Phins & Mike Pouncey: Right Philosophy Doesn’t Always End Right, But…

While Mike Pouncey is doing well, Miami was right to let him go

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Mike Pouncey has earned another Pro Bowl… while the Dolphins are struggling to pass protect.

Some might be bummed out about this and say something along the lines of ‘typical’.

In a way, they are right. Poor outcomes are par for the course with the Phins these days. But the reality is, Miami stuck to the right philosophy in letting Pouncey go. While the correct philosophy doesn’t always end well… it’s always the right course to take.

There are parts of this regime that I really like… and some I really don’t. While Adam Gase and Co. have had my panties up in a bunch this season, it’s been less about the results and more about philosophies that brought about the results…

… one of the philosophical paths I don’t disagree with is the one that had Pouncey move on.

Consistency and commensurate payment for a player’s production is a good philosophy

Pouncey was a rare talent when he came out of the draft… but a laundry list of injuries limited that talent for years, kept him from playing in 20 games, and had him on a limited practice schedule. All the while, Miami was paying him like a Top 5 Center. If there wasn’t a CAP, a roll of the dice that he stays healthy would be a reasonable move. Pouncey is a leader and a stalwart soldier and is still excellent in pass protection.

But there is a CAP and the Dolphins only have so much money to spend… So he needed to go because Pouncey was far from the missing piece to get this team over the hump.

Miami needed money and the team had / has a thin roster. They asked Pouncey to take a pay cut and he refused. Miami brought in Daniel Kilgore in a snap response, who had been solid with a manageable contract. They also had Jake Brendel who was developing.

CAP responsibility, not tying up future money, and developing the youth is a good philosophy

Of course, as bad luck would have it, both Kilgore and Brendel went down. Hindsight sure is 20 / 20.

But the odds from the pay per head services like www.AcePerHead.com were that Pouncey would go down again or struggle with nagging injuries. Pouncey beat the odds, but you can’t fault Tannenbaum and Grier on this one.

Pouncey had a huge tag of inconsistency attached to him

During the 2016 Season, Pouncey missed 11 games and in 2017 he couldn’t practice a full schedule every week. What else could they do going into the 2018 Season? Also, the problem with keeping Pouncey was compounded because he had moments like this last year:

Now, Kilgore looked even worse than Pouncey, so you could complain about that. Frankly, I was surprised at how poorly Kilgore played. It appears like he’ll be gone in 2019. But look at Travis Swanson, who is playing better than Pouncey did in 2017 and has a 10th of his contract.

What fan should be upset with is these philosophies:

1. Not investing real resources in the Offensive Line’s interior and the Quarterback position.
2. Having competition at some positions but at others handing unproven players the starting spot.
3. Running the Wide 9 Defense with players who talents accentuate the schemes weaknesses.
4. A Head Coach, who despite hard struggles and failures, refuses to make real changes other than cutting players.
5. Investing blue contracts and picks on players who underperform or who have serious flaws.
6. Players that quit on the team only receive a wrist slap.

The 2016 Season was the philosophical height of this regime. Gase had competition, but vets had the right to get a legitimate shot at keeping their spot. Players who didn’t perform despite pedigree suffered consequences. Gase adapted his style to his players, as in the example of altering run schemes to suit Jay Ajayi. And most importantly, coaching accountability… where has that gone?

I still hold to 9-7 a benchmark to want Gase to return. But even if Miami wins these next two games, nothing will change their ultimate fortunes unless this regime irons out the failings from their philosophies. In the case with Pouncey, for this year, the move to release him doesn’t feel good, but it was the right one. In the long run, the right philosophies are the only foundation a winning team can be built on. Go Phins!!!

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