SB Nation User Blog: joel311

Today we see The Wild Pat

joel311 — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 17:05:36 -0000

This has to be the game for which they have been saving Pat White. To all of you people who think White is a waste, do you honestly think Sparano gives him one or two snaps and then pulls him off the field if he is serious about using him at that point in the game? No. The way White has been used so far has only been used for misdirection when they finally unleash him in a big game... I think that game is today. Who better to unleash the next level of The Wildcat on than the #1 team in the division who also happens to be the team that received the first taste of Wildcat 2008. This is the game that matters, and this is where I think we'll see Pat White.

I'm excited, how about you?

Matt Roth - Is he really injured?

joel311 — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 15:53:23 -0000

I read an article about a month ago that questioned whether Roth was injured, or just holding out for more money. It was shady how it all went down with Sparano not knowing anything about his injury in the press conference. If Roth's "groin injury" is bad enough to hold him out of OTAs, Training Camp, Exhibitions and 3 weeks of regular season... why has he not had more surgery and been done with it?

I think there's a 3rd option to the list, albeit an unlikely one, but maybe the FO wanted to keep an extra linebacker and concocted a scheme to keep Roth on IR while they decide what to do with Anderson/Wake/Walden/Moses.

I say if he's holding out for more money, PAY THE MAN HIS MONEY!! He put up incredible numbers for a first year convert. What do you guys think?

Season By Season Perspective: Ted Ginn

joel311 — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 22:11:38 -0000

Ted Ginn is catching a lot of unwarranted flak for Indy's game. I just want to put not only his progress from 2008 into perspective, but also his role on the team.

At this time last year Ted Ginn had three, count them, *three* receptions for a whopping total of 26 yards. The man now has 13 receptions for 134 yards. I think it's safe to say that he is probably a bit better than last year. Since he had just shy of 800 yards of total receiving in the '08 regular season, I think it's also a good bet to assume he is going to get over 1000 yards receiving this year. His route running is drastically improved over last year (not perfect by any means, but this is only the beginning of his 3rd year), and the O-Line is allowing Pennington more time in his throws. This increase in O-Line effectiveness forces teams to play back a little, as evidenced by our now highly efficient run game, since Pennington has time to set and throw off of his front foot which he needs in order to get some modicum of power behind the throw. Plus CP10's arm appears to be a *little* stronger than last year anyway, which will help Pennington hit Ginn beyond 10 yards without both Ginn and a defensive back tapping their feet and glancing at their watches as the ball arrives.

Let's talk a little more about that increased O-Line play. Ronnie Brown is a superstar around here, yet he only had 150 more total yards from scrimmage than Ted Ginn last year--150 more yards than a 2nd year receiver who had yet to have his break out season. Yet, we all put a lot of blame the O-Line for Ronnie's lack of "elite" production last year, so why is Ginn not afforded the same respect? I couldn't begin tell you how many times last year that I heard opposing defenses were stacking the box due to a lack of respect for Pennington's ability to throw the deep ball, and thusly the R&R Express was being hampered by Pennington blah blah blah. Again, I ask you why not the same for Ted Ginn? Would not Pennington's lack of arm strength hamper a small speedster wide out more so than a bruiser running back? I think so.

Ginn is no longer the bottleneck when it comes to his lack of big plays, as we were able to witness on Ginn's 2nd "drop" in the end zone. Ginn had to come to a complete stop and *wait* on the ball. Teddy had nice separation on the CB, but all of that means nothing when Pennington cannot hit him in stride. He couldn't even block out the cornerback since the guy was between him and Pennington (behind him!), so I don't understand how you expect anybody to make that catch with a CB tangled in their jersey. It is much easier to break up a pass than it is to catch one with a CB all over you.

So,the real bottleneck is now the QB who can't get the small/fast receiver the ball in time. I bet a lot of the people who are bashing Ginn for his "fear" of getting hit were rooting for little Chris Williams or Anthony Armstrong to make the team. What role were you expecting them to fill? Did you think they were going to happily wait in the same spot for a CP10 rainbow pass and risk their entire career taking a hit that would in all likelihood cause a fumble/incomplete pass anyway?

Ok, you're right, Ginn should not be WR #1, but is that his fault? While we wait on a big, fast, physical receiver to develop (Hartline/Turner anyone?) to play opposite Ginn, he's the only receiver we have that can get down field. That's why he is being used as the #1 guy. Camarillo and Bess are much too slow to maintain any form of separation on a deep out.

Basically, Ginn is a very talented receiver who runs the 40 in under 4.3... too bad Pennington throws the 40 in 4.4 flat.

Now that The Jets and The Bills look legitimate,

joel311 — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 03:49:20 -0000

our schedule got much worse. It's sad when we have to look forward to playing Tampa Bay as our only "easy" game in the first half of the season. At least we have Jacksonville in December!!

I don't know about you, but I'm steeling myself against the inevitable onslaught of "regular season warrior" fans screaming for Sparano/Pennington/Ginn/etc's head when we fall short of the playoffs.

I know there is going to be some backlash from this post, but before you flame me, take a look at our schedule strewn across the top of The Phins website. Just look at those logos for a minute and reality will start to set in.. That is one daunting schedule no matter what team you are. There isn't really a rest at all. We get our bye week and immediately come back to face New Orleans. Our defense surely cannot stop New Orleans, they made The Eagles defense look like origami. It's going to be Indy Round 2.. let's just hope it's devoid of QB sneaks with a minute to go.

Seriously, what do we have to look forward to? I'll tell you what--a LOT of gut wrenching games. Just like last year..except this year, the games are against real opponents. It's going to be one hell of a ride, no matter how it shakes out. Even if our chances of making the playoffs are slim, I don't think I trade this schedule for an easier one. What better way to say "I told you so" than to come out with a winning record against the hands down toughest schedule in the league?

Indianapolis Signs Hank Basket

joel311 — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 06:11:45 -0000

Peyton now has another deep threat. I just hope Will Allen can handle him. Story can be found here .

Indianapolis has signed former Philadelphia receiver Hank Baskett to take Gonzalez's place, and three-time league most valuable player Peyton Manning hopes he can find his way around the offense fast. The team made the announcement following Thursday's practice.

"Hopefully, we can catch him up as soon as possible," Manning said. "It's a lot of offense to learn in a couple of days, but he's a veteran, so he could help us."

Congratulations Bills Fans

joel311 — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 14:50:47 -0000

I expected your O-Line to be the worst in the league this year, but those rookies surprised me greatly. Fred Jackson is a beast and Trent Edwards looked like a seasoned pro. Combine all of that with the way your defense played and you would have steamrolled the vast majority of the teams in the NFL. Even with the ST fumbles.

The AFC East is going to be a flat out dog fight this year and I'm glad for it. See you in Week 4!

AFC East is a powerhouse.

joel311 — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 13:15:58 -0000

I may get some flack here, but The Dolphins are clearly at the bottom of the division after Week 1. I'm not saying this can't change, but watching The Bills put The Pats up against the ropes for 3.5 quarters made it seem obvious. This isn't a bad thing as I do think we are going to finish very strong once Grove/Shawn Murphy and Grove/Donald Thomas gel a bit more, but we are going to be chasing The Jets, The Patriots and quite possibly The Bills for the rest of the season.

I, for one, would rather play in a strong division and have a shot at the playoffs than mop up an easy division and coast into January. Playing against 3 great teams will help us in the long run, both developmentally and by better results when we do play the great teams in January.

I am excited to watch this season pan out.

Why We Should Not Draft a Wide Receiver on Day 1.

joel311 — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 01:15:50 -0000

One increasingly popular opinion amongst Dolfans, as well as the mainstream sports media, is that The Dolphins receiving corps is an area of weakness that should be addressed in the first day, if not the first round, of the draft. When mentioned in the same sentence as Miami or one of its receivers, the phrase "True #1" is usually paired up with a negative adverb or adjective such as "no", "not", or "lacking". This article will help dispel the myths surrounding our excellent talent.

As all Phinsiders know, Greg Camarillo has transitioned from a winless-season-saving hero, to a fearless and dependable, over-the-middle receiver with fantastic hands. During the first 12 games, he was Pennington's go to guy on clutch 3rd downs. The torn ACL is the only thing that raises any question marks about his playing ability, but from recent reports, it sounds like he is having a speedy recovery.

Ted Ginn drastically improved upon his 2007 performance. Who can forget that amazing over-the-shoulder grab at the very back of the end zone vs. Seattle? That's just a little flash of what things will be like in 2010. Ginn's skills lie in his ability to get over the top of the secondary; a receiver like that can only do so much with a QB like Chad Pennington. As Sparano pointed out, Ginn's lack of receptions was due to the way he was used. Drafting another receiver that can burn the secondary will not make Pennington's arm any stronger.

Next up, Brandon London. This kid did not get a lot of playing time on offense, but Brandon made a heck of an impression when he did. His diving catch converted a clutch 3rd down during the most important game of the entire season, versus the hated Jets no less. That is the definition of performing under pressure. When taken into account that Brandon stands at an impressive 6'4", and he has a great work ethic, it seems he is just a season away from being the end zone threat that Ernest Wilford was supposed to be.

As an UDFA out of Hawaii, Davone Bess is a Rags-to-Riches type story--going from prison in high school to the NFL. When Greg Camarillo went down for the season, Davone stepped up immediately recording 5 receptions for 87 yards vs. NE in his first ever NFL start. He followed that up with two strong performances against St. Louis and Buffalo where Bess caught 6 passes for 84 yards and 9 passes for 74 yards, respectively. Just to put this into perspective, Greg Camarillo started 11 games and only had 3 games over 70 yards, and only one of those was for 80 plus. Davone did it in his first three. As the season got colder, and The Dolphins played in frostbitten cities like KC and "New York", Davone had 15 receptions for 121 yards to close out the regular season. In his first 6 NFL starts, Davone Bess totaled 35 catches for 366 yards, which is an average of 10.5 yards per catch. These weren't all great passes either; the name Bess conjures an image of an acrobatic, mid-air twist to snag an errant pass that was thrown well behind him. Bess may not be as tall as Larry Fitzgerald, but he definitely has the hands and the agility to make similar awe-inspiring grabs.

It's time for some more perspective; Davone's first season stacks up nicely against the rookie years of two of the NFL's greatest receivers--Terrell Owens and Larry Fitzgerald. Terrell Owens started 10 of the 16 games he played in San Francisco and he caught 35 passes for 520 yards with Steve Young at QB. In 2004 Larry Fitzgerald started all 16 games and had 58 receptions for 780 yards. Davone Bess started in 6 of 16 games and he recorded a total of 54 receptions for 554 yards. When his average of just under 6 receptions per start is extrapolated to a full season, Davone may have caught 93 passes for 975 yards. Those are pretty astounding numbers considering that wide receivers normally take 2-3 years to develop.

Davone Bess can make people miss, so the 10.5 average yards per catch (as well as the averages of Camarillo and Ginn) can be attributed to Pennington's weak arm. Pennington only averaged 7.7 yards per completion and this was his second highest season average (not including 2000 where he only had 2 completions), just barely falling short of his 7.8 average in 2002. When the ball takes so much longer to reach it's target, it is more likely that a defensive back is going to be there as soon as a receiver makes the grab. Pennington's lack of a bullet brings down the average of the entire receiving corps.

To sum up: Davone Bess has the numbers and the heart to be our "True #1" wide receiver and, when Henne takes over in 2010 or mid/late 2009, Ted Ginn will be a deep threat that defenses must account for with their #1 Corner or with double coverage. Also, Greg Camarillo is a great slot receiver, and Brandon London is developing into a physical end zone threat. Taking all of this into account, it just does not make sense for The Phins to draft a wide receiver on Day 1.

3rd Down Back Situation

joel311 — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 15:02:49 -0000

Ben Volin made an interesting point during the PBP live chat this morning, it went as follows:

Ben Volin: Good morning, thanks for joining us.

The third-down running back situation was another hot topic in my post-game chat on Sunday. (SHAMELESS PLUG: JOIN ME AFTER EVERY GAME FOR A LIVE CHAT!)

No question, Ricky and Ronnie are the top two backs, and have arguably the best hands on the team, among all receivers and tight ends. They were active in the passing game in the fourth quarter, when the Dolphins were throwing on every down. They combined for seven catches.

Patrick Cobbs, though, played 13 snaps on third down. He caught one pass for 9 yards. The other 12 downs? He was a blocker.

Understand, though Cobbs is only 5-foot-8, he is a BEAST. Pound for pound, the strongest guy in the locker room. He can squat three times his body weight.

He was in the game for one reason only -- to thump anyone who got close to Chad Pennington.

Who would you rather be taking those licks -- Ronnie Brown, coming off ACL surgery? Ricky Williams, who is 31 years old?

Tony Sparano knows that his offensive line is a work in progress, and uses Cobbs as a safety valve.

That said, expect to see more Ricky and Ronnie this week on third downs, because the offense needs to move the ball more than it did against the Jets.

I'm already looking forward to next week.

joel311 — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 19:34:15 -0000

I wish it were Sunday already!

The close finish against a possibly playoff bound Jets team has renewed my hope that we are going to do well this year. Once Sparano stops trying to be so predictably unpredictable, I think we're going to see a lot of Ws in the win column. Yes, our receivers aren't that great, but really it was the play calling that was our down fall. If we had thrown some short screen passes early to open the run, and then if we had run hard on them with Ricky and Ronnie (NO PATRICK), it would have opened up the secondary to allow some receivers to get open. I agree that Ginn was a huge disappointment with his invisibility and his timid attempts at punt returns, but I'm going to chalk that up to game 1 jitters. I don't think he's used to being in the #1 anticipated game of the week. Even Pennington looked nervous in his first two or three series, and he's a long time veteran. I'll reserve my harsh judgements on Ginn until at least next week.