea what is wrong. OLB/3-4- Wake is #9, Misi #15, and JT #21. This is not bad but, Wake has not been "Wake." ILB/3-4- Dansby is #46, and Burnett is # 48. NOT what we planned for. Is Crowder a better fit? S- Bell is #60, and Jones is #65. Somewhat expected but not this bad. CB's- Davis is #60, Smith is #65. Some injury problems but, not getting it done. D Summary- I see nothing but fiction in the two games o,r I was dead wrong on every player, and last season was a fluke for each and every one of them OC Daboll has been not liked, liked, and questioned by many. My jury is still out, as I give him some time for a new O, and little time to install it. Miami is the #14 O in the NFL. Miami is #13 in passing. Miami is #14 in running Miami is the absolute worst pass blocking OL in the NFL @ #32. Miami is the #9 run blocking OL. QB- Henne is ranked at #6. He is a different player but, that is way too high. I'm hoping for #12 at year's end. RB- DT is at #22. and Bush is #54 of 54. My jury is out on both. WR- Marshall is tied at #7, Hartline is at #38, and Bess is #75. I defer to posters. TE- Fasano is at #30. One VG receiving game and forgotten. His blocking is way off. C- Pouncey is at #3. He has been VG, so far. G- Carey is at #53, and Cog at 61. Horrible in game 1, much better in game 2 for both. OT- Jake is at #30, and Columbo is at #59. One has been a bad in coming back, the other just bad. Special Teams are at #29. Fields is Great. Carp has not been. Everyone else has been average at best. There is the run down. After looking at how our players have played, I defer to "The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy" in saying "DON'T PANIC." Fact or Fiction?
Miami D: Phact. Until they get in shape, learn to tackle and play fundamentally sound, they will continue to struggle OC/Offense: Phiction. I actually feel pretty good about them and expect improved performance as they continue get get comfortable with the new offensive scheme and the OC learns how to effectively use each player's skills. I said Phiction because I feel they will become better than mediocre.
Fiction, the D will come around, no worries on that score. Do think Merling will play better as the season rolls along OL, total unknown, do think that unit cohesion has yet to develop, but then again, Henne went for 410 and Thomas for 107, so let us have some context here. And you skipped ST again SB what are they doing as a whole?
How did the same players, with the same DC, suddenly forget how to tackle and play fundamentally sound from a year ago? The D has gone from #1 (PFF last year) to dead last in the first two games. In no way can I see that as a Phact for the year. Does not compute.
Ya gotta read my post to the end Padre. If ya do, you will read that ST's are ranked #29, and Carp has something to do with it.
Sure he has, he was ranked as high as Langford the last time he started for us in 09. As for ST's SB, "average at best"..show my guys some love!
Simply must comment: VD has been on ST's since he was a rookie, Starters do play on ST's especially when the guy whose job he was doing was out with a quad injury.
For whatever it's worth, some here, myself included, wanted to sign a FS. Weddle is at #64, Mickell is at #71, and my choice Huff is at #25. As I posted many a time, I wanted to cut Bell, take the savings to sign a legit FS, and move Jones to SS. Jones has been out of position a lot but, he is playing out of position by being a FS. At RB, De Williams is at #52, Ingram (my 1st rounder) is at #47, tied with Ricky. Sproles is at #28. I did like Thomas but, liked Ingram more. DT has looked good but, one game means little vs the Houston front 7. Is Bush a BUST after two games? I think NOT. My point of this thread is that if ya wanna give up on this team, coaches, and the FO, you have to give up on the players as well. Aside from Henne and Marshall, who have both had their problems, each and every player has been worse than last year. Anyone want to clean house, and start over?
MB, I have enjoyed reading many of your posts. However, calling Sparano a "dummy" is childish at best, and FAR below your established standards. Disappointing. JMO
2 games in impossible to tell anything SB, or better said, only the basic things: Offense "okay" Defense "poor" ST "needs work" YB and Jones poor showing is probably the most disappointing thing so far.
Thank You Padre, the voice of reason. There is not a whole lot you can sort out in the first two weeks, coaches, FO, players, or teams, especially with the lockout. I believe that we played two of our tuffest games of the season to start, and things will balance out in the coming weeks. It is gonna happen.
Well, that is a dual edged sword SB, on the one hand, it is yr #4, we should expect to have at least won one of those first two games vs playoff caliber teams, the other side is, it makes the Browns game even more crucial as this is a team we really should beat and not through a series of extraordinary plays, but by making the plays they should make in the first place. You know "catch the damn ball" or "use assignment discipline on Defense" and "win your one on one matchups consistently" We don't need 400 yds out of Henne for this one, just..do your job. Here is a good example from what I've read Massaquoi the Wr is dinged, Greg Little will play this game, Greg Little is a physical beast, however in the Brown's offense, he is somewhat toothless just based on their offense, Reshad Jones knows this and so does Nolan Carroll, if they just do their job Little won't go off, however if Jones is gambling and NC is using proper leverage on Little, he will torch him. So far, neither thing has happened, it's just smart football and it has not been happening, if McCoy wants to dink and dunk that's fine, just do not give up the whole enchilada, which happened with Welker and Andre Johnson, as a player you simply cannot let those kinds of players beat you through not knowing your job. Make them do a leaping spin on the back corner of the EZ and then tap both feet down, something.
Should play out like an opera for Tony. He's got to steady the ship, but he's sailing in deep waters.
It seems as though the shortened pre season has affected the Dolphins more than other teams. Truthfully I saw a lot of double teams on Wake. I think Solder's primary responsibility was Wake and he usually had help in a running back or someone else. Maybe they will surprise us this week and finally get it all together, sure would be nice.
I felt they were deficient last year too. Its not simply about numbers but things like how often does the first defender make the tackle. How soon does help arrive and from what position, where they should be, taking the correct angles etc. I see a lot of the same problems this year. When compared to superior defenses they pale in comparison. What I like to see is a bubble around the ball carrier to prevent extra yards a big plays, too often its not there for us as it is for a top 5 D. Not to say our D is bad, its just more middle of the road than the numbers indicated. Just my observations. If you wanted everyone to say Phiction well, sorry to disappoint.
0-2 is too early to tank the season. Just like 2-0 would be no reason to think we were going to the playoffs. However,having said that it`s really frustrating watching this team play so poorly thus far. To me they seem uninspired, unprepared, slow,mental mistakes...... I know the pre-season was rushed but the fault still falls on Sparano`s shoulders. Its his job to right the ship in a hurry and although I like him, I`m all for a change if this team don`t focus soon and win some games.
Seems to me the rankings are exponentially skewed given the limited scope of only two games. Each successive week (with even measured success) should buffer the rankings to more moderate levels of comparisen, or in our case, ballooning ineptutude. That of course, is barring any lasting freefall, or conversely any precipitous windfall, of team-wide playmaking fortuity. I'm convinced were riding out another slow start, due to recurring problems in evaluating and percieving this team's readiness to compete. Typically, once the season kicks off, our shortcomings are revealed, and eventually addressed, our talent gets up to speed. This year otoh, with compounded complexities in preparing the team, added expectation, and having two lethal opponents filling out our "to do" punchlists, Dolphindom is reeling.
I noticed that Sparano basically used this excuse to justify why the defense has played so poorly at the beginning of the season. My question is, how do players who are paid millions of dollars a year and have been playing the game since they were young kids, suddenly have no idea how to tackle or play fundamentally sound football? When a head coach uses excuses like these to explain the terrible play of his players, it says a lot more about his coaching ability then it does about the players ability on the football field.
I saw Scherith (sp) on ESPN who said that because of the lockout the first two games were like an extension of pre-season games, and that vet teams with few changes had a big advantage. I think that is a fair assessment, and do consider it on our 0-2 start.
We are not the only team who is having problems on D to start the season. It appears to be league wide. Normally the D is way ahead of the O to start the season. This year is the exact opposite, and the lockout has to be blamed.
I really don't care how the other 31 teams play. What I do notice though is that there are only seven teams in the NFL right now who are 0-2, and the Dolphins are one of these teams. So while this so called lack of tackling and fundamentally sound play may be blamed partly on the lockout. The fact coaches on 25 other teams, who are not 0-2 right now, have players who were locked out also, clearly shows that blaming the lockout for his teams poor play is nothing but an excuse. The good coaches don't make excuses, they fix the problem.
SB, I am not even going to try to argue that calling Sparano a dummy is mature. It's not. But I hold an honest opinion that Sparano lacks the IQ points needed to be an effective head coach in this league. I've worried about this since his opening speech after taking the head coaching job from his low brow way of speaking. My fears were somewhat assuaged by the 2008 season. Then 2 losing seasons and a lot of head scratching decisions have brought them back to the forefront. I'm now of the firm belief that the 2008 season had very little to do with Sparano and much more to do with Pennington, and the Wild Cat taking teams by surprise. Sparano had very little to do with the Wild Cat. So calling Sparano "coach dummy" is my admittedly childish way of very succinctly saying "I don't think he's smart enough to coach in the NFL." I think he's a great hard nosed football guy that will make a fine assistant somewhere. He's in over his head as a head coach, IMHO. The inconsistency of this team is a direct reflection of our head coach.
That's fair MB but, come up with something better than "Coach Dummy." For example, a friend hated the Big Three, and called them Three Blind Mice with animated mice to boot. I did not agree but, it was/is funny. You have some work to do.
