1st Stephen Ross says he wants an opened up/throw the ball/exciting offense......then Tony Sparano speaks yesterday...... http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000...im-bolster-run-game-with-star-rbs-likely-gone Oh boy.......will this team ever function with all cogs running smoothly ? Seems to me the owner & head coach are on completely different pages. This bolsters my feeling we are headed for complete disaster in 2011. Get ready for more Fist-pumps-for-Field Goals
Since when is running the ball a bad thing? Opening up the offense doesn't mean we are going to throw 45 times a game....
My expectations are very low, so I'm hoping to be pelasantly surprised. If not, we spend another off season talking about regime change and a new QB.
I have posted in an earlier post that I really expect us to select top 5 in the draft next year already. Maybe we get #1 if our "D" doesn't show up to games.
Having a more vertical passing attack has nothing to do with running the ball... Those 2 sentiments could easily go hand in hand...
I hope Sparano doesnt mean "continue" to average 3.7 yds per carry or "continue" to score 8 rushing TD's in an entire season. If that's the case, we'll "continue" to struggle on offense. I wish he'd have said "improve" the run game.
The Steelers have an open offense. But honestly, watching Mendenhall burst through defenders, or that Marshawn Lynch TD run in the playoffs is just beautiful. Breaking long runs is more exciting that long pass plays. If we can gain the capability of hitting the big play downfield but maintain (or regain in this case) the ability to burst through defenders on the ground, I'd be happy.
Its not what he says, its how he says it. Completely unimaginative and it reflects in the play calling.
Look at the Jets offense. Rex Ryan openly proclaims they are a running team and stats back that up. However they quite aggressive in the passing game and take plenty of shots. I would be fine with an offensive mentality like that.
I don't care what Tony Sparano wants to do on offense, as long as we score points and win games. I still contend passing the ball effectively is the best way to do that, but a strong running game certainly doesn't hurt. I hope he's not taking a passive aggressive swipe at Ross with his comments here. Won't be good for job security is he puts up another non-winning season. Then again if he puts up another non-winning season, I don't really care about his job security...
I'm a little confused. You call yourself "DolfanJake" but refer to the Dolphins as " Your Miami Dolphins." Who is your team?
The point is, you can't just be an explosive passing offense without the cogs to do it. We don't have a QB and we have a serious speed deficiency at the skill positions. You're not going to be explosive with those traits, simple as that. We all foresaw it before last season began. Now coaching and play-calling can certainly improve. But players win in this league. Coaching and scheme only goes so far. And a commitment to the run isn't a bad thing either. You look at Indy and New Orleans in recent years. Traditionally explosive pass offenses that didn't win the big one until they could run the ball. Hell we saw it here for 17 years.
You have to be able to run the ball in order to open up the passing game, that is unless you have Peyton Manning as your QB and even than, you may fall short in the play-offs. It all about balance. Also, what else is he going to say? That's T. You shouldn't read too much into any of this BS around this time of year, even though that comment was just common sense.
A commitment to balance would be nice. Anything is better than the bipolar playcalling of Dan Henning. No more WC on 3rd and 9 or play action on 3rd and 14 hopefully.
I agree Muck, but I think we have seen what TS wants already, and it isn't about opening up the game downfield. This is very scary for us, to have this offensive monolith as our HC. While the rest of the league passes its way into the playoffs, we plod our way to a top 10 draft pick next year.
Cool, I'm down with running the ball. One question, Who is going to do it? Ricky and Ronnie are probably gone. Hilliard?
Yep Alen, our running mentality has really done wonders for us the last two years. I'm sure you enjoyed all those playoff wins, right ?
Exactly, the most famous I can recall is the Miami Heat are always introduced as "Your Miami Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeat". Muck, SB is always watching my posts and ready to say something about them. He's a crock anyways with his stupid "Good News" threads. What good news is there with this franchise ? I haven't heard or seen a positive in several years, besides the defense.
Actually TS has talked a lot about the need for "chunk yardage" which I've always taken to mean the vertical passing game.
That is not what he said yesterday, but then again, sounds like we have a lot of people in this thread that are putting their heads in the sand and not wanting to see the truth of what is going on in this franchise. Well enjoy it when this dolt coaches us to a 2-7 record and gets fired by or before the bye week.
Both can coexist. last year we had a closed passing game and crappy running game. Those can coexist too.
This. If you try to be Air Coryell and you don't have the talent to run that - you are not going to get anywhere. They do need to be more inventive with play calling to keep the defense off-balance but that doesn't mean they should try to do what they are incapable of doing.
Hate to say it but the fin's are stuck in neutral. And the driver of the bus can't see past the wind shield, but thats OK because he's used to it.............. Looking forward to who they get to run this power ground game.....probably they are thinking Ronnie since he is always healthy and did such an outstanding job last year. Sparano is the kind of coach who will need a year off to realize that he is no longer a head coach and claim to be the victim. Really wanted to write something positive .......... so here goes....something positive............were screwed
I wonder if the Dolphin's running game last year is an example of Tony's "running game"? The defense seems to have turned the corner and is heading in the right direction but the offense hasn't reached the corner to make that turn, and isn't headed in the right direction yet. Theres a lot more pieces missing from the offense than there are for the defense. I wonder if this will be an offensive heavy draft for the Dolphins considering there are still a lot of questions to be answered.
Actually, in the article, TS mentioned that they would be looking towards FA and the draft to address the team's rushing needs. Also, and this is not directed at you Abbi, I don't really take what coaches say at this time of year seriously. Maybe he's making things up so other teams will think we're drafting a RB...maybe not. I, and no one else, really knows. The fact is, however, the Dolphins need a running game. So, I like hearing that TS wants to run the ball.
Since when has Sparano truly been able to run the ball <outside of the WC>? lol. It worries me when a head coach, who is so conservative and hell bent on being a ground team, is mediocre to date at achieving it <from a traditional stand point>. Over the past 3 years, we've ranked 14th, 8th, and 31st in YPC...... and 12th, 20th, and 30th in 20+ yard gains.
Look no further than the interior OL and the tailbacks. Ronnie Brown is/was overrated, Ricky Williams dropped off last year, and our OL is pretty average. There was a drop-off at Center last season while the two Guards were not very good. Can't make chicken salad out of chicken sh!t, right?
Good luck with getting any FA's here Marine. Heard on the radio today that several of the agents have been telling their clients to steer clear of Miami, because of the tenuous nature of our regime. That coaches here now, may not be here this time next year, so they basically are calling Miami a toxic wasteland for the time being. If we can lure some FA's here, we will have to overpay them. Its tragic but Ross needed to blow these guys out and bring in Cowher.
If Tony wants to be running team, then we need to target a guy who can help both our ground game AND passing game with one swift pick........... IMO we should trade back and go after Kyle Rudolph (aka Rob Gronkowski 2.0). That way we could run 2 tight end sets effectively AND still have a guy able to stretch the middle of the field. Added, if we're going to be emphasizing power football <and using more 2 TE sets> then IMO we DEFINITELY need an upgraded #2 WR, ideally someone physical enough to dominate in the blocking aspect of the game while still offering big play capability (Greg Little). It would be nice to know where the hole on our Oline will fall: LG, RG, or RT depending on where Carey plays and how they feel about Jerry. This is how my "ground attack" based draft featuring more big play capability would go: (trade back twice to the mid 40's if possible) 2. TE Kyle Rudolph (could make a Gronkowski type impact early on) 2 RB Ryan Williams 3. LG Will Rackley (or top Oline prospect based on our need) 3. WR Greg Little 4. CB/PR Buster Skrine (need a playmaker to groom in the secondary who can also return punts. Had best feet at the Combine since 2006) 5. QB/WC-QB Tyrod Taylor 6. RT David Mims (massive small school guy with upside. Bear's J'Marcus Webb 2.0) 7. ILB Mario Harvey 7. COP RB Nick Grigsby
