The Fin Spot

So I’ve been gone for a little while and allot has gone down since the last time I was on, so I’ll try to highlight some of the key stories that have gone on. In my next post!

Injured Ronnie Brown

How do we get Ronnie to last the whole season? We need a better rotation. Is that to unreasonable of a request? Hilliard did alright and so did Cobbs. Ricky did very well too. The only unknown is Sheets. I think if we had a better rotation Ronnie could make it the whole season no problem.

I’m a big stats guy so I did some math

Ronnie was on the field for 318 snaps in 2009 (Not counting the last game he played when he got injured). Which means he was on the field 64% of the time. About 75% of those plays Ronnie was either running the ball or running a route,(The other 25% were play in which Ronnie was either run blocking or pass blocking) but more than half of those plays were running plays.

You can compare that to Ray Rice (who was one of the best running backs of 09′) who was on the field for 74% of the time. About 81% of those plays Rice was either running the ball or running routes, BUT only 40% of those plays had him running the ball.

I think if we can cut back on Ronnies overall snaps and plays that have him running the ball there is no reason why he can’t make it through the season. I found something else quite interesting while doing all of this:

Brown was on the field consistently between 60%-70% of the time. Adversely Rice would alternate from game to game. In some games he would be on the field 30% of the time and in other games he would be out there for 80% of the time. They did the same thing with Jones-Drew in Jacksonville.

I think we have a good enough HB corps to pull this off as well.

I came across an article on phinfever.com today ranking each team at each position in the AFC East. So I have decided to do the same. Today we will look at QB and WR:

As has been stated many times over in the past few weeks the AFC east is the “division to beat”. Im going to break down each team offensive players and rate them from best to worst.

First lets take a look at the QB position:

1. New England: Tom Brady, Bryan Hoyer

Tom Brady is still at the top of the AFC east, but not for long. Brady has been struggling with injuries lately and with the lack of depth in New England if Brady is out so are the Patriots (which is what happened in 08). But in 2009 Tom was able to gather 4,398 yds, 28 tds, only 13 ints, with a passer ratting of 96.2.

2. Miami Dolphins: Chad Henne, Chad Pennington

Miami by far has the best Depth in the AFC East. Chad Henne emerged in 09 as the Dolphins starting QB. He had a rough start but his production began to pick up towards the end of the season when he had 3 games of over 300 yds. By the end of the season Henne managed to acquire 274 comps for 2878 yds. With 12 tds and 14 ints. Chad Pennington was also resigned this off season.Penny brings leadership and a TON of experience and will no doubt be a great mentor to Chad Henne. Thigpen has emerged as a great backup QB but may end up on the trade block to make room for roster space. And then there’s Pat White…

3. New York Jets: Mark Sanchez, Kellen Clemens

Sanchez had an up and down season in09. With a comp% of only 53.8, 12 tds and 20 ints, you could say it was mostly down. But he did have a great run in the playoffs. This was his first year in the NFL and it was a  tough one but he did show some promise. Clemens has been a pretty solid backup but hasn’t really shown much. Rex Ryan needs to really focus allot on developing his young QB if he ever wants his Jets to move to the “next level”.

4. Buffalo Bills: Trent Edwards, Ryan Fitzpatrick

The worst QBs in the AFC east by far. Trent Edwards and Ryan Fitzpatrick shared most of the snaps for the bills. Combined they only gathered 2500 yds passing. But they seemed to  get sacked more than 20 times EACH (ouch). Something needs to change in this organization. Something drastic.

WR

1.(Tie) Miami Dolphins: Brandon Marshall, Davone Bess, Brian Hartline,

(I had to make this a tie because it was to close and there is allot of uncertainty on both teams.) With the addition of Brandon Marshall the Dolphins receiving corps has gone from mediocre to superior. The Dolphins have always had great #2 and #3 receivers but now they have a legitimate #1. Brandon Marshall will demand double coverage which will free up other receivers like Davone Bess; who led the team in receptions with 76 for 758 yds, and Brian Hartline; who gathered 31 receptions for 506 yds(that’s 16.3 yds/rec) , to do some serious damage.

1.(Tie) New England Patriots: Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Torry Holt

New England is on a slow but steady decent from the top. They’re receiving corps had a good, but not great; season in 09. Randy Moss has showed some signs of aging and Wes Welker had a major injury at the end of the season that really put a damper on the Patriots offense. Allot will depend on how well Welker heals from his injury, and if Moss can continue to produce. Only time will tell.

2. New York Jets: Santonio Holmes, Braylon Edwards, Jericho Cotchery

As for the Jets they have added some new talent but at what expense? If Santonio Holmes ever straightens up he will become the Jets #1 reciever but I think he is more of a solid #2. Holmes has shown to be more of a liability than an asset recently  by being sued, suspended, and traded all in the past few months. Braylon Edwards had one or two outstanding moments in 2009, but overall he had an average season with only 45 rec for 680 yds and 4tds. Not to mention he loves to drop easy passes. Cotchery had a slightly better season with 57 rec for 821 yds and 3 tds.

3. Buffalo Bills: Lee Evans, James Hardy, Roscoe Parrish

The Bills… Well the Bills are just the Bills. They’re going to need allot of help if they want to ever be considered as a competitive team in the NFL. There star WR Lee Evans had a mediocre season in 2009 with only 44 receptions and 612 yards. But I don’t cant put all the blame on Evans. It all goes back to your QB. I think if the Bills had a solid QB Evans #’s would improve drastically

Sources: nfl.com, http://www.phinfever.com/newsite/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=456&Itemid=1

Tomorrow we will take a look at TE, RB, and OL.

Coming soon!

Austin Spitler, LB from Ohio State

Welcome to Miami Austin!

Chris McCoy DL from Middle Tennessee State

Welcome to Miami Chris!

Rashad Jones SS from Georgia.

Welcome to Miami Rashad!

Nolan Carroll CB from Maryland.

Welcome to Miami Nolan!

A.J. Edds LB from Iowa.

Welcome to Miami A.J.

John Jerry OT from Mississippi

Welcome to Miami John!