1. This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Learn More.

Dolphins players questioning offensive gameplan

Discussion in 'Miami Dolphins Forum' started by DePhinistr8, Oct 29, 2013.

  1. firedan

    firedan Well-Known Member

    2,000
    826
    113
    Oct 31, 2008
    palm beach county fl
    After dropping the last four games every one of them should be questioning what does and does not work.
    As bad as things have been they still can salvage this year if they start putting together a full game effort from the players and the coaches.
     
  2. GMJohnson

    GMJohnson New Member

    14,291
    5,841
    0
    Jan 27, 2010

    Why the two passes after the first down to Matthews, fair question to ask. We had run on the previous 1st down and lost a yard. We had run on the first down before that and ended up in 2nd and 8. The Pats blitzed the 2nd and 8 play, got a sack and took the ball away. It boils down to do you want to run and risk getting stuffed into 2nd and long again or pass the ball in anticipation of the D trying to stuff the run? Either way RT hits Matthews for the first but the refs call it out of bounds and Philbin didn't challenge.

    Overall people are just nitpicking IMO. I say that bc NE is an extremely we'll coached team, they knew we were going into a stiff wind in the 3rd quarter and they knew they were behind 2 TDs. They'd be idiots to not over play the run and Belichick is far from stupid. You can question the play calling if you'd like, but the idea that we abandoned the run and that it somehow cost us the game is fantasy IMO.

    A better question is what the hell happened to our run defense in the 2nd half?
     
  3. GMJohnson

    GMJohnson New Member

    14,291
    5,841
    0
    Jan 27, 2010
    Damn right, any OLineman that doesn't want to run it 35 times a game is a grade a pu$$y in my book. OTOH what reporter wouldn't run with comments like that? Especially if it'll get him some face time on national tv.


    Just sayin...
     
  4. Vertical Limit

    Vertical Limit Senior Member

    12,162
    5,057
    113
    Nov 25, 2007
    Darlington is one of the best columnist we had. He was never one to create bogus rumors. So I believe him.
     
    dolfan22 likes this.
  5. Fin-Omenal

    Fin-Omenal Initiated

    36,936
    10,264
    0
    Mar 25, 2008
    Thee...Ohio State University
    Gibson was a bigger loss than many realize.
     
    Limbo likes this.
  6. GMJohnson

    GMJohnson New Member

    14,291
    5,841
    0
    Jan 27, 2010
    Keller too. He's the guy Tannehill would be going to when the pressure is getting to him. Keller, Binns and Gibson were our primary slot guys, the ones to punish teams for clouding Wallace and Hartline or getting blitz happy.
     
  7. phintasmic

    phintasmic Banned

    985
    154
    0
    Oct 21, 2013
    20 run plays in the first half, 7 in the second.

    I'd call that abandoning the run every time.
     
  8. djphinfan

    djphinfan Season Ticket Holder Club Member

    111,652
    67,546
    113
    Dec 20, 2007
    Because certain players will make excuses just like fans do..in hindsight their all experts..like GM said, after continuing to run the ball at the beginning if the third, if Tannehill makes a better throw to Wallace, and Wallace makes a difficult catch, then the game is over.
     
  9. maynard

    maynard Who, whom?

    18,425
    6,346
    113
    Dec 5, 2007
    clearwater, fl
    Right, but I think party of the point is that if Wallace did his job and caught the ball we would see another run if he didn't score.

    If Matthews is correctly ruled inbounds we would see more runs following that play

    Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk
     
    GMJohnson likes this.
  10. FanMarino

    FanMarino Season Ticket Holder

    2,906
    718
    0
    Nov 24, 2007
    The fact the execution of those play calls which failed and were different play calls from the 1st half play calls which worked goes against your whole argument. Those play calls were not 'solid'. The fact they failed proves it. You even say yourself its a 'trend' which means Sherman is consistently ignoring the running game. Inexcusable imo.
     
  11. KB21

    KB21 Almost Never Wrong Club Member

    24,029
    40,478
    113
    Dec 6, 2007
    You know, I'm a numbers guy, so I'm going to have to defend the coaching staff on their play of Daniel Thomas right now.

    He's showing why they have had faith in him if you pay attention to the stats. In the past 2 games, he has 21 rushes for 107 yards. Of those 107 yards, 62 of them have come after contact. He's averaging 2.95 yards after contact in those two games, and in 4 games this year, he has averaged right at 3 yards after contact. 67% of his yards have come after contact. Daniel is actually 10th in the NFL in yards after contact average among all running backs who have gotten at least 25% of their team's rush attempts.

    Conversely, Lamar Miller isn't doing as much after contact. He has 343 yards on the year, and 139 have come after contact. Against Buffalo, he averaged 4.2 yards after contact, but that averaged fell back down to 1.8 yards after contact against New England.

    What Lamar brings that Daniel doesn't is the breakaway runs. However, over the last two games, the two of them have been a hell of a combo. Lamar has had 27 carries for 132 yards. Combined, those two have 48 rush attempts for 239 yards in the past two games with a combined 132 yards coming after contact.

    These guys are averaging 5 yards per carry combined over the past two games and 2.75 yards per rush of that is coming after contact.
     
    Limbo and Two Tacos like this.
  12. RoninFin4

    RoninFin4 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

    23,683
    44,620
    113
    Dec 11, 2007
    Cincinnati, Ohio
    Well, if you believe Armando, he's got a quote from Richie Incognito questioning the play calls. He's on the leadership council. Fitting.

    68: “It seemed like we were running the ball real well. We were effective. It was third and manageable; we were picking up big chunks

    68: “I think we got away from that in the second half. That is kind of where we kind of sputtered.”
     
  13. GMJohnson

    GMJohnson New Member

    14,291
    5,841
    0
    Jan 27, 2010
    Domino effect indeed.

    Sherman has seemed to shy away from the run at inopportune times all through ought the season. 17-3 ahead seems like an odd time to run 5 run plays vs. 2 pass plays, I get that. But it worked because NE had shifted their focus from defending the pass to defending the run. I feel like I can mention the missed TD to Wallace at least 50 more times without overshadowing the incompetence of the referee crew so I'll do it again here. We all agree Miami ran all over the Patriots in the first half, therefore the start of the third quarter is the PERFECT time to come out throwing, and as a result we're successful moving the ball through the air and we narrowly miss a TD on the first series of the second half. I cant overtate this, it would 24-3 at that point.


    Can you picture the domino effect of that? Instead, Wallace doesn't make the catch, Sturgis misses a FG and things unravel from there.

    That's why we're obsessing over play calls instead of obsessing over how the defense held Brady to his lowest passing total in 10 years during a first half of absolute dominance. Brady finished with 116 yards passing, the Pats finished with 100 net yards passing. After going for over 100 yds and a score vs the Jets last week Gronkowski had 2 catches for 27 yards on Sunday. Not bad for a team that "struggles to cover tight ends", as some would say. Patterson came back from injury and played a helluva game. Odrick is blossoming into a Pro Bowl DT. Miller had a career high rushing day, Thomas ran well, Egnew is proving to be a capable blocker, Matthews stepped up in a big way, McKinnie looked a lot better than anything we've seen from Martin at LT. No one is talking about these things AT ALL because we didn't win the game.

    That's the domino effect of losing.
     
    Two Tacos, Rocky Raccoon and KB21 like this.
  14. RoninFin4

    RoninFin4 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

    23,683
    44,620
    113
    Dec 11, 2007
    Cincinnati, Ohio
    I'm interested to see if they can keep it up against Cincinnati. Buffalo is 26th in rush defense, New England is 31st, giving up approx. 115 and 130 ypg. respectively. Cincinnati is 8th at 97 ypg.

    I also am interested to see if Kevin Coyle makes adjustments as to how to defend Giovani Bernard. IMO, Bernard is about as close a player to Darren Sproles as Miami will see in the remainder of their schedule in terms of how he's used. Coyle's familiar with most everyone on that offense from his time there other than Bernard. Bernard, IMO, is who Miami ought to focus on stopping after A.J. Green.
     
  15. Desides

    Desides Well-Known Member

    38,949
    20,033
    113
    Nov 28, 2007
    Pembroke Pines, FL
    Darlington was not a columnist.
     
  16. GMJohnson

    GMJohnson New Member

    14,291
    5,841
    0
    Jan 27, 2010
    Whatever. We lost, none of that is relevant :shifty:.
     
  17. GMJohnson

    GMJohnson New Member

    14,291
    5,841
    0
    Jan 27, 2010
    Now we're talking Ro. Enough of that detonate stuff, let's get into Dolphins vs Bengals...

    Is Cincinnati still hungover after the blowout win Sunday? Is Miami capable of bouncing back after two tough, tough losses?

    Are the running game woes a thing of the past of does the norm return as we face a credible front 7?
     
  18. unifiedtheory

    unifiedtheory Sub Pending Luxury Box

    12,363
    7,091
    113
    Nov 24, 2007
    Burnaby, BC, Canada
    He called a great first half and **** the bed in the 2nd half.
     
    phintasmic likes this.
  19. unifiedtheory

    unifiedtheory Sub Pending Luxury Box

    12,363
    7,091
    113
    Nov 24, 2007
    Burnaby, BC, Canada
    I'm a Sadist, I want the whole thing to fall apart at this point.

    We are not going to the playoffs so what exactly is the point right now? Develop some of the youngsters, that's it.

    Unravel, tank and clean house. That's the only way Ireland gets fired and some of the coaching staff is blown out. Staying 7-9 is a death spiral.
     
  20. Rocky Raccoon

    Rocky Raccoon Greasepaint Ghost Staff Member

    30,224
    36,965
    113
    Dec 2, 2007
    Jersey
    Well, since I'm a die-hard fan, I'm going to continue watching and hoping the team wins and improves.

    If you want to sit there and hope things unravel and we tank, that's your choice.
     
  21. RoninFin4

    RoninFin4 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

    23,683
    44,620
    113
    Dec 11, 2007
    Cincinnati, Ohio
    Well, I've seen every Bengals game thus far this year. Yeah, they're 6-2 and they've racked up some impressive wins over the Packers, Patriots (both home) and Detroit (road). Their offense hinges on Andy Dalton. They don't run the ball super well, but they can when they need to. Andy Dalton is on a ridiculous 4 game stretch, but if you go back and watch their game at Cleveland when the lost, the team looks closer to 2-6.

    As far as their weapons go, A.J. Green scares me. A lot. Sean Smith was physical with him last year and really took it to him. Brent Grimes is good, and can hang with Green, but I think Green will still get catches due to his size/athletic ability. So, I think he's the first thing you have to stop. I'm fairly confident Dimitri Patterson/Nolan Carroll can shut down Mohamed Sanu and/or Marvin Jones. It's when they put all 3 of those guys on the field that worries me in the pass game. Jimmy Wilson will be at a pretty big disadvantage against either Sanu or Jones; they're both good and very underrated IMO. If Miami can pressure Dalton, I think they can slow the Bengals offense down enough to keep pace...but Giovani Bernard scares the crap of out me. Ellerbe, Misi, Wheeler, Jones, etc. could not stop Darren Sproles all night; Kevin Coyle did absolutely nothing to help the defense schematically. Bernard is not as fast as Sproles, but he's bigger and more athletic and I think that's a potential matchup nightmare. He's also a surprisingly good runner in between the tackles. The key for them is Dalton. Marvin Lewis has them dialed in right now (4 straight W's) but I could see him unraveling in a short week; don't know if it will happen.

    Defensively, they'll look a lot like Miami formation-wise. Right now, they're better at pressuring the QB than Miami (due to Wake's injury and Jordan's limited snap count). Plus, they have Geno Atkins. John Jerry and Richie Incognito both struggled against him last year, and Cincinnati does well to line up their fronts where they can cover up the center with Domata Peko and get Atkins in 1-on-1's vs. guards. That's not good for Miami. Miami may get a boost in their pass-rush as Andrew Whitworth was dinged in the Jets game and he's not recovered well from offseason surgery. He missed all of training camp and hasn't looked himself this year. Though, I think he's got a favorable matchup against Olivier Vernon. IMO, Dion Jordan will be more effective rushing Whitworth with his speed, rather than the size vs. size of Whitworth vs. Vernon.

    The back seven is a little more advantageous for Miami. Rey Maualuga left the Jets game and didn't return. Leon Hall is done for the year. I can actually see Mike Wallace having a big game against Terrence Newman and George Iloka; they typically play to the Bengals left side, so they'll be against Wallace based on what they've show. Taylor Mays (backup) also was dinged in the Jets game.

    I would say overall, my keys for Miami beating Cincinnati would be, in order:

    1) Do what you can to limit A.J. Green and Giovani Bernard. Make them beat you with Sanu, Jones, and their ground game. Don't get beat by the obvious weapons. They LOVE to take deep shots to Green early. If Miami gets beat on that, then Kevin Coyle deserves to be punched in the face. They've done this literally every game. Coyle was there for what, 10 or 11 years. He should know their tendencies, don't overthink it and blitz them early.

    2) Pressure Andy Dalton with 4 or 5 guys if you can. When you blitz Dalton, like Tannehill, he can pick you apart. I would also add to this one, survive the first quarter. If you can force Dalton into a bad start, he usually stays bad. Don't get in a 10-0 or 14-0 hole to this team; they can stomp your throat quickly.

    3) Miami HAS to consistently run the ball to control the clock. With the way our defense is playing right now, the less they're on the field, the better.

    4) Control the special teams game. This is currently a weakness of Miami's, and Cincinnati's is VERY good.

    5) Try and keep it a low-scoring game. Marvin Lewis will inevitably do something Herm Edwards-stupid if the game is close late. He reminds me of Jim Tressel at Ohio State. He's a damn good coach when they're scoring points and are up by 2 or 3 scores. When it's close, he crumbles.

    Overall, I think Miami's more apt to win a game 14-10 than they are going to be trying to match scores with the Bengals. It's a short week for both teams, so I'm sure it'll be sloppier than usual. I think that helps Miami more than Cincinnati.
     
    GMJohnson and Rocky Raccoon like this.
  22. ASOT

    ASOT New Member

    4,870
    306
    0
    Mar 29, 2013
    Coral Gables, FL
    and a fireable offence
     
  23. DePhinistr8

    DePhinistr8 Season Ticket Holder

    3,123
    2,247
    113
    Mar 24, 2008
    I think this sums up Sherman's game plan:
    Started out great, and then, .. well ...

    [​IMG]
     
  24. mlb1399

    mlb1399 Well-Known Member

    3,893
    3,087
    113
    Mar 6, 2010
    I don't blame them. I'm not sure anyone outside of Sherman understands what the hell he's doing. Our QB is getting killed, our OL can't protect and you just sit back in shotgun. Then our running game gets going and then you just abandon it and allow your QB to get sacked 6 times, turning over the ball 3 times in the process.

    I'll go a step further, I don't understand why Sherman even has a job.
     
  25. Limbo

    Limbo Mad Stillz

    2,476
    1,128
    113
    Mar 21, 2013
    Cincy's offense is loaded at the skill positions. Matchup problems kind of like New Orleans with Eifert emerging, Gresham, and Bernard 's a stud, imo. Jay Gruden is trying to pace Bernard's touches, though, so he doesn't play a ton of snaps and they like to pound the Law Firm. Then you have the stud on the outside who demands a double-team a lot.

    IMO the way to beat them is to force Dalton to make the tough throws to the perimeter. Yes, Green will come down with a few because he's just a tremendous player. BUT, take away the short stuff to Gio and the quick hits to Eifert & Sanu/Hawkins if he plays. Don't let Dalton rack up yards by hitting guys quick and letting them run.

    Cincy has 5 guys in the top 35 in YAC in the AFC, 3 in top 20
    - Gio is 7th in the AFC despite having only 26 catches (on 33 targets) - pretty impressive.
    - Green is 15th
    - Gresham 19th
    - Sanu 26th
    - Eifert 34th

    (Note: Phins sadly have 2 - Clay is 24th and Gibson 35)

    That's alot of Dalton's yardage that Dalton isn't producing through the air. Take away his option to simply distribute and let his skill players do the work.
     
  26. xphinfanx

    xphinfanx Stay strong my friends.

    10,823
    2,214
    113
    Nov 1, 2009
    Why doesn't the media point out the horrific reffing?
     
  27. phintasmic

    phintasmic Banned

    985
    154
    0
    Oct 21, 2013

    Goodell threatened them
     
  28. PSG

    PSG Clear Eyes. Full Hearts.

    9,767
    3,436
    113
    Nov 24, 2007
    North of the Border
    I choose the latter.
     

Share This Page