I liked the question posted on the home page. I think the Miami Dolphins can ride this defense into the play-offs if Chad Henne manages the Miami Offense in a reasonable fashion with the up-graded talent surrounding him in 2011.
the biggest issue will be the offensive line. fortunately, this plays to Sparano's strength. I think the Center & BookEnds are set & the most athletic will prevail @ the right & left Guard.
Could end up any way but my best guess would be:
Long-Garner-Pouncey-Incognito-Carey (Murtha entering @ H-Back or blocking TE in specified formations)
if they get the OL right, our run-first offense will prevail, then Henne will need to get the ball out fast & on the numbers. hopefully, if we're pounding the ball, the pressure will be off & Henne calm down & get it right this year.
the team appears to be poised to make a play-off run, even if Henne is not the franchise future but can minimize turn-overs & move the ball through the air in a consistent & yeoman-like fashion. it's shaping up to be an interesting, if not post-season year for Miami.
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Who knows? Thing of this schedule is how many of the 3rd place teams that we play will be on the upswing, and how many will be simply crumbling under poor mgmnt/lack of talent?
Bpk likes this. -
the answer lies in our resolve to win not in the schedule. our personal effort is the only variable we control. the talent is right for the first time in decades. Jay Fiedler could lead this team to a SuperBowl if the cards fell our way.
I've got to believe that Chad Henne will step up enough in 2011 to get us to the playoffs. this team is loaded, we cannot afford to miss this opportunity.Aquafin, HULKFish and MikeHoncho like this. -
I really think our defense has the potential to be dominating and even better than the Jets, the key will be turnovers, turnovers, turnovers, as it usually is, but more so for us because our offense might not have that much room for error. If we can run the ball effectively and keep the turnovers down minimally, our defense CAN carry us into the playoffs. They are the biggest reason I am pretty optimistic going into this season.
ToddsPhins and GMJohnson like this. -
MrClean Inglourious Basterd Club Member
ToddsPhins likes this. -
We have a good defense with a chance to be elite, but it's far from the sort of defense needed to carry a team in any significant fashion.Aquafin likes this. -
everything is speculation, they may not move Carey to tackle but keep him @ guard. anybody can be beaten out of a start, it's all about competition. having said that, it makes no sense to me to stick with such a move. he is an elite right tackle that can play left tackle if needed. why fix what is not broken? I believe he will return to right tackle in the starting line-up. Carey is a proven bull.
Sparano recently said in an interview he would start the five most athletic/best linesmen, the discovery of that combination could be the reason he's shifting people around, including Carey to guard. I posted what appears to me @ this point to be a reasonable start:
Long-Garner-Pouncey-Incognito-Carey (Murtha entering @ H-Back or blocking TE in specified formations)
nothing is written in stone, just one posters' opinion -
I think he said he'd start the best five linemen not the five most athletic linemen. If it was about the most athletic Murtha would probably be your RT. This team likes to have it's LT be a tremendous run-blocker, chances are they want that out of their RT too.
Ray Willis is a guy who if he holds up in pass blocking, they'll seriously look at. It's also why Nate Garner probably isn't the best candidate at RT.the 23rd likes this. -
MrClean Inglourious Basterd Club Member
IMO, Colombo's pass blocking will be his downfall and it is a fair bet he does not even make the 53 man roster.
For reserves, I'd guess we keep 4 and based on today's roster, I'd say Garner, Berger, Barbre, due to them all be versatile, with Jerry on a short lease, getting one more season to justify his draft status.Coral Reefer likes this. -
Response to the OP: Does Rex Ryan have trouble finding his willie?
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I can say for sure that Murtha never played H back or TE at Nebraska. He was no different there, basically got by on his size and athletic ability but never put much time into perfecting any type of technique. The kid uses the skills given to him but does nothing, nor ever did, anything to climb the next rung on the ladder. Kinda like a kid that is not dumb and knows he only needs a B to pass and when he achieves that mark he stops trying. Thats Murtha. As some said, IF they find another OT that can beat him out he may not even be active on game day. Right now I can not tell you who is better, Murtha, Columbo or this new guy Willis. I am pretty sure Carey is staying at Guard though. Outside of him and Incognito we have no one else on the team capable of being a starting NFL guard. No, Garner is not one either. Jerry still does not impress me and Feinga is strictly backup/game day inactive material. This new kid DJ Jones is pretty interesting. Joe Berger can only play center. Thats abou it. IMO
MrClean likes this. -
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obviously, everything is still up in the air
having said that
I expect a tentative line to emerge near the end of training camp & tested in preseason.
this is a critical component of our success in 2011. got to get it right or everything will go wrong -
right on both points:
1) nothing is written in stone, everything subject to change
2) it is like the Orca-5, in as much as, we won the division riding on their backs & we will need another Orca-5 to win it again
the OL will be a critical component to our success in 2011
get the push & we run the ball, opening the pass
open the pass & we dominate the clock, keeping our defense fresh
fresh defense & we grind them into the ground
must get the OL right or everything will go wrong in 2011 -
No.
If the D only allows 10 that's pretty damn good; but if the O can only score 9, it's gonna be a loss every time.
The awesome D of the '85 Bears had Walter Payton and Willie Gault scoring on the other side from Jim McMahon having a career year. They didn't win on D alone. No team ever has. You have to be able to score when you need to. -
the OL will be a critical component to our success in 2011
get the push & we run the ball, opening the pass
open the pass & we dominate the clock, keeping our defense fresh
fresh defense & we grind them into the ground
must get the OL right or everything will go wrong in 2011 -
I think in today's NFL you can still ride a dominating defense into the playoffs. The Jets are living proof of that. But I don't think you can make it much further on just defense alone. The rules of today's NFL favor the teams with the strongest offenses.
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And I'm focused on special teams as well, the upcoming Atlanta game will be a huge test for that as Keith Armstrong is one of the top ST coaches in the NFL, I want to see how that unit performs. -
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MrClean Inglourious Basterd Club Member
Right now, it could be any of Colombo, Murtha, Garner, Barbre or even Willis. If I had to put money on which of those 5, I'd lay a dollar on it being Murtha, but nothing more. :) -
Could be.
Soliai came into camp with something to prove after competing during the offseason with his friend and fellow franchise tag player Ngata in Utah. Burnett is a huge upgrade to Crowder if stats mean anything and it looks like Jones has passed Clemons on the depth chart. If W Allen is healthy, he’s another big upgrade over Sapp.
Still way too early to tell but I think these guy have a chance to be dominant.
I’m not sure why you switched the topic to the OL.
If Jake’s ready to go to start the season the OL will be fine.
An OL of Long, Incognito, Pouncey and Carey only need 1 more guy to step up and man the RT spot out of Garner, Murtha, Kopa, Jones, Columbo and Willis. From what I’ve read at camp Murtha is handling Jake’s spot admirably. I don’t know enough about OL play to say he can play both sides.
From what I can tell, it’s all up to Henne.
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MrClean Inglourious Basterd Club Member
Trowa, Pandarilla and ToddsPhins like this. -
I believe it's 17 points that the offense must average to win a NFL. I remember the Buc's Warren Sapp saying that.
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If Henne has a QBR above 85 we're in the playoffs.
Of course, if Marc Columbo plays RT Henne may have trouble accomplishing that.ToddsPhins and Dolphins1Beatles like this. -
Well the Jets did in 2009. We'll need a strong running game though, and some luck. Hope we can rely on the run so Henne doesn't have a chance to throw late INTs with the game on the line. That's one reason I think they should sign Ricky, more running weapons. Speedy, creative Bush with Young and hopefully great Thomas with veteran who can still go in Ricky. I'd like that.
And let's hope the D can get turnovers. Some pick 6's would be nice! -
Plus the offense might be better than some might think., -
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Why couldn't the Dolphins ride the defense into the playoffs?
Baltimore
Pittsburgh
Chicago
Tampa Bay
Carolina
These are/were teams that went to the playoffs whose success was based on their defenses and of that short list there, I do believe all of them were Super Bowl Champions.
The old adage holds true. Offense wins you games, but defense wins championships. -
My one caution for this theory is last yr the defense was good, does it mean this yr the defense will be as good as well? Not always teams can fall off. -
Only mistake I see is asking Henne to "manage" and play conservative..he is never going to be Pennington he needs to have a lot less conservative play calling to be successful and let him TRY to win the game instead of not losing the game...jmo.
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simple truth, forever football reality:
to get to the Superbowl you must have an elite offensive line
it's the foundation all teams are quietly built upon
this is a critical component to success in any game. got to get the offensive line right or everything will ultimately go wrong -
got to get the offensive line right or everything will ultimately go wrong
with an elite offensive line:
1) the run opens, opening passing lanes as the defense moves up to stop it.
2) the pass game comes alive, allowing us to dominate the clock & maximizing our opportunity to score
3) the defense enters the game hyped-up, uninjured & well rested, ready to devastate the oppositions' offense
it all begins up front with the BigUglies -
NaboCane you are 100% right .
I dont understand the lets focus on defense crowd. our defense has not been the problem its been the offense and the inability to pass the darn ball
Its my belief that Miami had a super bowl caliber team when we had Welker, Chambers , Donald Lee , and Ricky but wwe were good that year we lost to the pats we had derick Rodgers, Zach , Bowens and I think Surtain, Brock Marion, and My main man Sam Madison.
the bottom line is No , A defense cant carry a team when your special teams have big issues and you cant throw the ball just refer to the oakland playoff game .NaboCane likes this. -
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Larryfinfan 17-0...Priceless Club Member
Really got off topic here....The question was "Can this team ride the D into the playoffs?"
My answer is that we just simply don't know yet.
ILB - Let's say we improved the ILB with Burnett (I'm not totally convinced about that. Crowder wasn't as bad as many here seem to think and the stats between the two were pretty close). Outside of the starters, we have Edds, Spears and Trusnik and a bunch of other more or less camp fodder guys.
OLB - Wake has taken that next step, he may even get a little better. Misi showed some promise and was at least solid, he should improve, but that's just a guess. JT will add some versatility in a limited role. Who else is there ?? Spitler ??
S - Have we improved the S positions ?? They were mediocre to poor last year. Some of that had to do with guys developing, but if you look at the really good D's, they tend to feature a dominant S...we don't have that yet. Are Jones, Culver, Clemons or Nolan dominant or even indicating from their play last season that they are on the cusp of that ?? I didn't see that.
CB - VD and SS look like a pair to be reckoned with, but have they really arrived ?? Davis might be a bit further along, but has he shown to be dominant ?? Smith had a tendency to digress some, or at least not really get better as the season went on. Allen is coming off an injury and age is creeping up on him...If he can man the 3rd CB spot, and the other two can improve we will be set. What about injury ??
So, just like the O, there are several things that have to happen in order for this to become a 'dominant' D. It is good. It has been improving. It isn't dominant. No, at this point, I don't see us riding the D into the playoffs unless the O improves in buckets. That could happen, the odds are against either, but if things fall into place...
You just never know...
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