Dolphins Defense

[ethurst22]

Looking at this game and the game last week, the problem is NOT the Dolphin corners. Smith is a future Pro Bowler and so is Vontae Davis when Will Allen is through. Smith actually had Reggie Wayne in check and caused and tipped an INT that Wilson should not have dropped. It cost Miami 3 points.
 
Yeremiah Bell has lost speed and Gibril Wilson isn't good at all. This is why the Raiders let him walk. Miami has two strong safeties without any speed and teams are gonna kill them. TE Antonio Gates is next week. Yikes!

Porter and Taylor have clearly lost a step. Porter got his sack by not being touched at all. JP and JT look slow. Channing Crowder is not Zach Thomas.

[Tenshot13]

I agree with most of what you say.  There really wasn't enough Colt's offensive plays to determine how JT an JP play.  T had a big tackle for loss on a run play and JP had a sack.  The other pass rushers on the line need to step it up, it is a team game after all.

As far as the safeties, I agree with you all the way.  Our corners played great, but the safeties played like shit.  Although Crowder is no Thomas, I'm still not going to beat him up.  He only had one bad play the entire game against Clark that I saw.

Yeah, I'm scared about Gates next week....TE's have been eating us up.

[Defense54]

Thing is........Both JT and JP are in the Twilight of incredible NFL careers. JT is a shoe in after his first HOF ballet.   Crowder should be killing it out there after the contract he got. Everyone was surprised as hell when the Phins didn't let him go and gave him what he wanted. WTF were they thinking? Hes a Hack.  Zack made up for his Physical stature and being undersized by being prepared mentally for any challenge every week. Crowder needs to get in the Tape room and stop talking so much smack. Watch the Tape , KNOW what the offense is going to do before they do it. Fly to the ball. Actually hang on when you make a tackle. What a fucking hack. 

[YoFuggedaboutit]

Good to see you back on here Ethurst. 

[Tepop84]

So it is the players that are fucking terribad or is it the scheme? 

[JVides]

As I see it, the two inside backers don't make negative plays (stops for losses) and don't cover well.  If you make a bunch of tackles 4 yards downfield, you're really not doing much.

As I see it, we have two strong safeties.  We need one guy with coverage skills out there.

Basically, I think we're soft up the middle of the defense.  Consequently, we're getting eaten alive by tight ends and running backs.

Taylor and Porter were around Manning all the time last night, so I'm not worried about them.  He's Marino-like in his ability to shift in the pocket and get rid of the ball quickly.  I'm not surprised Miami only got to him once.

[gocowboys31]

So it is the players that are fucking terribad or is it the scheme? 

Sean Smith is the best player in the secondary. I consider that a major problem for a division champion.

[BigDaddyFin]

Two linebackers upwards of 30 on the outside.  The thing is, they're still serviceable and probably better pass rushers than most of the players in the NFL.  The inside linebackers are sub-standard.  Especially if you're playing a 3-4.  If your middle linebackers can't tackle or play acceptable pass coverage by linebacker standards, the coaching staff needs to get up their ass.  Especially Crowder for running his mouth and then missing tackles and getting embarrassed in front of the whole country. 

As far as the DB's, Sean Smith plays well.  I think it's going to be a mistake to keep praying for one more year out of Will Allen all the time.  He's now the weaker of the two corners just because he's not as fast as he was.  I said at the beginning of the draft we were going to have problems at both safety spots.  Yeremiah Bell is alright as a strong safety, but we despirately need a true free safety and someone who knows what the hell's going on in the defensive backfield.

Scheme/Coaching, I have a couple beefs to pick.  I understand why they don't want guys getting hurt in training camp and they don't make them tackle.  But for them to not tackle at all like they are is inexcusable and I think it's starting to show up as one of those things you don't practice really that bites you in the ass.  I'm still not sold on Pasqualoni as the DC.  That draw play they busted up the middle for a score looked identical to the repeated quarterback draws that went over the goalline last year.  No players in the middle at all.  The only difference is instead of it being a quarterback running over the goalline, it was a running back from 20 yards out.  What that means is Pasqualoni is telling these guys in the meetings essentially "we're going to let them spread us out, and if the guy breaks through the line, that's on the defensive line."  Not "my scheme has a flaw in it, I need to adjust the position of the middle linebacker/strong safety as a spy to cover the middle in the event of draw play." 

Therefore, the problem is a little bit of both.  We don't have good linebackers and secondary, and the scheme has a couple of serious flaws in it, particularly in the redzone area. 

The other thing I heard in an interview today that Pennington gave with NFL Films that made me worry a little was "player x is a Parcells guy."  Ok fine, he's a leader and he does what Parcells thinks football players should do.  All well and good.  But at what point does player x stop becomming a Parcells guy and start becomming "the asshole who can't tackle/blows coverages repeatedly and costs us games because of his incompetance?"  This is what I want to know.

let's not forget, we had similar problems in the secondary with Chris Crocker who played more like Betty Crocker, and they cut his ass and he's in Cincinnati now because well, they're Cincinnati.  Hopefully they will address this with Wilson, Bell, Ayodele and Crowder. 

I'd love to hear Sparano pull a John McKay and go "Why isn't this player in the game?  What's wrong with playing him?  He tackles."