Sports Buzz - Twenty Dolphins tidbits from Monday

and that's fine, but if you can't create on your own then it's just a pawn piece, I realize he's a sixth round pick, I guess I have to understand the h-back role better, because I don't see him being physical enough to win blocking assignments as a tight end, I don't see him leading the back and crackin helmets, I don't see him being able to shake loose defenders underneath consistently..

 

I wish Kevin Coyle all the luck in the world waiting for that to happen. Dimitri Patterson is a 9 year veteran and what Coyle just described has been his weakness for years, which is why he's always been a much better slot corner than perimeter corner.

But Coyle may be taking a little bit of a blind eye to Richard Marshall's own weaknesses in that area of his game. He allows big catches and especially gets flagged for pass interference on a lot of those throws himself.

 

I'm really liking Ellerbe. He adds a certain kind of violence to the defense that they have been lacking. There was a screen pass early in the game he just destroyed after punching off his blocker. Guy is an animal. Gotta believe his teammates will feed off of that

 

I'd like to see Ellerbe challenged in the passing game before I make a full judgment because that's really where his weakness lies. Same with Phil Wheeler.

 

I get the feeling that Kevin Coyle favors the double A gap blitz look pre-snap because it may force extra protection into the backfield. Even if they release out, they have to check whether the defense is blitzing or not before releasing, and starting off in the backfield creates unfavorable spacing for them as opposed to places they could start out and get more quickly into their route. That may be why Kevin Coyle may not care as much that Wheeler and Ellerbe have coverage weaknesses.

But I think there are some ways to defeat that...so we'll see.

 

Wheeler has shown me a bit more than I thought in terms of his pass coverage, he's fast sideline to sideline, stays close to his man, good COD, Ellerbee is very susceptible to play action, he's gonna be in that trailing position a few times down the seam, and he doesn't have great COD..I think we'll be less effective in strait man to man coverage than last year at those spots, but still would make the moves.

 

I see flashes with Wheeler, as I've always seen with him, but the consistency is not there. It's not coincidental IMO he let up some big passes in coverage against the Cowboys. It's something to keep an eye on a little bit. He's got the pure skills for it. I've always liked him, going way back to college.

Ellerbe on the other hand I don't know if he's ever going to be great backing up into coverage.

 

If he is adds an extra dimension in the passing game, as long as he can get "hat on hat" blocking then he should be fine. Yes, it is better to crack helmets, however if he is a good enough blocker to stop the linebacker from making the tackle, he will be good enough to play fullback.

 

Chasing a TE around, maybe not. But I do think he can help the passing game in other ways. He can crack guys catching short passes in his zone, chase guys at the sidelines, screens, blitzes, etc.

 

I agree. Ellerbe may end up good with blitz recognition. I think there was one blitz he did well on that way, althought it should be noted it was a pretty predictable and easy blitz to sniff out. Also passes out to the flats, he can impact those with his range which is something I've pointed out since I watched his tape in Baltimore. He can also impact mobile quarterbacks that way.

 

That is exactly what I was thinking when I read that, as it always seemed when Big Ben was scrambling was when a long bomb would get thrown Wallace's way.

 

yup, and there's a big difference between how a broken play develops with Wallace & Keller on the field compared to Bess & Fasano. You kinda gotta retrain your brain as well as try to become more patient b/c in Wallace & Keller's case that extra time likely equates to them freeing up for potential chunk yardage, where as with Bess & Fasano- if you see them open you should probably hurry up and get them the ball b/c there's a chance that window is closing quickly.

 

I think we have a way to go though. Ben is uncanny in knowing where everybody is on the field. Ryan is still a bit blind

 

yes but getting to that spot where Rothlesberger would reset takes a special trait in a qbs skillset, I've said before, I don't think he's in that league.

 

Players are trying to teach local media and half the fanbase on this very subject...and really, the topic should be directed at Tanneheill and the oline, not Wallace.

 

you make it sound like Tannehill is a non athlete with cement blocks for feet, Deej.
He certainly hasn't maxed out his ceiling when it comes to improvising under pressure so I'm not sure why you're treating him as if there's no room for improvement. He has enough mobility to make stuff happen when plays break down but he still has to work on developing it. The more reps the better the feel for it, but the QB needs to be in the right mindset to begin with, and watching how Ben utilizes Wallace can help create that proper mindset.

 

Mike Wallace's words in an article in the Sentinel (http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/miami-dolphins/fl-dolphins-0813-20130812,0,1799323.story):

Wallace is handling all the questions beautifully.

And Tannehill has it right, too.

Obviously, fans and media are going to question it until it happens in games (regular season games, especially), but both players have exactly the correct mindset. There was lots of talk of the one-trick-pony stuff about Wallace before and after he was signed, and I think the Dolphins coaches as well as Tannehill and Wallace want to dispel that myth. Or change it, one or the other. It sounds like they're confident it's going to happen, and not only happen, but happen in the framework of the Dolphins offense. And that's precisely the way it should happen. Nothing forced, but receivers getting the ball in the context of our offense and making plays.

 

Well...its getting frustrating for me bro..

When I'm studying him, I see someone who is fairly average at escaping the pocket when protection breaks down and not near the league of the other ones who have that trait, then someone will come in and say, wait a minute, these stats here say that he's very good when the defense blitzes, then I look again and I see a a lack of anticipation of the rush, a lack of instinct as to when he needs to break, then someone says, "but you don't want him to break to early", you want him to "stare down the barrell", then I look again and I see a delay to engage his athleticism to the point where he looks sluggish or not quick, and someone comes in and says, "but he played wide receiver" of course he has athleticism..

I'm trying to understand whether this slow processor that I'm seeing, this lack of precision in his athleticism is related to lack of experience or it's just what he's going to be..

 

IDK I think there's definitely something to be said about lack of experience/reps. Look at Henne- even he improved his ability to improvise under pressure and he's certainly not the athlete Tannehill is. Only so many aspects of the position you can learn in a year, so I think gaining a grasp of the offense and understanding NFL defenses supersedes trying to improve the improvisational aspect of the game as a rookie. Plus playing with a sprained knee didn't help matters.

IMO this is an aspect of his game that's still TBD.