First of all, I know there are a lot of new threads and some probably very similar to mine, but I just have to get this off my chest. I also know it's only week 1 and a lot can happen over the next 16 weeks. That said, why is it that every year, we appear to have 1 facet of the game down while EVERY OTHER facet holds us back? For instance: 80's & 90's - Dan Marino and the Dolphins passing game are truly unstoppable but without a running game and/or defense, they are unable to get over the hump. Late 90's early 2000's - Jimmy Johnson comes in and builds a Super Bowl caliber defense only to see Dan Marino retire and the Dolphins pin all of their hopes on Jay Fiedler (offense lags and is just not good enough to move past the 1st round in the playoffs). Early 2000's - Wanstedt decides to mortgage the future for Ricky Williams. Still a great defense, now great running game, no help with the passing game and Wandstedt runs Ricky into the ground pushing him to smoke more pot and eventually retire (yes, I made that part up). 2000's - The Dolphins have a pound the rock mentality with Ronnie Brown and a renewed Ricky Williams, defense is getting younger but way behind and guess what, the Dolphins have yet to find a QB. 2011 (this one is a stretch b/c I know it was only 1 game) - If the trend isn't bucked, the Dolphins have their franchise QB in Henne, have a strong WR core, NO RUNNING GAME, and the defense is overly inconsistent. Can one GM / Coach put together a complete team? It's been basically 40 years now and it's becoming harder and harder to put up with this garbage. Unfortunately, I'm a die hard so I will never quit on my fandom of the team, but it's just too frustrating.
we were missing the RB who will get the majority of the carries for us this year... can we let him get back on the field before complaining about the run game?
Since when was DT going to get the majority of carries for us? I was under the impression that it would be very evenly split between Bush and DT and regardless of the back, this offensive line has proven that it cannot run block (pre-season and game 1 are not the only indicator considering the horrid run blocking of 2010). I don't put our lack of a running game for 2011 on the running backs, it's on the line and until the FO improves the line, we will not have a successful running game.
i feel ya with the frustration... to me it was more coaching, Nolan was outcoached by far, unprepared for the hurry up (eventhough the Pats did it in preseason to the Bucs and we should have expected it)... our communication in the secondary was bad (could be that Clemons wasn't starting as hes the better communicator), and our conditioning was atrocious... thats the scariest part... the thing i think is that Tony can correct these things, the Defense wont be this bad all year... and our run game will pick up with Thomas coming back
why were you under that impression? I was under the impression they'd split snaps, but i would have bet that DT would get more carries throughout the year... maybe not more touches because Bush would catch a lot of passes, but pure carries...
Very hard to find teams that are complete in today's NFL. Hell, the NE Patriots gave up 400 yds to an offense that featured Reggie Bush and Chad Henne
What did DT show you in the pre-season that showed he will be anything, even adequate ? You guys are still trying to hold on to hope where there is none. Stop fooling yourselves, its not going to happen under this regime. Sparano & Ireland must go for us to have a chance.
that he hits the hole hard, that hes got quick feet for a guy that size, that he can bounce off the first tackler, that hes got good hands out of the backfield, etc etc..
Exactly who is this running back you think is the answer to the Dolphins rushing woes? I know it can't be Thomas, because he didn't show anything in the preseason which would lead me to believe he will be an effective runner behind this sorry offensive line. With all the dancing he does before he gets to the line, he will be lucky to average 2 yards a carry. Oh yeah, I forgot about Larry Johnson, the running back that has done nothing in the NFL for the last three years. So if it isn't Thomas or Johnson you are writing about. Please let us all know who the running back is that will soon arrive and fix the running game. I hear OJ may be getting out of prison soon. Maybe he has a little left, but at age 60 plus, I doubt it.