Dolphins trade

Dolphins Make Moves at the Trade Deadline

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Although all of the attention on November 3rd is on the national election, and rightly so, the NFL also had big decisions to make. The NFL’s trade deadline came and went on Tuesday, and while not normally an active occasion, the Miami Dolphins made a couple of interesting moves.

While there were a number of major names on the market, most teams kept their rosters intact. Rumors of players like New England’s Stephon Gilmore being moved amounted to nothing. Teams may have hesitated to pull the trigger because of concerns over next season’s salary cap and delays in player availability due to COVID-19.

Miami, though, saw an opportunity to add depth at a position of need and did so.

Dolphins Deal Ford to New England

The Dolphins completed a rare in-division trade with New England. Miami sent receiver Isaiah Ford to the Patriots for a 2022 seventh-round pick. This came as something of a surprise, considering the Dolphins liked Ford coming out of Virginia Tech in 2017. Miami selected Ford with a seventh-round pick but he’ll be a free agent at the end of the season.

Ford landed on the IR in 2017 and bounced between the active roster and the practice squad afterwards. He played only one game in 2018, but found a role last season. He played eight games in 2019 and made 23 receptions for 244 yards. This season, he played in all seven games and caught 18 passes for 184 yards.

Ford’s departure opens additional opportunities for Jakeem Grant, rookies Lynn Bowden Jr. and Malcolm Perry, as well as the recently activated Antonio Callaway. While Grant should see his role expand, Callaway could take time from the two rookies.

Callaway made 43 catches for 586 yards as a rookie in 2018. But he was suspended 10 games for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy in 2019. He spent a brief stint with the Tampa Bay Vipers of the XFL before being signed to the Dolphins’ practice squad this season.

Dolphins Trade for RB Depth

The Dolphins also acquired running back DeAndre Washington from Kansas City during on trade deadline day. Miami sent the Chiefs a conditional 2021 sixth-round pick in exchange for the reserve running back and a conditional 2021 seventh-round pick. This trade comes in the wake of injury news regarding Myles Gaskin.

Gaskin leads Miami in rushing this season with 387 yards and two touchdowns, but just a 3.9 yards-per-carry average. He’s tied for the team lead in receptions with 30. Gaskin sustained a strained MCL late in the win against the Rams. He’s expected to miss three weeks.

Get one of the many original Tua t-shirts on sale now over at FiveReasonsSports.com!

Washington, meanwhile, has just three carries for five yards in 2020. He spent his first four seasons with the Raiders and tallied 1122 rushing yards and eight touchdowns on 4.0 yards-per-carry. He has 89 catches for 615 yards and one touchdown in his career. Washington rarely played this season, particularly after KC’s acquisition of Le’Veon Bell.

The Raiders selected Washington with a fifth-round drafted pick in 2016 out of Texas Tech. Current Dolphins senior personnel executive Reggie McKenzie was the general manager of Oakland then. Washington won’t be available to play for the Dolphins this weekend as he navigates the COVID-19 protocols.

The Dolphins have the fifth-worst rushing attack in the NFL, averaging just 98 yards-per-game. Their 3.6 yards-per-carry average is second-worst in the league.

Without Gaskin or Washington, the Dolphins will turn to Matt Breida and Patrick Laird, as well as Jordan Howard, who’s been inactive in recent weeks, and possibly practice squad RB Salvon Ahmed.

The Dolphins (4-3) head to Arizona to face the Cardinals (5-2) in Week 9. Get the Five Reasons Sports original Tua shirt HERE! 

Tyler Herro: A Milwaukee Native, A Milwaukee Enticer

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Some pretty interesting news came out today for the Miami Heat, when Ashley Nicole reported that Giannis Antetokounmpo is “prepared to sign a long-term deal in Miami.”

This is something that has been discussed consistently for a while now, which is why it’s no shock. The only difference is that it is now being discussed via trade instead of 2021 free agency, since Milwaukee wants to get some value in return.

I discussed his fit with this Heat team in a recent article, but what would this deal look like exactly?

Obviously it’s uncertain what Miami would need to give up exactly, but it definitely would have to include Tyler Herro.

I’ve been a big proponent of not including Tyler Herro in trades when they’ve been getting discussed over and over. I believe Miami does value him as untouchable, until Giannis gets put onto the table.

The reason I’ve been so adamant about not including Tyler Herro in these other trades that have been discussed, is because Miami has a shot at something much bigger.

Pat Riley is not afraid to make a move to get a “whale,” and I don’t even think Giannis is a whale, more like a cruise ship.

Tyler Herro, on the other hand, would be going back to the town in which he grew up.

There’s still so much unknown with this whole situation, since Miami is hoping for the opportunity to go after Giannis in free agency next season, but that may no longer be an option.

One thing about Pat Riley and the Miami Heat is that they’re never satisfied, which means there’s a good chance they make a deal to form a new big three in South Beach.

Could There Be Another Wizard On Miami’s Radar?

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Bradley Beal is a name that continues to come up when discussing possible trade targets to improve this Heat team. But could John Wall be on their radar as well?

The reason Miami is slower to act upon a deal for John Wall is because of his injury past. There’s also uncertainty how he would return from the ruptured Achilles tendon that occurred last season.

But after seeing all of his five-on-five runs in Miami this off-season with Remy workouts, I can assure you the injury doesn’t seem to be much of an issue. He even told CBS Sports back in May, “I’m gonna be better than I was before.”

Obviously he fits the mold of exactly what Miami has been looking for, since he’s a defensive point guard who can be well trusted with running the offense.

The 2018-2019 season, before he got injured, he averaged 21 points and 9 assists a game, but it was in only 32 games.

The issue with trading for him is that there’s still so much uncertainty. I do believe he’d have a lower asking price than Bradley Beal, but is it even worth taking the risk?

When healthy, John Wall is a top three point guard in the NBA, which makes me think there’s a better chance of them taking a chance on him over some other guys.

Washington would not be giving up John Wall for nothing though, which means they’d probably be asking for something along the lines of Duncan Robinson, Kendrick Nunn, and maybe the 20th pick. If that’s the case, there’s no chance Miami makes this deal.

But as discussed with every trade target, there’s always that possibility of him forcing himself out of Washington. And if he was to do that, Miami would be the number one option on his list, since he seems to be in Miami more than he’s in Washington.

I do believe though that Miami has so many options in both free agency and via trade that there’s no reason to risk going after John Wall. But due to the craftiness of the Heat’s front office, I wouldn’t put it past them that they could pull something off.

 

Dolphins

The Good, The Bad & The Correctable

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If you did not watch the game and looked at your ESPN app at 5pm you would be shocked to see that Tua only was able to throw for 93 yards on 22 attempts and yet we were still able to win. Then I imagine you would tune into your normal channel of choice to see the highlights, and see Tua’s first pass being a strip sack fumble where he got taken off his feet and drilled into the ground and think uh oh was the talk of Tua not being ready correct? Here I come to show you the bad, the correctable and the positives of Tua first game.

 

 

 

The Bad:

 

 

On the sack fumble I have to believe that jitters and overall nervousness for being back on an field after such a tough injury led to this. You would normally see Tua with anticipation throw it to Ford who wasn’t even looking yet or even to Devante after he didn’t throw it Ford.

 

 

I hope I never see another play like this because these are the type to lead to injuries such as the hip injury we saw at Alabama. He had 3 different chances to throw it away, chose not to and could have slid at the end to not avoid the hit.

 

 

 

This last one was one a 3rd down where Tua felt Donald coming and rushed the pass to Jakeem for what would have been a first down and maybe a longer gain.

 

 

 

The Correctable:

 

This was early on in the game where he still may have had some jitters but he needs to trust what he saw and rip it in there to Gesicki. That is open in the NFL and he will have to adjust to tighter NFL windows.

 

 

Here we see a clear lack of practice time between Tua and Devante. Can’t say whos to blame as we have seen Tua in Alabama throw the ball into the open space for the wide receiver to make a play, here we see DVP coming into traffic instead of the open area. More practice time and understanding of each other likes will lead to success.

 

 

These next 2 are drops by Preston where it was a first down play and then also the following 3rd down play. Hard to get rhythm for any QB let alone one making his first start. DVP played only 59% of the snaps so I am curious to see if Devante misses time again if we will give these chances again to Preston.

 

 

 

 

 

The Good:

 

This was the pass to Gesicki where 31 for the Rams made an unbelievable play. One thing that will be prevalent throughout this analysis is Tua’s use of his eye to manipulate the defense. He saw Mike 1 on 1 and kept it like that by not looking that way to start.

 

 

 

Here he shows the ability to scan the entire field and hit what looks to be his 3rd read in the progression. Have not seen many QBs here that can make that throw to the far side of the field so effortlessly.

 

 

 

On the Tua’s first TD you see that he motioned DVP over closer to the formation and threw a bullet to him. Great job trusting his eyes and ripping it in there.

 

 

 

 

The play that showed the most was this 2nd and 10 to Gesicki. He starts with a motion to identify man coverage and again manipulates the safety here in 24 and forces him to opposite side of the field of Mike.

 

 

 

Overall I hope this shows you guys that while the numbers and analysts will paint you a story, if you put in the time do your research you’ll see the Dolphins have a lot to correct yes, but also a lot to build on where once the game starts to slow down for Tua and the playbook can be opened up more (I’d estimate he only had 40% of it available to him) we will see a complete QB the likes of which we have not seen in quiet some time. Thanks for time guys.

 

Voting on the Miami Heat’s Off-Season Possibilities

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In honor of Election Day today, I thought I’d vote on some free agent and draft options for the Miami Heat. Here are the most ideal and realistic pick ups for Miami.

Oh and by the way, make sure to go out and vote….

Most Ideal Free Agent Option:

Serge Ibaka

This one seems fairly obvious in my opinion. For starters, I believe if we are talking about the most ideal guy for Miami to grab, it would be a guy that can play next to Bam, while protecting the rim and grabbing boards.

And well, that’s exactly what Ibaka does. Something I mentioned in my piece a few weeks ago on Ibaka is that he has great offensive awareness through his spacing. He usually finds himself on the baseline right outside the paint, waiting for that dump-off pass or an offensive rebound.

He also always finds himself in the post, since that’s where he does most of his damage. And as I’ve mentioned before, a guy that thrives with his back to the basket is very important since that is not Bam’s game.

This signing may be a long shot for Miami, especially since there’s a good shot Marc Gasol will be out of Toronto. But with Miami, there’s always a possibility.

Most Realistic Free Agent Option:

Wesley Matthews

Wesley Matthews not only is the most realistic free agent for this Heat team, but it also makes a lot of sense.

For one, it’s a very cheap option since Miami would be giving him the mid-level exception. But for the basketball side of things, he gives Miami exactly what they’re missing at the guard position.

It has been fairly obvious that Miami needs a guard defender on this team, but with Matthews you’d be getting much more than that. He’s also a guy that is very capable of getting hot from deep. Some of the defensive guards that have been discussed in the past for Miami have offensive limitations, which means Wes has a decent advantage over those guys.

The fit is clearly there, but more importantly it’s a very possible option. They even have an opportunity to split the mid-level exception between Wes Matthews and another veteran like Paul Millsap.

We’ll see how it plays out, but keep your eyes open for this pick-up.

Most Ideal Draft Option:

Tyrese Maxey

The NBA draft this season will definitely be like no other. For starters, there is absolutely no consensus on who will be getting picked where, since mock drafts seem to be all over the place.

Tyrese Maxey has bounced around between late lottery and early twenties, which means Miami at least has a shot. And well, he’s a Kentucky Wildcat.

If Miami was to draft a guard, it would have to be one who is capable of holding their own on the defensive end. Tyrese Maxey gives them exactly that, and a ton of upside on offense. He’s showed that he can clearly score the ball from just about anywhere, which Miami could definitely try and tweak some efficiency things.

It also seems a little similar to Miami’s draft pick last year…

These two guys had the exact same stats for the same college at the same position. And after the last pick worked out so well, why not try it again?

Most Realistic Draft Option:

Daniel Oturu

Although I believe Miami would definitely pick Maxey if he fell to them, a big man may be the better option.

A bunch of bigs have been discussed, since most all seem to be falling in that early 20 range, but Daniel Oturu seems to stand out the most in my opinion.

I believe he has a mixture of all the other bigs that will be considered, including Jalen Smith’s shooting, Zeke Nnaji’s motor, and Vernon Carey’s feel around the rim.

He gives Miami the shot-blocking rebounder that they’re looking for, who also has the ability to stretch the floor next to Bam Adebayo. Although it’s clear a bunch of big guys will get consideration, Daniel Oturu seems to fit this Heat team the best.

 

(And once again, make sure to go out and vote.)

How Does Giannis Antetokounmpo Fit with Miami?

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Although Giannis Antetokounmpo isn’t a free agent until 2021, he’s the guy that Miami seems to be revolving their 2020 free agency around.

There seems to be real optimism around Giannis joining forces in Miami if he chooses to leave Milwaukee. And well, that seems fairly obvious. Who doesn’t want to live in bright lights of Miami? And who doesn’t want to play with the hardest working organization to compete for a title?

But how would this fit truly look with this Miami Heat team?

For starters, the only issue that people seem to have with this acquisition is the fact that their three best players wouldn’t be able to shoot. And I can guarantee that thought won’t cross the front office’s mind once.

Jimmy Butler doesn’t shoot threes since he feels he can impact the game in every other part of the game, which is also why Erik Spoelstra bought into that. But with Giannis, I feel that they’d definitely find a way for him to improve his shooting.

I believe that starts with having play-makers on the floor who can make him feel comfortable. In Milwaukee, he’s the primary play-maker on the floor at all times, and he also has to play a bunch of one-on-one ball. But in Miami, he will be the third play-making option behind Butler and Bam, which I think could open up his shooting abilities.

Even if he doesn’t improve the shooting it’s not an issue. If Miami is running Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson in the starting lineup with those three, it’ll definitely make up for the lack of shooting.

But Miami is not trying to acquire Giannis to improve on the offensive side of the ball, it’s to overload on defense. Giannis is debatably the best defender in the league, who can guard any position on the floor.

The switches between Bam and Giannis on defense would be incredible, but the zone could be one of the deadliest things for this team.

The reason Bam thrived so well with the zone is that he has the ability to constantly move and can guard the perimeter. Giannis is all of that and more, which would definitely make the bottom of that zone a scary sight.

I also don’t believe a fit next to Bam has to revolve solely around a player who can shoot. It actually is about finding a player who can keep their offensive spacing while still playing to their strengths.

While Bam operates from the free throw line extended, Giannis would have no problem roaming the baseline for back-door passes and put-backs.

That doesn’t mean he won’t be their number one option on offense, since he’d probably be utilizing his abilities with his back to the basket as he did in the playoffs. That also takes some pressure off of Bam since he clearly doesn’t enjoy backing down defenders.

I don’t think there’s any question this fit wouldn’t work. As mentioned previously, this team would be the number one defensive and passing team in the NBA. And as long as you have Duncan Robinson, the shooting will be just fine.

Not only is he a fit with this organization and the Miami Heat’s players, more importantly I believe he’s a fit for Erik Spoelstra. Spoelstra has already dealt with a top player in his prime taking his talents to South Beach and he will do it again.

A new big three could be brewing in South Beach.

(Oh and by the way, get your Giannis-Bam 21 shirt here)

Goran Dragic to Tyler Herro: Passing It Down

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“I’m gonna say I learned everything from you.”

That’s what Tyler Herro told Goran Dragic mid-game while being mic’d up, after Goran told him he’s going to be watching all of his games when he is 40.

Learning everything from Goran is clearly a stretch, but learning a lot of things seems pretty accurate.

Obviously Tyler’s overall offensive game he’s had his whole life, but when you begin to look at the small things in his game, you begin to see some similarities.

For starters, the ability to use a soft touch off the glass. For many young guys, using the backboard doesn’t always seem to be their first priority. Usually players develop that part of their game as they age, but for Tyler Herro, it’s clear Goran has showed him that already.

Not only from the mid-range area, but mostly when attacking the rim for a layup. This was on full display once Tyler entered the bubble, where he’d throw the ball off the top of the backboard when driving for a soft touch off the glass.

Another thing that stood out was utilizing the floater off the pick and roll. The reason Goran is such a great pick and roll player is because he uses fundamentals when doing it. That includes patience, quick decision making, a floater, and the ability to throw the lob.

And now, these four things seemed to have been passed down to Tyler Herro in his rookie season. Tyler began to be comfortable with his decision making when throwing it up for Bam to catch the lob, but more importantly his natural feel around the rim allowed him to utilize his high arcing floater.

It’s also obvious that Goran Dragic is not afraid to use his off arm when going up for a layup to gain a bit of an advantage. And funny enough, Tyler began to do that as well when driving to the rim, except he doesn’t get the veteran calls like Goran does from the refs.

These two guys played next to one another all season since they both came off the bench, and it was clear that there was automatic chemistry between them on the floor.

Now that Tyler may be switching over to the point guard position, Goran may have a few more tips to add to his game. Obviously it is essential for Miami to bring back Goran Dragic this offseason, but it may be even more essential for them to bring him back for the continued development of Tyler Herro.

Dolphins Win Rams

5 Takeaways from the Dolphins Win Over the Rams

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The Miami Dolphins (4-3) did something most didn’t expect on Sunday: they dominated the Los Angeles Rams (5-3). The vast majority of football pundits called this a win for the Rams. Local and national media keyed on Tua Tagovailoa’s first career start. But it was the defense that dominated in this 28-17 victory.

The win over the Rams stands as Miami’s third straight victory and has propelled them into the thick of the AFC playoff race. Here’s a look at five takeaways from the Dolphins win over the LA Rams.

Win Over the Rams: Dolphins on a Roll

The Dolphins entered Sunday’s game looking to improve their playoff position while breaking in a new quarterback. Much of the discourse ahead of this game surrounded Miami’s decision to go with Tagovailoa and doing so in the midst of a postseason push.

Many questioned the change. Ryan Fitzpatrick had the Dolphins’ prospects looking up and some wondered if going with an unproven rookie may have undercut Miami’s chances. The defense, meanwhile, disregarded those questions and came to play yet again.

With the victory, the Dolphins have now won three games in a row for the first time since 2018. It’s the first time the Dolphins have won three games in a row by 10-plus points since 2014. Miami has won four of its past five and is 9-7 in its last 16 games. The team is above .500 for the first time in the Brian Flores era.

This stretch arrives as Miami’s schedule softens some. Four of the Dolphins’ next five games come against teams with losing records. If Miami can go 4-1 over that span, they’ll enter the home stretch 8-4 and likely in strong playoff position.

Dolphins Defense Dominating

The Dolphins held the Rams to just 17 points in Sunday’s win. With that performance, Miami’s D vaulted to the top of the NFL in terms of scoring defense. This group allows just 18.6 points-per-game, the lowest mark in the league.

What’s helped Miami maintain this defensive dominance is quarterback pressure. On Sunday, the Dolphins registered their 18th and 19th sacks of the season, ninth most. In addition to the sacks, the Dolphins hit Jared Goff another six times.

“The key to the game was just attack Jared Goff,” said Dolphins DE Emmanuel Ogbah after the game. “As a defense we did a good job rushing them, rushing coverage, going head-to-head, rolling all them boys back; that did a great job for us and we got a chance to get back there.”

The Dolphins pressured Goff throughout and prevented the Rams’ QB from finding a consistent rhythm until it was too late. Miami managed four takeaways, intercepting Goff twice and forcing two Goff fumbles. The Dolphins’ 13 takeaways this season are tied for second-most in the NFL thus far.

In addition, Miami broke up 13 pass attempts. The Dolphins now have two players in the top-10 in Passes Defensed. Eric Rowe’s nine pass breakups are tied for sixth-most and Xavien Howard’s eight are tied for ninth-most.

The Dolphins’ dominance on third down continued in this one as well. The Rams converted 7-of-17 third down tries, but many of those came late. For the season, Miami’s 33.3 percent third-down conversion rate stands tied for second lowest in the league.

Dolphins Win Over the Rams: Jakeem Grant Value Trending Up

Jakeem Grant broke the game open with his 88-yard second quarter punt return. For the third time in his career, Grant took a punt for a touchdown. With the score, Grant became the all-time franchise leader in punt return TDs. He’d been tied with Freddie Solomon, Tom Vigorito and O.J. McDuffie prior.

“All credit to my teammates that were on the unit,” Grant said of the return. “I don’t even think I got touched, so like I said, man, it’s all credit to them.”

The 88-yard punt return stands as the longest in Dolphins history. The previous record was 87 yards by Vigorito (9/10/1981 vs Pittsburgh) and Ted Ginn Jr. (11/18/2007 at Philadelphia). His 816 career punt return yards moves Grant to sixth all-time for Miami. He passed Scott Schwedes (732 yards), Jarvis Landry (804) and Solomon (810) up the chart.

But Grant did not just contribute on Special Teams. He made a 15-yard reception on a comeback route late in the first quarter. The first down put Miami inside the Rams’ 10-yardline and helped set up the game-tying touchdown. Grant has a budding connection with Tagovailoa, and his speed could be integrated more into the offense.

Ogbah & Rowe Continue To Play Well

Ogbah continues his dominant play from his defensive end position. Ogbah’s strip-sack of Goff in the second quarter led to a 78-yard scoop-and-score by linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel. The Dolphins took the lead on the play and never looked back.

Ogbah has now registered a sack in each of the last four games and has at least a half sack in every game since Week 1. His streak of four-straight games with a sack is the longest since Cameron Wake picked up a sack in five straight in 2016. His sixth sacks in 2020 are tied for sixth-most in the NFL.

Rowe, meanwhile, continued his dominance against tight ends. Against the Rams, Rowe recorded five passes defensed, a career-high, and an interception in the win for the Dolphins. He dropped what would have been a pick-six as well.

“Kind of through the week, we caught wind of ‘Rams defense this, Rams defense that.’ We’re like, ‘man, they need to worry about our defense,’ and that was one of our focuses on mind to show up,” Rowe said after the game.

“People keep sleeping on our defense and that’s fine, but we’re going to show up every week.”

Dolphins Over the Rams: Tua Plays Well Enough to Win

Get one of the many original Tua t-shirts on sale now over at FiveReasonsSports.com!

The fanfare over Tagovailoa’s start remained the headline in the lead up to this one, but it didn’t look great at the beginning. Tagovailoa suffered a strip-sack turnover at the hands of Aaron Donald on his second snap as a starter. To his credit, though, Tagovailoa came back and played well enough for the Dolphins to secure the win over the Rams.

Tagovailoa finished 12-of-22 for just 93 yards and a touchdown, in addition to the fumble. The offensive game plan seemed conservative and Tagovailoa’s receivers dropped at least four passes, including two that would have resulted in a first down.

“I don’t think I played to the standard of what this offense is capable of,” Tagovailoa said after the game. “There were certain plays where I could have stepped up and made the right throw, made the right decision.

“Aside from that, thank God we’ve got a good defense, so when we do start to string good plays together, we know that we can be able to make plays and then get the ball back and continue to try to do the same.”

Tagovailoa admitted he could’ve played better, but he said he also enjoyed the game as well. He particularly enjoyed getting hit.

“I’m not going to lie, I did enjoy getting hit that first time. That was definitely a welcome.”

The Dolphins (4-3) head to Arizona to face the Cardinals (5-2) in Week 9. Get the Five Reasons Sports original Tua shirt HERE!

And don’t miss the Five Reasons Dolphins Postgame show below!

Tua Tagovailoa had reason to celebrate as the Dolphins won in his first NFL start against the Rams.

Miami Dolphins: Week 8 Stock Report

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Welcome back guys to another installment of Stock Up Stock Down. This was the most anticipated game in my memory following our Dolphins and while the Offense did not play the way we would like, the team did enough to prove that its not a liability and can in fact still compete for a playoff spot with a rookie QB at the helm. With so much to dissect let’s dive right in:

Stock Up

Ogbah:

During the Bye Week I went back and really looked at and analyzed the play of Emmanuel Ogbah who has been on a tear.

 

This week was just another day in the office for Ogbah as he was a huge part of the pressure that caused Goff to look as pedestrian as he did. Ogbah was able to get another sack this game marking the 6th straight game with at least .5 of a sack as well as another deflected pass showing his complete game.

 

Elandon Roberts:

Elandon started off the year with a big role which he seemed to have been losing before the injury that ultimately made him miss a game. After missing time, he has looked better and better with each passing game. Against the Rams Roberts made 2 of the loudest hits I have ever heard on a football field. On one play he blew up the lead blocker so bad that he made the blocker tackle the ball carrier.

 

 

Jerome Baker:

After a questionable couple of games after his monster performance Week 1, it is nice to see Jerome put back to back elite games together. This afternoon Jerome was all over the field wreaking havoc on a Rams Offense. Jerome not only did his job on the run game with 13 tackles (5 solo), but also rushing the passer with 1 QB hit and even 1 Pass Defended.

 

 

Eric Rowe:

Another player that I did a deep dive in this past week.

 

Eric showed all afternoon long his versatility and why this coaching staff trusts him with so much. Eric showed his love for contact with 7 tackles (5 solo), his prowess for defending the pass with an unreal 5 PD and lastly, not just the interception he did get but also the one that he almost had which would have surely been a house call for a touchdown. This has become Coach Flo ultimate chess piece as he can be put anywhere and handle any role or assignment.

 

 

 

Team Chemistry:

With all the media and national noise about how terrible of a move it was to go to Tua and how veterans won’t play as hard when they know the organization is only looking at the future, it was hard to see as complete of a team performance as the one we saw Sunday, actually happening. The Defense harassed Goff into 2 interceptions and 2 fumbles lost with one being taken to the house. Special teams taking a punt to the house. Even all the love shown after Tua’s first touchdown of his career showed a team that wanted to fight for their new QB and to shut up the national media as we have a team can compete now for a playoff spot.

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Trust the Flocess

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Stock Down

 

Myles Gaskin:

After such a positive performance against the Jets, Myles unfortunately came back down to Earth. With 47 yards on 18 carries an average of 2.6 yards per carry is cringe-worthy, add to that 6 targets, 2 drops, and only 3 catches for 16 yards and it leads back to the question of why we haven’t given these type of opportunities to either Breida or even Jordan Howard. Multiple times on 3rd and short and he just was unable to get the 1 or 2 yards necessary to keep the offense on the field.How many more of these below average performances before we start to give opportunities to others on the team.

 

 

Offense:

As good as a team performance as we had, the one unit that did not hold its end of the deal was the Offense. We only had 8 first downs all afternoon while the Rams had 31 first downs. The offense only ran 48 plays compared to the rams 92. The 2 most alarming stats of the offense was Total Yards with only 145 compared to 471 for the Rams and 3rd down conversions with the Dolphins struggling to the tune of 3 out of 12 converted successfully.

 

 

 

Rush Defense:

In a game that closing the 2nd quarter we were up 28-10, it seems next to impossible to consider how the Rams were still able to run the ball for 4.5 yards per carry. This is now the 3rd week in a row where I find myself mentioning that without the lead our opponents would have ran the ball for what may have been over 200 yards. What is most concerning is with the Rams pass effectively neutralized because of the pass rush, we still allowed them to rush it 29 times with no answer.

 

Overall this win puts us over .500 for the first time since November 4th, 2018. Tua and the offense are going to have figure out a better game plan to get him comfortable. We put a lot on tape to analyze this upcoming week as we get ready to travel and face Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals. Follow me @exclusvty on twitter to get a close-up analysis this week of Tua and others. Till next time guys, Fins Up!

 

 

 

KZ Okpala Is Up Next For Miami

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It was no coincidence that Miami’s second round draft pick KZ Okpala went through a similar rookie season as second year player Duncan Robinson.

Duncan went through his rookie year with a two-way contract, spending most of his time getting ready for the Sioux Falls Skyforce team. He put up an intriguing stat line of 21 points a game, along with close to 5 threes per game as well.

Chet Kammerer even told the Sun Sentinel, “We purposely didn’t bring him in,” which is exactly what I’ve been saying Miami has been doing with KZ Okpala all along.

Although KZ wasn’t putting up 21 a game in the G-League, he was filling up the stat sheet quite nicely. He averaged 12 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 assists, but what jumped out most was his 1.4 steals and 1.1 blocks a game.

Something I’ve noticed with the G-League is that it always seems to spotlight a player’s strength, like Duncan hitting 5 threes a game. And KZ’s spotlight has clearly been on the defensive side of the ball.

Obviously his length and quickness to guard guys out on the perimeter is just a God-given talent, but his tenacity and energy on defense just screams Heat culture.

And it’s hard to truly talk about a player’s defensive abilities until he’s guarding players in the actual league, but he seemed to showcase that talent when he got inserted into the game against Sacramento early in the season.

 

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The first thing that stood out from his defensive abilities that night was how quick he can move his feet. They played a lot of zone in that game with him at the top of it, and he just never stopped moving. And you may say that the word length is overstated at times with players, but KZ definitely used it to his advantage. Kings players had major trouble trying to get good shots off over his contests.

The only downfall that was shown in that game was foul trouble. He makes it such a priority to put as much effort as possible on that side of the ball, that he begins to reach which forces the whistle to get blown. Some of it may have had something to do with the fact that he had a small frame, but it’s clear he’s continued to add muscle and change his body.

With Derrick Jones Jr possibly leaving in free agency, it’s the perfect opportunity for KZ to step up into a new role in Miami’s rotation. Miami always seems to put the ultimate amount of trust in their players, which is why they started Duncan Robinson and Erik Spoelstra made comments prior to the season that he’s the best shooter in the NBA.

I believe they show KZ that same exact trust by giving him an increased amount of minutes on the first game of the season.

Once again, it’s not a coincidence that they gave KZ a year to work himself in like Duncan did, it’s just their process.

There’s also a reason that Miami seems reluctant to include KZ Okpala in trade packages for solid players. It’s because Pat Riley and the Heat front office see something in him, and that speaks major volume.