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What Bye Week Adjustments should be made?

Discussion in 'Miami Dolphins Forum' started by padre31, Oct 16, 2012.

  1. padre31

    padre31 Premium Member Luxury Box

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    We've won 2 consecutive games, after losing 2 OT games, what adjustments would my fellow Dolphins fans like to see made?

    -If we are getting little out of Clay, why not play Egnew?
    -Richie Incognito is beginning to regress, could be his skillset does not fit the zone scheme, maybe shake up the OL?
    -Gaffney is inserted into the lineup
    -Marcus Thigpen maybe should get some touches on offense if Reggie Bush is not 100%
    -Would like to see Javorskie Lane have some touches as well, Daniel Thomas has had 2 concussions already this year, Miller or Thigpen cannot offer what Thomas does but Lane could.

    Defense is playing well enough, we get Richard Marshall back, but I'm not feeling Chris Clemons, if they are determined to keep Marshall at Cb then perhaps Jonathon Amaya should be offered some opportunities?

    ST:

    I'd almost have to schedule some workouts for FA kickers over the Bye.

    Any other ideas?
     
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  2. arsenal

    arsenal Sunglasses and advil

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    - work in more screens and getting Reggie out in pass patterns, basically find other ways to get him the ball
    - Gaffney involvement and possibly more 4 wide sets
    - Work Fasano/Clay more up the seams, Fasano has not been used to stretch a LB/S all season it seems
     
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  3. brandon27

    brandon27 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    I want to see the following:

    - Gaffney inserted into the lineup in hopes we can open up the passing game more, so our opponents can start to fear our passing game a bit, which will open up our running game
    - Lamar Miller getting some touches. Nevermind DT unless its maybe short yardage. Thigpen? No thanks. I'd rather us try and develop the guy we drafted to be our RB
    - Tannehill taking more shots downfield. Carefully though, I know he's being smart right now, taking what the D gives him, especially under pressure. Of course, in order for that to happen, our WR's need to get separation downfield.
    - I would also want to work out some FA kickers, not that I'd replace Carpenter rigth now, but just to maybe give him some extra motivation to get back on track.
    - More Reggie in the passing game. He's our only playmaker, get the ball in his hands.
    - I'd like to see some Rishard Matthews as well. He had success in the preseason, of course it was against scrubs, but I'm sure we could get him some reps over Moore. Although I assume Matthews is too raw, and Moore is the better special teams guy, so I doubt this will change, bud I'd like it to.
    - The OL needs to get its stuff together too with run blocking. Teams are crowding the line, filling the box etc, but they're not getting much push off the ball either as was seen against the Rams when we needed short yardage, and our OL was pushed backwards, rather than them pushing forward.


    Im sure there's some little things I'd say too, but they probably arent as worth talking about as much as the above.
     
  4. Ohio Fanatic

    Ohio Fanatic Twuaddle or bust Club Member

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    I think you're way too ready to bench some of the players to get playing time for guys like Amaya and Thigpen. Our offensive line struggled against a very good Dline in the Rams. benching Cogs for someone unproven is not the answer.

    to respond to your original question, for the Jets, we need to work on either Hartline or Gaffney getting open deep, depending on whoever Cromartie is not covering at the moment. Utilizing Fasano more would be nice.
     
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  5. padre31

    padre31 Premium Member Luxury Box

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    What does it matter if we drafted Miller or not?

    We didn't draft Wake, or Bess.
     
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  6. Dorfdad

    Dorfdad Well-Known Member

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    Agree Screens and short routes.. Reggie needs to run straight up instead of dancing behind the line all the time. We need to get the TE more involved as well.

    We need to get up by 10 so I stop having palpitations ever 4th quarter as well!
     
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  7. MonstBlitz

    MonstBlitz Nobody's Fart Catcher

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    Like everyone has already touched on, they just need to figure out the 3rd WR situation. Whether it's Gaffney, Moore, Armstrong, etc. just get it figured out so Miami can get production out of the 3rd WR.
     
  8. GMJohnson

    GMJohnson New Member

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    Brandon27 had it right IMO, gotta find more ways to get Bush in space b/c just handing him the ball won't work when teams are stacking the box. Our down field passing game problems aren't going to be solved until we get better players, but more screens could be useful. I'd also like to see more rollouts and bootlegs, give Tanne a chance to use his mobility and more time for our WRs to get open.
     
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  9. GMJohnson

    GMJohnson New Member

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    Our 3rd WR is Bess, Hartline is 4th, what we're missing is a 1 and a 2.
     
  10. Ohio Fanatic

    Ohio Fanatic Twuaddle or bust Club Member

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    complete load of crap. please catch up. Even the pessimist should claim Hartline is a 2 and Bess is a 3.
    what we're missing is a stud pass-catching TE and a 3rd WR.
     
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  11. padre31

    padre31 Premium Member Luxury Box

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    This is one of the reasons why I advocated for Thigpen to get some touches IF Reggie Bush is not 100%, this was his role in the CFL and he was quite good at it, and Miller has -0- experience doing this as a pro so it would make more sense for Thigpen to fill in rather than Miller.

    Tannehill has to know his rb/receiver will run the proper route etc.
     
  12. Disgustipate

    Disgustipate Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Get Jabar Gaffney up to speed.

    Help Reggie Bush get his head out of his ***.

    Come up with a coherent plan to get Lamar Miller on the field but limit his liabilities
     
  13. uab_phin

    uab_phin New Member

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    Giving Egnew a chance is a great idea, and if he's just not a capable blocker why not try splitting him out at receiver?

    I would rather that we avoid shaking up the O-line so we don't have some of the issues that we had with the last coaching staff.

    My concern with Thigpen is often his decision making on punt returns is questionable which has caused them to put Bess out there punts that are likely to go in the Red Zone. Is it possible that he has struggled learning the Offense?

    What I am really excited to see is if Tannehill makes twice the progress that he's been making from game to game.
     
  14. GMJohnson

    GMJohnson New Member

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    Child please. Watch some tape and then you'll see what professional DCs think of Brian Hartline.

    If he's the 2 then we're an injury away from having the same problem we have now. If he's a 4 then we have a very good WR corps with solid depth.
     
  15. GMJohnson

    GMJohnson New Member

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    It's strange man. Thigpen is listed at RB but even during the preseason he wasn't getting many reps there. He hasn't gotten any during the regular season at all. My best guess is that he doesn't know the playbook and/or hasn't shown anything in practice to earn snaps. Same with Egnew. As for Miller, even he admits he's not running hard or performing well in pass pro. The botched audible vs NYJ was embarrassing. I'm split on the kid, he needs reps, but he has to earn them. Bush needs rest, but Tannehill needs protection. The Rams game was an outlier, we only ran the ball 13 times as a team, and one was a fake punt. Hopefully Miller will earn the coaches trust then go in the game and produce, either way, we gotta find some ways to get better looks for the run game. I don't care who's running/blocking, if the LOS is being flooded the way it has been for the past few weeks then we aint gonna be able to do much.
     
  16. padre31

    padre31 Premium Member Luxury Box

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    Guess they think Clay can do more things so if it is the #2 Te, you're better off with Clay.


    Richie has not played well imo, and he is starting to draw those dummy flags, at some point he may have to be replaced.

    That does not follow, returning punts, and imo Bess has made some of the same questionable decisions, and learning the offense are utterly different things.

    Offense is not really producing enough points some changes are probably in order.
     
  17. Nappy Roots

    Nappy Roots Well-Known Member

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    No body else is a little concerned we have given up 1700 yards passing through 6 games while facing the likes of Mark Sanchez, Kevin Kolb, Carson Palmer and Sam Bradford?

    All those QBs put their season high on us. Its a little concerning to me..
     
  18. xphinfanx

    xphinfanx Stay strong my friends.

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    Maybe look at putting D Thomas on IR and replace him for awhile with a solid North and South running back until his head is safe to hit again. Reggie seems to be scared of contact atm and dancing way to much he should be involved more in screens.
     
  19. GMJohnson

    GMJohnson New Member

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    The yardage stats aren't pretty (28th) but they don't tell the whole story. We're 2nd in ATT against with 254, so teams are passing a lot. YPA we're 13th with 7.2. Completion % is 55.7, good for 5th best. 7 TDs allowed in 6 games is good for 12th, and half the teams ahead of us have had bye weeks already. 7 INTs caused is 9th best. Overall passer rating against we're ranked #8 in the league.
     
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  20. brandon27

    brandon27 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    I hear ya pads... I just think that Miller has more potential to be a better back. Id rather get him up to speed as quickly as we can. All I meant really, was that we have more invested in Lamar Miller at this point. He's obviously shown more if he's already gotten touches in the regular season, and preseason. If they are carries we're looking for from our RB, put the load on miller.

    If you want to use Thigpen in a Reggie Bush kind of role in the slot, or for screen plays, I'm all for that. We did that with him in the preseason. Im on board with that.

    But from a traditional RB standpoint, handing off the ball in a back up role to Reggie, I'd rather see Lamar Miller there.
     
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  21. jsizzle

    jsizzle Banned

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    I want to get DT healthy, he had some nice runs vs the Jets last game. Spread Reggie out wide and have DT in the backfield. Now THAT opens up some options.
     
  22. GMJohnson

    GMJohnson New Member

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    There's the play where Bush comes in motion on the jet sweep look and we throw the play action to Lane going the other way. It'd be nice to see DT in that spot, maybe some counters off of it, a throwback to Bush after the fake, etc. All kinds of options, though I kinda get the feeling the coaches are still putting in the base playbook.
     
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  23. brandon27

    brandon27 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    No doubt that is very concerning, however at this point, I don't know what else we can do. I think getting Richard Marshall back will help, but we just lack depth at corner, and Im still not thrilled with Chris Clemons. Until we can improve upon that depth, and that talent, I don't know what we can do with the pass D really. One thing that can really help them out is more pressure from the pass rush. If Vernon has indeed "arrived" with his game last week that may help for sure. Aside from that, I just think we're stuck with making due with what we've got for now.. which is unfortunate.
     
  24. HULKFish

    HULKFish Artist and Scribe

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    I think it is incredible how we won with a defense playing like UTTER garbage on Sunday! Sean Smith looked out of position MOST of the game to me. We couldn't stop the run or pass... MOST of that win was on Tannehill making wise and timely decisions. The O-line looked like garbage after looking so good most of the season. That made NO sense to me. They rolled a safety over on Hartline most of the game, pre-snap! So we had a couple games end badly after playing well, and finally got a win that we didn't necessarily deserve.

    NOW, Bye week, and moving forward! Gotta get Marshall back, while hoping Carroll got enough experience to be a solid #3. Try to salvage something from signing Gaffney, and Armstrong. Get Burnett healthy. Wake needs to step up like JT used to, and don't allow a team to beat him! Maybe give Egnew a shot as Clay is WAY too erratic catching the ball. Get Fasano involved on a regular basis; run some posts etc. deeper routes. Allow the RB's to attack the middle of the field on passing plays. Maybe move Hartline around a little? Anyway, there is PLENTY of room for improvement...
     
  25. first&goal

    first&goal Luxury Box Luxury Box

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    I would like to see Armstrong if healthy, to stretch the field, which I thought why we got him
     
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  26. MikeHoncho

    MikeHoncho -=| Censored |=-

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    Um. Smaller uniforms for the cheerleaders.
     
  27. Stringer Bell

    Stringer Bell Post Hard, Post Often Club Member

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    Ideally figure out which WR/TE/RBs you can incorporate into the offense that haven't seen many snaps (Armstrong, Miller, Egnew, Gaffney, etc.)
     
  28. padre31

    padre31 Premium Member Luxury Box

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    Same here, I'm surprised at how much he's been frozen out so far, a couple of screen attempts when he first arrived, then a hammy tweak, now you rarely see him in the offense.
     
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  29. padre31

    padre31 Premium Member Luxury Box

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    Have to say I'm a bit surprised that no one suggested trading for a Wr.

    KC, Oakland, NOLA all would figure to be willing to part with a Vet Wr
     
  30. Samphin

    Samphin Κακό σκυλί ψόφο δεν έχει

    I'm Not sure anything drastic needs to happen. The tackling looked sloppy against St. Louis and defensive pursuit was a step behind where they normally are. So defensively, I would focus in on securing the tackle first, then having the pursuit guys work on stripping the ball. I saw a lot of the initial hitters ripping and allowing the ball carriers to get a couple of extra yards or full on break a tackle.

    As for the offense, I think a focus on having the blockers know their responsibilities, particularly on blitz pick ups. Tannehill has been outstanding in seeing the coverages and pointing out the extra rushers, but we haven't been tremendous in the execution. Simply doing that will make our offense much better, in my opinion.

    I don't know if I make any changes to the starting lineups on either side. The 3rd receiver spot is open and should be treed as such in practice the next two weeks. And Carpenter, I believe will be back to his normal self after nailing that kick against St. Louis. A huge weight looked like it came off his shoulders. That being said, he should be kept on a short leash.

    I also wouldn't mind seeing Egnew start to have a roll. Like others said, if his blocking is that bad, maybe we try lining him up as more of an h-back or in the slot and see if he can't create some mismatches against a linebacker/safety. That really isn't Fasano's game as he is more of the jack of all trades veteran. Nothing spectacular, nothing bad. Very much like a better version of Justin Peelle for yesteryear.

    But short of that and someone telling Reggie to take the yards he is given BEFORE he starts to create, I think we jut continue to improve as a unit going forward.
     
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  31. padre31

    padre31 Premium Member Luxury Box

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    Sammy?!?

    Did not know you had a parole hearing bro, good to see you back on the street.
     
  32. shouright

    shouright Banned

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    If I were Philbin I would be figuring out which third wide receiver I wanted to settle on for the rest of the season, and have that guy work on his timing with Tannehill on deep routes, especially off of play-action. Otherwise, the strategy the Rams used against us, in which they staked eight in the box and bracketed Hartline with the other safety, stands to shut down the big play potential of the offense for the rest of the season.

    Something has to be done during the bye week to remedy that IMO. I don't think you can go forward in the season with much success when teams have essentially figured out how to make your offense sputter. You have to counter that somehow if you want to get anywhere this season.

    We need to settle on that third receiver -- whether it be Armstrong, Gaffney, or Moore -- and get a rhythm going between him and Tannehill deep IMO.
     
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  33. Samphin

    Samphin Κακό σκυλί ψόφο δεν έχει

    Time off to good behavior. Checking in with the P.O. every three weeks ain't so bad.
     
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  34. the 23rd

    the 23rd a.k.a. Rio

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    I think Incognito is better @ RG but don't see who could step up at LG
    don't think they will change/alter anything with the offensive line during the bye
    we need to draft or acquire a beast @ LG next year
    they will only improve with each game for the rest of the season
     
  35. GMJohnson

    GMJohnson New Member

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    I agree we need better WRs but I didnt see the strategy you're describing from St Louis at all.

    They had a S in the box more often than not, whenever it wasn't an obvious passing down or a 3 WR formation, basically. They didn't pay extra attention to Hartline or any other WR. No doubling, no 8 man stacks with a bracket either. When they stacked the box the FS was either deep middle or shaded to the weak side (split end). When we went 3 wide Finnegan was on the slot and the Rams nickel CB (Fletcher) was typically on Hartline. It's the same style of defense we've seen since Arizona.

    The Rams are a Cover 2 team who went to a Cover 3-Cover 1 style in order to shut down our run game. The DBs were soft and off for most of the day, they rarely had safety help when we were in base personnel. Typically, when defenses are afraid of a WR beating them they will play two safeties high or do as you noted, shade the single high safety towards the perceived threat and/or sink the box safety down late to avoid showing their hand. The Rams didn't do any of that. They sat Mikell in the box and dared us to throw all day. And with the exception of one bone headed play by Jenkins, it worked.

    If Hartline is any better than average then the the rest of the NFL hasn't figured it out yet. What they have figured out is that they can flood the LOS with impunity, punish our RBs, blitz our QB, and not have it bite them in the form of big plays. Hopefully the staff can come up with some new wrinkles during the bye week but there's no secret to what's happening. We need better WRs/TE's or else we'll have 10 more games of what we saw yesterday and we'll run our defense into the ground trying to win 17-14 every week.
     
  36. Stringer Bell

    Stringer Bell Post Hard, Post Often Club Member

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    St. Louis had 8 in the box ~25% of the time IIRC. Right around their average. This perception that teams change what they do defensively to stop certain players is a little off-base IMO. Teams are going to play their scheme for the most part. There are maybe 5 players in the NFL that actually force defenses to change their scheme.
     
  37. GMJohnson

    GMJohnson New Member

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    You don't remember correctly at all. Try http://gamerewind.nfl.com/nflgr/console.jsp.

    http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/s...ehill-coming-through-as-teams-dare-mia/nSdfL/

    “If we have six (at the line of scrimmage), they have seven. If we have seven, they have eight,” offensive coordinator Mike Sherman said Monday. “What they’re trying to do with Ryan is make him beat you, and he’s done that the last two weeks. He’s … made some unbelievable decisions.”...“I knew this was going to evolve to this,” Sherman said. “If you run the ball successfully in the NFL, it’s known that they’re going to take it away. They’re going to take away what you’re doing well.” But if Tannehill continues to play well, “he’ll offer us some opportunities to run the football down the road,” Sherman said.

    Where I disagree with Sherman is that Tannehill hasn't beaten anyone per se. He's avoided the TOs since Arizona and deserves credit for that. But it's our defense that has allowed us to win games w/o producing much of anything on offense. Not sure how long that trend can hold, 400+ yards to an offense like the Rams is a bad sign.
     
  38. Disnardo

    Disnardo Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    We need a receiver threat in the Red Zone... Wether that be Gaffney, Bush or Moore, we need one to compliment the Run Game in the Red Zone...
     
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  39. GMJohnson

    GMJohnson New Member

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    Cromartie played some wideout vs Houston. How about Sean Smith in the Red Zone? He played WR in high school and at Utah, can't possibly be any worse than what we have now can he?
     
  40. Disnardo

    Disnardo Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    I guess you have a point, with the D being stout on letting the Rams and Bengals score in the 4th..., but...

    It is Thill's job to manage the Offense and he prevents TO from his end, he has done his job in helping the win... As Phillips Rivers how he contributed to the Bronco's win yesterday... Would you say he was the main reason for the loss??? Was Thil the main reason for the Houston loss??? If he was than why does Thill not get credit for managing the last two games and assiting in the win??? How would a couple of Thill INT's have gone with the way the Refs managed our games in the last two weeks???
     

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