Ryan Tannehill, who had a subpar 76.1 quarterback rating as a rookie, is at 94.6 after two games –which narrowly ranks in the top half of the league. Tannehill stands 15th, a smidgen behind Tony Romo and ahead of Sam Bradford, Matt Schaub and Robert Griffin III, among others. Jeff Ireland’s offseason linebacker swap paid dividends Sunday. Not only did Philip Wheeler sack Andrew Luck to end the Colts’ final drive, but he and Dannell Ellerbe combined for 26 tackles, with Ellerbe closing with 14. Read more here: http://miamiherald.typepad.com/spor...odds-for-2-0-teams-um-note.html#storylink=cpy
Disagree with him about the linebackers. They were not necessarily the strength of the defense and actually Dannell Ellerbe had a mediocre day despite the tackle totals. Wheeler was very up-and-down. Poor plays followed by brilliant ones.
Even with growing pains, they made stops that Dansby, and what's-his-name could never seem to make. They had 26 tackles between them! I'd say that would rank above mediocre, and a good upgrade. By midseason they'll be rollin'! As for Tanny, AWESOME start to the season!
I don't think that's really true at all. Wheeler blitzed better than Dansby and Burnett were capable of but they did not play better against the run or in coverage than Dansby and Burnett generally did. I think that's kind of wishful thinking to say they did.
Point to note: If the referee had rightly called the deep ball to Wallace a TD, Tannehill would be 7th in the league in passer rating.
I Agree With CK Here. The Lbs Were Subpar Against The Run As Many Of The Tackles Were Downfield And Not At The Point Of Attack As Would Be Preferred
The TEs once again seemed to have their way and Fleener isn't exactly Tony Gonzalez as TEs go.... It was a bit disappointing that the middle of the field was fairly wide open tonight... It's not like the Dolts were smothered like Cleveland was... At any rate, I love how unbiased Harrison's remarks were....'Oh, well the pasties are who they normally are so the fins might be challenging the AFCE' Kind of a backhanded compliment, but I wouldn't expect him to gush all over anything we do anyways....
TEs and check downs are going to have good success at the rate we bring the blitzes. We obviously accept that and think that gives us the best chance to win.
They might never cover as well as those two but the run defense will get better and for now I'll take the side grade at LB considering the age and salary they dumped I'm good with it... At least there might be some upside left with these guys.
I think "wishful thinking" is a tad strong. I didn't say they had a great game, I just said that I think they handled some plays better than Dansby/Burnett. That is my opinion, and the stats are pretty good for both. Given they are two games in as well. I think by mid-season you'll change your opinion...
The linebackers had trouble with Coby Fleener as well as backs out of the backfield getting more yards-after-catch than they should have gotten. That includes fullback Stanley Havili doing what the Dolphins wanted Tyler Clutts to do on a play, but finding no success against Pat Angerer. The Colts running backs averaged a solid 4.3 yards per carry against us and that wasn't really on Paul Soliai (quite the opposite, he had a real good day), Randy Starks or Jared Odrick. Vernon was bad against the run and Cam Wake was only so-so, but I thought the linebackers missed a lot. Dannell Ellerbe was ineffective as a blitzer. Phil Wheeler was much more effective.
Dansby had a pick to close out Washington back in 2011 and he stoned AP on 4th and goal from the 1 vs Minnesota in 2010 IIRC. That's two plays in what, 3 years?
Although I know not everyone likes him, here is Peter King's take in MMQB: http://mmqb.si.com/2013/09/16/seahawks-49ers-peter-king-monday-morning-quarterback/2/
That was Bobby Carpenter.....so yeah, 1 play by Dansby. He missed an INT yesterday (or at worst, a deflection) that results in a long Calvin Johnson TD.
Another way of looking at it is that if Tannehill threw a better pass it would have been a TD. That ball was under thrown.
Better an underthrow than an overthrow. A week ago we were killing Tannehill and Wallace for their lack of chemistry because Tannehill overthrew him on a few plays.
Good point, better to be safe in that spot.. The chemistry was a nice storyline, I'm sure the local guys will bust it out again whenever Wallace has an off day. I'm surpised Toler got flagged for the IC b/c Haden was getting away with much worse last week IMO.
In my fantasy league I was struck by how many TEs scored fantasy points. It seemed like a dozen different TEs had TDs and many seemed to average 60+ yards as well. I'm not sure anybody is stopping the TEs. It's just become this joker position that is a nightmare for defenses. As for the LBs, IMO the trade off has been at worst even. There are things they do better and things they do worse than the old group. Without a doubt, they fit better for what Coyle wants to do. I have been disappointed with how the new guys cover the flats. I haven't seen the greater speed translate to enough stops out there. There's been a few. We certainly seem much better against the screen. I also felt that the speedier LBs would be a bigger benefit against the running QBs, but Luck still picked up a few first downs that I'd hoped we would have stopped him short on. Overall though, I do believe that at this point the trade out was the right move. There certainly not making fewer plays than we got from our LBs last year.
Agree. I was thinking the same thing. After all, the Colts couldn't cover Clay either. As much as the Bucs really slowed down the Saints, Graham had a huge day
Maybe Wheeler can school Ellerbe on how to blitz/get around blocking rb's. The rb's owned Ellerbe every time he blitzed.
I'd be interested in seeing Dion Jordan drop off more to cover TE's/RB's in the flats in a Joker role, also Jelani Jenkins- I'm not a big fan of Jenkins, in what I saw of him last year he has trouble holding his own at the LOS, a little light in the pants. That being said, he's fast and he can cover, maybe a decent 3rd down/coverage LB to get in the games in certain situations.
The story is out on Ellerbe, blocker go low and take his feet out... I liked what wheeler did yesterday, he's an upgrade over Burnett.. I think the swap was the right move.
Maybe true but not really fair. It's easier to save a game scoring 24 points then trying to save a game scoring 17 points
I recall we stopped AP on back to back runs. One was by Carpenter, and the most memorable because it was in the open and one on one. There was another stop on the play before or after, that may have been Dansby. Here is the sequence of plays from Gamebook. They don't show Carpenter as credited with any tackles. Minnesota Vikings at 5:46 1-10-MIA 24 (5:46) A.Peterson right end pushed ob at MIA 16 for 8 yards (V.Davis). 2-2-MIA 16 (5:13) A.Peterson left guard to MIA 10 for 6 yards (Y.Bell). R20 1-10-MIA 10 (4:32) A.Peterson left tackle to MIA 4 for 6 yards (V.Davis, Y.Bell). 2-4-MIA 4 (3:45) A.Peterson right tackle to MIA 4 for no gain (Q.Moses, K.Dansby). 3-4-MIA 4 (3:08) A.Peterson up the middle to MIA 1 for 3 yards (Team). 4-1-MIA 1 (2:21) R.Cook reported in as eligible. A.Peterson right tackle to MIA 1 for no gain (K.Dansby). I think the tackle they are crediting as "Team" was the one by Carpenter.
Yes he was, one play in particular I was surprised how easily he was blocked by a wr to give bradshaw the corner. I think it was the play before Bradshaw's TD. I was absolutely shocked that a LB/DE can be blocked so easily by a wr. Really showed a lack of effort, IMO.
Hi Jim! Great to see you around. Miss talking to ya like we did in predraft threads. I wouldn;t call 76 QBR sub par for a rookie QB. I think historically that's in line with typical QB development, from when I looked at Peyton Manning, Brees, and a few other big names versus some mid-tier franchise guys. Then in the second year, you hope to see at least a mid 80's QBR to stay on track, or 90+ if they are flirting with elite level, but it's not a red flag if they are mid 80's. By year 3 you know what you have got. If he can't go 90's and higher, then that's proabbly his ceiling. I would add, though, that the game is becoming more passer friendly, more college style, and more rookie friendly all the time, so these measuring sticks may be outdated.
People also have to consider that they had to account for whether Luck may keep the ball... but still run himself. There were more things than usual going on in those LB skulls of theirs. Ellerbe and Wheeler are paid attack-dogs, and do their best when they can attack the LOS like rabid, ferocious canines. Our gameplan last week took a touch more thinking and reacting, and that, imo, backed them off the LOS a bit. Not an exucse. Just a reason why that type of player had the result people have identified.
Vernon's disappearance surprised me. I was never high on him as a pass rusher, but I expected more from him last week versus the run. Especially coming off a decent showing against Joe Thomas, for gosh sakes.
Their burst shows best heading straight to the LOS. Once they need to drift laterally, or turn their hips, the stiffness and lack of fluidity really shows... just watch Ellerbe trying to read a crossing route then turn to keep up with it, versus Dion Jordan drifting and turning. I like Ellerbe moving forwards. A lot. Not so much side to side and certainly not backwards.
Thx, hope you're doing well. I pretty much agree that Jackson referring to Tannehill's rookie season/76QBR as subpar is a bit harsh. He played pretty well last year and I'm certainly encouraged and optimistic by how he's looked in the first 2 games this year. Everyone has their opinions regarding Tannehill- mine is that I want to see better pocket presence, less locking on to receivers and more signs of him being a solid 3rd down/clutch QB. So far, so good... At this point I still see Luck and Russell Wilson as being better QBs, but Tannehill is forcing himself into that conversation, and that's a very good sign. I don't know about you, but yesterday during the 4th quarter I just about had a feeling of inevitability that Luck would pull it off and lead the Colts to a game winning drive- that's what I want to feel when it comes to Tannehill. I don't yet, but I remain hopeful, he certainly has looked good this year.
We maybe better off to start Shelby at RDE. He's done some good things when he has gotten into the first 2 games. I don't know what it is about being the RDE opposite Wake, but last year Odrick was rated the 4th worst overall for the season playing that spot. Now this year, after two weeks, OV is rated the worst overall DE. He is a -10.0 and the second worst DE right now, Adrian Clayborn, is a -5.1. OV is rated also worst against the run and against the pass. According them, he does neither one very well.
I don't remember. The "Team" thing surprised me, because I remember Carpenter squared up on AP who was coming right at him with no attempt to change his course, like AP figured he could plow through Carp. Carp stood him up though and prevented the TD. Someone else may have cleaned up on the play.
Yes, on the 3rd down play Bobby Carpenter stood him up and I believe Yeremiah Bell finished him off. On 4th down, Dansby met AP in the hole and Vontae Davis helped finish the tackle.
Boom, beat me to it. http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/2010091902/2010/REG2/dolphins@vikings#menu=highlights&tab=recap
