He really fell of last yr c-jet, add in the different style of offense with more passing and quicker runs without a pure FB and he just no longer fit what they are trying to do.

 

The writing was on the wall; it certainly didn't come as a surprise to me.

 

How many times does Sparano have to say, "His position is dying out," before releasing him is not a surprise?

 

You don't waste a roster spot on a "mentor", much less for a fullback mentor. Let the runningbacks coach do the mentoring. That's his job.

 

You want Polite to mentor him on a job Polite cannot perform? Some mentor.

 

This was a guy I respected. He is nearly impossible to stop in short yardage. Get him out the AFCE!

 

Almost every team keeps 9 OL. You're reaching.

 

His blocking skills diminished greatly last year and with the fullback only being used as another blocker, it was only a matter of time before he was no longer going to be a Dolphin.

 

Depending on how much Daboll gets to run his Offense, you might be seeing quite a bit of this.

The best we looked in all of preseason was in that set.

 

Good luck with those 3rd and 1s...

 

Same here. I'm not shocked at all. Hilliard was moved to fullback, we have a new offense, and Polite's lead blocking deteriorated badly.

I read before that Ireland wanted Hilliard to get more playing time but Sparano didn't really want to play Hilliard, so I guess this is the compromise: put Hilliard at FB.

 

Clearly there were signs this could happen. The change to the new offense and emergence of Clay as an H back kind of forced the issue. The fact is he didn't have that good of year last year for whatever reason. Certainly not like the year before when the guy was absoloute money in short yardage. I'm going to miss him and I hope he catches on somewhere outside of the AFCE so I can continue to root for him.

 

Well, do think we will see Hilliard and Thomas in toss sweep situations like they had Hillis doing in Cleveland.

Just from a start of the season pov, without injuries and having no real idea how the RT/RG/C combo will work out, I think the design of the offense has the pieces at skill positions to be highly productive, meanng it is well thought out, as I was in the camp that thought Polite was going to make just for situational football, but Sparano has bought all in.

Let's see where it goes from there.

 

I still expect LOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUU chants on 3rd and 1.

 

All last year Lex Hilliard was learning the fullback position..He said so himself..When Lou is in the game its pretty predictable whats gonna happen, lex can get out in the flat and turn his hips, run hard up the middle in short yardage, and has the athleticism to be a good blocker.

 

Yeah, passing offense. It's a weird concept for us, I know. Will take a while to get used to.

 

Something isn't right if our FB's biggest strength is converting 3rd and 1s.

 

With Bush's ability to spread a defense, the there's a greater need for a multidimensional FB. Bush's plays are likely to have wrinkles for the FB to attack the area abandoned by the defense.

When Hilliard was drafted, I thought his nose for the goal-line (iirc, 53 college TDs) may translate into a Richie Anderson type of FB to convert 1st downs. Although Lex is not the receiving threat, I was surprised with Anderson's running production with Dallas (70 carries for 4.4 Y/A and 57 carries for 4.3 Y/A). My guess is that team wants similar production from Hilliard and Clay with Lex getting the bulk of the carries while Charles has more receptions.

The goal-line offense could address the lack of an inside blocking FB by utilizing a defensive player. One of the special team LBers or Randy Starks might be suited to crash the line. When Daboll was with the Patriots, they frequently used defensive players and I wouldn't mind if they expanded this to include Jason Taylor as a goal-line TE.

 

It was a dramatic fall off from 2 years ago where i think he was robbed by not making the pro-bowl to last year just being an abysmal blocker. I loved this guy, will miss him.

 

I think that's heading off the reservation a bit. You'd do better arguing they had a linebacker fetish (4 spots, kept 10, plus a guy on IR).

The offense has changed. He had a good skill, but unfortunately the more important skill seems to have been used up in 2009. Understandable, as that's not an activity a lot of guys can withstand for long periods of time.

I like and appreciate the guy, but would have been disappointed if they'd kept him.

 

Good post.

I want to say Taylor actually drew a PI call on the goalline in 2009 for us.

 

Dolphins are desperate for a good blocker, and Polite was not cutting it. Hilliard may be better at that.

 

Seems like they are slowly edditing away more of the former Cowboys.

 

The guy was not all that good last year. His drop off from 2 years ago was actually quite staggering to be honest. He did one job really well, 3rd and 1.

 

Agree here, Desides...he ran on eggshells all last season and then his blocking dropped off. I read somewhere he was rated the worst or near the worst FB last year, well don't know about the stats, but what I saw in 2010 was not the Polite of 2009... Add in the fact that the scheme has changed and the writing was on the wall, he certainly was one dimensional for us.. Norv Turner would love him though...

 

I love Lou Polite, and will miss having him as a member of the Dolphins. But his being cut should surprise no one. And I have a lot of respect for Tony and Jeff for making a move they knew would be unpopular. It had to be made though.

 

If by lb on IR you mean Masterson, he is reserve-retired, not IR.

 

Who would you rather have? A guy who scored 50 TD's, or a guy who's about to score 50 TD's?

Not that Lou scored TD's.

 

I really liked Polite, but I expect to see a ton of single back this year. I can understand them not wanting to hold a spot for a part-time position. I do think we'll struggle on short yardage this year, but I think it will be due to the OL and that Polite wouldn't have made much of a difference.

 

What I find interesting is how New England's roster configuration looks a lot like ours.

Like us, they kept 27 on defense and 23 on offense. NE kept 6 WRs, 4 total RBs and 2 TEs. We've discussed our not having a 'true' fullback, that's straight New England. The biggest player on their roster is 225 pound rookie Stevan Ridley.

While I'm not convinced that we are quite as 'spread out' as New England's offense -- and our backfield is much bigger than theirs -- we could very well utilize a guy like Ryan Baker on the goalline like they do.

OT: Thought it was interesting, the average size of each team's running backs.
Patriots: 5-10, 210
Dolphins: 6-1, 226

 

That makes sense since Daboll came from that system and our offense is supposed to be a mix of NE/NYJ philosophies. I do think that the fullback is being fazed out and that the spread is (and has been) a necessary part of any successful offensive team. I just don't think your odds of making it through the playoffs are very good if you can't score quickly.

My preferred RB size is about 5'10" 210. I think those fire hydrant types are hard to see, tackle and tend to be quick and decent in the passing game.

 

I see some differences. The kept 3 QBs, which is not a huge deal but means one less player at maybe a more flexible spot. They are the only team I can think of who has done away from a RB and FB set. When they are in a 2 backs alignment they use both RB types. They kept 5 total RBs and no FB and use 2 RBs together often. Who else does that? They may hand the ball to Woodhead or Green-Ellis, just as likely on any play. If we go with two backs, like Clay and Bush, you know Clay is not likely to carry the ball. It is doubtful we often, if ever, see Bush and Thomas in a 2 back split set. I'd like to see it, because either one could motion out, take a lb with them and be a viable receiving option. Also, as with the Pats, either could carry the ball on any play.

 

PFF rated him 27 of 30 FBs overall, with only Mike Karney, Lawrence Vickers and Ahmard Hall below him, and personally I liked the latter two. However for pass receiving they rated him the tenth FB and for rushing, they rated him 1st. In blocking, he was 2nd to last, to Hall.
IMO much of his problems with blocking was that often for him to do his job, the line has to do theirs. Hard for a FB to lead up into the hole when there is no hole. IMO, he is gone because of change in offensive philosophy more than degrading of his ability.

 

i just think we're not a power rushing team anymore... i dont care what anyone says...

we will see more spread em out, 1 back sets... and when we do see 2 back sets, i think they honestly like the H-back type with Clay to create more mismatches... i feel our entire offense this year is based around creating mismatches and speed... polite didn't have speed, and created zero mismatches...