The reason for our offensive struggles

by Forrest Brown on Dec 13, 2010 9:42 PM EST

So its no secret our offense is bad. There are good weeks occasionally, such as Oakland, NY Jets game 1, Tennessee, but mostly they are a turnover prone, low point producing unit. I have found myself praising God for our defense almost every time we win. But then I had a realization: wasn't I thinking the exact opposite last year? In 2009, it seemed like every week our defense was giving up too many plays to take advantage of the pounding running game and efficient passing game we had. This year the defense has stepped up big time, but our offense has regressed significantly. So what's diferent?

Same OC (although I do blame him for a lot of our problems).

Better receivers- Camarillo and Ginn are not as good as Hartline and Marshall as starters.

Same QB.

Same RBs.

Which only leaves one position group: the O-line.

Now there are two players who absolutely cannot be blamed: Vernon Carey and Jake Long. Carey has had a solid season, and Jake Long is officially the toughest son of a b!tch to ever play the game of football. So I'll blame the replacement of Justin Smiley, Jake Grove, and Donald Thomas with Richie Incognito, Joe Berger and Pat McQuistan/John Jerry.

Now it may seem unfair to blame three players for all our offense, but they deserve the heaping majority for the following reasons:

1: You absolutely cannot blame the recievers. Brandon Marshall hasn't been great, but has been fine. Davone Bess is money. Hartline really stepped it up before his injury. And Wallace and Moore have shown flashes. There have been no major drops, at least not to the point where they could be blamed for a loss.

2: The inside running game has been terrible. I don't care who you have at RB, but inside running needs great O-line play. And Ronnie and Ricky aren't great outside runners, so a lack of push has really taken out our ground game. The current unit doesn't have the same tough guy streak as last year's. Smiley and Grove were mean as hell, and Thomas was a one-purpose-only mauler. I think they were traded/cut for their pass blocking and injuries, but they really were great at beating people up, and Ronnie and Ricky have felt their absence.

3: Pass protection has been suspect as well, even though that is the reason these players have their jobs. Henne has not been able to step up into the pocket because Berger has been stepping on his toes all the time. This doesn't help anything. Their poor run-blocking also hurts the passing game significantly, as last year Henne was mostly looking at easy to read coverages designed to stop the run game. 8 men in the box makes the QB's job easy. Now that teams can stop the run with less players, they are causing more coverage problems Henne can't handle. He should be able to, but can't. So they deserve at least part of the blame.

If you can name an offensive problem we have that these three players do not have a major role in, please tell me. But I can't help envisioning last years clock-owning offense with this years defense and seeing great things. Imagine what the Colts game last year would have been like with this defense. We would have blown out the AFC champion.

I think this suggests our biggest offseason priority- interior line. So what do you think?

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But at least he could run past people. He would only need to do it once in a while to keep teams honest.

by Forrest Brown on Dec 13, 2010 10:42 PM EST reply actions

Completely agree

Hopefully between FA and the draft the offense is stocked up similarly to the D this last year. We’ll also have Garner back.

RB is tough and I’ll admit total homerism on the R&R express. Would hate to let those two go without a chance behind a stellar interior line. Plus those two defy the norm on age in NFL, I think they could bring it for a few more years.

Rookie Dolphins Fan Dylan Luc, born Oct. 26th, 2010..........Doing my part to increase the fan base......

by Red Dog on Dec 13, 2010 10:55 PM EST reply actions

I agree on R&R...

But I do think we need more speed. I say we draft a speedy guy and try to keep Ronnie first, ricky too if possible. Although either would be fine.

by Forrest Brown on Dec 13, 2010 11:00 PM EST reply actions

O-Line Problems

     From the begining of training camp I’ve had a problem with the way our offensive line has been put together. I blame Sparano plain and simple. An depending on how much Ireland influenced some of the cuts and FA pick-up along the line he would bare a large responsiblity. Jake Long is as good they come he gets a pass from me. You can’t teach what he is. He will be one of those ten year Left Tackles that everyone else is compared to. He’s not Anthony Munoz yet, but, he may be one day.
     Incognito has played RT guard his whole time in the NFL until this year. John Jerry is a natural Right Tackle and I believe he will take Carey’s spot eventually. Carey has been average most of the year. IMO he’s been playing hurt all season. Carey’s contract is huge for a RT tackle. Berger and the rest of the Dallas boys should be backups only.
     Cutting Grove and trading Smiley were bad ideas from the start. I would have rather kept those two around as backups. Maybe they were offered deals to cut their contracts who knows. I would rather have those guys 6-10 games than any of these other guys we’ve brought in.
     Kory Sheets was supposed to be our change of pace back. Maybe we have him back next year. I don’t think he will be the same after an achilles injury. So we have R&R, Cobbs, Hillard. Someone will have to go IMO out of the 4 and it will probably be two of the 4. We need a scat back/speed guy to turn the corner.
     How do we fix it? Logan Mankins in FA. Pair him with Jake Long on the left side an I could run behind them. Switch Incognito back to the RT guard and move Jerry to RT tackle. Then take the best center in the draft. I wish Incognito could play center. That is the mentality I want out of my center. You put this line together and keep them healthy and we are set for the next 6-8 years.
    Here’s an article on Jerry’s switch to tackle read it and you’ll understand Sparano need’s to let his O-Line coach do his job. Read the Jerry quote at the bottom of the article.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/miami-dolphins/fl-dolphins-john-jerry-vernon-carey-120101209,0,4656227.story

by FinFanFromCA on Dec 14, 2010 3:13 AM EST reply actions

I would not go out and say that Carey has been solid...

He has been a major problem in my opinion. I would even say that Long has not been himself(which I wouldn’t really blame him for… the guy is injured). But almost every single sack I have seen where the player came through almost unblocked it was Carey throwing the Ole block(think bullfighting). People though Murtha was bad last week, but honestly I think we should have moved John Jerry out to RT from the beginning of the season. Jerry is a mauler, but he is having trouble I think playing in space(I can remember a few times early where he stepped on Henne’s foot as Henne was taking the snap). I think Jerry is the solution to the Carey problem and hopefully we will get to see him there before this year is over. Next year, we need 2 Guards and one Center on offense.

"When a man's an empty kettle, He should be on his mettle
And yet I'm torn apart Just because I'm presumin'
That I could be a human, If I only had a heart" Chad Henne

by Jason Scott_90 on Dec 14, 2010 6:25 AM EST reply actions

Too much blame is being put on the O-line

While the O-line has had it’s recent problems it was solid pass protecting early in the year. I can’t tell you how many times the announcers would point out during the game how much time Henne had. Probably that was because he was always getting max protect. Still Henne could hit some plays here and there but when they approached the goal line and the field shrunk Henne had a hard time completing passes.

I’m sure a large part of the problem is the stupid play calling from Henning but you also have to blame Henne for not being able to do what other QB’s in this league are able to do. Find and hit the open receiver.

This has changed defenses approach of how they play Henne. They will sit on the inside routes and send a little extra pressure. And since they really are not scared of the quick TD they are stacking the line of scrimmage to stop the run.

Now Oakland took a very different approach and decided to play lots of man coverage with blitzes. This allowed Henne to quickly identify what area of the field would be vacated by the blitzer and find the most favorable man to man coverage. Victory Henne and he had a monster day.

by sdelinois on Dec 14, 2010 9:40 AM EST reply actions

Taking OL early in the draft would be a disaster on an epic scale.

This team doesn’t need more offensive linemen. This team needs speed at the skill positions or a new QB. The Dolphins need to get at least one speedy RB, 2 speedy WR’s, and an vertical threat at TE. Plus it wouldn’t hurt to upgrade the QB position.

The OL is fine. It is middle of the road unit. There are worse OL’s on better teams than the Phins. Pitt, Indy, SD, Chi, GB, Phi all have worse OL’s than the Phins.

But all of those teams have significant talent at the skill positions that make up for any problems they have with the OL. Where the Phins offense is seriously lacking is with speed and skill.

If you take the Phins OL and give it to the Eagles, does the Eagles offense miss a beat? I think not.

"It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." MACBETH
"Walter, I love you, but sooner or later, you're going to have to face the fact you're a goddamn moron." THE DUDE (The Big Lebowski)

by ct1361 on Dec 14, 2010 9:48 AM EST reply actions

Drafting QB

I’m tired of drafting QB in the second round (I know we don’t have a 2nd this year). I think we should find out who the best QB is in the draft and move up and take him even if it’s Luck.

And to all those who point out that Brady was a 6th rounder. It’s I different situation when you already have a top 10 QB on your roster. Right now the QB position is the biggest missing piece. After that I would say it’s interior O-Line.

by sdelinois on Dec 14, 2010 10:18 AM EST up reply actions

are you serious?

Chicago has better skill position players than the fins?
Which Wr for them would take over for our 2 best wr (Marshall,Bess)???

Long Live #13

by FINSPHANATIC on Dec 14, 2010 11:27 AM EST up reply actions

Yeah, Chicago has better overall skill position players

Cutler: A lot better than Henne
Forte: Better than either Williams or Brown
Olsen: Better than Fasano
Marshall is better than any WR on the Bears, but the rest of the Bears WR’s I would take over any of the Phins WR’s. Hester and Knox are both faster, quicker and better than Hartline. Earl Bennett is equivalent to Bess.

As a group, I take the Bears skill position players over the Phins in a heartbeat.

by ct1361 on Dec 14, 2010 1:09 PM EST up reply actions

Can't blame Sparano for dismantling the interior of the line...

You may blame him on the timing but Smiley, Grove, and Thomas were beat up at the end of training camp. Now look at them, they are all 2nd stringers or not even on a roster. I wish we could have had better replacements, but we have guys that can fill multiple rolls and do them well. Not going to say that they are the best replacements but hey, they work for the most part. Unfortunately, running lanes, and passing windows have diminished so bad that we have to go max protect every time we drop back. We will probably draft a couple O-Linemen, and a scatback, or burner receiver. That would force 1 to 2 defensive players out of the box immediately. Hopefully a new OC can make these things happen.

Driver of the "DRAFT RAS-I DOWLING IN 2011" bandwagon!!!
"The only difference between dissapointment and depression is your level of comittment."

by Heater OsE on Dec 14, 2010 10:32 AM EST reply actions