Game 2 thoughts: Bills at Dolphins

JMP wrote:

HalCHorn wrote:Flores showed enough last year that two games won't make me give up, especially two games after no pre-season made it a bit rougher on any team with more turnover than usual in the coaching staff.  

In this particular game, if we don't turn the ball over on downs after getting a first and goal at the one in the third we likely win anyway.  

Hal with the voice of reason!

I was just really, really frustrated on Sunday.  I've come back to reality.  I'm still on board with Flores....but we need to see improvement on defense really soon.  

understandable especially after seeing what Dallas as able to do to come back and win. Yeah, we could blame ATL for the onside kick failure but it was really Dallas that kept the Falcons from doing anything on the offensive side of the ball. So I definitely get it

I was just really, really frustrated on Sunday. I've come back to reality. I'm still on board with Flores....but we need to see improvement on defense really soon.

I agree. Let's all acknowledge this fact though: We have a couple poor options now that Byron Jones is out with injury, here is my thinking.

X Howard can play, sure, but he's clearly not at 100%. Reading the post-game interviews, the staff knows he's not physically ready to take on the opposition #1 WR, especially of Diggs caliber. Having our best player on defense at less than 100% is not optimal - but it's better than holding him out. Hopefully another 4-8 weeks, he IS at 100%.

Given Jones is out at boundary, now we are putting a rookie in his spot. Iggy had a good camp and will probably turn out to be a good boundary CB, but rookies in the secondary tend to get burned more often than not. Even Surtain and Madison didn't exactly shine in rookie years.

We're having trouble in the slot, with Needham and Perry showing why they were acquired as street free agents. Neither one of them has been effective covering slot receivers through two weeks. One obvious solution is moving McCain to the slot, the draw back being now you have another rookie in Brandon Jones starting at safety. I believe McCain calls the coverages, that shouldn't matter if he's in the slot (I think).

I don't know how to solve the lack of pass rush. Ogbah and Lawson probably shouldn't be viewed as more than the journeyman DE / Edge players they are. Wilkins has played excellent, but as far as I can tell that's the LONE bright spot on the line. That's not good enough to protect a young and banged up secondary. Van Noy must step up, and someone needs to match the intensity Wilkins is bringing to the game. A better pass rush will solve the secondary issues and lead to turnovers.

Flores did show a lot last season. Coaching and scheme only go so far though. Players need to make plays when available, and we saw that too often this past week with game-sealing interceptions going through the hands of Van Noy and Howard. Plus the missed TD pass to Williams. One or more of those converted and we win. Maybe it's not as bad as we all think, but I'm still thinking our roster is more average than elite.

Details on the need for better pass rush from Mando:

https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/armando-salguero/article245914510.html

white1 wrote:

I was just really, really frustrated on Sunday. I've come back to reality. I'm still on board with Flores....but we need to see improvement on defense really soon.

I agree.  Let's all acknowledge this fact though: We have a couple poor options now that Byron Jones is out with injury, here is my thinking.

X Howard can play, sure, but he's clearly not at 100%.  Reading the post-game interviews, the staff knows he's not physically ready to take on the opposition #1 WR, especially of Diggs caliber.  Having our best player on defense at less than 100% is not optimal - but it's better than holding him out.  Hopefully another 4-8 weeks, he IS at 100%.

Given Jones is out at boundary, now we are putting a rookie in his spot.  Iggy had a good camp and will probably turn out to be a good boundary CB, but rookies in the secondary tend to get burned more often than not.  Even Surtain and Madison didn't exactly shine in rookie years.  

We're having trouble in the slot, with Needham and Perry showing why they were acquired as street free agents.  Neither one of them has been effective covering slot receivers through two weeks. One obvious solution is moving McCain to the slot, the draw back being now you have another rookie in Brandon Jones starting at safety.  I believe McCain calls the coverages, that shouldn't matter if he's in the slot (I think).

I don't know how to solve the lack of pass rush.  Ogbah and Lawson probably shouldn't be viewed as more than the journeyman DE / Edge players they are.  Wilkins has played excellent, but as far as I can tell that's the LONE bright spot on the line.  That's not good enough to protect a young and banged up secondary.  Van Noy must step up, and someone needs to match the intensity Wilkins is bringing to the game.  A better pass rush will solve the secondary issues and lead to turnovers.

Flores did show a lot last season.  Coaching and scheme only go so far though.  Players need to make plays when available, and we saw that too often this past week with game-sealing interceptions going through the hands of Van Noy and Howard.  Plus the missed TD pass to Williams.  One or more of those converted and we win.  Maybe it's not as bad as we all think, but I'm still thinking our roster is more average than elite.

Great stuff, white. What is strange to me is that last year, Boyer was the DBs coach and defensive passing game coordinator - and our secondary was really, really good by year's end - even with new players literally coming in off the street every week. Rowe excelled at safety. Needham just kept getting better and better. Perry looked like he belonged. This year, we add an all-world corner in Byron Jones and talented rookies in Iggy and Brandon Jones - and the secondary is somehow significantly worse than it was at the end of last season and all the guys from last year have regressed. It's mind-boggling.

But - we have to remember that things did get better last season - so there is hope that it can happen again. It just sucks to be starting from rock bottom again.

As for the pass rush, I refuse to believe that a group with Van Noy, Ogbah, Lawson and Van Ginkle - with an improving Wilkins inside - can't get to the QB. Sure, these aren't top pass rushers - but they have all shown some ability to get to the QB. That ability didn't disappear overnight. The coaches have to figure it out, because I don't care what anyone says - I believe the talent on this team is a lot better than what we've seen so far.

Maybe Armando is right and the Jags are exactly what the Phins' D needs to right the ship. But I will tell you this: Minshew can throw the ball around, and those Jax receivers are sneaky good. I *think* the Miami D shows up Thursday, but honestly, I just don't know.

One other note: Wilkins is really stepping up. I'd love to see what he could do with another good DT next to him. Right now, Godchaux has shown nothing, and Raekwon Davis has been invisible. Wilkins, though, looks like a man on a mission.

Believe it or not, I think the loss of Vince Biegel has hurt more than a lot of people would have thought. Dude was always around the QB last year. Showed a lot of tenacity in disrupting plays.

Also, what about the Van boys?

Van Noy has been invisible besides being juked out of his jock by cam in week 1 and Kim Bokampering a pic six in week 2.

Van Ginkel, the pass rush specialist in college. Do we even try and blitz him off the edge?

To me, the biggest reason for the turrible start is the efense. Can't stop the run, or pass. They spent too much money on efense to be this bad.

Where are the adjustments from Flores? Yes, calling him out. He is the head coach. You see the same freakin play run over and over and over again and you still do nothing to counteract it. That falls squarely on coaching.

They drop to 0 and 3 this week. Things get very ugly up in here.