I also watched Dan Campbell’s press conference twice now, noting several things. I also took in as many interviews and articles as I could cram in.
The thing that strikes me the most is that Richie Incognito said the Bills kept running the same running play over and over and over. The Bills linemen were laughing at our linebackers, because they just sat there and let the Bills pulling guard block them. Terrible.
Made me think…can you guys name ONE impactful play any of our linebackers have made all year? I cannot think of one sack or turnover. It might have happened, but it certainly wasn’t memorable.
It is so disgracefull that the Dolphins wasted a first-round draft pick on an unneeded, unnecessary benchwarming WR when we so desperately need a tough linebacker and some DBs who cover and hit.
I don’t know if Campbell will be offered the job next year, but if he does, I kinda see him as the type of guy who will DEMAND an opinion when it comes to the draft. And he will not be stupid enough to think that WR is our topmost concern.
- Campbell has watched Jamar Taylor run around in circles all year.
- He’s watched Brent Grimes fall down when trying to catch up to fast receivers who’ve just burned him.
- He’s watched Walt Aikens and Michael Thomas never get in position until it’s too late.
- He’s watched his linebackers make zero impactful plays.
- He’s watched defensive penalties destroy so many plays.
- He’s watched his overall defense give up 30+ points far too many times.
- He’s watched All Pros like Blake Bortles, Kirk Cousins, and Tyrod Someone pick us apart.
After all of that nonsense, do you think Campbell will sit around and let some suit say, “Hey! Let’s waste our first-round pick on a benchwarmer Wide Receiver!”?
What good is a WR when you have crap for a QB?
No good!
I hope Cambell would use some other dbs like bobby McCain or lippet to see if they can do better than Taylor and take out the linebackers that ain’t doing nothing and put in back ups like Tripp or the others to see if they can do a better job. By the way I read this site every day and when Philbin was fired I felt like do doing cart wheels but the loosings that is going on got me pissed because I believe this team is better than 3-5 they need to stop sewing things up and be like it. Win or loose I will stand by my dolphins because I have been their fan ever since the 80’s when they played the redskins in the Superbowl and I ain’t going nowhere else! So all other fans want to drop or leave us for a better team then go on and do it since we all are grown people but as for me I am with dolphins no matter what because we fight or die that is just the way we roll!
I hasten to call Tannehill an awful QB but wont argue too much with those that do. Heres my take. Is there anybody who supports tannehill that feels with a stellar oline and supporting cast that he will suddenly turn into Aaron Rogers, or Tom Brady? I just don’t think so and haven’t seen anything that leads me to believe that. Is he serviceable yes, has he done some great things? Yes. Does he tend to respond to pressure poorly ? I think so. For far too long has he failed to his receivers in stride allowing for YAC yes. Is he getting better in this category ? Yes but not enough for it to make a difference. Finally would Brady or Rogers perform better if they were the QB of this current Dolphins team? Probably but I doubt our win/loss column would be much different. So theres my 2 cents.
Brady or Rodgers would have this team in the SB. There’s my 2 cents.
Only if Brady and Rodgers can cover wide receivers and stop running backs. Cuz the Dolphins don’t have anybody to do that.
@Mike do your really believe that we would be in the SB with either of those two guys? Or are you saying that b/c your that unhappy with Tannehill? I do believe they are in fact better quarterbacks with intangibles which would translate to better overall team performance. But I doubt SB with our decent but inconsistent defense and the same regarding our offensive talent. But I respect your opinion.
@PhinsUp
Yes Brady or Rodgers would have this team in the SB. We have some nice players other than at QB. And Brady and Rodgers make all those around them much better. They don’t have or need great OL’s. They can control the clock, sustain drives, and keep their D well rested and fresh. They are winners no matter what players are around them.
Is that what happened last week when Rodgers and the Packers defense gave up 500+ yards and lost to Carolina? It doesn’t work out like that as much as you think. Our defense can’t stop the run point blank.period. So, would Rodgers give us a far better chance to win in a shoot out? Hell yes. But other than that scenario, there is more to a team than just the quarterback. Even a great one. Just ask Marino how many Superbowls he went to.
Did anyone catch a glimpse at Jamis Winston playing against the Giants? Now I’m not saying he was perfect, BUT, he was far better as a rookie of 3 months playing than Tannehill’s 3 years. He doesn’t have the natural ability to make his assessment of the defense in the time after they break huddle, approach line of scrimmage, call out his cadence and if need be change the play. Brady, Rodgers, both Manning’s, Luck all have that ability to process all that rapidly. Tannehill just can’t. Maybe WR would have been better for him. I see a few good throws, then some things that look like he hasn’t learned a thing. Let’s face it, it’s not working out.
http://espn.go.com/nfl/qbr
I agree Frustrated. I see some great things that keep me hanging onto hope for him. But an equal amount of bad plays that make me feel hes not instinctual more of a robotic QB without the innate ability to improvise and he tends to crumble under pressure. Sure I understand the O-Line shares in the blame but bigtime plays when he has decent protection tend to go south and it seems he takes the easy way out throwing a pass for 3 yards when we need 15. I dunno I just don’t see any Marino quality about him. And I watched Marino for years and have copies of most of his old games. Watch Marino then watch last weeks game . You see a huge difference. Oh well the debate continues I guess.
Tannehill doesn’t have the freedom to audible to any play that he wants. He can change the play to certain predetermined run or pass plays at the line of scrimmage based on what certain players on the defense are showing. But he has never had the freedom to change to any given play based on what he reads at the line of scrimmage.
@DOLPHGANG!
That’s a good thing that he doesn’t have freedom cause even in year 4 the guy is totally clueless at reading defenses.
There’s no debate…Tannepuke.
Guys…. remember this about our WR situation headed into the draft and into the beginning of the season:
1) the only known commodity we had was Jarvis Landry
2) Mike Wallace & Brian Hartline were shipped out of town
3) Rishard Matthews wanted out and no one could have expected what he’s done this year
4) Kenny Stills just got traded to us
5) Greg Jennings wasn’t even in Miami yet and really hasn’t done much this year
Receiver was a REALLY thin position. I know we needed an LB in round 1 or 2 but Devante Parker sure made me feel better. Yes he’s done nothing yet but let’s not trash him yet. WR’s historically take time to develop unless your name is Randy Moss.
I just wish we upgraded our QB position before we draft 1st rd WR’s. That being said Parker is a huge disappointment.
No doubt WR was a huge need after dumping 3 WR’s and a great TE. Dumping them all in one year was idiotic. What team does that?
But this team keeps drafting injured players. We’ve gotten almost zero help from the draft the last 9 years. And they get rid of their best players every year (Welker, Marshall, Long, Wallace, Dansby, Clay, Bush, etc). Then they experiment with HC’s that have never been an NFL HC, and hire incompetents for GM’s. Its so pathetic compared to where this franchise used to be.
Sorry guys, but you’re mixing up your facts while defending the incorrect and ridiculous decision to waste our first-round draft pick on an un-needed benchwarmer wide receiver. Yes, we lost Wallace, Hartline, and Clay before the draft. But also BEFORE the draft, we signed Cameron and Jennings and traded for Stills. We lost 3 receivers and gained 3 receivers. Devante Parker was not a replacement for those guys you mentioned. Those guys were already replaced. Parker was just stockpiling.
@Admin
LMAO at Silly Admin. They desperately needed a top WR after completely cleaning house last year. Unfortunately Parker hasn’t worked out. Cameron, Jennings, and Stills all stink. Hartline has as many TD’s as all of them combined. And the Dolphins STILL don’t have a #1 WR. But WR was clearly the biggest need after cleaning house last year.
They drafted Devante Parker because he has a wide catch radius it seems like a good decision at the time he was the missing link on the receiver corps not he’s warming the bench it sucks but you guys got to be fair about it I didn’t hear a lot of people screaming and yelling about drafting Devante Parker when we got in right after the draft not he’s warming the bench everybody’s acting like they always thought it was a bad decision and I’m sorry but that’s not my perception to disappoint
With Tannepuke they need WR’s with a wide catch radius to catch his errant passes and taking a WR made perfect sense but not one with a foot problem.
I can’t speak for everyone, but back In April, I was rightfully saying that we needed to draft defensive players. It’s not like our holes in the secondary and at LB were secrets. The linebackers were awful in May and didn’t get better since. Jamar Taylor was awful in May and has gotten worse since. From the very beginning, I was against this pick of Parker.
I just checked the archives from last April…and several of you regular readers wanted Parker, ha !! 🙂
Hey guys success is playing well with what you got and winning games. Greatness is playing incredible well and winning games. The dolphins had both a long time ago but now it seems they are earning a pay check to loose every year. Right now every team except 3 knows the dolphins are predictable on offense and defense so how you get success back is this. Offense 1- stay with pass plays that get you first downs or more that have worked out before and throw the dump off plays out the window. 2- leave short yardage plays for the running game and screens even if they are not doing well stay with it because it help rest your qb arm and the defense can’t say you guys are just playing one sided football so will blizt all day. 3- on every possession throw at least one deep ball( 50 or more yards) even if you don’t catch them all at least the defense can’t say these guys can’t go deep so we know they will go short each time. 4- run fake punts and fake field goals as needed. As for our defense who can’t stop the run and can’t cover people well just play a 5-2 defense and on 2nd and 3rd downs take out lbs and go with 3 more dbs
This off season needs to focus on LB replacement except for Jenkins, free safety, CB, and OG. This needs to be a focus in the draft and free agency. I hate even talking about this already but we need to win every game except maybe 1 to have a realistic shot at the playoffs. That’s a sad truth.
I think we can lose two more and still make the playoffs at 9-7. A tough schedule ahead, but it’s doable I suppose. We won’t make it there if the defense continues to play bad.
Better LBs, DBs, and OG are definitely needed. No question. Unfortunately, they were needed last May too, but instead we took a WR and a DT.
This team won’t do anything until the guys at the top get their act together. Ross is 100% responsible for this debacle. He’s the one who held onto the incompetent Philbin two years too long. He should gave gotten the axe after the bullying scandal when it was exposed that he didn’t know what was going on with his team or cared to do anything about it if he did. Oh and let me add, the scandal was probably a direct result of that fact that he jettisoned all the real leaders/policers in the locker room through cuts or by letting them walk in free agency(Dansby, Bush) while leaving headcases like Incognito as the most senior voice. If the Dolphins can get this next coaching hire right we have a chance because we have a lot of young pieces to build around. That’s a big if with Ross at the helm though. He has exhibited nothing but cluelessness as far as football acumen. We need a young offensive-minded qb friendly coach who isn’t afraid to hire competent coordinators. I hear nothing but good things about Adam Gase of the Bears. He may be that young innovative type mind that can take Tannehill’s game to the next level. This team has no hope for the rest of this season because the remaining staff is still Philbin’s staff. Meaning it’s still an inadequate group of coaches who know how to lose. Plus with all the holes Ireland created through poor drafting and supposed quick-fixes via free agency the roster is littered with holes at cb, safety, mlb, guard, etc.., so a great coach with a quality staff that can scheme around defeciencies is sorely needed. Something we haven’t had in a long time.
@DOLPHGANG!!
I agree with most of what you are saying. The guy that would’ve prevented the Incognito debacle was Jake Long but they let him go.
And the blame goes clearly on Ross, besides Philbin he kept Ireland 5 years to long.
As far as a HC I much prefer an experienced NFL HC to another new experiment where they failed 5-6 times in a row.
I think our best hope is to pray for new ownership.
QB is our weakest position. Not even Marino could make chicken salad out of that chicken shit.
Cameron, Saban, Philbin, Sparano, Bates, Bowles, Campbell . All 1st time NFL HC’s and all failures. Well, I guess Campbell hasn’t failed yet but he is clueless in many aspects.
New ownership would be nice but the only way that happens is if Ross tires of playing with his current toy. Best we can hope is that he learns from his mistakes and that the fact that we have a guy like Suh in his prime will make the job way more attractive to suitable candidates this time around. Attractive enough that potential candidates will ignore how Ross has mishandled things. People can say what they want about our current qb in regards to how much they think he is or isn’t the answer. But I always give him the benefit of the doubt because I don’t feel that he has had the proper coaching since he’s been in the league. Any young, developing qb would look inconsistent if they had to develop under our former braintrust. I’ve watched and re-watched all our games in entirety from the 2013 season to now and man his incompetence was uncanny. There has to be about five games we easily could have won or been in late that were lost on idiotic tactical decisions that had little to do with the players. Those five games or so over the course of two seasons are the difference between the 9-7/10-6 and the play-offs as opposed to the 8-8 we’ve been forced to endure. If you had considerably less talent than the Dolphins or if our team presented you a huge match-up disadvantage then Miami would win those games usually easily. But anytime we faced a team with questionably equal talent or a slightly better roster we were almost guaranteed to lose because those are the games that would swing on coaching decisions. Philbin and his staff couldn’t outcoach or outscheme anybody worth their salt. Case in point, the Kansas City game last year and the Green Bay game. The Chiefs game was a very winnable game that was decided by Andy Reid’s game-planning and our staffs lack of in-game adjustments specifically defensively. The second half of the Green Bay game was notably one of the worst exhibits of situational game management that one may ever witness. Usually if a coach or staff mishandles something and it’s notable enough to be looked at afterwards as the turning point in a game it is usually just one glaring error. But not queasy Joe and the Dolphins coaches, they proceeded to commit a comedy of errors that would make the Keystone cops look like brain surgeons in contrast. Not attempting to run the ball and take the clock down initially on their final drive but then running on 3rd down and not even attempting to pick up the first down and effectively end the game by keeping the ball away from Rodgers. And not to mention the terrible time-out on 4th down after a strip sack by Cam Wake that was recovered by a Green Bay offense that was up against the clock that allowed them to reset and get the play they wanted called and move the chains. Next was the fake spike a la Marino and the goal line time-out which also displays utter stupidity because out of a time-out with time to think about it you still put your worst coverage line-backer back on the field(Wheeler) in an obvious passing situation. I’ve pondered that decision countless times. Why not an extra db in that situation? With these idiots at the helm I can truly hold nothing against the players.
Jake Long blows. We could have had Matt Ryan. Long was good for probably 2 years until he became routinely injured. It was wise to let him go.
@Bryan Teegardin
Not drafting Matt Ryan set this franchise back 10 years. I was just saying Long would have prevented the abuse and discrimination Incognito handed out. And Jake Long was a good player although not a difference maker and got injured.
Maybe we’ll luck up and get Sean Payton even though I doubt he’ll leave New Orleans.
Sean Payton would certainly replace Tannepuke which is what is needed. Tannepuke got Sherman, Philbin, and will get Campbell and any other coach fired.
Notice that coaches of top QB’s rarely if ever get fired. Marino, Bradshaw, Farve, Brady, Manning, Brees, Rodgers, Rothlisberger, Elway, Staubach, Griese, Wilson, Montana. Young, Aikman, Tarkenton, Starr, Kelley, etc, etc. Good QB’s make good coaches. Crappy QB’s like Tannehill get everyone fired.
Besides Kong our D is a finesse D that can’t hold the edge and LB’s can’t plug the gap. Its that simple. We can’t stop Two RB’s and one WR for 350 yrds. We are not physical enough. We need a B Cox or Z Thomas. With the players we have stopping the run is going to continue to be a problem that might not be fixable.
How is it so clear to me that our D is the main reason we lost most of our games but some people keep thinking its Thill. Here is last game summary :
Drive #1: Start at Miami 6….1 play…bad snap leads to Safety…mistake is on Pouncey.
Drive #2: Start at Miami 18….9 plays….Thill was 2 for 5….Jennings drop…Landry drop…PUNT
Drive #3: Start at Miami 15…9 plays…Thill was 4 for 4….TD Run by Miller
Drive #4: Start at Miami 7…5 plays…Thill was 2 for 3…46 yd pass to Stills….3rd & 7…bad pass by Thill
Drive #5: Start at Miami 13…10 plays…Thill was 8 for 11….Sims drops TD pass.
Halftime
Drive #6: Start at Miami 20…9 plays…Thill was 4 for 4…1 for 21 yds / 1 for 27 yds…TD run Miller
Drive #7: Start at Miami 30…7 plays…Thill was 1 for 2…3rd and 12…Fox allows bad sack…fumble
Drive #8: Start at Miami 20…7 plays…Move to Buff 40…4th & 7…Fox holding…punt
Drive #9: Start at Miami 7 (dropped kick)…Thill was 6 for 9 and move them to Buff 19. Fox offsides for loss of 5 and Fox allowed 11 yard Sack…Field goal
Im not a big Thill fan and I know he has a lot of problems but you can’t say his shitty play is the reason we lost. He was over 70% comps and over 100% rating. If he keeps playing this shitty he will have over 4400 yrds and 30 Td for the season
You can say his numbers are padded but so are all the top QB’s in the NFL TBrad has a higher YAC% than Thill. Thats how he killed us two weeks ago with screen passes. ARodg DBree PRiver all have about the same YAC than Thill
We run a west coast offense and that dink and dunk is how the system is designed. Its considered an extension of the run. It’s all about Yards After Catch. with no big power runs up the middle.
One more thing we have to do is run the shit out of Ajay. Remember Ricky Williams? He would punish the DB’s and LB’s. They did not like going one on one with RW. It hurt to tackle a big RB like him.
That’s why the more touches RW would get the better he did and he always broke a long run in the second half. He would make the DB’s and LB’s gunshy and just arm tackle. Ajay is that RB to punish a D and he is Super quick fast twitch and big which makes him EXPLOSIVE.
The way our D is playing we need to score 30+ to stay in the game.
The way the O is playing the D needs to pitch a shutout!
Kel, thanks for posting that. It shows how close we were several times. I know close doesn’t count, but a lot of those drives ended for non-Tannehill reasons. No one is saying he is an All Pro, but we do give him credit where it’s due.
@Mike. Mike Sherman was fired when Favre was his qb, Dan Reeves got the axe when Elway was in Denver, and so did Jimmy Johnson (although it wasn’t warrantied) when Aikman was his qb. You’re consistently wrong and equally as annoying in your attempts to troll. Where’s Big J. when you need him? I need help admonishing idiots like yourself.
@DOLPHGANG!!
I didn’t say it never happens I just said its rare. But keep shaking your pom poms for loser Tannebum. He is just terrible.
@kelvrert. Good points. Tannehill has been on a team that lacks identity since he came into the league. That’s why Campbell has tried to instill a more physical style of play. Unfortunately he’s handicapped by his inexperience as only being a tight ends coach and being handcuffed to Philbin’s remaining staff. Ask yourself on any given Sunday during the Philbin era how we were going to win a game schematically. Were we a running team, a defensive team, or a high-powered passing offense? The answer to that is neither. The lack of an identity under Philbin has killed us. If you look at all the contending teams past and present, they have an established identity. Meaning that they are very good in one area and teams have to overcome that to beat them. The Dolphins were not very good in any facet of the game under Philbin and his staff. Couldn’t run with power so being a dominant run team was out of the question. Couldn’t stop the run so being a defensive team was out of the question. And couldn’t protect the qb, who is young and developing still, consistently in obvious passing situations so being a high-powered pass offense was out of the question. Bad coaching and no identity under Philbin. We were lucky to even be 8-8 the past few seasons.
@Jay. Well we were only less allowing two 100-yard rushers and a 180 plus yard receiver from pitching a defensive shutout last game. Smh!
LOL, Gang. Good one!!!
The D is on the field all game because Tannebum cant mount a F’N drive. They wear down. Get a real QB and everything turns around.
LOL. Yes, Mike and Jay are right. Brent Grimes fell down 47 times last Sunday because of Ryan Tannehill.
@Admin
Blaming pro bowler Brent Grimes instead of Tannepuke?? LMAO! Too Funny!
@Mike. No you just made another whoafully inaccurate point as usual.
Newsflash for the football stupid. Play close attention here because those of us who actually know a little something about football are trying to enlighten you a little. If your teams defense can’t stop the run then that means the other team can control the clock therefore dominating time of possession therefore keeping your offense off the field and from scoring points. If you look at the two games against Buffalo and at the Jets game we were run on consistentlyand that helped keep our offense off the field. Those are the games that the team scored the least points in right? Now look at the two games against Houston and Tennessee that we scored the most points in and you’ll notice that we dominated in the ground game offensively and stopped the opposing teams from establishing their run games. And guess what, our highest-scoring games of the seasons resulted. Cause and effect.
Might want to tone it down on the logic DOLPHGANG!! Not sure it will go over well here. Good points on the ground game. Our inability to stop the run not only handicaps the rest of the defense but puts a lot of pressure on the offense to score or move the ball on every possession, which is even more important in a rhythm based offense. I do have a counterpoint to the time of possession argument though. Remember that horrendous game we played against Indianapolis back in 2009. They had the ball for a whopping 14+ minutes and still beat us. That is our other problem on defense. We give up the big play way too often. We lack discipline and our linebackers don’t stay in their gaps. But that’s just my $0.02.
Dolphgang’s love for Tannepuke clouds any ounce of logic. He is one of those football morons that will love Tannepuke right up until the day he is cut. He doesn’t realize how he has been booed at home games. The same guys that loved Henne love Tannepuke. Its so laughable.
P.S. The only possible explanation is if Dolphgang is Tannepuke’s wife!
People loved Henne? Do you have an opinion Jay that doesn’t resort to mocking Tannehill’s name as the basis of your argument?
Every Dolphin fan loved Henne UNTIL he got cut. Ross called him the 2nd coming of Dan Marino!
Brandon, Everything you said is so true from rhythm based offense to LB’s not holding gap assignments. Yes that game in 09 was unbelievable.
It’s amazing how consistently Jay can cite insignificant shit but not logically counter any argument with any football related points, examples, or knowledges. Fans booing. Who gives a rat’s ass? They do that when they pay their hard earned money to see a game and the team comes out flat at home consistently. And Brandon is 100% right about how big plays consistently hurt us as evidenced by last week. If you noticed a pattern under Coyle it was that he would never scheme to take away another teams big play guy(s). If we were playing Detroit and Megatron was healthy he’d have one on one all day with Grimes and they we would be more than happy with than match-up. Sure he might only have six or seven catches with a healthy Grimes covering but one would usually be something like that 50-yard bomb he caught on us last year. That one play was enough to change that game. I could never understand why not double Gronk, double Megatron, or as in last week double Watkins and make a lesser player have to beat you. Coyle didn’t believe in that though . Most Sundays it seemed that their game plan was to basically line up 11 on 11 and hope Wake and Vernon can get to the qb. I mean don’t get me wrong they had their different packages, 5-2, speed package, and etc.., But I can remember very little personnel based scheming that was done.
http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/nfl/miami-dolphins/article44321760.html