How much has changed this offseason

As far as an improvement in the o-line is concerned...i'll believe it when I see it in action.

 

I think two of the three things that needed to change the most, the O-line being the other, are Joe Philbin and Ryan Tannehill. With Tannehill, it's simple; how much does he improve this year? Can we call him "the guy"?

With Philbin, is he still going to be pretty rigid when it comes to his style and teachings? After all, he didn't want to fire Mike Sherman until Steve Ross got involved. He didn't fire Jim Turner until the Wells report. As of the owner's meetings he still hadn't come up with a clear plan on how he's going to be more visible...unless you count roaming the hallways and locker room as an actual plan. Can he get this team prepared for big games? Remains to be seen.

 

Alternate theories warning:

- Philbin only gave Sherman two years. Should he have taken the offense away from him sooner? Yes. But he didn't keep him around as long as say Shula kept Olividatti around. Sherm is Philbin's close friend and mentor, I can forgive that. He then turned around and replaced him with the hottest up and coming OC prospect out there. That has to account for something, right? Also, I don't think that's ever been confirmed that Philbin wouldn't fire Sherm without Ross forcing it, maybe I'm wrong but I honestly don't think it was confirmed.

- Maybe Turner wasn't all that bad. Maybe expecting anything more from a line that had Martin, Jerry & Clabo is too much. The line dramatically improved from worst in history to just below serviceable when they got rid of Martin & Cogs and brought in mcKinnie. Coaches aren't magicians after all.

- We got prepared for big games. We won big games. Quite a few in fact. Just because lost the last two doesn't mean we weren't prepared. Being prepared =/= winning.

 

The last two games sucked a lot, but I think they were just a really bad matchup in both cases. Dominant opposing defensive lines vs our porous offensive lines. Buffalo will continue to give us fits until we shore up our pass protection. hopefully we get one more upgrade in the draft to give that confidence.

 

Do we really need confirmation that Philbin would have kept Sherman if not for Ross? I think that's pretty obvious. I'm not sure if Bill Lazor is the hottest up-and-coming OC prospect there is. He could be. But just last week Joe Philbin said something to the effect of "I don't know that the offense will look all that different."

I also think it's pretty apparent that Jim Turner was not a good O-line coach based on things we saw in 2012 and 2013.

Miami won against some big teams in big games - Pittsburgh, New England, Cincinnati, but they also laid eggs against bad teams - Buffalo x2, Tampa Bay, Jets. And the last two games better preparation could have absolutely helped. Miami did little to nothing to help provide any additional protection to Ryan Tannehill in either the Bills or Jets games to close the year and got burned, so I'd say that's something to absolutely monitor with Joe Philbin.

Joe Philbin is what he is at this point, an average to below average coach. He can certainly improve, and I hope he does, but you can't really see that until you see the results.

 

Get real. The team looked lost and played horribly in the last two games. They were not prepared.

 

I think we can take the reports that Philbin didn't want to fire Sherman as fact. It only makes sense as you pointed out the two were close. Despite the fact he didn't want to, he still did which some will interpet as him being forced to do it but maybe he listened to reason and in the end followed his head instead of his heart. While Sherman's offense grew stale quickly he did serve a purpose in making the transition for RT and Philbin for that matter easier.

I think the fact that McKinney came in and started making suggestions on how to fix some of the problems is an indictment on Turner's coaching ability.

 

I've actually been told that we have a worst offensive line than last year on the OTHER website by several people. I'm thinking to myself, are these people really believing that to be true? Albert already makes one side of our offensive line better, last year we had no side that was good. Smith is better than John Jerry, as a matter of fact 98% of the league is better than John Jerry. Our RT who ever it is can't do worst than what we had last year, and Incognito's slow footed *** isn't on the team anymore. Draft a RT and we're set for years, just continue adding 2nd or 3rd round talent in future drafts on our offensive line.

 

Ireland and Sherman were hated so much than anyone replacing them looks good to us long suffering fans .

It remains to be seen if they are any real improvement in performance .So far So good.

 

I just think Philbin and Tannehill are the main focus now. Tannehill has to improve and Philbin has to get better also. No excuse for the team not being prepared the last two games. That's all on coaching.

 

we did not compete in those games.

 

I think we do need conformation if we're going to use it as a knock against him. Lazor was absolutely the hottest name for up and coming OCs. Philbin's statement could be interpreted a number of different ways, including its not going to be a brand new offensive playbook...but that doesn't preclude it from being called differently, which was the problem last year.

Again, having Martin as one of your anchors and an injured and slumping Long as your other sucks. If talent wasn't the problem, why did it improve instantly when Martin was replaced?

You made it sound like Philbin doesn't get them prepared for big games. I'm merely pointing out he did because we did win big games.

I genuinely don't think he's had the tools (players) to do the job his way. I'm a broken record at this point, but there are coaches that adapt to their players and there are coaches who adapt to their opponents and then there's Shula. Philbin has a system that adapts to his opponents and it only works when he has the right tools. If I'm right we're good and if I'm wrong we'll have a shot at Malzhan.

 

Can you confirm that? Link? I mean, if you need confirmation that Philbin was going to keep Sherman, than I need confirmation that Lazor was in fact the hottest, up-and-coming OC candidate out there.

The O-line's improvement after Martin left was minimal at best, don't sugarcoat it.

Philbin's preparation from week-to-week is scattershot at best. They lost to a team quarterbacked by Thaddeus Lewis coming off a bye and to a winless Bucs team coming off a 10-day layoff. They beat Cincinnati on a Thursday after blowing a lead the Sunday before against the Pats. They got up for the Steelers and Patriots, and got destroyed by Buffalo and New York. There is NO consistency, and that is a problem; he's got to get that corrected.

 

i loved our offseason last year. i love our offseason this year. i expected 10 wins last year. i expect 10 wins this year. talent means nothing without competent coaching...and this is where the problem lies. i have absolutely no faith in philbin. lazor will have to be a miracle worker in order to offset the incompetence of the head coach. i am really hoping lazor is as smart as chip kelley says. that is the only reason why i have any faith at this point. it's all on lazor.

 

One thing I do want Lazor to implement is a new snap count... Even McKinney said it was too simple for defensive linemen to figure it out.. Tannehill should try the Peyton Manning snapcount, just ramble a bunch of nothing and move around till the play clock is down to 5. Keeps defensive linemen in suspense. But I assume there will be a lot of no huddles in this offense so I can see them doing a ton quick snaps often which also helps our offensive line.

 

Well, Lazor was wanted by several teams, and even the Lions thought they were getting him. I'm not rewriting history here. Numerous teams wanting someone makes that someone a hot prospect.

With the Philbin Sherman thing, you are talking about a specific act, an act that has not been (to my knowledge) confirmed.

I'm honestly not sure why you chose the "Lazor was a hot prospect or not" as your fight. Try it from this way, who was a hotter OC prospect than Lazor this off season?

As far as preparation goes, the logical end to your argument is that only the most prepared teams win.

 

I chose Lazor being the hot prospect because the argument itself is just as asinine as believing Joe Philbin would have fired Mike Sherman without Ross getting involved.

 

First of all, I don't know why I deserve that kind of attitude. Secondly, what the **** does it take in the land of Ronin to qualify someone as a hot prospect? Third, who was a hotter OC prospect this offseason than Lazor? Lastly, its goddamned mind numbing how you're willing to just say Philbin refused to fire Sherman with next to no evidence, and be so ridiculously adamant about it, that you're willing to be insulting about it.

 

The Bills game was a train wreck, the Jets game was different. I thought the plan was solid but the execution wasn't there. Finally saw some screens and draws, finally made a concerted effort to run the ball and move the pocket.

The keys were the two deep misses to Hartline and Wallace, the Wallace slip that led to an Int in the redzone, and the drop by Matthews before halftime. If he catches that he's probably still running today. And of course the Hartline injury, which left 2 NFL receivers, plus Moore.

 

You're missing the point. Do you really think after reading the statement that Joe Philbin released after Sherman's dismissal, that Joe Philbin did that on his own accord? It's not a 100% confirmation, but subjectively, I think it's a pretty clear indication. One that's pretty widely accepted here.

BTW, I figured you'd have realized I'm being facetious about the Lazor hiring. There's no evidence you can pull forward to prove that Miami thought he was the hottest OC prospect, but I can infer that since they hired him and he had a good season with developing Foles last year, he's a good hire. I think that's pretty widely accepted here.

Bottom line, what's done is done, Sherman's gone, Turner's gone, Martin's gone, and Ireland's gone. Joe Philbin remains. Based on the precedents set forth by he and his staff the past two seasons, I've got some serious doubts about whether he's capable of fielding a winning team and getting them prepared to play week in and week out.

If you want me to produced a notarized document stating that Philbin was going to fire Mike Sherman regardless, I can't. You win. But you also can't produce a notarized document stating that Bill Lazor was the best offensive coordinator candidate out there. For all you know it was really Chip Kelly's magic that rubbed off on Nick Foles and Bill Lazor is more akin to Zach Taylor. Yet, because Joe Philbin hired him, it's supposed to be as good as gold, even when you have Joe saying the offense won't look all that different? Color me suspicious.

 

I'm not sure what point your trying to make GM, the team with everything on the line, playing at home, loses by more than a TD to a. Rookie sh$$y Qb...got to be able to overcome a Hartline injury..we were incredibly average, and not getting better when we were supposed to..what that is attest to, there are several scenarios out there.

 

Signing FAs isn't going to add nearly as much value to a team as drafting players that perform at a high-level. That is what determines success in the NFL. Everything that has happened to this point is pretty much window dressing IMO.

 

I'm not saying its not possible. I'm saying it hasn't been confirmed. It certainly hasn't been confirmed to the point it should count against Philbin yet. Frankly, it was floated by CK based off of one of his famous over speculations. I do not consider that gospel because it wasn't based on inside info. It was an opinion. That's why it is "widely accepted here". I don't think I need to explain how things that are "widely accepted here" aren't always the truth, do I?

It just seems like you're only leaving level of preparedness as the sole precursor to victory. If on the field talent isn't a factor, why did you want Ireland gone?

WADR, that's absurd. I'm not asking for anything like that. I am asking for more than just speculation. That is not crazy.

Also, you're avoiding what I'm asking...who was a hotter OC prospect than Bill Lazor this offseason?

 

Sigh. Who was a hotter OC prospect than Lazor this offseason?

 

That's a good point about the injuries. We seemed really weak on offense in the second half without Hartline. We may be blindsided by a weaker than expected receiving corp this year. I've read that Tannehill, the OL and RB blocking were responsible for his sacks last year, but the receivers probably were as well. So we really need another solid receiver to contribute as Hartline and Gibson are question marks.
Tannehill has been organizing workouts on Lazors offense the past 2-3 weeks. The article only quoted Mathews so I'm not sure what other receivers are participating

 

That is not by any means what I'm arguing. At all. You've missed that point, clearly, and at this juncture, it's just muddying up the thread to continue on, so I'm going to bow out.

 

The one thing I have certainly learned over the past 15 years being a Dolphin fan is to not get too excited over off season signings. Last year was a prime example of Dolphin fans getting far to excited over what turned out to be a very mediocre free agent class signed by the Dolphins. Fans were also thrilled with all the picks the Dolphins had going into the 2013 draft. The rookies from that draft contributed very little during the 2013 season.

i still have my doubts that Philbin is the right man for the job. He is very mediocre at best and while he may have gotten the team to play well against some quality opponents last year. The Dolphins still only finished 2-4 against teams in the AFC East,and finished behind the Jets and in third place in the division. They also lost both games to a very average Bills team.

I believe Philbin deserved the chance at a third year. I also think he needs to lead this team to a playoff berth in 2014 or be replaced in 2015 . As far as I am concerned, this is a do or die year for Philbin and Tannehill. Both of them have to step up and lead this team to a winning season and a spot in the playoff. Anything less would be considered a failure and both of them should be looking for new jobs in 2015.

The roster may have some new players on it, but we will just have to wait and see how the season plays out before we really can determine if the changes made during the off season were effective or not.

 

I did ask you that question a number of times, however the post you quoted was directed to Stringer not you.

It IS the point though. You're taking umbrage with the fact I called Lazor the hottest OC prospect out there. If that is such a ridiculous claim, then showing who was a better OC prospect would absolutely be on point.

 

My point is that I don't attribute the loss to lack of effort.

It wasn't just the Hartline injury. Keller, Binns and Gibson were hurt as well. We were a 65-35 pass-run team that used a 3 receiver set as the base formation for most of the year and we were down to our 1st, 5th and 6th receivers w/ no backups whatsoever in that game. We already know about the OL issues and RT has one of his worst games that day.

No amount of effort, urgency or preparation is going to overcome all that IMO.

 

No clue. Seems like a misnomer to me. I would think that if someone is highly regarded enough, they'd become a HC prospect.

 

If the guys we have now can come back healthy I think we will be OK, if not then yeah, time to add reinforcements. We never added a 5th WR when Binns went down, we only added Moore after Gibson went down. It was a disaster waiting to happen and it bit us at the worst possible time.

 

I think you're dead on about Philbin. He may be a good coach, or a soon to be good coach, but he's done nothing to date that shows me he knows how to build a good staff or run an NFL team.

 

No, it's NOT the point. I'm taking umbrage because there's no documented proof that Bill Lazor was the hottest OC prospect out there, just as you're taking umbrage that there's no documented proof that Joe Philbin would've fired Mike Sherman on his own accord. It's a fool's errand trying to prove either one. However, you're accepting one and not the other, even though there's enough evidence out there, all of it subjective, to support both claims. That IS the point. And the argument in semantics is muddying up this thread, and I've seen it enough in other threads you've been involved in with other posters to know it's a useless road to continue on.

 

That, in my opinion, is they key with he and his staff. Obviously I get that any new head coach is going to bring in guys he knows and is comfortable with. Look at Pete Carroll and Jim Harbaugh. Both of their staffs are littered with guys from USC and Stanford respectively, and with guys they're familiar with from their days in the NFL. Philbin did the same, but something just doesn't seem to click with the Dolphins staff the way it does for the Seahawks and 49ers. Talent is certainly part of it. But they've both been pretty innovative in their approaches and their staffs have followed suit.

I'd cite the 49ers running game and offensive formations to benefit Kaepernick as one. I'd cite the Seahawks loading up on sizable DBs and pass-rushers to create their hybrid fronts as another. With Miami, it seems more or less that they've copied and pasted the Texas A&M offense under Sherman and copied and pasted the Bengals defense that Coyle brought from Mike Zimmer and tried to make it work with Miami. But the personnel doesn't match up in some regards. They've also not done anything to make the best use of the skills Ryan Tannehill possesses (ability to throw on the run, ability to run, etc.).

I'm hopeful that Bill Lazor brings some of that in, but it's discouraging to hear Philbin saying things like "I don't know that the offense will be all that different". Defensively, I can see a little more clearly how they're trying to match their personnel to what the Bengals have, but they're missing a middle LB to be the linchpin of the front seven, and we saw how Philbin and Coyle whiffed on that attempt last year with the LB moves that were made.

As far as the personnel changes this offseason, other than bringing in Branden Albert and maybe Knowshon Moreno, I don't know that any of the new additions are better than they guy they're replacing. That's where Stringer's dead-on with respect to the draft. And I feel like adding a RT at 19 overall is just another attempt at hitting a single (status quo). If they set their sites on a Mike Evans, Brandin Cooks, or a C.J. Mosley/Ryan Shazier (with intent on replacing Ellerbe or Wheeler), then they'd have my attention.

I hope I'm wrong on these counts.

 

Refusing to fire Sherman unless mandated by Ross a specific act. Therefore, it should be easy enough to prove IF you're going to tell me I'm asinine for not accepting wholesale.

Lazor being the hottest OC prospect is not a specific act. You want me to prove a nebulous concept (which I did as much as anyone can) and you consider these things equivalent.

Its fine you want to decree that you somehow know for a fact that Philbin stomped his feet and refused to fire Sherman. That's fine, believe it all goddamned day, I don't care. Do not, however, act like I'm crazy because there hasn't been one single stitch of effing proof to say that at this point. For crying out loud, i freely admitted it may have happened I would just like proof. Apparently that's just ridiculous.

 

Who was the second hottest OC prospect this offseason?