We’re all still feeling the sting from Miami’s opening day fiasco. In all of my 50 years of watching the Dolphins play have I heard for heads to roll after the first game, but after seeing that abysmal performance, it’s not difficult to understand why. So, what do you need to see week 2 against the Patriots to give us a glimmer of hope, or at least the confidence that week 1 was just a “1 off”? For me, it all starts in the trenches. On paper, we probably have one of the best defensive fronts in the league. Sieler, Chubb, Phillips, Robinson, Grant and the defense recorded all of one sack against Jones. That simply will not do. They have GOT to get to the QB. Additionally on defense, I need to see them put the Patriots in 2nd and 3rd and long regularly and force 3 and outs. Our defense just couldn’t get off of the field. They let the Colts score on every one of the possessions. That’s utterly ridiculous! On the other side of the ball, I’ve got to see the line open holes for Achane and Gordon to be able to rip of consistency 6 and 7 yard runs to put the offense in 2nd and short. We can’t count on the passing game to be the end all, do all for the Dolphins. If the running game can get going, Tua will actually be much more effective. And finally on the sideline. McDaniel has GOT to be able to adapt and make adjustments. If it’s not working, adjust to what will. If I don’t see what I listed above, win or lose, the Dolphins are in for a long painful season.
If they want to prove this season is still salvageable, they need to beat Buffalo in Buffalo week 3. There's nothing they can do in week 2 to salvage week 1, though losing in week 2 should extinguish all hope. It's year 4 and they need to win a playoff game. Is it mathematically possible? Sure, but 99.9% probably not after that debacle in week 1. I'm on the fire McD bandwagon already.
A W would be a start and Tua has to rebound from one of his worst NFL performance ever and then at least be competitive against Barfalo. Last week was ugly way worse than expected.
I don't see a way to beat Buffalo. We can't stop Allen and that offense and the Bills defense has our number. We will be lucky to lose by less than 3 TDs. Beating the Pats is a must. It at least gives SOME hope that you may not be the worst in your division and having them start 0-2 after their "big" offseason would be fantastic. If we lose to them, and Buffalo mollywhomps us, it's gonna start getting real hot for Grier and McDaniel and a bad loss to any of the following teams could seal it. As far as New England ... their line is still trash. Pressure the young QB and get him to make mistakes. Don't let Henderson break big runs and keep him bottled up. Offensively, get Tua going early and get Achane in space. Use Gordon ffs. See if you can't run behind Paul and the rook. Would be nice if Gonzalez misses this game as well, but you can test his health if he plays. Overall, play with some energy and passion. Clean up the stupid mistakes.
That game sucked and it hurt, there's no way around it. It also put a dent into our playoff aspirations, no matter if we turn it around quickly or not. But all they can do is get back up off the mat and go at New England with a better plan this week. Daniels going on IR after three plays as a Dolphin is very on brand. We have to hope Jackson is healthy. I think that they need to go back to what worked on offense after Tua came back from injury last season. Run the ball, quick passing game, ten yards at a time. That worked last season against the Patriots even without Tua.
I would give the backups extra reps in practice this week. There’s a good chance they may need to come in. Tua had three concussions in the pros and one in college. He’s held together with a lot of hardware in his body and look at the OL now. Hope not, but this could get ugly.
It's a 17-game season. We lost one. The only thing to focus on is getting a W in the next game. I know many here will say it was a bad loss, and it was. That's a fan's perspective. For an athlete or a coach, they must forget the loss and focus on the only thing they can control...the next game. It doesn't matter how badly you lost or what happened...it's still one loss. Onto the next week with corrections and hopefully much higher execution. I agree, I was shocked at how badly the team played last Sunday. I also thought that it was time to replace Tua and McDaniel. But then the former athlete in me popped out and reminded me of my teenage years getting autographs with the team and Marino saying, "The only thing that matters is next week." And he was right, each game is a W or an L. The context doesn't matter at all in the grand scheme of things. You have to let it go and prepare for the following week. I am fearful that this will be a tough year, that the wheels might fall off the bus. But I'll let Tua earn it either way and reserve judgement for another month or so. Beat the Pats- that's all that matters for now. Then we'll worry about Buffalo and hope for a good showing. At least we're going north in September, before all the snow and freezing cold.
Tua playing like he did as a rookie. Because I don't think he's able to process and not worry about being hit at this point And a team that looks like they care.
I don't think we can stop the run despite this so-called amazing DLine we have. We have a bunch of pass rushers on the DLine, but no real run stoppers. Our corners are going to get cooked every week, so it really is up to the guys up front to get pressure on the quarterback and force errant throws and mistakes. We can't give up these third-and-long plays like we did last week. Every time we had Indy in a 3rd down situation, they gashed us. Offensively, the recipe to beat the crap out of us is out there for the entire league to see and it's quite simple. You take away Tua's first option, and he goes all to Hell. Yes, he's accurate, and yes, he can get the ball out quickly, but you eliminate Hill or Waddle from the play, and he will panic and, most of the time, either make a costly mistake, throw a risky pass, or throw to a receiver who's in a dangerous situation. I will say this about Tua. He showed some toughness for as many hits as he took last week. He got rocked a few times and got back up. Not sure how long that is sustainable for him, but it needs to be fixed. I think getting Achane the ball is crucial to this team getting down the field. Of course, we need to try and run the ball successfully, but even those short, quick passes where we get Achane in space will create better opportunities. As for our receivers...Maybe not try to force the ball to Hill? He's just not a possession receiver. He's not a guy that you throw the ball to in the middle of the field and he damn sure isn't winning any jump balls. If you're going to do that, then we need to see more of Westbrook out there. Not sure what we're doing with him, but he's a big, strong receiver who can go over the middle and catch the ball in traffic. I'd like to see more reps for him and Malik Washington. Overall, I'd like to see this team prepared to actually play some football, and do their jobs. Maybe earn those million dollar paychecks they're all getting. I hate to be that guy, but these players and coaches are making way too much money to show up unprepared for what they're being paid to do. Indy straight up whooped our asses, and if these players/coaches have any pride, they should feel shame, anger, and a belly full of hungry redemption pulling at them. If we do lose this game, I'll be ready to pack up for the season and scoreboard watch. Regardless, changes are going to need to be made because this team is going nowhere fast. I have us winning 4 games this year. I don't think this team is prepared at all. I think we're as soft as charmin tissue paper and that falls on McDaniel who probably belongs calling plays for an offense versus being a head coach. A team takes on the identity of their head coach. Look at the Ravens, The Bills, The Eagles. The preparation of an Andy Reid coached team, the discipline of a Mike Tomlin coached team. Look at how mean streak the Demeco Ryan Texans play with. Obviously the coach can't go out there and make the plays, but a good one will have his team playing with an identity and he will have them prepared. I mean, what exactly is our identity with McDaniel? Guys aren't willing to run through brick walls for him the way a Detroit Lion player is for Dan Campbell. McDaniel had a swagger about him that was working the first two seasons he was here, but it's waning fast. Teams don't fear Tua at all, and following the apathetic lead of Mike McDaniel is only going to get us closer to the number one pick in Aprils draft.
