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Ronin's Post Broncos Thoughts

Discussion in 'Miami Dolphins Forum' started by RoninFin4, Nov 23, 2014.

  1. RoninFin4

    RoninFin4 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    First and foremost, I feel like if you're reading this you need to stop, take a deep breath, exhale...if you want, and move on from this game. Miami played valiantly today on offense and I was impressed with the way they stepped up. You can pretty much lay the blame of this loss on 3 things and 3 things alone. That being the case, there's no "Good", "Bad" or "Bizarre" today; just some general thoughts.

    First, the tackling was awful all day, especially in the secondary. Missed tackles, bad target points, horrific angles of pursuit...those things = bad tackling.

    Second, Kevin Coyle reached into his old bag of tricks and brought out the defense from the end of the 1st half from the Carolina game last year again today. I think by nature for this defense to be effective, you have to be aggressive. Being aggressive against the Broncos entails being physical with their receivers off the line - Miami's corners are not suited to do this; blitzing effectively - Kevin Coyle doesn't do this well even when the defense is doing good, so it's not surprising he wilted against Peyton Manning; and getting to the quarterback with your front line - Miami failed miserably today as Manning was getting the ball out hot.

    Third, and probably most disturbing to me, was the redzone defense. Miami did not tackle well, they did not blitz well, and coverage assignments were very scattershot to just outright dumbfounding. Brent Grimes was whipped by Demaryius Thomas, sure, but he's aligned with outside to protect the fade with no inside help. What? Jelani Jenkins covers Demaryius Thomas man-to-man on a crossing route while Dion Jordan needlessly let him off the ball free and doubled Wes Welker in the far side flat. What?

    These are things that you can't do against a team quarterbacked by Peyton Manning; you'll get picked apart, and Manning basically gave Kevin Coyle a metaphorical "middle finger" for running out contemptibly bad redzone calls by chewing up Miami's defense all day long.

    That being said, I don't think you can feel too down about this. Miami went INTO Denver and went toe-to-toe with Denver while being undermanned going into the game, and even more undermanned as the game went along. Frankly, I'm more worried about Miami's ability to move forward with the limitations in personnel than I am about losing today. It's blindingly clear that Miami's got some pretty big holes on the O-line if Ja'Wuan James is out and any time Daryn Colledge sets foot on the field (he needs to be Old Yeller'd quickly; he was HORRIFIC today; drive-ending bad), and the cornerback position is pretty much toast after Brent Grimes and Cortland Finnegan - Brent Grimes was toasted several times today and with better throws from Peyton Manning, the game isn't close.

    I feel very good about Ryan Tannehill and Bill Lazor's offense moving forward. Obviously the O-line needs to be reworked more and I think you pretty much have to rebuild the secondary minus Grimes and Reshad Jones. You can also rework the personnel at WR to better fit the offensive scheme. If Dennis Hickey and the staff can fix those three areas (I'm begrudingly assuming that they'll all be retained, barring some epic collapse in the final 5 weeks), THEN I think this team has potential to unseat New England and be an AFC power. They're not there yet, and I think some of the wins this year were fool's gold to most fans.

    In closing, I'll leave you with this as I think it sums up the Miami Dolphins in and of itself (credit to CK on Twitter for this):

    Combined record of teams Miami's beaten: 28-37
    Combine record of teams Miami's lost to: 35-19

    Very 2008-ish. It is what it is. I do fear that if, using an analogy, the Dolphins were a car, there are parts falling off/failing for the stretch run in a race (i.e. injuries) and spare parts aren't going to cut the mustard (the depth as it stands *now*, is bad).
     
  2. Not So Fast

    Not So Fast Well-Known Member

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    Good post and good thoughts. Hickey couldn't fix the entire time in one off season unfortunately. He needs another good free agency and draft to make this team a playoff contender. We are headed in the right direction though.
     
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  3. Stitches

    Stitches ThePhin's Biggest Killjoy Luxury Box

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    Speaking of the offense, do you know the last time we had two WRs with 5+ receiving TDs each in a single season (before Wallace and Landry achieved it today)?


    1999!!


    Bonus points: Who were the last two?
    Tony Martin and Orande Gadsden
     
  4. RoninFin4

    RoninFin4 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Chambers and Booker? I doubt that's correct.
     
  5. Stitches

    Stitches ThePhin's Biggest Killjoy Luxury Box

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    I edited the spoiler.
     
  6. Conuficus

    Conuficus Premium Member Luxury Box

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    I think something that needs to be addressed badly is our defensive line. We must bring in pass rushers to spell Vernon and Wake. Or we must add someone at DT who can get to the passer with some consistency. Dion Jordan is a disaster at this stage and doesn't give us much if any real pass rush at this stage, which hurts us defensively. I say this as you would like to think you'd get more production from the 3rd overall selection a year ago.

    This defense has struggled to get pressure on opponents for the last few weeks. Yes, we had a sack or two etc., but we have struggled to get pressure with an form of consistency. Rather we have seen spurts for a drive or two and then nothing for the rest of the game. You can have lulls in pressure for 20 minutes of game time. It just can't happen. It doesn't require us to get 5 sacks a game, but we must at the least make the opposing quarterback move. I don't think that is too much to ask IMHO.
     
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  7. RoninFin4

    RoninFin4 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    I do not pass "Go" and I don't collect my $200.
     
  8. RoninFin4

    RoninFin4 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Jordan being a disaster hurts a lot. I've wondered why Miami has only kept 3 DTs active on game days. Obviously Shelby gets snaps there, but your point is well taken.
     
  9. 77FinFan

    77FinFan Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Ugh, so painful. Really a damn shame that we do a better job on D. They gouged us w/ the run and Manning picker apart our decimated secondary especially since we put basically no pressure on him. And as pointed out the injuries really hurt. Taylor was actually making some plays before he went out and James.......oh man that is bad news if he is hurt for long. Considering, the O was pretty dang brilliant. Special teams were fine, not great, not terrible.

    Curious to see how I'll feel about things in the morning.
     
  10. Fins Hipster

    Fins Hipster Banned

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    The Broncos were averaging 6.2 yards per play prior to the game, and had 6.3 yards per play in the game. The Dolphins were averaging 5.3 yards per play in the game, and had 5.4 in the game. The Broncos were favored by about 7 points in this game. With the missed field goal considered, I'd say the game turned out about as expected, in terms of the margin of victory. I don't think the Dolphins' defense did anything in the game that wouldn't have been expected from any other team in that situation. You go into Denver with their coming off a loss away to an inferior team, and you're going to give up some yards and some points to Peyton Manning and company. The fact that the Dolphins weren't blown out is a feather in their cap and should give them an indication that they can play with any team in the league.
     
  11. cdz12250

    cdz12250 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    We go to their stadium.
    At high altitude.
    Where they haven't lost all year.
    Riddled with injuries.
    No starting tackles.
    Stopgap left guard.
    Stopgap tight end.
    Injuries get worse as the game progresses.
    They're quarterbacked by one of the best in the history of the game, and he riddles our defense.
    They have two of the best pass rushers in the game.
    And we score 36 points on them and lose by three points.
    And beat the spread.
    We lose two similar games to two division leaders.
    And the team in our division to which we lose, we come back and spank.
    Would some of you guys please get off the ledge?
    We're almost there.
     
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  12. Nappy Roots

    Nappy Roots Well-Known Member

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    It is not very 2008-ish because in 2008 when we played good teams we got blown out. Last 3 losses against an 8-3, 7-4, and 8-3 teams we lost by a combined 10 points.
     
  13. Fins Hipster

    Fins Hipster Banned

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    The difference at this point is that the Dolphins tend to allow other teams' QBs to win games for them with the pass, while they continue to be unable to do the same thing to the same degree. Rodgers, Stafford, and Manning did to the Dolphins what the Dolphins are rarely able to do to other teams -- come from behind with the passing game and win. I think Kevin Coyle needs to rethink his approach to defending good QBs when the Dolphins have the lead. Perhaps some more aggression is in order, rather than sitting back and letting them pick the defense apart. At least go down swinging if you're going to go down.
     
  14. cdz12250

    cdz12250 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Yes, but we already blitz more than most teams, and if you blitz those kinds of QBs too often, they'll kill you,

    I do get that RT can't throw long.
     
  15. ExplosionsInDaSky

    ExplosionsInDaSky Well-Known Member

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    We are epically close to turning the corner to contender status. We're much better than last year and we are right in the thick of things at the moment. Anything can happen in these last five weeks....I like our chances.
     
  16. ToddPhin

    ToddPhin Premium Member Luxury Box Club Member

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    For those interested, Tannehill's new rating is 93.4, good for 9th among QBs with at least 8 starts [behind Brees' 95.9].
     
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  17. Alex44

    Alex44 Boshosaurus Rex

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    Everyone knows Tannehill is the sux tho :shifty:
     
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  18. thisperishedmin

    thisperishedmin Well-Known Member

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    Yeah this is what upsets me about this game...I don't mind the loss all things considered...but I'm starting to think our seasons hopes are stuck on the bench with everyone thats been hurt. The injury bug is really creeping up at this point.

    blah blah the loss hurts because it still affects the record and all that jazz...but - I think the "should be easy games" just got really ****ing hard depending how serious some of tonights damage ends up being. We're digging deep into the chart for the line and CB and it obviously hurt us (cost us?) tonight. Hope we have some guys back soon or figure out some magical answer fast... :(
     
  19. heylookatme

    heylookatme Well-Known Member

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    The way I see it is, for this team to have a chance at the playoffs, we must finish 10-6. In order to finish 10-6, Ryan Tannehill must play four out of the next five games as well as he played today, or better.

    I thought he played very well today, so I'm not optimistic that he can do that. That is a tall order.
     
  20. ToddPhin

    ToddPhin Premium Member Luxury Box Club Member

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    It was a complete waste trying to turn Jordan into a DE. He was the draft's highest regarded defender because of the player he was at Oregon- a long, athletic, quick, dynamic hybrid type player who wasn't relegated to one specific role. Then Miami drafts him and our head-scratching staff decides to bulk him up and turn him into a large DE without knowing how he'd respond to all the extra weight. Did you see him lumbering down the field on the blocked FG against Detroit where he was run down from behind by the 265 pound, aging TE Kellen Davis? Long gone are the days of 4.54 forty. Did you see him try to abruptly change direction today on one of the goal line plays? The momentum of his newfound weight almost toppled him over.

    Jordan should not be playing at 275+ pounds. He wouldn't have gone in the first 4 rounds if Oregon had him playing at this size. Our staff didn't want him as a potential situational player at 245-255 pounds, so they beefed him up which ironically turned him into one anyways, except now he's a shell of his former self with all the lost quickness, agility, and athleticism. If this organization/staff wanted a big, long, physical, athletic 275+ pound DE, they should've f***ing drafted one who already showed the capability of playing at that size, Ziggy Ansah, rather than taking a risky, circuitous route with Dion Jordan. Otherwise, you draft Dion Jordan to be Dion Jordan, amIright. At least in the 250 pound range it wouldn't have mattered if he never became an elite sack artist because his dynamic ability would've allowed him to impact in other ways; however, I bet he'd be a better pass rusher at that lighter weight than he is at 275+. So I guess it all boiled down to Miami wanting Jordan stouter against the run and were obtusely willing to sacrifice the other facets of his game that made him the #3 pick to get him there. It's probably too late in his rookie contract to have him drop 20 pounds and change his role to what it should've been from the start since that would essentially set him back next year when the coaching staff can instead continue plodding along this uninspiring course that they've already invested nearly 2 years into.
     
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  21. cdz12250

    cdz12250 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Jordan isn't the first and won't be the last college defensive player not to live up to his draft status. Eric Kumerow and Vernon Gholston immediately come to mind. Put him where he can best contribute and forget about the sunk cost. Get it right next time.
     
  22. MAFishFan

    MAFishFan Team Tannehill

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    Brutal. Watching that ball go through Landry's hands and then watching Beckham make that catch. Ugh.
     
  23. Alex13

    Alex13 Tua Time !!! Club Member

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    its pretty tough to catch a ball thrown that hard that got tipped just a little by a freaking shoulder pad
     
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  24. josh

    josh Well-Known Member

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    Here's my one coaching gripe of the game. Denver scored at the end of the half with less than 10 seconds left and no time outs. Remember Miami's previous possession that started with 5 minutes to go? Well if you don't want Peyton to get the ball back, the receivers need to stay the hell in bounds! I was screaming at the TV, "stay in bounds!!!"
     

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