From Wyoming

 

Q – I’ve been out of the loop for a week so

What is up with the rookie CB’s?

By the way I love the way Patterson plays when healthy! It definitely answers the question of why him over Marshall.

 

Wyoming, tough to know with this team whether guys are being held out because they’re injured, rookies who were injured, and missed time because of that, or just because they like to bring rookies along slowly here.

 

Patterson did play well, and of course, that INT early in the game, was a huge play for us.  That was in the 1st half, when the Dolphins came to play.  That team took an early flight back to MIA, and left their replacements to play against the Patriots in the 2nd half.  Jamar Taylor and Will Davis were both inactive for the game this past Sunday.  I wish I had an answer, some inside source to the team to find out what’s going on with our rookies.  Is Dion Jordan still hurt?  Jamar Taylor? Will Davis?  Well, we spent the #12 and #42 pick to move up to #3 to get Jordan. Then we used the #54 pick (Vontae Davis trade) to select Jamar Taylor.  The #77 pick was Dallas Thomas (Also inactive Sunday).  The #93 pick (Still 3rd RD) was used on Will Davis.

 

I feel the need to spell this out, and it ain’t pretty, but 5 picks in the first 3 rounds netted us 15 snaps from one player, while the other 3 players (2 picks were used to get Jordan) were ALL INACTIVE.  To answer your question, the rookie CB’s aren’t doing anything.  I’m beginning to think this staff should just trade all our draft picks for veteran players so they can see the field.  Obviously I’m kidding, but it’s maddening to see all those picks inactive, and our prized pick getting only 15 snaps a game.   That’s disappointing, no other way to put it!

 

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From Stanger

 

Q – At least in one game, cut vet Mckinnie looked like an upgrade at LT.  You got faith in him going forward?   Know you had faith in Martin, but what does it mean for next year?   McKinnie re-signed, Martin back at LT, someone high in the draft or for big FA money?   Seems LT is going to be a huge question in the offseason right now.

 

My guess is they don’t believe in Martin as a starting LT.  I believe our 1st or 2nd pick next year will be a LT.  I wouldn’t be surprised if we used 2-3 picks next year on the O-line.  I don’t think we re-sign McKinnie, so I would expect the only 2 guaranteed starters next year are Pouncey and Incognito.  Dallas Thomas should be in the mix at LG, and they could move Richie back to RG.  Martin will be in the competition for a spot at either T spot, but and maybe if he plays well the rest of the season at RT, he could be our RT next year.

 

It is possible that we bring in a free agent LT,  because you have to wonder if they draft a LT, if they will let him start,  or if they do, if they will have him on a snap count (Sorry, just can’t help it!!!)  The way our current staff has developed our young talent, I think they certainly deserve to be questioned about it.

 

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From Rigel (M13)

 

Q – Dear Mike E,

 

What do you make of Caleb Sturgis making only 1 of his last 5 FG attempts? Rookie jitters, 45+ yarders, or the fact that Tanny has been sacked for a major loss right before he’s asked to kick it from DEEP downtown?

 

Thanks!

~Rigel

 

I have to say I was worried about how the kid would respond after his poor kickoff, and then subsequent miss of a late FG.  It seems he hasn’t been able to shake it.  He had a great start, but just like a CB, kickers have to have a short memory.  Like a CB needs to forget getting burnt for a big play, a kicker needs to forget his last missed FG attempt.

 

Of course, it never helps that we keep giving him tougher kicks than anticipated, and that really needs to stop.  It’s one problem, among many, that we need to correct to snap out of our current 4 game skid.  At least he has been solid with his kickoffs, and most are deep, which is important.  I don’t, however, feel real confident about putting the game on the line with caleb Sturgis.  That can change real quick by him making a clutch kick to either win a game, or tie one.

 

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From David

 

Q – Hi Mike, thanks for taking time to answer our questions, here are mine,,,

 

in Your opinion, is Sherman the right guy for the OC job? if yes, how does he get more points from our offense?,  if the answer is no, when should we can him, and any ideas who would be next?  

 

also, the NFL answer to hairy tackles is its part of the jersey.  why is it the hair part of the jersey?, does this mean the players toss their hair in the laundry every week and change hair everytime there is a uniform change?or does it mean the NFL has better shit to smoke than we do? lol 

Thanks, David

 

I can say that Sherman, in theory made a lot of sense for the job, because of his familiarity with Ryan Tannehill, and Ryan’s knowledge of Sherman’s offense.  In that respect, yes, he was the right guy, and probably still is.  Last year, we had an underwhelming cast of WR’s, yet Sherman and Tannehill extracted the best out of them.  Hartline, in 15 games, caught 74 passes with 1083 yards receiving, but only 1 TD.  Davone Bess caught 61 passes for 778 yards receiving, and 1 TD.  the glaring problem with both receivers is that neither is a red zone threat.  Davone is best working the middle of the field on short passing routes, and Hartline is best at working the sidelines, but neither are true breakaway threats, or give the QB a big target in the red zone.

 

I know Sherman is trying to get mike Wallace involved as much as he can, but so far, he and Ryan don’t seem to be clicking.  Apparently, Wallace is not always where he’s supposed to be, or where Tanny thinks he’s going to be, and too often, Tanny’s passes are off target, either too high, behind, or on deep passes, they have been short.  That needs to get fixed, but that’s all on Sherman.

 

I think Sherman has ditched the run game too often.  He has to stay committed to it.  I know he wants a passing attack, but Tannehill is not ready to put the team on his shoulders every game.  It’s not fair, and to me, completely illogical when 3 of our 2nd and 3rd RD picks can’t even dress for a game.  Why out so much pressure on Tannehill, and not get Jamar Taylor, Will davis, and especially Dallas Thomas in a game.  Was our O-line that good that we can’t even try Dallas Thomas?  I’m going off on a tangent here.  I think Sherman needs to do what works.  If e’re running the ball effectively, stick with it.  If we’re passing well, stick with that too, but we must maintain balance, and not forget the running game.  That’s my biggest criticism of Sherman, is him giving up the running game, and also, not giving Miller more touches in the short passing game, and more rush attempts.  Commitment to the run game will prevent us from being the turnover machine we have become.  We don’t pass protect well, and we’re passing too often.  See the problem?

 

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From Tits McGee

 

Q – If we beat the Bengals tomorrow, and beat them good, do you think we can march our way to the playoffs from there?

 

I think a win tomorrow would be huge for the team, but it’s just one game.  We need consistency.  That’s our biggest problem is a lack of consistency with any and all of our units.  We haven’t been very god in any one phase on offense or defense each and every game.  To be fair, it’s very hard to in the NFL, but if we want to be a playoff team, you have to be good in all aspects, or elite in one to have a chance.  It’s hard to be average, or less than average and expect to make the playoffs.

 

As it stands right now, we’re #28 in TOTAL OFFENSE, #17 in PASSING OFFENSE, and #23 in RUSHING OFFENSE.

 

We’re #21 in TOTAL DEFENSE, #20 in PASSING DEFENSE, and #19 in RUSHING DEFENSE.  In POINTS ALLOWED, we’re #17.

 

It’s plain to see that we’re not doing anything particularly well on offense or defense, in fact, less than average in almost every category.  I think it’s safe to say we all thought we had a very food defense, but they haven’t yet lived up to that for us.  I think it’s also safe to say we all thought we’d more explosive on offense, but at #22, we’re scoring 21.7 PPG, which isn’t enough, especially the way our defense has played.

 

Thankfully, there is a drop more than a 1/2 of the season left, and that’s plenty of time to improve on some things.  My hope is that we stay with the run game, take some pressure off Tannehill and the O-line, increase our T.O.P, which also takes the pressure and fatigue off the defense.  If we can accomplish these things, YES, we can be a playoff team.

 

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Now for the babe of the week . . .