Free at last Free at last..lets go scouting boys..

Yeah...I have a short list of things that aren't being mentioned but which are going to start killing the team.

DT is tops on that list.

We're about to get real bad, real quick and no one's talking about it.

 

paul soliai is not the reason this rushing d has went downhill, watch the falcons, he was already on the decline last year

 

what a disappointing view it was to see that stadium empty on kickoff.....AGAIN...this issue has to be adressed...i don't know if this is fixable with a new or renovated stadium..its a culture issue and it sucks so bad

 

Huh? Might I kindly direct you to this prediction thread? I think you'll find that 10-6 was the most frequent answer, followed by 9-7, with a few 11-5's sprinkled in that I believe outnumbered the .500 and under predictions, so I have no idea what you're talking about. http://www.thephins.com/forums/showthread.php?82740-2014-AFC-East-Predictions&highlight=predictions

I've made no such comments about 9-7 representing an epic failure, so I'd appreciate you not putting those words in my mouth. Perhaps I could return the favor by saying- acting like 9-7 is some epic accomplishment is pretty weak, especially when this team had it in them to go 10-6 last year but finished 8-8 instead behind Joe's weak sauce.

Acting like he needs to be an "epic failure" in order to desire his termination is also pretty weak. All he has to be is not good enough, which is exactly what he's been.

 

The question is...is this team 9-7 or 10-6 because of Philbin or in spite of him?

This team is not as talented as some like to believe. We lack a complete RB. Our receivers are either limited are not being used properly. I am encouraged by the TEs but they're not performing as many top TEs in the league. Our interior oline is a mess and Albert's injury exposed some depth issues. DT has become a slight concern as we do not have an anchor that can take on a double team. LB outside of Jenkins is suspect as Misi isn't a 3 down backer and has too many nagging injuries. Our CB position opposite Grimes needs upgrading.

Having said this, there is an obvious disconnect between Philbin and the players. If he has lost the locker room, it's likely time to move on.

 

One of the reasons I was really looking forward to Moreno as a 3 down back. He can run it w/ toughness and pick up a blitz or release and be a threat out of the backfield.

Can't stand listening to him and half of the other clowns on there. More like a locker room.

 

If Anthony Johnson had 3rd round talent why'd he go undrafted?

I wouldn't count on him.

 

Saying more people predicted 6 wins than 9 wins is just blatantly inaccurate. It's like hey let's just start making sh-t up and pretending it's true because it would help my point if it was. Weeeee!

 

God bless.

 

You're making a bigger deal of it than it is. Our fans were loud when they were supposed to be and did a good job Sunday. It's not a stadium thing because the Miami Heat fans show up late to their games too.

In fact this franchise should be kissing the fans butts for staying so loyal.

Miami avged 12th in attendance this year by the way, about where they deserve. And yes I know they get help from opposing fans.

 

I'm not saying that Philbin is the answer but 10-11 wins would have been a stretch considering the schedule we had and the roster we have.

 

Our team is Philbin. It is the offensive system.

The players are not as important as they were in the old pro style offense. The players are dispensable, even the QB, especially this early in the development. Philbin is untouchable.

 

Schedule really not bad at all. That has been overstated quite a bit.

We got to take easy wins against teams like the Jags, Raiders, Jets (x2) and Bears. The Vikings aren't good either. We got to play the Pats in Week 1 as opposed to Week 10 when they're always on a roll. Several teams we played had some bad injuries of their own to deal with.

This isn't gonna end up looking like a ridiculous schedule. It's an 8-8 type schedule.

What will be interesting to see is what happens if they lose next week because the wheels could come off and suddenly where you'd have thought we beat the Vikings suddenly that may be in question. Should still beat the Jets though.

 

10-11 wins is a stretch considering the OC and the heavy passing playcalling, but it was doable considering the running game.

 

fixed those pesky typos for you.

I don't know if you were dropped on your head one too many times as a baby, but if you weren't, now's probably a good time to start. Just sayin.

 

Certainly not a bad schedule but it does rank #12 in SoS. With this roster, 11 wins would have been a stretch. 8-9 should be expected.

I think this biggest part of fan reaction and disappointment is that many thought we were close to a playoff contender. I think that those who saw through the major gaps in last years roster and realized only so much can be done in 1 offseason knew that a playoff run this year would have been because of knocking it out of the park with drafting/FA or a lot of good bounces.

 

https://www.facebook.com/events/550427655063875/?sid_reminder=937768309074427904

Looking here, Miami's schedule is a little more difficult than everyone above them, other than the Patriots and the Broncos. Which does show how far Miami is from the Patriots and Broncos.

Though the closest to the Dolphins is Ravens.

The weirdest team is the Steelers. Weakest SoS in the NFL, and has two losses against the Jets and the Buccaneers. Also lost to the Saints, who aren't very good.

Miami's is going to go down with the game against the Jets and the Vikings coming up. Though if Vikings upset the Lions, they can be .500.

 

I totally agree with this in principle. If Trent Dilfer can win a super bowl then it is obviously true that defense and and an excellent system of offensive game management with a QB who doesn't turn it over works; however, Tannehill will soon be due for a contract, and IMO he isn't worth jack****. Mundane QB's with a strong arm and little accuracy are a dime a dozen.

If the Dolphins go forward with Tannehill and Coyle's defense there will be no light at the end of the tunnel for Dolphins fans.

Oh! how I wish Ross would sell and we would get a real owner that actually cares about restoring greatness to the Dolphin organization.

It appears to me that Ross is satisfied to just put a viable product out in the market.

 

...and to add to that- what does it matter what Miami's schedule is if the team's talent was good enough to own 6 fourth quarter leads against 9 of those playoff hunt teams? The talent was there to at least go 5-4 against them instead of the 3-9 it ended up being, and that's all that matters, no. The rest is just an attempt to cloud everything. Some people are acting like we're suggesting Miami needed to go undefeated against them, when in reality a modest 4-5 record would have us smack in the thick of things.

We've got some passionate players and a roster full of guys who wholeheartedly believed they had the talent to be a contender this year, so if they end up at .500 and out of the playoff picture after a loss to New England, I could see the possibility of the wheels coming off, because that would indicate their utter frustration in their coach and a lack of desire to put it on the line for him, which would be quite telling about the season leading up to that moment would it not?

 

Yeah, I really think that is the fact being obfuscated by people. The Dolphins had good chances to beat some really good teams, and lost because the supposed strength of our team failed, time and time again. Had we lost those games in some sort of defensive dog fight, like 9-3 or 10-6, then people wouldn't be so upset. Too bad the opposite happened, the offense scored points, but the defense fell through. People are saying that given the strides out offense made, which many didn't think would happen, and our supposed strong defense, we should have made the playoffs. That is why this season is so frustrating, and why many consider it a failure.

 

I think common SOS measures probably overstate Miami's schedule in particular because of the first Patriots game. I've said it a thousand times. The Patriots at the beginning of the year are not the same team as they round the second half of the year. Toward they beginning they're basically a 9-7 or 10-6 team. They're beatable. By the end, they're like a 12-4 or 13-3 team. Remember back at the beginning of the year the Patriots lost to us, barely scraped by the Raiders, then lost embarrassingly to the Chiefs? Everyone was writing out their eulogy. It's over for Tom Brady who evidently can't throw anymore. That's what they said. Well, that's the Patriots team we beat, before they had rounded into form. But in SOS form it goes down as a 10-3 team.

 

Spot on again, Todd. The misconception that a new coach means a completely new roster is false. For me, it's pretty simple. Find someone that has some different philosophies on handling men, managing a game, make a few tweaks to the roster and we're going to be really frigging good.

 

It's funny how the two primary arguments against firing Joe Philbin and hiring Jim Harbaugh are that Harbaugh won with a great roster that he inherited, and we don't need to hire a new coach because the new coach will unnecessarily overhaul a roster that doesn't need it.

SMH.

 

A new HC doesn't necessarily mean a new roster, but it might. It depends on who you hire. If you limit your search to coaches who indicate they won'rt substantially remodel the roster, you will lose out on some of the better candidates. Almost every new coach will want to put his own stamp on the roster and bring in a few of his own guys and/or get rid of some guys that don't fit his schemes, etc. The higher profile guys tend to be the ones who have unique schemes and strong feelings about who/what they want and are more likely to make changes. Indeed, when new coaches come in and don't make major changes people tend to denigrate their success by arguing that they did it with so-and-so's players (which seems silly since all coaches who are not GMs do it with someone else's players).

 

i think this is nitpicking a little, we played the pats we won, what about the chargers who beat the ravens and hang tough with the pats...we clobbered them 37-0

 

The only thing untouchable are DE's rushing our passer or other teams RB's headind toward our LB's. If Philbin is our team, then our team is on the verge of being fired. Still trying to figure out what system you keep saying he implemented. I know you said that Philbin is a great coach, backed up by the factual evidence that "he is better than the rest" but sadly Joe has proven that the only thing dispensible is what he brings as HC of this team. Most are ready to keep a majority of the dispensible players and coaches you write about....while dispensing Philbin and his "System"!

 

I agree. This has certainly been a frustrating season. Where I differ in opinion is on WHY it's been a frustrating season.

I'm pissed because we don't have Moreno & Miller toting the rock 30+ times per game, we lost the anchor of our pass protection plus 5 CBs in a six week span, only one of whom have returned to action. We were a fringe playoff team to begin with, needing to play well and stay healthy to have a realistic shot at the post season. That, IMO, is what's being obfuscated.

 

And that is because the team doesn't have the sort of quarterback play to make it a playoff lock to begin with. Consequently its margin for error in making the playoffs is very slim, and you can consider "error" to be injuries, bad coaching decisions, unlucky bounces at critical times, etcetera. Teams like Denver, Green Bay, New England, Indianapolis, and Dallas have far greater room for error, because their quarterback play has gotten them over the necessary "hump" in terms of playoff contention. Those teams need only be anything but extremely poor in other important areas to make the playoffs.

 

Your reasons for hating Tannehill are disappearing...

 

I want Harbaugh

 

Tannehill is a quarterback who neither loses nor wins games for his team, and he therefore needs help from elsewhere (defense, running game, turnovers, etc.). The other teams I mentioned have quarterbacks who win games, and who therefore need much less help from elsewhere. It's simply a distinction that can be drawn between the Dolphins and other teams based on the way their quarterbacks are playing at the present time. It says nothing about the future, however.

Tannehill used to be a QB who occasionally lost games for the Dolphins, and he no longer does that, which makes the team better. He's improved in that area. His "floor" if you will has been elevated. His ceiling, however, still hasn't risen to the level of winning games like these other QBs. Consequently that makes the team have to play better elsewhere, and it doesn't have the horses to pull that off right now.

 

That'd be a decent point if we hadn't beaten the Pats in week 15 of 2013, when NE was...10-3.

 

I'm going to disagree with this. There are plenty of examples from this season where Tannehill made great plays, only to have them called back on penalties, or receivers drop balls. Tannehill has led the offense to 24.2 points per game, and had the Dolphins poised to score more points in a season since 1984. However, when the rest of the team is constantly letting him down, how do you keep putting it on him? Tannehill may not be elite, but he's better than a bunch of other QBs in the league, and he has given the Dolphins chances to win in most games.

 

Agreed. Gibson dropped an easy first down that would probably have led to us padding a 10-0 lead. A 34 yard laser to Wallace was erased by a questionable penalty vs Pouncey, another first down to Landry was negated by a blatantly bad call. Fields punted the Ravens down inside their own 5 late in the first half then the D went out and allowed a 97 yard TD drive. WTF? None of that had anything to do with Tannehill.

 

There are two areas of Tannehill's game -- 1) yards per attempt, and 2) deep passing -- that haven't changed since he was at Texas A&M, and that distinguish him unfavorably from the better QBs in the league.

 

Tannehill and deep passing...ugh.

 

Im more pissed that he doesnt just start becoming a mad bomber just to shut people up about his deep passing.

 

Is it possible he has a weakness?