LMAO,
Big Lou you are on the ball. Miami is by far the best defense in the league right now. Tampa is banged up and they are getting ran all over. Carolina has a great front four, maybe the best but top 3 for sure but linebackers and secondary is weak. I hear what everyone is saying about Dave Wanny and Jay and I agree with 70% of your opinions. Brian does have a stronger arm but he makes more mistakes. Jay has just as many if not more picks than he does TD's and Miami is still 4-2, why? Cause of their defense. Lets recap the season so far:
Loss to Houston = Dave Wanny's play calling. They had them beat and they got stupid to attempt that throw on the out that got picked and won the Texans the game. Burnt time outs that were crucial when Miami was driving at the end and could have won. If they ran the ball with Rickey that down they would have had the clock running and punted and I guarantee the D wins them game #1.
Loss to NE: Need I explan? This was nationally televised and Miami had that game won three times.
Miami has not been beaten this year by any team, they have beaten themselves both times they recorded losses.
If they can beat the Titans in Tennesee, they will win the AFC and probally the Superbowl. If not, then they will make a decent run in the playoffs.
Key games for Miami:
Hosting Indy
@ Tenn
@ NE
If they can some how win these three games, they will have a bye and homefield #2 seed. KC will hold the #1 and they are not as good as their record. Really should be 3-4 right now. Big Lou I am with you and Miami will make a deep run in the playoffs.
Big Lou you are on the ball. Miami is by far the best defense in the league right now. Tampa is banged up and they are getting ran all over. Carolina has a great front four, maybe the best but top 3 for sure but linebackers and secondary is weak. I hear what everyone is saying about Dave Wanny and Jay and I agree with 70% of your opinions. Brian does have a stronger arm but he makes more mistakes. Jay has just as many if not more picks than he does TD's and Miami is still 4-2, why? Cause of their defense. Lets recap the season so far:
Loss to Houston = Dave Wanny's play calling. They had them beat and they got stupid to attempt that throw on the out that got picked and won the Texans the game. Burnt time outs that were crucial when Miami was driving at the end and could have won. If they ran the ball with Rickey that down they would have had the clock running and punted and I guarantee the D wins them game #1.
Loss to NE: Need I explan? This was nationally televised and Miami had that game won three times.
Miami has not been beaten this year by any team, they have beaten themselves both times they recorded losses.
If they can beat the Titans in Tennesee, they will win the AFC and probally the Superbowl. If not, then they will make a decent run in the playoffs.
Key games for Miami:
Hosting Indy
@ Tenn
@ NE
If they can some how win these three games, they will have a bye and homefield #2 seed. KC will hold the #1 and they are not as good as their record. Really should be 3-4 right now. Big Lou I am with you and Miami will make a deep run in the playoffs.
I forgot to mention, Randy McMichael is top 3 in tight ends in the league. Ricky is the best RB in the league and Chambers is big play if he can get some balls thrown to him. Thompson is a play maker that came over from the Skins and needs some balls. They got an offense, they just need to learn how to use them. If this team had Parcells, they would be 6-0 and they would win the bowl with ease.
Wannstedt is holding this team back. He is the primary reason they will not get to the AFC Championship or the Super Bowl. I do not see the necessary leadership skills or the ability to make the clutch decision at the right time. He will always find a way to blow a big game. It is ultimately the players who execute but the attitude is instilled by the coach. In this case, a coach who should simply be a defensive coordinator.
By Len Pasquarelli
ESPN.com
The identity of the Miami Dolphins starting quarterback for Monday night's game at San Diego, coach Dave Wannstedt has announced, likely will not be revealed until Sunday.
Williams
But for tailback Ricky Williams, with just two 100-yard outings in the first six games of the season, it probably doesn't matter if it is Jay Fiedler or Brian Griese handing him the ball. Averaging just 3.4 yards per carry, the lowest of his career over the first six games of any season, Williams has been slowed by the inconsistency of the Miami passing attack and the pressure its shortcomings have imposed on the running game.
And, perhaps just as much, by an offensive design that, on first and 10, has become the football equivalent of a broken record.
"Run, run, run," said New England defensive lineman Richard Seymour following last weekend's overtime victory at Pro Player Stadium. "On first down, you pretty much just know what (the Dolphins) are going to do, and that's run the ball. I mean, our game plan was based on that assumption."
A pretty good assumption it was, not just in last Sunday's contest, but in virtually every game the Dolphins have played in 2003.
Only in the opening game loss to the Houston Texans, when Miami had a dozen passes on first and 10 and just nine runs, have the Dolphins diverged from the predictable script. For the season, the Dolphins have run the ball on 69.3 percent of their first-and-10 plays, the NFL's most lopsided ratio by a wide margin.
And if Miami is running the ball, of course, that means Williams usually is doing the toting. Of the team's 104 rushes on first and 10, he has logged all but a dozen of them. And on those carries, Williams has averaged just 3.15 yards per attempt. In the last three games, with opponents aware of Miami's first-and-10 pattern, Williams has averaged a miniscule 2.9 yards per carry.
Make no mistake, part of the problem is the Dolphins offensive line, a unit that has been ravaged by injuries and the resultant reshuffling of starters. There is a chance that Miami could get left guard Mark Dixon, arguably the line's best player but a veteran who has not lined up yet this year after summer ankle surgery, back for Monday night's outing.
But beyond the line problems, the Dolphins will have to be more diverse on first down, to either run the ball more outside the tackles or increase the passing quota.
"We have to start hitting the ends better," acknowledged guard Jamie Nails. "Get more outside runs, and keep them a little more off-balance, just so they can't sit there and play the run up the middle."
New England, for instance, played a five-man front on nearly every down last week, just to slow the Dolphins' inside running attack. The Patriots covered all three Miami interior blockers, the center and both guards, and dared the Dolphins to run outside. Miami rarely called an outside rushing play and, as a result, the rushing attack was rarely productive.
On all first-down plays, the Miami offense is averaging 4.67 yards, the ninth-worst mark in the NFL. But that lack of proficiency, with Williams' overall rushing average down a full yard from where it was after the first six contests of the 2002 season, has been most evident in the first-and-10 situations.
Of his 104 rushes on first-and-10, Williams has netted two yards or fewer 50 times, or 48.1 percent of his runs. Seventy of the carries have resulted in gains of four yards or fewer and, on first and 10, Williams has just five plays of 10 yards or more. He has had just two first-and-10 carries of 20 yards or more.
Not surprisingly, Williams has refused to blame his line or the offensive design for the first-down problems, noting generically that the team simply needs better execution. But with defenses keying so much on the run, and future opponents likely to borrow from the New England blueprint, it's obvious Miami must alter its approach, no matter who lines up at quarterback on Monday night.
ESPN.com
The identity of the Miami Dolphins starting quarterback for Monday night's game at San Diego, coach Dave Wannstedt has announced, likely will not be revealed until Sunday.
Williams
But for tailback Ricky Williams, with just two 100-yard outings in the first six games of the season, it probably doesn't matter if it is Jay Fiedler or Brian Griese handing him the ball. Averaging just 3.4 yards per carry, the lowest of his career over the first six games of any season, Williams has been slowed by the inconsistency of the Miami passing attack and the pressure its shortcomings have imposed on the running game.
And, perhaps just as much, by an offensive design that, on first and 10, has become the football equivalent of a broken record.
"Run, run, run," said New England defensive lineman Richard Seymour following last weekend's overtime victory at Pro Player Stadium. "On first down, you pretty much just know what (the Dolphins) are going to do, and that's run the ball. I mean, our game plan was based on that assumption."
A pretty good assumption it was, not just in last Sunday's contest, but in virtually every game the Dolphins have played in 2003.
Only in the opening game loss to the Houston Texans, when Miami had a dozen passes on first and 10 and just nine runs, have the Dolphins diverged from the predictable script. For the season, the Dolphins have run the ball on 69.3 percent of their first-and-10 plays, the NFL's most lopsided ratio by a wide margin.
And if Miami is running the ball, of course, that means Williams usually is doing the toting. Of the team's 104 rushes on first and 10, he has logged all but a dozen of them. And on those carries, Williams has averaged just 3.15 yards per attempt. In the last three games, with opponents aware of Miami's first-and-10 pattern, Williams has averaged a miniscule 2.9 yards per carry.
Make no mistake, part of the problem is the Dolphins offensive line, a unit that has been ravaged by injuries and the resultant reshuffling of starters. There is a chance that Miami could get left guard Mark Dixon, arguably the line's best player but a veteran who has not lined up yet this year after summer ankle surgery, back for Monday night's outing.
But beyond the line problems, the Dolphins will have to be more diverse on first down, to either run the ball more outside the tackles or increase the passing quota.
"We have to start hitting the ends better," acknowledged guard Jamie Nails. "Get more outside runs, and keep them a little more off-balance, just so they can't sit there and play the run up the middle."
New England, for instance, played a five-man front on nearly every down last week, just to slow the Dolphins' inside running attack. The Patriots covered all three Miami interior blockers, the center and both guards, and dared the Dolphins to run outside. Miami rarely called an outside rushing play and, as a result, the rushing attack was rarely productive.
On all first-down plays, the Miami offense is averaging 4.67 yards, the ninth-worst mark in the NFL. But that lack of proficiency, with Williams' overall rushing average down a full yard from where it was after the first six contests of the 2002 season, has been most evident in the first-and-10 situations.
Of his 104 rushes on first-and-10, Williams has netted two yards or fewer 50 times, or 48.1 percent of his runs. Seventy of the carries have resulted in gains of four yards or fewer and, on first and 10, Williams has just five plays of 10 yards or more. He has had just two first-and-10 carries of 20 yards or more.
Not surprisingly, Williams has refused to blame his line or the offensive design for the first-down problems, noting generically that the team simply needs better execution. But with defenses keying so much on the run, and future opponents likely to borrow from the New England blueprint, it's obvious Miami must alter its approach, no matter who lines up at quarterback on Monday night.
Hey Lou,
Brian has to lose his job now. It is to the point where people will call for Dave's head if he throws Jay back in there against Indy or Tenn. Especially if Miami loses, then Dave will be in the Fire Seat. Love the way the offense looked MNF and our red zone defense is beyond impressive. Brian is the starter until he loses his job, another 100+ QB rating on a game and he is your permenant starter period.
Brian has to lose his job now. It is to the point where people will call for Dave's head if he throws Jay back in there against Indy or Tenn. Especially if Miami loses, then Dave will be in the Fire Seat. Love the way the offense looked MNF and our red zone defense is beyond impressive. Brian is the starter until he loses his job, another 100+ QB rating on a game and he is your permenant starter period.
I think Brian starts next week but let's not get too excited about him just yet. The San Diego DB's looked like they had never played their positions before. There were quite a few wide open players. With that said, I have seen many a QB not get it to a wide open guy. They need to give him another chance and see what happens.
Griese is a better fit for the O. He is more accurate and can get the ball down field. The one thing that killed him in Denver and still does is he is an AWFUL leader. This could be a good fit, since this team doesn't need a leader. It needs a guy who won't turn it over, if he does same old story
