We won’t get our first look at this newly crafted Dolphins defense until our first minicamp, which will be June 5-7, but we can catch a small glimpse at the OTA workouts which will be May 22-24, May 29-31 and then June 11-14. I can’t wait to see the new faces, and even some new old faces. We’ve definitely made a lot of changes, and only time will tell if the moves we’ve made help our team. Besides the obvious cap cost cutting of Ndumakong Suh, the Dolphins brought in DE Robert Quinn for an exchange of draft picks, the Dolphins sending the Rams 2018 4th and 6th RD picks, in exchange for the Rams 2018 6th RD pick and of course, Robert Quinn. We recently traded a 2019 7th RD pick to the Detroit Lions for DT Akeem Spence. In the draft we selected the versatile FS/CB/DB Minkah Fitzpatrick who can cover anywhere on the field, against anyone on the field, from RB’s to TE’s, to WR’s. To continue the pass coverage theme, the Dolphins drafted speedy cover LB Jerome Baker in RD 3. In RD 6, the Dolphins added another piece in CB Cornell Armstrong who will add depth to our CB stable. In RD 7, LB Quentin Poling will be a ST’s player, and then we signed a bunch of UDFA’s, most notably Utah State CB Jalen Davis.
It seems as if we’ve made quite a few changes, and in my mind, it was quite necessary. Of course, offensive struggles beget defensive struggles, but I’m just talking about the defense, which was far from good last year. Mid pack in yardage allowed, and 29th in points allowed. Something had to change, and changes were swiftly made. While jettisoning Suh won’t make us a better defense, my hope is we will be less reliant on one player. As great as Suh is/was, he played an insane amount of snaps, and let’s face it, he’s still human, and at 6’4 310, playing close to 900 snaps with the majority of them being double teamed had to be exhausting. I think more frequent rotations of lineman will ultimately benefit our team. You can’t expect one man to do it all, and I think in some ways that’s what happened.
Let’s look at the front 7. New additions to this group are 2017 NFL Draft 2nd RD pick LB Raekwon McMillan. I’m excited to see the young man back on the field manning the MLB position. He earned the job last season, and hopefully now healthy, will retake it. We traded for DE Robert Quinn, and he should be starting, and then getting some help from last year’s 1st RD pick DE Charles Harris. 36 year old Superman Cam Wake returns for his 10th NFL season, and we brought back run stopping DE/DT William Hayes for another season. DT’s Jordan Phillips and last year’s 5th RD pick and surprise success DT Davon Godchaux will likely be the starters, but again, there will be frequent substitutions to keep players fresh. We may see the LB we traded a 2018 5th RD pick for to the Saints Stephone Anthony man the SLB spot, and returning WLB Kiko Alonso. We declined to pick up the 5th YR option on Anthony, which hopefully will have Anthony playing hungry for a new contract.
I think what we’ve really improved upon this season is depth, and that definitely counts big time in a sport where injuries occur daily. This is what I believe at the moment would be our starting lineup, and then depth behind the starters.
RE Robert Quinn/Charles Harris
DT Jordan Phillips/Vincent Taylor
DT Davon Godchaux/Akeem Spence
LE Cam Wake/William Hayes
SLB Stephone Anthony/T.J. McDonald
MLB Raekwon McMillan/Chase Allen
WLB Kiko Alonso/Jerome Baker
RCB Cordrea Tanskersley/Tony Lippett
LCB Xavien Howard/Torry McTyer
NB Bobby McCain
FS Minkah Fitzpatrick
SS Reshad Jones
I think safety T.J. McDonald will be transitioning to LB play on passing downs, and I won’t be surprised in the least if our 2 nickel LB’s at some point of the season are Jerome Baker and T.J. MCDonald. I strongly believe Minkah Fitzpatrick will be our starting safety from day 1, and will easily earn that spot next to Reshad Jones. I truly hope that McDonald will embrace that change and take it as a positive. We have him under contract for 4 years, now he just needs to play where we need him, and earn it! Even if Minkah Fitzpatrick does start, it’s great to have McDonald right behind him on the depth chart.
Charles Harris seems like the forgotten man after trading for Robert Quinn, but I think he will see plenty of snaps on passing downs at both RE and LE, subbing for both Quinn and Wake. I think he’s actually going to have a very nice season for us. At LB, the additions of McMillan and Baker should make both the run defense (Raekwon) and the pass defense (Baker) better. Add in T.J. McDonald, and it just seems so much better than watching Kiko Alonso trailing just about anyone from 5-10 yards behind them. I know it’s unfair, but that’s what it looked like most of the time, and that’s why Baker and McDonald are here. If Robert Quinn is healthy, we can hope for big things from him, and if he starts out hot, Wake will benefit as well, because Quinn will get more attention, which will allow Wake to just beat the RT, and not worry about a RB or TE on his side.
At DT, Jordan Phillips will have his chance to show the NFL he’s a premier player with the absence of Ndumakong Suh. He’s now going to be the man, and up and comer Davon Godchaux, who had a nice rookie season now steps up into the starting lineup. Redundantly, and I apologize, there will be lots of rotation, but the next guys in need to hold their own, and that’s where trading for Akeem Spence comes in. He’s been the next guy in for Detroit, and should thrive in that role here in Miami. Vincent Taylor will be also counted on to be that next guy in, and DE William Hayes can double as a DT on passing downs, much like the NASCAR or speed package many teams employ.
Last year at CB, Xavien Howard really made a late season push, and hopefully he takes over where he left off. Cordrea Tankersley looked good out of the starting gates, but had his ups and downs IMO, but the knock on him that he shies away from tackling didn’t show itself last year, which was encouraging. Slot CB Bobby McCain easily had his best and most consistent season last year. Arguably, he was our best DB last season. To me though, the biggest addition is S Minkah Fitzpatrick. Like I said earlier, he will be starting from day one, and he’s the lynch pin to the back end of the defense. He gives us something we haven’t had our in quite some time, a player who can protect the CB’s in our zone defense. He has the instincts, the speed, and the recovery speed to make plays in the secondary. This allows Reshad Jones to help out closer to the LOS, with Minkah patrolling the deep skies. Honestly, I just can’t wait to see this in play.
I don’t think we’re going to be a top 10 defense this season, but I do think we will be close in some categories, and if the offense holds up it’s end of the bargain, who knows, maybe top 10 is attainable. Why not us? next week, I’m going to look at the offense, but in the meantime, D-fense! D-fense! D-Fense!
Finsmob Unleashed 
we should go to the great white petting zoo……you first!
Not without a cage, ORob!!! LOL
goes back to your madden team you posted above!
HELL YEAH!!!
The Aqua 88 Club
Jim Mandich , Keith Jackson, Chris Carter, Jeff Ogden, Nate Jacquet, Derrius Thompson, Jeron Mastrud, Brian Kinchen, Vince Heflin David Martin, Leonte Carroo. MIke Gesicki.
Not yet for Gesicki, he has to settle for 86 for now
Unless he worked out a deal with Carroooooo. Tim posted yesterday Gesicki was #86
Going by what my old FF foe Brain Miller reported. He’s not main stream press….but normally right.
https://phinphanatic.com/2018/05/11/dolphins-mike-gesicki-wear-88-wore/
Team site has BOTH Carroo and Gesicki wearing 88. Steel cage match for the number? Carroo would probably win, since Gesicki couldn’t “block” any of Carroo’s punches. lol
Stanger – Yeah, I saw that article. Not sure where he got his info from
Could be a misentry or could be Carroo just hasn’t chosen his new number yet…..we’ll see.
http://www.miamidolphins.com/team/player-roster.html
I like that Tunsil is #78. True LT number
That was his college number. Fede had it but since he’s gone it was available.
Sounds like phasers set to kill!
Stanger – The Calm Peach Toast says Gesicki is #86. lol
Over at the Savage Slipper they are trying to find out were Nomar is going on his honeymoon!
On NFL . com they do not have a jersey available for Gesicki yet and Carroo’s #88 is on clearance at 1/2 price……
They are probably right. And it is on that flash number thing the Phins put out, but then the Phins do the roster on their website too. 🙂
LOL @ Rock – I bet!
Wyo – Isn’t the Savage Slipper an old hotel in Vegas? 🙂
The Low Budget in the red light district Miami!
Or is all of Miami a “red” light district????????? 😉
You don’t have to ROXANNE put on the red light,
you don’t have to ROXANNE put on the red light
Things to look forward too!
https://twitter.com/HoustonRockets/status/994970396519628800
Indoor volleyball?
Right on KV – I think there will be numerous combinations of personnel to match up better with what opposing offenses throw at us. If you think about it, it really makes sense. Why have the same people covering 2 smaller WR’s as you would 2 TE’s and a big WR? Mix it up man, just like they do.
Just talked to Chef Warren…..he is now a father for the first time, and he is already loving the ten fingers, ten toes and the rest of the boy. Man has some busy times coming up.
Awesome – Send congrats to Chef Warren
Congrats to Chef Warren. But you have to let me this changes nothing. He still has to cook for the fest
Got watch Warren on that stuff. Last year he faked the broken foot….you were there….and now he faked a kid. 🙂
WOW, congratulations to chef warren! Stanger, isn’t he about our age? Late start! He’ll be 70 when his kid starts college! (exaggeration, but only by a little)
He’s even older than Mike E. His comment was “when you are young a kid makes you old, but when you are old a kid makes you young.”
http://www.nflshop.com/Miami_Dolphins_Men_Jerseys
Still no Mike Gesicki available.
Carroo on sale 50% off.
So Chef Warren didn’t actually hurt his leg last Fest.. He stayed away to hide his baby bump 🙂 Tell him congrats. That’s awesome !!
He actually wasn’t showing at that point…..but had stopped drinking. 🙂
Drinking is how he broke his foot and got knocked up
LOL @ Ken! Mob want food!
My Smythe Jersey is not available yet either!
“When he was young” Man, how long ago was Ronnie Brown? Shit, I guess that WAS 13 years ago….Damn time flies.
https://www.thephinsider.com/2018/5/11/17343930/miami-dolphins-jersey-numbers-2018-rookies-free-agents-danny-amendola-frank-gore-minkah-fitzpatrick
The Phinsider is reporting Gheysicki as #88 too, but do not mention Carroo at all.
one match-up i like is when a lbers tries to cover drake, last year when they split him wide he was devastating.
LOL @ Stanger and Chef Warren faking a kid to get out of cooking!
it looks as if tannehill has never had a compliment of rec’s he has now, with amendola…wilson..gesicki, drake..stills..parker
grant
but when you are old a kid makes you young.”
Yeah, you just wait until that kid becomes a teen Warren and see how young he makes you feel.
He knows how old he is….but at least the Mom is like 10 years younger.
http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/greg-cote/article210929449.html
We share your pain Greg Gote!
OD – This article is for you! I think you can easily empathize with this
http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/greg-cote/article210929449.html
beer me
Rock – I believe I owe you a cold one
LOL two now! HA!
Actually, you owe me one back, I said it first!
My best buddy from high-school (1 year younger than me) just had his SECOND grand child. THAT makes me feel old.
Feel so bad for Jim Kelly.
What do you expect from someone that prepares like Does? But it still wasn’t a good pick, because the media said so.
Compare the look on his face to Ballage, you can see the intelligence difference. In kalen’s defense you dont have to be smart to play RB, and you may be better off not being too smart.
2 looks are good intelligent and mean, like Gore.
Parker also has the Ballage, Dion Jordan uninterested look.
Steve,
Looks can be VERY deceiving, man. Don’t judge a book by it’s cover. I can’t believe I even feel the need to type this!
When I first met my very best friend (RIP, Jimmy), I though he had the look of a junkie, a loser, and trouble. Holy Christ, was I EVER wrong!
He’d never drank, smoked (grass), and he had his head on straighter than mine.
I SWEAR, I’m generally good at judging character at first glance. But after I got to know Jimmy, I threw that instant judgmental BS out the window. If I even miss on ONE person out of a thousand by being an ‘instant judge’, I’d have never met my best friend for life.
I’m not dissin’ ya, my Bro Steve… just sayin’! 🙂
Dude…i mentioned this yesterday, saying it wasn’t the end all, just a bad sign.
ocalarob says:
May 11, 2018 at 1:29 pm
it looks as if tannehill has never had a compliment of rec’s he has now, with amendola…wilson..gesicki, drake..stills..parker
——————
I don’t know anything about Ballage, but Gore is also a very capable receiver out of the backfield. A very underrated part of his game. He’s got nearly 500 rec in his career and actually caught 61 passes in ’06.
Ballage is very good catching the ball, there’s no reason why this O can’t light it up baring injury. 3 RBs that can run and catch, 3 good receiving TEs, and a slew of WRs with different talents that can compete against any D, to go with what i think will be a very good OL.
No doubt, been a good receiver his entire career.
steveccnv says:
May 11, 2018 at 3:22 pm
Dude…i mentioned this yesterday, saying it wasn’t the end all, just a bad sign.
——–
Alright, noted!
Tough picture of Jim Kelly above especially for me because he has exactly what I have
Oh man, how you doing?
I am hanging in there. Radiation was rough and I am still dealing with the after affects. My stamina is starting to return but I am still having difficulty eating
Hoping you get back to normal sooner than later, bro.
I really don’t get how this team is being looked at as a bad team this year. Okay maybe not great or even playoffs, but 6 wins or 4 wins with some simulator etc.? Nobody has seen the 2018 team even suit up yet. It’s not the same team as last year. What are they going by? They have no idea how the offseason additions will perform or whether many of our young players will raise the level of their games or not.
6-10 and the loss of our best player on offense and defense will kind of do that
Yeah I think it’s an issue with the names list
I do t think people are looking ok’ing at the roster as a whole – just being like: they lost Suh, Landry and even Pouncey(lol)
That’s lazy evaluations though. I like our roster better this year than last year. We get our QB back too.
Now I am really going to start a buzz saw: I think the return of Tannehill will make a big difference as I believe his loss last year was a major factor in our poor season
Beat you to it. LOL
I owe Tim a beer 🍺
It’s all lazy reporting, buy one of those national preseason magazines and all they do is regurgitate what our beat writers tell them, they don’t know shit from shinola. If our beat writers say fuck you very much instead of thank you very much, that’s what they write.
Not sure why anyone cares what a national guy says.
I suck at judging character
Why do you jerks think I’m here?!?!
Tim Knight says:
May 11, 2018 at 3:59 pm
… I like our roster better this year than last year…
————–
I’ve known you now for the better part of decade, Tim… and you say this EVERY YEAR!!! 🙂
As a matter of fact (being I think me met in ’09), we’ve only had ONE winning season since then!!! LOL 😉
* we
I think it was before then. Also saying a better roster doesn’t mean winning season. 😉
We’ve gone through a lot of coaching and roster changes over the years. There were plenty of seasons I didn’t expect playoffs. I just try to see the positive in new additions making the team better.
No I don’t. I didn’t like our WR group in 2012 or our OL in 2013 and I have said I think we’re probably no better than 8-8 a few times over the years. I also pointed out back in the Wildcat days we lacked explosiveness in the passing game and it’s hard to win that way. I just don’t bash the franchise from top to bottom every year. There’s a difference between not being overly negative and thinking everything is great. I get labeled that way because some people ignore what I actually say. 😉
Ken,
It really doesn’t matter. Any improvement this team makes this year over last will be attributed to Tannehill whether it’s factual or not. The groundwork has already been laid for that mantra. Lol
I think Tannehill can be part of improvement but not solely. I don’t give QBs that much credit. 😉
Buzz killer…
Ken,
Also wanted to say i’ve been sending positive vibes your way, man!
Everybody knows that Randy hates quarterbacks.
Phins improve this year and QB plays well…..it’ll be factual! Lol
Any improvement we get this year better be from Tannehill
It’s now or never
My love won’t wait
And a bunch of other guys.
Not this season. I figure if he catches 50 passes, he did really well, along with 5-10 TD’s That would be a great rookie season
Yeah even catches in the 40-45 range and 5-7 TDs would be good. At the least he needs to be a red zone threat because that’s where he made his 2nd rd status. The seam chunk yards will happen here and there. But we need him to open up and help scoring in the red zone.
M13, Did you see my BALLHAWK alert the other day to put on your watch list?
Just arrived!!!!!!!!!
Mine too
😝
This is your next jersey
I’m not sure the way the offense looks like it’s being setup, that anyone on the team will have even 70 catches this season. I see a lot of spreading the ball around. Our backs had 70 total receptions last year combined. This year I think it could go 80-90. Our TEs had 56 total receps. That should go up a bit maybe 65-75 with hopefully more YPCA and TD production. The WRs had 254 last year. That should go down a bit, but more YPCA and big plays.
They should all go up. The offense needs more plays!
More YPCA, not more receptions. We had 373 receps last year which is 23.3 per game. That’s fine. We need more than 360 rushes. Opponents had 431 rush and 339 receps. They didn’t have to pass so much on us because we couldn’t score.
Phish,
I love QBs! They squish really easy when you hit them. Lol
I thought you were going to say “I love QBs, when they’re on the ground.” LOL
LOL
I hope we see a return to 2016 where we see the offense throw about 100 fewer passes for the season because we had a productive running game.
Balance and production per touch. Gotta eliminate the penalties and negative plays.
MIKE E.; SAW your 1:49 post re Greg Cote’s article. YES, it has been an incredibly frustrating and disappointing run for Dolfans since our last playoff victory after the 2000 season. The most frustrating part of all this has been Ross’s consistently bad selections for head coach and GM/Head of football operations. He has yet to pick the right man for EITHER JOB for almost a decade. A very close second has been his mistreatment of season ticket holders, which almost defies belief but, sadly, is oh so true. Anyway, the grim reaper, sooner or later, is going to get all of us, including Steve Ross. I may not live long enough to see it, but most of you will. Only then will some of you find out what a successful NFL owner does (I HOPE!).
————-
Meanwhile, I GUARANTEE this will NOT be the year Miami wins its first playoff game since 2000. And it won’t be the year that Ross’s Dolphins get to the AFC Championship Game. It’s sad but true: most current fans of this team, and most current season ticket holders, have NEVER BEEN PRESENT when Miami won a playoff game!
————
TONIGHT, however, my home town NHL TEAM WILL WILL WIN ANOTHER PLAYOFF GAME (their 9th this playoff season) when they defeat a very good, and very HOT, Washington Capitals team here in Amalie Arena. GOOO-O-O-O BOLTS!!
Go Bolts !!
Tim,
We just need to figure out how to score more. Consistency and balance can help with that, but we need to start getting TDs when we get close. Settling for FGs has been killing us for ever. The players need to execute, but I’d like to see us get more creative inside the 20. You can’t have those false starts and other stuff, but we are so predictable too.
Agreed, been saying the same thing specifically commenting on how Gesicki can help us. I think our predictability last year was we were a wounded team in a lot of ways. The strides we made in 2016 had some flaws too but we saw a glimpse of what it could look like. Last year was a clusterfuck all around.
Gase is well aware that the offense hasn’t been good enough and that’s his specialty, his baby. He hated the makeup of it. So with all the changes he made, he feels now he’s gotten closer to his vision for not just the offense but the entire team, and that’s on him. He’s taken on that responsibility. If it doesn’t work he won’t be the HC for much longer. That’s the way it goes.
Tannehill has to get the ball in the freaking end zone. A lot.
There’s really nothing more to it. They put all of their chips in with him now he has to produce.
No more missing uncovered receivers
No more playing not to lose
Take shots down the field and blow this mother up
Taking shots down the field was more prevalent in 2016. Last year our QBs lead by Cutler was 6.3 YPA and in 2016 lead by Tannehill it was 7.8. Big difference. We have to get back to that. I think utilizing multiple options will be better for us. Or should I say hopefully. 😉
He has some Zach traits. Zach Thomas was drafted at 5-10 225 and became our MLB for a decade as a rookie. Not saying that happens here, just saying you never know. Poling is 6-0 235 and a better athlete. We’ll see. We need good competition at LB and we should have it.
You can say he’s a better athlete, but Zach did it despite his athleticism, his main trait was being prepared. Now couple a great athlete wit preparation and you get Minkah.
If the way RT17 ended 2016 is any indicator, the Phins are gonna score some points.
Well that was a shitty 7 seconds for the Bolts
LB Poling just became a favorite, real LB, smart, fast too, great presser LMAO,
Be nice if he became a diamond in the ruff, seems like he’ll work his ass off!!
If he a Baker can cover, might be clearing anther 10 mill off the books in o19/o20 via Kiko (whom I like)!!!
GOFINS!!!
I wanna Jersey that says BAKER on the back, but I’m liking Poling a Lott!!!
Fitz
“””No such thing as extraordinary without the extra,
So Yea I’ve always done extra”””
“””Want to be an NFL LEGEND”””!!!
interesting slant
8. Want to have a little fun with a Bills fan in your life? Go up to him and point to #7 overall pick Josh Allen and whisper two words: “Jay Cutler.” Just don’t do it if you value the friendship.
Coming out of Vanderbilt, Cutler had loads of talent but never was able to win at the college level. The excuse was that he was surrounded by mediocre players. But his penchant for losing followed him to the NFL level anyway and his potential never translated to much in the way of playoff wins.
Allen performed horribly whenever he was faced with a Power 5 conference foe at Wyoming. He might be able to correct flaws which have led to some terrible accuracy issues in college. But can you make a winner out of a guy who was a career loser when the heat was on? The Bills have bet big on it.
9. Overall this looked to me like a pretty poor draft in terms of talent and I certainly wasn’t alone in that assessment. But what counts more than my opinion or anyone else’s is what the NFL evaluators think.
In this regard, the reaction of the Patriots to this draft was interesting. The Patriots had such a hard time finding players that provided adequate value in this draft that they made eight draft weekend trades. If their reaction is any indication, this could be one of the worst drafts in modern NFL history.
This play by play guy needs to go suck Ovechkins sick already.
What network ?
There s one ☝️
Tim Knight says:
May 11, 2018 at 6:49 pm
Our backs had 70 total receptions last year combined. This year I think it could go 80-90. Our TEs had 56 total receps. That should go up a bit maybe 65-75 with hopefully
____________________________________________
you better hope not! that would mean we are not running the ball, a recipe for FAILURE!
OD yer boys slept thtu 2 periods waazzup wit dat ? As i type they score to make it 4-2
or it could mean we are sustaining drives with less 3 and outs and the defense is keeping the opposing team’s offense off the field.
Probably be similar balance of the run even with RB’s/TE’s catching more balls!!!
They’ll be catching the 112 that don’t go to Landry, as well as will the receivers!!!
GOFINS!!!
Landry caught 112, probably had what 150 plus thrown his way..
That’s 150 to go elsewhere and still a similar rushing attack, (toss 120 elsewhere), and get 30 more rush attempts (if need be)!!!
Bet that buck20 of tosses, (112 receptions to be fair)
Goes for a much higher average than 8 yards too!!!
We will have a slot and wrs that will cancel out Landry’s production. We passed too often last year because we could not pick up the tough yardage on first down. we became predictable.
saying that our TE’s and RBs will get more passes thrown there way this year is not a good thing IMO.
Yes. More plays please
Im expecting the OL moves we made will be a large upgrade , which by ITSELF should equate to longer drives, more time for RT and bigger holes for the RB s meaning more points and less D time in field
Have they done enough to improve the OL? That’s the big question heading into the season. I think bigger than RT17 or the D.
I look at Sitton and kilgore alone as upgrades over Pouncey and either Bushrod or whoever else we plugged in there , gasmask boy will have better players beside him, and who knows maybe Asiata just need a red shirt year… stay healthy will be a huge assist as well
I feel about the same. What good was a C who they couldn’t practice. The OL played better without him. Asiata would be a huge plus if he got his feet figured out this offseason
OCRob (damn reply thing was messing with me)
I can see the receivers (new/old) eating up Landry’s 100 average receptions…
But the other what (40-50 no idea of the exact number) targets to Landry that weren’t completed, GOTTA GO SOMEWHERE!!!
Probably toward the run game itself, as well as to pass attempts to RB’s & TE’s,
Seriously doubt that we’d draft TWO TE’s without the intent of uping our game from the TE position!!!
GOFINS!!!
Would be nice to have TEs involved in the passing game…..
I’m sure we will pass the ball but when you look at 2017 we had an unbalanced offense, we passed way too much, there were times our RBs had only 13 carries, you have to run the ball 25 times a game, so saying we’re increasing our pass plays would be a disaster
I think we will run the ball more, I think Gase wants to run, but you have to be able to do it with the OL and the RB’s, and you also have to be in a position score wise in the game to be able to do it. If you’re down 21-0 you can’t just run and run, you need to score and score fast. I think there will always be games where we pass more because the game dictates it, but I think Gase wants to run
I think Gase wants to pass. It’s pretty much all he’s wanted to do since he’s been here. We’ve proved we can run the ball when we want to, but play predictability has hindered our offense for the most part and it’s definitely not because of lack of talent or “not having the right pieces in place”.
Mike E. says:
May 12, 2018 at 8:02 am
I think we will run the ball more, I think Gase wants to run, but you have to be able to do it with the OL and the RB’s, and you also have to be in a position score wise in the game to be able to do it. If you’re down 21-0 you can’t just run and run, you need to score and score fast. I think there will always be games where we pass more because the game dictates it, but I think Gase wants to run
________________________________________________________
The thing is we not only need to run the ball; we need to be successful at running the ball, we need that success to come on 1st down putting us in manageable 2nd and 3rd down situations, then the game doesn’t get out of hand
I agree, and if the score allows it, stick with it until you get it right. If it’s a close enough game, there’s no reason to just abandon the run, but I feel like we’ve been saying that here for a long time, with different HC’s. OC’s, players etc . . .
SB – I don’t know about Gase preferring to pass. He’s had solid running games in each of his stops in the NFL.
He’s said it himself.
When, and in what context did he say that?
This guy catching this number of passes for whatever yards, that guy catching, blah, blah, blah…
This year is going to be completely different, even, if just, because Landry is gone. New OC, new WRs, new RBs, 2 new OL, 2 new TEs, and the problem children gone, so there’s no comparison with last year, and no reason to compare what group gets what number of catches/TDs.
On Gesicki, I don’t care so much about his catches or TDs, the biggest thing is being unstoppable on 3rd down like Kelce has been for the Chiefs.
On the Matt Patricia BS, I don’t really care what happens, he just better not end up on the Cheats.
No way does a Boston news paper look for dirt on one of there own. That writer in Detroit should be lambasted in there.
MikeE, Mike Gisicki agrees with ME on his self evaluation! Need that last sentence.
“That label, athletic tight end, fits me but I will continue to work to be a complete tight end,” he said on the first day of a three-day rookie mini-camp. “With the way the game of football is going, that athletic tight end is an important piece to the puzzle. [But] ultimately you have to be able to do everything: run block, pass block, deeper routes, shorter routes. You can’t just be a big receiver.”
Honestly, I’ll take a great big receiver over a decent blocking and receiving TE any day. Smythe can block, Gesicki can catch. Plus, like I mentioned, he doesn’t have to be an in line blocking TE, he just has to be able to block wherever he is on the field, even if it’s split out.
Well thankfully Mike Gisicki disagrees with you And has said he is going to work on being the complete tight end. Credit him there.
13kvFINS says:
Landry caught 112, probably had what 150 plus thrown his way..
That’s 150 to go elsewhere and still a similar rushing attack, (toss 120 elsewhere), and get 30 more rush attempts (if need be)!!!
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…..and that many more passes will go to faster receivers.
It was 161 targets, which is crazy. That’s just too much for one player
I’m really hoping we see a lot of 2TE sets this year. …both on running and passing plays. When we were doing mocks with 2 TEs Smythe and Ian Thomas were the two I liked as a second TE on day 3, along with Hurst, Goedert, and Gesicki as our first options. While I had Goedert ahead of Gesicki, I couldn’t be happier getting one of the top 3 along with a favorite of mine in Smythe. I really noticed Smythe while watching a lot of Nelson and McGlinchey this year.
Toughest guys to cover, plus you can run well or pass well with guys like Smythe and Gesicki, it’s a great formation
https://www.thephinsider.com/2018/5/11/17337802/what-the-heck-is-up-with-the-miami-dolphins-quarterback-situation
Depending on how you feel about the quarterback situation you might not want to read this
6-10 and the loss of our best player on offense and defense will kind of do that
Except that’s the exact opposite of what happened we actually got our best player on offense back this season
NO WE DIDN’T, Rock!! Our best offensive player was traded to the Browns. And our best running back got a Super Bowl ring in Philly! Hopefully, the return of Tannehill and some other injured players will give us a chance to top last year’s record (6-10). But this team has yet to SHOW ME they can do that. Until then, you’ll be one season closer to losing our bet!
Sorry but you are wrong
I’ve known you now for the better part of decade, Tim… and you say this EVERY YEAR!!! 🙂
Reply
😂 so true. That’s why Tim is one of my favorites. Hope springs eternal. Not that I can really say anything I heat up the still every year around this time and start brewing Homeraid
It’s now or never
My love won’t wait
????
You have been waiting on cam Newton for years
MANITOBA: YES, the Bolts REALLY stunk it up last night! But, remember, they lost the first game of the Bruins’ series 6-2 before winning 4 straight games. However, Washington has a better team than Boston. And they came into this series RED HOT!! Tampa Bay MUST win tomorrow night to have a realistic chance to win this playoff series.
The new OC loves to run the ball
honestly I think we have a lot to look forward to this season
It’s not just Tim
I didn’t like the idea of getting rid of our best players
I’m still upset that I have no jerseys
But I don’t see a lot of wholes in the roster right now
And I can’t think of a time when I thought the first two draft picks might make a bigger impact
Fitzpatrick and Gesicki might be really special for us
I have a few question marks and if any end up being negative it will hurt us
Can Gase coach?
Can tannehill play like he did at the end of 2016?
Will the moves we made on the OL work?
Is the DT rotation with lesser players than Suh going to hold up?
Can multiple players at WR equal Landry’s consistent production?
I agree with most of this, especially the concern with Gase’s coaching ability. We seen some good and we’ve seen some bad, but overall a true lack of consistency which carries over onto the players on the field.. His decision making seems all over the place.
ORob I think you are going to be disappointed with the ratio as long as Gase is boss. He has admitted that he has a penchant for leaning on the pass game more than the running game. I don’t think you’ll ever see the ratio you want anywhere in the NFL anymore you are a dinosaur in the game has left you behind
WTF – Have you seen ANY of the Jurassic Park movies?
Let’s all stop pretending bthat Tim is the Barack Obama of the blog. He doesn’t have the monopoly on hope for the success of this team. Lol.
No he has always just been levelheaded and resistant to bashing the team which is refreshing to some of us. I for one cannot stand reading peoples negative comments over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over
I’d rather see a more objective and reasoned point of view that doesn’t change with the wind.
Also, bashing the team is one thing. Being honest about the weaknesses is another
I can’t tell you how to learn how to read or improve your comprehension so I’m just going to leave this alone
Mike E. says:
May 12, 2018 at 9:06 am
When, and in what context did he say that?
He said it back in 2016 In the context of it had to ask the other coaches to step in and remind him to run the ball because heWants to pass it on every down
Jay Ajayi he was not our best running back OD Drake is a much more balanced and better running back. Much better At blocking and picking up the blitz and much better and receiving and route running.
I don’t think Gase agrees with your opinion seeing he started Ajayi over Drake.
LOL one could argue that he doesn’t share your opinion because he shipped Jay Ajayi out of here and kept the better running back
Mike E. says:
May 12, 2018 at 10:52 am
WTF – Have you seen ANY of the Jurassic Park movies?
Mike you know from personal experience that all your favorite riding dinosaurs went extinct years agoIn that movie is just fake.
That’s very hurtful, may Dino RIP
LMAO @ Rock & Mike dinosaur theories 😁, too funny!!!
“””That movie is just fake””” Hilarious!!!
Rockphin says:
May 12, 2018 at 10:46 am
ORob I think you are going to be disappointed with the ratio as long as Gase is boss. He has admitted that he has a penchant for leaning on the pass game more than the running game. I don’t think you’ll ever see the ratio you want anywhere in the NFL anymore you are a dinosaur in the game has left you behind
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Rock…. tell that crap to Jacksonville who was in the afc championship game because they got Coughlin and he went out and drafted an OL and a RB and successfully ran the ball.
you can’t just pass the ball in the NFL, you have to be able to physically control the LOS with a running game.
if you get into a pattern of passing teams will disregard the run and play pass, it will be harder to convert passes and will leave you in long down and distance. your team will become unbalanced and predictable and you will lose.
There’s no doubt that if Gase relies on the passing game it won’t be for long because we will suck and he will get fired.
Jax won because of their defense. Their running game wasn’t special, just adequate.
I didn’t say I was an advocate for it I just said that it is the trend in the NFL which can be supported by stats. Jacksonville led by the 80 something-year-old head coach was an outlier who happened to perfectly balance the amount of runs and passes last season. To the play. They ran exactly the same amount of running plays and passing plays. I am an advocate for balanced play calling Gase is an admitted in ass junkie Maybe you are right and we will suck I hope not
we need to run the ball successfully 25 times a game, if we do that we will win the division, Tannehill will have a monster season and our defense will look like the 85 bears!
if we run the ball 15 times a game we will have an early 1st rnd draft pick in 2019, we will lose, our defense will get killed, Tannehill will be replaced and Gase will be fired.
“Meanwhile, I GUARANTEE this will NOT be the year Miami wins its first playoff game since 2000.”
OD – I’ll take $50 at 2:1 odds if you’re that sure.
Rock, are you sure you won’t rescind your offer? I brought you a nice shiny red apple, full of fiber.
There you go again go back and read it again Try reading it one word at a time if it helps I never made an offer that I would have to rescind.
Nope. Got it the first time. You’re upset over something you perceived in my post then followed it up with some irony. I was trying to give you playful banter, but I guess it’s a futile thing with you this morning. The apple is still available if you want it.
LOL one could argue that he doesn’t share your opinion because he shipped Jay Ajayi out of here and kept the better running back
No response to this one ? Crickets do I hear crickets?
🤓
ORob, if you saw other parts of that discussion about the pass breakdowns, I mentioned we need to run more than 360 times. More passes to the RBs is part of the ball control offense to mix with the run.
Yes, gotta run more!!!
607 pass attempts cuz we spotted 14 plus points to practically every opponent (cept during that mini win streak vs Broncos/Pats)!!!
470 something during Ajayi breakout o16…
Mid 500’s in o15, THill most statistically productive year,
Though o16 would have been more productive had he not missed the final quarter of o16!!!
I believe we’ll have more plays (to distribute the ball wherever) overall in o18, as well as #14’s targets being spread about somewhat equally…
If I recall, weren’t we near or at the bottom of number of plays run??
Cuz we couldn’t sustain drives, and/or had a ridiculous amount of 3 & out’s, and/or had no option other than to pass cuz we were always down by 14 between the 50 minute remaining mark and final whistle!!!
I don’t think that we’ll be throwing the ball 607 times in o18,
But that all the remaining receiving options will still get more opportunities, simply due to the absence of a “””just gimme the damn ball””” hog’s receptions/targets!!!
I’d guess we’ll run 400 plus, and pass 500 plus,
(If not 500 – 500), or whatever totals however many plays were efficient enough to run in o18!!!
GOFINS!!!
Never (during this conversation) suggested that we’ll be passing more,
Only suggested that Landry’s (160 something targets)
Or however many of those 160-plus that we distribute as passes
Will be spread out somewhat equally to all receiving options
which includes all receivers, RB’s, & TE’s!!!
That was my thinking.
Ya’Mon!!!
Fins 970 or so O plays in o17!!!
Pats ran around 100 more O plays than us!!!
If we can cut that in half, for an extra 50 Dolphin O plays
to go along with the 160 or so that went to Landry…
That’s 200 some plays that we can distribute equally elsewhere!!!
GOFINS!!!
To the run, pass, WC, or whatever (somewhat equally)!!
According to his efficiency in such formation,
and his reaction toward the question!!!
I think we’re gonna see a bunch of WC via Ballage!!!
GOFINS!!!
For the record, I’ve been disappointed with our OL for years and the fact that we can’t run when we have to. I was also very disappointed that the defense didn’t have more sacks and turnovers. So it’s not like I don’t think this team has any flaws.
Armando Salguero @ArmandoSalguero 2h2 hours ago
Darren Rizzi says Jason Sanders kicked the laces (bad on the holder) about 20 times in his college career.
He will not kick laces here.
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These are the types of things coaches see when evaluating talent that fans and media don’t know about. We just see that Sanders FG pct. wasn’t very good. Rizzi sees why and how to correct it. Let’s hope anyway. LOL
BACK ON THE BOARD after some yard work. Will be taking Mrs. OD out to Mother’s Day dinner TODAY so as to avoid the crush in local eateries tomorrow. She’s one smart girl!
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ROCK, did I read this right that you’ll put up 50 to my 100 regarding the Fins winning a playoff game THIS SEASON?? YOU ARE ON, MY MAN!!–Someone take a photo of this SOOOOON!
OD go back and read it wasn’t me who placed the bet
SORRY, Rock. Looks like Phelon wants to make this bet. Or does he?
Lol@ “or does he” Baiting him on
OD – I’m your daisy. My $50 gets me your $100 if Miami wins a playoff game this season.
Ain’t it, “””I’ll be your HUCKLEBERRY””” ??? ; )))
I think it was Phelonious
You know I will pay so I don’t bet unless I feel some sort of conviction let’s wait until like at least read reports from training camp that get me all hot and bothered and my homeraid still is fully up and running before I make any silly bets. 😀
Seems “playoff win” was the key part to consider, and OD might have got you there. 2-1 at whether the Phins make the playoff or not…..different subject.
Boy, I went back and was reading My posts this morning and one could think I was being Dickish……Of course that one would be wrong and stupid to boot. 😂
The press conferences with Rizzi, Loggains and Burke was good. Gives you some insight into what some of the plans are and they touch on some of the new additions.
Reading the whole number of runs versus number of passes debate earlier, was thinking the new NFL can’t be pegged that way. It is how you pass and how you run…and when, how and why.
Do agree with those who say Gase never wanted a run first offense. And think he was in some ways unhappy when Ajayi became a focal point, even if he “ran” with it. Think his models go more to the greatest show on turf and what the evil genius has set up.
Agreed. It’s whatever it takes to win that specific game. Game plans change based on opponents. But you always want to be able to establish a running game because it opens up play-action and big play opportunities.
No doubt everyone wants to be able to run and dominate in a John Riggins behind the Hogs kinda of way when needed, just don’t think that is the game plan. Whether it works or not, think we are more going the Marshall Faulk way…..no matter how much ORob might not like it.