Hey all! I went ahead and put together a list of items that nobody (or very few people) are talking about: http://www.realfootball365.com/index.php/articles/dolphins/12320 Let me know your thoughts on these 5 items.
I would have issue with your first point. How many of those 46 regular season games did he start at SS? I know he played, but sparingly or in certain packages, which limits the opportunities he has. And he really only has started at SS for a majority of a season, which was 2006. You don't get many int's on ST duty either. He may not be a ballhawk but to use that stat is misleading, as it isn't qualified with any discalimer as to how many games Bell sctually started at SS. Other than that the article is a good one.
Good article. I agree on Bell. He does pretty much everything well, and does force turnovers via his hard hits (fumbles), but to this point he hasn't picked off passes. The only the I might disagree with is Daniels. He had nice coverage on the Bryant play, but he was also the guy beaten on the would-be TD pass from McCown to Clayton (overthrown). At least he didn't get beat on the deep one though.
Nice article. I'd just like to pick up on this point: 'OK, so maybe a lot of Pennington's past 20-plus yard completions were 10-yard slants that became 21-yard pickups' If I'm reading the original blog post correctly, I think he's specifically referring to passes where the ball's been in the air for 20 yards or more, rather than short completions that have been turned into long gains by the receiver. 'But take a gander at their stats over the past four years on attempts 20 yards or longer.' If that's right, it makes the stat line even more noteworthy.
Bell has not seen a lot of time at SS even with all those games. There was something regarding how he is so good at pressuring the QB well you don't pick too many passes off rushing the QB. How many INT's has he forced becuase of rushing the QB?
all very interesting feedback and observations! This what makes this a great forum and I'm glad that I chose the topics that I did, because it seems to be stimulating interesting responses. As for Bell, I actually like his style of play and production. I just think that if he wants to take that next step, he has to secure the football when it comes his way. Say what you will, he should have come away with an INT on that play early in Saturday's game. As for Pennington, you could be correct on the 20-yard per attempt assertion, although I don't believe that is a stat that is officially tracked, so the data might be a bit faulty. Either way, it's good to know that despite the general consensus, Pennington is actually quite affective in terms of generating big gains in the passing game.
Not being negative here, but that has always been Bells Achilles (no pun intended)...Even with that, he only played SS for about a season of those 46 games and the SS is man in the box much of the time... The Carey point is what we all figured, based on his play prior to moving to LT. Daniels is still not ingratiating himself to this staff...yet...there's hope, but camp production still counts...even tho he had a nice play or two.. Pennington's deep ball 'prowess' is really inconsequential...given my druthers, I'd take a 38 yr old Favre over CP any day of the week including Sundays...albeit only for a year or so...That said, I think Pennington can secure (or at least hold the reigns to) the one area we haven't been able to secure for years... Turnovers...that's a very good point that certainly has been overlooked. I realize it's only one game, but the little things this staff does seems to have made an impact already. That said...how sad is it that we have to find solace in one game regarding something that has been an issue with this team for so long...
Nice work Hugo, thanks bro. I felt this was a good paragraph; Carey's solid on the right side: I saw some comments yesterday that kinna shocked me. I asked him what he meant but he hasn't been back on yet.. I am glad you saw what "I" saw about Carey's work. IMO, we need to sign this kid to a new contract.
Yeah, I'm not sure what source they've used to generate the data but it's interesting nonetheless. Favre's desire to go deep so often leads to boom or bust results as shown by the very high TD and INT ratios. The thing is that Pennington's judicious and efficient use of the deep ball plays right into this regime's desire to manage the game and restrict turnovers whilst providing just enough of a deep threat to keep opposing defenses wary.
I haven't reviewed the game film yet, but I'm a bit surprised to hear we were favoring the right side for the running game. Historically, Ronnie Brown has favored the left side, and I figured that would continue given Jake Long's strengths. Bottom line: we have upgraded both ends, and as the line continues to gel, both sides should be ripe for aggressive exploitation.
I hear you. I'm still waiting too. To my eyes he looked like he was the most consistent and honestly played the best out of everyone out there There was never an issue from his side of the field to my recollection.
Nice article. I have a few minor, not really disagreements, but would've gone about putting things differently. I think Yeremiah is a huge factor in the success of our team. Whenever he is in, he seems to always be around the ball. He's a total ball-hawk in that regard. He perhaps doesn't have the best catching ability. Maybe it's because he has arms like Vernon Gholston, and the ball pops off his biceps. SO I would've addressed Bell a little bit differently. I think of Bell I think ball-hawk immediately(ints or not)....imo. Good points on Carey, although I saw a good amount of running to Jake's side, and he was trucking people downfield. But you're right, not much mention of him at RT. Daniels stills scares the crap out of me. And the Favre/CP point didn't have much to do with the game, and is kind of a thin argument. But I'm sure you're stats don't lie, I just don't know if they tell the whole story...but you alluded to that fact anyway. And yeah, it was nice to play turnover free, however our abysmal penalties and 3rd down conversion allowance didn't allow me to enjoy that fact for a moment. Even for a 1-15 team, it was aweful. But protecting the ball is a start! Just my thoughts on the article, thought it was nice with some new perspective for sure.
I thought Carey did "ok", but I wasnt overwhelmed by his play. The first two series he struggled IMO and his footwork was shabby. He whiffed completely on one of the plays Ronnie brown got thumped in the backfield. He'll be solid at RT for sure, but I had HIGH expectations of him there and hoped to be wow'd. I didn't pay attention to who was in on Defense when Ricky started getting some big runs to the right, but I though Tampa had already put in the next guy over Carey. I'll watch again on the replay midweek and maybe I'll see more this time and see what you guys did.
Thanks Mike.. I just watched todays Sparano presser, he said something interesting. That he liked the 1st team olines play except the first two plays, they were messed up and didn't count or something like that...
Bell hasnt actually started alot in those 46 games, so it is kind of misleading maybe as time goes on he'll be better at picking the ball off.
I think that could be a HUGE assett as well Marty. To have a young STUD Center stage in Samson, and possibly two of the best Bookends (Both relatively young as well), we could plug Solid but nothing more Guards in and have a serious line for sometime.
Nice article, my only quibbles are: 1. Beck did fumble once 2. Our Special Teams were not very good after being targeted for upgrading this offseason.
Penalties .... If we are gonna be penalized like that we better be damn sure not to turn the ball over, need to work on that a bit, and 3rd down conversion, and the ST needs to be a bit better, the bucs were getting better returns than we need to be allowing consistently. But overall not a bad game effort, and a good article/observations, thanks
Thanks for that, mike. I was another who was pretty surprised when you posted that you were disappointed in Carey's overall play. Now I get what you meant.