Gase Stands Firm On Raekwon… But His Tape Is Scary
Gase Stands Firm On Raekwon… But His Tape Is Scary
Raekwon was slated to be an upgrade at Middle Linebacker…
…So far Raekwon has played without positive impact
One of the players I was most excited to see in 2018 was Raekwon McMillan. He’s a good kid at a position of need. The fact he went down on his 1st play last year made me itch to see him even more.
But after just a few snaps of the 1st Preseason Game, disappointment set in. Still, it was his first game against NFL competition, so the 2nd Preseason Game was always set to be a bigger indicator for me.
Adam Gase said this: “After watching this game, you saw things where he cut it loose. He’s thinking less. He wants to do a lot of the things you want a Mike linebacker to do. I think it’s trending in the right direction.”
…Trending in the right direction? This has to be heavy coach speech. Now I’m not saying McMillan can’t / won’t make improvements in Game 3 and beyond, but look at Baker. As a true rookie, Baker is much farther along.
Raekwon is slow, so his diagnosis must be fast to compensate
I see strong flaws in Baker’s game, but he has a key edge McMillan will never have. And this edge is why #52 must be near perfect in his reads because he has no room for error, especially in coverage.
Speed: Baker has it and McMillan doesn’t. #52 is painfully slow. I’m not sure if the injury has reduced his already pedestrian speed (4.61 ’40’), but he is one of the slowest LBs I’ve watched on film in a long time. Zach was slow, but his instincts and diagnosis skills were at an elite level (I say HOF level). That makes all the world of a difference.
Here is the tape of McMillan from both games. Either he is star struck, very green, or he has poor instinct and diagnosis.
Problems with the MLB play in tape above:
Doesn’t stack and shed well
Overpursues, impatient, vacates the middle too quickly
Bites on / doesn’t take into account counteraction, which is accentuated by #2
Slow which accentuates issues #1-3
This is a long list of issues to fix by Week 1 of the Regular Season. On the outside at the SAM may prove a less demanding situation for him. But Gase is sticking with him at MLB… at least for one more week. Maybe it will all click? It’s a long shot to bet with the pay per head reviews sites that this turnaround happens that soon.
Again, I’m not saying he’s a bust. If he gets his reads right, things can turn around. But I doubt he’ll ever be a Nickel / 3 Down LB. His lack of speed will always be a liability… and a big one in modern football. Remember the era of Zach is far different than this one. This was a big knock on him coming out of the draft. Phins thought differently.
At this point, the brass needs to be realistic, not idealistic.
Here is the video of his coverage over two games.
Issues with his coverage in tape above
Too slow for Man-To-Man and to cover much real estate in Zone
Stiff and lacks agility
Struggles beyond 5 yards due to #1 & #2
Bites on play-action and too slow to recover
Always trailing the receiver
Too slow to recover from a misstep
I’ll be as harsh here as I have ever been in a Phins article about the Gase regime: Putting McMillan in the Nickel is near criminal.
Now given the above tape, compared it to the successful plays below. How is Gase secure in McMillan at MLB? Even his ‘successes’ are but blimps on the radar for any quality Mike LB.
The major problem is that Week 3 of the Preseason is about prepping for Week 1 of the Regular Season.
The reps in this coming game are valuable. The starting Mike need reps with the starting defense.
To compound the issue, the interior D-line is still unsettled. Godchaux is playing poorly. If the interior of the D-line doesn’t perform, then the job of the LB’s, especially the Mike is much harder. Miami has a very serious facing them with the Titans coming to Miami in 3 weeks. The Titans have a Top 5 O-Line and tough Running Backs. This could be a recipe for disaster… if Gase doesn’t get this issue right and fast. Go Phins!!!
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This kid is a rookie! He was injured and missed last season. Now, why didn’t the coaches teach him the mental side of middle Linebacker while he was injured and rehabbing?
I’m fine with him learning. It’s natural. But forcing him in there and making him a Nickel LB is not sage advice. Make him compete. Make him earn it. You demote Anthony, but not McMillan? Given his play, you are proving to be fair or smart. You tell everyone starters must get beat for their spot. You must earn your play… well except for him and him and this guy who I used to coach… players won’t like this. IF you are uneven like Jimmy Johnson, but successful, sure. But when you are losing and make bad moves, this is a case for being fired.
Rich, i agree. I can predict when our d will fail because its always on key downs. And offensively, we can never dominate a game. I would like to see our O run up the score board for a change.
Personnel-wise, this team is uneven on defense. You have an excellent Cover 1 FS at nickel, as slow green MLB with tow other LB’s who can’t take on a block to save their lives and a thin DT unit. If you think of it as level down the middle, the heart of this D is weak… and that’s why the d gets beat on the most heartfelt downs, brother.
I predict another losing season. Ross will clean house. It needs to start at the top and flow down to the coaching staff. Gase, Burke, etc., will all be gone by seasons end. I won’t watch this team because I know how it will end up even before it starts!
How long have we been doing this together, Stephen? Three years? I remember you since I came on board here. I’ve have always tried to let the tape dictate how I felt. Of course, as a fan page Jimmy wanted a positive vibe as well, but I’ve always tried to be rational and not see too far beyond the tape available. But honestly, as a fan, I’m very concerned. Very. Gase has his team behind the curtain now without the press watching. IF he comes out Week 3 like he did before the Steelers Game in 2016, I see hope. If he comes out like he did after Tannehill went down in the 2017 Preseason… it will be the Titanic. Fingers crossed, brother… it’s hard watching bad seasons… it’s torture writing about it.
The LB play has been a problem since Zach left. I do NOT understand why we play this wide 9 – a simple kick out block or shield inside and the LB’s are exposed and our LB’s are too weak! I would think we would want to stack inside and force the play outside since we have some speed and good hitting safeties to play against the run. We get shredded inside and rarely have a LB fill the hole. Amazing we can’t adjust. And how many times when we get teams in 3rd and long do we easily give up an outside pass for the first? Just painful to watch the secondary on 3rd downs!
Excellent .. That’s exactly right ! This is a alsoa case of Tannenbaum and Gase protecting each other ! eventually Ross will figure out that Tannenbaum is Horrible with contracts and player evaluation and Gase is turning out to be a terrible coach,Play calling and not admitting to the lack of talent pool he’s getting !
“This is a case of Tannenbaum and Gase protecting each other !” That or Gase is scared. He showed a load of moxy in 2016, since Tannehill went down in 2017, he turned to a Lilly. Lilies wilt in the heat. He seems to be trending down for a while now… I really don’t know if he’ll pull up. This Ravens game is a forge that could very well make or break this regime.
Great points both micro and macro. ” I do NOT understand why we play this wide 9 – a simple kick out block or shield inside and the LB’s are exposed and our LB’s are too weak! ” The Wide 9 must have high-level DT’s and MLB play or its center is exposed due to the over-leveraging of the DE’s. “Amazing we can’t adjust. And how many times when we get teams in 3rd and long do we easily give up an outside pass for the first? Just painful to watch the secondary on 3rd downs!” Poor Top cover Safties and LB’s as I’m sure you well know. Sad. Phillips is good enough, but highly inconsistent and now has a dinged shoulder. It’s one of the reasons why we needed a DT. Personally, I thought Baker and Ballage we solid picks, but we needed a DT… Maurice Hurst might be better suited in the 3-4 as an DE, but I liked him and the other DT the Raider s draft, PJ Hall. Taylor should start over Godhcaux… Gase needs to do some serious middle fingers to poor play…
This kid is a rookie! He was injured and missed last season. Now, why didn’t the coaches teach him the mental side of middle Linebacker while he was injured and rehabbing?
I’m fine with him learning. It’s natural. But forcing him in there and making him a Nickel LB is not sage advice. Make him compete. Make him earn it. You demote Anthony, but not McMillan? Given his play, you are proving to be fair or smart. You tell everyone starters must get beat for their spot. You must earn your play… well except for him and him and this guy who I used to coach… players won’t like this. IF you are uneven like Jimmy Johnson, but successful, sure. But when you are losing and make bad moves, this is a case for being fired.
Rich, i agree. I can predict when our d will fail because its always on key downs. And offensively, we can never dominate a game. I would like to see our O run up the score board for a change.
Personnel-wise, this team is uneven on defense. You have an excellent Cover 1 FS at nickel, as slow green MLB with tow other LB’s who can’t take on a block to save their lives and a thin DT unit. If you think of it as level down the middle, the heart of this D is weak… and that’s why the d gets beat on the most heartfelt downs, brother.
I predict another losing season. Ross will clean house. It needs to start at the top and flow down to the coaching staff. Gase, Burke, etc., will all be gone by seasons end. I won’t watch this team because I know how it will end up even before it starts!
How long have we been doing this together, Stephen? Three years? I remember you since I came on board here. I’ve have always tried to let the tape dictate how I felt. Of course, as a fan page Jimmy wanted a positive vibe as well, but I’ve always tried to be rational and not see too far beyond the tape available. But honestly, as a fan, I’m very concerned. Very. Gase has his team behind the curtain now without the press watching. IF he comes out Week 3 like he did before the Steelers Game in 2016, I see hope. If he comes out like he did after Tannehill went down in the 2017 Preseason… it will be the Titanic. Fingers crossed, brother… it’s hard watching bad seasons… it’s torture writing about it.
The LB play has been a problem since Zach left. I do NOT understand why we play this wide 9 – a simple kick out block or shield inside and the LB’s are exposed and our LB’s are too weak! I would think we would want to stack inside and force the play outside since we have some speed and good hitting safeties to play against the run. We get shredded inside and rarely have a LB fill the hole. Amazing we can’t adjust. And how many times when we get teams in 3rd and long do we easily give up an outside pass for the first? Just painful to watch the secondary on 3rd downs!
Excellent .. That’s exactly right ! This is a alsoa case of Tannenbaum and Gase protecting each other ! eventually Ross will figure out that Tannenbaum is Horrible with contracts and player evaluation and Gase is turning out to be a terrible coach,Play calling and not admitting to the lack of talent pool he’s getting !
“This is a case of Tannenbaum and Gase protecting each other !” That or Gase is scared. He showed a load of moxy in 2016, since Tannehill went down in 2017, he turned to a Lilly. Lilies wilt in the heat. He seems to be trending down for a while now… I really don’t know if he’ll pull up. This Ravens game is a forge that could very well make or break this regime.
Great points both micro and macro. ” I do NOT understand why we play this wide 9 – a simple kick out block or shield inside and the LB’s are exposed and our LB’s are too weak! ” The Wide 9 must have high-level DT’s and MLB play or its center is exposed due to the over-leveraging of the DE’s.
“Amazing we can’t adjust. And how many times when we get teams in 3rd and long do we easily give up an outside pass for the first? Just painful to watch the secondary on 3rd downs!”
Poor Top cover Safties and LB’s as I’m sure you well know.
Sad. Phillips is good enough, but highly inconsistent and now has a dinged shoulder. It’s one of the reasons why we needed a DT. Personally, I thought Baker and Ballage we solid picks, but we needed a DT… Maurice Hurst might be better suited in the 3-4 as an DE, but I liked him and the other DT the Raider s draft, PJ Hall. Taylor should start over Godhcaux… Gase needs to do some serious middle fingers to poor play…