RiverdoG just posted that he felt the Dolphins
would hold on to Jake Long based on the opinion of a players poll. Please take
a moment to read DoG’s post otherwise he might come after me with a hatchet! While,
I agree Jake is a great player, I have my own theory Dolphinshout readers may
enjoy that says Jake could be on another team next year. Please forgive my
inability to write short blogs…
Taking time to analyze the difference in
philosophy between Joe Philbin and Tony Sparano will give Dolphin fans an idea on
the shape of the roster in the future. Several names may surprisingly end up
signing elsewhere and others could demand higher value in Philbin’s system.
The Parcells / Sparano offensive system was
schematically ancient and the ideology that made it work was the reason for
their downfall. Great news for Jet fans! Parcells had a term called, “The Holy
Trinity,” it was the three players most needed to build an NFL franchise,
Quarterback, Left Tackle and Left Cornerback. We can make the example of how
the game has changed, by analyzing these three key positions and how they
relate to the Dolphins during the Parcells / Sparano era.
They thought the QB was the essential piece of
the trinity, but they did not give it the proper attention from their very
first draft. By passing on Matt Ryan, they missed the vertex of the triangle
and tried to work backward from the base. Because Jake Long is one of those
base ingredients, that first draft was not a failure in their minds. Indeed,
they had selected perhaps the best player in the draft at a position in the
holy trinity, but it was the principles of the trinity that fooled them into
believing it was the right choice.
Their scheme breaks down because they believed
in an antiquated attack featuring the left tackle as the fulcrum of a power
offense. The top four scoring teams in the NFL last season, the Packers, the
Saints, the Patriots and the Lions, featured only one former first-round pick
at left tackle, Jeff Backus of the Lions. It gets worse, only once in the past
11 seasons has the starting left tackle for the Super Bowl champion been a
first-round pick. Finally, of the 11 offensive tackles taken with top-10 draft
picks from 2004 to 2011, none has won a Super Bowl.
The Dolphins drafted Jake Long and passed on
Matt Ryan, but compounded the problem by not recognizing the importance of the
QB in the modern offense. Chad Henne, never considered a great collegiate
passer, was better known as a field general in a power offense, perfect for the
Parcells/Sparano scheme, but an NFL relic. When Chad Pennington fell in the
Dolphin’s lap, the oft-injured signal caller allowed them to think they could
groom an NFL QB from an average college passer.
Drafting Pat White showed the depth of their
illusion. Enthralled with visions of Wildcat grandeur, they realized Henne was
not the right leader for an offense featuring the formation. The weakness they
surmised was that Ronnie Brown was not capable of throwing accurately enough to
be a passing threat and Henne would never be the runner Brown was. Pat White
showed incredible promise at both. Consider these numbers and how they relate
to the Wildcat; White finished his
career with 6,051 yards and 56 touchdowns passing and 4,480 yards and 47
touchdowns rushing - a total of 10,531 yards and 103 touchdowns over his college
career. White, finished his NCAA career sixth in victories and is the only
college QB in history to win 4 consecutive bowl games.
The
diminutive White did not pass the eye test, he did not meet all the criteria of
a Parcells QB, but he was a winner and he could run as well as pass. White
looked like the perfect addition as the triggerman for the Wildcat. There is no
need to delve into the reasons for the failure of the Wildcat, suffice to say,
NFL defenses caught up to it and White proved ineffective in a pro offense.
Not
many folks outside NFL film rooms and scouting circles had ever heard of the
term, “quick release” prior to the emergence of Dan Marino in Miami. The West
Coast type offense was maturing at the same time and together they represent
the turning point in the evolution of the NFL. Unfortunately, this turning
point was missed by Parcells and mitigated the importance on the Holy Trinity.
When the onus switched from giving the QB time to find a receiver to getting
rid of the ball as quickly as possible, it changed the way teams rushed the
passer.
The
switch, evident in teams like the Giants and the Patriots, no longer put a
premium on outside LBs or even DEs taking a circuitous speed rush around offensive
tackles. Releasing the ball in less than three seconds negates the outside speed
rush. This means the power rush, taking the most direct route to the QB is much
more effective against the quick release offense. These factors diminish the
importance of the offensive tackle position and mean the center and the guards
are the primary QB protectors in the west coast offense.
Quick!
Name any of the players in the Giants defensive backfield? Quick! Name any of
the players on the Giants defensive line? A couple DBs come to mind, but most
fans can easily name at least three of the Giants DL and none of them are
outside speed rushers. Is it any wonder the Giants have beaten the Patriots
both times they met in the Super Bowl? The Giants run a 4-3 defense, they use
athletic power rushers taking the most direct route to Tom Brady. Once Brady’s
timing is thrown off, his game suffers.
This
means that Jake Long does not command the salary he is likely to ask in the new
Dolphin offense and is probably the reason the Dolphins have not yet re-signed
him. Martin was not drafted to take over the right tackle position, he was
drafted to replace Jake Long with a player more suited to his salary slot among
the Dolphin personnel. Unless Long reduces his salary demands, he will likely
be a free agent next year.
In
the second Parcells / Sparano draft, the Dolphins used two of the top three
picks on cornerbacks. In light of the holy trinity, those picks make a lot more
sense. In 4-3 defense using direct route pass rushing, the DBs, while always
important, do not demand the value of an athletic power rusher. The Dolphins
again fell victim to thinking in the past and placed more importance on the CB
position instead of the power rusher. Sean Smith is in a contract year and
there has been little talk of re-signing him. If Smith reaches his potential,
he may not sign with the Dolphins because the LCB no longer holds the value it
demanded in the holy trinity.
The Miami
defensive linemen coming up for free agency include Randy Starks, Tony
McDaniel, Ryan Baker and Isaako Aaitui, of these names only Starks has a
chance of being re-signed. These players do not fit the profile of an athletic power
rusher; they are mainly run stuffers and will not fit in a 4-3 defense. Paul
Soliai is a mountain of a man and can wreak havoc in the middle of a defense,
that is why he was signed.
The question for Dolphinshout readers is, what constitutes
the “Holy Trinity” for the new Dolphin regime? Which positions in the new
scheme have more value than in the Parcells’ regime? Obviously, I have given
this some thought and have some of my own ideas, there are a lot of hints in
this article, but we at Dolphinshout would like your opinion. In following RiverdoG's post, will Jake Long be a Dolphin after this season?
