Now that we’ve got all the roster battles out of the way, this Saturday looms large for some players who either can lose their starting jobs because they don’t show enough to keep them, or for players trying to establish themselves as starters to prove they are worthy of such. The third game of the preseason is the game in which starters get their longest look, some may play at a minimum the first half, and some even continue into the 3rd quarter. It’s the closest thing to REAL game the preseason gives you. That doesn’t mean there will be extensive game planning for the game, that’s not the case, but starters will get plenty of reps to get them ready for the regular season.
There’s so much talk, particularly on this blog as to who the starting RB should be. Some feel it should be long time veteran Frank Gore, and some feel it should be young upstart Kenyan Drake. As far as I’m concerned, it doesn’t really matter. If it makes some people happy that Gore is on the field for the first snaps of our 1st offensive series, so be it. Kenyan Drake is the back that will be receiving the majority of the touches. How much of a majority will depend on the game circumstances. Drake is the explosive big play home run hitter, and he has the potential to do that on any play. He showed that last season, and he will improve. As I’ve pointed out several times, Drake was always the 2nd fiddle to backs like Derrick Henry, and T.J Yeldon. It was partly due to minor injuries that hampered Drake, but also because the other backs were getting it done while Drake was not. Drake is ready folks, and we will use him in a fashion that best suits the team. He’s an excellent pass catcher, and explosive runner. Gore is also an excellent pass catcher, although he doesn’t have the breakaway speed he once had, if there’s a short yardage situation where we need a yard or two, Gore would be my choice for sure.
Ryan Tannehill needs to get this team in the endzone. That delay of game in preseason game II in the redzone is just a drive killer, and unacceptable. Honestly, I saw another series where he had a delay of game, at least according to the play clock they showed on the field, he got an extra 2 seconds somehow, but it wasn’t called anyway (maybe the play clock we saw was incorrect). The Ravens always give us fits, so I’m not expecting too many good things, but a couple of TD’s from the first stringers on offense would be nice. I would also like #86, TE Mike Gesicki to show a pulse in the passing game, and go out there and catch some passes, maybe even a TD.
The defense allowed some big plays last week, so I’d like them to not allow that to occur. I don’t follow any other teams closely, but it seems like a lot of ex-Dolphins are real chippy now that they are elsewhere. Is it just the Dolphins that have ex players so disgruntled and petty? Suh took a shot at the DL after Christian McCaffrey busted through for a 71YD TD run, in which Suh put on Instagram “Right up the gut”. You would think these guys have enough to worry about with the respective teams they currently play for, but . . .
I would say one of the biggest issues on the defensive side of the ball is is a math equation, X + ? = CB. We know Xavien Howard is starting on the right side, but which CB starts opposite him is the key. Right now, former slot and nickel CB Bobby McCain is tops on the depth chart, and he played eh against the Panthers. Cordrea Tankersley took a step backwards, and Tony Lippett is M.I.A. with an ankle injury. So that leaves Torry McTyer, Jalen Davis, Cornell Armstrong and Taveze Calhoun, as well as Tony Lippett if healthy, as the CB’s who have a shot, along with do everything Minkah Fitzpatrick, who may be pressed into action early on. My hope has always been that either Tank elevates his play or Lippett gets healthy, and goes back to his 2016 form and forms a solid CB tandem. At the moment, both seem in jeopardy.
Will Devante Parker ever be and remain fully healthy, and will he ever be the top talent receiver we thought we drafted at #14 in 2015? Probably not, it hasn’t come together yet, and Parker was exercised the 5th year option in April of this year, so odds are, if Parker is going to have a great season, he will do it in ’19 just to torture Dolphins fans as he most likely walks when we don’t pay him $16M per after he catches 80 passes for 1400 yards and 10 TD’s. Besides Parker, we have Kenny Stills who is been a big play WR for us. Stills averaged over 15 YPR every season except last season with Jay Cutler, where averaged just under 15, at 14.6YPR. Danny Amendola will be taking over for Jarvis Landry as far as working the middle and short areas, and I believe Albert Wilson will be doing some of that as well. Wilson may line up more on the outside, but he’s the type of receiver you get the ball with a little bit of separation to, he can turn that into a big play. Jakeem Grant is another such receiver. They want to get the ball into his hands, because Grant is a HR waiting to happen. Wilson will probably get the occasional rushing play too, and Grant will as well. As to which WR, if any, gets the 6th WR spot, my hopes are Frances Owusu makes his case. Ford may have a slight edge, and of course due to investment, you can’t totally count Carroo out, but I think Carroo better show an awful lot if he wants to stay.
The TE situation is kind of muddy at the moment. MarQueis Gray is now atop the depth chart, followed by A.J. Derby and then Gavin Escobar. 1st RD pick Mike Gesicki is now 5th, one spot behind Thomas Duarte, and just in front of Durham Smythe. Message? I think so. If Gesicki goes up against the #3’s, he will probably do some damage there, but preseason depth charts are jumbled anyway, even for the dress rehearsal. One thing is certain, MarQueis Gray is a good blocker, and I expect he will help get the run game going against an always tough Baltimore defense. It seems like Gase wants guys with experience against the Ravens, and I can understand that. John Harbaugh is a top NFL coach, and his teams are always disciplined and tough.
The Ravens have somewhat of a new look offense, with new WR’s Michael Crabtree from the Raiders, Willie Snead from the Saints, and John Brown, the speedster from Arizona, along with a refreshed rushing attack led by Alex Collins who had a very nice season last year with 973 yards rushing, and 6 TD’s, his first year as a starter.
The DL didn’t look bad, and Robert Quinn looked downright fast as he had his way with LT Matt Kalil. The 71 YD run is not all on the DL, they are the 1st line of defense, and then the LB’s, CB’s and safeties. All have to break down in order for that run to happen, and it did. I still think our DL is way underrated, and I expect us to be pleasantly surprised. The addition of Kendall Langford will only help, a nice mix of vets (Phillips, Spence and Langford) and youngins (Godchaux, Taylor and either Pittman or Moten)
All of a sudden, the fanbase turned on McMillan, who looked so slow, and out of position all night. Relax! I think McMillan will be a very good player for us this season, let him get some action, he knows what he’s doing, he needs to get up to NFL game speed. Kiko is fine, definitely a solid player, as long as he’s not covering a mismatch TE or RB, and Baker looks poised to make some noise.
Things we all want to see, are red zone TD’s, no FIST PUMPS! We want to see some player, whoever that may be, solidify the CB spot opposite Xavien Howard, no big plays or really long drives for the Ravens, and if the Dolphins are going to score TD’s, please do it while Ryan Tannehill is in so we can stop talking about that. Most of all, we want all our Dolphins to get healthy, and stay that way!
Finsmob Unleashed 
Nice post and Happy B-day!
Cut the pre-snap mistakes! That’s and no injuries!
And I’ll be happy!
It would be really encouraging to see our ones get the ball in the end zone.
Thanks Wyo!
Running back won’t be our problem this year, just like it wasn’t our problem last year. We’re the deepest we’ve been in a while at the position. O-line needs to get it together and the coaching staff needs to have these guys ready to play. Stop with the stupid penalties and being out of position.
Nice breakdown, Mike. So far from what I’ve seen we look like the same team with the same problems. Our offense can’t overcome any long third down situations and fails to put up enough points to be dangerous. Our defense looks like one of the worst in the league with no run defense. There are a lot of reasons, but I have to think scheme and coaching is playing a major part in it. Too many false steps, bad run fits, and lack of players near the ball for my liking. Still seem to be all about penetration and getting upfield quckly which leaves us vulnerable to big run plays if the LBs get occupied. I like the possibilities that Minkah gives us for going 5-6 DBs, but not sure the coaches agree. I fear he will get roasted at the slot, but that may be our best option right now.
Tannehill looks like himself fwiw. I really like the guy, but wonder if he is capable of leading an explosive offense. We’ve yet to see it.
And Suh can shove it. Look up the run defense stats of teams he’s been on and shut the hell up.
Thanks drg – Good to see you here. Right on with Suh, we all could have said the same thing numerous times last season, but he would tell you that was where he was supposed to be. lol
Teams would use Suh’s aggressiveness against him by trapping him.
Also, from what I saw on the last game is that the d line looked good in laws rush and I like the new additions at wr along with the increased playing time for Grant.
Good write up, Mike!
Maybe Suh can go back and watch some tape of games where RBs ran right up the gut on him.
Thanks Tim – Absolutely right with Suh, how suhn he forgets. lol
There is a lot of young and new on this team, both sides of the ball. It may take some time for everything to gel. Hopefully we can scratch and claw our way to some early victories while that is taking place.
LMFAO!
Now we know how the conversation started!
LMAO!!!
LOL – That’s great! Tell ’em Gase!
LOL……I love this guy!!
LOL, awesome.
HULKFEST — Sunday 10/21 vs Lions
Sat eve meet-up as always plus our new to be usghe event — tunes with the Dog on Friday on Hollywood Beach. And traditional Chef Warren spread at the tailgate.
Ended up with Sec 317 (like the 40) and way down lower than we normally get. Seats in rows, 10, 13 and 15 in Sec 317 to be had at $65 each….unless they run out of course.
IN
Hulk
Mike E (+2)
Pig
Doggy (+2)
Son (+6)
Rock
stanger (+4)
OD
Phelon (+1 and own seats)
Toba (+1)
Bookman (+1)
Brian NY (+son…in OD’s seats)
Twice
Naples (+1)
POSSIBLE
ElephantRider
Herd
Boulder
Brian NY plus son will be going with the OD prime option and got my own plusses figured out. The below goes to both the possibles and those who saying are IN and not real sure yet. About to reserve.
I have my FF draft tonight. I go #8. Curious to see who’s left at that spot, and whether I go RB or WR.
Get the RBs early, there are plenty of WRs to choose from being that teams use 3 or 4 including TEs a lot of the time. The RB crop gets thin quickly.
That’s how I’ve always felt, I hate to even take the best WR in lieu of a RB, because by the time it comes back around, the RB’s are all gone.
Yep, the reason I won the championship in my league last year was because of Gurley and Kamara. I used a bunch of different average WRs but I did also have Julio Jones as well. LOL
I’m in a 10 team protect league where we keep 4. I traded my 1st rd pick #10 and my 4th #40 to protect 5 players prior to our draft which is next week.
Here’s my 5 protects.
QB Rodgers GB
RB Gurley LAR
RB Kamara NO
RB Drake MIA
WR Jones ATL
Solid as a Rock Tim.
Tim, is your 5th best player, Drake, better than the 10th best unprotected player?
“Tim, is your 5th best player, Drake, better than the 10th best unprotected player?”
Steve, I think so because of the value of RBs in our league. We start our draft with 40 players already gone. So by the end of the 1st rd most of the best available RBs who will get touches will be gone. Me picking last makes it tougher to get quality depth. All of my RBs have different bye weeks and if someone goes down I want quality depth at the position. Like I said I already know I can win with average WRs along with one stud because I did. I’ve been loaded at WR in the past but short on RBs and always fell short. I don’t even have to think RB until later in the draft to complete my 4 RB protects.
The first players who go in our draft are usually the stud rookie RBs and the few who fell through the cracks. I think last year 7 out of the first 10 picks were all RBs.
So Barkley, Michel, and maybe even Guice, since its protected. Do you pick 1st in the 2nd round?
Guice probably won’t be drafted until next year. Kind of hard to protect him not knowing what he is on the NFL level and being out this year with an ACL injury. You can’t draft a player and put him on IR. So he would have to be your 4th RB all year and when injuries and bye weeks come up, it will cause problems for teams. It’s not a good practice.
I pick last in every round just like the NFL. But I also traded Odell Beckham for a 3rd rd pick for the same reason I explained about WRs. I can find other solid WR/TE and he’s coming off a season ending injury, I can’t stand his antics, have no idea if he’ll end up sticking with the Giants or where he’ll end up because he wants to be paid. I don’t want anything to do with him. Oh yeah and I won it all without him. 😉
So at the end of the 3rd rd, I will have 8 players when everyone else won’t have 8 until the end of the 4th.
That’s excellent Tim – Can’t do much better than that.
#1-2RB (Gurley), #3-5 (Kamara) ratings vary
#1 QB (Rodgers)
#3-6 WR (J. Jones)
# High teens-20’s RB (Drake)
Did you protect Drake just because he’s on the Dolphins?
Nope, because I think Drake will be our Kamara. 🙂
Gotcha – I hope you’re right, I think he could do that, I definitely do
Nice article Mike E
Thanks Ken
Randy says:
August 22, 2018 at 9:07 am
ORob,
. I know you believe it’s more about the running back but I think it’s more about the offensive line.
________________________________________________
Drake looks like his in-effective self of 2017 behind this new 2018 OL as far as what i have seen in pre season, sure he can break off some big runs but the man just doesn’t have the ability to pick up the tough yards and IMO he never will.
At least you said in your opinion because not many people agree with you. LOL
Give ORob a break. He has already said he thinks Drake is a great back, he just likes the tough yards guys. And he really likes Gore for that role. And seems Ballage is a natural for that in waiting.
Why is it okay for him to shit on Drake over and over but nobody can comment on it?
He’s just making his point that Drake is not the power back he wants in the scheme he thinks will help us win. Like said, he has said Drake is a great back in the other way. Why does OD bash Ross so much while liking the improvements to the stadium? Sometimes just pushing a point.
Wait a minute I keep hearing how the last 5 games are the hardest on the schedule. Not so fast Buffalo went ne close to what they were last year, so 3 games in a row against the Vikes, Cheats, Jags will be the difficult part.
Mike, Drake has already shown that he can do it. A small sample size yes, but he only had significant snaps in what about 7 games last year? He then lead all rushers in the last 5 games of the season and finished with 32 catches. I can see him rushing for a 1,000+ and catching at least 50 passes. It’s hard to predict TD totals but he’s gonna score some for sure. LOL
Stanger, he’s just making his point that Drake is not the power back he wants thousands of times. We get it! LOL
I’m confused?
What’s a power back??????? 😉
A guy who can run over people the same size of them when they’re in the backfield. 😉
Think he’s mainly playing with it at this point. Think much more lets have some banter than an actual football point with his view clear. And he’s pretty fun in person. Real good at pool too.
I compared him to Kamara even though I think he can do more as a rusher with a heavier workload. I see Drake as a 15-20 rush/3-5 receps guy per game. I see Gore as a 8-12 rush/1-3 receps guy per game. Ballage will get his opportunities when needed.
We’ll see how it plays out. I’m not worried about our RBs, I want to see the OL block it more consistently. How did Drake break his nice run the other night, basically the same way he did last year on another nice run spinning off a defender in the backfield and turning it upfield. Some power backs without those moves get taken down right there for a loss. Give Drake some push up front and enjoy his skills. 🙂
Happy Birthday, Mike!
Thanks Kong!
Mike E. This is PB Fin Fan, I have tried to log onto the site a couple of times. Unfortunately with no success. Can you help!
Sent from my iPhone
>
Tim Knight says:
August 22, 2018 at 5:50 pm
Stanger, he’s just making his point that Drake is not the power back he wants thousands of times. We get it! LOL
_____________________________________
Tim you’re blinded by the big runs and burst of speed however you need to focus on the 1st down runs that equate to losses especially if they plan to use Drake as the featured RB which i highly doubt…I think the brass knows what Drake brings to the table that’s why they are not playing Gore in the pre season.
I’m sorry if you do not like my posts about our running game actually i was responding to Randy before you interjected and posted your rude posts.
if you don’t like the context maybe you should not participate in the subject.
go back to sucking up to the dolphins who are currently here and bashing the ones that are not, your good at that.
Kamara is a much more complete RB than Drake, he can actually break tackles and get the tough yards,
get your pool stick ready Stanger!
Mike, it’s your birthday? If so have a happy!
Thanks Tim, yeah today is my birthday, double nickels!
I will say this for Tim!
He’s the last of us to bash any player!!!!!!!
Rob – Do you really think Kamara is more of a power back than Drake? He only carried the ball 120 times last season, and Mark Ingram basically had the “power back” role if anyone really had it. Kamara was used more effectively as a receiver, and he was excellent in that regard. He ran very well when he was given the chance, but I never thought of him like a Leonard Fournette or Todd Gurley type of back. I watched him all the time too, I had him on my FF team, so I watched him almost every week.
Happy B-Day, Mike E! You only have 845 more years to go to reach Master Yoda, man! LOL
I hope you’ve had a great day and an even better evening, buddy. Thanks for all you do here!
Thanks M! My pleasure man, couldn’t think of a better group to discuss Dolphins, or really anything for that matter!
100% agreed!
ORob,
I’m just more of the belief that The effectiveness of a running game is predicated on the performance of the OL more than it is the running back unless you have a truly elite running back. I have no problem with your opinion of Drake. As far as I’m concerned he is still an unknown. This year will tell us more. He’ll never be a grinding power back but he can still be effective. We’ll find out how Gase utilizes his bevy of RBs soon enough.
Sometimes it might take a year or so. lol
https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/K/KelcTr00.htm
Randy says:
August 22, 2018 at 8:07 pm
…I’m just more of the belief that The effectiveness of a running game is predicated on the performance of the OL more than it is the running back unless you have a truly elite running back…
————-
I couldn’t have said it any better, Randy. There is — after all — a rhyme and reason by which some UDFA RBs come out BLAZING, and continue to do so throughout their careers.
Conversely, we’ve all seen all too many 1st round RBs bust from the jump.
Now provided, there are character and injury issues attributed to many 1st round busts. But show me a SOLID O-Line (particularly run-blocking… and with a SOLID O-Line coach), and I can likely predict success for most RBs who run behind that unit… regardless of draft status.
It’s a TEAM game… and Offensively, it ALL (run or pass) is predicated on the performance of the O-Line. 100% with ya, Randy.
And within 3 minutes of this breaking news, Urban Meyer is trending top-10, nationwide, on Twitter.
Here’s the story and with some background, for those who don’t already know what it’s all about…
Draft finally done! Whew! I think I have a pretty solid team, time will tell.
Kenyan Drake is the 2018 version of Mercury Morris. Okay he’s not Csonka, nobody is. Teams don’t play that way anymore either. lol
ORob does
As with any player, Drake has a specific skill set. He isn’t a do-it-all back, but there aren’t many of those around. Ultimately, it’s up to Gase to figure out how to optimize Drake’s talent. I don’t think he’s particularly special in anything he does, but he may end up being a solid back. It’s too early to claim he’s anything at this point in his career.
Thank you, Mike E. Made me go and record this for Sunday, 3am, the taped version when I can see it. Looking forward to seeing some of the new pieces/players this year for the first time. And, hoping no injuries.
I think Drake can be special but he has to be put in the right circumstance, he needs to operate in space, i had seen him line up wide with a LBer on him; he went deep and blew the LBer away.
put him in on 3rd down but you cant run him up the middle on 1st down he won’t be consistent enough, he will have negative yardage plays putting our offense in difficult down and distance, he’s not a bull he’s a gazelle.
Didn’t the 2016… 10-6 team with Ajayi run behind a very similar OL as Drake?
IMO the lack of a consistent running game was the direct result of the 6-10 dolphins of 2017
ORob isn’t entirely wrong with his last post. The 10-6 team was separated from the 6-10 team by a consistent run game. Where I disagree is the why. I think it was, in part, the OL as Randy holds, but even more so the lack of defense. Neither Ajayi nor Drake are elite, so they depend on the OL more. But the defense allowed teams to move up and down the field and score. When Miami was not playing from behind they were usually play with a score or less lead. Hard to have a consistent run game that way.
There’s something you dont hear every day😀
After Ajayi’s 2016 breakout Steelers game we started out trying to run the ball, the result was we couldn’t score. There’s one team that can impose its will in the run game, Dallas, everyone else needs to pass between the 20’s to score.
6-10 team was displaced by a hurricane for the first several weeks of the season, played without a bye week, and had smoking jay cutler playing QB instead of Tannehill who was playing his best football the year before. It’s not about the running back and it never has been. I was going to say I’m surprised you guys are still riding this carousel, but I remembered which website I was on. lol.
Cutler was every bit as effective as tannehill. We were 4-3 when we lost our running game. Went 2-7 the rest of the way.
I sometimes wonder if we get feed from an alternate universe.
we can’t be watching the same players and team????????????
I totally agree
Said the guy responding, who got the feed from the alternate universe.
Jacksonville certainly imposed its will in the running game
Their D carried them.
The good news is I think has understands the importance of a physical running game. My fingers are crossed that gore stays healthy
Gase
Lol, speaking of alternate universe. Gase is the guy who would pass every down.
“Things we all want to see, are red zone TD’s, no FIST PUMPS! ”
Wait….wtf man!
Lol
I’ve heard comments by gase endorsing a power running game also the importants of having manageable down and distances on 2nd and 3rd down. If You’re going to comment you may want to educate yourself first
You should take your own advice. Gase has talked about a power running games, as have all coaches, but he was talking about in short yardage situations not as our bread and butter running game.
If what you’re saying is true why are we still using the finesse zone read blocking scheme?
Having manageable down and distance is common sense, it doesn’t endorse anything.
LOL @ Fist Pump! You’re like Beetlejuice, although I only mentioned your name once. lol
Ross is having union troubles with that huge project (biggest private development in US history) on the west side of Manhattan. The unhappy union guys decided to do their protest on that at the NFL’s NYC HQ. They showed up in Dolphins jerseys with “Step Down Steve” on the back. Wonder if OD can pick up one of those one Ebay. 🙂
My bad was on the front.
I got a better idea, why doesn’t Ross just pull the plug and put them all out of a job.
That’s why they are protesting. He went with an all union contract on his first buildings and after the deal the unions popped in a $100 mil in overruns. So in the contracts on the next ones he was like “fool me once”…. and now at least some of the unions ain’t happy (he made separate contracts with the ones who didn’t break the deal).
You guys have fun.
Tim – For you, and me . . . I drafted Drake in my FF league, got him in the 4th RD.
https://www.thephinsider.com/2018/8/23/17773116/miami-dolphins-running-back-kenyan-drake-pff-secret-superstar-breakout
Good pickup, he should worth 15-20 pts a week on average, being a duals threat.
I have a pretty solid stable of RB’s, because they always have injuries. Kareem Hunt, Drake, Rashaad Penny, Sony Michel and Marlon Mack
How many teams? Liking Drake in fantasy…. pretty much only high draft guy we have. Might double up at TE with Gasecki though.
10 teams. I didn’t take Gesicki, I took Jimmy Graham in the 6th, and later took Cameron Brate. Gesicki is available, I can grab him if I decide I want him
Haven’t started my research but saw on one site that Drake’s ADP is 39….so 4th makes sense. I do think Gesicki is draftable though but maybe that is the homer in me.
M – I took your fave RB Rashaad Penny in the 7th RD. I know you couldn’t give a lick about FF, but wanted to tell you anyway. lol
I’ve boycotted fantasy football ever since Maurice Jones-Drew took a knee.
Who’s knee did he take?
steveccnv says:
August 23, 2018 at 10:23 am
Having manageable down and distance is common sense, it doesn’t endorse anything.
_____________________________________________
You can’t have manageable down and distance unless you can impose your will at the LOS,
all NFL teams run the ball at least 75% of the time on 1st down, D’s gear for that as it is a more than likely play.
when you have a physical RB that can pick up positive tough yards on every 1st down carry you’re left with 2nd and 6 or 7…this is manageable.
at that point you can either run again on 2nd or pass making your Offense unpredictable. making Ds play you honest.
when you get stuffed at the LOS or lose yardage you become predictable, teams know you have to pass, they send their edge rushers and play their dbs back further.
Playing defense takes more energy than playing offense as the defensive players have to read and react
the 3 and outs caused by this kills your defense as they get no rest and being down lose moral, by the 4th QTR they are toast.
this why we went 6-10 last year.
vice versa when you do impose your will at the LOS the opposing D has to play up to stop your stud RB from running all over them…this leaves the passing game wide open and is the reason Tannehill had his best season in 2016.
this was all due to the 2016 success of………
drum roll please…..
JAY AJAYI!
Really, all NFL teams run the ball at least 75% of the time on first down?
I call BS.
You’ve been perpetuating this BS for so long I think you’re starting to believe it.
First you say if you get 3 or 4 yards on 1st down you put yourself in manageable 2nd downs, then when you do impose your will at the LOS the opposing D has to play up to stop your stud RB from running all over them.
Getting 3 or 4 yards on 1st down doesn’t cause a D to bring anyone up to stop the run. Running on all 3 downs in a row and moving the chains or running explosive plays and gaining chuck yardage does.
Stanger – if it were a keeper league, I would have taken Gesicki for sure, but I want to get an idea if/how we’re going to use him.
Thinking he is worth a bench spot in my 12-teamer just for potential unless go with a stud like Kelce. But each league is different. Won’t see me taking him in the Toba league.
ORob is right and I’ve said it too. The bottom line is points production, and Cutler was just as productive as Tannehill…..eventhough he was in a much worse situation than Tannehill ever was….and people throw out excuses for Tannehill constantly. Cutler gets zip…it was just all his fault. The huge difference between 2016 and 2017 was the production from our running game. Our points production from the running game was nonexistent in 2017. Why is debatable, but the numbers are not debatable….well, except for around here. Lol
As of this date:
Tannehill > Cutler.
OBVIOUS!
😛
Happy BDay Mike E!
Thanks Jahn! I agree 100%
Least when you look to future potential and watched Cutler play last season. Cutler at the same age and might be something to debate.
True true Stanger
Tannehill QB rating 86.5 in 5 years.
Cutler QB rating 85.3 in 12 seasons.
No comparison really. Cutler has played over twice as long and has basically the same QB rating. I doubt Tannehill even plays 12 years. Debate over.
Tannehill’s arrow is pointing up, and Cutler had 2 subpar seasons in a row, in ’16 and in ’17. Cutler was definitely the more talented QB, but he never put it all together. Cutler had an elite arm, and that’s what kept him in the league for 12 years. We’ll see what happens to Tannehill. Sounds like you don’t like the guy, but I know it’s more you’re just tired of people defending him.
The only defense Tannehill needs is from oncoming rushers. In other words, it’s about how the OL does it’s job, and the run game is equally predictable based on the OL’s performance.
In the end you need talent in the offensive backfield as table stakes. You can’t even play in the league if you don’t have it. But if you want to excel on offense you need an OL to do it’s job. Only on occasions in the past 10 years have we had OLs that do their job. We need it consistently for a whole season and you will see what talented young players like Tannehill and Drake are capable of.
MikeE,
Tannehill threw 19 TDs in 2016 when you and others claim he had a great year. Cutler threw 19 TDs in 2017….when fans here throw out excuse after excuse for only winning 6 games…..and he blew donkeys! As my oroginal post was about points production not comparing the two QBs’ careers….the math simply doesn’t work! Lol
****
Comparing a 12 year vet to a guy who has only played 5 years is really just not valid….I was just throwing that out there for Jahn. Lol
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Plus, you could say tannehill’s arrow is pointing up…..or you could say he’s been consistently mediocre his whole career. 2016 wasn’t all that different than his other seasons. 25 TDs and 12 INTs a season. That’s who he is.
Lol Randy. Hope you’re well bud.
Randy – I don’t know what to say. Cutler was off all season long, except for the occasional decent game. Tannehill and the entire offense struggled the first 5 games, but then the offense was playing at a different level, and Tannehill was too. He played 9 consecutive games at a much higher level than Cutler played last season. If you think they their seasons were identical, I’d have to say you didn’t watch.Now the question is, does he get back to that level or better, or does he regress. I think he basically has one more chance here, if he plays like the last 9 games of ’16, or better, he stays. If he plays worse, and the team goes with him, I think that’s it for him. Do you disagree?
Change decent to good-very good, but there were so many clunkers in between, and I mean putrid performances.
So, Tannehill gets the “his OL sucked” excuse but Cutler…..who probably had a worse OL situation in 2017 than Tannehill has ever had….doesn’t?
Randy, regarding OL as excuse for Cutler:
Yeah I guess I’ll give him that. But I think he never should have come out of the booth and at this point even with a stellar OL I wouldn’t trust him.
To be fair, Cutler at the top of his game was more then Tannehill has ever shown, but hey, I don’t think Cutler had shown it by year 5 either (iirc).
Cutler was too erratic his entire career, he made errors even when he wasn’t pressured. He’d have a pretty good game like the cheats game, then follow it up with a stinker like the Bill’s game. The D looked pretty good in the beginning of the season, but Cutler couldn’t score. Sure we were 4-3, but it wasn’t because of Cutler. Once the D wore out, we stunk.
Exactly! We were a broken team. Not a lot went right and the offense was bad most of the year.
^ oops, meant to cancel the reply on that last one. Sorry Randy!
Jahn,
Good to see ya, bud. I hope life is treating you well. And you’re right….it’s ALL about the OL and always will be. Lol
Jahn,
I agree. I have never been a fan of Cutler. I don’t think he played well in 2017. I’ve said as much. But, he still produced basically the same amount of points as Tanny did….and Cutler came into a horrible situation with no preparation. Given all that, he still threw 19 TDs. It doesn’t mean I liked him as a QB, but the production on the field was the same no matter how I see him as a QB.
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Gotta run….go Dolphins!
Mike, cool that you got Drake in the 4th rd. I basically paid a 5th and a late rd pick in the trade I made if it was a complete redraft.
Yeah, I thought a had a pretty good draft. In years past, I left myself a little thin with RB’s, I think this year I made sure I was covered there, and still filled out a nice roster.
QB Russell Wilson, WR Michael Thomas, Tyreek Hill and Devin Funchess, RB Kareem Hunt, Kenyan Drake, Rashaad Penny, Sony Michel and Marlon Mack, TE Jimmy Graham, Cameron Brate, K Justin Tucker and DEF LA Chargers
Your in trouble…BTW Happy Birthday
Nice!
Randy,
moving the goal posts I see.
MikeE,
I gotta get back to work so the short answer is: Yes. Lol
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And I think we would have drafted Rosen if that other team hadn’t jumped in front of us, so I’m not so convinced this team is sold on Tanny as the long term future.
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Bye!
🙂
Ah yes another Tannehill debate. LOL
Cutler didn’t have the run support in 2017 that Tannehill had in 2016, that makes a huge difference in the degree of difficulty of the passing game.
But he had Ajayi for the first 7 games, how is that possible?
result 4-3…without 2-7…next question?
So the 66 YPG Ajayi gave Cutler is better than the 68.77 YPG Drake gave him?
Yes it was…because D’s were stepping up to stop Ajayi opening up the passing game, they were not worried about drake, sure Drake could break off big runs but he could be stopped with a base D whereas Ajayi would run all over them if they didn’t add the resources to stop him thus taking away from other resources.
As per his contract I would assume Tannehill has 2 years to crap or get off the pot,
LMAO — Randy sees Jahn show up and can’t help but poke the beer bear. Just like the old days. 🙂
Thanks Rob!
I feel like I just went back in time. LOL
But guess we all get mellower with age…. nothing like before. Like me ordering my stuff mild instead of really hot on some dishes. 🙂
If defenses weren’t stepping up to stop drake how was he only getting 1.8 ypc?
Drake was being man handled at the LOS, on 1st down he left us on 2nd down with 8.2 yards to go on avg.
he had 8 big runs, if you want to know if he can be your feature back he has to put you in a good down and distance on 2nd down, his 8 big runs were filtered out as to not skew that stat.
the question is “what is the avg down and distance on 2nd down after giving Drake the ball on 1st down???” answer is 8.2 yards to go.
Drake can take it to the house, in the open field he’s a threat he just hasn’t achieved that feature RB status yet IMO.
he also got stuffed again a few times this preseason,
if it walks like a duck…….
I wonder how many alternate universes the Fins play in??????
I’ll say this for Cutler!
He was going to give you a 3 to 1 every game!
You just didn’t know if it was going to be TD’s to INT’s, or INT”S to TD’s!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And with that the BLOG dies!
Where is Jay Cutler these days? Does he have a broadcasting job?
A reality TV gig with his wife
Wow, that must be an exciting show . . . Zzzzzzzzzz
All good guys. I actually started the convo with my first post. It’s good to see/read everyone!
A QB debate every so often doesn’t hurt right? 🙂 standard football talk.
How do you feel about power backs? Is Drake a power back? 🙂
Hey anyone can talk about whatever they want here. My comment was based on reading the same discussions that have gone on since Tannehill went down. What more can be said about it that hasn’t been said already? The next step is to see Tannehill’s performance this year that will answer more questions than any amount of speculation from us. The same with Drake. LOL
I really liked Obi
You and me both.
It’s good to hear that Sterup is impressing. We need some under the radar guys to step up for depth and maybe more some day.
That ain’t from Mando or O… that’s miamadolphins.com. Tank and Lippett ain’t happy.
I’m sure they’re aware of it from the coaches. Lippett has been hurt but I believe he’s been back at practice recently. Tank has been up and down.
About our corners we do have a new DB coach so maybe some techniques are different and different guys are responding better than others. As for McCain I think it’s about him blossoming as a player. Just because of his size people seem to think nickel but there have been many starting corners his size. Brent Grimes was smaller than McCain.
Its not just that, its also about skillset. He’s a good zone corner, whixh isnt about size anyways, and he has man speed and good change of direction acceleration. This helps him stay with the iddy biddy slot receiver types. The only threat of him on the outside is that if he gets matched up with a pure burner he is going to have trouble staying with him because his straight line speed isnt that great. Hell i think he would be pretty good in press with the way he plays, despite being smaller, i just think he would get worn down in games if they stayed in press a lot.
Id hate to lose him in the position he has excelled in, truthfully. Id rather work our way through finding who is going to step up than move him out of the slot, especially since i think if they move him out of the slot, they will have Fitzpatrick in the slot more and id rather them stick to him at S and NLB.
Howard doesn’t have great straight line speed either. But there are techniques to slow burners down. Howard and Sam Madison talked about it because they were both 4.5 guys. It’s very rarely a straight race.
I do think McCain will play inside as well. It’s just that his role will be expanded a bit. We’ll see how it plays out. I have no idea how he’ll handle it. But the guy is a “dog”.
Tim you know your 80’s love child is an off limits topic for you, dont play like its not 🙂
What does that even mean?
You know, Tanny, your love child that you protect so vehemently on here…. im JBB, just wanted you to know before you get the sniffles going.
My comment about Tannehill was hardly a glowing one. Let his performance speak for itself. If he has solid support around him this year and he doesn’t get the team in the endzone enough the team may start to think about another option for the future. He has a lot to prove this season.
I’m not the fan of him you think I am. I get this reputation because I defend what I find to be outrageous criticism of him. He’s not elite but he’s not bad either. I think he’s a quality starting QB. But the team has to start winning with him or what’s the point?
If the team is bad, then that’s a different story. But if we’re competitive and in most games there comes a time when your QB has to step up and win it making plays.
I still have no idea what this team is because there’s a lot of young and new so there is nothing to really go by. But I do think there is enough talent on this roster to be competitive and that always gives you a chance.
He’s a “dog!”
Tim you are kinda making my point lol, im just messin with ya man and its not about this specific situation its an in general statement, you have been probably his top defender here, el presidente for the Tanny lovers club, be proud, its ok, i mean you might have to join a 12 step program once he retires or is cut, but just be you man…… 🙂
Actually GDP was the biggest Tannehill fan and there are many others who are in the same camp as I am about him. I look at him like a pitcher who has all the measurables and stuff but can he put it all together and become a top pitcher? I think the talent is there, but is there that next level inside? I don’t know, he started to show he was much more efficient down the stretch in 2016 and we won a lot of games during that 7-1 stretch. Can he pick up from where he left off? I don’t know, I hope so. 🙂
D – Tim is more of the leader of the Patience Brigade. He doesn’t necessarily defend Tannehill, he’s just more patient than many of us are, and he’s willing to see if players can develop before tossing them or hating on them
Thanks you! Like Bobby McCain. 😉
Just being honest. Sometimes our positions are exaggerated . . .
Mike E. says:
August 23, 2018 at 12:17 pm
M – I took your fave RB Rashaad Penny in the 7th RD. I know you couldn’t give a lick about FF, but wanted to tell you anyway. lol
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That’s cool, Bro! But here’s something that’s not cool: Rashaad has somehow ballooned to 238 pounds after having surgery for a broken finger… WTF?
Just like my typo (238 instead of 236), perhaps there was a typo in the espn.com story? Maybe he’s 226? I dunno, but that sure seems strange to me.
You would think his fork and spooning would be compromised. lol
Right? LOL
https://youtu.be/QkBvsBpgGbo
Who is Ryan Tannehill, DeVante Parker, and Jordan Phillips? 🙂
Lol yes
LOL
Jordan Phillips really frustrates me, and for good reason. One game, he’ll look like a future Pro-Bowler. The next, he looks like he doesn’t even belong in the NFL. If he can ever reach some level of consistency, he could be a force. But until then, he’s just frustrating.
If he craps the bed the first 2 games of this season, I’d be tempted to trade him for a draft pick and sign Johnathan Hankins (IF he’s still available then) for close to vet minimum $$$.
Son — great tune, but I look at it more this way. And if wanted to bash O would put out Mirror in the Bathroom. 🙂
I’m going to watch the Eagles-Browns game right now. Looking forward to seeing Baker Mayfield against the Eagles 1st-team Defense.
Crap, Tyrod Taylor is starting instead of Baker Mayfield.
Nigel Bradham with a 5-yard TFL on Carlos Hyde on a screen. Man, I REALLY wanted us to land Brandham.
*Bradham
33-yard run by the big dude Carlos Hyde.
Nick Chubb follows that run up with another big run.
Jarvis Landry b!tching at the refs on 2 out of the last 3 plays. He’s absolutely out there trying to prove he’s the ONE. SMH