The two games I want to talk about this question in regards to are the Colts and Saints games. The question is simply, "What caused Miami's failures to win these games...play-calling/coaching adjustments or simply inferior talent?" This is basically a spin of a great thread in the Club Level who I must give credit to "BPK" for creating a great thread. My take is that I have no clue to be honest and that's why I wanted to start this thread. Personally I hope its inferior talent because talent can be acquired but coaching tweaks/replacements set teams back years and I am tired of a losing product. Now also let me say that I am not doom and gloom on this season and this is not a thread to complain but rather get to the bottom of this problem in some way. I still think with an easier schedule coming up that Miami could go 4-1 or 5-0 in the next fives games (Jets, Pats, Tampa, Carolina, and Buffalo) and be either on top of the division or close after that with a 6-5 or 7-4 record. I know call me crazy but NE has three tough games coming up (Miami, @Indy, @New Orleans) and could easily lose two of those, possibly all three. Plus Miami has another huge game against them, the NYJ, and Buffalo which can get Miami right back in this. So there is still time. One reason I feel this way, and back to the topic of the thread, is that Miami may have more talent than 3 maybe 4 of the teams they face in the next 5 games. When looking at the Colts and Saints games it appears that Miami had less talent as Miami just couldn't hold off either team...or was it coaching missteps? That is the question that bugs me personally. We know that coaching can cover up inferior talent as we have seen here in Miami last year and New England has done it for several years. However talent can also help cover up inferior coaching (although to a lesser degree). For me I just can't figure out if Miami had more talent if they would have beaten both the Saints and Colts or if better adjustments and play-calling had been made if they would have won. Its the chicken and egg argument really and I am stumped. So once again the basic question is, "Does Miami need more talent to be a good team or do the coaches need to do a better job with adjustments and play-calling?" The best case scenario is that the Miami coaches feast on the weaker schedule down the stretch as no Indy or NO talent teams are left and they cover up for talent shortcomings much like last year but that can be a problem if the coaching isn't what we thought it was (gulp). If Miami gives the same efforts they gave against Indy and NO they will beat any of teams still left on their schedule because none of them have the Indy or NO talent. The problem will be if Miami can get up for games after this devastating loss and I sure hope they can because Miami came back from a 2-4 (1-1 division) hole last year and this year at 2-4 (2-0 division) they can do it again. 9-1 down the stretch two years in a row is a tall order but it can be done even if the chances are slim (I also think 8-2 and a 10-6 year could capture this division but that is another post I've already made). Also I bolded the main question of the thread for easier/quicker reading.
More talent and coaching. I still have faith in Sparano, he's still green. He'll learn, if not Parcells will give him a loving kick in the rear I'm sure.
We win the games we are supposed to ( aka beat teams w/ less talent), and we almost win the games we are not supposed to ( aka teams with better talent). The amount of turnover on this roster over the past two years has been insane. And the coaching staff has done a great job handling that.
I have to go with talent. Look at the Saints roster on offense, then compare it to ours. I realize games are not played on paper, but coaching and determination only get you so far. The fact this team has been as competitive as it has speaks volumes about the coaching staff IMO.
I think it is a combination of both sometimes,coaching when they don't make adjustments like New Orleans did yesterday when they where losing and talent when you see missed tackles and dropped passes. I agree that our hardest part of the schedule is now over and we have a chance at a turnaround but I would maybe like to see a few changes here and there like maybe starting Clemons at safety to see what he brings and more Cameron Wake on defense.
I think both. There are major positions that need overhaul (see: WR, possibly TE, possibly LB, and if I'm not totally convinced about Wilson/Bell by the end of the year S). It's easy to blame coaches. It's easy to blame QB's. It's also very easy to blame players who have bad games. I think you have to take a look at the organization as a whole. There are reasons why we took players we did in FA and the Draft. There are reasons why we lose these games. I think it's honestly the 1-15 record still hanging around in the air. We're only one good season away from that, and while the roster is overturned I think the expectations are still rough around the edges. We're doing well with what we have. We can at very least hang with the big boys (see: Indy, NO, etc), but we're still something away from being able to pin it. I think maybe our ST guy might get the axe over the summer if that portion of the game doesn't step up, and I think we'll see a few WR, TE, LB drafted. Also I think that our rookie CB's are going to have a lot on their plates (as will the DB coach) because Allen is out for the year with an ACL injury. If people thought we were getting burned big time before I say don't hold our collective breaths. Davis showed some major hustle yesterday and smith has batted down some passes, but they're rookies and good - to decent - QB's like to eat rookie CB's for breakfast. The defense has to continue to step up, and against Indy and NO I don't know if it's possible they can do that for 60 minutes for the rest of the year. I hope they prove me wrong. We hung some points on some pretty major teams, so I'm reluctant to call the O out on this. I know they're to blame.. there were a few dropped passes. Clearly looking to get upfield prior to having the ball. Parts of us are still in shambles...
Both very good points, we are still building, we have a QB who is still learning..he'll get better as the game continues to "slow down" for him, but that takes actual playing time. It is going to be painful for all of us, but I feel he'll get there and that is not long off. We all know the short comings of this roster, but this is only year 2 of the Tuna rebuild.
The Saints was a talent issue. They came out in the second half with NINE in the box. They were beggars for the pass. The blitz was picked up. The throws were on target. What's left to explain the incomplete passes? The Colts was a playcall issue. There was no reason to stop running Wildcat. They had EIGHT in the box in the first half when the Dolphins were still jamming it down their throats. For no good reason whatsoever, we just up and quit running it. For me the difference was striking. COLTS = Eight in the box = RUN because it was still working. SAINTS = Nine in the box = There was no option. We had to PASS.
This is from a Saints fan who has only seen 3 of your games this year, so, maybe I overlook something. It seems to me that in the game against Indy AND N.O. you guys were one reception away from winning. Ginn's drop in the endzone in your first game had me thinking (really!), "Colston would've made that catch". In the N.O. game several of your receivers let you down by dropping catchable balls when the game was on the line. So, it seems your coaching was sufficient to win both games. What I think would make the difference is ONE sure-handed, fleet receiver.
Watching that first pick 6 of the second half, somebody completely whiffed on a block on the left side. I think it was Polite, but not sure. Polite usually doesn't miss blocks.
I would say playcalling and adjustments. In the Saints game all the movement and pressure was working. Then they switched to a lot of base coverages which seemed to implode then didn't switch back. Same for the offense. The running game was going early then Henning started throwing in too much and changing what was working. He seems to be either great or awful, nothing in between... Then there was the Ginn factor. Dude is so scared of contact that its just rediculous!