Our Defense

[fyo]

0-2.

Worst defense in the league.

And people are complaining about the offense?

It seems to me that there's a whole lot of focus on offensive deficiencies -- and I'm not saying they're not real -- and I just find that rather absurd considering the complete suckitude on the other side of the ball.

The defense was supposed to be really, really good. What the F*CK happened?

To me, there aren't really too many bright spots... if I had to pick one, I'd say our starting corners. Yes, Vontae Davis and Sean Smith. Except for the fact that they can't stay on the field, of course, which is a huge f'n problem.

And we have ZERO depth behind them. Carroll may only be in his second year, but he's NOT getting the job done.

It also seems like we're suffering a lot from the absence of Chris Clemons. Reshad Jones, while not downright terrible, has been pretty bad and directly cost us a touchdown against the Texans by blowing his assignment (it was obvious on TV and Sparano confirmed it afterwards): When Carroll is playing press against Andre Johnson, how can you even THINK that your assignment is anything other than providing help over the top? There was no fake, no misdirection, nothing. Jones was also caught looking into the backfield a few times against the Patriots and at least one of those also cost a touchdown.

Run D hasn't been much better, sadly, and injuries aren't even an excuse there. I just don't know why they are playing like crap. Wake, Misi and Taylor aren't getting much pressure on the quarterbacks, which is exacerbating our problems with pass D, and basically the other team's offensive line just isn't worrying about them, leaving too many blockers for our D-line to handle. Without going back and looking at a bunch of replays (which would hurt too much), I'm not sure who's playing well on the line and who isn't.

[Brian Fein]

I've been saying since game 1 that defense is our #1 problem.  Don't let the chicken little's around here fool you, the offense is not the team's biggest problem right now.  The tackling on this team is miserable.  Guys routinely run for 6-8 yards after bouncing off 2-3 tacklers.  Hell, Benjarvus Green-Ellis looked like Chris Johnson out there against our front 7.

And then there's the secondary.  Coverage has been a problem as well.  I didn't see Will Allen on the field once last game.  And Reshad Jones, while I like him, seems to be only good at tackling guys and not a good nose for guessing what's coming. 

I am truly wondering if Channing Crowder was the glue that held it all together, considering he's the only cog missing from last year's 6th ranked run defense.

These guys gotta tighten up quickly.  Problem is - I don't know what can be done to fix it.

[Dolphster]

Tackling is a lost art.  And I know the Dolphins aren't the only ones guilty of this.  Guys all want to go for the blow-up hit instead of wrapping a guy and tackling him.  They will miss six tackles because they are trying to blow a guy up instead of tackling him.  Then, after missing six tackles, they finally lay some guy out and then they do a dance on the field and throw their arms up in the air like they just solidified their spot in the Hall of Fame.  Never mind that they missed six tackles previously.

[MaineDolFan]

Tackling is a lost art. 

You mean tackling isn't just slamming into someone at 15mph with a 20 yard head start?  What is this "tackle" that you speak of?

Everyone just wants to be on ESPN's highlight specials.  "Big hits" in the NFL = the flashy slam dunk in the NBA.

[Phishfan]

I didn't see Will Allen on the field once last game. 

I saw him once.

I'm glad someone went here (not Allen but defense in general). I think it is pretty telling that people arguing about our offense being a problem right now have an agenda. A last ranked defense is the worst possible scenario for the Miami Dolphins and we hear complaints about Henne in almost every post.

[Doc-phin]

I could handle the way things went on opening day.  It at least made sense to me that the hurry up along with Brady's ability to get rid of the ball quick and his ability to attack our weaknesses (Sapp, Jones, Carrol) got the best of us.  But week two I didn't see anything particularly impressive about the Texans' offense.  We were 0-1 and the strength of our team was ultra inconsistent against a unit that didn't really do anything special against them.  No urgency, no focus, no personal responsibility out of the young players, reactive scheme, all of it adds up to mediocre at best.

We are in trouble as far as I can tell and I absolutely blame the defense the most.  The offense is improving and it is visible, but they need time before they are ready for a shootout.  The defense needs to keep us in games with the better opponents and dominate against the lesser opponents.  They haven't been able to keep us in the game against better opponents so I have no faith that they will dominate a lesser one. 

So here we are, hoping they can at least keep us in this next game (which is a lesser opponent) when we should be expecting them to dominate them.  Bummed to say the least!  If they do manage to dominate them, perhaps some hope will begin to brew that they are back on track.  If not, God help them because mutiny is afoot.  They better realize that all of their jobs are on the line.  New regime almost always means new players and if you can't beat the Browns, you aren't far from a personell reset.

[Brian Fein]

I'm sick of seeing the offense at the line and ready to snap the ball while the defense is still in a huddle.  They are not ready still getting lined up, and the QB is calling his cadence.

That is unacceptable.  It happened at LEAST 3 times in the NE game and twice I could remember in the Houston game.  Hurry up or not, the defense has to be ready FIRST.

[Diehard_Dolfan]

Tackling is a lost art.  And I know the Dolphins aren't the only ones guilty of this.  Guys all want to go for the blow-up hit instead of wrapping a guy and tackling him.  They will miss six tackles because they are trying to blow a guy up instead of tackling him.  Then, after missing six tackles, they finally lay some guy out and then they do a dance on the field and throw their arms up in the air like they just solidified their spot in the Hall of Fame.  Never mind that they missed six tackles previously.

They don't even attempt to wrap up... is what I have a problem with most...then you have guys like Smith that just try to go for the strip too much instead of securing a tackle.

[mecadonzilla]

Tackling comes down to coaching.  Either a quality control coach, the DC (or any defensive coach for that matter), or the HC don't see it as a problem.  That's the real problem.

But it's not just a current coaching thing, it has been a major problem for this defense since Wanny's days.

[masterfins]

^^^Come on, are you really going to blame the coaches??  These guys are starting in the NFL and they don't know how to tackle??  It's laziness and trying to make a highlight reel knockout.  If they don't know how to tackle then cut them!!

[masterfins]

I'm sick of seeing the offense at the line and ready to snap the ball while the defense is still in a huddle.  They are not ready still getting lined up, and the QB is calling his cadence.

That is unacceptable.  It happened at LEAST 3 times in the NE game and twice I could remember in the Houston game.  Hurry up or not, the defense has to be ready FIRST.

I understand your point, but SOMETIMES thay want to wait as long as possible to get into position because it gives the opposing QB less time to read the defense.

[Doc-phin]

Tackling comes down to coaching.  Either a quality control coach, the DC (or any defensive coach for that matter), or the HC don't see it as a problem.  That's the real problem.

But it's not just a current coaching thing, it has been a major problem for this defense since Wanny's days.

I have heard former players say that tackling has been an issue for many teams and they believe it is due to the lack of tackling in practice.  The new practice rules apparently severely limit the ability to get quality practice time with full contact.  We aren't the only ones with tackling problems, we have just been exploited more by good offenses.

It should get better but we need it to get better quick because our offense isn't ready to compensate for bad defense.

[mecadonzilla]

^^^Come on, are you really going to blame the coaches??  These guys are starting in the NFL and they don't know how to tackle??  It's laziness and trying to make a highlight reel knockout.  If they don't know how to tackle then cut them!!

Agreed to a point.  It says a lot about the players' work ethics.   However, it's the coach's job to fix problems that occur.  If the coach doesn't care that players don't wrap and tackle properly, then why should the players?  Accountability starts at the top.

Vince Lombardi preached blocking and tackling.  If I were a coach I'd make sure that my players could at least perform these two duties.  If players are consistently allowed to not sweat the details then they should be disciplined or cut...but that's all up to the HC who apparently doesn't mind it so much.

[mecadonzilla]

I have heard former players say that tackling has been an issue for many teams and they believe it is due to the lack of tackling in practice.  The new practice rules apparently severely limit the ability to get quality practice time with full contact.  We aren't the only ones with tackling problems, we have just been exploited more by good offenses.

It should get better but we need it to get better quick because our offense isn't ready to compensate for bad defense.

I'm sure Miami is not the only team with this issue.  But I've been watching Miami defenders blow tackles for too long to think it's only because of the lockout.

[Doc-phin]

I'm sure Miami is not the only team with this issue.  But I've been watching Miami defenders blow tackles for too long to think it's only because of the lockout.

Actually, now that I think about it, I don't really recall a lot of blown tackles so far (for us).  I mostly notice guys not getting off their blocks and out of position on coverage.  I notice more on special teams than anything.  But as far as blown tackles by the Dolphins, I don't really think I have noticed anything beyond a guy pushing forward for an extra yard or two here and there.  The only one that sticks out is the play where Benny Sapp popped into one of the Pats tight ends (think it was Gronkowski) in the red zone and he bounced off and managed to get an extra 5 yards or so.  As you know, Benny is no longer with us - problem solved.  Any examples that might jog my memory?