No doubt. We're not losing these games b/c of a lack of talent. That's clear as day. The coaching staff has been inept at appropriately utilizing it. I mean, we have a defense better suited for either a 3-4 or 4-3 hybrid but we switched to a more traditional 4-3 that would rather see Trusnik on the field in base D than Starks. How a DC doesn't want his most talented players on the field together in base D is beyond me, and Tampa gashed us early with the run b/c of it if. From the start of the game we could've squashed Tampa's opening drive by shutting down their ground game and forcing their rookie QB to beat a defense that's been stingy against the pass and strong in the redzone, but nooo- with our run stuffing right LB Misi inactive, Coyle foolishly opted for a weakened right side duo of Vernon at end & Trusnik at LB rather than Odrick at end, Vernon at RLB, and Starks in at DT, leaving Trusnik on the bench. Not to mention our Dline features the All Pro Wake, 2 good nickel DTs in Odrick & Starks, and a #3 overall pick pass rusher, yet Coyle seems hell bent on frequently bringing A gap pressure from his linebackers and subjecting us to coverage deficiencies in the process rather than getting more creative with his talented front 4. Just seems like Coyle is doing more of trying to fit players to his scheme, even if it compromises the success & productivity of one of his top defenders- Reshad Jones. It's like we counterproductively changed most of the defense just so it could revolve around A-gap pressure from 2 players. Furthermore, what are we doing with a linebacker on Vincent Jackson? I don't even want to get started on the offensive side.
Clearly the oline's lack of talent is frustrating, but it doesn't supersede the team's overall talent level which was good enough to beat Tampa, Buffalo, and Baltimore if the coaching were up to par.
With respect , it is beyond frustrating , that emotion was years ago , currently it is inexcusable , no?
I disagree. The play of the offensive line was the biggest problem in those games. I think Philbin's record could very well be 6-3 at this point if he just had an average offensive line. It's way below average, pretty much abysmal and that's 100% on Ireland.
An average offensive line this season is pretty bad. Philbin probably would need an above average to top offensive line to be 6-3. In fact, I would think if Miami's defense played a little better they would be 6-3 or if the offense actually utilized its talents and wasn't so pig headed, they could be 8-1.
I agree, an improved Oline could've overcome our other issues to get us to 6-3, however, if those others issues weren't present, the oline wouldn't be highlighted like it is now b/c we would've been winning games rather than watching Tannehill get lit up during the closing minutes when defenses can throw the kitchen sink at him. You can still win with a poor oline, but sloppy play, dumb penalties, missed FGs, and questionable coaching decisions are killers. Great teams can win a SB despite a poor line. The Giants showed us that, but they're not going anywhere behind sloppy play and inadequate coaching.
Gruden might bring his brother with him which I think would be great for Tannehills development. John coaches for 3-4 years with his brother as assistant HC/OC and then his brother takes over Ok thats probably not going to happen but it would set us up with a stable organization for years to come. I do like the idea of JT being heavily involved in the team.
While I agree with you in respect to our O/C, I disagree that this O-line wouldn't still be a problem. You can accidentally fall into 50 yards rushing on a real bad day. This team cannot run the ball and the root of the problem is and has been up front. Two yards rushing against an 0-8 team, really? There is something inherently wrong with letting a high school and college kicker run your personel. What do kickers know about football trenches? If Ireland is the rule - nothing. It must be some kind of insult to the football Gods to let a kicker run the show.
I'm not sitting down until you move your hand...and no I would not like some popcorn so I will not reach in and grab some.
This year he is tied for 4th most missed tackles. The most is Thomas Davis. 538 snaps, 65 total tackles, 15 missed. Next is Lance Briggs. 429 snaps, 59 total tackles, 15 missed. Chad Greenway, 665 snaps, 72 total tackles, 14 missed. Wheeler, 621 snaps, 63 total tackles, 14 missed. Actually, Briggs would be the worst this year, if one figured the ratio of missed tackles to snaps. Wheeler would be 3rd.
I don't think he will leave ESPN and I don't think I would want him, he will Jimmy Johnson us once he gets enough money and go back to his cushy ESPN job. He would tell Ross to hire his brother.
IMO, he'd be better served to something like director of college scouting or national scout for some team. Jerbo would probably hire him back. I'd be surprised if he gets another GM gig.
I dont think this is the case at all. Gruden has been preparing to come back..he spends ongodly hours going over every NfL team..breaking down defenses...he would spend hours with Chip Kelly going over Oregons offense. He said at a large meeting last week..when asked..he wants to coach again. Dudes been preparing for it...not living the high life. Hes being smart..and taking one more shot. Hes gonna wait for the perfect oppurtunity. Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2
What's Jimmy Johnsoning us? Making the playoffs 3 out of 4 seasons? Sign me up. I'd take Gruden and his winning legacy and Superbowl experience in a second.
I suggest giving a second go at comprehending Disgustipate's post. You just devised an argument about nothing b/c he clearly didn't say the Oline "wouldn't still be a problem". He said it "wouldn't be nearly as big of an issue". You understand the difference, yes? This just deserves a massive WOW. Like MASSIVE massive. John Schneider played 1 year of college, at U of St Thomas no less, so I guess Seattle must be IN-SANE to keep him around as GM, eh?
I am still in awe that FinD has the ability to admit that he was wrong about something. Who said a tiger cant change its stripes
Im not saying Marino would do well this time around but I think its unfair to judge him based on the past. If I remember correctly he cited family problems for stepping down which may or may not of been true and this is a completely new organization. WH & Co. have left the building
Not on the offensive line, and for some reason, Ireland overall has had a lot of problems getting that key area done right. As good as he is at finding DL, he is equally inept at finding solid OL. It all starts in the trenches, to coin an old adage.
I agree totally. He should be playing Misi's position, that would give us 3 every down linebackers. In one of his more puzzling moves, Ireland signed Misi to an extension, a player who plays barely half the defensive snaps, when he is healthy. Misi isn't chopped liver, but Ireland overpaid for a guy who just doesn't stay on the field often enough.
Are you bullying 71/2 for the nescient statements or the misspelled words? And "Bo Duke" is their GM?
You don't fall into 50 yards rushing if you give your backs 11 carries. There's nothing extraordinarily bad about the Dolphins rushing attack. If they ran the ball with any regularity, the team would have pretty standard production. ...
You could just as well say "if the OL was up to par." Unless of course, you feel Turner has been given sufficient talent to work with but hasn't coached them well enough.
True, I could say that, but doesn't coaching take precedence since it's the one thing you really can't go without?
You need coaching and you need talent. Can't make a silk purse from a sow's ear. If you think our OL has enough talent and just needs to be better coached, then ok your original statement stands and the coaches cost us those 3 games.
Combination of the two IMO... No one expected Clabo to have the worst season of his career at RT. Martin was expected to struggle some at LT, but to improve. Instead he struggled mightily and did not improve at all. You can deal with one tackle, you can't hardly win with two. Especially, if you're coupled with as bad a RG as Jerry, who was injured early and seems to have regressed this season. So you have 3 bad linesmen. You bench one, you move one, you bring in a new one. Then you lose two, and have to play a guy already benched and a guy who isn't even average as a backup. Your shoddy pass protection gets addressed with having a 6th man on the line, but you can't run for s***. The coaches can't figure out how to get more production from this group, nor how to protect the QB when it matters most. Yeah, we're f*****.
No I don't think our OL has enough talent, but the coaching I was referring to was more specific to the OC, DC, HC stuff, the decision making. I think if it had been up to par then we would've won those 3 games, weak OL play or not.
In those losses, the OL comes apart at the seams at the worst possible time. Is that talent or coaching, or both?
Got me. Both maybe? It wasn't as bad of an eyesore until we lost 2nd half leads and were forced into more obvious passing situations where defenses could pin their ears back and bring it, so b/c of that I'd have to think a good bit falls on the talent... but likely with little help from coaching. We had 2nd half leads in 4 of the losses IIRC, and that was with the weak OL play, so I figured if the coaching, scheming, playcalling, etc were up to snuff, which in turn also minimizes the sloppy play, that we could've preserved 3 of those leads and thus not had to subject the OL to getting teed off on.