A slow shift in offensive philosophy for Dolphins?

Nope.
We will still be a run first play action pass style offense. I think we will take more shots than before but we stick to our bread and butter which is the run game. We can spread the field a little more and there will be more big plays but the philosophy stays the same IMO.

 

It's all about Brandon Marshall..I look for 2 thousand yard receivers and 2 thousand yard runners.

 

great post, I do feel that last years offense was mostly based for Chad Pennington. Since he was hurt early in the season most of the packages were still short passes and runs, things that Chad senior would be great in doing. Since Chad Henne took over, his arm strength is greater and so the offensive play design at first was not really for the deep ball. If you notice toward the end of the season was when they were able to get more passing plays, something that Henne would feel more comfortable or enjoy doing more. That said, I do feel that this year they will throw more then previous years and still keep up a great running game as now the opposing defense will have to respect the pass. I would love for their to be two 1000 yrd receivers in our team and I do believe that we do have the potential for that to come true. It all just depends how our players play the game.

 

IMO it's all about passing efficiency and adaptability. I preferred the Dolphin's '72 offense to the '84 offense. Both years had highly efficient pass offenses, 8.6 YPA in '72 and 9.0 YPA in '84, but the '72 offense could win either way. That's what I want to see the Dolphins develop this year. It's obvious that the NFL has changed so the Dolphins will almost certainly pass more than they run (they did last year) and the percentage of pass plays may even increase slightly as they trust Henne more (unless we blow every team out and spend the second half trying to run out the clock, sorry slipped into daydream mode), but I want the team image to be that of a running team, even if the reality is slightly different.

 

We were 7-9 with a horrible d last year, and our offense nearly overcame that. Now with a WR with demanding the double and not allowing the opposing D to stuff our line constantly we could easily go 10-6 . I know its simplistic but most of you will agree that we were really close to the playoffs last year, if we could have been more clutch on offense, it would be a done deal. Now that, at least on offense, we have more talent, we can come out on top this season hopefully. So I don't see us changing our whole mentality when it is about to rise to its full potential. If we can command the time of possession by our ground and pound techniques, and then cash in on the "chunk yards" we missed last year, then our scheme is perfect. And all of our coaches are run first type of guys so if we change our scheme it would not suit them. As for two 1000 yard receivers, I can't see why not, Hartline and BM are imho the best wr's on the team and we do throw the ball a decent amount, people seem to overlook that.

 

Ok, I don't get the 'slow shift in philosophy' part because the article goes on to say that Hartline wants the ball more, has a goal of 1000 yrds and goes on to say "I want to throw the ball this year. I hope the coaches do too...." so that really doesn't indicate a shift in philosophy to me unless the article would have said that there were indications by the staff that that philosophy was going to change ???

At any rate, as for Hartlines' enthusiasm, that's just what you want from your WRs, especially young guys that showed some promise as he did last season. As Henne develops, we should see changes, provided he's the QB we all seem to think he is...

On a side note, remember the offense last year was set up for Chad Pennington, not for Henne. It was tailored to Penny's strengths and weaknesses. It was a third of the way thru the season when he got hurt and changing the offense to suit Henne's strengths and weaknesses was almost impossible. This year, from the get-go, it'll be Henne's offense, tailored to his strength and weaknesses and with that arm of his, the short passing game may be pared back quite a bit and we should see more downfield stuff from him...or at least it makes sense that we will....

The key will still be, can we run the ball consistently and can we run when we have to....I think we'll be able to that, making the passing game that much more a weapon with Marshall and Hartline leading the charge...

 

Hartline better learn to rack up the YAC then. Seriously, I don't know what its going to be like watching Marshall break tackles and get yards after the catch cause our wrs haven't been able to do that in...ever?

 

I wouldn't say that. Gadsden in his short career has some tackle-breaking ability. he just had those big Fred-Flintstone arthritic toes that prevented him from getting very far afterwards.

 

http://www.nfl.com/players/brianhartline/profile?id=HAR725593

I think he's fine with that. A 16.3 YPC average would typically mean he made some big runs somewhere in there. I think that is one thing Hartline provides this team; an ability to run after the catch with more speed and power than Devonne Bess.

 

I'll say as I've been saying... Hartline is great and barring a sophomore slump he should be the #2 guy. Camarillo a close 3 and Bess the prototypical Slot receiver. And lets not forget Fasano looking like 08! Throw in Ronnie as a receiver with a dash of Ricky, Haynos, Sperry and maybe even an appearance of Turner/Johnson/Wallace/RGM and we'll be good to go! Especially with that upgraded OL!

 

I think 1,000 yards might be a stretch for Hartline. I'm thinking more like 700 realistically. But I like that he's thinking big. Either way pounding the ball or throwing it all over the place this should be a fun offense to watch. I can't wait for the season.

 

hey dolfan7171, thanks yea I would always come here to check up on my phins but I was never a member until recently I decided to create an account.

 

Personally, I would be a little surprised if any of our WRs got 1000 yds. I wouldn't be surprised however to see 4 WRs get 700+ yds.

 

Also, I wouldn't really say this team has had a pass first or run first philosophy. We've really had the philosophy that we can beat you in with a lot of different guys. If your defense has a weakness, we'll be able to attack it, because we spread the ball around.

 

IMO our philosophy should be ATTACK. Attack whatever weakness our opponents have. Its sounds simplistic I know, but its a capability we've lacked for the last 30 years. We've either been run run run with just enough passing to get by or vice versa. Now, with Marshall on board and a good QB, we can dictate to our opponents.

Teams with weak front 7's, we can play smash mouth ball against them. Teams with weak secondaries we can attack them through the air. Teams with questionable depth, we can go high tempo. Teams with great offenses, we can play the ball control game. We have the tools to play virtually any kind of game we need to play, and unlike some of the more potent offenses around, we have no obvious weaknesses that can be exploited. Crowd the box, we'll go play action. Play coverage, we'll pound you. Blitz, we'll throw screens and short passes to Marshall and Hartline who have great-good YAC capability, respectively.

Back to the point on weaknesses. There are alot of potent offenses in the league, but most have weaknesses that can be exploited by the right team/scheme. The Vikings, Packers, Patriots, Chargers, Texans, Colts, Eagles have great passing games but struggle to move people off of the ball. If you can force them into long yardage situations and pressure the QB you can have success. The Cowboys are stacked, but their OL struggles in protection (see playoffs vs Minneasota). The Bengals and Jets are run first teams who only have one effective RB, a bad mix considering it takes 19-20 games to reach the Super Bowl. The Jets also have a turnover machine at QB. The Titans have a QB who struggles to execute on a consistent basis, and only one capable runner. The Giants were the epitome of balance, but their OL began to break down last year and thier depth at the position is questionable. The Lions have great weapons, but no dominant runner and a leaky OL. The Cardinals have a giant ? at QB.

Our offense doesn't have the explosiveness or star power that some other teams have, but how are DCs gonna attack us? I haven't figured it out and trust me I've tried. Last year we couldn't stretch the field or keep defenses honest. We also struggled in pass pro, especially at the G position. Marshall will keep defenses honest or make them pay for trespassing in the box. I'm still concerned about our Guards vs. quick interior rushers and exotic A-B gap pressure packages but aside from that, we'll be OK.

Our srceen and check down game should improve also. It stunk the last two years b/c all of our WRs were harmless anywhere past 10-15 yds downfield, so there was no mechanism to force a defense to expand and create space underneath the coverage. Marshall should help with that, and open opportunities for Ronnie, Cobbs, Ricky to do damage in the short game. Bess should have more room to operate, Fasano as well. Hartline/Cam will see single coverage all season. We struggled in the red zone because we had no RZ targets, again, Marshall should fix that. I dont see us being as explosive as the Texans, Eagles or Packers, but when it comes to efficiency, I think we'll be at or near the top of the league. IF HEALTHY.

Putting 10-14 points on the board in the first half of a game works wonders for a defense, especially a young group like ours. If the D can give us a turnover/short field once or twice a game, and if we can find a PR/KR who can give us good FP another one or two times a game, there's no reason we cant put up 24-26 points a game. Any competent defense can hold its own when the offense is scoring, controlling the clock etc. Anyhow, I'm tired of all this talking and conjecture, thank Jeedus the pads are going on Friday .

 

While it's possible, I hope it doesn't happen that way. The fact of the matter is that we don't have 4 WRs that are about equal in talent. We have one WR who is head and shoulders above the others. If he doesn't get more yards than the others then either he wasn't targeted enough or he is severely under performing. Either way our offense wasn't maximized.

 

If Henne is lights out, maybe.

For now, I say no.

 

Lets worry about getting one 1,000-yard receiver.

 

I think the Coaching staff will try to air it out much more simply because of our RB situation. Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams are two guys with a solid O line that are capable of Pro-Bowl seasons. The problem is that one is 33 and the other has only been around long enough to post one 1,000 yard season. They know they have All-Pro RB's. They know too much work and they'll burnout. I think getting Marshall was done 35% so we could keep Ronnie and Ricky from burning out. Similar principle in Minnesota. AP is an all world back. You just wouldn't want the season have to come down to the ball staying in his hands. Brett Favre allowed them to pass more than T. Jackson or Sage could. We want Ronnie and Ricky to stay healthy but we don't want our season to depend on them staying healthy. Giving them less work maximizes the length of time we can work them.

 

The passing offense is as good as it has been in years. With Brandon Marshall getting passes from Henne this team has the potential to really step up, freeing the other receivers for more production, and forcing opponents to ease up on the running game, resulting in more yards for Brown and Williams. Should be an interesting year to watch the offense.