We need a new coaching staff and Front Office

we lost to a potential super bowl team and another that is favored to win the afc south. lighten up. if anything we need fans that understand its a long season. we'll win next week. relax

 

How much is on Sparano and how much is on Daboll and Nolan?

 

It's not that we lost to good teams that gets me. It's that we keep beating ourselves with stupid mistakes which points to bad coaching. Thank god the Penguins are competitive or I'd probably die due to the stress that being a Dolphins fan for that last 20 years causes you.

 

I think it's 90% Sporano because he's the only one thats been here the whole time and this stuff happened before them.

 

Ireland's had his hits and misses. To me though, I feel like he hits more singles than he does homeruns, especially at certain positions (QB, OLB, FS) and is downright negligent towards other things (some of which I feel are correlated with Tony Sparano's evaluation of players). Unfortunately, to compete in the AFC East, and the AFC in general, you need to hit more homeruns.

 

I am not a fan of playing musical chairs with head coaches and staff.

They need time. Otherwise, we keep firing the coaches because we don't get instant results.

Just remember, this was a really, really bad team before Sparano and company got here. They had to fix all of the pathetic drafts we had from the Wanny-Camron-Saban years and such. This was an organization in bad, bad shape. I would keep Sparano.


Anyway, about today. We had plenty of opportunities to score the ball today and couldn't execute. So, to me, the problem is offense. Specifically, Chad Henne.

 

His job is acquiring talent, that's it. Everything else is coaching and development and X's and O's.

But no, throw in FA's if you want to. Hell, go find one team, do it acquisition by acquisition over the time period. I'd love to see someone actually sit down and do it.

 

Player development is one of the things this team is terrible at. That's why so many of our players do better after they leave.

 

I'm not gonna say that Sparano isn't to blame for certain things but at what point do the players just need to PLAY??? Is it our coaches fault Marshall seems to drop 2-3 big catches every game, is it their fault our normally solid kicker misses a chip shot and has another line drive blocked?? Or maybe it's their fault our secondary can't cover or read plays for ****!!!!

People act like the coaches are out there playing on every snap. These are professional players and I know they aren't incapable of making plays on their own. Sure sometimes times the play calling might be wrong or clock management isn't exactly the best but we have a lot of talented players on both sides of the ball and I for one think that they need to step the **** up!! You can't tell me that all our problems are from coaching issues. Sparano is a pretty damn good coach, sure he's made some bad calls here and there (Oline) but I personally don't think he is that horrible of a coach. Mike Nolan is a crafty DC and I have no problem with his defensive scheme. Our players simply are FAILING!! They need to step up and PLAY FOOTBALL!!

 

its the texans. when havent we beaten ourselves when playing them. they're our curse

 

I can't agree with that. It's all on the coaching. I don't know of any other team that wastes more timeouts then the Dolphins.

 

We should have dump Sparano after the 2010 season...

 

I think at some point though, regardless of the team-by-team comparison, you have to see that other teams have more quality. I mean, take his first pick for example. It was a major hit, but it's still only 1 player. Atlanta had a major hit with its first pick that year in Matt Ryan. Tom Dimitroff might not have as many picks that have panned out, or free agents for that matter, but the Falcons are a better team right now than the Miami Dolphins and having the stones to take him there, after Ireland passed on him, has rewarded them as much. As I said, Ireland might have more singles, but other teams have more homeruns.

 

Texans aren't that great. They were 6-10 last year, and the only reason they beat up on the Colts is because of no Manning, which is why they'll win the division.

Browns also beat up on the Colts today, in Indy...

 

Smarter players. They've got a lot of guys with talent but they are lacking in between the ears.

 

texans are pretty improved. much better on defense this year

 

Agree on no balance. Marc Colombo was off-balance this entire game. Way to play with leverage man.

 

i will say that Ireland needs a home run draft next year. he isnt bad, he isnt great. he's just sort of middle of the pack. to win a SB, you generally need one or two home run drafts in a five year span. This game is about talent acquisition, not Xs and Os

 

no. Nolan deserves a lot of blame here so far. This unit is not what it was advertised to be and Nolan got ALL the credit for it last season. He deserves the blame too this season.

You can excuse Daboll, especially because i am particularly liking what i see out of the playcalling and this offense outside of the Oline. But Nolan deserves blame.

Like, why was nolan carroll on andre johnson? Of COURSE schaub is gonna throw there if he sees that. ayee

 

The defensive stamina/conditioning issue has now shown up twice in a row and that's a big concern to me. It was one of the hallmarks of the 2007 season. Poor conditioning leads to an inability to finish games, which can assure you that no matter how you're adapting your coaching/game plans according to your strengths and weaknesses, you're still having issues winning games because you're dead by the end of the game. It also leads to injuries (note the time that Vontae Davis and Karlos Dansby missed on the field today), which are the one thing that can ensure that a bad team does NOT turn things around and get better.

Today a miscommunication (busted coverage) by Reshad Jones allowed Andre Johnson to get a retaliation touchdown in the 4th quarter after we'd pulled within 3 points. But, look at what happened before that play, and look at what happened after that play. Houston started that drive on their own 37 yard line. By the time they threw that TD pass to Johnson, they'd driven 40 yards. That included a Ben Tate 16 yard run on 2nd & 3, and a Ben Tate 4 yard run on 1st & 10, on the two plays immediately before the TD. And then on the next drive (2 minutes later, thanks to a 3-and-Out), Ben Tate ran the ball 8 straight times, gaining 2 first downs by running alone, and chewing 5 minutes off the clock...effectively ending ANY chance the Dolphins had to mount a comeback. You can't blame that on busted communication. You can't blame that on fluke plays. That's a defense being tired and soundly beaten by an offense that has pounded them into submission and ensured that they can't play 60 minutes.

Conditioning has shown up twice now, and it's arguable that it's not something that is going to get better during the season. It will inevitably lead to injuries, which is when a team that is kinda bad but 6-10 at the worst, can all the sudden start morphing into a team that is 1-15. That's how it happened in 2007. We didn't start the 2007 season losing games like the Chiefs are right now, or even the Colts. We started the season by taking the Washington Redskins into overtime and then suffering from poor conditioning amongst our defensive players in overtime, resulting in a loss. The NFL season is very long and teams inevitably reinvent themselves during the season, sometimes once, sometimes more than once. In order to be a truly bad team you have to find a way to keep reinventing yourself into another bad team, rather than a good one. One way you do that is bad conditioning...which leads to injuries...which helps you accomplish exactly that.

It's something to keep an eye on.

 

Can't believe people are defending Ireland. He's been mediocre at best from a talent acquisition standpoint and worse managing and churning the bottom of the roster. Then you have the Dez Bryant and Ryan Clark fiascos where Ireland just embarrasses the org and comes off as amateur. I think he's a pretty average football person that is easily replaceable. Frankly, I want all traces of Parcells out of this org so he has to go.

 

I would say Ireland is above average but he's limited. He keeps making stupid mistakes to save cash and then blows cash elsewhere with depth. They're obsessed with this roster churning bull crap that destroys our special teams. Outside of that though if Henne turns out he's turned around the talent on the team.

Jon Gruden anyone? Can Henne play for him?

 

You are 100% correct. Ireland has done a lousy job as far as I am concerned. I notice how so many people on here are talking about the Texans and how they are suppose to be such a good team this year. Last year they were 6-10 and lost their last six games on the road. The Dolphins were 7-9 last season. So based on the records from last year, you would expect the Dolphins to be better than the Texans this year.
Yet excuses are being made that the Texans are expected to be a playoff team this season and that is the reason the Dolphins lost yesterday.

If Ireland is doing such a good job as GM? How is it that the Dolphins, who won more games than the Texans last year, suddenly are expected to lose to the Texans because the Texans are now the better team? The apologist for Ireland can talk about all the suppose talent he has signed since he came here, all they want. The fact though is that Ireland has put together talent which continues to keep the Dolphins in the bottom tier of teams in the NFL. I am sure after the Dolphins have another losing record this season, some of these Ireland apologist will start to recognize the truth and will also be calling for Ross to get rid of Ireland, along with Sparano.

 

Spoken like someone who didnt watch the game.

 

Me too, the Parcells stench needs to be blown out of Davie as quickly as possible.

 

Just to clarify the Texans were 32nd in pass defense last year.

 

Frustration boiling to the surface and its going to get worse unless the Dolphins can win. Ireland didn't help his case by picking up Columbo after he had been graded as one of the worst tackles in the league last year. There were better options out there, maybe even on the Dolphins own roster. Columbo has turned out to be more of a handicap than an advantage.

 

Unless Henne completes an unreal raising of the bar, he will not even be in Miami next year and will go by the wayside same as Mark Bulger did. They are both almost matching bookend QBs. Sometimes show sparks of ability, sometimes goes into La La land. Both had the Oline used as scapegoats, both have the same mirror image look of deer in the headlights. Bulger is out of the league. Isn't it amazing that just one change in the offense with a up and coming QB and teams start winning. Bradford arrives in St. Louis and they win more games then in the past two years, combined.

Ryan Fitzpatrick has the lights go on and amazingly, Buffalo is now a good team. This QB BS is just that, BS. Henne is no different then he was last year, the year before or when he was at Michigan. Good sometimes, bad other times and in the middle, mediocre to poor decision maker.

Did you watch him in the fast moving no huddle offense yesterday ? LOL, he was no faster then if we had huddled to call a play. People wondered where he got the speed from this year. He has no speed, he just has had opportunities to run the ball. He is like watching a fat lady wade thru a mud puddle. He cannot roll our of the pocket to save his life. Yes, this year he has learned to at least step up but man, look at any good QB in the NFL these days, any of them. They all get pressured in the pocket, and when they do, they move to their left or right and for the most part, avoid it. Henne has been getting balls batted down since he was at Michigan, thats never going to change. Bulger was the same exact way. They both lock onto receivers and the DEs or DTs see that and turn into friggin basketball players jumping up and down. Our Oline cannot grab the Dlinemans arms and keep them down either. Heard that mentioned here and there. Thats called Holding in the NFL these days. Yes, Columbo needs to be gone but at this point with Murtha on IR, who do we have to put there ?

 

I've mostly been supportive of Ireland and Sparano, judging that this is a pivotal year for them. But Ireland lost me a bit this off-season. Now I've always been a believer in the "build through the draft" way of doing things, and I think overall Ireland has drafted pretty well. However this year was a unique year for free agency acquisition after the lock-out. The number of high quality players available gave a lot of teams the opportunity to really upgrade their rosters. I think the FO largely failed to take advantage of this, and that falls squarely on Ireland. There are 2 or 3 positions we really needed to upgrade and chose not to, and it's really hurting the team now. That's my beef with Ireland.

The thing most disappointing me defensively is the continued inability to create turnovers and make big plays. Last year there were so many near misses, that I was somewhat optimistic about improving in the area. Sadly nobody is stepping up.

I can understand the unhappiness with Sparano, he does have his shortcomings. However, most of the things holding back this team are the players either making key mistakes or not making plays that are there to be made. Sparano cannot be blamed for this.

 

Depends on who you feel is to blame. Is the GM for bring in player who physically can't make the plays? Or is the coaches who have players that have the ability to make the plays but can't get that potential out of them?

I am thinking it's more of the latter, except for maybe Columbo .

 

I'm truly shocked a lot of people here believe that the Dolphins are a talented football team. This is our best team since 2005, but to call this team talented is a big stretch. Like Rex Ryan trying to slide into 34" waist "skinny" jeans kind of stretch. The only core pieces I see on this team are Wake, Starks, Dansby, Davis (maybe), Smith (maybe), Marshall, Long, Pouncey, Bess and Thomas (maybe). Everyone else is essentially replaceable.

I think this whole thing needs to be imploded and to start from scratch or close to it. Get in here with a new, up and coming coach that isn't up and coming because he happens to be friends with someone that's influential in football but hasn't done squat on any level since Bush 41 was President. As a person living in Tampa, I see what the Bucs have and it makes me immensely jealous. Franchise QB, very good skill position players (Williams, Winslow, Benn, Briscoe, Blount), a serviceable OL that keeps the QB upright most of the time, and a young, energetic HC that keeps the players pumped up and believing in themselves (as evidenced by their ridiculous amount of come-from-behind victories).

I'm tired of the gee shucks 1970s wannabe football coaches that think 3 yards and a cloud of dust works in the current football environment. Sparano is trying to keep in touch via telegraph when everyone else is sending texts and video messages via iPhone. It's maddening.

Also, since I'm griping, we need to go back to our throwback uniforms for good. Watching the Bills go back to the old school makes me jealous. We need to dress like we did in our glory days. Maybe it'll help us out.

 

To me the blame falls mostly on the players. The GM brought those players in, but many of these players have played really well in the past. They are inconsistent, who else can be blamed for this? If the coaches are really not putting them into position to make the plays then you could blame the coaches, but with all the near misses regarding turnovers last year, or the dropped passes or whatever, I don't think this is the case.

If there is one area where you could make the strongest argument against the coaches it's regarding the conditioning. This year was certainly unique with the lockout, so what I meant by Sparano's shortcomings, is that he did not anticipate this. However around the league many defenses are giving up a lot of points to the very high powered offenses. Both offenses we've faced so far are among the best in the league.

So there is blame to go around. Our FO could have helped with more quality free agency acquisitions. The coaches could have anticipated the conditioning problems. The players have the final responsibility for making sure they do everything they can do to be the best they can be. This is the NFL, and the competition is fierce.

 

Maybe this is an unfair argument but if you look at the Pats players play up to their abilities and when they leave that organization they play much worse. In my mind that says coaching has something to do with it.

These players that have been brought in, like Marshall, were very consistent when they where with other teams, and now they aren't. You could say their mindset has changed since coming to Miami I guess. But I feel like coaching is the biggest factor. Coaching is about X's and O's but also communication and motivation. If you have players that are failing to execute in key moments you have to work on what broke down with that player ( concentration, technique, etc.). But that is how I think it should work in my head. I don't know if that is reality

 

Well, as I said, the blame can fall in all area's. Players do so well when they play for NE because they are such a good team. Usually when they leave, the team they go to are not as good.

I suppose you could look at team's organizations as a whole, where there are so many parts, that when added all together, separates the really good ones from the rest. Maybe a teams evaluation needs to be looked from this standpoint. Kind of a whole as being greater or lesser than the sum of the parts. Maybe that's why certain teams are perennially near the top.

 

All I can say is if they clean house and bring in a new regime, I hope they bring a real #1 WR who can make plays and catch the god damn ball.
We currently don't have one.