The Dolphins Make Me Cry.com - Forums

I like what the Dolphins are trying to do with their offense... I think they will do pretty good with it.  The problem with trying to run such an offense is... that it requires a good to great Offensive line... which we are no where near having!

The Pats have been plagued by defensive pressure problems through last season and the pre season but, didn't have any problems getting pressure against us!  I think this is just the start of issues for us with this offensive line.  If the Pats gave us this much problems we're really going to have protection issues against other defenses!

We weren't running or run blocking much last night... I don't understand why you keep running Reggie Bush inside when you have Hilliard and Johnson?  I also would have liked to see some end around runs with Gates or Hartline or even Bush from a slot position to get that speed on the edge!  It's obvious our offensive line is going to be a factor on how our offense goes this yr...

Even though I didn't agree with every offensive play call last night (nobody will ever agree with every play call in any game), I do have to tip my hat to the fact that the staff seems to have finally come around to opening up the offense and getting more aggressive in trying to gain "chunk" yardage.

+1

There are a few issues, though...

Our red zone troubles of the past couple of years are still there... as is our complete inability to run a toss or a sweep play. Basically, any run-type play where the runner gets the ball significantly behind the line of scrimmage is destined for complete failure. Our offensive line and tight ends are completely incapable of sealing the edge, no one gets to the second level to make the necessary blocks on the linebackers... and our wide receivers wiff on their blocks as well. Even Bush doesn't have enough speed to get around the edge when nobody helps him. I don't know if this is a personnel issue or a tactical deficiency. In any event, we need to purge these plays from our playbook until the issues are resolved.

Henne and Marshall need to get on the same page. Yes, this is the first season in a completely new offense and Henne has a lot of stuff to get right with only a very short preseason behind him. That said, they better GET on the same page fast.

The inside running game suffered significantly from Incognito playing like crap and Pouncy getting owned by Haynesworth. Pouncy is a rookie, so there's every reason to expect him to improve. Incognito hasn't exactly been spectacular, but hopefully he'll do better when not across from Wilfork...

I was actually THRILLED with what the offense did last night. Not that it was perfect, far from it, however it was an attempt at where we need to go rather than being stuck in what we were.

The only way to get better is to actually do it in a game. Practice is great for learning the offense, but to fine tune it, it has to be done during a game when everyone is going full speed against a defense that doesn't know your playbook. You just don't get that in practice no matter how hard you try.  Last night was a learning experience and for the most part it was successful.

Sure there's a ways to go, you don't completely change from a run oriented offense to a pass oriented one in 1 game. It takes time. It takes making some mistakes and learning from those mistakes, but at least the mistakes that were being made are the ones that we need to work on. Yes, Henne still sucked on the goal line and we need to find a solution for that and actually I think the solution to that is to move him around. Henne actually looked athletic, so I say use that around the goal line. Roll him out. Bootleg it. Give him more time to find an open receiver and drill him with the ball rather than these damn touch passes and "check with me" passes that he sucks at.

Yes the offensive line was pretty offensive at times, but they are now being asked to pass block first and run block second. That's a big change and no I don't know that the guys we have are the right ones to do it, but find them. Find the guys that can pass block like NE does. The last 3 years Tony and Jeff have been looking for run blockers, now they need to switch focus to pass blocking to give Henne some more time.

And all you Henne haters need to shut up even if it's just for 1 week. He had a good game, not a preseason game, a real live game. Yes it was against New England when they had a lead, still it was exciting to watch and it showed you that he CAN do it. I don't know that he's going to do it every week, but he has done it at least once. He does have it in him. So give him a break for 1 week and lets see if he can put 2 good games together.

If we had Polite, we would have tied the game.  He would have punched it in from the 1/2 yardline and we would have never called that awful throw to Hartline.  Welker would have not grabbed a 99.5 yard pass and there would be no talk of how terrible the Dolphins are yet how we hung in there against the mighty Patsies.  Brady would not have broken a Monday night record and people would be a lot more optimistic for our team. 

That's how important gaining 1 <guaranteed> yard at a time is, dudes.

EDITED TO INSERT -                      ^^THIS^^

You can't say that. Polite has NEVER gotten goaline carries in 3 years in Miami. And who's to say if he is on the roster that Daboll still doesn't throw the ball?

You are making a HUGE leap and assuming a lot

I was very pleased with what I saw on offense Monday Night with two exceptions. 

1.  We abandoned the run.  I realize we're going to be throwing more this year and that we got behind but we didn't run the football at all in the second half.

2.  Didn't run the ball on the goalline.  First we had the Paul Soliai fullback experiment and why he stopped in the hole is totally beyond me.  That cost us 4 points.  Then on 4th and a foot we threw a wide side fade to Hartline when even a quarterback sneak probably would have gotten us the touchdown.  On the ensuing possession Toast Sapp gets burned for a 99yard TD pass. 

I'm just wondering if we called actual running place twice the score isn't alot closer or possibly we're ahead with 5 minutes to play.

We don't have the RB's or O-line to run the ball this year. We are gonna be passing 80% of the time

Larry Johnson?

If he can't run up the gut... which he made his living prior to Miami all those yrs in KC running between the tackles...then why is he on the roster?  Lex Hilliard is a tough inside runner as well...

That is the dumbest thing I've ever seen!   I was expecting him to just blow through there creating some room and he stops in the hole helping the defense shut the play down!  He tried to push a defender away instead of plowing through the guy... ::)

Considering this is an enormous change in offensive philosophy and several adjustments in personnel, I will absolutely give a pass on any of the minor deficiencies I saw Monday night.


I would only have a few suggestions if I was in a postion to do so. 

First, find a way to put Moore on the field as our 4th receiver.  I know that Gates is being groomed as a returner and we don't want to activate a guy we don't have to, but Moore is speed guy that is game ready now and Gates needs more time. 

Second, make sure the second tight end we ultimately end up with this season is a receiving threat and not a pure blocker.  From what I can tell, we won't be running out of a two tight end set with Bush which means any blocking tight ends are really just pass blockers.  Even small guys can pass block.  Big guys are edge control duty. 

Third, practice the shit out of and run the shit out of screen plays to Bush.  Our O-line is athletic enough to get into space if they just get their blocking assignments practiced.  Bush looks like the real deal in space.

Fourth, run more inside slants.  We really have the receiving personnel for this and it takes pressure off the O-line.  Henne looks like he is making decisions fast enough to be effective.  If we get better at the quick inside game, it can also help us in the red zone.  Outside passes have more boom or bust potential and unfortunately the bust is a turnover.  Currently, I have seen more 10 yard in routes than anything else to get the ball to middle of the field.  That is ok and all but it takes longer to develop.

From what I can tell, the philosophy is to get everyone deep on the outside and get Bess to the middle of the field about 12-15 yards out and send Bush underneath if there is no free blitzer to pick up.  Its not a bad philosophy and very aggressive, but it is only going to work if Hartline or Gates can take the top off.  Right now Fasano is our best option for drawing out a safety and nobody seems convinced enough to bite on it, thus Fasano is somewhat open.  Hartline can do it against certain guys but Gates just can't get around the DB early enough yet.  Still, this is all very good considering to absurd offense we were running!

No Polite wouldn't have punched it in at the goalline.  Calling any pass there is horrible, but that isn't just a dolphins problem that is a league wide problem.  I can't believe the number of teams who get fancy play syndrome and call passes from the 1 yard line, multiple times.  And mostly from shotgun. 

Agreed!

I think we should have at least had some kind of TE in the backfield lead block options... Fasano is not a great blocker but should be good enough to lead block on a 4th and half a yard?

We have four TE's on the roster... you mean to tell me not one of the four can be a lead block?

When we have needed a yard, he has been the best in the league at getting that yard.

You have no evidence whatsoever to the contrary.

Yes, if you want to compare his 1 yard runs vs. everybody elses 1 yard runs + their goalline 1 yard runs he is good.  It is obviously a lot harder to get the 1 yard at the goalline than it is on the 40 yard line, but keep saying how much better he is than everybody else. 

You claim that he somehow sucks at goalline runs based solely on the fact that he hasn't had opportunities to do it.  He is clearly better than everyone else in the league at non-goalline 1-yard-runs, so what possible reason do you have to believe that (even if he was technically worse than his amazing 90%+ first-down conversion rate) he wouldn't be the best in the league at goalline runs if given the opportunity?

I am claiming that you can't say that he is best at 1 yard runs by comparing his 1 yard runs to everybody elses 1 yard + goalline 1 yard runs.  Also, he wasn't even then best at 1 yard rushes last year.

Anyways to get the thread back on track.  I think this team should have run more at the goalline.  Reggie Bush is a playmaker, he can get over the top of the pile and score.  That fade to hartline was ridiculous. After fasanos play, only 1 run out of 3 attempts.  That is ridiculous.

Larry Johnson hasn't played in 2 years. He's garbage too.

I DO, he has 1 TD in his entire NFL career. The odds of him getting one there is slim and none

Well, lets be honest. If Sparano is fired after this season (likely), Daboll is gone too. So, I'm not going to get too worked up this year about his playcalling. Because a year from now odds are we have a new head coach, offensive coordinator, and no matter how good Henne is,  a new QB. Henne is a free agent and might say the hell with it and just bolt or if he sinks back into his bad habits we won't want him back. And a new head coach might not want him.

I CAN say that, so I did.  As Spider showed in another thread, he never even had the opportunity to receive a goal-line carry since as a team they were not in that position often (if at all.) 

The biggest reach and assumption of all is from you Polite haters in ASSUMING he could not get a td in that scenario DESPITE having over 90% success rate when in 1 yard situations.  You guys ASSUME because defenses have to respect our passing game ( the Dolphins passing game  ::) HA!!!) they cannot sell out on run like they would in a goal-line situation. 

You guys failed.  You guys claimed gaining one yard to keep a drive going is not as important.  Our loss this Monday proved THE EXACT OPPOSITE.

p.s. I can CAPS for EMPHASIS too!

90% success rate. Yet 32 teams don't want him. Interesting! lol


You guys crack me up.

So MikeO, I presume you have officially abandoned your "who cares about 1 freaking yard?" position after it cost us 11 points?

Because it seems like now, your only response as to why the Dolphins shouldn't get him is that nobody else wants him.  Guess what?  There are at least a DOZEN players on this team today that would not be picked up (within a month of release) if they were cut tomorrow.

^ It's a damn good thing we jumped on Larry Johnson then, eh!  Don't want the other 31 teams claiming that incredible force before we did!

It didn't cost us 11 pts. Play calling did.  ::)

If Polite was on our roster, you assume we still don't throw a fade pass to Hartline. You just don't get it. Never will either it seems!!

I still have the same stance as I had last week, the correct stance!

But Larry Johnson wasn't 90% successful! lol Polite has a success rate up there with nobody else in league history. They are making room for his bust in Canton, Ohio according to some people here on this board.

The fact Larry Johnson is working (after being out of the league for 2 years) and Polite isn't should tell you everything you need to know about Polite....He Sucks!

If, by "play calling" you mean "calling Lex Hilliard's number to get that yard," I agree.

No, I presume that he would have gotten the yard that Hilliard failed to get.  Or are you still pretending Hilliard never got a goal line carry?

Right.  Says the guy who has agreed with every single move the Dolphins front office has made in the past 10 years, right?   ::)  

I must say that I find MikeO's new stance of "Other teams didn't want him so that means he SUCKS!" incredibly hilarious.  That's right, performance is not to be discussed... no, the real measure is whether or not teams want you.

Davone Bess?  Undrafted rookie, which means 32 teams passed on him seven times each (or thereabouts).
Patrick Turner?  Drafted in the third round.
Therefore, Turner is better than Bess!  On-field performance be damned.

That's right because there are TONS and TONS of great football players out there without teams. The hilarious stance is yours. Thinking Polite is so great. So great that no team wants to touch him after watching him play in this league for over 3 years.

And don't compare what happens at the NFL draft with unproven guys to a guy who has 3+ years of video or already playing in the NFL. That's downright stupid!

I've been staying away from this discussion since it seems to have spiraled into an abyss...

However...

Polite is GREAT at gaining a yard or two.

Polite contributes little else.

That, combined with the general trend away from fullbacks as lead blockers, means he's just not worth it for most (all?) teams.

HOWEVER, I do think WE could use him specifically in Miami... he's just a very good fit for a very, very specific need we have right now.

We had 77 offensive snaps Monday. Fullback was on the field only 10 times. No need for a fullback in this offense

Could be something to do with not actually having a healthy FB...

No, we threw the ball 49 times mostly from a shotgun. Fullback isn't even on the field whether we had one or not.

Of course a Fullback is not going to be on the field....we didn't have one to put on the field!  Are you serious with your logic?

Long snapper and punter were used even less than the full backer.  Don't need those positions either than. 

that's just downright silly. Comparing something like that. But I expect nothing less than you.

Not really. 

Miami doesn't have a good solid full back.  Yet despite not having someone who can play that position well you put someone whose strength is something else into the FB position.  Imagine how many times MIA might have used a fullback if they actually had one. 

Maybe a closer analogy would be a team doesn't need a fourth corner back on the game day roster because they only play the dime about 10 times per game -- we will just use a linebacker instead in those instances.   

I want to say again... I like what the Dolphins are trying to do on offense!   The problem is we can't expect to be explosive over night...  I think we needed to keep a bit of the smashmouth style until we got the players to make this new system work.  We don't have the offensive line to really pull this off yet IMO.   This is why we should have had a plan that involved using Fasano or one of our other TE's as a fullback so we could pound the ball every now and then.... especially when we need to like that 4th and half a yard!

It was obvious that some of our linemen aren't able to pull and get outside on those edge type run plays.  And I commend Reggie Bush for wanting to be the featured back... but I don't see him lasting too long trying to run between the tackles.  He's just not cut out to be a between the tackles runner... every now and again is fine.

And Reggie Bush was on the field for 75 of those 77 snaps. Really.

I like the guy and I think his 20 touches were quite reasonable... but having him in on EVERY* play?

(* Not sure what two plays he went out for... I'm thinking the Hilliard plunge, perhaps both).

I didn't agree with all the playing time Bush had and how we used him. That is a totally different issue than the FB debate. Look, I was pleased with a lot of things we did on offense Monday. I wasn't in love with Daboll overall though. How he used Bush and the goaline playcalling standing out as two RED FLAGS I saw with Daboll. But as I said the other day, I'm not getting worked up over it either. Because I don't see Sparano surviving this season, and when he's gone, Daboll is gone too. So I'm not getting worked up over an assistant coach who only has 15 more games left as the offensive coordinator for the Fins most likely. Hope I wrong, we win a bunch and everyone stays. But I don't expect it to happen!

After what went on with Harbaugh doing the offseason was there really any sense of security for them this year anyway?

You have to have a blocking back.  I don't care what kind of offense you run.  I assumed like an idiot that we cut Polite because the new kid they drafted was going to fill that role.  Then I heard somebody on tv go oh no they're gonna use Hilliard for that. 

You have to have someone on the goalline and in short yardage who can block.  And I don't understand how this Offensive line supposedly can't run the ball anymore.  This is actually a better group of guys than we had blocking for Ricky and Ronnie.  They had no trouble opening holes for Reggie Bush.  Suddenly they're not good enough to block on the goalline?

It's funny I'm watching the Florida-Tennessee game now and Florida is built for the spread (like us) don't have big TE's (although we do) and they came out pro set and used a play action pass to score.  Makes you wonder why our coaches didn't think of something like that?  :|