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Ronin's 2015 Defensive Preview

Discussion in 'Miami Dolphins Forum' started by RoninFin4, Jun 19, 2015.

  1. RoninFin4

    RoninFin4 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Poster's note: I tried to break this up and add as many images and gifs as possible to help demonstrate what I'm talking about, as well as to break up the sheer amount of words in the post. I've posted some other information in the Football 101 Thread that's sticky'd in the main form as well, including stuff about Miami's pattern-matching. For this preview, I broke it into two parts: First up is Suh's arrival and what that means for the defense; the coaching staff's wanting to simplify things and some wild-card players, formations and points about the defense. Up second is my breakdown of each position with players who I think will make the 53 man roster, including a player to watch this year either in preseason or the regular season. Along with that is a listed depth chart that's easier on the eyes, along with strengths, weaknesses and position battles. I finish it off with my overall preview for 2015. Please feel free to hammer away with comments and questions.

    Part I – Suh’s Arrival, Simplification and Wild-Cards

    Time for my annual Defensive Preview. If you don’t like long-winded talk about defense, then this thread isn’t for you. In this year’s edition I’ll aim to cover the “simplification of the defense” we’ve heard both Head Coach Joe Philbin and Defensive Coordinate Kevin Coyle talk about during the offseason and through OTAs and what I think that might entail. I’ll do my standard breakdown of each position with a starter, backup and player to watch; I’m including the secondary this year and ultimately, you’ll see my prediction for all of the players that will make the 53 man roster come week 1 shine through. I’ll talk about what I think are strengths, weaknesses/question marks and give an overall preview of how I think the defense will do in 2015. Oh, and of course, I’ll talk about Ndamukong Suh…or is it $uh?

    As a matter of fact, I’ll start with Suh. Just to give you some context of how excited I am about his addition, cost be damned, I’ll take you back to November 9th of last year. After attending my best friend’s wedding the night before and getting a little too soused, a buddy of mine who was a lifelong Detroit Lions fan graciously picked me up from the hotel and we drove to Detroit to catch the Dolphins vs. Lions game. (Side note: If you ever get the chance to go to the “D” check out the HockeyTown USA Café. Nothing like more Labatt Blue to cure a hangover, right? It’s a really cool bar and if you like Hockey, Red Wings fan or not, it’s the place for you. Met some very friendly Lions fans and many of them were already discussing Ndamukong Suh’s inevitable departure; Detroit wouldn’t have enough money they said).

    Upon arriving at Ford Field feeling somewhat more zoned in after some Labatt’s we started watching warm-ups. I’d remembered Boomer, CK and Con among others talking about Suh when he was at Nebraska and he was one of my favorite college players to watch. I was so impressed with how quickly he got off the snaps watching Detroit’s defense warm-up. As luck would have it, Miami got the ball in the endzone where my friend and I were sitting so I got to focus in on Suh as close-up as one can get sitting 2 rows back in the upper deck at Ford Field, which is actually closer than you might think. Miami got the ball down 3-0 and Ndamukong Suh straight-up wrecked Miami’s first series literally by himself. He stopped Lamar Miller on 1st down for a loss of 2 then sacked Tannehill on second down for a loss of 10. He literally threw Samson Satele and Mike Pouncey out of the way on consecutive plays. After the sack, my buddy just shook his head and said, “Damn, I’m going to miss him on this D-line. He’s [expletive] leaving after this season.”

    I talked to my buddy a few weeks after the game and he said he thought Suh wanted to be the face of a franchise. He wasn’t going to get that in Detroit, not with Calvin Johnson, and to a lesser extent, Matthew Stafford already on the roster as high-profile players. To me, it seemed like Miami had the right mixture. Big city, known for the glitz and glamour. Good football tradition with a solid roster intact. And, let’s face it, as much as we all like Cameron Wake and Ryan Tannehill, they’re not really household NFL names across the country. Ndamukong Suh could literally walk in and be the LeBron James of the Dolphins. March 11th happened, and Ndamukong Suh becoming a Miami Dolphin happened. And now this will happen in Miami:

    Suh Beach
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    The Suh Factor and Simplifying the Defense
    So, what will Ndamukong Suh bring to Miami? With word coming down from both Joe Philbin and Kevin Coyle about wanting to simplify the defense, I think we’ll see less packages, personnel groupings and less defensive sets within each package. Miami would do well to stick with what they do best. In their base 4-3 set, that is playing Over fronts or stacked fronts. They need to get away from the Under looks as it just naturally puts Cameron Wake in a bad position having to play tighter to the RT with a TE directly in front of him more often than not as he’s playing a 5, 6 or 7 technique.

    What I think we *should hopefully* see is that Miami sticks to their packages they execute well. Those, in my opinion are: 4-3 base and 4-3 Over, 4-2-5 nickel, 3-3-5 nickel, and the “Speed Package” dime look. Within those packages, particularly when switching from base to nickel looks, limiting the number of players going on and off the field would be key. Sure, there’s going to be times when you rotate in 2 or 3 defensive linemen at a time to keep them fresh, or even give them a whole series; that’s football, but consider this: last year, in the Detroit game I attended, Miami would sub out Earl Mitchell for either Jared Odrick or Randy Starks (whoever wasn’t on the field to start the drive), Phillip Wheeler for Jamar Taylor or Jimmy Wilson while also sometimes subbing off Cortland Finnegan (injured during the game and played in a limited role), and sometimes also taking off Olivier Vernon and subbing in either Derrick Shelby or Dion Jordan.

    That’s a lot of moving parts, and as Kevin Coyle stated in his OTA interview, there’s only so many plays you can have when you tweak the personnel on the field that match. If the opponent has a good QB and/or Offensive Coordinator, they’re going to pick up on that and know what they can do to hurt the packages/groupings that come in.

    What I think we’ll see more of this year when switching from a base look to a nickel look is this: Miami can simply sub out whomever is the 1-technique NT - I’ll use Earl Mitchell in this case as he’s the presumed starter going into camp – and bring in the slot CB, presumably Brice McCain. That’s it. Consider this, in 2013 Olivier Vernon had 11.5 sacks – I believe 7 of those sacks came in the first Jets game that year and the Steelers game. Most of those 7 came from him rushing as a stand-up 3-technique rushing over guards. With that in mind, what I think we could see a lot of is Miami simply moving Chris McCain to RDE, instead of taking him off the field as they did with last year’s SLB Phillip Wheeler, and reducing Olivier Vernon inside to a stand-up 3. You can still execute your basic nickel looks, and, if Kevin Coyle wants, you can still play a 3-3-5 look.

    Erik Frenz of Bleacher Report did a nice job of breaking down the looks OV was successful with when rushing over guards. This is from 2013, but I think it illustrates what we could see more of this year: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...ernons-breakout-season-for-the-miami-dolphins

    Miami often used Oliver Vernon, Randy Starks or Jared Odrick, and Cameron Wake as 3-man defensive line with Dion Jordan, Koa Misi and Jelani Jenkins as LBs. Well, now, you can do that just with the guys you have on the field; you’ve simply swapped Mitchell off and added Brice McCain on. You’re doing more with the guys on the field and you don’t have that drop-off in talent level the way you did subbing out 2-4 guys.

    Ndamukong Suh is so good on the interior, whether you line him up as a 1-technique in a 3-man line, 2i or 3-technique in most packages, or even out wide as Teryl Austin did in Detroit last year to run “games” with Suh, he's so damn good at all of it you’re not really hurting yourself. Coyle’s tried to do that in the past with guys like Odrick and Starks, and as good as they were, it hurt the defense purely because neither player is a strong or as quick off the ball as Suh is. Here's an example of something Suh did last year against Miami while with Detroit. I'm using another post of mine from a different thread when I was asked about Miami and using Double-A Gap blitzes. I thought it fit nicely here:

    The above screen shots of that stunt are something I think we could see in nickel and dime looks. The "Speed Package" as DJ said, would be how I'd incorporate it. You can play McCain and Wake at DEs, Vernon rushing from a stand-up 3 technique (he was wicked doing this in 2013; see 1st Jets game, Steelers game) and Suh pretty much wherever you want. In essence, you can replace Derrick Shelby with Suh inside. Or, you can leave Shelby inside and put OV at DE with Suh next to him. Whatever. You're going to get pressure with 4 guys and can drop 7, as DJ said.

    Suh's so good that on that same play, while he's getting upfield, engaged with Ja'Wuan James, he actually helps spring Ansah by knocking Mike Pouncey off his block. With one arm.

    [​IMG]
    Suh's pretty damn impressive, I'd say.

    With Suh, who by the way had 8.5 sacks last year for Detroit by himself, I think we’ll see certain players take off. The obvious first look is to Cameron Wake, who should be playing next to Suh on the majority of snaps, especially in the basic 4-3 looks and nickel looks. We’ve seen what Cameron Wake can do just by himself . Now, consider what an offense has to do to block BOTH Wake and Suh on the same side; how many guys do you have to commit to them?

    [video=youtube;um0kqxgzPM4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=um0kqxgzPM4[/video]

    Olivier Vernon should be the next recipient of the benefits to having Suh on the line. I know some on this board think I have a sour opinion of Vernon; I don’t. I just didn’t think he was as good as his 11.5 sacks in 2013 made him out to be. For a 3rd round pick, he’s improved a helluva lot from 2012 to now. He’s clearly bigger and stronger; he’s developed a nice spin move, and is getting better at playing the run, especially when opponents run to his side. With offensive lines having to gear towards Suh and Wake to their right, Olivier Vernon should receive more than his fair share of 1-on-1 matchups against LTs. If he can start to win more than he did in 2014, this D-line will really be cooking. Vernon’s in a contract year, and say whatever you will about that, but players usually “turn it up”. I expect OV to do the same.

    [video=youtube;mCYFbHGh3MU]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCYFbHGh3MU[/video]

    Where I think this defensive line could get interesting is having a steady rotation of 1-technique NTs playing next to Suh. In my opinion, I think the constant rotation of having undersized guys – let’s face it Mitchell at 310lbs and Starks at 305lbs are small by today’s NFL standards for NTs – allowed opposing offenses to run more effectively, especially down the stretch. When you don’t have a 3-technique that can penetrate consistently…and Jared Odrick really tailed off after the Denver game…you’ve got problems. That said, you could also make a case that for the first 3.5 games of 2014, Earl Mitchell was the single best player at any position Miami had except for maybe Branden Albert.

    [​IMG]
    *This is a textbook look of Miami's 4-3 Over front and Mitchell penetrating from the 1-technique.

    Now, with Starks and Odrick gone, Miami has definitely beefed up their 1-technique rotation. As we just found out recently, veteran C.J. Mosley has been added. Not only is he a friend of Suh, but he and Suh were pretty dominant down the stretch for Detroit last season after Nick Fairley got hurt. I think his ability to spell Earl Mitchell is something that will be a boon for Miami.

    The Wild-Card, 3-4 Package and Sprinkles
    Where it really gets interesting is with Miami's 2nd round selection, Jordan Phillips of Oklahoma. He’s a massive man, standing in at just under 6’6” and has been listed as much as 334lbs at OU. If you read the recent MMQB article about Tannenbaum, you know that he’s still close with Bill Parcells, and Jordan Phillips definitely fits the mold of a Parcells “Planet Theory Player”, and I think this is part of the reason Miami selected him. Phillips, much like Olivier Vernon back in 2012, is a player Miami seemed to get keen on just before the Draft as we didn’t really hear about them scouting him at OU or meeting with him until after the Combine, if my memory serves me correct. Phillips was a 3-4 NT, often playing a 0-technique for the Sooners. Both Tannenbaum and especially Dennis Hickey cited after the draft that Phillips had a tough job in the pass-happy Big 12 Conference, as the proliferation of spread offenses is all over that league, and Phillips’ true best fit may be as a 4-3, 1-technique NT. In essence, if you compare this defense to what the Bengals and Vikings run – both are still running the scheme created by Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer who was the defensive coordinator in Cincinnati, where Coyle came to Miami from – both of those teams have 1-techniques who are considerably bigger than Earl Mitchell. Cincinnati’s Domata Peko checks in at a listed 6’3” 322lbs (I can promise you, he’s bigger than that), and Minnesota’s Linval Joseph is 6’4” 323lbs. Both have a considerable length advantage over Mitchell.

    To me, this is Miami’s stab at finding a Damon “Snacks” Harrison or Kenrick Ellis type player that Tannenbaum often found himself acquiring in New York. Phillips will no longer be asked to 2-gap and take on double-teams play after play. In this scheme, he can penetrate more and will be able to move laterally down the line, which is something he does surprisingly well for such a big man…on occasion. That’s the rub with Phillips. You watch his tape and when he’s on, he’s a hard man to stop. He can take on double-teams and splits them regularly. He can penetrate and disrupt plays. Developing him next to Ndamukong Suh is a D-line coach’s dream…if you can get Phillips going play after play. Sometimes, when he moves laterally, he tends to take the next play off. I think if new D-line Coach Terrell Williams can get Phillips in better shape, he’s going to pay a lot of dividends down the road. I think for the most part, when he’s not tired, his technique is pretty good and he’s going to benefit from playing next to Suh and learning from guys like Mitchell and Mosley.

    [video=youtube;7M2NqEg4-oU]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7M2NqEg4-oU[/video]

    This is why I consider Jordan Phillips to be a wild-card, and it could help key one formation Miami might keep around that they used last year; the 3-4. Most of the local beat writers and I think even Joe Philbin called it a “5-2”. You can call it that, call it an “Okie” front, a 3-4, etc. It’s all the same, though it does drive me bonkers when the beat writers call it a 5-2 as you’d technically see all 5 guys across the front in a three or four point stance. Olivier Vernon and Cameron Wake are both stand-up linebackers in this look. It’s a base defense look that we usually saw incorporated with mostly Louis Delmas, or sometimes Reshad Jones, creeping up closer to the line of scrimmage. Earl Mitchell played this look in Houston’s 3-4 before he became a Dolphin, and obviously Jordan Phillips is familiar with it from the Sooner’s defense a year ago. If, and it’s somewhat of a large if given all of the simplification talk, Miami keeps this look I think we’ll see it used against run-heavy teams. The Bills, Cowboys, Jets, and Titans are all probably matchups that will try and run the ball heavily against Miami, so I think this is where we’ll see it, if they use it.

    This is one of the few scenarios that Kevin Coyle sprinkled into the scheme that is way off the beaten path of Mike Zimmer that worked. Miami used it against New England in week one, along with mis-matching the defensive front. Back to the Cameron Wake top 100 video; in the video, the play where he sacks Brady and forces the fumble, you’ll notice OV and Wake are next to each other and Jonathan Freeny is actually standing up where a DE would normally be in a very exaggerate Over look. This and looks like form the Suh screen shots where they had him playing a Ghost 7 technique in Detroit are subtle things I think we could see used within packages to keep opposing offenses guessing if the number of formations and personnel groupings is to really be cut down.

    Part II – Personnel, Position Battles and Overall Preview

    If you recall my preview from last year, I spoke about the “Eagle Defense” principles that Kevin Coyle has been using and a general description of each position and some GIFs of each. Here’s the link to that if you want to read even more: http://www.thephins.com/forums/showthread.php?85884-Football-101. See post #7. Otherwise, I’ll just cover the general description of each position, who you’ll see playing there and a player or players to watch in the preseason. After that I’ll get into general strengths and weaknesses, position battles, and finish off with a preview of what I think we’ll see with the Dolphins Defense in 2015.

    Personnel
    In Miami’s 4-3 look, the main philosophical thing to keep in mind is that Miami’s best when they play Cameron Wake, who damn near solely plays LDE, in a wider technique. In short, it’s the Over front, and when you combine that with the “Eagle” principle of having your best pass-rusher, most athletic linebacker, and box safety all on the same side of the field, you’re essentially creating a scenario where you’re playing the offense’s weak side with fewer, but bigger defensive players. This is your base end, what I call the SAM LB, even though the TE may be on the other side and your MLB. On the offense’s strong side you’re playing with more defenders, but they’re usually smaller and more athletic. So, in Miami’s 4-3 Over Front, their best base package, you’re often going to see their WILL LB, Jelani Jenkins, lined up to the strength of the offense’s formation. Just something to keep in mind. Here we go with each position:

    Left or “Eagle” Defensive End – In Miami’s defense, this is your best pass-rushing defensive end. This position is owned by Cameron Wake. Chris Long recently called him the “most complete 4-3 DE in the league” on NFL Network’s Top 100 Players of 2015 show. Chris Long is not wrong. Wake was already one of if not the best pure pass-rushers in the NFL, and now he’s got Ndamukong Suh, who will be playing next to him most of the time, helping to free him up even more. Derrick Shelby is technically the backup here, though he can play either side. Shelby’s a nice player to have as he’s stout against the run, gives you some production in pass-rush situations, can reduce inside in the “Speed Package” and plays on some special teams. These are really the only two players you’ll see here, so I’m sort of going to cheat here. My “Player to Watch” is Cameron Wake. “Dongzilla” had 11.5 sacks in 2014, the 3rd highest total in his career. I think with Suh next to him, he’s got a very good shot at surpassing his career high of the 15 sacks he notched in 2012.

    3-Technique DT – If you read or listen to most personnel executives…and Tom Brady, they’ll tell you that this position can generate more impact for a defense than any other on the field. In Miami’s scheme, more often than not, this position has been lined up next to Wake. In the past we’ve seen Randy Starks and Jared Odrick here. They’re both gone and Ndamukong Suh is here. Suh is arguably one of, if not the best overall 3-techniques in the NFL. I’d say you can hold up Gerald McCoy, Aaron Donald and a healthy Geno Atkins in the select group, but Suh’s durability and overall brute strength push him over the top for me. He’s a very good run defender and had 8.5 sacks last year and with more edge talent on either side of him than Detroit have, his numbers too should look pretty good by season’s end. Anthony Johnson is probably the best “true” 3-technique backup, but with the signing of C.J. Mosley, Johnson’s job could be in jeopardy. Suh is my “Player to Watch” just because he’s so, so, so good. But I’d also keep an eye on Anthony Johnson in preseason games as I think he could amount to a player worth stashing on the roster to replace C.J. Mosley’s snaps down the road, as Ndamukong Suh plays a ridiculous amount of snaps per game, so I wouldn’t expect Johnson to see the field much if he makes the roster this year.

    1-Technique – NT – I’ve already discussed this a little bit, but in any defense, 4-3 or 3-4, your nose player is going to be your main run-stopper. This is Vince Wilfork, Haloti Ngata or Brandon Mebane. In Miami’s defense, Earl Mitchell is the only interior player left standing that played significant snaps last year. He was a man on fire the first quarter of the season and tapered off after that, but he had some nice moments mixed in and even blocked a field goal in the Detroit game. He’s the starter and my guess is he’ll be heavily involved in a rotation with C.J. Mosley and Jordan Phillips. Mosley, at 6’2” and 312lbs is even stouter than Mitchell and to me, looks like he’s a bit stronger at the point of attack whereas Mitchell can penetrate and play laterally down the line a little bit better. I already covered Jordan Phillips so I won’t bore you with repeating myself other than that I think if Miami can develop him, he and Suh on the interior is a very, very good future combination. Phillips gets my “Player to Watch” nod here for that reason; I want to see just how good he is and if he’s able to work his way into a complete player.

    Right or “Base” DE – This position has taken a bit of an odd transformation since Kevin Coyle arrived. In 2012 he had Jared Odrick playing this spot, and that was the best defense Miami’s had under Coyle in terms of points allowed and run defense. The defense as a whole has gotten progressively worse in both categories the past two years. You can’t blame it all on this spot, but it’s something I do find a bit ironic as Coyle removed that “hybrid player” element from it. He’s had Olivier Vernon here the past two seasons and Coyle and Philbin were both pretty adamant that Dion Jordan would be a DE. Had Jordan panned out, this is where he would have played, but I think that ship has sailed. Olivier Vernon is the clear-cut starter now and has a really good chance to earn a nice new contract for himself. As I mentioned before he’s really improved since his rookie year; he’s bigger and stronger and is developing pass-rush moves nicely. As a primarily 5 and 6 technique position, Vernon’s a bit on the small side, but he’s shown really effective stretches. The consistency needs improved, but you could do a lot worse than him. Terrence Fede is the backup here and Kevin Coyle loves him. Fede’s got the prototypical size, but he’s got to grow into his NFL body a bit more. Coming from Marist and the Pioneer Football League (shout to my alma mater, the University of Dayton who is a PFL member) he had a very nice rookie year and I’d look for him to continue to develop. Again, I feel like I’m cheating here, but my “Player to Watch” is Olivier Vernon. Go get that new contract kid.

    Weakside Linebacker – This is your most athletic linebacker who can run, cover, blitz, and make plays with good range. This position has had a wild ride since 2012. Kevin Burnett started here and did well but rubbed many the wrong way and was released. Phillip Wheeler was miscast here in 2013 and was going to be replaced by Dannell Ellerbe, whose natural fit was at WILL. He got hurt like 18 plays into week one and Jelani Jenkins stepped up. And he stepped up big. Jenkins led the team in tackles, showed good range and surprisingly good cover skills. He was also a solid blitzer. Realistically, he’s Miami’s best linebacker and if he can get stronger at the point of attack he’s got a chance to be a Pro Bowl caliber guy in my opinion. His backup, for now, is Jordan Tripp. Tripp’s got size, speed and a very quick trigger but much like Terrence Fede, coming from the FCS is a pretty sizeable jump. He’s best suited on special teams for now, but I think Miami may ultimately try to move him to MIKE since Jenkins appears to have this position locked down. My “Player to Watch” is Jelani Jenkins. I want to see how good this kid can be as I don’t think 2014 was a fluke, I just feel like there’s more potential to be tapped and LB Coach Mark Duffner seems like he knows what he’s doing here more so than George Edwards did.

    [​IMG]
    Jenkins blitzes for a safety against the Chiefs.

    Middle Linebacker – While it’s not really a Ray Lewis in-his-prime type of position in Miami’s defense, this is still the man in the middle who can control B gap to B gap, even if Jelani Jenkins is the guy responsible for lining up the front seven. Koa Misi seems like he’s going to win this job again, and he was solid against the run here last year. He’s limited range-wise and can be exposed in coverage, but he’s a solid tackler and is efficient at blitzing through the A and B gaps. Kelvin Sheppard, in his start against the Patriots late last season, looked just as good as Misi did playing the run. However, Sheppard’s on his third team in a pretty young NFL career and hasn’t been able to hold a starting job, so you wonder about that. We didn’t get to see him too much here, but from the sounds of it most of the players and coaches seem to think pretty highly of him and he certainly looks the part. This is an interesting position as I think Jordan Tripp could get more looks here in preseason as he did last year, but my “Players to Watch” would be the trio of UDFAs in Mike Hill, Jeff Luc and Zach Vigil. Mark Duffner said, via Barry Jackson’s SportsBuzz a while back that Miami had draftable grades on all three. Jeff Luc looks the part. Mike Hull hails from “Linebacker U” and Zach Vigil was plenty productive at Utah State. I’m not sure who I’d handicap at this point; gun to my head I’d go Zach Vigil, but I think one of these three makes the roster, even if only as a special teams player.

    Strongside Linebacker – This is Miami’s on the line of scrimmage backer. Koa Misi held this role in 2012 and 2013 and was very good at it when healthy. Jason Trusnik and Jonathan Freeny both saw snaps here backing up Phillip Wheeler in 2014; none of those three are on the roster any more. Chris McCain, an UDFA out of California in 2014 seems to be the guy who is going to get first crack at this job. If you look at Cincinnati and Minnesota’s defenses, they both have long, rangy, guys playing this position. Emmanuel Lemur plays it for Cincinnati and he goes 6’4” 240lbs and is faster than all of the team’s safeties. Anthony Barr plays it for Minnesota and is even bigger, at 6’5” 255lbs, and more of a pass-rusher for the Vikings. Chris McCain, listed at 6’5” 250, falls somewhere in between. He’s got the length and is wiry strong to set the edge. We saw he possesses decent get-off on the snap, and made some nice plays on delayed blitzes last year, but he only played 46 total snaps. We don’t have much to go off of. I think, if he stays healthy, the job is his. But, it wouldn’t surprise me one bit if he struggles to see Miami put Kelvin Sheppard here, or put Sheppard in the middle and put Misi home here. Spencer Paysinger’s signing is a bit of a curveball as Chris McCain himself said Paysinger was backing him up, but Paysinger is even smaller than Phillip Wheeler at 6’2” 236lbs, and is predominantly a special teamer. My “Player to Watch” is Chris McCain.

    Left Cornerback – Pretty self-explanatory and this is Brent Grimes position. That said, you really can’t pigeon-hole Grimes to just the left side as he travels and later on last year when Jamar Taylor was starting for the injured Cortland Finnegan, Grimes usually played across from the opponent’s best receiver. I think we may see more of that this year as Jamar Taylor still doesn’t have a lot of NFL snaps under his belt. Grimes was a Pro Bowler and Top 100 player last year, but his played dipped pretty noticeably from the first half of last year through the last 6-8 games. Demaryius Thomas roasted him a few times against Denver. Greg Jennings beat him up and down the field in the Minnesota game. I’m not alarmed, but it was noticeable. I’ll go out on a limb and predict that Bobby McCain is the direct backup here. He’s pretty similar to Grimes in the way he moves and in his build. He needs more experience to be sure, but I feel like Miami’s got a steal with him down the road. I also think Tony Lippett makes the roster here. I wouldn’t limit to calling this position a “field corner” either, as Grimes played both on the boundary and on the field side last year. My “Player to Watch” is Bobby McCain. I think he’ll see time as a slot CB in dime looks and he’s a solid special teamer and kick returner. I’m interested to see how much he sees the field because I don’t think he’s playing over Brent Grimes unless Grimes gets injured.

    [video=youtube;qu5lI4HHbJM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qu5lI4HHbJM[/video]

    Right Cornerback – Much like left corner, this is self-explanatory. It’s a positon that traveled when Jamar Taylor played it, meaning he played both the boundary and field, left or right, based on where the man Grimes was matched up moved to. I think Jamar Taylor, if he stays healthy, wins this job and will be a good player in this league. We saw our first real glimpse of it in the Buffalo game on Thursday Night. I want to see more of that. Brice McCain was an underrated veteran signing. He’s primarily a slot CB, and he’s going to win the Nickel/Slot Cornerback (whatever you want to call it) job. He’s also really good on special teams and played in the boundary quite a bit for the Steelers last year when they got hit hard by injuries. Brice McCain is a nice backup, but he, like Brent Grimes and Bobby McCain, isn’t all that big. Zack Bowman I think wins another backup job here by virtue of being a good special teams player and having some significant size. I think he’s a good person to have Tony Lippett, another sizeable corner, learn from. Will Davis, coming off an ACL injury with all these new bodies in the fold…I think he’s a goner. He’s been a Practice All-American who shrinks when the pads come on. His technique in regular season games has been downright miserable at times to the point he’s gotten really, really lucky he wasn’t called for penalties or the ball was thrown poorly and bailed him out. My “Player to Watch” is Jamar Taylor. Can he finally stay healthy?

    Safety – Miami’s safeties are largely interchangeable. You may as well list them as left and right as opposed to free and strong as you’d probably list Reshad Jones as the strong guy, but Louis Delmas actually played a higher percentage of snaps in the box last year. Go figure. Anyways, Reshad Jones, IMO, is the best player in the entire secondary, not Grimes (I know, I’ll get flamed for this) when he’s not suspended. Louis Delmas had some nice moments last year; he had some forgettable moments last year, and is now coming off a torn ACL at a freakish recovery rate. I think he retains his starting spot and hopefully he stays healthy as he and Reshad Jones, when on the field together, formed a pretty nice tandem. That said, Delmas’ durability issues have to give you at least some pause. Walt Aikens has been a guy pointed out by both Joe Philbin and Kevin Coyle as having had a tremendous offseason so far, so I’m interested to see how he performs in camp. He strikes me as a guy who can be a long-term replacement for Louis Delmas after 2015, as blunt as it is to say that at this point in time. Michael Thomas is something of a cult-hero in Miami after the 2013 clinching INT against the Patriots, but he’s mostly been a slot corner during his Dolphins tenure. He’s naturally a free safety and played there while at Stanford and with the 49ers practice squad. He was one of Miami’s best special teams guys last year, so I think he sticks around, but I don’t expect him to see too many defensive snaps unless there are injuries. Cedric Thompson seems like a developmental guy. I’ve watched a few of his games. He looks like a stud one quarter and a dud the next. It happens week to week as well. I thought he had a nice game against Wisconsin last year, but his Ohio State tape is something he ought to try and burn. He’s a heck of an athlete and I think he’s probably a guy that you keep around just to use on special teams while you develop him. Personally, I think he allows you to jettison Don Jones and Jordan Kovacs who are just special teams guys.

    Defensive Roster/2-Deep Depth Chart
    To put all my words into something that’s easier to visualize, here’s a look at the depth chart I think Miami keeps on defense. Obviously, they may pick up players who get cut, so this is subject to change, but if I was to be locked into guys currently on the roster this is my list. Keep in mind Miami’s kept 11 DBs under Coyle and 9 DL. With Dion Jordan suspended, that frees up a spot, and Miami’s traditionally kept more defensive players than offensive players to help stock up the guys who play special teams.

    LDE Cameron Wake, Derrick Shelby
    3T Ndamukong Suh, C.J. Mosely*, Anthony Johnson
    1T Earl Mitchell, Jordan Phillips
    RDE Olivier Vernon, Terrence Fede
    WLB Jelani Jenkins, Jordan Tripp
    MLB Koa Misi, Kelvin Sheppard
    SLB Chris McCain, Spencer Paysinger
    LCB Brent Grimes, Bobby McCain (slot), Tony Lippett
    RCB Jamar Taylor, Brice McCain (slot), Zack Bowman
    SS Reshad Jones, Cedric Thompson
    FS Louis Delmas, Walt Aikens, Michael Thomas (slot)

    * C.J. Mosely is primarily a 1-technique NT, but we’ve seen it reported by Barry Jackson recently that he and Jordan Phillips were working together as a tandem, so I’ve listed him as a 3T here.

    I think Miami keeps 11 DBs, and ultimately the spot freed up by Dion Jordan’s suspension ends up going to stash Anthony Johnson on the 53 man roster so he can’t be plucked (presumably he’d replace C.J. Mosley in the rotation next year in this scenario) or it goes to keep a seventh linebacker to develop.

    Strengths & Weaknesses
    Looking at the Dolphins entire roster, I think you’d be hard-pressed to find a unit that’s stronger than the defensive line, offense or defense. Ndamukong Suh’s arrival *can* take this unit from being pretty good…usually, to hopefully being an elite unit. The team’s two best players, Suh and Wake, are on this unit. There’s an ascending player in Vernon opposite them, and veteran players in Earl Mitchell and C.J. Mosley inside. As I touched on earlier, Jordan Phillips is the wild-card and if you can start developing him, then opponents won’t be able to run the ball on Miami as they did last year.

    Miami finished in the middle of the pack last year in sacks, tied for 16th with Chicago and Tennessee with 39. Of those sacks, 29.5 came from the defensive line. Ndamukong Suh nearly had a 3rd of that total by himself in Detroit last year with 8.5. That kind of interior will work wonders for Miami and that total is more than Miami’s three primary defensive tackles last year – they combined for 7.5 (Starks - 4.5, Mitchell – 2, Odrick – 1). Miami’s D-line should be bolstered by Suh.

    The second strength I think you have to look at, while a bit immeasurable on-field, is that Miami has talented young players at each level of the defense. Guys like Vernon, Jelani Jenkins, Reshad Jones – those are guys you can help build units around, especially when you have guys like Suh and Wake still in their relative primes.

    Lastly, I think a return to the root of this scheme (i.e. simplifying the defense) *could* be a strength. It’s not like it’s an unproven defense. Far from it, actually as Mike Zimmer had the Bengals defense in the top 10 regularly. Miami’s had its strengths under Coyle’s tenure: redzone defense in 2012 and 2013, improved opponents’ passer rating and they were one of four teams with back-to-back top 10 rankings in terms of points allowed in 2012 and 2013 – Cincinnati, San Francisco and Seattle being the others.

    As far as weaknesses go, first and foremost, I think you have to list Kevin Coyle. He’s been able to talk a big game, but if you look at where Miami’s defense was at the end of 2011, Miami’s actually gotten worse all three season under Coyle in terms of points allowed, which I think goes rather unnoticed on this board, and the run defense decayed into what we saw last year to the point the interior D-line was gutted. People are quick to point out that Miami had the #2 total defense in the NFL going into the game against Detroit that I attended. My question is, was it really that good, or did it get fat by feasting on Chicago (Jay Cutler), Jacksonville (a rookie in Bortles) and the San Diego game (their best performance of the season, give credit where credit is due)? Sadly, I think it’s the former. Just look at Week 2; Miami let E.J. Manuel throw all over the field to the tune of 29 points. A week later, the Kansas City Chiefs, playing without Jamaal Charles, hung 34 points on Miami. The furthest pass Alex Smith threw in the air that day? Well, it traveled 11 yards. 11. Eleven. Let that sink in for a minute. That game was the worst defensive gameplan Coyle had cooked up until the finale against the Jets when Geno Smith posted a perfect 158.3 QB rating on Miami.

    With respect to Coyle and the scheme, I think it’s a sound defense and he’s done a nice job, for the most part, of placing guys where they need to be. Cameron Wake’s one of the best pass-rushers in the entire NFL. Reshad Jones exploded in 2012 and again when he returned from his suspension in 2014. Brent Grimes has renewed his career coming off a torn Achilles in this scheme. Coyle’s certainly done some nice things. But there’s the counter to that: the LB unit has been a mess for two years, the whole Dion Jordan situation was a black cloud for two years and appears to be on its way elsewhere next year, and there’s been numerous defensive collapses at the end of games – Green Bay, Detroit and Denver just last year. There’s been downright eggs laid – Buffalo, Kansas City, Minnesota, and New York (arguably twice) just last year alone. Kevin Coyle is his own paradox; he’s either on the money or he’s completely in the wrong game. That needs to change and the overall consistency level of the defense needs to improve. I think that returning to the simplified roots of the Zimmer scheme will help improve the defense, but it’s up to Coyle to stick to that and be able to deliver week-to-week.

    Linebacker depth is a weakness to me. Last year we saw depth tested right off the bat as Phillip Wheeler missed week one and Koa Misi and Dannell Ellerbe got dinged up quickly into the game. That unearthed Jelani Jenkins and Miami was pretty fortunate to have a versatile depth guy in Jason Trusnik who understood the system. I don’t see that guy on the roster this year. Spencer Paysinger is in his first year in the system, Jordan Tripp didn’t play hardly any defensive snaps, and Kelvin Sheppard played sparingly, though I suppose you can argue he’s this year’s Jason Trusnik given he’s the backup at MLB and SLB. The unit as a whole is a bit of mystery outside of Jelani Jenkins. Can Koa Misi stay healthy, and what does he really give you in the middle? Is he better suited to the strongside, and if so, is Sheppard your answer in the middle? Is Chris McCain ready to be a starter? Those are questions we don’t yet know the answers to just yet.

    Cornerback depth is sort of in the same boat. Jamar Taylor hasn’t proven yet that he can stay healthy. Brice McCain, while a savvy vet, probably isn’t a guy you want starting at length on the perimeter if Taylor gets injured. Beyond that, you’ve got two rookies in Bobby McCain and Tony Lippett who aren’t proven, Zack Bowman who is more a special teamer than anything else at this point, and I’m not sure Will Davis even makes the team.

    Those spots also represent the most interesting camp battles on defense. I think Jamar Taylor, if healthy, wins the RCB job going away, but the spots behind Grimes, Taylor and Brice McCain remain up for grabs. I’d argue the same for both safety spots; Jones and Delmas are locks, but who ends up behind them? Walt Aikens and Cedric Thompson seem safe as draft picks. Michael Thomas seems safe to me based on his special teams prowess over Don Jones and Jordan Kovacs, plus he can play slot corner if needed, but you still wonder if Jones or Kovacs can steal a spot from someone? Does the team keep a 5th defensive tackle or a seventh linebacker? If so, who is it? I’d like to think Anthony Johnson will play better than he did last year and you can sort of stash him and essentially replace C.J. Mosley with him in 2016. If you keep one of the UDFA linebackers, which one is it? Zach Vigil has more production under his belt than Hull and Luc combined. Luc has the NFL size and looks intriguing as a MLB in this defense. Hull hails from “Linebacker U” and had a very productive final year in a Power 5 Conference. Lot of intriguing things going on there.

    Overall Preview
    Ah, the end is in sight. I’d guarantee that Miami finishes better than 20th in points allowed next season and certainly better than 24th in rushing defense. If they don’t, Kevin Coyle’s fired and probably several other coaches as well. Miami’s strength under Coyle has been pass defense, where Miami finished 6th in the league last year giving up just over 220 yards per game. I think they’ll stick around that mark this year as Miami’s been pretty solid and haven’t really had an entire secondary unit transfer over from one season to the next in any of the past three years. The pass-rush up front should only help the secondary as well.

    For a time last year, Miami was hovering in the top 10 in terms of run defense, at around 90-95 yards per game. I think getting into the top 10 in terms of rush defense is a reasonable goal, especially with Ndamukong Suh on board. I’d like to see them allow less than 90 yards a game.
    In terms of points allowed, I think Miami gets back to their form they had in 2012 and 2013 for the most part; I expect they finish somewhere between 5th and 12th in terms of points allowed, barring a host of injuries or Kevin Coyle just going completely dumb at the controls. I think that’s saying something as Miami’s going to see some really good quarterbacks this year: Tom Brady twice, Tony Romo, Joe Flacco, Phillip Rivers, Eli Manning, and Andrew Luck. You also have a challenging Philadelphia offense mixed in there as well.

    All things considered, this defense should be a lot better than it was a year ago, and I’d even argue they have the personnel to be better than they were during that stretch from the Bears game to the Broncos game, it’s up to Kevin Coyle to ensure that they do, and I feel somewhat queasy about that, but hopefully they can all make it work!

    Ndamukong Suh on E:60
    [video=youtube;9fRwZ8-2Snk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fRwZ8-2Snk[/video]
    - Just in case you wanted to learn even more about Suh.
     
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  2. RoninFin4

    RoninFin4 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Supplemental Information and Images
    - There's a limit of 10 photos/gifs per post, so I included some of the ones I had to omit above here.

    -For reference on the 4-3 Under and Over looks, I found these from a Seattle Seahawks Blog:
    [​IMG]
    - Miami runs into trouble using the Under set as it forces Cameron Wake to play closer to the ball, setting him at a natural disadvantage as the RT and/or TE can engage him more quickly.

    [​IMG]
    - Ignore Seattle's walked-up LOLB in the shot of the Over front. In Miami, this is Jelani Jenkins and he'll more often than not be playing behind Ndamukong Suh, who is Miami's 3-technique. You'll also see Cameron Wake aligned outside a bit more in a true 6 or 7 technique when there's a TE present so he can still try and get the edge when rushing, and it naturally allows him to hold the point against the run if they run it at him; he's certainly strong enough to do it.

    [​IMG]
    - Cameron Wake in a Ghost 7 Technique that allows him to get up the field more quickly; this look is what Miami needs to have more of when in base pacakges. They don't necessarily need to play Wake that wide, but I'm using this to demonstrate the difference between him playing wider versus him in an Under front. Also note that Chris McCain is at RDE in this shot. He gets pretty good extension with the long-arm move on David Bakhtiari, but the back, Eddie Lacy, delivers a nice chip block allowing Bakhtiari to recover his block. Doesn't matter though as Wake's already home. Reshad Jones does a nice job of getting through traffic; he lands a sack on Blake Bortles a few weeks later on a similar blitz.

    Here's some of the screen shots from the Erik Frenz article on Olivier Vernon from 2013:
    [​IMG]
    - Setup of a Double-A Gap blitz that actually works.

    [​IMG]
    - The blitz works and Vernon's handwork and strength allow him to get by Nick Mangold and into the backside A gap.

    [​IMG]
    - Front 4 picture of what I think you'll see if Miami simplifies their packages the way I detailed in the first post. Just picture Ndamukong Suh where Jared Orick is and either Chris McCain or Derrick Shelby where Dion Jordan is.

    [​IMG]
    - Vernon fights off and gets by who I think is Matt Slauson playing LG for the Jets.

    Here's what it looks like when it's all put together. This is from the Steelers game in 2013:
    [​IMG]
    - Vernon attacks the A gap between Ramon Foster and Cody Wallace. Foster does a nice job of trying to pin Vernon inside so Wallace can take him one-on-one, but Vernon's strong enough and maintains his balance to recover and combine with Wake for the sack.
     
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  3. 54Fins

    54Fins "In Gase we trust"

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    over there
    Thanks for the great read..Awesome job! :up:
     
  4. PhinFan1968

    PhinFan1968 To 2020, and BEYOND! Club Member

    STICKY please :)
     
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  5. Brasfin

    Brasfin Well-Known Member

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    Haven't even read the whole thing yet, but beautiful post Ronin! Well done! :yes: :theman:
     
  6. Piston Honda

    Piston Honda Well-Known Member

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    Awesome post. Learned a ton from this, thanks!
     
  7. padre31

    padre31 Premium Member Luxury Box

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    Phillips is a plugger, watch his film, he does not get pushed back he also does not penetrate

    Think Coyle, much like Philbin, does not have an unconscious feel for the game

    Do think this D requires a Hybrid DE/LB

    And Cam Wake is Muhammed Ali reincarnate in the NFL, enjoy it fellow Phinfans
     
  8. Pandarilla

    Pandarilla Purist Emeritus

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    I think Misi is faster than people realize. I just remember him being pegged as a LB in the draft due to his speed at DE. Gunther Cunningham, lol...

    Now do me a solid and elaborate on Lippet.
     
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  9. Rocky Raccoon

    Rocky Raccoon Greasepaint Ghost Staff Member

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    Outstanding work, Ronin!
     
  10. RoninFin4

    RoninFin4 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Just some quick notes from the follow-up.

    - Thanks for the positive feedback!

    - One scenario you could see with respect to the LBs if one of the 3 main UDFAs is good enough, is that that guy makes the roster and you can shift Sheppard to your primary backup at SLB instead of Paysinger. I still think there's enough special teams guys to warrant that move and still use a roster spot on Anthony Johnson or somewhere on offense.

    - Re: Jordan Phillips, he bears a lot of watching. You don't see a lot of penetration because he's playing a true 0 technique in a 3-4, and in the Big12 there's so much passing from the spread, he doesn't have much time to get upfield vs. a double-team. That said, he owns that C from Clemson all night long. I think being able to play him at a shaded technique will help him out.

    - Re: Tony Lippett, I've seen several MSU games. One of their DEs who graduated, Marcus Rush, won an award from the Anthony Munoz Foundation when I worked there so I tried to keep up with him as best I could and caught several of their games. Unfortunately, the only game I saw Lippett at CB was their Bowl Game against Baylor this past year. IIRC he was either recruited as a CB or was forced to play CB as a freshman, then ended up spending the majority of his time at receiver there. His length is intriguing and it sounds like he's got pretty good ball skills from what we've heard about him in OTAs and mini-camp. He bears watching, but I think you've almost got to stash him on the 53, as he carries a double-risk on the practice squad as other teams may view him as a receiver, and he was productive in East Lansing. Intriguing size, build, but he and Zack Bowman are sort of outliers in terms of height/weight/speed/agility at CB...which is interesting. Everyone else is a smaller, quicker type guy. Those two are both long and lean.
     
  11. PhinFan1968

    PhinFan1968 To 2020, and BEYOND! Club Member

    I have a question, if I may, since I don't really know the details of how it would work or what "type" of defense would best take advantage of it, but my thought going into this season is the LBs in coverage and the secondary will have a bit of an easier task ahead of them because of the line. Is that a reasonable expectation?

    Last year, when we played KC, we were able to close off the deep stuff for the most part, but the short stuff ate us alive...I'd think a good bit of that was because of LBs/secondary having to worry more about the run.

    Is that line of thinking off-base?
     
  12. RoninFin4

    RoninFin4 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    I'd say unless there's a wave of injuries, the LBs and secondary will have a it of an easier time in coverage just because the pass-rush will get home more quickly than last year. Suh's presence surely helps. Wake is Wake. Vernon's another year improved. I think them not having to stunt as much also helps the pass-rush more.

    The Kansas City game was just a mess all the way around. The Chiefs didn't really have a deep threat at all, all season. Jamaal Charles was their home-run threat and he was out. Kevin Coyle got too creative for his own good and started stunting and blitzing unnecessarily and we wound up with Olivier Vernon and Cameron Wake trying to cover Joe McKnight in the flat all day. Miami also got gashed in the run game as Knile Davis ripped off 132 yards and the Chiefs as a whole ran 41 times for 174 yards and 2 TDs (4.2 ypc). That was just a bad gameplan all the way around. IMO, that was the worst effort Coyle had all year up until the Jets finale.
     
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  13. PhinFan1968

    PhinFan1968 To 2020, and BEYOND! Club Member

    Thanks Ronin. One last question, was the collapse at Denver more because of who wasn't on the field due to injury and what-not, or was it because we got out-adjusted? They threw up 22 points on us in the 4th quarter, otherwise we win that game going away...still burns at me. Seemed like they could've thrown ANY RB on their roster out there and killed us.
     
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  14. Fin4Ever

    Fin4Ever Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Awesome write-up Ronin! Thank you for taking all of the time that I would imagine that this took to explain the defenses and players and which works best for us and against us. Honestly, you should be coaching organized football..college or Pro's with your understanding of the defensive side of the ball...Again, many kudos and Thanks.:hi5:
     
  15. 77FinFan

    77FinFan Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Great writeup. Taught me a lot. Pretty encouraging about our D this year as well. It has to be better.
     
  16. djphinfan

    djphinfan Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    I think its an excellent point about Phillips and his responsibilities at Oklahoma, I watched games where this kid controlled the whole interior of the field, and if he had jets on the outside or a beast like Suh playing next to him, it would of been a disaster for the opposition.

    Just like to reiterate something about Phillips, this is not a fat man, there is a gut there but its hereditary, and this dude can run, when he opens up and runs, its beautiful..He seems very smart, cant wait for him to learn from two of the best in the league right next to him, all day every day.
     
  17. djphinfan

    djphinfan Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Ive seen Vern do some of his best work when he slides over in that sub package..

    Mccain..Vern..Suh..Kraken..

    I believe the four can get the job done.
     
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  18. Piston Honda

    Piston Honda Well-Known Member

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    If that DL group stays healthy they are going to destroy most of the game plans they see. There simply aren't a lot of teams equipped to handle what they can do. Meaning opponents will have to step outside of what their normal identity is just to have a chance.

    Run first teams will have to pass. Pass first teams will have to figure out how theyre gonna protect. Basically any team that doesn't have a top level QB (Dallas, NE, Indy) is in trouble from the opening snap. It's gonna be fun to watch.
     
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  19. Brasfin

    Brasfin Well-Known Member

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    We have a pretty favorable schedule in that regard, the only good QBs we face this year are: Patriots (x2), Chargers, Cowboys, Ravens, Giants, and Colts... 7 games. And if you break that up even further, I'd only put Brady, Romo and maybe Luck in the elite category.

    Obviously it's not as simple as this, but if we manage to win at least 80% of the games against average/bad/unproven QBs- a very plausible feat- that's 7 games. If we win about half of the "good QB games", also not out of the realm of possibilities, that's 3 games... a 10-6 record which, IMO, gets us in the playoffs.
     
  20. Brasfin

    Brasfin Well-Known Member

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    When looking at last season's schedule, it seems we played less games against good QBs: Pats (x2), Packers, Chargers, Broncos, and Ravens, 6 games... but on the other hand, this season's "bad/average QB's" seem to be worse.

    We play a total of 7 games against QB's who are in their first year under a new system or team Fitzpatrick/Smith (x2), Cassell/Manuel (x2), Mariota, Hoyer and Bradford as opposed to 3 last season (Bortles, Carr, and Bridgewater), all of which we won. And on top of that, we play most of those QB's pretty early on in the season, when they're usually still adjusting to their new team/offense... I think this bodes pretty well for us.
     
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  21. PhinFan1968

    PhinFan1968 To 2020, and BEYOND! Club Member

    Also, I think like 10 of our games were against top 10 defenses...didn't help matters much.
     
  22. WELDERPAT

    WELDERPAT New Member

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    The gif of Suh hitting the Browns running back.
    At first Suh is taking a deeper angle than is needed so he cant get beat on the play at I think it is the fifty yard line he flattens out his angle and knocks the brown out of the running back.
    This is the kind of instinct that makes him the most dominate defensive player in the game today.
     
  23. djphinfan

    djphinfan Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    I prefer the gif of him literally trying to break the qb in half, I truly believe the guy blacks out..I love him...for thou not shall be responsible for what one does when one blacks out...

    To any opposing fans reading this..I feel sorry for your qb.
     
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  24. RoninFin4

    RoninFin4 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Self-serving *Bump*
     
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  25. PhinFan1968

    PhinFan1968 To 2020, and BEYOND! Club Member

    Sticky this thread please Mods.
     
  26. PhinFan1968

    PhinFan1968 To 2020, and BEYOND! Club Member

    Bumpity bump.
     
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  27. djphinfan

    djphinfan Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    I predict we will put up the best sack number in our history..
     
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  28. djphinfan

    djphinfan Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    teams are going to gameplan to get the ball extra quickly against us, thats just smart football, so Reshad jones should play in the box this year and just let him use that great speed and hunt the quick stuff, the screen stuff, and the flat stuff..
     
  29. cbrad

    cbrad .

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    49 is what we have to beat. We got 49 sacks in 1983 and in 2005. The worst we ever had was 21 sacks in 1987. Sack stats only go back to 1982.

    Note that this is for the total defense, not restricted to only the DL. For comparison, we had 42, 42 and 39 in 2012, 2013 and 2014, respectively. So it's certainly realistic, and it would definitely be significant and a good way of measuring Suh's impact.

    Other notes: only time a Dolphin led the league in sacks was Jason Taylor with 18.5 sacks in 2002. And the only NFL record the Dolphins have related to sacks is "fewest number of sacks allowed in a season" by our 1988 team: 7!!! .. we gave up 46 last year!
     
  30. DolphinGreg

    DolphinGreg Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    7...now that is a stat for ya! :)
     
  31. djphinfan

    djphinfan Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    thanks for the research... I think we got this.

    so without Suh we've averaged about 41 sacks...all we need is nine more distributed throughout the team...his counterpart should get an extra three, suh will double up odrick or starks, wake will def get his, OV a couple more, and when Suh gets that double team and Jenkins, Misi, and mccain come on those blitzes, sheeeeeeee&...record..
     
  32. djphinfan

    djphinfan Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    I think with that number you obviously attribute it to the great dan marino and his ability to release the ball like no there, and manipulate the pocket, then you take the last three years and ryan has been sacked more times than any other qb..the difference in the individuals ability to sense, react and release out of pressure is evident, and I don't care how bad the line was the past three years, ryan needs to move his ***.
     
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  33. Fin4Ever

    Fin4Ever Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    I like it.
     
  34. Fin4Ever

    Fin4Ever Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    We sure did...We didn't have Richmond Webb at LT, or Keith Sims at LG, or Dan Marino with the quickest release in history either lol.
     
  35. DolphinGreg

    DolphinGreg Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Haha, yeah. My point was that when you see a number as shockingly low as 7 you know there wasn't much to complain about anywhere you look.
     
  36. PhinFan1968

    PhinFan1968 To 2020, and BEYOND! Club Member

    Thanks for the sticky, mods. :up:
     
  37. Linus

    Linus Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    This should also play into Jamar Taylor's strengths. The guy is definitely an athlete. Bobby McCain too. Then you have the upside of Lippett too. Hopefully a couple of these guys really step up this year or next.
     
  38. djphinfan

    djphinfan Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    yeah Jamar and Reshad are similar in athletic traits, both hit like a truck, both fast, thick bodies, tackle well.
     
  39. padre31

    padre31 Premium Member Luxury Box

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    Good chance for Int's as well as the Db can jump the quick routes
     
  40. djphinfan

    djphinfan Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    seems like football 101 Pods when you can rush the passer with four, thats the key ya know, and I'm pretty sure across the board were about that best at that with our line..it will be fine to see Mccain and Jenkins tackling in space..

    I'm trying to find some weaknesses here on this defense and Im having a hard time.
     

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