FanPost

Miami Dolphins' offense - the worst unit in football?

I'd like to start this one out by saying that I have been a lifelong Dolphins fan. However, I am a pretty young guy who lives in an overlap of Titans/Falcons/Saints broadcasting areas, so I have never really had the chance to see many televised games before this year. I remember back in 08 the only games I was able to see live were the week 17 game against the Jets and the wild-card matchup against the Ravens. Last year landed us a few primetime games, but those were highlighted by meltdowns against the Colts and Saints. So, this year, I decided to swing for the fences and buy a new Samsung 1080p 120hz TV, a 5.1 surround speaker system, and switch to DIRECTV so I could get NFL Sunday Ticket all so I could watch my Miami Dolphins each week. So, this year, I have seen every snap of Miami Dolphins football. And I want all of my money back. I'm not kidding, either. I am absolutely repulsed by what I have witnessed each week from this team on the offensive side of the football, and I am thoroughly disgusted with myself for spending money to watch it. So, where to begin? Let's start with the peripherals and build up to the big stuff:

  • Brandon Marshall has not been the guy we all expected him to be. Yes, Marshall is hauling in more catches than most receivers in the league. Yes, he's getting double-teamed. But honestly, can anyone name a game-changing play that he had this year? Just one single moment when you sat back and said to yourself "Now that's the Brandon Marshall I know and love"? I can't. His yards after catch this year have been virtually non-existent, and this is where he's supposed to be the league leader. I know that Henne doesn't lead his receivers very well. I know that Marshall is seeing a lot of double coverage. But the fact is, this guy has been dropping more passes than ever before and failing to deliver after the catch in those few times when he does have the opportunity. When I envisioned Marshall on this team, I pictured this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPINVd9zBko. Has anyone seen this guy lately? I sure as hell haven't.
  • Is anyone else bothered by the fact that Anthony Fasano seems to be the only tight end on this roster? When you look at the elite teams in this league, you almost always find a standout tight end who is known for his prowess over the middle: Antonio Gates, Todd Heap, Dustin Keller, Tony Gonzalez, Kevin Boss, Dallas Clark, Visanthe Shancoe, Jermichael Finley. These guys are all integral parts of their team's offense, and it leads to great success in the passing game. Since the Dolphins don't have any run game to speak of right now, why exactly is it that our only tight-end is a run-blocker? I know Fasano can catch, but give me a break. He's a bruiser by trade, and we only pass to him as a gimmick to confuse defenses or out of desperation from a stagnant passing game.
  • The interior O-line is an absolute disaster. Our center and guards have been getting run over week in and week out, forcing Long and Carey back inside to help. This is why, despite having a premier left tackle and above-average right tackle, we are constantly being pass-rushed to hell and back from both the inside and outside. This is all Sparano's doing, and this is supposed to be his specialty.
  • Due to the aforementioned interior line problems, our running game is an absolute joke. Yet both Sparano and Henning are determined, nay, guaranteed, to try to win games with the running game. When we get into the red zone, we crank up the runs. When we get ahead, we stop passing the ball completely. Sparano has this fascination with time of possession that he thinks wins football games, but I've got news for you Tony - this team absolutely dominated in time of possession last season and looked like total garbage, and finished with a losing record. Time of possession means nothing when your red zone execution sucks and you have the worst scoring offense in football.
  • This is where I would talk about Chad Henne, but I honestly don't want to do that. When we win a game, you all want us to induct him into the hall of fame. When we lose a game, you all want him waived immediately and you want us to start a 3rd string quarterback who has won one game in his career. Maybe we should all just shut up about Henne until the underlying disease of this offense is fixed, and then break out the torches and pitchforks if he continues to suck.
  • So, what's the underlying disease of the offense? I think anyone who reads this blog has the same response at this point. Dan Henning. The man is old enough for Social Security. He was of legal drinking age at the time Super Bowl I was played. This man is the reason that I want my money back for all the crap that I bought this year. Watching the Dolphins attempt to execute a drive is gut-wrenching. Watching them perform in the redzone is responsible for a hole in the plaster of one of my walls, along with numerous dents and cracks in various objects around my apartment. Dan Henning is a fool. Dan Henning is garbage. Dan Henning deserves to be taken out in front of a firing squad for the sake of everything that is football and everything that is the Miami Dolphins organization. Any time Chad Henne throws an interception or makes any kind of obvious error, Henning immediately yanks him off the field and sends in the Wildcat. This sentence right here is the last time I will ever on this blog type the word Wildcat. I almost threw up just writing it twice in a matter of moments. Even when Henne is doing well, we still pull him off the field and run that other formation until it results in a tackle for loss or a third and long. Then, we send Henne back out to convert. This sends one message loud and clear to Henne, and we have done it every single game of his career: We don't trust you to win the game, but we'll let you try after the guys we actually do want out on the field playing for us don't deliver. Forget who Henne is or how he performs or anything about him. You absolutely can't send that message to a quarterback. Sparano and Henning have never shown any trust or confidence in him, and it's obvious he's been coached to second-guess himself and even expect himself to make mistakes. I feel so badly for this kid.

Did anyone watching the game today see the close-up of Eric Mangini after the Browns missed that field goal? The camera got a perfectly clear shot of him saying "F*ck me!" That is exactly how I feel right now.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of The Phinsider's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of The Phinsider writers or editors.