Raekwon McMillan was expected to be a force inside for the Phins
Phinsnews was rooting heavily for Raekwon McMillan to bounce back from his injury
Raekwon McMillan going down last year on his 1st snap was a major letdown. I hate seeing anyone go down like that. In McMillan’s case, it’s even worse because I can’t help but like his quiet, respectful demeanor.
As a person, I can’t find a fault in him. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said about his play at Middle Linebacker.
Some may say I’m hating. Others say it’s early. I’m not and it is.
…But the reality that the tape screams week after week is McMillan is playing poorly.
Thankfully Miami is coming to grips with this and McMillan has been moved from the Nickel and been replaced by Jerome Baker.
A good defense needs a productive Middle Linebacker
So far this season he has 19 Tackles with 8 of them assists and he has a fumble recovery. That’s not good enough.
I’ve had the same stance on McMillan’s need to improve for a while. So at least I’m consistent.
Week 2 of Preseason I said this.
Week 3 of Preseason I said this.
As McMillan has continued to repeat the play in the above I have pointed it out here and there in my articles and asked Jimmy to drop some of my thoughts in his.
This is my 1st full film study on McMillan this season… and sadly, his play looks just like the Preseason film.
McMillan needs to grow or his play will hurt Miami at the worst possible moment
Now, I do think McMillan may still be recovering from the injury. I also think he could stand to drop 5-10 lbs to help his burst and speed. While both of these may help his movement improve slightly, it won’t help him with his most critical issue: play diagnosis.
Maybe time and experience will help this issue? But if you look at Baker, he has made triple the strides McMillan has… and that’s a troubling sign. Some like to talk about Zach being slow but an awesome Middle Linebacker. Zach was slow, but he had a sweet first step, and his play diagnosis was Hall of Fame level.
Yup, HALL OF FAME, dammit!
So what are McMillan’s issues:
- Too slow and little burst.
- Lacks athletism and gets put to the ground too easily.
- Bites on Play Action too hard and is slow to react.
- Plays with little strength, can’t get off blocks and is moved easily.
- Poor Technique in enaging and disengaging.
- Doesn’t read plays quick enough and with slow foot speed, he’s behind the play too much.
Okay, all this is just Blah-blah from a hack sports writer.
I might be a hack, but on this occasion, the tape and I are simpatico.
Well here’s just about every snap from McMillan’s game against the Pats.
I’ll let the film speak… as I said in my 1st film study 3 years ago, “The Tape Don’t Lie“.
The film below is McMillan dealing with run plays between the tackles.
This the tape of McMillan in coverage. I liked his one coverage of Gronk on the short out pass… but it’s not enough against the rest of his work.
McMillan on wide runs. It’s being reported that Belichick saw this as a weakness in McMillan’s game and purposely attacked him.
I’m not going to say much more. I’ll mostly let the tape speak for itself.
I think McMillan can improve, but using this critical stage of the season as ‘practice’ when he’s playing poorly will come back to bite Gase when he can least afford it.
Now I’m not saying it’s all his fault or he’s the reason why the Dolphins got smacked around in Week 4. But it’s clear in the film that McMillan wasn’t part of the solution either. As the weeks go by, more and more teams will attack McMillan, and the consequences of his poor play will grow. The Dolphins can’t afford an extra and curable weakness.
As I’ve said over and over, I only want the kid to succeed… and hope this week is the week it all clicks. Go Phins!!!
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