Couldn't it be that Tannehill just thought he was the best option on those plays? Why does it have to be a coaches directive to feed him the ball?



And I'm not any more concerned about Clay this year as our starting TE after this week than I was at any point before we signed Keller or after he got hurt. I think he'll get better as the year goes on, but even with that, I am sure he will disappoint at times.

 

JMHO, but we are desperate at TE if we have to rely on Clay. Either he had the worst game of his life last night, or he is just plain pathetic. I watched every pass he dropped multiple times in slo-mo and there was only 1 pass I would give him a "pass" on, the rest IMHO he had no excuse and he has little to no ability to separate and get open.

 

Very worried. I'd much much rather have Sims in there.

 

Very worried. We need to pickup a veteran TE on either the waiver wire or trade for one.

This offense will be hurt by the lack of a TE threat down the seam.

 

My problem was Clay seemed lazy at times with his route running. Nat Moore and Griese were discussing it some also during the broadcast.

Although, on the play very early, first drive, Tannehill took a shot and hit Wallace for an 11-12 yard play, Clay clamped his route down hard which if he didnt he would have lead his defender right into the passing lane to Wallace, so that was good.

A few times Clay had opportunities to grab the ball in the air and make a catch, instead letting it come to him gives the defender a chance to knock it away. He needs to watch Tony Gonzalez, Gates, Greg Olsen and some of the better TE's in the league watch them take control over the defender, make a physical catch with their hands and dominate the seam.

He may get better with it, I hope he does, but right now we are NOT scaring anyone with our TEs when they gameplan against the Miami Dolphins. Only Egnew, Clay and/or Simms can change that with their play. We'll see what happens...

 

Ok, cool. Only one explanation is possible for any single outcome. I'm glad we've established that.



Hartline and Wallace had 9 targets combined. Gibson had 8 targets.

 

That's not any different from the past 4 years at least, so at least it isn't something new to deal with for coaches (I realize different coaches are involved now).

 

Doesn't make it a good situation to be in.

Although not many teams can lose their starting TE and scare defenses, so it's not surprising.

 

They weren't feeding him the ball, he was getting the ball thrown to him pretty legitimately.

I'm not really all that worried. He's got a lot of talent, but he needs to start doing better when the ball is in the air. He's going to be getting a sink-or-swim situation forced on him, which may very well work out.

If not, I doubt he's Kellen Davis bad for example. We've got other offensive weapons.

 

this, why do we have to exxagerate after one game....always

 

I knew we'd miss Keller's presence, but it's really, really obvious that the combination of Clay, Egnew and Sims didn't do anything to bolster our confidence in any of them... Rodriquez, on the other hand filled in admirably in the role they originally had slated for Clay at FB/TE.

The biggest thing, is that of all the new toys Tanny has, Keller was the one he liked the most. Now, it'll take time for the chemistry to be built with Clay (I assume), but he lacks the ability to work his way open for Tanny and he lacks the scary speed that Keller had...

The question of replacing Keller is still clearly unanswered...

 

I dont know that Im that worried...because honestly....I think we have a very deep receiver core. We can go 4/5 wide and do well.

 

Start Sims next week.

 

IMO his biggest problem is that he cant seem to be able to get separation and his routes are inconsistent.He doesnt seem to be a good fit at TE except as a blocker.

It is apparent to me that we do not have an adequate replacement to Keller at TE unless Sims develops fast.

Perhaps we will have to add someone else to the roster.

 

Keller was basically a wide out split out anyways. The problem is, he was a mismatch for linebackers. Hes going to be missed for sure. Especially in the redzone.

 

stop crying about the TE play, it was one game, he dropped some balls, but at least he was open...always this exaggerating after one freaking preseason game

 

LOL. I love when people do this.


This isn't one preseason game. The second Keller got injured people should of been worried. This isnt one preseason game. This is anyone with football knowledge knowing anything about football knows the level of drop off we had at TE. Did I mention this wasnt one preseason game?

 

I'll say what I've been saying for years...he has looked to me since he entered that his talent be valued as a backup special teamer, he has some stiffness in the upper body, limits his catch radius, and ability to separate..I would take the risk and roll with Sims or Egnew as the starter, whoever's ' closest mentally in relation to the play book.

 

it was the first preseason game after keller´s injury and i for one like to see more evidence than a couple of dropped passes and no one won´t admit that keller is a huge loss, but still throwing his replacements under the bus after one game is the easy way

 

I'd like to see Sims and Egnew given more of a go, Clay is a good player and can do some nice things especially from the FB position but i just don't think he should be a starting NFL TE.

Sims is a good blocker and a big body near the end zone though he obviously isn't the seam buster everyone wants nowadays. Egnew could be the receiver but his struggles with blocking and confidence have been well documented. Add those two to Clay and i don't think our situation is that bad but people need to step up and show more than they have so far.

As for picking up other options i don't know what people expect, the way some people are talking there are starting players available for next to nothing, we could pick up someone like Visanthe Shiancoe but he's really another piece you add to the others not a straight replacement for Keller.

 

I'm actually pretty sure Egnew overtakes him as the main receiving TE early in the season. Sims is a better blocker already IMO and thus will get the #2 spot.

 

If as you state, Clay was the best option on those six throws to him by Tannehill. This makes me even more concerned in regards to Clay, as this team TE. He caught only one of those throws for five yards and he had trouble separating from the defenders on the other five throws.

There was a reason the Dolphins tried to upgrade the TE position in free agency and why they went after Cook first and then eventually signed Keller. It was because the coaching staff knew that Clay and Egnew were not the answer at the TE position. Perhaps Sims can be a decent blocking TE during the regular season and have a few catches, but as of right now, TE is a major area of concern for this team.

 

I think if we're looking for Clay to go in and fill exactly the same role as Keller in this offense, that probably won't work and evidence from last night would also suggest that. We do have a staff which prefers to fit players into their preferred system, but when an injury occurs to a major starter the coaches have to be prepared to adjust. Those possible adjustments however, will not be apparent until the beginning of the regular season when proper preparation takes place. Thus we can't really answer the question posed here until that time.

 

To me its simply a fact that Keller was a true weapon on the field that a defense had to prepare for and in a game had to account for. Clay, Sims and Egnew are not yet a legitimate weapon on the field and not the threat Keller presented. Maybe one or more of them will develop into that eventually but they have a ways to go. I feel sorry for Tannehill in that regard since he and Keller had developed some chemistry and now Tannehill has to find another player to provide that security blanket.

 

[video=youtube;--hMJPUBwMc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--hMJPUBwMc[/video]

 

I cant believe how dolphin fans cant see the truth and that is we are not going to be very good . Runningbacks are ok but nothing more . our wrs is we have one great wr and the others are average . I think Tannyhill wll be a good qb . our oline is questionable and the tightends are below average. I am skeptical only because many fin fans refuse to see the truth and and will fish for compliments when there is no fish in the pond.
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we have a tough schedule but if we go into the bye 4 -1 then everything I said s nullified my hunch is that we will be 1 -4 gong into the bye but My heart wants to say we will win 3 out the 5 going into the bye.

if Ireland had any clue he would have brought in more talent then he has so I don't think we are as good as many here blindly think .

My goal is to see us aquire two more tightends and another runningback . of course two more olinemen would help too. I think we can be good on defense but I just don't see it on offense.

 

He's not a good player. At all.

 

Clay hasn't shown much thusfar in the NFL other than he *may* be a decent complimentary receiver option. He hasn't, imo, shown he is a starting caliber TE though. But let's be honest, what other option do we have? It looks pretty dismal whether it is Clay, Sims, or Egnew out there starting.

 

I’m not worried about Clay at all. I’ll take Wallace, Hartline, Gibson, Clay, Sims and whoever else fills out the roster over any group of receivers Miami has fielded in a long time.

 

Obviously our TE situation isn't ideal but I honestly think Clay will play better than he did last night. He has shown that he can and I think more than anything last night was probably a mix of a little rust and jitters combined. Sims will be a legit TE and between Clay and Egnew I feel like they will be more comfortable in the next few games. I'm sure we will see a lot from our TE in the next game against the Saints. Biggest thing for me about Clay is the route running and effort on getting separation from his defender. If he can work on that in the next few weeks he should be alright

 

I'd rather get Egnew and Sims more snaps... in 3 years, Clay has never lived up to his potential. He has questionable hands, and cannot separate from a defender on his own. His route running is bad and he lacks awareness or the ability to make plays. Twice last night he batted balls up into the air where they could have been intercepted. Last night he could have solidified himself, but failed to do so. Pretty sure we pick up another TE once cuts start happening.

 

More like 2, to be fair. And I'm not sure how much "potential" you can really expect a 6th rd pick to live up to.

 

This is the truth. And the truth is very sad.