Rewatched the buc game.

If THill made a point of throwing to the open guy, the check down guy, he'd be roasted in the internet as "Checkdown Chad 2.0"

It is nice to see THill have the confidence in his arm, coaching, and his receivers/TE's to make the stick throw and catch.

 

Here's an interesting article that correlates hand size with productivity in the NFL, by the way. What we really need, though, is one that correlates hand size with propensity to fumble when hit, lol.

 

Well, that's certainly discouraging. Fumbles is one of the things about Tannehill that has bothered. He lost one against NO that really bothered me, he was barely touched. Did better in the 2nd half of the season, but it seems like such an easy area to clean up.

 

I have it set to record it when it comes on NFL Network this morning. Not even really sure I will watch the entire game. I just want to see some semblance of improvement in certain areas.

Not that I ever really considered it, but how much is that club option, btw?

 

I felt bad for Orleans Darkwa. He had that big -4 yard run where the blocking was horrendous. First off Dallas Thomas was (again) a swinging gate and allowed a DT right into the backfield to nip on Darkwa's heels as he ran to the outside, making the cutback impossible. Second both Jarvis Landry and Daryn Colledge whiffed on a guy who was knifing directly into Darkwa's path. He was well and truly ****ed.

Best tweet from the game though was I tweeted out "Orleans Darkwa > Daniel Thomas" and one of my followers replied: "Orleans after Katrina > Daniel Thomas"

 

I believe Darkwa will only get better, and hasn't had a great opportunity in Miami.

 

PFFs comment from last night's game: https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2014/08/17/refo-dolphins-buccaneers-preseason-week-2/

Interestingly, Will Davis (+3.5) is the highest rated corner in all of preseason so far only allowing 4 yards in 3 targets, and Ja'Waun James has yet to allow a single pressure in 49 pass blocking snaps.

 

Will Davis has looked really exciting this preseason.

I haven't seen him as a boom or bust cornerback. He looks like a boom or good coverage cornerback. What I mean by that is no matter how good the coverage the perfect throw and a great catch will always win in todays NFL.

The pass interference call was complete BS.

 

I want them to trade for Lache Seastrunk.

 

That's a good way to describe it. He went from biting on sh-t and being faked out of his socks to biting on short routes and nearly intercepting them, then staying with the receiver on longer routes.

 

Ronde Barber was very effusive about his 2 pre season games , and he should know. Looked very confident yesterday , decisive and quick.

 

I think there are a couple options , I think the least expensive is like 15 dollars fro 6 months ? Very affordable and both pre season games were up divided into quarters , video was good quality , really well done.

 

Man I'll tell you.

Billy Turner is no savior. He's a rookie and he's going to look like a rookie, frequently. There's still mistakes on his film. They come every now and then, bad ones. But generally speaking in between those mistakes, he's doing a real good job.

Ideally no you do not start a Billy Turner as a rookie especially getting him to transition from LEFT TACKLE to RIGHT GUARD...from the FCS to the NFL It's those occasional big mistakes. That's why you don't do it. You wait for some seasoning so that he gets rid of those.

But the simple fact of the matter is Dallas Thomas is minced up dog anus. He is flat awful and if he starts he might be the worst OL that I have seen start for the Dolphins in quite some time. You just don't have a choice here.

Shelley Smith over Daryn Colledge isn't exactly an EASY call, but I think it's the right one. Colledge struggled both preseason games especially the first half. Shelley's looked better, and the Dolphins have done a good job getting him into the game EARLY against the 1's in both games...so they have film of him. He should leapfrog Colledge this week and start the next preseason game. See how it goes.

 

Ronde Barber was an EXCELLENT preseason game commentary guy. Maybe the best I've heard.

 

He really was , he was fair , insightful and didn't focus on the home team at all .

 

If Shelley Smith starts at LG and Billy Turner at RG, and Mike Pouncey gets back from injury quickly then you've got an interior OL that can MOVE and EXPLODE.

That could literally win the Dolphins a few extra games if they settle down and gel together. I'm convinced of it. You're going to have to live with pass pro lumps that will happen now and again. And if the backs aren't living up to their end of the bargain, to where the explosiveness and mobility of the line isn't really doing any good, then I guess that would be a bad outcome.

But the alternative is poor pass protection with NO added explosion. You're getting poor pass pro either way.

 

I ain't as sure about Jarvis Landry as most of y'all. And though I loved JaWuan James coming out, we'll just have to see on him.

But I'm pretty positive Billy Turner is going to be a damn fine draft pick.

Maybe Terrence Fede as well. Though there's still a LOT to be seen there. He'll outperform his draft standing but that's not hard to do in the 7th round. Will he be an IMPACT player though? That's a tough call.

Jordan Tripp we'll have to see too. I like him but he's got a tough position to play. The mental aspect of it looms large.

As of right now, fast forward three years from now I think we're talking about this draft as the JaWuan James, Billy Turner, Jordie Tripp and Terrence Fede draft.

 

I agree with this. A lot of Lazor's offense, like Chip's, seems to operate off the run. If the Smith-Pouncey-Turner trio can get the ground game working, a lot of the passing game is going to come off play fakes, screens, and quick reads, neutralizing a potentially average to below average pass blocking.

Smith was moved up to 2nd-string LG before the TB game, so I think he's directly competing with Colledge for the starting spot. And after Thomas' past 2 games, you know Turner's going to get a solid look.

 

It is hard for me to imagine Fede not working out to be at least a really good player. He is talented, has a really good drive and is a hard worker.

Watching him play he looks like a guy who doesn't know exactly what he is doing, but he doesn't look lost. He knows enough to be effective, but not enough to be good. What I mean by effective is he isn't going to be pushed around and flop. What I mean by good, he isn't going to use technique to beat the tackle.

Even the quotes from Philbin has been mostly, "He does his own thing."

I imagine him being the type of player who makes the main roster but unless there is an injury is never active.

However, one thing that could change that is special teams. From what I have seen he looks pretty good blocking for punt and kick off returns and he also has a great motor for getting down there on punt returns.

 

Shelley Smith also did that in the first preseason game. He and Colledge have been rotating with the 1's in both games. I think next game Smith gets the nod to start out with the 1's and then they're both rotated again. Billy Turner should leapfrog Dallas Thomas.

The thing is don't expect a flurry of production or for all to be right with the world. There will be pass pro miscues, I'm certain of it. But there were pass pro miscues with Dallas Thomas and Daryn Colledge. You should get better run blocking so long as Albert, Satele and James are living up to their end. You need the backs to step up and play well too.

 

I think he can get on the field and not embarrass himself in the least. But you can say that about Derrick Shelby. Is he right now better than Shelby? That's a tough call. I think he'll develop into a better player but that's a theory and right now I'm not sure which one is the better.

 

I read the article but I'm still having difficulty finding anything to suggest why roughly 1" of hand size relates to throwing the football. The author brings up throwing a Nerf football and how much easier it is to throw because you can easily grab hold of it. I think that's debatable and a bad example.

What may be more important than hand size, is Grip strength. I say that because of Kurt Warner. Perhaps Teddy Bridgewater too. Kurt Warner once said that when he finally put on the gloves in Arizona, he felt like his old self again. He credited his lack of grip strength and the gloves with his improvement in Arizona. Teddy B brought that memory back after his pro-day and the issue of gloves came up. I dunno, just a random thought.

The author noted that the successful "small hands" QB's have good mobility... But what does hand size have to do with what a QB does with his legs during/after a drop back? Throwing the ball is throwing the ball. Tony Romo has the smallest hands of the bunch. While he doesn't have a gun, he's a talented passer despite anything/everything else.

In the draft, I heard it stated that Manziel could play for a cold weather team because of his hand size (10" plus). Aaron Rodgers is a "small hands" QB playing for a team in the coldest weather of any NFL franchise. And as far as pure passing ability goes, Rodgers is on the god-like tier with Dan Marino.

 

Fede is a natural. Just a beast of a man. He will stick around.

I would prefer them to carry 8 DL like last year, and Jordan is not on my list of 8 who would make the cut (Wake, Vernon, Starks, Mitchell, Odrick, Fede, Johnson, AJF for beef).

 

Check out the running play at 12.57 in the 2nd Q (its at 33:15 on NFL). It's a zone blocking run play to the left with Williams running between LT and LG. Smith (LG) does a nice job in the second level, as well as Kyle Miller with the lead block in the hole. I think Thomas (RG) is suppose to bounce off DT who is covered by Satele, and get to the second level to take on the LB, or pull around Satele to seal first ahead of trailing James. Instead, Thomas latches on to Satele's man and never gets to the second level, and the LB sweeps by to bust Williams. On this play, James is pulling to the left but ends up between Satele and Thomas on the same DT (3 on 1), completely clueless and late, of all places he should have been (at least three) he ends up in one place he should not have been, obviously, because it's already a 2 on 1 on DT. Thomas never gets to second level, and James's pull never gets around Satele to seal. Busted OL play. LT, LG, C and FB did their job.

A few plays later around 7:40, Colledge and brenner are pulling to the left on similar play, but both whiff on the block, result is a TFL.

We cannot evaluate RBs.

There are OL who don't get it, they don't block at all, they get an F for not showing up, and they are on the roster. Then, there are others who get it, like Colledge and Brenner, but poorly execute.
I'm for keeping those who get it, because at least there is an iota of brain in there.

 

Hey man....I know you get crap for some of your negative posts, I know Ive been one to give it. But lately you've had some really good thoughts. If Im gonna have something to say about a bad post....just wanna make sure I point out the good ones to.

 

You can say that about a lot of players.

I tell you what. Go back to 7:39 in the 2nd quarter, the -4 yard run by Orleans Darkwa. Take a look at Jarvis Landry in the slot.

Is that the effort you want from him? The dude acted like he was going to block Pointer (who ended up making the tackle), then just said "Ah **** it", did a total "Olay!" and let him go then ran on into space to do nothing. And I forget who it was I was talking with in last week's thread from the preseason game, Landry did the exact same thing on a screen in the Falcons game. He looked almost like he made it a point to get OUT of the defender's way.

That punt return of his was suave. I liked it. It showcased his ability to make quick decisions and then plant that one foot in the ground then go, which has never been an issue for me. But he's got a screen catch that went for -1 yards and then he's got a 26 yard catch where nobody covered him. There wasn't a defender within 5 yards of him when he caught the ball. But he didn't do anything special in the open field. He didn't attempt to break any tackles or juke anyone or be creative. He just ran forward and then when the safeties closed on him he went to the ground.

That's why I say I'm still in a little bit more wait-and-see mode with him...as opposed to others who have done more to impress me in the games.

 

Hes a wr. Most of them block like girls. But at lsu he went up and fought for the ball consistently. Never let mettenberger down and he was far from accurate. (I personally thought mettenberger sucked and Landry/beckham made him look good)

His hands are very well publicized. In this offense, when clay and wallace are the field full time, Landrys going to have very big days imo.

 

We've yet to see this in the preseason. That's what I'm saying. He hasn't flashed potential as a receiver in the preseason yet. That 26 yard catch was a defensive gimme. He didn't earn it. The play-fake sucked the linebackers way up and when Tannehill dumped the ball to him there wasn't a defender within 5 yards of him. He caught the ball and ran with it until he was closed in on by the safeties and then he went down on first contact. Let's just pretend for a second that he was undrafted. That would not be a play that has you thinking he might make the team. And outside of that catch he's got one screen catch for -1 yards.

Again, pretend the guy is a UDFA and you never heard anything about him from camp. Right now you'd have him pegged as purely a special teams guy because of that big punt return. But that only gets him into Phil Livas territory.

 

Preach it.

 

That's all I'm saying. He needs to do something positive to make me think he's a positive contributing player.

Brandon Gibson is out there BALLING. He stands out in the review. I have to hand it to him because I never thought he would when Miami signed him from St. Louis. But he played well last year, and then he played really well in both preseason games thus far. He's the guy standing right in Jarvis Landry's way.

If this offense is anything like Philadelphia's then as the 4th wide receiver Jarvis Landry could see as few as 70 passing snaps this season. And the most he'll probably make of those would be 100 yards.

 

In the new offense, I think you get your "supposed starters" the right to acclimate to the new offensive environment. Given he is a rookie, this is understandable, regardless of draft status. Many wideouts, including first rounders, sort of fall into this. What they do with the opportunities when they are available, is the real question.

I think he undoubtedly should wet his whistle on STs. He played it in college, and is a thumper. He looks like a football player.

From the little I have seen, he plays football the way it should be played. He certainly is not afraid to stick his nose in there, whether it be on STs making a tackle, or run blocking from the wideout position. I like him, and I firmly believe he will be one of those cornerstone players in the coming years. Not a "build your franchise around him" kind of player, but an important player, nonetheless.

 

Biggest myth out there right now. I hear people say this all the time. Nobody proves it. The guy has a lot of bad tape of him particularly blocking. And we're not talking bad tape because he's a modestly sized wide receiver. We're talking BAD EFFORT tape. Hell I can point you out a play just from this Saturday.

 

Just asking but if/when Pouncey comes back, would it be worth looking into moving Satele to RG ? I mean if that's how bad Thomas is....and Turner isnt great at PassPro.....Satele is always a good Pass blocker I believe.

 

Dunno why bother with Satele at guard. He's never played it. And I doubt he'd make a very good one.

Just go with Billy Turner.

 

Ah, I have just seen some of the highlight stuff, and from what I have seen, it looks like he has no issue with some of these things. Of course, these are highlights.....

It's unfortunate, because it has certainly molded my perception of him. Because he does not do it consistently may point to an effort thing.

Just for s&g's: could you tell me which play you are talking about? Have the game recorded. I'll find it. He intrigues me, and I just want to see what the hell went on.