Dolphins Gameplan: Keep Tannehill alive…..

Dec. 07 Dolphins Gameplan 11 comments ---Bill

The Miami Dolphins loss last week at home put their season on the brink. After losing 4 of their last 5, the Dolphins are as close to earning a top 10 pick in the draft, as they are to making the playoffs. If the Dolphins can pull off an upset on Sunday and a few other things happen, we might be able to entertain the possibility. But, the Dolphins’ task at hand is a very large, physical, and stingy one. The San Francisco 49ers are currently the #2 seed in the NFC, have an exciting young QB at the helm, and have the stingiest defense in the entire NFL. Considering the Dolphins troubles on offense recently, it’s going to take a near-perfect game from the Dolphins to pull this one out.

Photo Courtesy of Dolphins.com

To make matters worse, the 49ers are not exactly going to be happy this week after losing last week to the St. Louis Rams in overtime. So if you were hoping this might be a trap game for the 49ers, the Rams ruined that hope. The 49ers want to hold onto the #2 seed so that they can claim a bye in the first week of the playoffs. The Giants and Packers are closing in on them, so they need this game. The Dolphins will certainly get their best effort on Sunday. So what do the Dolphins have to do to have a chance? Here’s our gameplan, which doesn’t include praying this week….but that doesn’t mean it won’t help!

Keep Tannehill Alive

Out of all of the weeks this season for the Dolphins to lose starting LT Jake Long, this might have been the worst possible scenario. The Dolphins have practiced with rookie Jonathan Martin at left tackle and veteran utility man Nate Garner at right tackle. Martin should feel comfortable on the left side, since he played there in college and protected Andrew Luck’s blind side. Well, he’ll feel comfortable until the game starts and he has to somehow block Aldon Smith. Aldon Smith, for those of you that haven’t heard, has 17.5 sacks through 12 games this season. He had 5.5 sacks in just one game. HE can destroy the Dolphins’ offensive gameplan single handedly…..and he’s probably eager to get his shot to take on a rookie LT and a backup RT.

The key for the Dolphins will be to keep Tannehill from getting killed. I say that figuratively, but they need to give the kid enough time to find an open receiver and deliver the football without a defender in his face. I think the Dolphins coaches realize what a challenge this is going to be. So, I expect them to adjust their playcalling accordingly. Use more 3 step drops and get rid of the ball quickly….Call some screens and draw plays to slow down the pass rushers and keep them off balance.

If Martin can rise to the challenge against Aldon Smith, it should give the confidence to play well for the rest of the season. If Martin can show that he could be the long term answer at left tackle, it could help the Dolphins make their decision regarding Jake Long this offseason. However, if Martin struggles for the next 4 games, it could go the other way. What no one wants to think about is what would happen if Garner or Martin got hurt? The Dolphins offensive line is not deep whatsoever, so keeping these guys healthy is crucial for the remainder of the season. (cont’d on page 2, click below)

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  • Miami Jules

    I would say Miami is now contemplating one of the top draft picks in May. I actually thought we had already been mathematically eliminated from the play-off’s this year but the post says we are not… anyway, I am already concentrating on who to draft. Gee, maybe this could’ve been a good topic from discussion, but I only think about this as I am writing.
    Martin is going to have his hands full, poor kid, so much like last week, if the coach wants to win the game, rolling Tannehill and letting him use his feet is like the only option I can see from my vantage point Use Clay and eventhigpen in the backfield… Can it really hurt at this point? USE Marlon Moore, this kid has playmker written all over him in my humble.
    Back to the draft, I like Tannehill but he’s the only rookie QB who’s not being discussed on the media and for lmaybe good reason. Barkeley anyone?

    • Miami Jules

      First, and after further review, as bad as things look for the Phins at this point, there are like 7 teams with a worse record than Miami, so there’s that as far as Barkely… and that’s only in the AFC….Is Mante T’eo still a sophomore? I think this kid may end up being like a Junior Seau…I’ll stop talking about the draft now before I get understandibly ganged on for being a bit premature (by 5 months). Hey, how ’bout Johnny “Football” Manziell in 2014 ?

      • PhinNation

        I don’t think the Phins would draft Barkley even if he was there on the board. They’re invested with Tannehill at this point, have to give him 2-3 years to grow. I think he’s got what it takes, just needs 1. experience, 2. more weapons around him

        • Miami Jules

          I know…but if Marino changed the NFL into a QB driven league, this may have also changed, as a consequence, the expectation for a rookieQB to come in and hit the ground running. My actual wish-list almost remains unchaged from last year… O-line, Corners, WR’s… oh yes, better game plans… I want to see some smart football being played by the Phins…When was the last time anyone remembers Miami using the screen effectively?

  • Irish phin

    I still hate the 49ers for ruining Marino’s only Super Bowl, this team needs to set down a marker that they can go to a top tier team and do something. I’m sick of losing to the better teams in the NFL , you can kill an aggressive defence like the 9ers with screen passes. Lets stuff em.

    • Miami Jules

      Great point Irish phin… which brings up a question, why, in the face of other overly aggresive defences this year, we have failed to go to the screen… beats the heck out of me, if we have something, is players who could execute it… Tannehill passes to Bush. I have only seen that play used once by Miami… instead we keep running Bush outside or in the end around which usually translates to lost yarsds. Is that Sherman’s call? I wonder.

  • http://www.facebook.com/daniel.cotton.18 Daniel Cotton

    San Francisco Giants ??????

    • PhinNation

      Thanks Daniel, we made the change…too much hot stove baseball!

  • Irish phin

    Miami Jules. I blame the coaching, we are not aggressive enough on either side of the ball. I keep hearing about the need for an alpha receiver, I think that is crap. We need to keep the QB from being harassed on every single play. Did you see Peytons TD v the Raiders last night, he could have a coffe and smoked a cigar before he threw his pass. Did u see the mighty Tom Brady when he played the Giants and Ravens defences, average Joe, give him time though and he will kill you. Our defence lets the opposing offence drive down the field and then decides to have some heroics in the Red Zone, too late! It’s time off the clock that we can’t get back and gives confidence to the other team. We need to put the opposing QB on his ass, pressure, pressure is needed. It is a passing league, the secondary can only keep track of guys for a few secs anyway so bring extra defenders up as likely they are bugger all use further down the field. I am not happy with the offensive play calling either, no time to rant about this at the moment!

  • Irish phin

    Offensive play calling is really poor. Miami has the worst 3rd down conversion rate in the league. Is Ray Rice faster, more elusive than Bush? Why does he never get a 3 or 4 yd pass and take it for a gain, this would make the defence worry about the short pass and create space further down the field for Bess and Hartline. Where is Fasano, every other game has tIght ends catching balls all over the field. Our TE is falling around Tannehills legs blocking on every down, the more he stays in the more the defence forgets about him as a threat and brings more defenders up to apply pressure. We need to change our philosophy on offence and defence otherwise the phins are going nowhere. Lets beat the crap out of the 49ers and show em what Dolphin football is all about, lets be aggressive out there on the field.

  • Valandui

    I think the key thing to watch in this game is how Martin handles the 49ers defense. It should go a long way towards determining Jake Long’s fate next season.