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The Problem I See on Offense

Discussion in 'Miami Dolphins Forum' started by KeyFin, Oct 1, 2017.

  1. KeyFin

    KeyFin Well-Known Member

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    The announcers said something interesting today as I was falling asleep in the 4th quarter- Cutler said in an interview that he didn't offer Gase any suggestions in weeks 1 and 2 because he didn't know the offense good enough. And that got me thinking...didn't we do the exact same thing last season with Tannehill where Gase kept things too conservative until RT sort of demanded that they loosen up the playbook?

    I rarely post on Sundays anymore because I want a day or two to stew things over, but it was very evident today that we just weren't going to move the ball. We were aggressive on that first drive and the pick in the end zone wasn't really on Cutler...the ball placement wasn't perfect but he had a huge TE that should have gone airborne and hauled that toss in. There was obviously miscommunication though as he was expecting a bullet in his gut while Cutler tossed the floating jump ball.....and everything changed from that point forward.

    On Ajayi runs, they were all simple off-guard attempts where a hole briefly opened and shut...Jay bounced almost very single run around the end. I'm not knocking Ajayi because the space wasn't there and Gase kept calling the wrong play- you can't run in the B gap if there is no B-gap. Our linemen were winning though; it just wasn't huge holes and Ajayi didn't risk it.....so he chose to take the end 1:1 and try to outrun the linebackers. That's not how the play was designed though so all the other blocking was off...Pouncey was driving his 2nd level bock TOWARDS Ajayi because that was his job on that particular play. Although we were somewhat successful on the ground, it was all Ajayi talent and very little scheming/planning. But we were winning our blocks and adjustments never came....

    The problems in the run game today was 100% Gase. And I don't know if you saw Ajayi screaming on the sideline in the first half but I guarantee you that he was basically saying the same thing.....stop sending me up the gut when there's nothing there.

    Not a huge deal there since the run game is easy to fix, but we killed so many drives trying to run the football. 2nd and 8 would lead to 3rd and 7 because the ends would stay home and wait for Ajayi to come to them, then we'd throw a screen to Landry and the drive ended. So I don't think the problem is the run or the pass (besides the inaccurate tosses from Cutler at times), it's simply how Gase is calling the plays and pissing away drives. We need to be calling super high percentage plays on 3rd down and we just aren't since Gase is being motivated by what he saw on 1st and 2nd down.

    And that brings me back to the comment the announcers said- Cutler is not offering advice on the sidelines like RT did last season. This is clearly a communication problem and Gase being somewhat out of his element. Honestly folks, we would be better off with Moore on the field (for now) since he's going to do whatever the heck he wants to do. But at least Moore knows this offense and how to get the most out of it....Cutler just isn't there yet and Gase is trying to be as conservative as possible. We clearly can't win with conservative though.

    So how do we fix this? One of two ways-

    1) Bench Cutler for a month, let him work alongside Gase and Moore to really get a feel for this offense. Maybe we lose all four games or maybe not, but Cutler and Gase need the time to get up to speed and they obviously didn't have it on this crazy road schedule. The travel alone is a big culprit here and why the run game problems haven't been ironed out- it all comes down to Ajayi though and how we're using him. Moore is clearly the better choice TODAY to get the most out of this offense.

    2) Leave Cutler in and simply set him loose on some drives. Let him call his own plays for short stretches and see what happens. Maybe it helps, maybe not....but at least it solves the problem of Gase not getting the proper feel for how aggressive to be with a guy that doesn't fully know the offense. The training wheels have to come off Cutler immediately though since he's clearly the best QB on our roster.

    #2 has a caveat though- we see how often Cutler goes to his TE in critical situations. It was a great throw when he was wide open in the middle of the field without coverage, but I question why we went with a 5-receiver set with only the TE split out to the right on that goal line play. Was that Cutler's influence because he's comfortable with his TE (sorry, can't think of the guy's name at this moment)? Or was it Gase calling a play Cutler would be comfortable with? That was one of the few times I'd like to see a Landry screen or quick slant and we ignored all our athletic WR's for a jump ball......that play call really bothered me.

    In any case, we have an offense that should be scoring 30 a game with almost ANY QB. And while our execution may be off, the underlying problem is that Gase just doesn't trust Cutler enough to let him run this offense. There's only one way to fix that and hopefully heading home will do a lot of good for Gase/Cutler....they need to sit side by side today on that flight home and just talk things out. That's the only thing that really needs to be fixed with this offense- the communication just sucks.
     
  2. Bpk

    Bpk Premium Member Luxury Box

    Agree that something in the Gase/Cutler mix is off. I do wonder if Jay's arm is 100% though, since he is taking so few deep shots. Like very very few. Can't always blame that on lack of protection.
     
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  3. dirtylandry

    dirtylandry Well-Known Member

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    We just are not a vertical thinking team. The league is embedded with teams like this. There is no creativity. I am not sure if this regime can be creative
     
  4. KeyFin

    KeyFin Well-Known Member

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    Nothing to do with this regime- Gase calls 100% of the offensive plays. We have more vertical talent than anyone and we're simply not using it. The real question is why.
     
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  5. Clark Kent

    Clark Kent Fighter of the Nightman

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    This offense reminds me of Bill Lazor in year 2 as Miami's OC. Miami had success in year 1 with Lazor. In year 2, NFL teams caught up to Miami's dinking and dunking and Miami had nothing to counter with and every week (until he was fired) Miami's offense struggled to move the ball and score.

    Fact is, Miami looked great on their opening drive. With scripted play calling for that first drive, Miami moved the ball up the field pretty easily until J. Thomas decided not to challenge for a 50-50 ball on a fade route. Seems to me, the issue right now IS scheme and play calling and less about Cutler. I'm not here to suggest Jay is some great talent and we're holding him back, but I don't believe there's anyone on the roster who could better given Gase's scheming and play calling.
     
  6. Rock Sexton

    Rock Sexton Anti-Homer

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    That was no fade.

    Those balls need to be lofted high and into the corner. Both ball location by the QB and effort by Thomas were terrible - most importantly though, the play SHOULD have been a run.
     
    Last edited: Oct 2, 2017
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  7. Vertical Limit

    Vertical Limit Senior Member

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    The problem i see with this team is that we dont have playmakers period.

    On offense we have one and its Ajayi. Our receivers are solid, but they pose no threat. They dont fight for the ball like playmakers do, they dont make spectacular plays at the rate other teams have.

    Just watch accross the league whats going on. You think this team can hang with the Panthers, Tampa Bay, Falcons, and even now the Rams? I didnt even mention an elite team there other than the falcons and who knows, those four teams may very well end the season 8-8, but they have explosive players that poses a threat against any defense and they have playmakers on the otherside of the ball too.

    We look like Dan henning's offense out there. Our defense is solid but they give up chunk yards.. We look like we are running in mud on both sides of the field.
     
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  8. KeyFin

    KeyFin Well-Known Member

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    I agree with you- it's not necessarily a Cutler problem. We just need to find our groove and stick to it.
     
  9. brandon27

    brandon27 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    It's a terrible throw, you're right. Cutler throws it too flat, it's off his back foot as he also looks off balance. It was just ugly all the way around. Thomas looked completely clueless though, I mean, he doesn't even turn for the ball until he's noticed the CB going up for it. He had NO CLUE he was being thrown to. His first few steps off the line were so slow, that it was like he had no clue that Cutler was going to go to him. However, guess what Julius... You've got a big size advantage over the corner (who, by my understanding was playing due to the starter being out?), and you've got a 1 on 1 matchup. Guess what... pay attention! You're likely getting the ball! He was completely oblivious to what should have been obvious to him in that situation, given the play call.

    As for the playcall... I'm not going to buy the "it should have been a run" argument. I mean, sure, I'd likely call a run in that situation too. HOWEVER... if you go back and watch the play it did a great job of being successful, right up until Jay Cutler screwed it all up. Hear me out... watch the replay. Jarvis Landry, coming towards the middle of the field out of the 3 stacked WR look, appears to be wide open over the middle of the field. His man is late covering him, and Landry easily has a couple steps, and lots of separation for the easy TD if Cutler hadn't made up his mind pre-snap. It's hard to fault that decision though given the size mismatch between Thomas and the corner. So, to me, it's hard to fault a play call when it's got two guys in good positions to score a TD given better QB play. Now, I don't like the decision to throw a fade in general. Maybe if it was a big bodied, gifted WR (and I don't think Parker fits that bill 100% either), but to throw it to Julius Thomas if youre Cutler, is a bit of a stretch given the fact that its... Julius Thomas. Antonio Gates? Tony Gonzales? Sure, go for it. Julius Thomas in his current state? Not so much... but that's Jay Cutler, he sees that 1 on 1 and he's going to go for it, Thomas should have been, and wasn't on the same page clearly, but the throw stunk, and the whole thing sucks since Landry appears to be, about to be wide open for an easy TD.

    So, for me, sure, I can not like the decision not to run it on first down there (especially given how well Ajayi seemed to be running early), but when you've got a guy essentially wide open, and a guy with a 1 on 1 matchup he should win, you've got two good TD options, it was just poorly executed by Cutler and Thomas. I don't like it, but it clearly should have worked with better execution. There's plenty of stuff to fault Gase for from a playcalling standpoint in this one, but I don't fault him there. I don't like it, but to me, it clearly should have worked, and then nobody would be complaining.
     
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  10. invid

    invid Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Agreed on both accounts. The fade needs to be more a lob. Everyone raves about Julius Thomas' rebounding ability, why wouldn't you throw him a football that lets him do that? That throw was bad. Everyone wants to squash on Julius Thomas for the route he ran but he's literally running 5 yards and then using his body to catch the ball. It's a brutish play, not a finesse one. Cutler threw it way too directly.
     
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  11. Fin-O

    Fin-O Initiated Club Member

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    100% on all accounts.
     
  12. tirty8

    tirty8 Well-Known Member

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    I'm having a hard time assessing his arm strength on WR screens. Maybe we should run a few more WR screens so we can get a better look at his arm strength.
     
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  13. Rock Sexton

    Rock Sexton Anti-Homer

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    According to Gase - that play was called because Cutler had to run about 40 yards over to him and back to the huddle to get the play off and it was all he could think of in that moment
     
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  14. brandon27

    brandon27 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Ok... Well, if that's true, I'd still say it appears to have been a pretty good thought based on what I mentioned above. Doesn't change my opinion on it
     
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  15. Bpk

    Bpk Premium Member Luxury Box

    We moved the ball better when Gase and Cutler couldn't talk or think too much because the headset was busted.

    As soon as it worked again the offense was dead.

    What does it mean?
     
  16. hitman8

    hitman8 Well-Known Member

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    It means they are overthinking things and need to keep it simple. Keep it simple and change the script, play with a sense of urgency. Gase needs to rip the bubble screen out of the playbook and concentrate on attacking the middle of the field. Slants, seam and crossing routes are the way to go. In the running game he needs to stop running it off guard because we have terrible guards. Run more outside zone which is ajayi's forte.

    And finally gase needs to learn how to mix the run and the pass properly to keep the defense on their toes. He should pass it on first down, run it on second down, then on third and short alternate between run and pass to keep them guessing.

    Right now he runs on obvious running downs and passes on obvious passing downs. He is not fooling anybody.
     
  17. brandon27

    brandon27 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    You can't rip the screens out of the playbook. They use those screens to try and set up shots down the field, and set up other plays. That's why we keep seeing them, regardless of whether they work. It's pretty easy to make the argument that the fact they aren't working, should be a positive indication that you should be able to open it up downfield off of those plays. That's the goal with them. Look at how Denvers offense was with Peyton. They ran all kinds of those screens, and once you lull the defense to sleep with them they set up big shots downfield out of the same formation. The biggest problem now though is the officials have really cracked down on the pick plays, and even call OPI for them when it's obviously not. The worst case scenario of the screens is a gain of 3-4 yards, but even then, it simply acts as an average running play essentially.

    So in short, I don't think you'll ever see them disappear. It's a staple of his offense. They use it to set up other plays, the problem is, they're just not working.

    The Cutler/Thomas INT against the Saints is a good example of that if I'm remembering the play correctly. I'm going off memory alone here, but IIRC, we come out with 3 WR's stacked to the left, Thomas alone on the right. Typically looking like we're going to run one of our famous screens. Instead though, It's the awfully thrown fade to the TE with no effort, on a matchup he easily should have one, but more importantly, as I said elsewhere, look at Jarvis Landry... he comes out of the stack of WR essentially uncovered over the middle as the defenders likely hesitated looking for the screen/pick type play. Problem was, Cutler made up his mind to take his 1 on 1 shot, which failed for various reasons. To me though if Cutler takes a second to actually survey the field after the snap, he might realize that Landry is there, because the D got lost, likely paying all the attention to the grouped WR's and a formation we typically run a screen from. I'd have to watch it again, but sure as hell seems that way.

    So again, I don't think it will ever go away. They just need to do a better job calling/executing different looks from it. Should we maybe run less than we do? Probably. lol They seem to rely on the actual screen component of it too much, but I suspect that's because we struggle to run at times with our bad OL, and if you can pick up that 3-4 yards on a pass, why not? Especially when the D is more often than not stacking the box to stop our run. So there's multiple reasons they're doing it, none of which are too bad... I think the issue here is a frequency issue, but again... if they're doing it simply to offset the lack of positive runs, it makes some sense. If we had some better blocking efforts from the WR's, things are much better too. Grant needs to be out there in those situations as well.

    Not necessarily disagreeing with you on the fact we need to see less, but there's no way it's going away entirely. They use it for various reasons IMO. I do think though there's too many, and quite often this year it seems they're using them at very poor times for the sake of being conservative. That's where the problem is to me.
     
  18. KeyFin

    KeyFin Well-Known Member

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    There was a series in the 4th quarter where on 1st down, Cutler went deep to an open receiver breaking for the endzone. I can't remember who it was (fairly sure it was Stills) but they had about a step and a half on the defender and it was almost a definite TD.....but Cutler missed. The ball was about two feet too high.

    I remember thinking on that play, "Okay, now it's 2nd and 10. Run the EXACT SAME PLAY two more times." Instead though, we handed off to Ajayi for a 1 yard gain. On 3rd down, we threw a short slant to Landry with two players instantly dragging him down. Then we kicked on 4th and 5.

    With our level of WR talent though, those throws are going to pay off at a fairly high rate. And when you're down 17-0, the WR screen or the little slants into double coverage just don't belong in the playbook at all. The same goes for the handoff to Ajayi- it just wasn't the time or place when we had to score immediately. And we saw the exact same thing with Tannehill......we saw screens or bombs, but very few intermediate passes in the 10-15 yard range.

    That has to change because it's the same philosophy as Philbin....we're making it very easy to defend. They let our guys catch the short stuff all day long and then a safety pivots to the man going deep, and you pretty much have our offense on lockdown except when Cutler scrambles.
     
  19. Fin-O

    Fin-O Initiated Club Member

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    Scripted plays went well, when it came time for in game adjustments? Gase struggled.

    Confident he will pick it up.
     
  20. Rock Sexton

    Rock Sexton Anti-Homer

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    Unfortunately playcalls aren't going to change the personality of the guy leading the huddle out there.

    This team is flatout showing you what is going to happen when things aren't going right with him back there. Cutler is simply going thru the motions on the field. To compound matters Cutler is being "managed". This much is obvious.
     
  21. Thunderkyss

    Thunderkyss Member

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    Maybe this is the week Cutler clicks in the offense. They've got three weeks of real game film to identify their short comings & issues.

    Surely it's only a matter of time.
     
  22. Rock Sexton

    Rock Sexton Anti-Homer

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    One can only hope. They had a full week of practice in Miami and playing their first home game.

    If they go out there and **** the bed or put up a meager performance - the torches are going to come out in full force.
     
  23. KeyFin

    KeyFin Well-Known Member

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    Well, they came back from London...so they missed two days that we'd otherwise have. First time home in three weeks as well, first time seeing hurricane damage, seeing the wife/kids, etc. I'm not very confident that they had great practices this week because of the circumstances. At least it's a home game though and we don't need yet another flight cross-country.

    I agree with you though, the torches will be lit if we lose....and we will probably lose. It's ridiculous in my opinion though because any team (with any QB/coach combo) would struggle under these circumstances. Our QB/coach has been back together in this offense for 3 1/2 weeks- fans are expecting miracles and it's just not likely to happen.

    I really hope we win but I'm being realistic as well- how much can they change being jet lagged and losing two days of practice? It's really not even home field advantage under these circumstances.
     
    Last edited: Oct 6, 2017
  24. djphinfan

    djphinfan Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    I don't think he's just going thru the motions, I don't think that the players are not inspired to play for him, I don't know if they would all play harder and more focused if Matt Moore was the qb...I just don't know whats going on..

    the only thing I think of is that all these distractions and traveling really has taken a toll on a teams psyche..

    I do believe to win a game and compete for a championship all brains have to be on deck..
     
  25. djphinfan

    djphinfan Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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  26. Rock Sexton

    Rock Sexton Anti-Homer

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  27. Bpk

    Bpk Premium Member Luxury Box

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  28. Bpk

    Bpk Premium Member Luxury Box

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