For the Miami Dolphins, it's all in a Name

The Miami Dolphins continue to interview quarterback candidates and leak information about selecting one in the 2018 draft. If QB is king, the name-game and misinformation is closer to the Game of Thrones leading up to the NFL draft.

One name-game to guide them...

One name-game to rule them all...

If the Dolphins can scare enough teams into leaping ahead for one of this coveted class of signal callers, then the players Miami really wants will fall in their lap. Adam Gase may indeed love Baker Mayfield, and Josh Rosen may be a perfect match for Gase’s whispering, but it’s all enticement to lure other teams into the web of deceit.

It is possible one of these players will actually fall, there are mock drafts with this year’s biggest arm, Josh Allen falling to the 2nd round. There’s local Phenom and Heisman trophy winner Lamar Jackson wondering what he has to do to get into the mix at 11. Of course, there are trade up with the Colts rumors and trade down rumors circulating everywhere on the internet.

It’s the wonderment and pageantry of the NFL Draft…

In year’s past, entire businesses were established to publish magazines cataloging college players. It was the Sears Catalog of sports, stats and body measurements ranked and rated by a select few insiders who made a living scouting players.

Then the internet happened…

Just like every Smart Phone junky with a Tweeter account can troll till their heart’s content, every adroit or even casual fan can become a draft expert. No one seems certain if it’s Mayfield, Rosen, Darnold or Allen who will attempt to become the savior in Cleveland. There are even pundits believing the Browns should select Saquon and let the QB that falls to pick number 4 be the guy.

The real problem for NFL teams is in the names…

Baker Mayfield
Sam Darnold
Josh Rosen
Josh Allen

See, QBs need the proper name to go with the face of the franchise. Baker Mayfield, come-on, that’s unfair! Baker Mayfield, if that name doesn’t sound like the next Joe Montana or Dan Marino, I don’t know which does.

Sam Darnold is good, it has a ring. Josh Rosen or Josh Allen, well they’re okay, but they’re no Andrew Luck, that’s for certain.

It circles back to Miami - Ryan Tannehill. There it is, all in a name, Ryan Tannehill… See, “Baker” is going to turn into a name of its own, when someone says Baker, it won’t be a poem about a candle stick maker, it’ll be the great NFL quarterback Baker Mayfield.

Ryan Tannehill is distinctly mediocre or maybe even a little less. It just doesn’t roll off the tongue, even the nick-name people have tried.

T-Hill...

It’s like no one even wants to type the whole name. Miami is presently filled with crappy names at QB. David Fales, my goodness, it’s amazing this poor guy has survived as a back-up for so long with a name like “Fales!”

Brock Osweiler… Really!

Ryan Tannehill
Brock Osweiler
David Fales

Jesus, T-Hill doesn’t sound that bad when you look at these names together…

The first time the name-game came up at our draft gathering was way back with a wide receiver named - Limas Sweed. Poor Limas never had a chance. I’m not sure what his mom was thinking, but it is just a name that was never destined for greatness.

Ryan Tannehill, sounds like a great proctologist, but an NFL franchise QB, maybe not. Brock Osweiler or David Fales, definitely not!

Lamar Jackson is okay, not great, but better than we got!

Mason Rudolph? That one’s really interesting. It’s could range from some haughty zillionaire’s son, to a red-nosed reindeer’s cousin but it definitely has a ring. It just may not inspire guys with distinctly other-side-of-the-tracks type of names.

It’s all about the locker room, a lawyer’s name may not ring with fellows who feel the need to kneel at the symbol of their country’s laws, but I digress…

Luke Falk… Use the fork Luke, I mean the force! No, it’s not a bad name, really!

So where are we on this name thing? I think I’m on to something and we need to check back in a few years and see if it all pans out…

Baker Mayfield
Sam Darnold
Lamar Jackson

Those three names are melodic, Mayfield is by far the best, Darnold and Jackson are good. In the case of reality, it means Lamar Jackson is the Miami Dolphin’s choice. Mayfield and Darnold will be gone at 11 and Jackson could survive until 42, but it’s very unlikely, because it’s all in a name…

Ever notice how the winner of those weekly pick the team pools is always some nit-wit who says, “I just picked the names I liked!” They’re laughing at us, right…

“Call me nit-wit while you hand over your $20.00 bill, nit-wit!”

How about a little closer to the truth, Roquan Smith? Roquan? I’m sure someone in their tweeter fueled anonymity will jump me for daring to say, Roquan is just not very good. Sorry - me no likey!

Tremaine Edmunds…

I’m going with Tremaine, it has a certain flow that seems to glide off the tongue, like Tremaine gliding through the middle of the defense and bashing a running back.

“On the tackle, Tremaine Edmunds!” “Tremaine Edmunds just slipped through the entire offensive line and planted that QB on his backside!”

“And with the eleventh pick in the draft, the Miami Dolphins select…”

Tremaine Edmunds

Ignore Miami Dolphin Smokescreens – It’s Roquan Smith

G-day Shouters! Before our esteemed Kenny V delves into his Miami Dolphin centric draft analysis, I’d like to follow up on Miami’s defensive needs as I see them.

A previous article dissected how Miami’s lack of a potent weapon at TE affected the team’s ability to take advantage of opposing defenses. The same position had a disastrous effect on the Miami Dolphin defense. When thinking about the draft or free agent player acquisitions, in Miami…

It all revolves around the tight end.

Looking at some startling stats, I heard a Bill Parcells echo, “Stats are for losers!” Of course, Bill’s won a couple more Super Bowls than this average writer, so his words should not be taken for granted. Specific stats probably have little value in the big picture, but a distinct accumulation in a single area shows undeniable trends. It would be equally foolish not to heed the warning these tendencies indicate.

Adam Gase said something like, “people (PFF) do not know the defensive call or Kiko Alonso’s responsibility and should not criticize him on things they don’t know. He may be pursuing a guy he wasn’t specifically covering, but without knowing the call, they assume he missed the coverage.”

Those were not his exact words, but pretty close and for the most part, I agree. I don’t know the call, but what I do know is, TEs caught the ball, over, and over, and over again in the middle of the Miami defense.

Making such a statement tells us a couple things; no kudos were given for the defensive scheme, and the other linebackers on the team were not exonerated from responsibility.

On to the facts…

In 2017, ProFootballFocus graded Kiko Alonso as the No. 75 ranked LB in the NFL. Lawrence Timmons ranked 67th at his position and was Miami’s highest-graded LB. Miami ended the season shuffling a mixture of inexperienced players led by Chase Allen, Stephone Anthony and Mike Hull in and out of the line-up. This came after Rey Maualuga was arrested at a downtown Miami nightclub for brawling with bouncers in the wee hours before an early practice.

B-Bye Rey, hope those margaritas were de-lish!

The Dolphins allowed 94 catches by tight ends (most in the league) and 1034 receiving yards to tight ends (only Oakland – at 1038 – relinquished more). Opposing tight ends scored 10 touchdowns against the Dolphins, tied with Cleveland for second-most and behind only the Giants (13).

The six teams that allowed the most yards against tight ends (Raiders, Dolphins, Broncos, Redskins, Giants, and Texans) went a combined 31-65 and all missed the playoffs. Of the nine teams that allowed the most catches to tight ends, all but Buffalo had losing records.

For a sanity check, the three teams that gave up the fewest yards to tight ends (Saints, Panthers, and Vikings) went a combined 35-13…

We can backpedal a little and lament the injuries to Raekwon McMillian and Koa Misi, but honestly McMillian was a rookie and Misi was never very good in coverage.

McMillian will be a welcome addition when he returns, but there’s no telling the effects knee surgery will have on his career. The tendency to count on players returning to their previous form is a dangerous flirtation with the unknown. Misi’s injury appears to be career ending and Miami paid for services rendered in 2017, Misi will not return.

All of this means, Miami must make a concentrated effort to sure up the middle of the defense and find a player capable of covering tight ends. Defenses in the NFL are more diverse than ever.

Claiming to run a 3-4 or a 4-3 is simply a placeholder for player packages based on down and distance. Slot corner Bobby McCain played more snaps in 2017 (662) than every linebacker except Alonso (1008) and Timmons (792).

The relevance of the snap counts comes into play when an opposing offense presents a scheme with two wideouts, a slot receiver and a tight end.

Miami is in a mismatch...

If Miami cannot cover a TE with a LB than the safeties must become involved in the coverage. By moving the TE in motion across the formation, the coverage safety moves with him, or not, in either case the defense is exposed. Man coverage if the safety moves, and zone coverage if he does not.

Yes, that explanation was very rudimentary, but it was also very true…

The next time you yell at the TV wondering how that big ass TE got so open, remember what you just read.

This is kinda what Gase was talking about when he defended Alonso. In a zone defense, Kiko is responsible for an area of the field, not a specific player. The TE runs a shallow cross, a skinny post or uses a legal pick to create space and it looks like Alonso blew the coverage.

He didn’t blow the coverage, he’s just not good enough to play zone or man coverage against a decent TE.

Therefore, if Alonso is the defense’s best coverage LB, it’s a serious issue…

The amount of money Miami is willing to pay for defensive linemen clearly indicates where they expect the pass rush to come from. This also means with four primary DL, the five offensive linemen should be tied up, because if they don’t double team Mr. Suh, most plays are going to get wrecked.

The point is, Miami does not need bruising middle linebackers, like they would in a 3-4, who constantly take on OL. Miami needs athletic, almost hybrid type LBs, that can sneak around behind the huge line and are fleet enough to cover TEs and slippery slot receivers.

As Miami looks forward to fixing the issues detailed in the stats above, it starts at LB. Alonso is not as bad as PFF seems to think. Miami doesn’t pay PFF to use their stats as many other NFL teams do.

No one will come out and say it, so I will… PFF is a paid service and the teams that pay for the service have higher ranked players overall than teams that do not.

No other linebacker on the Miami Dolphins in 2017 should expect to be a starting player in 2018 based on their performance. Timmons and Misi will be gone. If McMillian returns to form and it’s highly likely he will, that leaves Allen, Hull and Anthony fighting for a single position and playing special teams.

Getting right down to it, the defense is really not that far away. It simply needs a true impact player at the linebacker position.

In the coming weeks, you will hear QB talk, Baker Mayfield this and Josh Rosen that… You will hear Quenton Nelson and Mike McGlinchey debated on the offensive line. Calvin Ridley will be thrown in to replace Jarvis Landry. Tremaine Edmunds will soon be the rage. Before it’s done, Derwin Jones will be the player destined to save the Miami defense.

Fa-Get-About-It!!! It’s all a smokescreen…

Roquan Smith is the player you will not hear a peep about from Miami. I’ll leave you with one quote…

“Roquan Smith is an ascending linebacker prospect with elite athletic ability, plus intelligence and an ability to be an effective cover linebacker on passing downs.”