What Changed Between 2014 and 2015?

[So Be]

The team looked pretty good in the first half of last year. Then, Albert went down with the OL and O. The same was true with the D, and then everything went downhill very quickly. We had the same coaches in both halves as well as this year. So, what changed?

We still have Albert out with the OL looking the same as the second half.

I like Tannehill but, see no improvement, and Miller's production has gotten worse. Our receivers are better even without Parker and Stills not yet chiming in.
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Our DL was getting killed on the run second half, and it's the same.

The LB's are the same, good outside with nothing in the middle. Safety has suffered with Delmas going down (no one's fault), and Finnegen's replacement has been horrible.
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What did our FO do to improve?

Signed Suh, improved our receivers, and ...........................?

[HndRkyaBong34]

[

What did our FO do to improve?

Signed Suh, improved our receivers, and ...........................?[/QUOTE]

Suh with only 3 tackles and WR's that have done absolutely nothing.. Landry and Matthews are the only two performing... 1st round and a 3rd round and 114 million dollars later.... I see NO Improvement..

[cuchulainn]

Suh has 7 tackles and is consistently drawing double and triple teams. The guys who are failing are Wake and OV. Both have been dinged up, but OV has always only capitalized on cleaning up. So far he's not even doing that.

Overall though, yes, the defense is a major fail.

[AquaXI]

No question Philbin puts in the time and employs the packer way into our own. I understand also that players today get paid handsomely and that alone should be the biggest motivator but unfortunately they are Human beings. They still need inspirational leaders to keep them focused and Philbin has been tuned out like Ferris Buellers teacher.

[Tarpon Guide]

Suh with only 3 tackles and WR's that have done absolutely nothing.. Landry and Matthews are the only two performing... 1st round and a 3rd round and 114 million dollars later.... I see NO Improvement..

$114,000,000 for 3 tackles. That's $38,000,000/tackle. Guess who's laughing all the way to the bank now?

[cuchulainn]

Again, that stat is wrong and the issue isn't Suh. He's doing his job. It's the surrounding cast who is failing.

[Tarpon Guide]

Never said it was Suh's fault. Just said those were some expensive tackles. I would laugh too.

[Kato]

That is an excellent question Sobe....my working hypothesis is the players have quit on this regime.....

[phinfanfrom70s]

it's the scheme coyle uses it's called THE COYLE TRIANGLE, because good players go in and are not heard of after that!!!!!!!!
suh has been sucked in ,so don't expect to hear from him as long as coyle is DC and that isn't changing until philbin and friends are gone!
suh is either going to out perform coyle's defense or he will quit and wash out of miami,I hope he can out perform coyle's defense!

[HndRkyaBong34]

That explains Dion Jordan.... Thanks Coyle....

[phinfanfrom70s]

that's dion jordan exactly
if there's a new coaching staff next year maybe they can get him turned around as it seems this staff hasn't been able to do that,he can still play!

[cuchulainn]

Something else that is being overlooked is that Misi was at Middle LB last season. This season it's been Sheppard and Vigil with Misi at SLB and Jenkins at WLB.

Misi needs to be back at Mike. Taylor on the outside. Thomas at FS. Get Lippett and Bobby McCain into the mix at outside and slot DB if you need to rotate players. Also bench OV and start Fede over him. Fede has been much better in limited use.

On offense, feed Miller and Gray the damn ball. Bench Jennings, who has been a major disappointment, and start working Parker into the game. I was happy to see Parker and Cameron in the RZ packages, but Jaysus, be smart with the playcalling. So far, Lazor playcalling hasn't been good in the RZ at all.

[phinfanfrom70s]

he hasn't called good calls in the RZ,but he also hasn't helped out the O-line and Thill .
he's called a lot of Thill dropping straight back,which puts pressure on the line to protect and hold the pocket.
he hasn't really got Thill out side the tackles to much,that helps the O-line or many plays that try to misdirect.
literally a team could blitz in some manner every play,because you can just about chance that Thill will be in the pocket staring down a WR.
lazor mentioned 1st and 2nd downs,those are the downs that take the pressure off the line to protect on 3rd and long situations.
lazor needs to call the plays like it's the 3rd quarter and their trying to come from behind,not the 1st quarter and have a whole game ahead of them.

[Seadog]

Nothing really changed, teams just figured out last year where our weaknesses were.

I remember last year saying that our DT's were garbage, I saw plays over and over where teams were killing us up the gut. Then came the Donkey game, I knew we were going to be exposed and we were. From that point on we couldn't stop an old Mercury Morris....as for our OL, same goes, teams found our weaknesses...

Lets' look at a team that is very much like the Dolphins, the Denver Donkeys. They have no OL, they can't run the ball, they have a QB that has had trouble with the long ball since last year.....The difference is Wade Phillips and what he brings to the DC position on their team....I get to hear all the interviews with the players, you couldn't imagine the difference when you hear the D speak to reporters, these guys are so well prepared to play, they recognize the plays, they know where they need to be, and they make BIG plays over and over again....they are the difference in that team being 3-0 or 0-3....

I know they are better at D, but not much better IMO, pretty much the same D as last year, but much better than last year. Wade is by far the best DC in the game, and we could've had him here, but we decided to keep Coyle. This falls squarely on Ross, he should've stepped up and fired the whole damn staff, at the very tiniest least Coyle should have been fired, but no, we kept a coach that over and over again has his players ill prepared, out of position, and in no ways wanting to play football....

Bottom line....we are screwed every week that goes by that we don't get top quality coaching....JMO

[So Be]

For me, QB, LT, Pass Rusher, and CB are the four most important positions in the NFL, and we have been horrible on all four. Wake has been hurt, and Grimes is only half the solution.

Philbin, while part of the problem, is not my easy out here. Let Tannehill show his improvement. Let us add a real backup LT. Let Wake and OV be healthy., and let us get a legit 2nd CB.

[HndRkyaBong34]

That all could of been done through the draft and FA's prior to this season... Pass Rusher; Aldon Smith(cheap)~ CB: Maxwell~ LG/LT: Mathis .. QB?I guess we could of snagged one in the 3rd rd to back up RT.. Philbin is no doubt just "part" of the problem..

[DolphinsFreak]

The question is..........what didn't change?

I don't think it matters what players are out on the field for any team if your coaches SUCK !! When you have coaches that SUCK coupled with a Quarterback who SUCKS, you have a recipe for disaster. I have heard DOZENS of EXPERTS, formal NFL coaches and players talk about OTHER QUARTERBACKS and mentioned how "If a quarterback only cares about HIS NUMBERS then the short passing game works but if you want to win games you need a whole lot more than that at the QB position." The latest conversation when they spoke about this was when talking about Michael Vick taking over the starting job. No, Michael, I am NOT calling you "Mike". ........Who let the dogs out????

[cuchulainn]

For me, QB, LT, Pass Rusher, and CB are the four most important positions in the NFL, and we have been horrible on all four. Wake has been hurt, and Grimes is only half the solution.

Philbin, while part of the problem, is not my easy out here. Let Tannehill show his improvement. Let us add a real backup LT. Let Wake and OV be healthy., and let us get a legit 2nd CB.

I think you have to put MLB in there as well.

We need stone cold killer at MLB. We haven't have that since Zach was in his prime. I was pulling for us to draft a LB each of the past 2 years in the first round but understand each of the past 2 selections. 2014 was need. 2015 BPA.

[HndRkyaBong34]

You and I were both calling out for a MLB the last 2 drafts..

[FinFan in KC]

We should have taken Perryman in the 2nd round this year.

[cuchulainn]

I wanted Stephone Anthony, who Irish scouted for the Saints and drafted... last year, I wanted Shaz, who the stinking Steelers took.

[VAIDER5120]

Nothing. The same weaknesses, the same problems, just some new faces.

[Phintim Menace]

So if we change players by drafting new talent and getting all pro FA like Albert and Suh and players who were good elsewhere are the same here and players who were average or less here are better somewhere else, what could be the problem? Only one common denominator, the are being coached by poor coaches. And that isn't just the current group! It has been a long list of well below average coaches for the Dolphins. We throw tons of $ in cap money at players, then take unlimited $ and head the Dollar General for our coaches!

We cannot avoid RT and Suh's cap hit, so we better open up the wallet and go get some big time talent on the coaching staff. They are out there and I think they would love to inherit this roster. Usually when you get a new coach it is because the team is really bad. This is about as good of a situation as a new coach could walk into.

I believe guys like Gruden, Cowher and Shannahan are competitors who love coaching. They would have never made it where they did if they were not that way. All that is left is to make them a deal they can't say no to. Let them weed out the roster if needed and decide who does and doesn't start. There it is, now Ross just has to open the wallet and make it happen. If he goes and gets another Rhode Island or Marist assistant and saves money, nothing will change again!

[DolphinsFreak]

So if we change players by drafting new talent and getting all pro FA like Albert and Suh and players who were good elsewhere are the same here and players who were average or less here are better somewhere else, what could be the problem? Only one common denominator, the are being coached by poor coaches. And that isn't just the current group! It has been a long list of well below average coaches for the Dolphins. We throw tons of $ in cap money at players, then take unlimited $ and head the Dollar General for our coaches!

We cannot avoid RT and Suh's cap hit, so we better open up the wallet and go get some big time talent on the coaching staff. They are out there and I think they would love to inherit this roster. Usually when you get a new coach it is because the team is really bad. This is about as good of a situation as a new coach could walk into.

I believe guys like Gruden, Cowher and Shannahan are competitors who love coaching. They would have never made it where they did if they were not that way. All that is left is to make them a deal they can't say no to. Let them weed out the roster if needed and decide who does and doesn't start. There it is, now Ross just has to open the wallet and make it happen. If he goes and gets another Rhode Island or Marist assistant and saves money, nothing will change again!

I agree with what you just posted but I think that IF a big named coach was even going to think about coming to Miami to be the next head coach Tannenbaum would have to give them full control. He could still be their "boss" but that doesn't mean he has to be involved in free agency, the draft or going after players when needed. The new head coach should be able to hand pick their own GM that they trust will bring in the guys that they want/need to make this Dolphins team the best that they can. JMO

[FTLDOLFAN]

The D-line actually played very well last year up until the Denver game then the wheels fell off. I have heard that Wake and OV are both hampered by injuries so they are not playing as well as they were last year, thats mainly why we have no pass rush. Finnegan was playing well early in the season last year before injuries derailed the end of his season and the absence of Delmas seems to be a major issue. We have already given up several big plays and last year I don't remember us giving up too many before Delmas was injured late in the season.

Now to the offense. The o-line actually played very well last year until Albert went down in the Detroit game. As much as we didn't like Smith and Colledge as it turns out they were better than Thomas and Douglas have been so far. Thats why Miller has been so ineffective and Tannheill has been harassed so much. I also think we miss Wallace. Not his production but just his prescence on the field. Even though Tannehill could not connect with him downfield I still think opposing defenses respected him. I don't think they respect Stills in the same way and thats why Tannehill is having a harder time finding open receivers.

Those are the differences that I notice.

[Phintim Menace]

Agreed. Very good point about defenses respecting Wallace. Now we have to get Stills and Parker involved in the game plan and Cameron more so. Give opposing coaches things to worry about and scheme for rather than selling out and crowding the line of scrimmage. Bringing heat to Tannehill and stuffing running lanes making our line look worse than it is. Marino once was told that the Steelers planned on blitzing him on every down in an upcoming playoff game. Marino's response "I hope they do". They did, he torched them, Miami won big!