It's not Ronnie. It's not Ricky. Heck it ain't even Henning.

I do think the Oline is just not as good as it has been, however I also think we have to many players who just choke, that is a far larger problem.

You cannot have drives stopped when accurate throws hit receivers in the hands or chests and they simply drop the pass, yet that is what happens drive after drive.

We move the ball, reach the opponent's 40 yd line or so, and guys just flat out drop passes and kill drives and out comes Carpenter. No such stats exists (it would be to useful) for how many Dolphins drives are stopped on 3rd down by a Receiver dropping a catch.

 

I dunno, granted we haven't been what we became accustomed to last year. I think you really have to credit the Bengals. They really played the run well today.

 

we are getting better, and its not at the half way point..

137 yard's, with a 4.4 average...plus three kneel downs, perfect pass protection...I would really like to get sme input on how our rook did, did anyone focus on him ?

 

To say the only or bulk of the problem is the offensive line is NO WAY accurate imo. It is a combination of factors.

Henning - Many drives Miami has moved the ball down the field via pass and when Miami gets around the 25 yard he changes the play-calling to run, run, run. Additionally, there have been drives where Miami has moved the ball down the field by running straight ahead. Once again when Miami gets around the 25 yard line he calls for a play that is slow developing going laterally 5 yards in the backfield and it blows up. I can recall a play a week or two ago when it was 3rd and 1 in the red zone and he called a play having Jake Long pull...slow-*** developing play that resulted in loss of yardage...dumb-*** call!

Henne - How many times has he thrown to the back of the end zone? Is it Henning's play calling or Henne's fear of making a mistake? Also, Henne has been inaccurate on occasions. The pass to Marshall last week in the end zone...was it Henne or Marshall? Henne does not lead WRs like a lot of the better QBs do. The WR/TE looks bad b/c he is not able to hold on to the ball, but with a more accurate throw the receivers would be catching it in stride. Receivers a more likely to drop inaccurate passes in the red zone when space is tight.

Fasano - I can recall at least 2 drops of passes near the goal line in a sense killing both those drives and having to settle for field goals.

Ronnie Brown - loves to dance around in the backfield. Since defenses don't have to respect the pass to the back of the end zone they are able to pack their defense in closer to the line of scrimmage.

Sparano/Henning - Their philosophy is "It is not how many good plays you make, but how few bad ones." They are simply not willing to take chances and allow players to make plays. They would rather take 2 sure field goals than have 1 TD and 1 TO (even though the latter would result in an extra point). Miami just does NOT take many shots in the end zone.

 

Yes they're getting better.

When the line can finally open some holes early in a game, and on a more consistant basis, then the down the field passing game can flourish.

 

I disagree entirely. The OL doesn't get the same kind of movement and push it did last year, at least in the interior but it is far from a bad run blocking line. I would say it's actually average if anything. Ronnie and Ricky when they have an opening are not doing what they used to. Ricky falls just a bit easier, is just a bit slower etc. Ronnie is nowhere close. He doesn't have the push he used to have forward. His top speed has dropped just a bit and his acceleration isn't that 4.32 he ran at the combine.

They've declined and you can see that when they do get receptions and still can't evade or overpower anyone.

 

Yes I also totally disagree. It is mostly Henning.

It was absolutely no coincidence that down by 8 all of a sudden Miami's running game got better. It's because Henning starts using more aggressive play calls when we are down. I called it in the Club chat room when we went down 8 to watch Henning's play calling and that we would see them get more aggressive and they did.

Part of the reason is it's formation. Miami is still in the "It's obvious were going to run here formation but we challenge you to stop it anyways" mentality. Tell me for that first quarter and change that you guys couldn't tell when we were going to run or pass on nearly every down?

 

I saw some pretty huge holes for the RBs yesterday, hard for me to blame the Oline.

 

You know.....

I think sometimes teams just get up for stopping the run. They know thats what you are going to try and do...and the gameplan and get it in their head that stopping the run is what they are going to do....

Look at what the Packers did to the Jets on Sunday. The Jets have been running all over everyone....the Pack hasnt been stopping the run as well.

But they held the Jets and shut them out.

Football is a game of emotion...and anger. Its why there are the words.."any given Sunday"

I think our team just lacks an offensive identity...its like we are trying to find one...but just cant quite do it...

 

I strongly agree with this.
Ricky, well he's just getting old, with lots of miles on his tires. Not a knock on him, Father time eventually catches up with everybody.
I'm not sure if the injuries are starting to bother him or what, but he is NOT the same back he even was last year.
I am thinking we see an entirely new backfield next year.

 

I think that is an important point here. The second level blocking isn't great. Part of it is not having a good pulling guard like they had with Smiley, and part of it is Polite's regression I think.

 

I too think this is a good part of it. Ricky and Ronnie are a step slower than last year, Polite is no longer playing out of his mind, and the interior OL is not as good as it was last year at run blocking. That leads to a much worse run game than we were expecting.

 

I think the O-Line is part of it, but I think just about everyone is to blame. Henning, Henne and the receivers all deserve some blame.

It's really the lack of chunk plays that's killed this team. The TD drive was a thing of beauty. Three explosive plays. It was almost as if Henning said "Screw it, let's go for broke here because we need a TD."

That's how I'd like to see him call the game. Have a freaking sense of urgency out there. You can't rely on the defense week in and week out.

 

Strictly speaking from a "bulk of the carries" perspective, I hope so too. I think Ronnie would be ok in goal line situations and 3rd down, but nowhere near what his snap count is now (which isn't incredibly high).

 

Gotta say, this bunch has been impressive dropping back and keeping fools out of Chad's grill. Hvae to agree though, not making it easy for the two backs going forward.

 

yup, we need to upgrade the athleticism along the interior front..Just like we did with our linebackers last year, and Ronnie and Ricky need to get pissed off at somebody, each other, the opponent, I dont care, but Ronnie better step up his game.

 

This is exactly the problem, we still believe that we are a running team and we are a passing team now. The problem is that I dont think Dan Henning knows how to use the pass to set up the run. Its just not something that we are used to.

I couldn't agree more that our run blocking this year has suffered from bringing in some guys that dont pull as well. On the same hand we have benefited from giving Henne a lot more time in the pocket this year. They have been great for the most part at picking up blitzes and keeping Henne clean.

We just dont know our identity right now is the problem. If we can use the pass to set up the run we could be a very very good team. If Henning called the game like it was 3-10 all game I think we have a really good offense. I just dont think that he's ever going to get that.

 

I'm not calling Ronnie out for one very good reason, The guy has to be given the rock at LEAST 15-17 times a game to be the back we want him to be. Every time and every year that this rule is followed Ronnie is a Beast and when his average is a mere 13 times or less, has it has been this year, his average carry is about 3.5 and this year its just a little better but still not what we think we should see from Ronnie.

IMVHO this staff, save for the 08 season, has never used Ronnie as he should have been used.

The real shame is that Ronnie will go somewhere next year, NE maybe, and tear up the league (and us). Very sad!!

 

No he won't, he will go somewhere else, dance in the back field like crazy, start towards the line then get tackled for a 2 yard game....

Yesterday was Ronnies best game this year, he danced far less, so he was given more carries.

Ya gotta be productive to get the carries

 

Why dont we ever run off the left side?
Your best lineman is a LT, wo why dont we run behind him?

 

Ah, but that's what they'd be expecting. So that's why we fake it to the left. No, wait, we fake the fake. We THINK about faking it but we don't actually fake it.

-Dan Henning

 

I think a lot has been Brown's fault, and even Sparano said last week that Brown has been dancing to much. You saw him hit the whole faster yesterday and not dance as much, that's why he did better.

 

What games are you watching?

Ricky Williams
Wide Left- 13 carries
Left- 11 carries
Middle- 26 carries
Right- 11 carries
Wide Right- 15 carries

Ronnie Brown
Wide Left- 12 carries
Left- 21 carries
Middle- 28 carries
Right- 12 carries
Wide Right- 19 carries

Left overall- 57 carries
Right overall- 57 carries

Considering the fact that runs are generally skewed towards the strong side, what are you complaining about?

 

I think it's both. The o-line isn't blocking like it can AND R&R have lost steps. It's a perfect storm of poop.

 

Anyone else think its fair to say that Vernon Carey officially sucks?

 

I don't think its fair to say he sucks, we could have a lot worse on the right side. I think its fair to say his play has definitely dropped, and he's not playing to his salary.

 

Yes.

 

Not if you've actually, you know, like watched him, no.

 

Nope, he is the 2nd best offensive lineman on the team

 

Well put, Snips. The fact is, if the O-line were a little more reliable, we would see Ronnie and Ricky churning out some yards, and as a result, defenses would have to expect the run, opening up a vertical passing game. While Marshall has played well, I would love to see him get a chance at some one-on-ones down the field. If this happened, I think Henne would rise to the challenge and the Pennington talk would be over.

 

Yeah well, you know, like I guess you didn't see him get beat three times in a row in one sequence of plays and get beat over and over again the last couple weeks. I guess you have been watching a different team than I have.

 

Carey isn't what he was before he signed his contract, but he is still one of the top 5 guys at his position.

 

Don't agree.

I think the OLine has been doing just fine.
They have not been as great as we were hoping they'd be but they are far from the issue holding the offense back IMO.

The conservative nature of Henning, his refusal or inability to get creative in getting Marshall open and his leaves of mental absence at times where he calls head scratching play calls along with what is becoming an alarming number of pass drops by pass receivers is exactly what is the problem with this offense.

 

He had a bad game vs. Pittsburgh, but his entire career he's generally had a game or two where he wasn't very good, and then top notch the rest of the year. It's been the same this year, Pro Football Focus et al.

 

I said this back on Oct 5th. I agree 100%
I will say that the offense is missing an identity IMO. Are you a smash mouth offense? Thats what I think Miami has to do to be successful. Granted, the offensive line is going through a transition, but establish an identity and make people stop you. When you establish the run, it opens up the passing game and makes play action that much more dangerous. Henne likes being under center too, which makes this make more sense.

Who is the running back and who relieves him? I think Miami is purposely "sparing" Ronnie Brown. There is something to this. When I see Ronnie Brown run, he is running hard and with authority. He needs 80% of the carries to be more effective. 20-24 touches a game isn't unreasonable. If they are afraid of him getting hurt, then its time to look elsewhere for a RB. Ronnie Brown is a back that needs carries. Yes, he is a patient runner, which is mistaken for dancing around. He will get the heavier load IMO as the season progresses.

I don't know that its the OC thats the problem either! I think Tony gets pretty excited with FG's, so who is to say that he doesn't demand playing not to lose vs. going for the win in the Red Zone. It also affects how Nolan calls the defensive schemes, trust me. He could be more aggressive, but with a Offense that isn't scoring, he cant be.

 

Let's play a little "Where Are They Now" with last year's stellar interior line, shall we?

Justin Smiley: Backup G for the Jacksonville Jaguars
Donald Thomas: Out of the league
Jake Grove: Out of the league

If these guys were any good, they'd have better jobs.

 

I don't think an "identity" is helpful really. That's a buzz word one-dimensional teams use to make themselves feel better. You should be able to do whatever you need to do on the field from week to week, be it run or pass heavy.

Ronnie Brown has shared carries virtually his entire collegiate and professional career and it has never been a problem. I don't see why it's suddenly an issue now. His problems rushing are his own and the lines, forcing him to run more when he's unproductive isn't going to fix anything.

 

Your description of Identity is your understanding. In football circles it is a mentality that gains momentum and confidence from being successful and forcing teams to defend against you thus creating an advantage. Its the teams that can't create a consistent offensive mentality that lack an identity. Miami falls in that category.

Ronnie Brown doesn't have a problem w/it? Do you live w/him? Sure he will say and act whatever way he should. He is a class act. My point is, he gets better with more carries and isn't utilized very well in this offense. Look what he did w/ a certain "OC."

Listen, I am at this game this week and prepared many diff tapes on this week.... when I look at Miami's O, I see a complete lack of identity & thats why the redzone % is awful.