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Dolphins@Broward post-game thoughts

Discussion in 'Miami Dolphins Forum' started by Disgustipate, Sep 8, 2013.

  1. Disgustipate

    Disgustipate Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Ryan Tannehill needs to do a much better job in terms of pocket presence. A lot of the problem in pass protection Miami had today was a result of Tannehill holding on to the ball too long, or not moving around in the pocket. It's strange, because he handed the exact same thing extremely well vs. Ray Horton's defense vs. Arizona last year. He didn't have a bad game, but he didn't have a game to separate himself from last year either.

    Lamar Miller was very much running like Reggie Bush did last year. Tentative in the middle, not making great decisions, bouncing too many plays outside too often. That being said, the Browns defensive front played a good game on their own merits, and that's a significant part of it as well.

    Blitz pickup from the backs was much better, though than last year.

    Charles Clay had a pretty Charles Clay type game(a couple mental mistakes), but I think people need to take a step back off the roof in terms of him being terrible after the single pre-season game. He's not a bad player.

    Brian Hartline is going to continue to be Brian Hartline as long as he's healthy and we're running this offense. It fits him to a T.

    Brandon Gibson looks like a good decision from both aspects of the staff. He looks like a good fit in both the offense and in a new position, and picked up some of the Mike Wallace slack.

    The offensive line didn't have a particularly good game, but Tannehill and Miller both share pretty equal portions of burden on that.

    I'm glad to see the defensive front chew up and spit out a high quality offensive line like that. I felt pretty badly for Brandon Weeden on that last drive, I don't think I've seen a guy get hammered that many times in a row in a long time.

    I'm kind of curious why Dion Jordan's cameo was so brief and in garbage time. I'd like to see more than I did(and the snaps to come against a Joe Thomas who still gave a ****), but got around the corner on him good before the dumb face mask.

    Phillip Wheeler and Danell Ellerbe had a solid game all around, but the blitz upgrade is pretty clear. They don't stay blocked.

    It looks like the Dolphins have gotten their intended turnover production out of the secondary. A little bit surprised at a 3 interception game that had the possibility for more that neither Reshad Jones nor Brent Grimes contributed to.

    I am getting more and more afraid of Marcus Thigpen handling the ball.
     
  2. CitizenSnips

    CitizenSnips hmm.

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    I want Thigpen cut. (before anyone points out the called back punt return, the holding was the only reason he broke away in the first place)

    The three picks were great. Clemons could have had one too but it looked like he was far more concerned with the wr not catching than him. Jimmy Wilson almost had one too.

    Outside of the two penalties, i really liked Clay in this game. I don't think we missed Keller in this one. I think Clay performed well. I'll take what he did today all season long. (again, minus penalties.)

    Hartline was incredible. He has mastered his art form IMO. Feet, hands, balance, route running. He was perfect today IMO.
     
  3. VanDolPhan

    VanDolPhan Club member Club Member

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    I'm sure CK will do the timing on it but I didn't think Tanny held on that long outside of a few plays.

    I think they are limiting Jordan until they are sure about his shoulder. Ease him in.
     
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  4. CitizenSnips

    CitizenSnips hmm.

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    Oh and Tannehill on 3rd down, fantastic. Gibson even dropped the first one too. He was money on 3rd down this week.
     
  5. Samphin

    Samphin Κακό σκυλί ψόφο δεν έχει

    Fields looks as good as ever, I like that he takes off in pursuit immediately after punting the ball. I don't know if I have ever seen that before. Sturgis impressed me with his first two field goals.

    Thigpen fumbling is a problem, as are silly penalties on Special Teams like illegal formations. That metal lapse caused a huge shift in field position. Had we been facing a better team, that could have really hurt.

    I liked the second half adjustments by the offense. They knew the running game was cooked and saddled up to the passing game. Tannehill held the ball for a long time on a few possessions which I assume Sherman will address.

    The running game was putrid. No blocking, no vision, no creativity. I am not sure how we fix it, but it is a glaring problem.

    The defensive front seven was nasty. The backfield was more good than bad, but we still give up entirely too much yardage to average tight ends.
     
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  6. slickj101

    slickj101 Is Water

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    I thought Tannehill was a mixed bag w the pocket presence. He eluded a few definite sacks early on. The protection looked much better as the game went on as well.

    Miller didn't play well but it seemed he had absolutely nothing to work with for like 75% of his carries. Wish we would of gotten him in space more.

    Hartline shut a lot of people up today. When he scored our first TD I told myself that had to be a good omen lol.

    Gibson is all or nothing. That stat about him leading the league in TDs and 3rd down conversions wasn't a fluke.

    Seemed like CLE sold out to stop the run game and Wallace and we were content on picking them apart w Hartline, Gibson, and Clay (nice surprise).
     
  7. maynard

    maynard Who, whom?

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    A couple of times he seemed to run right into the pressure.
     
  8. vt_dolfan

    vt_dolfan Season Ticket Holder Club Member

    I guess I saw a much different Tannehill then you Gusti not saying your wrong and after we get some breakdown on this further we will have a better idea.

    I heard many times today where Tannehill ball placement was the reason guys were able to get some first downs.

    I saw a franchise QB. I'm not an expert.. But.. I know I feel really good about our team right now

    Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2
     
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  9. Sumlit

    Sumlit Well-Known Member

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    I don't know what game you were watching, but Tannehill did not hold on to the ball too long. He was decisive and got rid of the ball accurately and quickly most of his passing attempts.

    The o-line just simply did not give him a lot of time to throw and plenty of times he threw the ball just as he was getting hit.

    A lot of problems in pass protection were not due to Tannehill, they were due to poor pass protection.


    The only thing you can gripe about on Tannehill is that when he decided to abandon the pocket and take off running, he ran into a rusher a couple of times. Needs to pick his escape routes a little better. But again, the o-line was getting pushed around.
     
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  10. Rick 1966

    Rick 1966 Professional Hipshooter

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    I'm concerned about the running game but right now I'm just basking in the glow of a season opening win.
     
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  11. slickj101

    slickj101 Is Water

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    The only real inaccurate passes I remember from Tannehill were those deep shots to Wallace and the pick.
     
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  12. Bpk

    Bpk Premium Member Luxury Box

    Mostly agree.

    The thinking on the Dion Jordan thing, imo, is to protect him by only placing him in the game when there is virtually no chance of a run. Run defense may be harder on his shoulder and more strength based than speed based.

    Also, limiting the snaps.

    I just think they are babying the shoulder as he returns, and putting him in situations that play to what he is best at anyways, which is ultimately the right mindset for coaches.
     
  13. mlb1399

    mlb1399 Well-Known Member

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    RTH certainly has a few things to clean up but the play by our OL was one of the worst performances I've seen in awhile. They got beat at the POA, pushed back in run blocking and struggled for 3 quarters in pass protection.
     
  14. Pariah

    Pariah Revolutionary

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    Not worried about Dion Jordan at all, he missed too much of the preseason as a rookie to play him more than they did. I think we will see him more and more as the season goes on. What little I see from him with his pass rush is very promising, and think sooner than later he will be in on many passing downs.

    Wake is simply unstoppable, and with someone pushing the other side, he could have 30 sacks.
     
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  15. brandon27

    brandon27 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    The one that stood out most to me was the one to Hartline, that was so far behind him it was almost picked.

    I dont think the INT was inaccurate, he was being overly aggressive there, trying to squeeze it into a tight window and he got picked after a deflection (that probably shoulda been picked too because of a great defensive play) Had he thrown that a split second earlier, the LB can't make that play, its likely a completion that we're all drooling over because it was a sick throw.

    Aside from that, I thought his accuracy and ball placement today was fantastic.

    There were a couple plays I thought he held on too long, but for the most part he just really didnt have alot of time or protection back there more often than not.

    Either way, we won, so its all good... for now.
     
  16. finwin

    finwin Active Member

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    Tannehill needs to improve his timing in the passing game with Wallace. I believe the biggest thing that held us back in the first half was Tannehill unable to do what Manning does. When he sees Cleveland stacking against the run like that, he needs to audible to Wallace. The first half was unwatchable. 3 TOs and 6 points is beyond sub par. After that, in the second half, they realized the needed to play action out of the shotgun and that improved things. I'm surprised by the lack of attention to play calling in the first half.
     
  17. byroan

    byroan Giggity Staff Member Administrator Luxury Box

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    We said Mike Wallace wasn't a one trick pony. Then we went out and used him as one today. I never saw him motioning across into the slot or anything. I think we need to do a better job getting him involved.

    The pass blocking improved in the 2nd half but the run blocking was still atrocious.
     
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  18. Destroyer

    Destroyer There for every play.

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    Really happy with the three INTs the secondary produced. Not happy with the run game/run blocking at all.
     
  19. Ohio Fanatic

    Ohio Fanatic Twuaddle or bust Club Member

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    I think we have to give the Browns a little more credit rather than heap the blame on Tannehill. Wallace was blanketed by, IMO, the best CB in the league. Miller had no holes to run through. Not saying he should have done better, but our run blocking was atrocious.
     
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  20. CaribPhin

    CaribPhin Guest

    Ball placement, aside from the interception which needed more air and possibly better direction, was very positive.

    I wasn't holding my breath on every throw afraid of an interception and that was a great feeling.

    Sent from my GT-P3110 using Tapatalk 2
     
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  21. ExplosionsInDaSky

    ExplosionsInDaSky Well-Known Member

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    Cleveland is no slouch on defense. I wait until next week to see if the running game improves before pushing the panic button on our O-Line.

    Tannehill was efficient and managed things decently throughout the game and when we needed him the most, he came through in a big way with those throws to Hartline and Gibson. I'm not calling him a franchise QB just yet but he certainly took a step forward as opposed to staying stationary or even worse....Stinking the joint up.
     
  22. slickj101

    slickj101 Is Water

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    Or, we took what their defense gave us and won the game.
     
  23. CitizenSnips

    CitizenSnips hmm.

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    Hey, imagine how Cleveland fans feel right now. Weedon had some bad luck today, but 3 picks is 3 picks. And we couldve had more.
     
  24. slickj101

    slickj101 Is Water

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    Weedon is lucky he still knows his name and where he is.
     
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  25. 77FinFan

    77FinFan Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Thiggy worries me. Did not like him bringing the ball out of the end zone on the kickoff where it bounced. Poor decision. Poor bobble on punt return. He worries me.
     
  26. PhinFan1968

    PhinFan1968 To 2020, and BEYOND! Club Member

    I saw the same, but not completely sold that the 2nd deep one to Wallace was a bad throw...Wallace got slowed, else that was money.
     
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  27. adamprez2003

    adamprez2003 Senior Member

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    Very encouraged by tannehill's game for the future.

    That was some of the worst run blocking I have ever seen.

    Pass protection was average.

    Defense is championship caliber.

    The oline will determine everything this year. Right now I have another 7-9 season but if the oline can right itself we can make the playoffs
     
  28. slickj101

    slickj101 Is Water

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    Yea I thought one of them was PI.
     
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  29. CD13

    CD13 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    You want to cut our only viable returner, the one that scored two td's last year and had one called back today....really ?
     
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  30. mlb1399

    mlb1399 Well-Known Member

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    Our dominant defense will only get better as Davis, Taylor and Petterson get healthy. When you add in the impact our top pick Jordan could have, QB's will be in a lot of trouble. This is going to be one of the best defenses in the league, not just in yards but also in sacks and takeaways.

    RTH has certainly improved from last year. He is throwing the ball much more accurately and making better decisions.

    Wallace has really helped open up our offense. Hartline and Gibson will benefit greatly. I think Wallace is going to get some decent stats but probably not what people expect. I think the impact he will have is worth the investment.

    My concerns are our OL, TE's and RB's. Our run blocking was horrific today. We got dominated at the LOS. On top of that, they gave up a lot of sacks. I think our red zone offense will be held back by those 3 areas unless we can improve.

    I like our special teams with Sturgis and Fields. They could be difference makers for a couple of wins in close games. I love Thigpens explosiveness but he really makes me nervous back there.

    I'm not sure if we're quite a playoff contender yet. Our defense is there. I think we need one more offseason to shore up our offense and we will be one of the better teams in the NFL. I still think we're a 9-7 team.
     
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  31. Paul 13

    Paul 13 Chaotic Neutral & Unstable Genius Staff Member

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    Offensively, you have to look at each of the halves separately. Because it really was a tale of two halves. The first half was really bad. All aspects. Couldn't run. Couldn't throw. Couldn't block. You get in at half time, make your adjustments and at least you go from scoring 6 points in the 1st half to 17 points in the 2nd half. Tannehill goes from IIRC around 80 yards passing in the 1st half to over 270 yards passing for the game. They didn't really do anything different in the run game in the 2nd half. But the passing game looked to be using more protection packages allowing Tannehill to throw it deep on a few occasions. Once he aired it out deep, it seemed everything underneath started to open up. Hartline was steady eddie on the left. Gibson had some HUGE third down catches to keep drives going. And Wallace, even though statistically he wasn't involved, had a couple of opportunities downfield which IMO if Haden doesn't interfere with him, they are touchdowns. Of course neither penalty was called. But it allowed Gibson to get open underneath. And also got Clay some room to operate in the flat.

    I do think we can still do more with the passing game. If your best receiver is being shutdown by a corner, you have to move him around (like you would a pass rusher on defense). Just at times it seemed very vanilla with their offensive formations. We didn't do any hurry up stuff, which was really surprising. If the running game continues to struggle, we must utilize the hurry up and run draws etc out of it to keep the defense tired. That will open up the ground game.

    Would have liked to have seen more screens called today, both to running backs, but also to Mike Wallace at the line of scrimmage, just to get him involved. We finally have a guy who can break a bubble screen to the house and we don't use him in that capacity. Davone Bess used to get a couple of opportunities on bubble screens a game. Although I don't recall last year if we used him much with Sherman as OC.

    Defensively, what can you say? Brilliant job by the front seven. Just an amazing, relentless pass rush all game long. The mounting injuries to our corners are a concern though. Dion Jordan was seen more than just in garbage time. They had him standing up in the middle of the field on 3rd down a couple of times. Something not mentioned, our defensive staff did a good job rotating guys along the defensive line. Although I wasn't happy to see Shelby in pass coverage, he did get plenty of reps. And that kept our pass rush fresh all game long. Cannot understate how important that is going to be this season. It's even more important in the first game of the season, when everyone is a little winded in the second half.

    Special teams.. Don Jones had a couple of nice plays on coverage units. Our return game though continues to suck. Even though we had a punt return for a TD called back.
     
  32. Paul 13

    Paul 13 Chaotic Neutral & Unstable Genius Staff Member

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    apparently the reason we couldn't run the ball (or throw it) out of our 11 personnel (that's 3 wide receivers, Clay in that TE/FB role, with one back) is because Cleveland stayed in their base defense and it caught the Dolphins off guard. Dolphins did adjust to that at halftime.
     
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  33. Gunner

    Gunner Rock Hunter

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    My game balls:

    TE Clay - I was ready to cut him after a poor 2012 season and lackluster preseason
    WR Hartline - White lightning is just money
    WR Gibson - outside of the drop on first pass, he was almost as money as Hartline
    DE Wake - pure monster
    K Sturgis - All FGs looked dead center on my feed. KOs were near un-returnable
    DT Big Paul - after the first drive the middle of the D got stiff and Paul was a big reason for it
    CB Patterson - Two picks ... nuff said

    OK, I'm out of game balls :lol:
     
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  34. finwin

    finwin Active Member

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    The coaching staff is failing to execute in several aspects. My biggest gripe is the offense and the way they continue to run into a stacked box with 8-9 and do nothing to open up the field when Cleveland was playing a soft zone most of the game. Sherman makes the defense only defend 10-15 yards of field instead of "every blade of grass" as Solomon Wilcox said. The second failure is on special teams. They saw Nolan Carrol get pushed into Bumpus in pre season and he still is in the same position making the same mistakes in week one. Right beside Thingpen holding and brings back a TD return. We may get a win against rookie coaches with the coaches not executing good game plans, but they will be embaressed as the season goes on.
     
  35. Paul 13

    Paul 13 Chaotic Neutral & Unstable Genius Staff Member

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    I didn't like that we continued to attempt to run the ball on first down. Setting up 2nd and 10 or longer every time.
     
  36. keypusher

    keypusher Well-Known Member

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    Yep. OL beyond awful in this game.
     
  37. 72 Dolphins

    72 Dolphins New Member

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    Must Win Game and they got the win.

    Game Balls :

    (Offense)
    Ryan Tannehill - This was about as strong of a performance a QB can have when he has absolutely zero running game and a pass protection that was breaking down all around him. That west coast style offense Sherm gave him in the 2nd half was executed with flawless precision. This young QB of ours was really getting the ball out quick, making quick decisive decisions and letting it fly. They couldn't run, they couldn't block, they couldn't pass protect, and yet this kid moved the ball with quick decisions and a "get the ball out fast" passing game that required Tannehill to make quick and accurate throws. He did. Honorable Mention : Brian "TD" Hartline

    (Defense) Cameron Wake - Pure Bottled Stud. Is there anyone in the NFL with his explosiveness to the QB. WOW. Honorable Mention: Dimitri "Int" Patterson.

    (Special Teams) Caleb Sturgis - Perfect Day for the Rook. All his kicks are spot on and fly like arrows. Those kicks from 40+ in the first half in a windy stadium could have been good from 55-60. Welcome aboard kiddo.

    I'm not seeing all the criticism @ Sherm in this one. How much less can an offensive coordinator have to work with, than what Sherm had today. He still found a game plan in the 2nd half that won the game. In an offense where you had almost zero blocking, he found a way to put up 23. How many OC's would have stuck with that running game in the 2nd half and put his QB in continual 2nd and 3rd and longs.

    The O-Line is going to be a problem. I can't pretend that Cleveland minus Mingo was something that shouldn't have been handled easy. It wasn't.

    The Starks flipping off the sidelines and the Wallace semi-tirade are issues that probably blow over when your team is winning. Drop a few in a row and those issues will flower in a bad way. I don't like that my GM has to talk to my star wide reciever - thats coaching duties. It shows you how invested and how concerned Ireland is about this season.

    In the end - A win is a win and this was a win the team needed to have. I'm not about to lose sleep or have anxiety over 1-0. There will be plenty of time for that later in the season, if this O-line can't produce better than a -2 yard line surge off the ball.

    Cheers for a BIG opening win.
    GO DOLPHINS!!
     
  38. Rocky Raccoon

    Rocky Raccoon Greasepaint Ghost Staff Member

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    I'm really loving the receiver group. Hartline continues to be underrated and it's obvious he's Tannehill's guy. The man just gets open and catches everything. Gibson doesn't have the great hands Hartline does but he also gets open on a regular basis, works the middle of the field like a charm and actually gets some YAC. I'm not worried about Wallace. His chances will come.

    Tannehill was up and down but mostly up, IMO. He made some mistakes and panicked at times but he made the big throws when we needed it the most. He was money in the 2nd half.

    The defense is a force, man. Just an absolute monster of a unit. They got pressure on Weeden all day long and it's great to see them forcing some turnovers. If the defense keeps this up we will win a lot of games.

    The running game was terrible today and that's being kind. I understand the Browns have a pretty good defense but still, yikes. Lamar Miller had like 5 straight carries for a loss. Better get that crap fixed up.

    So, a very solid win to start the season. I'm happy but there are some things to work on for sure.
     
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  39. PhinFan1968

    PhinFan1968 To 2020, and BEYOND! Club Member

    Pretty much my same exact take. I wonder what the coaches are going to do to try to fix the run blocking...if the new guy we picked up works out, that'd be nice, but I'm not counting on it yet. I watched a few other games and there are a bunch of O lines having problems, maybe not to that extent on run blocking, but it seems aside from San Francisco's pass pro (from the few games I watched), O lines are looking sloppy.
     
  40. CitizenSnips

    CitizenSnips hmm.

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    Cleveland's probably not thrilled richardson only having 47 yds. He's a premiere talent that they took a top 5 pick to get a year ago. They might be more upset with their running game than we are with ours. we weren't really expected to run well.
     
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