Welcome to the postseason Miami! What do I wear? It’s been so lon
g… Too dressy?
Well I can’t help myself, it’s a special occasion. If you don’t know by now, come out of your hole and celebrate! The Dolphins are in the NFL Playoffs!!!
After starting the season off 1-4 and causing every Dolfan to stick their head in an oven after a brutal loss to Tennessee, the Fins turned it around a
nd won 9 of their last 10 games.
Well, you all enjoyed it, so I don’t have to spend much time with it but I can’t help to re-live it.
On Saturday, Dolfans enjoyed another 200 yard game from Jay Ajayi. Choo Choo!!! Ajayi had been slowed down recently but not against the Bills, who tackle like they rub their uniforms in canola oil before the game.
But it wasn’t just Ajayi. It was a typical team effort. Drake had a big TD run, Kenny Stills caught another TD after Jarvis Landry had a big gain and DeVante Parker also has a long tackle breaking catch.
But the game almost slipped away. That is until Adnrew Franks nailed a career long 55 yard FG to send it into overtime.
In overtime following a Dan Carpenter missed FG, guess who put the game away?
FRANKS!!!
Thank you Adam Gase! For teaching this team how to fight!
On every play these guys fight for extra yardage.
If you are wondering why every NFL Talking Head doesn’t think much of the Dolphins, let me summarize…
They don’t know what they are talking about!
None of these experts really watch games anymore. They read tweets and are in such a hurry to tweet their own opinion, they don’t have time for that sort of thing.
So unlike you and me, they don’t see Jay Ajayi fight for every inch. They don’t see the entire OL push Ajayi for a first down. Or Damien Williams into the end zone. Or Jarvis Landry fight the entire opposing team. Or the entire wide receiver unit blocking downfield on yet another big offensive play.
But who cares! Let the Dolphins swim under the radar. In the meantime, don’t forget to give a big thank you to the 
Chiefs.
Their defeat of the World Champions knocked the Broncos out and sealed a playoff spot for the Dolphins.
The Dolphins are going to be on the road in the first road. And yeah, that means it will be cold.
But you know what? It was cold in Buffalo and in New York.
These Dolphins can handle it.
We have one game left int he regular season, against the Patriots at home. Word has it the Patriots want to go into the postseason hot. So don’t expect them to take the game lightly. Hopefully we get to see Brady bleed! Go Dolphins!!!
Finsmob Unleashed 
I’m sick today, I’ve had a cold for about 5 days now, and last night it was really bad, I was coughing all night, couldn’t fall asleep, so I tried to call out for the 1st time this year, and I was told they don’t have anyone to cover me. So here I am at work. How does everyone else call out?
Let the Steelers fans lick their chops they are beatable. That D is nothing special. We know we can move the ball on them. We know we can get to Ben. I say bring on the Steelers
VJ and his scheme is not the problem with the defense, it’s personnel. How many times did we have guys right there to stop the play and they miss tackles. That’s personnel. Players still play the game.
It’s definitely not VJ’s fault. The whole thing is cause and effect. Lou will say it’s all on the offense because they have too many 3 and outs, but the defense rarely gets a 3 and out in their own right, they like to stay on the field all day, and let teams get first down after first down. Both units have their issues, but together, they’ve made plays to win games, as well as the ST’s unit. That’s what winning football is all about.
Agreed. I was talking about how many times VJ had the right call only to see us miss a tackle in the backfield, then at the 2nd level, so a play that should have been a loss or minimal gain goes for way more yardage than it should have.
That’s why the consensus is we need to add defense in the offseason. My family who watched the Bills game with me who are football fans said the same thing. You guys need some defense. I agreed.
If anyone cares, NFL.com has us ranked at #10 this week. Not that it matters what they say, what they think, what we think, what we say, WE’RE IN THE PLAYOFFS BABY!!! 10-5!
I guess 10 is better than 12
But I bet they didn’t want to rank the NFC teams that might kiss the postseason above us
After the week we will be 12….lol
Packers, Raiders, Seahawks and Giants make 6-9. I think it’s kind of fair actually.
Going back to work today
Are a lot of people off?
I feel like no one is working this week
My wife is off. I’m at work, even though I called out sick. 😦
Big plays has been the difference this year as opposed to past teams. We have a lot more playmakers on the roster even if we still have some deficiencies.
I would like to see what VJ can do with more talent
My point is, there is this Mode floating around that he will get job offers and leave us this offseason
And that seems unlikely for such a mediocre to bad defense
Head coaching offers? I believe that’s the only way he could leave. I also doubt he does a one and done on Gase. This is first year as a DC. Hone your craft a little more VJ. 😉
Yeah HC Offers
I don’t see it this offseason
By that same token though, if he does happen to get an offer, it may be hard to turn it down
We should be #1 Mike
Lol
💪
I’ve been Fist Pumping non-stop since Saturday night, my arm is really tired. Go Dolphins! And Happy Holidays everyone
Happy holidays Fist Pumpkin!
Great to see you!
LMAO @ Fist Pumpkin
LOL. I am not sure I want to even know what that is!!!
LOL! There you have it!
LMAO, leave it to Piggy to find an image.
I feel violated lol
I’m off all week
September seems like a long time ago
It’s next to impossible to be have a good D when you only have one decent LB. It leaves a gaping hole in the middle of your defense. Our LB core is slow with no athleticism (Kiko is pretty athletic, but not the fastest guy around). They can’t cover in the middle of the field in our base D, and they are horrible in run support. Throw in a secondary with new pieces and young players that lost it’s best player early on, and what do you have? A good Dline.
One of the reasons we’ve made the playoffs (woohoo!) is because our defense has been able to overcome these deficiencies by being very opportunistic, and making big plays at big times. How many game changing INTs and fumbles have we seen this year? How many 4th and shorts? Our offense and special teams has also played good complementary football. When the D has a letdown one of those units has picked us up.
I am not ready to anoint VJ, but I am excited to see what he can do with an entire defense if we can get some damn LBs and another DB next year.
The way the squad is playing right now I like our chances vs the Stealers or the Texans. Hoping for the 5 seed, however the Pitt D isnt that great plus they have an immobile QB. Plus the Texans D is tough at home.
I just read that on the big fun play in before the field goal where Ajayi ran for like 50 some odd yards the Bills had F’d up and only had 10 players on the field. LOL!! Rex should get fire for that alone!
Well, that and trying to call time out to ice the kicker after the ball had already been snapped! LOL!!!
Rock
Rex was so frustrated by the failed icing too. He was whining that he called the time out, but he was clearly late.
Yeah, he was a second too late. I was laughing my ass off when they showed the split screen showing him trying to call the time out. Snap! time out time out! (too late nimrod, the ball was already snapped.) Then him moaning about it in the press conference after was embarrassing for him.
Kong
We were without a lot of players on defense all year long, so what we’ve done is testament to VJ. Koa Misi, Jelani Jenkins, Reshad Jones, Xavien Howard, Earl Mitchell and there are probably more that I’m leaving out, but all those players missed a decent amount of time, some most or all of the season. VJ has done the best he could with a major lack of talent.
It’s been a mash unit all year.
Yes, we were banged up on defense and were playing rookies and 3rd string guys much of the year, but our defense (other than 3rd down percentage) was historically bad. As in close to the worse in yards given up in the history of the franchise!
The only stat that matters on defense is points allowed, and we are 14th in the league in points allowed.
I have to laugh at Rex Ryan complaining about the non timeout call
Its the worst argument ever
Its a coaches responsibility to make sure a timeout call is c clear and timely
This isn’t like a receiver making a catch with both feet in bounds or when a ball carrier’s knee was down
this is completely under the coaches control
make a clear timeout call before the snap if you are going to try to ice the kicker
Instead, we are all supposed to watch the screen to see the exact millisecond he called timeout – GTF out of here Rex Ryan
What difference does it make if you wait to the last millisecond or last second to calla timeout
All you are trying to do is ice the kicker – which never works anyway
this is not a place to set up the photo finish by waiting until the last millisecond to call a timeout
Are you even getting an advantage by trying to do that
Call a clear timeout douchebag
if you are cutting it that close, I assume you are trying to see when the ball is actually snapped
and the refs know better
dumbass
Yes, Rex = Dumbass.
I think it was smart to actually not call a timeout and allow the fins to get set up. Because Williams didnt go out of bounds (dumb) to stop the clock it was a frantic scramble to get set up and kick a super long FG in bad conditions, from a kicker that had never kicked one that far before. The odds were really against him making it. Until it went through I was cursing Williams and the fact we looked doomed.
Two times this year, Williams done that. He needs to pick up some flipping football IQ. He almost forced us to go into overtime vs the Cardinals with the same stupidity.
Williams *has* done that
They definitely should NOT have called a timeout with the kicking team scrambling to come on the field to make a last second long FG
I dont think anyone expected the FG to go through under the circumstances
I really don’t even think what Rex did was call TO – he sort of clapped after the snap and then try to argue he called a TO before the snap
reshad jones is arguably our best defensive player
and he’s been out
so that is a big factor
but I think, as others pointed out, the quality at the LB position also stands out
and a little more help, outside of Cam Wake, rushing the pass rusher, might make a huge difference
I think we can go from a mediocre to bad defense to a good one with a healthy Reshad Jones and 2-3 additional quality players up front defensively
I think scheme/coaching is not a huge factor in where we are now
Yep, i think this staff will figure out the LB situation, sort of like they did with the Guards this year. We’ll draft or sign several LBs and add depth at CB and Safety.
The thing is
we might have to worry about the interior OL a little too
I actually think we are in good shape at DB
but you can always use DBs….so…I’m sure we add a couple this offseason
IMO LB and DE are priorities
and really – if we draft a LB and DE with our first 2 picks, this is a good chance we have a fix
You can also usually pick a good LB up on day 3 of the draft – at least some one serviceable, if not a diamond in the rough – but I would try to bring in some top notch talent early in the draft defensively up front
and I would use FA to keep this team together and bring in some additional depth – nothing too crazy in FA IMO
Absolutely Fist Pump
We should definitely be in the market for a FA LB or 2, and we need to draft a LB early, hopefully a MLB.
Foster and Cunnigham are probably on our radars
but will they be there
personally I think Foster is much better than Cunningham from what I have seen
but its tough to tell bc the disparity in talent around them between Alabama and Vanderbilt is enormous
typically ILB don’t go top 10
but I’m hearing that Foster will
then again Myles Jack was supposed to go top 10 as well…
Don’t forget about pass rushers peeps. Our DL does not have a consistent pass rush so we could use some help there because that helps the back end of the defense in coverage.
that’s right
Albeit I think one DE might be the difference maker here
we should probably keep Branch If possible too
Its hard to find good edge players after the first couple of rounds – there are a few exceptions, and even those guys (Houston, JT, Vernon) are 3rd rounders
IMO a player like Foster/Cunningham in the 1st and a pass rushing specialist in the 2nd round would be the perfect draft
but at the end of the day the guys on the board are what controls what we do
It is right there defensively for us IMO
The weirdest statistical anomaly is our defense leads the league in 3rd down percentage, yet we are tied for the 3rd worst TOP, and have the 3rd worst number of plays against.
We allow too many broken plays on defense. Also penalties have hurt us by giving teams automatic 1st downs when we had them stopped.
Part of that is I believe we lead the league in 3 and outs, but we’re only number 9 in 3rd downs attempted against us so, weird.
We must be shite on 1st and 2nd down, making 3rd down conversions unnecessary
Rex just got fired
Rex has been fired.
Where do the Ryan twins go from here?
wait a second guys….it looks like Rex may have just called a timeout right before he was fired…
Nope, he called it too late
LOL
Piggy, I think we should re-sign Branch. The guy plays hard and has had a good year. We need some youth at DE because we don’t have a lot.
Adios Ryan squared.
Remember who wanted Eric Kendricks (even in the 1st round I said) and got widely poo-poo’d around here? 😛
We could use a guy like this these days eh?
http://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/football/news/vikings-eric-kendricks-huge-day-versus-packers/
Disclaimer: I don’t regret the Parker pick, I just want to point out that draft analysis isn’t always so clear as we lead ourselves to be, and Kendricks would have been at least equally as valuable to our team today.
A lot of us liked Kendricks but some of us myself included wasn’t sure if he was a MLB. I was wrong about that. But the Vikes defense has also gone down hill as the season has gone on. There is so much that goes into a unit playing well though.
We had a chance at him int he 2nd round didn’t we?
we definatley had a shot at Perryman
Definately Perryman and Hendricks would have been a huge asset to us now
Were you poo poo’d for wanting a LB?
I think most of us were hoping to draft a LB or 2 the last couple of years
I know I was
Perryman was my favorite in that drat but Kendricks was pretty high up there
Kendricks went at #45 and we took Phillips at #52.
I still think rex ryan is a good coach. We’ll see if the bills can do better.
I keep hearing how talented the Bills are
but really they don’t have a good QB
their OL is not particularly dominant
and their skill positions on offense are often injured (McCoy and Watkins)
on defense, I’m not sure I see a lot of talent
they didn’t play very well defensively
We think we have some poor tackling.
Rex Ryan canned! I wonder where the Ryan brothers will float up next? (turds float)
People Magazine @people

Iconic Star Wars actress Carrie Fisher dies at 60 (link: http://peoplem.ag/1uoULGk) peoplem.ag/1uoULGk
————
RIP, Carrie Fisher
😦
😦
😦
Oh no!!!! RIP.
Make sure you guys vote for Ajayi as Fedex Ground player of the week!
https://twitter.com/theflyingpig44/status/813811074394976256
^^^
Tim
we traded down though before we took Phillips
I’m just not sure if Kendricks was before or after the trade down
Perryman definitely was
Going to look it up
Oh I see
Nope no go at Kednricks befire trade down
Kendricks 45
Original pick 47
Perryman 48
Phillips 52
Its worth mentioning that Bernadict Mckinly was 43
I guess 40-50 was the LB portion on that draft….lol
The Vikes drafted before us in 2015. I don’t remember the trade down or for what though.
we traded down with Eagles
we traded our 2nd and our 6th
for their 2nd and a 5th
we upgraded from 6th to 5th for moving down a few slots in the 2nd
the 5th rounder is Bobby McCain
the 6th rounder was another CB -Jacory Shepard who is now on the 49ers roster
I had to look all that stuff up
I only remember a trade down
Okay yeah we ended up with four 5th rounders that year. McCain, Ajayi and Lippett were three of them. Cedric Thompson didn’t make it. Can’t complain about that.
New Year’s Piggy Avi
Piggy, the past is the past. If I’m GM of the Dolphins I’m looking to double up at DE and LB in FA and the draft meaning one from each option. That does not include re-signing Branch which I would do regardless. He’s entering his prime and has had a nice season for us – 47 tackles (7 for losses), 5.5 sacks, 1 PD and 2 FF.
I’m not critizing
That discussion sort of evolved from Jahns post
Honestly you don’t know that one of our guys will dominate in years 3 or 4
Way too early to judge unless it’s a Dion Jordan type bust
But it’s worth Noting the productive 2nd round LBs in 2015 draft
Who is to say we don’t get the same kind of production out of a 2nd round LB or even a DE in 2017
Those type of players are always there
“We played like we usually do,” RB Damien Williams stated matter-of-factly. “This is what we’ve done the whole second half of the season. We’ve been taking what we wanted. Home or away, we take what’s ours.”
TAKE IT DAMIEN!!!! TAKE IT TO THE HOUSE!
Afternoon Update
DOLPHINS-PATRIOTS
Piggy 24-21 MIA
Rhino 28-27 MIA
Howie 31-24 MIA
FINS ARE FOR REAL!
Pats embarrass us at home final game of the year
34-12 NE
27-24 Miami
Also hoping for a Bryce Petty like hit on Brady this week.
34-31 Miami
Without reading anything above, I gotta say,
I feel totally different now. So calm, not nervous and worried about the next game or two.
Sure I still want to beat the Cheats, cuz I hate them, especially their fans, but it doesn’t matter as much now that we have made the playoffs, swept the jests, swept the jills, won 9 of 10, etc.
Anything else good that happens now is just icing on the cake. The season is a success already.
This is pretty much how I feel.
That’s how I feel.
I don’t want to ruin our sweeps of the Jets & Bill by giving up a sweep to the Pats! COME ON DOLPHINS!! BEAT THE PATRIOTS!!
Yet you Pick the Patriots for your score pick????? LOL
Bookman, the Pickem isn’t what you WANT to happen, it’s what you THINK will happen. (I have picked against the Dolphins every game this year (I think)
Every week my pick is A combination of both
I don’t think I’ve hit once this year
Have you?
I think my vote for most superstitious regular on this blog is – Rock who has picked against the Dolphins once again
But Piggy, my picks are not, I forget the term Howie uses, “Karma picks” which he has banned.
I am so superstitious that I won’t even tell you what i did throughout the winning streak cuz it worked that first game. Then when we lost to Baltimore, I did the opposite while we won three in a row and I will still do it till we lose again, IF EVER!
Was it legal?
I’ll probably feel different from my post above as we get closer to the pats game. I probably will be screaming for blood at kickoff.
and I would feel different if we had not lost Tannehill and still won out as we have with Moore, but to me, losing now to the patriots won’t sting so much with Tannehill not able to play and the playoff spot clinched.
Hey maybe we rest Wake and Ajayi and protect Landry and some others and let some of our wounded heal up like Tunsil and Albert and Alonso and such.
We have the luxury of cruising into the playoffs.
Although I am sure Gase will try 100%. If the game gets out of hand, Then it might be common sense to plan for the playoff game. It’s been a fun year, but a lot of guys are beat up this time of year on all teams and maybe letting ours heal is the way to go. Also, keeping some plays on the downlow to spring on Pitt would be a sneaky good plan, a little rope-a-dope.
I accidentally washed my orange new logo hat yesterday…..It is pretty much ruined with the colors from the inside (black) bleeding through to the outside at all the “button holes” or what ever you call those holes in the hat. Logo is looking pretty sorry now too.
WHAT DO I DO?? Do I keep wearing it or should I go out and buy a new one? We haven’t lost once while I was wearing it!
Keep wearing it you superstitious fuck😛
I do nothing but root the team on each week so I guess that works for winning 9 of 10 too. LOL
I’ve been wearing pants since the Baltimore game
Plus the hat was a cloth hat and it shrunk up weird. The seams didn’t shrink but the cloth between did shrink. I don’t think I can keep wearing it. Sorry guys I may have ruined our chances in the playoffs…..
Not sure about the color but if you get it wet again you could probably stretch and re shape it.
(Rockphin dives into the nearest body of water)
But he forgot he wasn’t wearing his hat so all he did was get all wet
The Flying Pig says:
December 27, 2016 at 2:29 pm
I’ve been wearing pants since the Baltimore game
Reply
This should not change no matter what!
RIP Princess Leia
When Rex Ryan arrived in Western New York less than two years ago, he came in making several bold statements, as is his nature. One of those declarations was that the Buffalo Bills’ head coaching job would be his last stop. His final job.
Geez, I hope not. I mean, I don’t want him to coach for Miami in any way EVER, but I’ve gotten pretty attached to our team beating his ass!
Don’t let the door hit your ass on the way out Rex. Now if it was a foot he would probably be okay with that hitting his ass
RIP Carrie Fisher
OK, Herd, I am going to soak my hat (not my head) tonight and then stretch it over my noggin to see if it will re-shape correctly…
Wearing a wet hat for a couple of hours on my bald head doesn’t seem like to big a sacrifice to make for the team. (if it works!)
Don’t be afraid to switch to a Franks hat
Lol!
M13,
Get your ass on here more so we can talk some PSU football!
I thought Carrie Fisher died before this latest episode of Star Wars….Isn’t that why they CGI’d an ewok in her place for that movie???
What? Too soon?
LMAO! Maybe a little ….
Rock,
How the hell do you “accidentally ” wash a hat? Lol!
I must have gotten into the laundry pile some how. (you know the pile of laundry NEXT to the hamper in bachelor apartments)
Haha! Did you have the washer on hot or cold? Cold usually doesn’t shrink clothing.
I guess the other shoe has been dropped. Rex is fired
Mike E,
I just log on to the sub service. Hope you feel better soon!
Ugh
Rex is diving feet first into looking for new coaching opportunities
Ok , I’ll play along. The fortunate part for him is he is experienced at interviewing; he won’t be getting his feet wet during the process.
Brian in NY says:
December 27, 2016 at 3:20 pm
Haha! Did you have the washer on hot or cold? Cold usually doesn’t shrink clothing.
It has a setting for that??
Just kidding, I wash my darks in cold and that is where it was mixed in with.
That sucks. Wear the hat for the rest of the season.
I’ll take that as the hot setting…
Rex is hoping to get his foot in the door for his next job
I still find myself thinking “I hope we can get into the playoffs”.
Hopefully Rex doesn’t put his foot in his mouth when interviewing.
👍
Rex is looking to kick start his job search
Fins Mob Unleashed Fantast Football Update:
Congrats to Mike E for Defeating the defending Champion (herd) in a 132–23-104 Victory…
and in the Bronze Medal Game Twice The The, literally squeaked by Stanger 105.86–105-78
D: I saw yer post on my 150 PTS.. NO it woulda been nice to have put that up two weeks ago when I needed it, lol..
Thank s to all participants and again Congrats to Mike E..
Alright my drive by is over Peace
Brian, it’s real. 🙂
I think VJ has done moderately well. I dont think he has been a genius over there, but i do think he has us going in the right direction. Our DL unit looked a ton better, we dont really have the right personnel at LB, which in wide 9 is a really big deal, and our secondary has been off an on all year, and the times it has been off, its been so off that it takes 2 great games to average out decent. I do think the defense is coming together though. Its obvious that what he is trying to do is working and will work much better with a couple nice additions on that side.
My only complaint is that he didnt make enough in game adjustments or it took him forever to do so. Same can be said about Gase. For continuity sake, for him to have the chance to get his defensive strategy going and working as intended, id like him to remain with us at least another year. You have to understand this is his first gig as a DC. He only had to worry about the development and performance of one unit previously. This is his first time managing that entire side of the field and developing a full strategy for a game. He is a work in progress but i think there has been obvious progress. Switching to another DC i dont think will do anything but set us back even longer.
BTW Ken, NE has kept their coordinators. Both McDaniels and Matt Patricia has been the official DC in NE since 2012, and was the defacto DC since 2009 (He was calling the defensive plays since Pees left). McDaniels has been with the Pats since 2011 as OC. They arent constantly switching coaches and thats part of their continuity. Its a little different as well since Belichick is such a control freak, so its not like these guys are as pivotal to continuity as long as he remains, but still they dont switch coaches around much and i really believe that needs to be our goal as well. At least lets get a chance to develop one of the position coaches as a potential replacement for him before that happens ya know.
Looks like the Ryans are done in Buffalo
Was talking to a co-worker at lunch. Carrie Fisher, as much as a train wreck as her life had become is still movie royalty for my, and most of our, generations. Its sad that she is gone at such a relatively young age. Those years of hard core drugging and boozing left effects that im sure is part of her shortened life. Same for George Michaels whom i was really shocked passed away this Christmas.
I wonder what Rex did with that Tattoo he got of his wife wearing Snatcheeze’s jersey?
Are you feeling ok D? Your posts seem a little short lately…..
Lol!
D, I still don’t see us playing a ton of wide 9. I see more classic 4-3. I see more wide 9 in PHI with Schwartz than I do in MIA with VJ.
Are you guys trying to tell me this is NOT an Ewok CGI’d to play “General Leia”?
At least D is breaking his posts up into paragraphs now. I can rest for a bit and come back and finish reading them…..LOL!!
LOL I was thinking the same thing.
RIP Carrie Fisher
I looked back at this years celeb deaths, and my god we have lost some BIG TIME actors and Musicians.
Yep! Sad.
rough year for sure.
A lot of people behind the scenes too, writers, producers etc.
Wide 9 as a concept, basically means we line up someone on the outside of the TE and their responsibility is pass rush. In a lot of cases its a DE, but it can be formations where we have a OLB, S or even CB lined up there. I think thats the biggest thing is that he has been doing it as a concept not as a traditional definition. Wake in a true wide 9 would pretty much always be lined up outside and as well as he has played this year, he might be double his production in true wide 9.
The major problem we have had in going true wide 9 is that we havent had our starting OLB’s for most the season and we have been weak covering the run off tackle. We have had to keep Wake/Fede in to help with run defense. I had been wanting them to bring in someone like Fede along with Wake, and have Fede man the off tackle and Wake go out wide, but then we are even more vulnerable against the pass in a zone we have been very weak already. We could have alternately brought Aikens (since he is one of our bigger safeties) in and put him off tackle, but not being very big it would be not a ton better than having no one to cover the spot period.
LB havent been able to flow sideline to sideline either so we have had 0 ability to force them to run to the middle of our defense, and to be honest, if they every got a seam past the DT’s out LB’s have sucked closing down the gaps before they are deep into the second level. Alonzo has had good games, last game was a pretty bad one, he over pursued on McCoy so many times it wasnt funny.
D, yeah it’s been a lot of things. Personnel, different opponents etc. We use a lot of 5-2 with 4 down and one LB standing at the LOS. But we also stunt and zone blitz off of that.
Base defenses are not what your grandfather’s base defense once was. 🙂
It seems like we haven’t been setting the edge very well. Our weakness is outside runs this year for sure.
The 3rd and 1 in the 4th quarter against the bills and the 4th and 1 in the ravens game. We need more speed on the outside.
We get jacked up inside too. Most of the outside stuff are fakes – reverses and read options. We don’t get beat by pure stretch and sweeps that often. But we are vulnerable to change of direction from what I’ve seen.
I think it’s less about speed and more about being on the same page and reading the play. That doesn’t mean adding better players with speed isn’t a good thing. 😉
This video shows what I’m talking about.
If we add a true ILB, like Zach Cunningham, Reuben Foster, Kendell Beckwith, etc (there are a few of them that would work), we can move Alonzo outside where i think he could do a ton better keeping containment and cutting down the outside runs. He just doesnt seem to have great instincts for the MLB position. He has good reaction and closing speed, but he can be over agressive and run past plays, he also doesnt recognize run/pass well by reading the offensive lineup, nor the first part of the play development. By time he has it, he reacts well, but sometimes that small hesitation is just too much to overcome. I wouldnt mind also adding a guy like Collins in FA and ideally i would love if out LB core was:
SOLB Collins
SOLB2 Hewitt
MLB Top draft pick. (Cunningham/Beckwith/Foster/Davis)
MLB2 Alonzo/Hull
WOLB Alonzo/Paysinger/Latter half pick. (Anzalone, Reeves-Maybin, Richie Brown, Hardy Nickerson)
I think wide 9 would work much better for us given that scenario, we’d also be much more improved in coverage across the LB zone and the defense as a whole with a MLB that can read and call out defensive shifts would be icing on the cake. Our secondary with Wake and/or a new higher round DE pick, in the wide 9 would make our secondary look like studs. Our press component seems solid, its the young mistakes like biting on double moves when you dont have a saftey over the top to help that seems to be when we get burned. Getting Jones back would also help us there.
I think in general the lack of athleticism at LB is really killing us
Boulder, on that play, they didnt (and im not sure how they didnt) anticipate Gill’s speed. They had DE with containment assignment and he had the edge set for an outside run, but it being a deep pitch he didnt begin widen his pursuit angel enough to be able to keep to the outside. There were plenty of examples of us not setting the edge well, that one though was just a good play call and and no respect for Gills speed. He rant more directly at him, i guess thinking he would get to him before he made it around the outside, than giving way to a good pursuit angle.
I saw several though where the containment guy broke inside, didnt even begin to set an edge and McCoy or Gills, just bounced it outside, where the next guy that could get to him was a CB coming back off of a coverage assignment. Alonzo was really bad on some plays, McCoy had him tackling air.
D, I don’t disagree. Alonso to me is a “he can be anywhere LB”. He’s not a thumper. More of a seek and destroy guy, not a hold the fort LB. But in our scheme I see more 2 ILB than typical 4-3. I think we should re-sign Alonso and add more talented LBs to the group. I also think Hewitt is one of them even if a 4th or 5th and STs guy.
Here’s one caveat that’s interesting – we have won big with out Reshad Jones. He doesn’t have much leverage in 2017 for an extension after he attempted a top 3 safety contract holdout in the offseason, and then went down for the year early on. This is one to keep your eye on.
Yeah i dont think he has the leverage he had earlier in the season, but you can see the effect of him not being back there to help against teams when we need to be in cover 2 or higher. Especially with Howard, he really needs that safety over the top right now until he gets a little more experience. Like i said a week or so back, i like the guys recovery ability, but there were several plays he barely made it back to break up the play andif Petty had put more zip on the ball, he wouldn’t have made it back and that Jets game might have been a lot less of a blowout. Its really just a matter of experience with him i think, but having Jones to put back there and just give him a little help through all this would make us a ton stronger in the secondary. I think we have the leverage to make Jones an offer, something mutually fair, and walk away now, if we need to, so i agree he doesn’t hold most the cards anymore, but i think he still owns a solid argument to getting paid decently well.
Baccari Rambo has been pretty serviceable as well. Maybe not as skilled as Jones but mostly solid the games he has played.
Maybe we could also help negotiations by taking a safety somewhere in the draft. There is a guy at Baylor, and former secondary teammate of Howard, Orion Stewart who likely is a mid to late mid round pick. He is a bigger guy at 6-2 but still has good speed and coverage skills (4.4-4.6 40 times). He looks like at very least he has some skills to work with and a size/speed combo that’s fairly rare.
Boulder
Omar has always been big on this “setting the edge” talk
I remember hearing repeatedly that Wake doesn’t set the edge before Wake finally cracked the starting lineup
I don’t think a HB Toss is the best example of the DE’s responsibilities to force the back inside
seems to me like the play to be made is either a LB or DB coming up to make that tackle
and I blame lack of athleticism at LB for those plays not poor edge setting or bad angles
those plays often don’t work in the NFL bc of the speed of the defense
but with Jones out and the LB unit we have – there is a lot of room to run
I guess I’m nitpicking
we definitely have problem with those outside runs
but I don’t think those are plays where you push the back inside
I agree. I put the outside runs on the LB as well. Someone has to be responsible for that type of outside play, Teams run on us on the outside.
Another safety prospect, Malik Hooker (though we would have to draft him very early) could be a Jones replacement, roughly the same skill set, again though thats first round talent, and i dont know if id want to draft safety that high this year.
Part of me though likes imagining from our past, and what it would be like for Jeff Ireland to still be here and get to interview a guy asking him if his mom was a hooker, and technically it should be an easy answer, with very little offense made to the draft prospect this time.
Yeah Piggy thats what im saying, that really was just a good play call that caught us in a defensive package that had no one to come up on the counter sweep they ran. Branch did bite on the left side fave dive, so he lost a little bit of containment, but in general that would have been a very hard play for him to have kept back to the inside unless he had sniffed it out and immediately broke to the outside. We had no LB support on the outside on that play and the CB was in coverage.
left side inside dive i meant.
damn it….inside fake dive….ffs
its a re-occurring theme
When i went back and looked at Hewitt, he bit on that dive too, worse than Branch, got caught up inside, tied up with the LT, who walked the line on a holding call there. Hewitt should have had been able to chase him to the sideline, but that one little mistake and that little bit of a block that the OT made on him was plenty enough to allow Gills to break it outside and past any sort of pursuit we had.
In a basic 4-3 defense the idea is for the 4 man front to disrupt blocking schemes, contain the pocket and get to the QB, and the OLBs force everything back inside where danger lies. That’s where most defenders are.
We show flashes of it but have way too many lapses. It’s all good, we’re in the playoffs folks! Fucking yippee!!!!! LOL
D, Hewiit has also made a lot of good plays along the way. He’s not a great LB but I think he’s our 2nd best LB right now and that’s why #46 is out there a lot of the time.
If he was our first backup off the bench I wpuld be fine with the LB unit
but I think we just need a talent upgrade at LB
Totally agree.
VJ is a 3-4 DC. Any thoughts on changing? I would think we’re more situated to play it, if Suh has no problem playing DE. Phillips at NT, Mitchell also at DE, with Wake and Jones/#50 at OLB, then we’d only need another ILB to go along with Alonso.
I don’t think we have the right personnel to play a base 3-4 like the Broncos, but what does that really mean? They couldn’t cover Kelce. See folks, good TEs destroy all defenses. Every fan I know that roots for multiple teams all say we can’t cover TEs or RBs.. That usually means really talented TEs and RBs. LOL
Evening Update
DOLPHINS-PATRIOTS
Piggy 24-21 MIA
Rhino 28-27 MIA
Howie 31-24 MIA
Rock 34-12 NE
Pump 27-24 MIA
B’man 34-31 MIA
FINS ARE FOR REAL!
Sounds interesting Steve I was thinking 3-4 when I heard of REX’S demise. Say VJ does move on to HC I gave it a thought that Rex is never getting that kind of job again.
We could pick him up but I believe he is a 3-4 guy and we are well suited for 4-3.
Can we change?
I’d have no problem with Rexie as our DC, and that was going to be my next question, but I already know the answer here, he’s unlike by most.
I HATE what Rex Ryan does to a locker room. He is a kiss of death who brings chaos and a lock of professionalism to his teams. I want no part of him here.
“lack”
So why do his players love him, if what you said was true? I think he’s a great DC, but not so much as HC.
I see no mention of Donald Butler. What is his PFF rating?
or anybody got any other ideas on his performance and hence future with us.
It SEEMED like the d tightened up when he arrived, but is that true?
Just got back from Rogue One. It’s a alright. Way too long. Vader at the end was the best part.
I see more DE/edge and LB focus in the offseason than the secondary. Guys getting hurt can happen to anyone. I’m more concerned about the front 7 than the secondary.
People forget we’re now down 3 starters in the base secondary. We’ve used all our depth to start and play in the back end this year. I have to give props to coach VJ for keeping them competing.
Piggy/Tim,
I was advocating for him with a first round pick if neccesary (although I thought a trade down would be more prudent) I watched the kid more than anybody else on the board because he was from UCLA, and my conviction was strong, but others’ lukewarm-ness on him was enough to get me written off as being typically overzealous (I am!). I WAS right in this case though. Love that guy. He’s a pro-bowl level player.
(Kendricks)
In retrospect though thanks to Piggy’s research, I’m just gonna tell myself we traded back in the 2nd because we were hoping he’d drop 2 more spots to us. So at least we were on the right track. 🙂
But the Phins are 10-5 and in the playoffs and Kendricks and the Vikes are 7-8 and looking to regroup like we always do. Just saying! 😉
I think Kendricks is a really good player, not dominant in any way. He will not change a team. He’s a really nice cog. I don’t think he was key to our fate obviously. LOL
Come on man. I certainly didn’t say I’d rather be the Vikes than us! I just stood on the f-in table for that guy and you guys DID dismiss it. Just sayin.
I dont’ know about “dominant” but he’s a perrenial probowler if he doesn’t get hurt. Mark it down….again. 🙂
And the Vikings D is much better than ours. Our strength is, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts, even though that quote makes no sense.
The talk seems to be what to do next year. Maybe yous guys didn’t hear, we made the playoffs🤔
Gase is an innovative OC and HC. Being innovative is what makes a great coach to me. I think Rexie is an innovative DC, because he’s come up with new ways to beat the cheats in the past.
He’s a goofball. He dissipates his expertise with a lack of attention to detail and his comments and attitude undermine the professional demeanor of the team even further.
That’s why he sucks as an HC, but as a DC…