Miami Dolphins considering lineup changes

Armando Salguero wrote:The Miami Dolphins are working on their preparations for Sunday's game against the Tennessee Titans and with a new coaching staff (more or less) comes the possibility of lineup changes.

A source tells me that although the team has not fully decided on changes and will monitor what happens at practice this week, there are indeed possible changes being considered at right guard and wide receiver.

I told you this morning I would bench Greg Jennings for DeVante Parker. The Dolphins are certainly considering benching Jennings. But his replacement would more likely be Kenny Stills instead of Parker.

http://miamiherald.typepad.com/dolphins_in_depth/2015/10/miami-dolphins-considering-lineup-changes.html

It took the firing of the HC and DC for someone to do it right. At least Campbell is trying to win.

Unfortunately we are still stuck with Tannygobber.

Imagine that, 1-3 and we are "considering lineup changes".

It sounds like Dallas Thomas is keeping his starting job. I just don't get it.

And Stills over Parker? Really? Let the rookie play!

The thing with Parker is, he missed too much camp. We have no idea if he's smart or not, regardless of what his ex-coaches say about him. It's like Charles Clay and his first season. A lot of people didn't realize that Clay couldn't absorb the playbook at the professional level, and he said so himself.

That said, he's a first-round pick and if he's healthy, he should be playing.

Degarmo wrote:The thing with Parker is, he missed too much camp.  We have no idea if he's smart or not, regardless of what his ex-coaches say about him.  It's like Charles Clay and his first season.  A lot of people didn't realize that Clay couldn't absorb the playbook at the professional level, and he said so himself.

That said, he's a first-round pick and if he's healthy, he should be playing.

Well, reading between the lines it seems apparent that Parker is having trouble with the playbook, and may still have trouble with route-running.

BUT...I think there are several factors that should override those issues:

First, Parker is a first round pick and if he is producing in practice (and apparently he is) then he needs to play.

Second, and most importantly, Parker possesses traits that no other receiver on this team can match - size/speed combo, and physicality. These are traits that any compentent OC should be able to find a way to use, particularly in red zone situations. And no, I'm not talking about low-percentage fade passes over and over!

Third, our receivers aren't exactly tearing up the league. Landry is the best of the bunch, of course, but Lazor has no clue how to use him properly and he averages under 10 yards per catch and no TDs. Matthews has looked good, but he seems to be shuffled in and out of the lineup. Stills has done nothing other than in garbage time against the Jets. Jennings has done nothing. In other words, we need Parker.

Fourth, we're 1-3. It would be a colossal waste to piss the season away while not giving your #1 pick a legit opportunity to develop and contribute.

I know Parker has been getting increased snaps in recent games, but he needs to be more than just a guy that lines up and run routes without getting passes - Tannehill needs to target him, early and often.

JMP wrote:

Degarmo wrote:The thing with Parker is, he missed too much camp.  We have no idea if he's smart or not, regardless of what his ex-coaches say about him.  It's like Charles Clay and his first season.  A lot of people didn't realize that Clay couldn't absorb the playbook at the professional level, and he said so himself.

That said, he's a first-round pick and if he's healthy, he should be playing.

Well, reading between the lines it seems apparent that Parker is having trouble with the playbook, and may still have trouble with route-running.

BUT...I think there are several factors that should override those issues:

First, Parker is a first round pick and if he is producing in practice (and apparently he is) then he needs to play.

Second, and most importantly, Parker possesses traits that no other receiver on this team can match - size/speed combo, and physicality.  These are traits that any compentent OC should be able to find a way to use, particularly in red zone situations.  And no, I'm not talking about low-percentage fade passes over and over!

Third, our receivers aren't exactly tearing up the league.  Landry is the best of the bunch, of course, but Lazor has no clue how to use him properly and he averages under 10 yards per catch and no TDs.  Matthews has looked good, but he seems to be shuffled in and out of the lineup.   Stills has done nothing other than in garbage time against the Jets.  Jennings has done nothing.  In other words, we need Parker.

Fourth, we're 1-3.  It would be a colossal waste to piss the season away while not giving your #1 pick a legit opportunity to develop and contribute.

I know Parker has been getting increased snaps in recent games, but he needs to be more than just a guy that lines up and run routes without getting passes - Tannehill needs to target him, early and often.

I agree with all of this.

The bolded part, is one of my pet peeves. There are a couple of plays in today's NFL that really chafe my chips. First off is the aforementioned fade routes. This play should ONLY be used with big, tall, steady, sure-handed receivers who can out jump and out maneuver CBs. Otherwise it's a pile of hot steamy horse crap.

Secondly, any pass that is both 2-or-less yards forward and 20-or-more yards to the left or right, i.e. that college holdover play where they try to use speed to defeat a less talented defense. That doesn't work often in the NFL as EVERYONE is fast. Stop doing it. Seriously, stop. I'm coming unhinged over this. STOP USING THAT GOD DAMN PLAY. If you want to go 2 yards, just pound it up the middle. It's less risky, and chances a fumble won't end up in a defensive TD, as it is done with relative frequency on that long 1-yard-gain out pattern.

Here's the thing about that out pattern. If these fuckwads (coaches) would have spent ten seconds paying attention in basic physics they'd understand that the receiver's power is completely WRONG for what they want them to achieve when they're running that pattern. The ball is typically not delivered out in front of them, but to their back hip on that play to avoid a charging defensive player from getting an easy Pick-6 (REASON 1 not to run that play at all on a regular basis and only have it as a gimmick). Since the ball is on the back hip, the player has to twist their body backwards, away from their running direction, and catch the ball. Secondly, the receiver is moving both lateral AND towards the out-of-bounds line, putting his motion arrow going essentially backwards and out. This is why it is so incredibly easy for an NFL player to take down just about anyone running this route. Their center of gravity is negated by the actual force of their motion and all you have to do is help that force along with just a little effort (very little) and they will fall down or be run out of bounds. I can't tell you how many times I've seen a bigger player or TE get easily tackled running this route by a small cornerback.

Yes, it works from time to time, but not nearly enough. SO STOP IT.

I thought these morons were supposed to play the percentages, the ones that are in their favor, not the opposite. It's not a safe play, it's not an effective play most of the time, and it's time to STOP IT.

The fade? Like I said, it's only a good idea when you've got an alpha receiver who fights for the ball. Even then, it requires precise ball placement from the QB, and even the best in the league fail far more often than not doing it.

WHAT THE HELL EVER HAPPENED TO THE PLAY-ACTION TO THE TIGHT END DOWN INSIDE THE 5? REMEMBER THAT? REMEMBER IT WORKING NEARLY ALL THE GOD-DAMN TIME? WHY, WHY, WHY, WHY, WHY DO WE NOT SEE THAT ANYMORE?

It still works, you know. I've seen it.

Love it...outstanding post.

any pass that is both 2-or-less yards forward and 20-or-more yards to the left or right

These are the plays that make me want to hire Jeff Gillooly to head down to Miami and break Lazor's kneecap. He must call those plays 20 times a game. It's absurd. It's a wasted down 9 times out of 10, and the one time it works you're lucky to gain 5 yards.

WHAT THE HELL EVER HAPPENED TO THE PLAY-ACTION TO THE TIGHT END DOWN INSIDE THE 5? REMEMBER THAT? REMEMBER IT WORKING NEARLY ALL THE GOD-DAMN TIME? WHY, WHY, WHY, WHY, WHY DO WE NOT SEE THAT ANYMORE?

That play NEVER fails - NEVER. And we NEVER do it. Of course, we don't really run any playaction at all, and we rarely even run the ball at all anyway, so...

And this goddamn 'every single play must be run out of the shotgun' has to stop. Change it up and put Tannehill under center sometimes. And let the guy call REAL audibles for cryin' out loud!

JMP wrote:'every single play must be run out of the shotgun' has to stop.

Lazor said. “We’ve been far more productive as a shotgun run team than we have as an under-center run team.”

http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/nfl/miami-dolphins/article39350658.html

Bill Lazor doesn't agree with you. but i do. this team really needs a fullback for those I-formation goal line runs.

Degarmo wrote:WHAT THE HELL EVER HAPPENED TO THE PLAY-ACTION TO THE TIGHT END DOWN INSIDE THE 5?

and i agree with you too. and speaking of fullbacks and redzone passes that work - what the hell ever happened to the against the grain fullback in the flat ala Keith Byars pass?

Lazor is so full of shit. You know why we are more productive running out of the shotgun then under center? Because we don't run any plays under center! And when we do, we have no fullback and no blocking TE (well, at least the 4 weeks without Sims), so it's that much harder.

I swear, the more I hear Lazor talk the more I dislike him. He's arrogant, and he's full of crap.

From that same article:

[Lazor] pushed back against the narrative that Ryan Tannehill is not allowed to audible at the line of scrimmage, as multiple outlets have reported.

Lazor’s answer: “Ryan does as much in decision making as any quarterback I’ve coached, and he can. He’s very intelligent. I’ve been in systems where the quarterback’s at the line making a lot of calls and it’s easy to turn on certain TV right now and see certain quarterbacks gesturing dummies, yelling all this stuff. I’ve been in systems where we did not audible at all.

“In the Jet game, Ryan changed the play by words. Some people would call that an audible, by hand signal. He had plays where a run was called and without having to change anything, he decided to throw the ball. So if people don’t think he makes those decisions, then we’ve done a heck of a job with our disguises.”

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/nfl/miami-dolphins/article39350658.html#storylink=cpy

Bullshit. Lazor is talking as if fans don't know what an audible is. Tannehill gets two plays called in, a run and a pass, and he decides which one to run when he sees how the defense responds to the Dolphins going in motion, which they do on nearly every play. If he chooses one play initially, he can change to the other before the snap - but both plays are run out of the same formation, so he's not actually changing protections or formations or anything like that. That is NOT an audible. That is changing a run to a pass or a pass to a run - it is NOT changing the formation or the play.

And that's why Tannehill was unable to do anything against the 22 corner blitzes that the Jets ran. If he had the power to change the play, he could have done something to pick up the blitzing corner. But he couldn't change the play, and Lazor didn't make any adjustmenst to his playcalling.

I can't wait till we get rid of Lazor and his crap offense.

While we are on the topic - what happened to the 15-20 yard "Out" patterns that Tannehill used to throw so well to Hartline? Totally eliminated from the offense.

I echo what you guys are saying. We don't run enough. This neuters any play action ability. We throw that sideways 2 yard pass way too freaking often. Many times, when we are at 3rd and long giving us literally no prayer at converting the down. Once we hit the TE on a deep seam pass - forget about it. One per game, you might see it again next week. Did you see what New Orleans did last night with Ben Watson? They found a problem for Atlanta, then never stopped exploiting it. We find a good matchup, use it once then say okay what else can we do?

I hate this offense. HATE IT. Give me Norv Turner or Chan Gailey at OC - I'll take their offenses all day over this crap.

Yep, as soon as Lazor got the job he removed the intermediate/deep outs and comeback routes from the offense - the two routes that Tannehill excelled at in his first two seasons. Another example of trying to fit the player to the scheme instead of the scheme to the player.

Arrogant offensive coordinators who think their schemes are better than the players in them are morons and need to be taken directly to Wal-Mart where they can become greeters with a name tag that says, "Hi, I'm Asshole," and they can tell people as they come in what they need to buy and not what they came there to buy.

Degarmo needs some absinthe to help him relax, like I'm having tomorrow night

Thomas had two offensive holding penalties that I know of. A change at left guard is long over due!

Some things never change, I see

Can't blame Philbin anymore but someone has to take it. Maybe it's Jim Benton who's insisted on Thomas staying on the field this whole time

I'd fire that coach. Cut. Thomas, and fire the scout that recommended him!

The entire scouting staff needs to be fired regardless. We could literally do a better job drafting O-linemen.

CarsonChris wrote:Thomas had two offensive holding penalties that I know of. A change at left guard is long over due!

agreed.

Casey was the highest-graded player from the Titans defense on Sunday, and it was his second lowest grade of the season. Casey tied a season low with just two pressures yesterday but he consistently beat Miami LG Dallas Thomas (-4.4) off the snap, drawing double-team help for much of the game.

https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2015/10/19/mia-ten-grades-defense-tannehill-slaughter-titans/

Everything on this team has changed since Campbell took over...everything, that is, except Dallas Thomas. He continues to suck, and in fact I think he gets worse by the game. I didn't want to mention anything negative in my game write-up this week, so I didn't mention Thomas - but he got dominated yesterday - as usual. He gets pushed back on nearly every passing play - just no functional strength at all - and his technique is absolute shit.

Agreed. Turner appears to have been an upgrade at RG, who would we plug in to replace Thomas at LG?