Things I learned this season

Ricky lost the ball 2 times in 15 games. Calm down. Ronnie Brown fumbled twice in 9 games, one of which was IN THE ENDZONE. Everyone is all of a sudden panicking about Ricky because of the INT. Ricky was open and is a running back, the blame should be on Henne. There was no need for him to gun it in there. Ricky is a big dude, you can't bullet a short pass and expect him to adjust to the ball so quickly, he's not a receiver.

 

1. Quit making excuses for Ricky. He shoulda caught the damn ball.
2. Ricky has fumbled 5 times this year. 2 were recovered by the other team. Ronnie Brown fumbled 1 time this year. It was recovered by the other team.

 

Henne will be a stud as soon as he learns to put some touch on his passes. If he doesn't learn that he is going to be what we see now. nothing more nothing less.

Love Davis and Smith, they have taken their bumps along the road but they normally bounce back.

Totally, diagree, we are going to have huge turnover on defense. The entire LB corp needs to be replaced, we need a FS and we need someone to split time with Soliai. On offense I could see them trying to upgrade LG and RT. We have no TE's worth a crap and we all know they need a #1 WR. The FO has a lot of work to do that is for sure.

 

I think it was the JAX game that he fumbled three times not the Titans game.

 

It's no secret what the two biggest needs for this team are. Not many teams have that luxury, or have more holes than they are able to fill.

The nucleus of this team is young, which is another plus. Chad Henne will be a premier QB in this league, I'm convinced of that.

 

1. have to agree, Ricky needs to catch that ball... period. Lets not forget the INT Ricky threw against the Bills.

2. Was Brown's lost fumble on the play he got hurt? AND he didn't get credit for it BUT the fumble at the 1 yard line vs SD was partly his fault.

 

I think there are some positions though that are more serviceable on our needs list, than others.

Our TEs are not good, but they're serviceable. Same with the WRs, we can get by another year with this corps.

In my opinion the needs go:
LB > FS > NT > TE > WR.

Honestly with our offense cranking out 20+ points per game, and us giving up more than that on defense, I think its pretty clear where our issues are.

This year gave us a lot of ups and downs, but I do think the hard part is over with. Work on getting some good defensive talent in FA and the draft, and if there's still money/picks left, work on the offense in my opinion.

 

You are right. NFL.com is wrong!

 

Ricky's a 32 year old who didn't start in years. Not making excuses, but he did fine in the role. Ronnie is a better starter at this point in their careers and Ricky is the first to admit that and that he'll be playing behind Ronnie again in 2010.

Ricky is the best backup in the NFL, because he works best now when he takes less snaps. Remember the game against the Saints? He looked like 2002 Ricky with half the snaps. It also takes pressure off Ronnie and allows Ronnie to get rest. Hopefully he stays healthy in 2010, he should since he doesnt take as many snaps as other starters. Ricky is still amazing and makes explosive plays as a backup, he just can't be a starter for this many games.

 

what do you mean by that?

 

Come On..

Ricky will always be one of my favorite players, but he made a typical mistake. He was thinking run before making the catch. You cant put that one on the QB.

Ricky is not and never was a good pass catcher. Ronnie is better in that area. But I still believe Ricky is the better pure RB between the two.

 

According to them, Ronnie only fumbled once.

 

i learned that with a good offseason plan, this team will be very good next year. not 16-0 good, but very good indeed.

LBs, LBs, LBs is what this team needs to jump to the next level .... we can get by with the rest we have .... of course there will be other changes, like at S, the DL if Ferg doesn't give one last go, and that dominant WR.

but the focus clearly needs to be at LB, LB, LB .....

not to dredge, but just think if we had not taken PW in rd 2 and taken any one of the remaining OLBs in that last draft ..... that alone would have gotten us 2 more wins ... i can only hope that PW comes to play next year - otherwise, he will quickly become this years Ginn .....

 

WR is the biggest need and will have the greatest impact on our won/loss record. We don't have a single WR that should be a starter. Bess can de a very good #3 and Hartline and Cam can be lower end #2s.

ILB is the next biggest need. However, ILBs play less due to nickel and dime packages and pass defense has less of an impact on won/loss records than pass offense.

OLB is a need due to age, but the fact is that their play this year was pretty good. If you check PFF, Taylor is currently ranked about 7th among 3-4 OLBs and Porter is 21st. I expect that at least one of those will be back and Wake looks to have the talent to be a star. Also Anderson and Moses are at least serviceable.

FS is a position that has a big impact on the won/loss record, but I don't expect much change there. Clemons has flashed some talent and outside of Berry I don't see much likely to be available in the draft or FA.

 

They are right, his only fumble was his last play of the season. Pennington took the fumble stat for the goal line fumble vs SD. However, that does not mean that Ronnie was not equally as fault. It is just the way the NFL stats fumbles on QB/RB exchanges.

 

There really isn't any LBs that went after White that are doing much. Kruger is the closest, but Sintim (whom most wanted) hasn't played well.

 

not a fan of the Pat White pick but how do you come up with that number?

 

can't back it up with statistics, but simply put - better LB play could have improved our win total, especially considering the 'closeness' of our games. i was not a fan of Stintim, but if we had selected the best LBer (OLB or ILB) at that position, our LB play would have been improved = better defense = more wins.

LB is the bane of this defense .... it has other shortfalls, but most are worsened by poor LB play, S for example.

 

Even after Johnson torched us? A top flight QB/WR combo is almost a must in this league, and we dont have it. It takes an offense to a whole new level. Thats not to say the others arent needs, but I think giving our young QB some real targets would boost us by at least 7 a game, not to mention extending our almost nonexistant big play ability, and 2 minute drills.

Regarding Pat White, it was a terrible pick, though really it was OL not OLB that had the big sucess run after White was picked. Unger, Levitre, Loadholt, Vollmer etc. With Smileys burgeoning injury issues and Careys inconsistency I would have loved one of those guys. Not to mention Massaquoi the WR. Coulda shoulda though.

We have GOT to get a better draft this year. 2 picks in the first 3 rounds wasted on White and Turner is not a good thing.

 

Totally disagree with the need for more offensive firepower as a highest priority:

The average points earned: 22.4
Average Points given up: 24

From that, with the exception of Buffalo and the Jags, we have given up at LEAST 17 points every single game, and with the exception of the Atlanta game, fielded at least 13 points every single game. Lets take that, and compare that to a playoff team playing at our level, such as say the Steelers

Pittsburgh average points earned: 22.5
Pittsburgh average points given up: 20

Giving up an extra 4 points every game would be the difference between us being in the playoffs, and us not.

The point I'm trying to make is that there aren't many teams sitting where we were at Sunday, in the playoff picture, that were performing as badly as we were on the defense.

In the NFL the Dolphins rank 16th in scoring on Offense, and 25th in Defense.

Maybe I'm wrong, maybe the Linebacker position is fine, and it's the Safeties, or the rookie CBs. But to me the problem is very apparent to be on the defensive side of the ball. Our Offense is at least getting by. There are teams going into the playoffs that are heavy on one side of the ball. The Chargers for example have a defense sitting at #13, and their offense is ranked at #2. So if we can make ourselves defense heavy next year, a #16 offense can carry us into the playoffs.

Bottom line, there is not a single team in the NFL that is in the bottom 10 in scoring on either Defense, or Offense, that is going to the playoffs, unlike our #25 defense. THAT is why we aren't in the playoffs. The only team that even comes close is the Saints sitting at #19 in points allowed, and thats because they have the #1 offense due to points to counteract that, and lead the NFL with 500 total points (the closest team is the Chargers sitting at 431, to give you an idea).

 

Agreed. 24, 34, 24 and 20. Those are the points we put up in those game, and the good teams - playoff caliber teams - will win at least 3, if not all of those games when putting up that many points. When you consider three of those games were at home, it stings even worse.

You didn't even mention the Buffalo game, when the defense absolutely collpased in the 4th quarter.

 

Thats a bit of a stretch to assume anyone drafted at that point would be better than who we have this year. If Wake had issues seeing the field, I don't think Clint Sintim or Kruger would be any different.

 

Don't count our chickens before they are all hatched. Pat White may very well end up packed up with other incentives to bring in a big player we need or to move up in the draft to pick who we really want

I just find it hard to believe Parcells and Company wasted a pick...given their history

 

And when those offenses sliced through our D, we utterly lacked the ability to respond quickly enough. Also, look at those teams - how did they win? QB throwing to a dangerous WR corps which we dont have.

Adding a touchdown in any of those games could have net us 4 wins right there. A WR may be able to bring that more easily than adding a number of pieces to a defense might be able to prevent it.

Not saying D isnt important or that it doesnt need work - far from it! But we need to address that WR slot.

Hopefully, but I dont see it. Its not Parcells anyway, its Ireland. I know people say BP is in charge, but I dont see it. This is Jeffs show now. That pick so far is an utter waste and I dont see it gaining in value. Maybe Im wrong, but I doubt it at this point.

 

I think its pretty clear that the White pick was Parcells' idea. If not his idea, something he approved of.

 

Why do you think so? Not disagreeing, just don't know of any evidence either way.

 

I too would be interested in hearing why. I dont dispute that his ideas and ideals carry weight with Ireland, but I dont see how that was "Parcells" pick more than any other. Parcells seems to usually be a bit more conservative than that.

 

If you're able to, watch the play in slo-mo; if you do, it is clear (to me) that Ricky did not see that ball until it was right near his face.

It was a combination of the throw being just too hard, and - for whatever reason - Ricky lost the ball looking into the backfield.

 

you HOPE the young cbs will be "stalwarts"
neither has had a solid season.
amazing how many big plays these 2 give up and yet everyone keeps heaping praise on them

 

1) How amny times has Ronnie fumbled in his career? Hint: its less than 5.
How many times has Ricky fumbled in is career? Around 45 give or take.
Ricky just has small hands, so its not entirely his fault. Admittedly, I was harsh on him the other day.

2) That ball hit Ricky square in the hands, to blame Henne is flatout moronic.

3) Ricky has shown to be a good WR, again no excuse for tipping it up like that.

And whose fault is that?

 

I think it's pretty clear that Henne hasn't been flawless the last two weeks. He has not put any touch on balls that are thrown 5-10 yards. He rifled that one to Ricky and he wasn't prepared to catch it. Stop trying to blame Ricky. This is ridiculous.

 

What I'm suggesting is that we don't try to assign "blame."

Yes, it's incumbent on any Receiver to get his head around for the pass; however, Henne was under no pressure (IIRC) yet he threw that ball before Ricky was even out of his break; who's to say he didn't simply throw that ball too soon?

It's something Henne has done a lot this season.

 

Again whose fault is that? Its a stupid excuse

Stop trying to blame Henne.

 

Parcells talked about wanting to implement some new football ideas. This was long before he was our GM. He apparently was speaking to several college coaches about the spread option during that time. I believe it was during those conversations that the decision to eventually bring in David Lee formed. When he did interview with us, he reportedly stressed that he wanted the autonomy to try some different things. Mort reported that Parcells wanted to try and revolutionize the pro game. There were no specifics then, but the hiring of Lee seemed to point to the big change he wanted to try. IMO White was the next obvious step.

 

I just don't think that people realize how small the potential coverage improvement is at ILB. Lets say we upgrade to Dansby at ILB. He is one of the better ILBs in the league and possibly the best coverage ILB that will be available. He is a guy I think we should look at, but the reality is that our coverage won't improve that much. Crowder allowed 76.3 % of the passes thrown his way to be completed. Dansby allowed 72.9 %. You're talking about stopping maybe two more passes over the course of the year. If we get a guy like Demeco Ryans, he allowed 84.1%. The fact is that all ILBs get beat and they get beat a lot. If we got a top 10 coverage performance out of our ILB then he would allow 70.6 % of the passes.

Now S is a position that does have a big potential for improvement in coverage. The problem is that there aren't any outside of Berry (who should be gone before our pick) that I see as having much better potential than our own Clemons. It's just a horrible year for FSs.

And I'll say this even though nobody seems to understand it. Offensive passing efficiency is more highly correlated with your won/loss record than defensive passing efficiency. This is not my opinion. It has been proven repeatedly by various different sites. I've posted the stats and links to the regression analysis several times. People try to argue about it with irrelevant stats about offensive points or yardage rankings but the math is clear. Improving your offensive pass efficiency has a a 23% greater effect on your won/loss record than improving your defensive pass efficiency.

 

When it comes to the draft, the only way i would use our first pick on a offensive player, is if Dez Bryant is looking me in the eyes at our pick. Otherwise, i am for sure going defense. Probably ILB or OLB, depending on what is avail, maybe even a Safety.