Game 9 thoughts: Jets at Dolphins
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Game 9 thoughts: Jets at Dolphins
The winner of this year’s Super Toilet Bowl is…
Your Miami Dolphins!
In one of the least exciting games anyone is ever likely to see, the Jets and Dolphins each scored 6 offensive points and made everyone forget that the NFL is all about offense these days. I’d love to say it was a hard-fought defensive battle – but it wasn’t. It was simply two putrid offenses that couldn’t do anything right.
I’m not going to talk much about the Dolphins’ offense, because there was none. Brock Osweiler was awful – wildly inaccurate and missing open receivers all day. The running game sucked, the OL sucked, the TEs were non-existent and the WRs did nothing. The Dolphins’ offense had just 7 first downs and were 3-16 on third down, and had a total of 168 yards. Hard to play any worse. And that’s really all there is to say.
The defense was outstanding, generating pressure, stuffing the run, getting 4 INTs and making plays everywhere. Jerome Baker had a pick 6, and Cam Wake finally woke up and had two sacks and constant pressure. Akeem Spence also had two sacks, as he finally played a good game as a Dolphin. There were too many missed tackles for my liking (X. Howard missed two), but overall there are no complaints. The D dominated against one of the worst NFL offenses, and that’s the way it should be. Next week, against the Packers, I think we’ll see the usual Dolphins’ Swiss cheese D – but yesterday they showed they can at least destroy a bad offense.
Special teams were excellent, with Jason Sanders getting touchbacks on every kickoff and Matt Haack putting 7 of his 9 punts inside the 20. As a result, the Jets had terrible field position the entire game, and that’s the biggest reason the Dolphins won.
If it sounds like I’m less than enthusiastic about this win, it’s because that’s true. This was one of the worst offensive performances I’ve ever seen from the Dolphins – hell, I think they had less than 40 yards in the entire second half!!! Against any team other than the Jets or Bills, this game is a loss. There’s literally no way they’ll beat any other team playing like this on offense. The worst part of all is that we’ll likely see two more games just like this before the season ends, as the Bills are even more offensively-challenged than the Jets and have a better defense. So yeah, it’s cool to be above .500 after 9 games, but make no mistake – this is a bad team that’s heading nowhere.
Final note: Adam Gase has absolutely no idea what he’s doing. He continues to trot out the wildcat for some inexplicable reason, and this time the two plays resulted in a penalty and no gain. He continues to run his offense within 3 yards of the line of scrimmage, and he continues to sit on the bench with his tablet while the defense is on the field. His offense averaged 3.1 yards per play, which is almost impossible to believe. It’s like he’s trying to get fired. He is completely inept, and has no business being a head coach at any level of football.
Beer of the Day: Lack of sleep and a hangover made me not want to drink…but this game was unwatchable without alcohol so I did manage to suck down a few Founders All Day IPAs.
Hero of the Day: I wanted to give it to Cam Wake, but the #1 reason we won this game was Matt Haack, so he gets the award for the second time this season. Through 9 games, the punter is this team's MVP.
Goat of the Day: It really could be anyone on offense. My first impulse was to give it to Adam Gase, but he’s won it too many times already…let’s give someone else a chance. So Brock Osweiler gets the nod, for playing a horrifically bad game. No one misses open receivers like this guy – it’s a special talent. Dishonorable mention goes to Zach Sterup, who gave up at least 2 sacks in relief of Ja’Wuan James and is the latest in a long line of Dolphin backup offensive linemen that have no business being in the NFL.
Your Miami Dolphins!
In one of the least exciting games anyone is ever likely to see, the Jets and Dolphins each scored 6 offensive points and made everyone forget that the NFL is all about offense these days. I’d love to say it was a hard-fought defensive battle – but it wasn’t. It was simply two putrid offenses that couldn’t do anything right.
I’m not going to talk much about the Dolphins’ offense, because there was none. Brock Osweiler was awful – wildly inaccurate and missing open receivers all day. The running game sucked, the OL sucked, the TEs were non-existent and the WRs did nothing. The Dolphins’ offense had just 7 first downs and were 3-16 on third down, and had a total of 168 yards. Hard to play any worse. And that’s really all there is to say.
The defense was outstanding, generating pressure, stuffing the run, getting 4 INTs and making plays everywhere. Jerome Baker had a pick 6, and Cam Wake finally woke up and had two sacks and constant pressure. Akeem Spence also had two sacks, as he finally played a good game as a Dolphin. There were too many missed tackles for my liking (X. Howard missed two), but overall there are no complaints. The D dominated against one of the worst NFL offenses, and that’s the way it should be. Next week, against the Packers, I think we’ll see the usual Dolphins’ Swiss cheese D – but yesterday they showed they can at least destroy a bad offense.
Special teams were excellent, with Jason Sanders getting touchbacks on every kickoff and Matt Haack putting 7 of his 9 punts inside the 20. As a result, the Jets had terrible field position the entire game, and that’s the biggest reason the Dolphins won.
If it sounds like I’m less than enthusiastic about this win, it’s because that’s true. This was one of the worst offensive performances I’ve ever seen from the Dolphins – hell, I think they had less than 40 yards in the entire second half!!! Against any team other than the Jets or Bills, this game is a loss. There’s literally no way they’ll beat any other team playing like this on offense. The worst part of all is that we’ll likely see two more games just like this before the season ends, as the Bills are even more offensively-challenged than the Jets and have a better defense. So yeah, it’s cool to be above .500 after 9 games, but make no mistake – this is a bad team that’s heading nowhere.
Final note: Adam Gase has absolutely no idea what he’s doing. He continues to trot out the wildcat for some inexplicable reason, and this time the two plays resulted in a penalty and no gain. He continues to run his offense within 3 yards of the line of scrimmage, and he continues to sit on the bench with his tablet while the defense is on the field. His offense averaged 3.1 yards per play, which is almost impossible to believe. It’s like he’s trying to get fired. He is completely inept, and has no business being a head coach at any level of football.
Beer of the Day: Lack of sleep and a hangover made me not want to drink…but this game was unwatchable without alcohol so I did manage to suck down a few Founders All Day IPAs.
Hero of the Day: I wanted to give it to Cam Wake, but the #1 reason we won this game was Matt Haack, so he gets the award for the second time this season. Through 9 games, the punter is this team's MVP.
Goat of the Day: It really could be anyone on offense. My first impulse was to give it to Adam Gase, but he’s won it too many times already…let’s give someone else a chance. So Brock Osweiler gets the nod, for playing a horrifically bad game. No one misses open receivers like this guy – it’s a special talent. Dishonorable mention goes to Zach Sterup, who gave up at least 2 sacks in relief of Ja’Wuan James and is the latest in a long line of Dolphin backup offensive linemen that have no business being in the NFL.
Re: Game 9 thoughts: Jets at Dolphins
And now for the main event! I've been waiting all morning for this, seriously
DolFan 316- Posts : 8396
Join date : 2015-04-07
Age : 51
Re: Game 9 thoughts: Jets at Dolphins
JMP wrote:The winner of this year’s Super Toilet Bowl is…
Your Miami Dolphins!
In one of the least exciting games anyone is ever likely to see, the Jets and Dolphins each scored 6 offensive points and made everyone forget that the NFL is all about offense these days. I’d love to say it was a hard-fought defensive battle – but it wasn’t. It was simply two putrid offenses that couldn’t do anything right.
It actually wasn't just the Fins. Seems like D all over the league made a comeback yesterday (and unfortunately into the night). BTW anyone else notice there are suddenly no more personal fouls for sacking the QB wrong? Hmmm...
I’m not going to talk much about the Dolphins’ offense, because there was none. Brock Osweiler was awful – wildly inaccurate and missing open receivers all day. The running game sucked, the OL sucked, the TEs were non-existent and the WRs did nothing. The Dolphins’ offense had just 7 first downs and were 3-16 on third down, and had a total of 168 yards. Hard to play any worse. And that’s really all there is to say.
As I said in the game thread, the Fins have actually played worse on offense and beaten the Jets somehow. This rivalry is just weird like that.
The defense was outstanding, generating pressure, stuffing the run, getting 4 INTs and making plays everywhere. Jerome Baker had a pick 6, and Cam Wake finally woke up and had two sacks and constant pressure. Akeem Spence also had two sacks, as he finally played a good game as a Dolphin. There were too many missed tackles for my liking (X. Howard missed two), but overall there are no complaints. The D dominated against one of the worst NFL offenses, and that’s the way it should be. Next week, against the Packers, I think we’ll see the usual Dolphins’ Swiss cheese D – but yesterday they showed they can at least destroy a bad offense.
And they did all this without Jones, hmmm Nice to see Wake show that he's still alive and on the team, I was starting to wonder. BTW this should prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that Darnold's a bust. Come to think of it, this QB rookie class in general's not looking so hot. Hmmm
Special teams were excellent, with Jason Sanders getting touchbacks on every kickoff and Matt Haack putting 7 of his 9 punts inside the 20. As a result, the Jets had terrible field position the entire game, and that’s the biggest reason the Dolphins won.
You're not just saying that because you want Gase fired and Rizzi to take over, are you? Of course, I fully expect this team to cut both sanders and Haack next year since that's how they roll.
If it sounds like I’m less than enthusiastic about this win, it’s because that’s true. This was one of the worst offensive performances I’ve ever seen from the Dolphins – hell, I think they had less than 40 yards in the entire second half!!! Against any team other than the Jets or Bills, this game is a loss. There’s literally no way they’ll beat any other team playing like this on offense. The worst part of all is that we’ll likely see two more games just like this before the season ends, as the Bills are even more offensively-challenged than the Jets and have a better defense. So yeah, it’s cool to be above .500 after 9 games, but make no mistake – this is a bad team that’s heading nowhere.
I can totally see the Fins beating the Bills 2-0. Not even joking. But hey, at least they swept the Jets and I'll be at least a little happy about it. But only a little, don't wanna ruin my rep
Final note: Adam Gase has absolutely no idea what he’s doing. He continues to trot out the wildcat for some inexplicable reason, and this time the two plays resulted in a penalty and no gain. He continues to run his offense within 3 yards of the line of scrimmage, and he continues to sit on the bench with his tablet while the defense is on the field. His offense averaged 3.1 yards per play, which is almost impossible to believe. It’s like he’s trying to get fired. He is completely inept, and has no business being a head coach at any level of football.
And that doesn't even cover his apparently legendary ability to piss off his best players. Maybe he IS trying to get fired, I never thought about that. I get the feeling he and Tannenbaum don't get along, for one thing.
Beer of the Day: Lack of sleep and a hangover made me not want to drink…but this game was unwatchable without alcohol so I did manage to suck down a few Founders All Day IPAs.
I'll be drinking absinthe later this week BTW.
DolFan 316- Posts : 8396
Join date : 2015-04-07
Age : 51
Re: Game 9 thoughts: Jets at Dolphins
Football Outsiders seemed to have an almost Jmpesque view of this game. Almost
https://www.footballoutsiders.com/audibles/2018/audibles-line-week-9
https://www.footballoutsiders.com/audibles/2018/audibles-line-week-9
New York Jets 6 at Miami Dolphins 13
Bryan Knowles: There are serious concerns about the field quality in this one. Yesterday, Miami and Duke played in heavy rain, and tore up the field something awful. It's something to keep an eye on in this one -- and it's the second year in a row the Jets have to play on a terrible field in Miami.
Dave Bernreuther: As someone who took the first-half under, I'm enjoying the lack of pocket awareness being displayed by Brock Osweiler and Sam Darnold in this one. In just the last five minutes they've each held on to the ball for far too long despite ample opportunity to throw it (and not even throw it away; people are open), looked around, panicked for no reason, and then retreated directly into a defender for an easy sack.
Up 3-0, the Dolphins just chose to attempt a field goal to extend their one score lead to one score. On fourth-and-2 from the 10. And the sad thing is that it might be enough. And it's not even the crappy field that we can blame ... it's just bad football, bad coaching, and bad quarterbacks.
Aaron Schatz: I find it harder to criticize taking the field goal instead of going for it on fourth-and-2 because that Miami field goal came with just 1:15 left in the half. You don't get the benefit of going for it and failing, where you trap the other team in their own end and you're probably going to get the ball back for another drive with good field position. And if you go for it and convert, you might just end up with another fourth down, which might end with you taking a field goal anyway.
Dave Bernreuther: That's fair, as it does remove the "still more likely to score next" element. But it still feels wrong to me. Get yourself a first-and-goal and then use the rest of the time in the half.
Then again, Osweiler would probably have just taken a sack, because he's Osweiler.
Zach Binney: By my count in the fourth quarter here, the Dolphins defensive backs are 0-for-2 on possible interceptions. The Dolphins linebackers are 2-for-3.
Bryan Knowles: I've been recounting Nathan Peterman's assault on the interception record books, but let it be noted that he has not thrown the most interceptions today. That goes to Sam Darnold, the league-leader in interceptions, who has just thrown number four to ice this one, and pretty much end any chance of the Jets making noise in 2018.
There was only one touchdown in this game, and it WAS off of a Darnold pass ... just, you know, to Dolphins rookie Jerome Baker, as opposed to someone on his own team. 13-6 Dolphins victory, as they get back into the win column after going 1-4 over the past five games. Playing the Jets fixes a lot of problems, though this was more a game that the Jets lost than one the Dolphins won, per se.
Aaron Schatz: At least the fourth one came on fourth-and-10, so that one is no different from any other incomplete.
DolFan 316- Posts : 8396
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Re: Game 9 thoughts: Jets at Dolphins
DolFan 316 wrote:this should prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that Darnold's a bust.
I disagree. I actually think Darnold is going to be a very good QB - maybe even great. He had several things working against him yesterday - his top two receivers were playing hurt and really probably shouldn't have been playing at all, his OL was terrible (more on that below...) and the playcalling didn't put him in a position to get "easy wins"...too many low-percentage plays.
But the #1 factor yesterday was the Jets' center - Spencer Long. He's playing with a bad shoulder and he had, at minimum, 10 snaps yesterday that I'd rate as poor...and several of those were downright awful. And the Jets used shotgun formations almost exclusively, which only served to make the snapping problem continue. The bad snaps completely messed up Darnold's timing. Late in the game they finally put in a new center, but by then it was too late.
The Jets actually moved the ball well in spurts. The poor field position all day is what killed them. Right now, that Jets offense simply isn't built for long drives. If their D had forced a turnover or two and given the O a short field, there's no doubt in my mind that they would have put more points on the board and probably would have won.
With Darnold, I see a QB that makes the right decisions, but he needs to improve his accuracy and he needs help from the players and coaches. That team desperately needs a pass-catching RB, because right now Darnold is throwing the ball all over the yard and often forcing the ball to covered receivers because he rarely has a legit underneath option as a safety valve/dump off.
But anyway, yeah, I think Darnold is the real deal...just needs to settle down and refine his technique.
Re: Game 9 thoughts: Jets at Dolphins
This reminded me of that Cleveland-Miami night game (don't know if it was Thursday, Monday, or Sunday night) about 15 or so years ago. No one should have had this inflicted upon them. It was like punishment from the NFL for watching their "product".
By the way, a big part of defenses (league-wide) looking stellar yesterday was the sheer amount of inept offensive execution. As said elsewhere, I saw 11 dropped passes in 1 hour of watching Red Zone. I only counted the ones that were easy catches, not contested passes. Eleven passes, to wide open receivers, who got both hands on the ball, just dropped.
Offensive lines are also atrocious league wide. It's an epidemic. I think it's due to lack of practice time. The offensive line more than any other position needs repetition on fundamentals due to the insanely fast time you need to process a ton of information. They don't get that anymore because all practice time is condensed now into installing the weekly scheme. So guys can't progress in their fundamentals because of the CBA. There's an old law enforcement and military saying that goes something like, you don't fall back on your highest level of experience in a quick-reaction situation, you fall back on your highest level of consistent training. I think this is the case with OLs in today's game, which is why it seems to take forever for a decent lineman to develop anymore.
That's just my opinion, obviously, but I'd like to see what y'all have to say, particularly our OL guru, Merc.
By the way, a big part of defenses (league-wide) looking stellar yesterday was the sheer amount of inept offensive execution. As said elsewhere, I saw 11 dropped passes in 1 hour of watching Red Zone. I only counted the ones that were easy catches, not contested passes. Eleven passes, to wide open receivers, who got both hands on the ball, just dropped.
Offensive lines are also atrocious league wide. It's an epidemic. I think it's due to lack of practice time. The offensive line more than any other position needs repetition on fundamentals due to the insanely fast time you need to process a ton of information. They don't get that anymore because all practice time is condensed now into installing the weekly scheme. So guys can't progress in their fundamentals because of the CBA. There's an old law enforcement and military saying that goes something like, you don't fall back on your highest level of experience in a quick-reaction situation, you fall back on your highest level of consistent training. I think this is the case with OLs in today's game, which is why it seems to take forever for a decent lineman to develop anymore.
That's just my opinion, obviously, but I'd like to see what y'all have to say, particularly our OL guru, Merc.
Degarmo- Posts : 2698
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Re: Game 9 thoughts: Jets at Dolphins
Jmp, Darnold was a turnover machine in college, and he's a turnover machine now. I cannot see how that'll ever change. I happened to see USCs bowl game VS Ohio St. and I couldn't believe this was the QB everybody was raving about. Darnold looked completely lost and helpless against probably the best D he'd faced to that point. Not a good look for someone being talked about as a top 5 pick. I wrote him off then and there, and I don't even watch college football (the game was on at my sister's).
I also figured Rosen would be a bust because legit first round NFL QBs don't throw game-losing pick sixes against Memphis like he did last season. And *everybody* knew Allen would be a bust. Mayfield the Manziel wannabe is the best of the bunch, and he's just average. Not a franchise guy among them. And this year's QB crop is supposed to be worse!
I also figured Rosen would be a bust because legit first round NFL QBs don't throw game-losing pick sixes against Memphis like he did last season. And *everybody* knew Allen would be a bust. Mayfield the Manziel wannabe is the best of the bunch, and he's just average. Not a franchise guy among them. And this year's QB crop is supposed to be worse!
DolFan 316- Posts : 8396
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Re: Game 9 thoughts: Jets at Dolphins
Yeah I was glad that he was not picked up by Miami. in fact Miami might want to skip this year as well when it comes to QB
rightchea- Posts : 2682
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Re: Game 9 thoughts: Jets at Dolphins
DolFan 316 wrote:Jmp, Darnold was a turnover machine in college, and he's a turnover machine now. I cannot see how that'll ever change. I happened to see USCs bowl game VS Ohio St. and I couldn't believe this was the QB everybody was raving about. Darnold looked completely lost and helpless against probably the best D he'd faced to that point. Not a good look for someone being talked about as a top 5 pick. I wrote him off then and there, and I don't even watch college football (the game was on at my sister's).
I also figured Rosen would be a bust because legit first round NFL QBs don't throw game-losing pick sixes against Memphis like he did last season. And *everybody* knew Allen would be a bust. Mayfield the Manziel wannabe is the best of the bunch, and he's just average. Not a franchise guy among them. And this year's QB crop is supposed to be worse!
Darnold wasn't nearly the turnover machine that Dan Marino was in college...and Dan turned out OK.
Give Darnold some receivers, and then we'll see. He's actually had a few very good games already, but overall it's tough to judge him on a team that really has very little around him. That said, he clearly needs some work...like most rookie QBs. I love his arm, movement skills in the pocket and his leadership. He's also got that gunslinger mentality that you can both live and die with...needs to reign it in a bit, but I'd prefer that than a QB that plays scared.
Josh Rosen has had some good moments this season...I definitely see potential there. I wasn't much of a fan of his, but he seems like he'll be better than I expected.
Hard to know anything about Josh Allen yet...behind the NFL's worst OL and with one of the NFL's weakest receiving corps, not sure what he can really do. He was very raw coming out of Wyoming, and he needs time for sure...but the Bills MUST build around him. They really screwed him this season - gave him zero chance to succeed. He's a question mark - but with that arm, he will definitely make some plays.
Re: Game 9 thoughts: Jets at Dolphins
Regarding this year's QB's, I think the two with the best chance of success are Mayfield and Rudolph.
Mayfield has a very good GM putting talent around him, and a guy who has worked with Holmgren and Reid for much of his career, so I have to think he will find the right coach to develop him.
Rudolph gets to sit behind a future Hall of Famer for a year, maybe two, and just learn from him. He was drafted by one of the three best organizations in the NFL, a stable organization and consistently puts talent on the field. I have a feeling that Rudolph and Mayfield will continue that duel that started in college for years to come.
As for next year's class, there's a number of guys who have a chance: Finley, Grier, Lock....but not one is a slam dunk. Then again, who would have thought that six years later, Russell Wilson would be so far above the rest of a class that started with Luck and Griffin?
Mayfield has a very good GM putting talent around him, and a guy who has worked with Holmgren and Reid for much of his career, so I have to think he will find the right coach to develop him.
Rudolph gets to sit behind a future Hall of Famer for a year, maybe two, and just learn from him. He was drafted by one of the three best organizations in the NFL, a stable organization and consistently puts talent on the field. I have a feeling that Rudolph and Mayfield will continue that duel that started in college for years to come.
As for next year's class, there's a number of guys who have a chance: Finley, Grier, Lock....but not one is a slam dunk. Then again, who would have thought that six years later, Russell Wilson would be so far above the rest of a class that started with Luck and Griffin?
HalCHorn- Posts : 2105
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Re: Game 9 thoughts: Jets at Dolphins
Degarmo wrote:That's just my opinion, obviously, but I'd like to see what y'all have to say, particularly our OL guru, Merc.
oh please don't get me started, but since you did...
yes absolutely, lack of practice time has hurt O-lines. it takes time and repetition for O-lines to learn how to identify and deal with stunts. how many times have you seen an OG and C combo block a DT as he fades into B gap rush only to leave the middle wide open for a stunting DE or MLB blitz. sadly, the Phins seem to do this 4 or 5 times a game. i also believe that such a premium has been placed on rushing the passer that a large athletic kid is going to be funneled toward the DL from a young age leaving just the big fat kids to play OL. think about it, when was the last time a powerful and athletic guy like Tony Boselli, Orlando Pace or Jonathan Ogden was drafted? i also think that the current spread college offensives are not conducive to producing pro-ready O-linemen. very few plug and play O-linemen come out of college these days. most seem to need a year or three in a pro strength and conditioning program to even be competitive. i believe pro teams have tried to get around this by incorporating some type of zone blocking elements in their schemes. how many teams line up the big road grader power offenses anymore? zone blocking worked when one or two (Denver and Atlanta) teams used it, but now that its sprinkled throughout the league, defenses are more familiar in how to defeat it. the increase (combined with non-pro-ready college linemen) has watered down the talent pool from effective zone blockers to weaker finesse players that fail as often as they succeed. some of the guys who are now starters (Ted Larsen, Jesse Davis, Ja'Wuan James) in the league would never have had a chance a decade ago.
i'm not sure things are going to improve anytime soon. i've seen some really bad O-line play in college recently. so it makes identifying O-line talent and coaching them up even more important, but a lot teams (the Dolphins for one) don't seem to place the necessary importance on it. and i don't mean just drafting the obvious guys in the first round, but finding the right future starters in the middle rounds.
mercury22nathan- Posts : 2427
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Re: Game 9 thoughts: Jets at Dolphins
HalCHorn wrote:Regarding this year's QB's, I think the two with the best chance of success are Mayfield and Rudolph.
Mayfield has a very good GM putting talent around him, and a guy who has worked with Holmgren and Reid for much of his career, so I have to think he will find the right coach to develop him.
Rudolph gets to sit behind a future Hall of Famer for a year, maybe two, and just learn from him. He was drafted by one of the three best organizations in the NFL, a stable organization and consistently puts talent on the field. I have a feeling that Rudolph and Mayfield will continue that duel that started in college for years to come.
As for next year's class, there's a number of guys who have a chance: Finley, Grier, Lock....but not one is a slam dunk. Then again, who would have thought that six years later, Russell Wilson would be so far above the rest of a class that started with Luck and Griffin?
Definitely agree on Mayfield. In addition to what he does physically, he also has through-the-roof intangibles and leadership ability. He's got a very bright future on a team headed in the right direction.
Rudolph certainly ended up in a good spot, getting to learn behind a future Hall of Famer. Real curious to see how he turns out.
Re: Game 9 thoughts: Jets at Dolphins
mercury22nathan wrote:Degarmo wrote:That's just my opinion, obviously, but I'd like to see what y'all have to say, particularly our OL guru, Merc.
oh please don't get me started, but since you did...
yes absolutely, lack of practice time has hurt O-lines. it takes time and repetition for O-lines to learn how to identify and deal with stunts. how many times have you seen an OG and C combo block a DT as he fades into B gap rush only to leave the middle wide open for a stunting DE or MLB blitz. sadly, the Phins seem to do this 4 or 5 times a game. i also believe that such a premium has been placed on rushing the passer that a large athletic kid is going to be funneled toward the DL from a young age leaving just the big fat kids to play OL. think about it, when was the last time a powerful and athletic guy like Tony Boselli, Orlando Pace or Jonathan Ogden was drafted? i also think that the current spread college offensives are not conducive to producing pro-ready O-linemen. very few plug and play O-linemen come out of college these days. most seem to need a year or three in a pro strength and conditioning program to even be competitive. i believe pro teams have tried to get around this by incorporating some type of zone blocking elements in their schemes. how many teams line up the big road grader power offenses anymore? zone blocking worked when one or two (Denver and Atlanta) teams used it, but now that its sprinkled throughout the league, defenses are more familiar in how to defeat it. the increase (combined with non-pro-ready college linemen) has watered down the talent pool from effective zone blockers to weaker finesse players that fail as often as they succeed. some of the guys who are now starters (Ted Larsen, Jesse Davis, Ja'Wuan James) in the league would never have had a chance a decade ago.
i'm not sure things are going to improve anytime soon. i've seen some really bad O-line play in college recently. so it makes identifying O-line talent and coaching them up even more important, but a lot teams (the Dolphins for one) don't seem to place the necessary importance on it. and i don't mean just drafting the obvious guys in the first round, but finding the right future starters in the middle rounds.
Great discussion here, degarmo and merc. Love it!!
Re: Game 9 thoughts: Jets at Dolphins
mercury22nathan wrote:Degarmo wrote:That's just my opinion, obviously, but I'd like to see what y'all have to say, particularly our OL guru, Merc.
oh please don't get me started, but since you did...
yes absolutely, lack of practice time has hurt O-lines. it takes time and repetition for O-lines to learn how to identify and deal with stunts. how many times have you seen an OG and C combo block a DT as he fades into B gap rush only to leave the middle wide open for a stunting DE or MLB blitz. sadly, the Phins seem to do this 4 or 5 times a game. i also believe that such a premium has been placed on rushing the passer that a large athletic kid is going to be funneled toward the DL from a young age leaving just the big fat kids to play OL. think about it, when was the last time a powerful and athletic guy like Tony Boselli, Orlando Pace or Jonathan Ogden was drafted? i also think that the current spread college offensives are not conducive to producing pro-ready O-linemen. very few plug and play O-linemen come out of college these days. most seem to need a year or three in a pro strength and conditioning program to even be competitive. i believe pro teams have tried to get around this by incorporating some type of zone blocking elements in their schemes. how many teams line up the big road grader power offenses anymore? zone blocking worked when one or two (Denver and Atlanta) teams used it, but now that its sprinkled throughout the league, defenses are more familiar in how to defeat it. the increase (combined with non-pro-ready college linemen) has watered down the talent pool from effective zone blockers to weaker finesse players that fail as often as they succeed. some of the guys who are now starters (Ted Larsen, Jesse Davis, Ja'Wuan James) in the league would never have had a chance a decade ago.
i'm not sure things are going to improve anytime soon. i've seen some really bad O-line play in college recently. so it makes identifying O-line talent and coaching them up even more important, but a lot teams (the Dolphins for one) don't seem to place the necessary importance on it. and i don't mean just drafting the obvious guys in the first round, but finding the right future starters in the middle rounds.
I'm with you 100 percent, and college carries a great part of the responsibility, as you so adroitly said.
College in general is hurting the NFL because of their schemes. You're getting a lot of these offensive linemen coming out of college that don't really understand the mechanics of basic blitz recognition, or how to even flippin' stab step backwards with their outside foot to create a go-around obstacle for speed rushers. Where I'm really seeing serious issues though is at guard. Watching the last few weekends, I swear to god that guards are just space fillers anymore. So many guys could not recognize basic stunts, or LB stunt interior gap trade off blitzes, or just straight bull rush A/B gap blitzes, and they were not even as effective as a traffic cone out there. It wasn't just one or two guys either, it was nearly every game I watched, these guys looked totally lost.
I know they go to a million meetings a week, but you need full speed drills to get your timing and recognition down, as well as your muscle memory when you can't think. The amount of tackles that can't pose any kind of an obstacle to an outside rusher is kind of shocking, considering that's pretty much No. 1 on the list of things to learn early in pass protection.
You're absolutely right also in the fact that people aren't interested in the offensive line that are athletic dudes, and ones that are like that in college are far too undersized to do anything in the pros. I remember Chip Kelly's offensive lines in Oregon were pretty damned good, but only for that scheme which needed athletic guys to get out and block downfield. In the NFL, nearly none of them could cut the mustard because they had no ability to stand up to a real pass rush or create a pocket.
That's another thing. I'm shocked when I see a pocket last for more than a second or two anymore for most teams. It's part of why we have the 2-5 yard passing offenses we have.
College ball, while entertaining, is not helping the NFL at all in terms of a better product.
Something's gotta be done. You can practice this stuff full speed without killing each other. We used to do it for hours back in the day. I don't remember anyone getting injured from contact. It's not Oklahoma head-bashing rainbow-zone drills, it's technique at full speed. They need to let these guys do it again.
Degarmo- Posts : 2698
Join date : 2015-04-07
Age : 55
Re: Game 9 thoughts: Jets at Dolphins
I just want to say, reading the last few posts on this thread makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. Seriously
It's also exactly what I think of things, I just let you guys do the heavy lifting. For once
It's also exactly what I think of things, I just let you guys do the heavy lifting. For once
DolFan 316- Posts : 8396
Join date : 2015-04-07
Age : 51
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