Pretty on point with all your stuff CK. Agree with mostof it, while O-Line gets most of the press, we have a real issue with LB andWR. Not too mention some Free Agents at some pretty important positions(Grimes, Clemons, Solai, Starks, etc.) Let’s break it down by position: Offense: If Philbin stays I swear to god Sherman has got togo, he just doesn’t get Football 101 X’s and O’s and that is scary seeing as hehas been employed in the NFL/NCAA so long. Heard someone say we should use thetype of Offense Kansas City uses and I wouldn’t be opposed to that. Also wouldlike to see more of the Texan/Panther offense with their balance and playing toQB strength’s. QB- drafted a #8 overall a year ago. Sorry, but not ready to bail ship yet.Does he need improvement? Yes. But I feel more than anything he could benefitwith a new coaching staff not the one he has been with for 6 years. RB- Miller is under contract and he shows glimpses but has never been acomplete back. Thomas had a good game last week but I don’t believe in him andhe isn’t the complement we need. Gillislee is an unknown. WR- This is a mess. We spend all this money this past offseason to bring inweapons and we don’t utilize their skill sets properly and don’t put them inposition to make plays. Wallace has been a disappointment and his attitude isworse. You can see his body language on the field and his effort isn’t there.The sad thing is we line him up in the same spot every play. Look at how ChipKelly is using DeSean Jackson this year. The guy has had two back to backmediocre seasons now he is a top 5 receiver because they get him the ball inspace not just let him run deep routes. Hartline has taken a big step back inmy mind. He can’t separate and he just is allergic to the end zone. Sorry, butwith Wallace not being the true #1 we were hoping Hartline serves little valueand strikes no fear into opposing defenses. Gibson was coming into his own butthe injury and how he recovers will tell true story. I like Matthews alwayshave. He reminds me of a Marques Colston type (poor man’s version). He isphysical and catches the ball with his hands, wish he had more height to be areal red zone weapon but we did see in TB that he has a nose for TD’s. TE: Clay has been great this year. He is much more consistent but would still likehim to put it all together. But, he isn’t a true TE. I’d love for us to find ain-line big bodied TE. Try to use Clay more as a H-Back split option in themold of Hernandez with the Pats in the past. Then by having a big bodied TE wecan have him run the seam and dominate the red zone. Sims is not that guy, nota bad #3 blocking TE but not much to be expected as a receiver. Egnew playingFB and blocking is a revelation. He has been a pleasant surprise by no means agood starter but valuable to say the least. OT: Clabo has stepped it up after being benched. But he is only getting olderand is a one year option. Got to commend his professionalism dealing with thismess he came into and the way he has been a team player. McKinnie has been veryuseful coming over. I really don’t get the guy; I’ve always felt he could be agreat LT in the mold of Jonathan Ogden if he cared to be that great. But, it’salways with him if he needs to perform and is under the microscope he will.Once he gets paid he gets lazy. But, not going to lie with all our needs this offseasonif there are no have to have LT, I wouldn’t mind re-signing as a one year stopgap. OG: Incognito is a d bag. Jerry is still useless and has overstayed hiswelcome. Thomas for some reason they believe is a Tackle. Yet he was All-SEC atguard which as we all know is a pretty talented conference with some prettygood players. Watkins another first round pick has only briefly tasted thefield. I know he was a dud in Philly but why hasn’t he at least gotten a solidlook. Then there is Brenner who came off PS to play a pretty solid game. Lookedlike he fit in as good as you could on a short week. Truth be told, while Guardmay seem as dire as some think, I’m not too convinced. Way I look at it is 3things to be answered. 1) Are they just not talented group despite high draftpicks? That’s on Ireland. 2) Are they not scheme fits? That’s FO and Coaching3.) Are they not getting their shot due to stubborn coaching? That’s Turner,Sherman, and Philbin. Now defense, my first hope is we return to 3-4 where we were much moresuccessful and where we have better personnel fits for that. Coyle is rubbishas well; his use of A-Gap blitz fakes on Offensive screen plays is quitemaddening. DE: Really depends on if we go back to a 3-4. Let’s say we do. This will shiftVernon, Wake, and Jordan to OLB. Also would push Odrick back to DE in a 3-4scheme. Where I think he could be a nightmare. He really has come into his ownthis year especially as a pass rusher. He could be our Wilkerson/Watt type insiderusher that could free up our OLB. Now with Starks/Solai free agent we willhave to pick. Solai seems loyal to his Miami just wants to be paid for it.Solai provides more of a need in 3-4 as he is a force at NT and run stuffer.Finding another Nose like him would be harder than finding a good 3-4 end. Ilove Starks and if we could re-sign them both I am in heaven. But with Starksover 30 and his obvious frustration with our FO I think he is a goner. Withthat being said we have another need. If we stay 4-3 then the need is at DT. Ifwe go 3-4 then it’s at DE. Still, finding someone via FA or mid/late in thedraft should be the expectation. Too many needs to draft a early DL. DT/NT: Refer to above. But if we can re-sign Solai in a 3-4 that is huge. If welose both him and Starks we might as well off ourselves. But, regardless wewill need a backup NT or if we stay 4-3 another DT. The draft should be able tohelp us here. Worst case bring in a veteran for morale purposes who is durable. OLB: In a 3-4 this might be the position we are most set at on the team. Wakehas played the 3-4 contrary to what people say. Regardless there is no reasonhe won’t be able to play with his hand in the dirt on pass rushing downs. Jordan who has been tasked with covering TE’srecently and done a good job is better suited for 3-4. Where he can cover, passrush and be our jack of all trades. Vernon as well I think is athletic enoughto be better in that scheme. Regardless a issue we have had is getting all 3 onthe field to rush the passer. With this scheme we could use a hybrid on passingdowns like Seattle to get all our pass rushers on the field at one time. But,if we do not switch we could be in trouble. Wheeler has been one of if not thebiggest disappointments. He takes terrible angles, misses too many tackles, andcan’t rush the passer or cover. Misi has durability issues and has never been adifference maker but hell Jeff why don’t you extend him. Regardless of thescheme I hope Misi and Wheeler are swapped. MLB: Ellerbe has been a huge disappointment. For a guy so highly regarded forhis play with Ray Lewis’ absence and in the postseason. They guy was adifference make something he has not been at all here. My question is what’sthe reason? Is he just not that good? Is he in the wrong scheme? Was his levelof play masked by Baltimore’s strong defense? Is he out of shape? The realityis it could be one or all of the above. One thing is for sure, he lookssluggish like he has gained weight and I don’t believe it’s just in his hair. Anotherthing that has surprised me is he is not physical and attacks the hole. He isconsistently making tackles 4-5 yards down field. That’s not a good thingfolks. Problem is we signed or re-signed all LB’s this offseason. Truth is werealistically can’t get rid of all 3. My best hope without know the contractstipulations is getting rid of Wheeler and Misi. Keeping Ellerbe as he was a3-4 backer in Baltimore and I do believe that is his better fit. By switchingto a 3-4 we would only be looking for one possibly two LB’s. Staying in a 4-3we could need as many as 3. CB: Grimes is fantastic. Lock him up to a 3 year deal and call it a day. Whoknows if he wants to stay but he is the best CB we have had in years. Patterson….Why do you have to be a difference maker that can’t make it through a fullgame? Like come on, guy. What is your deal? You play in four games and have apick for each one. But, the problem is his cap number is too high to justifykeeping him with his lack of durability. Still, if he could restructure I wouldbe open. All depends on how he finishes the year. Carroll, if he lasts anotherseason I will blow out my brains. He started better this season the first fewweeks filling in for Patterson. But, did you see that ball hit him directly inthe hands Sunday. Like you can gift wrap one better, and the dude has stonehands. Jimmy Wilson is probably my least favorite player on this team. Why? Heconsistently plays and consistently plays at a poor level. Will he make theoccasional play or hit? Yes. But, I don’t want on occasion. I want consistentlymaking plays. Let’s get to our draft picks that don’t play. Jamar Taylor theone who has at least felt the grass beneath his cleats. He had a rough go inNO. But I see him occasionally out there. The guy was highly regarded out ofBoise. Problem is he has a 5[SUP]th[/SUP] & 7[SUP]th[/SUP] rounder ahead ofhim on the depth chart. I know he was injured during camp which hurts hisdevelopment. But here we are in Week 12 and we will struggle with CB depth.Same can be said for Will Davis. I know he was more of a project coming out butthe guy made plays in Training Camp and Preseason. Yet he is a weekly inactivefor our team which leaves me scratching my head. S: Paging Reshad Jones….Paging Reshad Jones? Where you at homie? Well, I cantell you one thing he hasn’t been the difference maker from 2012. I will admitI was on the pay the man train this offseason, cause you can tell he has all thephysical tools to be an All-Pro. But, like so many before him he got his payday and his quality of play dips. Notsure if its his focus or what but I expect better than this. Mr. Clemons yousir have completely 180’d me. I couldn’t stand him for his first few seasonsthen last year he started to come in his own. This year with Odrick he is myDefensive CO-MVP. Why? No matter the drama, the score, or etc. he comes to workevery play. The guy is a hustler and a great team player. Feel he has nevergotten his due and hopefully that will be recognized. I wish he was more of a ballhawk but truth be told, this offseason with so much up in the air we don’t needanother need at Safety. I lock him up to a fair deal and call it a day. K/P/LS: Probably our most consistent unit. Sturgis hit a rough patch but givethe kid time, the leg is for real and he doesn’t seem to get too rattled.Probably didn’t feel that welcome after being ostracized for most of TrainingCamp as the team favored Carpenter. Fields you are our best player (good forhim, sad for us). Denney you are the seasoned vet, but surprised with all hehas been through on this team he haven’t been more of a voice with this scandalthis season. KR/PR: Thigpen, for all you did good last year you have done the exactopposite. Pass. Needs (based off top priority): -OT – we could need 2 of them this offseason. Expect anotherearly round pick on LT if we don’t use a stopgap. (Really like the James Hurstkid from UNC, who could be 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] round option) -OG – Incognito won’t play here again. Jerry needs to begone. Brenner has one good week but not ready to proclaim a PS player from aweek ago to be a future starter/savior. Dallas Thomas will probably stay atTackle with this staff which is a shame, but maybe a new staff will watch hiscollege tape and put him where he needs to be. - DE/NT – assuming we go 3-4. We need to re-sign Solai orStarks. If we lose both this could only increase the need. If we can sign Solaithe need decreases to just finding another 3-4 end. (can find thru FA or middraft pick) -LB – sad to say it but after signing 3 this offseason we definitelydowngraded. I for one thought we would only improve, but that’s what you getfor one year wonder players. Regardless of scheme this needs to be fixed. I seeEllerbe as the only one worth keeping around seeing as I’d hate to have torevamp a 4/5 of an O-Line and 3/3 of LB’s that’s a lot to ask for. Afterwatching Carolina last night I was taken aback how involved their LB’s are andhow fast they play. With their Secondary being lacking, their LB’s pick up theslack in coverage consistently making plays downfield. Depth at this positionas always is needed. WR- Yes, another sad thing to say. But, this could be moveddown if we bring in a staff that can incorporate their strengths the right way.Wallace is guaranteed next year and so what are we going to give up on another previouslysuccessful WR. If there is something to be learned from the Brandon Marshallsituation it’s that we were the problem. He was a top 5 WR in Denver and now isagain in Chicago. Wallace needs to be used creatively with an emphasis ongetting the ball in his hands. That should be programmed into Tannehill. And it’son him to get on the same page with Wallace and make the extra effort,something Henne never did with Marshall. I would not be opposed to puttingHartline on the block? The reason is he offers nothing different or better thanany of our other WR’s. Truthfully, I think Matthews and Gibson have much highceilings. Still, there is a lot of question on how Gibson recovers and howMatthews finishes the year. Something I always found funny about Philbin is thecomments and philosophy he brought when he got here. I remember him stating hewants all his WR’s to be able to play X,Y, and Z. Well, Joe that isn’t the casewhen you isolate Wallace on the right side (worst deep ball % to that side forTannehill) and never mix up the packages. Yes, Sherman calls the plays but hereport to Philbin and that is a big issue. One thing I’d love for us to have isa big bodied receiver who can get YAC. Hartline falls, trips, or runs out ofbounds after every catch. Matthews is physical but I don’t see him being a bigYAC guy. Wallace only runs hitches, comebacks, and fly routes none really providehuge YAC seeing as his is misused. If we could find an receiver to be thegrinder and red zone threat it would make life much easier. CB- this all depends on Grimes re-signing. If he doesn’tthis probably jumps all the way up to right behind OL. Reason being is that wehave been much better at creating turnovers this eyar. Big reason isGrimes/Patterson. Sad that only one can stay healthy. Looking for two newstarters when the rest of our depth chart at the position is incapable of beingrelied on. Still my hope is one of our neglected rookies can develop withproper coaching and take hold of one of the top 3 CB spots. Could be anotherhigh draft pick for CB. Not sure how FA looks for CB’s but I remember one nameand that is Alteraun Verner (apologize for spelling). That dude is a stud. RB- Yes, this is a big need as well. Not as big as the othersbut it is a need. One thing that can lessen the need is improving the O-Line.With that being done we might not have to stress to find another back. Milleris good when he gets the opportunity but after having two of his best gamesback to back to having 0 yards rushing to single digit carries oyu can tell thestaff doesn’t trust him. Sad thing is he is a game breaker and it’s obvious.Thomas needs to be gone. We need a Mike Tolbert type back. Why? He has no limitationsto his game. Miller can’t pass block. Tolbert can. Miller isn’t a power guy,Tolbert is a grinder. Tolbert is also a great receiver. In a log jammedbackfield in Carolina I wouldn’t even mind throwing a Tolbert for Hartline typedeal with maybe a late pick thrown in. TE- Need a big bodied TE who can block in line and be athreat as a receiver. Don’t be surprised if Brett Celek is a name on the blockor released. Chip Kelly loves him some Zach Ertz and he drated him for areason. Celek could come in day one be a blocker and receiver we have neededfor years. The truth is we are 5-5 not good not bad but still alive.With all this distraction and scandal surrounding this season I truthfully hopeour staff doesn’t get another year. Main reason is Ireland has had too manyopportunities and whiffed on some very important ones. This offseason was thebiggest in recent history and save Brent Grimes who that we brought in has beena solid signing? Anyone? My point is he could survive if his draft saved the FA’she brought in. But, besides Sturgis who is a starter we only have rotationaland subs from our rookies. That’s sad as we traded up for a #3 overall DE, whocovers TE’s more than rushes the passer. Our 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] round CB doesn’t seethe field. Our 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] round G/T got passed over for a PS player. Our 3[SUP]rd[/SUP]round CB has been active maybe 2 games. 4[SUP]th[/SUP] round TE is a blocker. 4[SUP]th[/SUP]round LB struggles to be in the rotation. 5[SUP]th[/SUP] rd back has yet to beactive. The list goes on. But, what concerns me equally is our staff. Maybe Ididn’t notice it last year because we had a lack of talent. But, we areconsistently outcoached, out schemed, and out smarted. I personally havenoticed things that our opposition takes advantage of that our staff eitherdoesn’t recognize or doesn’t fix until 3-4 weeks later. Our position coacheshaven’t gotten our units any better. If anything we’ve gotten worse. The trendin run defense is most alarming. WE haven’t changed much in personnel on D Linebut it’s noticeable Vernon cannot set the edge and the consistently run to thatside. Yet, we don’t take him out. Sherman refuses to change his schemes andpackages yet teams know that Wallace will be split right all game on his ownisland. There is just so much unknown. We have talent that much is obvious. Weare a few plays away from being 7-3. But, we are also a few lucky bounces awayfrom being 2-8. It’s just upsetting to know that whatever the answer for ourstruggles will be a setback. If it’s our personnel that comes down to Irelandand the players. Meaning we will need a new GM (which will be a welcome site)and need to make changes to personnel. With a new GM he might want to bring inhis new staff (another welcome site). Regardless, we have a lot of questionsand possible scenarios. We may have a GM who misspent his money and continuesto struggle with the draft. We might have a Head Coach who has never been aHead Coach before who is in over his head. We may have a Head Coach who is tooloyal to his coordinators and coaches. We may have coordinators and coaches whoare not able to make proper weekly and in game adjustments. We may have aroster of overvalued and underperforming players. We also may have a rosterwith talent for one reason or another hasn’t been given an opportunity. Thesolution to all this is clean house. Bring in a GM who has a plan anddirection. With that give him the power to choose his coaching staff. Whetherthat means Philbin stays or goes is up to him. But, if for some miracle Philbindoes stay he needs to get some better coordinators and coaches. From their letthe GM go to work evaluating the roster and coming up with the best fix whetherit’s releasing/trading current players. Signing/drafting the right players. Idon’t care how it happens just get it done. Our fan base has struggled so longfor a consistent winner and we need it. Get it done Mr. Ross.
