what i like and dislke about this year's team.

A,B, and E I agree with on dislikes;

C-Running backs...I'm not sure why we handle this position the way we have over the years. Aside from Ricky Williams we haven't made too many good moves at the position. Drafting Ronnie Brown set us back in my opinion and other than that we have had plug in backs ever since Jimmy Johnson left...Re-treads so to speak. Reggie Bush was a good find I thought...and we proceed to let him go...It was a questionable move considering how much money we spent in free agency. I mean in my opinion we were spending $ to win so why wouldn't Bush be a part of that plan as well?
Jake Long walking was actually a good idea in my opinion, but he should have been replaced immediately and he wasn't.

D- The wide receiver curse thing....I don't think it's so much that, as it is we haven't had QB's that could really get these guys the ball. Aside from Brandon Marshall and Wallace we haven't really added any big name wideouts since I have been watching Dolphins football...Unless you count an 85 year old Gary Clark in 1995 and a 67 year old Tony Martin back in....98 I believe.

The reason Brandon Marshall didn't work out was because of Brandon Marshall. Yeah Chad Henne and even Matt Moore were not exactly top notch names you want throwing Marshall the ball, but the guy still managed to put up top flight numbers while he was here. Being his own worst enemy is the reason he is no longer a Dolphin (that and Joe Philbin's no nonsense policy). I hate that we never got to see Tannehill to Marshall and we will never really know if that could have amounted to anything.

As for Mike Wallace it's way to early to call it a failure in my opinion. First of all I have always considered him a tad on the overrated side ever since he came into the league. Pittsburgh up until now always had a really good offensive line that gave Ben (a veteran) plenty of time to air it out downfield to Wallace. Mike Wallace never really was "the man" in Pittsburgh. They had plenty of other guys to get the ball to. He was more or less another piece to the puzzle. The Steelers used a balanced run attack, play action and they were effective at it, which I think benefited Mike Wallace.
We can't even run the ball for more than three yards...That is not Mike Wallace's fault. No run game=No play action=no long balls to Mike Wallace...Its that simple in my opinion. If we had any type of rushing attack we would not be complaining about Mike Wallace right now. We'd also be 4-1 in my opinion.
Mike Wallace isn't and should never be a guy you want catching 100+ passes year in and year out. If you were expecting that than consider this a bust of a signing.
When the offensive line learns how to block, and we get the run game going, and we can be effective with play action, you will then see the electric Mike Wallace making plays. Until then his talents can't be maximized in my opinion.

Our core of wideouts should go as followed in my opinion (just WR's)

1. Mike Wallace- home run threat. He's not capable of being a go to guy 10+ times a game...Drops too many balls, but he can stretch the field with his speed and keep a defense honest..Big play ability always has to be respected.

2. Brian Hartline- safety valve/ mister reliable..The guy that puts you in third and 2 instead of dropping the ball. He can also go up and get the ball in a crowd. Reminds me of Ricky Proehl (anyone remember him)?

3.Brandon Gibson- My personal favorite...The guy that gets you first downs. Guy should be catching 8-9 passes a game. He's our Wes Welker, and probably our most effective wideout...Not the most talented...most effective.

However....None of this matters if we can't give Tannehill more time. When Wallace gets his opportunity to actually catch a pass...He damn well better do it. So far he has not but it's still early.

 

Who are other receivers that have thrived elsewhere? Patterns of this are a problem, but plenty of cases of guys languishing in one setting and thriving in another.

 

Best part about this thread ^ right here.

 

Right now Wallace's stats look fine. He's on pace for 1000 yards. Our offense is moving the ball really well for the most part. As long as tannehill has time we tend to carve defenses up. Big caveat there tho.

As for Sherman's play calls? I think he's done a good job mostly. We move down the field well and we are scoring regularly in the endzone. something we were atrocious at with henning/daboll. His few full blown ******ed calls are infuriating though. Like...every time we run the stretch. We can't run the stretch. We just can't. Not at the goaline, not on first and 10. Not on 3rd and 1. We just can't run it. Stop calling it!

 

Personally, I think most fans need to step back, take a deep breath, and realize that we still have almost 3 quarters of the season to go.

Three weeks ago, this was a team that was 3-0 and finding ways to win close games against good teams like Indy. Against the Saints, our underneath coverage got exploited and we got beat by a better team. We laid a big fat egg against Baltimore.

There are definitely things that I don't like. I don't like the play of the OL right now, and I don't see that improving until the personnel on the right side is improved. Sometimes you can watch an OL and see things happen that make you think things will improve once the line jells together. Sometimes you see miscommunication and blown assignments that create problems. The problem with our two weakest links is that they aren't blowing assignments. They are simply losing one on one match ups consistently. I don't see that getting any better, and Miami is going to have to spread the field more and utilize the quick passing game to counter this.

 

I think the problem with this team begins and ends at the line of scrimmage.

On offense, our offensive line is ineffective at consistently opening up holes for our running game. I don't think Thomas or Miller are the answer at RB but I think they could both be serviceable if our OL was even average. Our inability to run the ball puts a ton of pressure on RTH and our passing offense. Our one dimensional offense makes it easier for teams to pin their ears back and come after RTH. It also doesn't help that 3 of our OL have struggled at pass blocking. We are consistently losing this battle at the LOS.

On defense, while stout against the run, we have struggles consistently getting pressure on QB's without Wake. The strength of this team and our defense is our front 7. To be successful, they were expected to pressure QB's and help out our secondary. The secondary has been weakened with injuries to our 2nd, 3rd and 4th/5th best CB's.

I think the bye week came at a perfect time. Call me a homer or an overly optimistic fan but I think once this defense is healthy, we can rattle of 9-11 total wins with the remainder of this schedule getting easier. There really are no fixes with our OL. Our offense will put up some points, enough to win most football games because of our WR's and RTH. The defense when healthy is a top 5-10 defense and will keep us in almost every game.

 

he was cleared against Baltimore, suited up and they just didn't play him. Can't imagine hes not back for the Bills game.

 

Sherman sounds like he wants to run more but Philbin wants to stick w the pass, what do u think?

 

Not a very strong or accurate list. really, the only 2 examples are Welker and Marshall, and both played pretty well when they were here. The fact that they went on to better teams with much better QBs can't be ignored. Donald Lee doesn't count IMO. As for Fryar and Jackson, they both played well in their time here. Fryar went on to Philly afterwards and produced the same stats. Jackson went onto another team, but never really played, so essentially the end of his career was with us.

 

Reading the word "Tannyhill" makes me giggle.

 

Due to Fanny Hill or Benny Hill?

Our OLine has certainly acted like some of the skits from the Benny Hill show. Queue the music.