1) I don't blame Tannehill much for yesterday, even though he threw three picks. They weren't his fault. One was Landry's. The other was because he was about to be sacked. The third was when he had to take a wild gamble because it was fourth down.
The Landry thing hurt. That should've been a TD. But Tanny had a bad read on the others. He had no protection either. O-Line is not coming together and they appear worse than last year.
2) PLEASE STOP TRYING TO BLOCK PUNTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's more likely to extend drives for the opponent.
I don't think you can stop trying -- you have to apply pressure or else the gunners will be lighting up our return men. You need to have better discipline in realizing when you're not going to get the block and laying off. This is doubly-true with you're 4th and less than 5.
3) Philbin didn't really do anything too stupid yesterday, except maybe leaving Tannehill in when the score was 41-14. I liked that he did not give up when it was 34-14 and went for the onside kick. That said, I still think he is a dumb coach.
Philbin isn't stupid. He's just so incredibly predictable and boring and lifeless. It's not mistakes that he's making. It's opportunities he's not taking. The key moment that bothered me was when we were down 17-0 and he punted on 4th and 3(ish) at midfield. The game is over at that point. You have no faith in your players.
4) I can't blame the defensive coordinator for the defense. He can't make the guys cover, tackle, and generate pressure on the quarterback. That is up to the players.
I don't know that it's specifically the coordinator, but it is the coaches, in general. Readyness to play and intensity comes from the staff. Arm-tackling and not knowing where to be -- that can be one individual's problem, but when it's the whole team for 3 straight weeks, it falls on the coaches who are failing to get this message across. It's also a possibility that the coaches aren't using the talent correctly. It just seems like we're lining up our guys against theirs and going, rather than working to utilize the unique talents of our team.
5) The biggest blame for this disaster is the front office. Signing Suh was the stupidest thing this franchise could have done and I bet every team in the league knows that. $114 million? For that money you could rebuild both the offensive line AND some other areas of the team. And extending Philbin was dumb too. I just don't get why they don't learn. They did this with Wannestedt and Sparano, and both of those guys were gone before they finished their first seasons after they signed their extensions.
I don't agree with this. I wasn't a fan of signing Suh, but he's the best in the game at his position and will help the team win. It's just not there yet. The drafting has been fine recently. And the Philbin contract thing -- you just have to understand how football works. Those contracts mean nothing. It's just a message to your coach that you believe in him. They will still fire Philbin and pay him salary as a severance for him continued cooperation. You don't often have coaches working with an expiring deal. It's just how sports management works.
6) The really stupid play call I thought was the end around on a third down near midfield. However, the offensive coordinator can't really be faulted much. If your line can't block, there's not much you can do on offense.
I hate the 8 yard pitch-back when you need a yard, knowing that our O-line can't hold for squat.
7) I STILL think the wildcat should be brought back out of desperation.
That's nuts.
I sometimes think Dolphins fans could run this team better than the current organization.
I think that fans, in general, are dumb. The coaches must know things we don't. But I think there's an old-school mentality. You don't get a job at this high a level, unless you've coached under other guys with the same mentality. So, you get these old-guard-types that don't really understand the way the game is currently played and are stuck in the past.
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