Stop blaming Ndamukong Suh, Ryan Tannehill for Dolphins’ ills.

Just read it too. Here's the text for those who can't browse outside the forum and I've highlighted parts to provide a TLDR version:

"The Dolphins are in shambles. To have any chance of saving the season, the Dolphins had to move on from Joe Philbin. The former head coach’s inability to scheme to his lineup is a big part of the reason they lost their last three games and why he’s currently unemployed. The good news is that the talent that had prognosticators predicting a playoff berth prior to the season didn’t suddenly disappear. This was an 8-8 team a year ago that actually added talent to their roster. There is no reason to think that ship can’t be righted and the Dolphins season salvaged.

Interim head coach Dan Campbell has no shortage of problems to address, but the big one everyone wants to talk about is their well-paid free agent addition, Ndamukong Suh. Miami made him the highest paid defensive player under the pretense he’d transform a front four that disappeared down the stretch in 2014. That hasn’t happened. Fans are unhappy with Suh’s performance, but he can only play the hand he’s dealt. As of right now he’s actually on pace to eclipse his overall Pro Football Focus grade from a year ago in Detroit. So if he’s playing at a high level, then why do the Dolphins have PFF’s 30th-ranked run defense? There are few better at eating up both blockers on a double team and keeping linebackers clean than Ndamukong Suh, just ask DeAndre Levy, the Detroit linebacker who benefited greatly from Suh’s play in the Motor City. But in Miami, Suh’s being asked to do it snap after snap. This becomes an issue when you don’t have another defensive lineman or linebacker that can take advantage. The Dolphins have basically asked Earl Mitchell to be their play-maker and he’s never been that guy. Mitchell’s 4.1 run-stop percentage is sixth-worst among starting defensive tackles.

The problem is compounded when you see that Miami’s defensive ends are asked to make tackle reads on most snaps. This means that they basically stand up at the snap of the ball and wait until they see what the tackle is doing before they execute their assignment. This works well if you have strong and long defenders that can immediately control an offensive linemen, but not so much when you have quick defenders used to winning with their agility and get-off. Reading slows down the pass-rush because the ends have to wait an extra beat to recognize the linemen getting into pass sets. That’s a big reason why Cameron Wake, our top pass-rushing 4-3 defensive end from a year ago — by a long shot — has graded out negatively as a pass-rusher in three out of four games this year.

Ryan Tannehill hasn’t had much time to throw this season. They’re also devoid of any aggression in play calling and in defensive line philosophy. It’s cliché to say a team should be more “aggressive” and I’m not suggesting the Dolphins blitz more. What I am suggesting is that they scheme to the strengths of their personnel. Give Suh and Wake the freedom to make plays. Let them get upfield. Let them stunt off each other. It can and will at times put stress on the linebackers and creates wide running lanes, but they need someone to make plays. Quite frankly, with Miami as the 30th-graded run defense at PFF they can’t get much worse.

The Dolphins’ offensive problem is oddly almost the exact opposite of the defensive problem. On defense they are trying to protect players who don’t necessarily need protecting, while on offense they have given little help to a porous offensive line. They have the worst guard tandem in the NFL and it isn’t really close. Dallas Thomas and Jamil Douglas rank 77th and 79th out of 79 guards that have received meaningful snaps this year. Mind you there are only 64 starting guards in the NFL at one point in time.

The Dolphins “solution” to having our 28th ranked pass protection unit has been to become the most pass heavy team in all of the NFL, dropping back to pass on a ridiculous 73 percent of their offensive snaps. They have been trailing a lot, which adds to that number, but it’s utterly ridiculous to ask that much of an offensive line that’s been without their best lineman, left tackle Branden Albert, since Week 2.

An emphasis absolutely needs to be put on the run and the quick-passing game to bring balance and ease pressure on the line. Right now 33 percent of Ryan Tannehill’s attempts have come within two seconds or less, almost exactly the league average. With a leaky offensive line and a myriad of playmakers on the outside, one would expect them to be among the league leaders in that category. They’ve schemed an offense that has been completely dependent on Tannehill’s performance and the results speak for themselves.

I truly believe coaching in the NFL is more important than any other major professional sport and I’m not sure it’s even close. The Dolphins are a team where a real change can actually be made and they had to push reset on the season. There’s no way to completely overhaul a scheme midseason, but it’s clear the coaching and the talent were not aligned and tweaks can be made to fix that.

They may be 1-3 right now, but the Dolphins are just one game out of the last wild card spot in the AFC. There’s a lot of work to be done, but Miami’s season is far from over."

Sorry, but this is why I disagree that Suh is free of blame...

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-network-around-the-nfl/0ap3000000550781/Diagnosing-the-Dolphins-defense

And does anyone really need to see highlights of Tannehill missing a wide open Sims in the endzone, Stills down the sideline, overthrowing Jennings, ball placement on short throws or fade routes from the 5?

When these guys are making more than million dollars a game their play should be at a higher level than everyone else's and elevating the level of play of the players around them.

I will judge Tannehill when he isnt the most sacked qb in the NFL.

Suh is a proven player and i think his issues are fixable with challenging him and motivating him.

Ryan is just very raw still, doesnt see the field well and has poor ball placement beyond 10 yards. Not to mention he lacks leadership and his teammates dont respect him like one. Hes got all the athletic ability and skills a quarterback requires, but i question the mental aspect, he doesnt have the mental part like the top quarterbacks do. You cant plug a player in at quarterback and expect wins just because he can throw the ball. If he doesnt have killer instinct, if he doesnt have the football IQ to be innovative and improvise when the pocket collapses or when you see a mismatch or a broken coverage, then youre no better than Stafford or Jay Cutler.

"WELDERPAT wrote:

I will judge Tannehill when he isnt the most sacked qb in the NFL.

The percentage of sacks Tannehill took on pass dropbacks last year actually wasn't above the average range in the NFL.

It's sad when outsiders have a better understanding of the team than its own fans

"WELDERPAT wrote:

I will judge Tannehill when he isnt the most sacked qb in the NFL.

It does appear that Tannehill will never be held accountable for how ineffective this offense had been since he became the starting QB in 2012. It is either the OC's fault, the OL's fault, or the receivers fault. Yet Tannehill is by far the highest paid player on offense and he somehow always gets a pass when the offense plays like crap.
If the Dolphins finish with the worst record in the league this year, I hope they trade Tannehill and take Goff with the first pick in the draft. I think we have seen what Tannehill has to offer and it just isn't enough, IMO.

"Aqua4Ever04 wrote:

Do you think that maybe, JUST MAYBE, that's because people recognize that he's a pretty damn good player and they are capable of compartmentalizing things and realizing that you can't just blame everything on the quarterback?

I mean I know that you're of the belief that 100% of the game's result is solely on the shoulders of the quarterback, but that doesn't make you correct.

I certainly understand that a certain element in the fan base have fooled themselves into believing that Tannehill is a much better QB than he is.
I don't blame all the problems on offense on Tannehill. I just don't think he is good enough to be effective unless every thing is perfect for him and no QB in the league has that.

If you want to keep believing that Tannehill is the long term answer for the Dolphins, so be it. I just don't share your belief.

"AdamC13 wrote:

Sorry, but this is why I disagree that Suh is free of blame...

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-network-around-the-nfl/0ap3000000550781/Diagnosing-the-Dolphins-defense

And does anyone really need to see highlights of Tannehill missing a wide open Sims in the endzone, Stills down the sideline, overthrowing Jennings, ball placement on short throws or fade routes from the 5?

When these guys are making more than million dollars a game their play should be at a higher level than everyone else's and elevating the level of play of the players around them.

First, the missed tackle cannot happen. He is not free of blame, but he is way down the list. You clearly did not watch the video you referenced. Two stunts took him out of the play (DC mistakes). He was asked to play defensive end standing up. Did he ever do that in Detroit. This video does not make your point.

This should silence some of the "expert" critics and scouts.

But... I see it hasn't.

:no:

Really good read really. Pretty spot on assessment of things they way they have been going up to this point.

"jw3102 wrote:

It does appear that Tannehill will never be held accountable for how ineffective this offense had been since he became the starting QB in 2012. It is either the OC's fault, the OL's fault, or the receivers fault. Yet Tannehill is by far the highest paid player on offense and he somehow always gets a pass when the offense plays like crap.
If the Dolphins finish with the worst record in the league this year, I hope they trade Tannehill and take Goff with the first pick in the draft. I think we have seen what Tannehill has to offer and it just isn't enough, IMO.

Rather than pointing fingers, and assigning blame though. Lets see how this offense performs, and changes now that it's out of Philbin's grasp. I really don't think we've seen what Tannehill has to offer at this point because of Philbin.

The last time we saw a Joe Philbin-less Miami Dolphins team with Ryan Tannehill at QB we completely dominated and thrashed the Chargers last year.

If Campbell does what he says he's going to do, I think we're in for some pretty big changes on offense.

We definitely need to try and run the ball more. Line up some tight ends to block and ram it down the throat of the defense. With a more balanced attack, I think the O line will play much better. We need to get Jonas Gray involved more as well. It needs to be a running back by committee at this point. Miller can provide a big play, and some finesse, and Gray can be more of a between the tackles type of back. We simply aren't using our resources correctly. We should be running the ball a minimum of 25 times a game, while keeping Tannehills attempts around 30. There should be a balanced attack and there isnt. The pass/run ratio in the Jets game was beyond ridiculous. The game was still close late into the second quarter but we abandoned the run and predictably passed on every down.

"WELDERPAT wrote:

I will judge Tannehill when he isnt the most sacked qb in the NFL.

Ok then judge him then.

http://www.sportingcharts.com/nfl/stats/team-quarterback-sacked-per-game/2015/

And 2014

http://www.sportingcharts.com/nfl/stats/team-quarterback-sacked-per-game/2014/

2014


Rk
Player
Team
Pos
Comp
Att
Pct
Att/G
Yds
Avg
Yds/G
TD
Int
1st
1st%
Lng
20+
40+
Sck
Rate


1
Blake Bortles
JAC
QB
280
475
58.9
33.9
2,908
6.1
207.7
11
17
132
27.8
63T
37
6
55
69.5


2
Colin Kaepernick
SF
QB
289
478
60.5
29.9
3,369
7.0
210.6
19
10
163
34.1
80T
48
5
52
86.4


3
Ryan Tannehill
MIA
QB
392
590
66.4
36.9
4,045
6.9
252.8
27
12
224
38.0
50
41
4
46
92.8


4
Alex Smith
KC
QB
303
464
65.3
30.9
3,265
7.0
217.7
18
6
175
37.7
70T
40
3
45
93.4


4
Matthew Stafford
DET
QB
363
602
60.3
37.6
4,257
7.1
266.1
22
12
209
34.7
73T
53
11
45
85.7

2013


Rk
Player
Team
Pos
Comp
Att
Pct
Att/G
Yds
Avg
Yds/G
TD
Int
1st
1st%
Lng
20+
40+
Sck
Rate


1
Ryan Tannehill
MIA
QB
355
588
60.4
36.8
3,913
6.7
244.6
24
17
204
34.7
67
46
10
58
81.7


2
Joe Flacco
BAL
QB
362
614
59.0
38.4
3,912
6.4
244.5
19
22
189
30.8
74
45
14
48
73.1


3
Matt Ryan
ATL
QB
439
651
67.4
40.7
4,515
6.9
282.2
26
17
225
34.6
81T
44
9
44
89.6


3
Russell Wilson
SEA
QB
257
407
63.1
25.4
3,357
8.2
209.8
26
9
153
37.6
80T
49
10
44
101.2


5
Cam Newton
CAR
QB
292
473
61.7
29.6
3,379
7.1
211.2
24
13
169
35.7
79T
33
7
43
88.8

"Tannephins wrote:

The percentage of sacks Tannehill took on pass dropbacks last year actually wasn't above the average range in the NFL.

In the first 4 games last year, Tannehill was sacked 9 times.
1 sack against NE and we put 33 points.
4 sacks against Buff - Lost
4 sacks against KC - Lost
0 sacks against Oak - put up 38 points.

Seems to be a correlation between the sacks, hits, and knockdowns to our offensive output. Of course we had a much greater running attack last season.

This year he's being sacked and hit at much greater rate. Perhaps we're missing Daryn Colledge and Shelly Smith more than we expected to, along with a non-existent ground game.

good riddance to Philbin, may Coyle be next to leave. Tannehill has to step up or step out. ultimately, he may not be the solution @ QB... please, no more excuses. Moore would have had more success.

Don't tell this to Piston Honda. Coaching isn't the problem. Philbin and Coyle are good coaches. They are geniuses. The coaching in Miami has been great regardless what the stats show. Miami made a mistake just like when they fired Cam Cameron and Nick Saban. It's all Tannehills fault they should have kept the all world quarterback in Chad Henne. Piston Honda poor guy must have been in tears all day finding out the beloved Philbin and now Coyle might get fired.

"ExplosionsInDaSky wrote:

We definitely need to try and run the ball more. Line up some tight ends to block and ram it down the throat of the defense. With a more balanced attack, I think the O line will play much better. We need to get Jonas Gray involved more as well. It needs to be a running back by committee at this point. Miller can provide a big play, and some finesse, and Gray can be more of a between the tackles type of back. We simply aren't using our resources correctly. We should be running the ball a minimum of 25 times a game, while keeping Tannehills attempts around 30. There should be a balanced attack and there isnt. The pass/run ratio in the Jets game was beyond ridiculous. The game was still close late into the second quarter but we abandoned the run and predictably passed on every down.

Yes and when you do run don't always do it out of the shotgun. And for crying out loud can we get a fullback on this roster?

"CaribPhin wrote:

IIRC, it wasn't that he wasn't getting sacked at a high clip, it's that his pressures were turning into sacks at a higher than average rate.

And what does that say, if your pressures aren't coming at any greater rate than the league average?

At this point, I really don't understand why so many are dead-set on either defending or trashing Tannehill...he certainly carries his fair share of the burden, yet he's also been placed in an offense that the rest of the league has 100% figured out. That means his skill is almost irrelevant since we can't run the ball and the short routes are being taken away, and we certainly have to fix the offense before we need to worry about judging Tannehill. Because whether he's the best QB ever or a definite bust, he's going to look bad in the current system.

"KeyFin wrote:

At this point, I really don't understand why so many are dead-set on either defending or trashing Tannehill...he certainly carries his fair share of the burden, yet he's also been placed in an offense that the rest of the league has 100% figured out. That means his skill is almost irrelevant since we can't run the ball and the short routes are being taken away, and we certainly have to fix the offense before we need to worry about judging Tannehill. Because whether he's the best QB ever or a definite bust, he's going to look bad in the current system.

The issue is that some people profess to know what Tannehill would be doing under different circumstances, when that in fact is a complete unknown.

"the 23rd wrote:

good riddance to Philbin, may Coyle be next to leave. Tannehill has to step up or step out. ultimately, he may not be the solution @ QB... please, no more excuses. Moore would have had more success.

Are you serious? More success at what? While I like Matt as a back up , he has NO CHANCE behind that line. We have to stop with this Matt Moore stuff please.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It is the whole team that has the talent. But needs to reach their potential.

"Phins Up Wins Up wrote:

Don't tell this to Piston Honda. Coaching isn't the problem. Philbin and Coyle are good coaches. They are geniuses. The coaching in Miami has been great regardless what the stats show. Miami made a mistake just like when they fired Cam Cameron and Nick Saban. It's all Tannehills fault they should have kept the all world quarterback in Chad Henne. Piston Honda poor guy must have been in tears all day finding out the beloved Philbin and now Coyle might get fired.

I'd like to see these posts. I haven't seen him say any of that but if he has I'd like to see it.