I'm sorry, I haven't been able to see the Dolphins' games all season until last week, because I wasn't home, but when I returned I saw a Dolphins team who was 0 - 13, I saw that our Defense has been going down rather than up and that we didn't have that potent Defense we had over the past years..., why is our Defense near to the worst in rush stopping? (is it because Zach Thomas went to IR or because Taylor is getting aged up?), why did last year most of our games were beneath the line spread of total points and this year we have had just some of them beneath it?. Could have been a DT factor?, change of scheme?, stupid play calling by our DC Capers? (who was good enough last season, though). What has happened to our Defense?, I just saw Maroney running like if he was getting his puppy to the park and no one stopped him... Can anyone answer this for me, please? Thanks!
where do i start injury,aged,unity,coaching etc. etc etc From game to game we have not gotten enough pressure on QB's OUR DB don't play the ball very well Coaching playing Porter on the wrong side ZaCH the heart and soul of the Dolphins has been injury all year Speaking of ZACK, would rather retire a Dolphins then go to a winning team b
We have no idea. Heartening, isn't it? Catastrophic failures are almost never caused by one defect, rather a series of failures where one leads to another, then another, eventually culminating in said catastrophic failure. Take engineering disasters, for instance. When the Hyatt Regency Hotel's walkway collapsed, multiple separate, unrelated events culminated in its collapse: there was too much weight on the walkway, causing inadequately-designed steel rods to snap from their weld spots, which coincidentally was at the weakest area of the beams, not the strongest. It's hard to imagine the collapse of the defense being any different from the collapse of the walkway. So many things have changed between 2006 and 2007 that any or all of them could be the reason: the departure of Kevin Carter, David Bowens, and Jeff Zgonina in free agency; the quitting of Nick Saban; new defensive line depth rotation not stepping up; injuries in the secondary, primarily to Yeremiah Bell; age along the defensive line, including Jason Taylor and Keith Traylor; Dom Capers not using players as Nick Saban used them, or being unable to; the departure of DL coach Dan Quinn to the Jets; Zach Thomas being out for most of the year; and Channing Crowder and Joey Porter being played out of position at MLB and LDE/LOLB respectively. Take your pick. Whatever you select, you'll probably be at least partly right.
This defensive line has gotten physically manhandeled all season long. They get blown off the ball and allow lineman and FB's easy access to our LB's who always look like are stuck to the blocker. Haven't seen a LB shed a block and make a tackle in a big spot all year.
best players are another year older, and depth is not what it used to be. But the more I see of our fins, the more I see that Capers is not running the same scheme we ran last year, and is not moving Roth and Rod Wright around like he did Roth and Carter last year. I mean I saw Maroney go through a hole and no one was within 5 yards of him for an easy 60 yard TD. I hate Saban as much as any Phin fan, but that would not have happened if he was in control of our defense. So while age and depth are issues (though Moses and Wright have looked good when they come in) we need a different scheme.
Ummm... NO one I mean..., NO one wants to discuss the fact that we cannot control the clock..., our defense has been on the field what amouts to two thirds of each game the offensive players should give a third of their salary to the defensive players... Draft O-lineman with high-drafts picks.... Call it "Wannyball" I don't give a damn..., get some freakish tempered anger on the O-line get another RB in place of our fereakishly hurt RB who'll also run with punishment and catch out of the backfield... We need a play-action pass offense... The defensive cannot stay on the field the entire season..., and be expected to win games single-handedly as we grew used to only a few years ago...
The defense was out there a lot in 2006 and had far less issues than this year's squad. Furthermore, it's not the offense's fault that the if the defense forces a 3rd and 20, they allow the other team to get 21 yards.
You may not have been home, but were you living under a rock. This crap has been all over ESPN and the news papers. This team is an absolute disgrace on both sides of the ball and on special teams. We are a LONG way from getting this team anywhere near respectablity.
1. Not having the heart of the team hurts (For all of you who keep sounding off on trading Zach) 2. We are up to our 6th safety( I believe) starting. 3. They are not moving Jason enough, so he keeps seeing double teams and multi block 4. Porter is not being used the right way. 5. There has been very little pass rush oppisite JT. 6. We have had only one consistant CB, and a few CB ok at times. *It's been a mess, and if Capers was half the genious he is said to be, this would hav been fixed long ago.
1. Dan Quinn's loss = regression in DL especially in development of youth. All the youth in the world won't matter if there's not someone good who can refine and hone their game. Whoever's lining up opposite JT is not doing their job. 2. LB troubles. Zach's been out, Crowder likewise. And just not hitting the holes. 3. CB's aren't exactly stellar. Gone are the days of QB's fearing our secondary. Allen's an ok #2 CB but hardly a #1. That's what we lack, a bonafide #1 CB who we can trust to go mano-a-mano with a top WR. 4. Safety injuries.
losing saban, and traylor's decline are the two biggest factors in my opinion. in regards to zach, we have been just as bad with him in the lineup as with him out of it. DT is probably the lynchpin for any 3-4. if he cannot take up 2 gaps, the whole defense will collapse i also have to assign some blame to capers. to be honest, i would have liked us to use a lot more 4-lineman sets, as traylor has obviously become worthless.
There are many reasons this team has regressed to this point. First and formost is that our drafting has been atrocious. There is no way to keep a team respectable without a regular infusion of young players. Because our drafting has been so bad, we have had to bring in older players past their prime and mediocre players no longer needed or wanted by their former teams. Its just my opinion, but I truly believe this is the root of our problem.
It always comes back to drafting, and this team has made a ton of mistakes on it ! But, then again that's been the story here for years!
yep, between injuries and people playing out of position . . . it has been a mess. The one silver lining is that we seem to have a few players in Jason Allen, Rod Wright and Quentin Moses.
Cant stop the run ..... we are last in the league in stopping the run simple as that http://www.nfl.com/stats/categoryst...rence=ALL&role=OPP&season=2007&seasonType=REG And also second to last in points allowed http://www.nfl.com/stats/categoryst...nType=REG&tabSeq=2&qualified=true&Submit=Find