Flores player usage

Armando really dumping on Flores and staff for their inability to utilize Drake and Minkah...

But the problem is the reason Drake is in Arizona and he didn’t produce well in Miami leads directly back to Dolphins coaches.

Drake goes to Arizona and performs at a very high level all of three days after arriving there. And, yes, it’s only one game. But Drake just delivered a game filled with power running and explosion and pass-catching the likes of which this Miami staff had not been able to get out of him.

And worse, these coaches didn’t much try to get such a performance out of Drake...

...the Minkah Fitzpatrick situation?

In that situation, once again, the personnel department loved the guy. Grier loved him so much he drafted him No. 11 overall in the 2018 draft when owner Stephen Ross wanted to trade down.

But the Flores coaching staff didn’t love Fitzpatrick as much. The Flores coaching staff that has really proven zero in Miami -- insisted Fitzpatrick must play multiple positions because that’s what their defensive system values and calls for. This defensive system, by the way, is currently No. 32 in the NFL in points allowed.

Fitzpatrick, meanwhile, wanted to be slotted into one position where he could learn and dominate -- like he did for Pittsburgh on Monday night.

The coaching staff’s inability to make it work with an obviously good player resulted in the Dolphins being a weaker, not better team.

https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/armando-salguero/article236893983.html

I have to agree with Armando about Fitzpatrick but not so much on Drake. Drake never really showed that he could be a good every down back and even when he got the opportunity he never showed that he had what it takes to make the right plays when they needed him.

Fitzpatrick on the other hand seem to be misplaced and for the fact they tried to use him as a LB to cover TE would never work. Fitz is a zone guy he could never play man up on anyone.

Very disheartened, depressed and downright disturbed by what I heard about Drake's performance last night It's really hard to think Flores is the man going forward if he keeps letting young players go who thrive elsewhere. Unlike some people here, I never thought Drake sucked. I always thought he was good--certainly the best back on this roster. And then you've got Flores trying to make Minkah play ten different things at once instead of just doing what he's good at. I thought the whole point of coaching was to put players in a position to do what they were best at. Maybe that's just an outdated, antiquated mindset now, who knows.

Hell, even TANNEHILL looks decent now that he's on a real professional team instead of whatever this one's trying to be.

Both players are average at best. They are capable of making big plays from time to time, but more often than not they are JAGs. That's the bottom line.

Is Armando going to post an article about how bad the Saints and Cowboys coaching staffs are because the Dolphins are getting more production out of Vince Biegel and Taco Charlton than they ever did?

Armando is a fan boy when it comes to palyers. he will hate on a coach all day if they either don't draft the player he wanted or hate because they don't use the player he likes. Armando is average at best

rightchea wrote:Armando is a fan boy when it comes to palyers. he will hate on a coach all day if they either don't draft the player he wanted or hate because they don't use the player he likes. Armando is average at best

So true. Armando specializes in knee-jerk reactions. "Drake had one great game after the Dolphins traded him! That must mean he's an All Pro and the Dolphins screwed up! Oh no!"

As for Fitzpatrick: if you are a DB in this Dolphins' defensive scheme and can't/won't play multiple positions, you are not a fit. This system relies on players handling multiple roles. See Eric Rowe, who has played every CB spot and both safety spots this season, and I think he even lined up at LB a couple of times. Fitzpatrick simply wasn't versatile enough - and didn't want to be.

I disagree completely.

Weren't we all condemning Gase for putting his system first and not adjusting to the players, and utilizing their talents better. Yet, now we are condemning Fitzpatrick for not wanting to play multiple positions because "that is the system."

Drake and Fitzpatrick are good young players who could have been building blocks for the team. Draft picks are nice, but they do not automatically translate into players that can play. All Phins phans should know that for sure!!

Coaching is a force-multiplier IMO. It makes decent players into good ones, and good ones into better ones, and put a great player with a great coaching staff, and you have the Patriots.

Flores is trying to emulate Belicheck, but so far I have seen no indication he CAN COACH, much less that he is Belicheck-like!! He is getting killed by half-time adjustments, those he fails to make and those he fails to counter in the other team. This is a trademark of bad head coaches IMO.

They either do not know how to adjust, or their "systems" are so rigid, they are incapable of adjusting.

The team stinks of course, so... Who knows? But it is rather worrisome.

Ask yourselves this question: Would Bill Belicheck have traded away Fitzpatrick? I say HECK NO!!!

Drake: Maybe, but probably not. He'd probably utilize his pass catching skills more IMHO.

Good coaching staffs turn good players into better players.

Has anyone seen anything close to that out of this admittedly, BAD TALENT, team?

There just does not seem to be much PLAYER DEVELOPMENT going on?

They seem to be more intent on garnering draft picks than in developing players for the future.

Tunsil, yeah, I could see that. That was a king's ransom. Fitz and Drake? That just makes me wonder if the Coaching Staff is ever gonna be what the Phins need? Good coaching staffs find a way to utilize good, young, cheap players.

I say the fact Flores did not, or could not, do that, is a possible indicator of trouble ahead.

Who knows?

finfanatic wrote:Weren't we all condemning Gase for putting his system first and not adjusting to the players, and utilizing their talents better. Yet, now we are condemning Fitzpatrick for not wanting to play multiple positions because "that is the system."

Fitzpatrick simply did not want to play certain roles. So does that mean Flores was supposed to completely change his plans to accommodate one young unproven player that didn't want to do what he was told? How does that look to the rest of the team? "Well, Minkah doesn't have to do it, so why should I?"

I always criticized the Dolphins for putting square pegs in round holes, and that was a problem for years. That problem is now going away, because if a player doesn't fit - and doesn't want to fit - he's gone. Instead of forcing a player into a miscast role, we're simply moving on.

finfanatic wrote:Drake and Fitzpatrick are good young players who could have been building blocks for the team.

Drake a building block??? He was a third down/change of pace back, and he was going to leave in free agency next season. On what planet does that add up to "building block"?

Minkah didn't want to play in this defense, so we traded him for a first. How is that a bad thing? And when has he ever shown he could be a "building block"? I see a player that struggles in coverage and is an unreliable tackler - and I still see those traits when I watch him in Pittsburgh. He was overrated from the start.

[quote="finfanatic"]

finfanatic wrote:Ask yourselves this question: Would Bill Belicheck have traded away Fitzpatrick? I say HECK NO!!!

Drake: Maybe, but probably not. He'd probably utilize his pass catching skills more IMHO.

Absolutely Belichick would have dumped those guys. Belichick ALWAYS gets rid of players that don't fit. He dumped his best LB (Jamie Collins) because he wasn't playing within the system (and then brought him back this offseason at a fraction of the cost). He dumped his best pass rusher (Chandler Jones) because he didn't fit the scheme. He just traded away one of the league's top pass rushers (Michael Bennett) last week because he didn't fit - and barely saw the field. In recent years he dumped two of his best OL (Logan Mankins and Nate Solder). Hell, years ago, he traded away Mike Vrabel and Richard Seymour and cut Lawyer Milloy.

This is part of the Patriots way - no one player is above the team, and when it's time for a player to go (because of fit, price, age or whatever) then you move on and don't look back.

Armando's notion that losing Minkah and Drake somehow cripples the team is laughable. We're heading to an 0-16 season without those guys, and if we had kept them we'd be heading toward...an 0-16 season with them. The difference now is we have more ammo in the draft to get this roster where it needs to be.

finfanatic wrote:There just does not seem to be much PLAYER DEVELOPMENT going on?

I actually see a lot of player development. Parker and Gesicki have improved by leaps and bounds. Williams is coming along nicely. Walton looks much better. Boehm and Dieter have had ups and downs, but are trending in the right direction. Prince has been steadily improving and earning more snaps. McMillan, Biegel and Charlton are playing the best football of their NFL careers. Wiltz is getting better every week. Sure, it all adds up to baby steps...but with this pathetic roster, that's still good progress.

Another sign of player development and good coaching is that we are at or near the top of the NFL in fewest penalties - which is nothing short of miraculous given the roster turnover and plethora of garbage players.

I can see the passion in everyone. I can see how this angers everyone. I on the other hand have moved past caring about THIS YEARS team!

The gameplan from week to week is simple...........lose, acquire picks, and wait til next year. As a fan it really sucks to see this. In the end, the front office took a stand. Mission #1 blow this shit up!!!!!!!!!!! Do things that this organization has never done. IMHO Mission #1 IS being accomplished.

We as fans, want wins!!! But the truth of the matter is the Dolphins WILL be in a better situation because of the moves they are making off the field. For a long long long long long time, the issues from this team stemmed from off the field organizational things beyond x's and o's.

Belichek does not get credit for Brady IMHO. If Drew Bledsoe never gets hurt we may have never heard of Brady.