I don't think Sparano is the problem

[Doc-phin]

I only saw two things that Sparano did wrong in the Cleveland game.  He cheered a field goal, like he always does, and I think that sends the wrong message to the team.  And he isn't using Bush in the right way.  But by no means is he the reason we are losing.

I rewatched the game and I didn't see bad game planning or decision making.  You can't blame him for putting Smith on the tight end at the end when Dansby went out.  You can't blame him for the ridiculous fumble that cost points.  You can't blame him for the missed field goals.  You can't blame him for the idiotic penalties, particularly to the QBs head.  You can't blame him for the overthrows by Henne when the pressure started mounting.  You can't blame him for Henne running right into the defense several times.

We dominated that game.  We should have been up by 2 TDs by the 4th quarter easily, but somehow we manage to find a different player every week to let us down.  The last series should have never happened.  The missed field goal should have never happened.  The plays that were blown were blown by guys that have shown they are capable of making the plays and yet don't stay focused enough to get it done consistently.

It comes down to this...  We have an anti-clutch QB who fools you with his ability 20 to 20.  We have an anti-clutch receiver who fools you with his ability 20 to 20.  We are too young at corner.  Our veteran linebackers are making rookie mistakes.  Our premier pass rusher is getting too fancy with his pass rush.  The right side of our O-line is a liability (talent wise).  And our place kicker is having an off year so far.

I think people see Sparano praise the team and feel it is him not recognizing the problem.  I think he is trying to keep the pressure off of them in hopes that they will not turn on each other.  I am sure some of you will say that coaching can make players more consistant or something to that effect.  I don't know about that.  I think there are some things you can do, but for the most part coaches game plan, organize, break down film, evaluate and report to GMs and last but not least take the bullet when players don't make plays.

We lost to Cleveland.  I get it.  We are a disgrace.  Our players are going to get their coaches and themselves fired.  It just sucks that the coaches reputations will be tarnished when the players just can't keep their minds on their jobs. 

[Phishfan]

I get your point Doc. I'm a bit lost myself on where to put this blame. As you said someone new every week is letting things slip past them.

The counter to your point is that a situation like that falls onto the shoulders of the coach as he has not gotten his players into a position to effectively not make the mistakes they have been making. The mindset of a killer is not there.

[MikeO]

oh please, Sparano is the problem. He doesn't win games. He is in a result oriented business. He needs to go. Not even up for debate. The man is a bad coach. Period!

The bar is set pretty low for him, win a home game. He can't even do that.

[EKnight]

I don't know. This is just SO frustrating. Look at the players' numbers:
* a QB averaging 280 yards per game, with fewer INTs than Brady, Rivers, Ben, Sanchez or Matt Ryan.
* a ROOKIE RB who is averaging 101 yards per game on the ground, and despite missing week 1, is 12th overall in rushing yards
* 3 receivers on pace for 900+ yard seasons, with 2 of them on pace for 1000 and one nearly 1400.
* a defense that was advertised as "upgraded" over the 6th rank in the league last year, and that-- somehow-- gives up 416 yards a game.

I'm not saying it's ALL Sparano, but, WOW, it seems like it's not the players- at least not the ones on offense. Some- no MOST- of the calls leave me shaking my head. Henne actually looks like a good QB this year, but he's been put in situations that he can't possibly win in. -EK

[Doc-phin]

Why did we lose game one - Sapp got destroyed by Welker, Carrol had to play due to Davis having cramps, D-line couldn't beat one on one matchups, and Jones took too many chances.

Why did we lose game two - Fumble by Thomas, D-line again couldn't beat one on one matchups.  Henne gets ball hit in throwing motion that ends up as INT in scoring territory, and Dan Carpenter misses two easy ones.

Why did we lose game three - miss by Carpenter, stupid penalties by Olshansky and Y-Bell, fumble in the red zone, ball thrown too high by Henne when the pressure was on.

These are player issues, not coaching issues.  You can say Allen should have never been cut in favor of Sapp and you would be correct on that being a coaching issue in the evaluation department.  But Sapp had a good preseason and plays special teams so you can understand why they took the chance. 

Even with the shitty individual performances listed above, we had a gameplan that put us in a position to win against all three teams we have played thus far.  Individuals making bad decisions lost those games. 

Keep in mind I am not saying coaching has been perfect.  We should have had better communication (faster) on defense in game one.  We could be blocking better in the return game.  We shouldn't use Bush as an inside runner.  We shouldn't celebrate field goals that aren't game winners.  But pay attention to the matchups and our players aren't taking responsibility for themselves from start to finish. 

[Pappy13]

Docphin, who PREPARES the team each week? The coach does. Not by himself of course, but ultimately it falls on him to make sure the team is prepared and you just listed off about 10 examples of players not being prepared to play.  Half of that falls on the players, but the other half falls on the head coach and his coaching staff. There are teams that are prepared to play week in and week out. Somehow those players/coaches get prepared to play and the Dolphins don't. It's certainly not all Sparano's fault, but there's no reason to give him a pass either. He should take as much blame as anyone else.

[masterfins]

It's not all Sparano's fault, it's not all Henne's fault, it's not all Carpenter's fault, it's not all the O-line's fault, it's not all the defense's fault, etc.  There is enough blame to go around to practically every player and coach on the team.  That's what is so discouraging about the funk they are in.  Things are going right for Buffalo and they are 3-0, while the Fins are 0-3, and I would take the Fins' personnel over Buffalo if given the chance.

[miamid45]

Shouldn't even be up for debate.....HE SUCKS...CLUELESS...GAME MANAGEMENT AT ITS WORST!

Will NEVER be a HC again in this league....way too may mistakes.

[Stinger24]

You have got to be kidding he is the head coach we are 0-3 he COACHES the players who are making the mistakes. Sparano is the problem and he has to go.

[jtex316]

As Dave Gray would say, "It's hard to polish a turd", it's hard to say that the head coach is not at least somewhat part of the problem when:

The team starts out 0-3
The team has had back-to-back 7-9 seasons
The team is 1-10 at home in their last 11 games
Players, like Reggie Bush, are completely mis-utilized
Clock management / 2-minute drill management / Time-out management is bad

When the team is winning, the coach is a genius and the QB should be enshrined in the Hall of Fame. When the team is losing, the coach is an idiot who should be fired and the QB should be benched for the back-up. This is just how it goes...but it's hard to ignore the repetitive, continued mediocrity that the Dolphins have been putting out on the field for the past few seasons now.

[jtex316]

And one more thing about Sparano.

I've read in a few different places this week that "The players are going to get Sparano fired", which to me is backwards-facing logic.

Think of a player on the squad like Davone Bess, who is showing up to the games with his A game, working hard, putting in hours, etc...because Sparano is under or mis-utilizing him, his free agency value and his ability to re-sign with the club for a more lucrative deal is being compromised. Who wants to re-sign scrubs off of one of the worst teams in the league?

The head coach is accountable here - and therefore by contradiction, is the problem.

[Doc-phin]

And one more thing about Sparano.

I've read in a few different places this week that "The players are going to get Sparano fired", which to me is backwards-facing logic.

Think of a player on the squad like Davone Bess, who is showing up to the games with his A game, working hard, putting in hours, etc...because Sparano is under or mis-utilizing him, his free agency value and his ability to re-sign with the club for a more lucrative deal is being compromised. Who wants to re-sign scrubs off of one of the worst teams in the league?

Smart players realize this.  We don't have many of those on our team.  The other guys don't seem to realize that a new regime means clearing out the house.  But our A game guys like Bess and Hartline aren't exactly dominating players, so even their A game isn't going to keep the coach in his job.  I am fine with the argument that we aren't using Bush right, but Bess, Hartline, Marshall, Fasano and Thomas all seem to be getting their numbers called in the way you would expect.  Henne is just sucking in the red zone and nobody seems to be winning their matchup when it really counts (particularly Marshall who should absolutely be our go to guy in the red zone).

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Is it not obvious that we are losing due to random mental errors by different guys at different times?  If they are playing good enough in one game and then not good enough in another was it because of the coaching that week?  No way.  Henne seems to understand his audibles just fine.  Can a coach make him not overthrow the receiver in the end zone?  Was coaching responsible for the two fumbles, three missed field goals, tipped pass, hits on the QBs head?  Cameron Wake seemed to be coached well enough last year, did the coaching all the sudden make him not be able to get around the tackle?  Is Taylor unable to beat decent left tackles because of coaching?  He has been in the league 15 years.  Are guys running the wrong routes like they did in the preseason?  How did that get fixed... COACHING.

The truth is I blame Parcels for his outdated "blue print" and Henning for his outdated offense far more than any other source of our failure.  Once it became clear that the "blue print" would only get us so far, Ireland and Sparano had to scramble to make us faster and more aggressive.  It is taking too long for the fans to handle after all the years of losing. 

Another example of coaching not being the issue...

If John Jerry performed as expected (year one to year two), we would have been good at right guard and Carey would have been adequate at right tackle.  If coaching was the problem, why is the rest of the O-line OK?  How much better would we be if we didn't have to max protect with Fasano to cover Columbo's ass?  Now all we do is question Sparano because of his O-line history and use it as an example of how bad of a coach he is.  So what is the truth?  Can Sparano all the sudden coach every O-line position but right guard?  Common guys.

[jtex316]

^ I think that "Mental Errors" are part of a coach's job to eradicate. The Patriots are a great example of a team that commits few mental errors a game - their coach is a future hall-of-famer. The Dolphins seem to always commit those annoying mental errors at the worst possible times (in the red zone, with the game on the line, etc...). Why is that? Why is it that the Dolphins' players are the ones making the mental errors at the critical times? Is it just the players like Bush and Marshall and Henne...or does coaching play a part here?

I think that great NFL coaches know that X's and O's and mechanics are only a part of the job - building confidence and the psychological aspect of it all is what really makes players play on Sunday and show up in the clutch and cut way down on those mental errors that seem to plague the Dolphins.

Being a "player's coach" isn't necessarily equal to being a good / great coach.

[jtex316]

It comes down to this...  We have an anti-clutch QB who fools you with his ability 20 to 20.  We have an anti-clutch receiver who fools you with his ability 20 to 20.  We are too young at corner.  Our veteran linebackers are making rookie mistakes.  Our premier pass rusher is getting too fancy with his pass rush.  The right side of our O-line is a liability (talent wise).  And our place kicker is having an off year so far.

The truth is I blame Parcels for his outdated "blue print" and Henning for his outdated offense far more than any other source of our failure.  Once it became clear that the "blue print" would only get us so far, Ireland and Sparano had to scramble to make us faster and more aggressive.  It is taking too long for the fans to handle after all the years of losing.

So which one is it? That we have an anti-clutch team or that we have an outdated blue print? They are not mutually exclusive.

[Doc-phin]

^ I think that "Mental Errors" are part of a coach's job to eradicate. The Patriots are a great example of a team that commits few mental errors a game - their coach is a future hall-of-famer. The Dolphins seem to always commit those annoying mental errors at the worst possible times (in the red zone, with the game on the line, etc...). Why is that? Why is it that the Dolphins' players are the ones making the mental errors at the critical times? Is it just the players like Bush and Marshall and Henne...or does coaching play a part here?

I respect the opinion.  My opinion is that intelligence is more of a factor.  Look at the players the Patriots have had and the truly successful ones were typically smarter. 

Smarts list (who would you pick as the smartest and not just best coached):

Henne or Brady
Marshall or Moss (lazy at times maybe, but not dumb)
Bess or Welker
Dansby or Bruschi

Hell, I could go on forever really.  Wish I knew the Pats current defenders better, but I could probably do the same type list for O-lineman.  Notice how we don't see players like Ochocinco and Haynesworth benefiting from the awesome coaching, Why?  Dumb! 

As far as the "which one" question...  Anti-clutch refers to our current status.  Blue print refers to how we got here.  Not really mutually exclusive.  The blue print is being adjusted and really began when we got rid of Henning (could make an argument that it began with Marshall, but not so sure).