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Quick Hits: Dolphins @ Jets

Discussion in 'Miami Dolphins Forum' started by Vengeful Odin, Dec 28, 2008.

  1. Vengeful Odin

    Vengeful Odin Norse Mod

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    11-5 and AFC East Champs. Who would have thought it? I know I didn't, in fact I had this team at 6-10 before Pennington, and an optimistic 8-8 after his acquisition. Great win against a team that has really been built for the short term, with high priced FA acquisitions, most notably the Canton bound Brett Favre.

    On this day though, Chad Pennington cemented his legend with another stellar day, 22 of 30 for 200 yards and two touchdowns. Defensively, we didn't get a lot of pressure on Favre, but we played well enough for him to throw 3 picks, 1 that was returned for a touchdown, and 2 more to Andre Goodman. It's hard to win when you're turning the ball over - and the Jets did that a lot on Sunday, with 4 of them.

    The Dolphins did it again in the fourth quarter, utilizing a 4 minute and 36 second drive to bleed out the clock and leave the Jets with little time to mount any kind of comeback. Another solid win from a team that has exceed all expectations this season, and now has a date with Baltimore next week (at home) in the first round of the playoffs.

    Savor this one. We're going to the playoffs, and the Jets and Patriots are sitting at home. How sweet it is.

    What I liked

    I love this team. We come up with big plays when we have to, and we find a way to win. We put teams away in the fourth quarter, and our quarterback comes up with big plays when it matters most. Pennington is such a stabilizing influence; you just know that he's a coach in the huddle. Listening to Favre's pregame speech made me appreciate Pennington that much more. We were focused, and seized the moment.

    • Looking For the Big Play - We really made an effort to look for the big play. I counted two pass attempts from the Wildcat, as well as a flea flicker that went for a big gain and the deep TD throw to Ginn. We really looked to hit the Jets with big plays. Even though the passes from the Wildcat didn't work out, I liked seeing them, as I think it may help slow down Baltimore next week. Folks who have been asking for us to open up the playbook had to be happy with what they saw today.
    • Limiting the Jets Big Plays - On the other side of the ball, we did a pretty good job of limiting the Jets on offense. Thomas Jones was rendered useless, with 10 carries for only 23 yards. Leon Washington had more success, with 89 total yards on 16 touches, but other than that the Jets didn't do a whole lot. Favre and his cannon arm were inaccurate all day, and even when he hit the occasional big play it rarely led to anything additional. The Jets just couldn't get rolling. About the time they did, Favre would throw a pick or the Jets would cough up a fumble, derailing the Jets and giving momentum back to the Dolphins.
    • Overall Intensity - We really treated this like a playoff game. We were nervous and jittery through the first half, but by the time the fourth quarter rolled around we hit our stride and put the Jets away. We seemed to know what the magnitude of the game was, and what it could mean to the franchise, and while that was a bit daunting, we eventually rose to the challenge. It was a team effort out there today - We got big and little contributions from nearly the entire roster.
    • Kris Jenkins Nullified - Maybe it's because he was wearing down at the end of the season, maybe it was the scheme we ran against him, but Kris Jenkins had a pretty quiet day today. He can be dominating at times (probably the second most dominating DT in the NFL right now, behind Albert Haynesworth), but he really didn't wreak any havoc out there today. He got into the kitchen only once that I counted, on the phantom Pennington interception that was nullified by penalty. Sparano has to be pleased that we were able to keep him under control, especially given how patchwork the interior of our line is.
    • Dolphins Chants in the Meadowlands - How great was it to hear those Dolphins fans in the fourth quarter? I mean think about it, you're in the Meadowlands, against a division rival, at home, and you can hear chants for the other team? Really was great to hear, and it's a memory that will stick with me for a long time.

    What I Didn't Like

    There really wasn't a lot to not like about this game. We played as well as could be expected, and closed out the game in the fourth quarter when it mattered most. We're still a young team, and we're still playing above our skill level to some extent, which sometimes can cause us some issues, especially when you start talking about opportunity and execution.

    • Missed Opportunities - We probably left at least 10 points out on the field with the two miscues out of the Wildcat. Ricky should have come up with the catch on the 10 yard line, and Ronnie really misjudged that pass to Haynos. Championship teams make the most of the breaks when they get them, and this is one area that we should learn from and benefit from next week.
    • No Real Pass Rush - We had to blitz to do anything today, and even when sending 6 players we had a hard time getting any kind of pressure on Favre. We didn't record a sack, and we really only pressured Favre twice. That's just not going to get it done most days.
    • Too Many Procedure Penalties - Early on, particularly in the first half, we found ourselves false starting and jumping offsides, on both sides of the ball. I believe this was due to an understandable case of the jitters, but we have to be more poised next week at home.
    • Poor Sport Jets - Nice of Mangini and Favre to hit the tunnels immediately after the game, instead of coming out and congratulating Miami on their win today. I wouldn't expect anything less from a group of classless jerks like New York.

    Players of the Week

    Here's the thing about this team. We seem to get contributions from everyone on the roster. Week in and week out we feature someone new or different. Today was a bit different, as we seemed to be working everyone into the game plan - it didn't seem like there was a concerted effort to get one particular player or skill position involved, but instead we spread it around to everyone. Kudos to both coordinators for coming up with game plans that called for multiple contributions from multiple players. That type of coaching oozes the team philosophy - sacrificing individual glory for winning as a unit.

    • Chad Pennington - It's absolutely criminal that Chad Pennington is not in the Pro Bowl. There's no way he doesn't deserve to be there. He finishes the regular season with over 3600 yards passing, 19 touchdowns, and only 7 interceptions. He's a legitimate MVP candidate. No way we win the division with McCown, Henne, or Beck at the helm.
    • Ronnie Brown - Brown had another quiet day statistically, but it was his runs in the fourth quarter that sealed the game for us. He's made it through the entire season healthy, and he ends the season with just under 1000 yards rushing, with 916 on the year. Brown may be the key to how far we go in the playoffs.
    • Jake Long - Long owned his man the entire game. I'm so glad we took this guy #1 overall. He's been as important to the improvement of our team as Joe Thomas was last year in Cleveland. The guy is simply a rock. I've gotten to the point where I take him for granted, because I know he's going to win his matchup and I'm more concerned with guard play and Satele. Hasn't gotten enough praise for how well he's played this year.
    • Ted Ginn - The demise of Ted Ginn as a deep threat has been vastly overstated. Ginn looked great on both the flea flicker and deep TD pass from Pennington. He also caught most everything that was sent his way, save for a whiff on the phantom Pennington interception.
    • Lousaka Polite - The man is just a first down machine. What a great in-season pickup he's been.
    • Anthony Fasano - With David Martin out, Fasano had to step up his game a bit. That TD catch was a thing of beauty.
    • Channing Crowder - How much did we miss Crowder last week? He's still a bit slow in coverage, but Crowder provided a bit of a pass rush, and also made big plays at the line of scrimmage in the run game. Good game for Channing, and I'm glad he's back.
    • Yeremiah Bell - the other half of our pass rush, Bell also helped to nullify Dustin Keller and also assist in the running game. Another solid day at the office.
    • Vonnie Holliday - Holliday had arguably his best game of the season, and it was clear early on that Vonnie, one of the team's veterans, really understood the magnitude of the game and stepped his play up to match. Good game from Vonnie.
    • Andre Goodman - If Goodman keeps playing like this, we may have to reconsider getting a CB in the offseason. He snagged two errant Favre passes for interceptions, and also came up with 2 pass deflections. Great game for Goodman, who has really come on strong to close out the season.
    • Phillip Merling - Merling really read that screen, didn't he? Great to see that interception, and even better to watch him steamroll Favre on his way into the end zone. Merling's pick six ended up being the difference in the game.
    • Akin Ayodele - Ayodele was flying around today, much more than usual. He also looked good in coverage. He's been a bit up-and-down during the season, but today was a good game for him.

    Goats of the Week

    Hard to find anyone to really fault out there, especially since we just won the AFC East title, but there were a couple of guys that I expected more from. My first goat is the only real true goat; the others just didn't step up and make contributions like I would have liked them to see.

    • John Denney - Adventures In Punting, starring John Denney. Denney cost us points with a terrible snap on a punt, giving New York great field position that allowed them to put together a quick scoring drive that swung momentum early in the second half. We can't afford breakdowns like that in the playoffs.
    • Joey Porter - Credit to the Jets, they completely nullified 55 out there today. I expected to see Porter do something, anything, out there. He really didn't. I do expect to see him fired up against Baltimore next week.
    • Ricky Williams - Gotta come up with that catch. It cost us points, and you simply can't leave points on the field. Rest of the day outside the drop was solid for Ricky though.

    Overall Thoughts

    Two teams going in different directions, that's what I saw out there today. Our QB, not theirs, was the guy making plays down the stretch to win the game and the division title. One team looked young and hungry, with a fiery coach rallying his troops. The team on the other sidelined looked in disarray, with an old QB no longer able to make plays. It's a great feeling, and I'm extremely proud of how our team played today.

    How good this team does from here out remains to be seen. I like our chances against Baltimore next week, as we're playing at home, and we've got a proven QB that's playing the best ball of his career, while the Ravens are led by a rookie QB that can make mistakes when under pressure. It would be fitting for us to end Cam's season next week, and gain a measure of revenge against our former coach. From there on out though, things get tough. If I'm picking an AFC Champ right now, I'd probably have to go with Indianapolis, and I like the Giants out of the NFC, setting up a Manning vs. Manning brother vs. brother matchup in the Super Bowl.

    But I'm getting ahead of myself. We've made the greatest single-season turnaround in NFL history, going from 1-15 to AFC East champions. For now, I'm completely content to drink in this win, and bathe in the fact that we are, once again, a relevant team that can compete with any team on any day.
     
  2. alen1

    alen1 New Member

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  3. Vengeful Odin

    Vengeful Odin Norse Mod

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    Yeah ... you're right, they don't usually have the stats updated so quickly after the game, so I added his totals from this week into his totals.
     
  4. alen1

    alen1 New Member

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    Ah gotcha. Great work on the writeup by the way, hopefully we see these next season as well.
     
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  5. BigDogsHunt

    BigDogsHunt Enough talk...prove it!

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    Freudian??? :wink2:
     
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  6. finsmx

    finsmx Senior Member

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    Yes, probably the best after game series of threads this year. :knucks:
     
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  7. Vengeful Odin

    Vengeful Odin Norse Mod

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    LMAO, I was thinking about the Green Bay / Lions game.
     
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  8. brandon27

    brandon27 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    awesome as always VO, glad we'll be getting to read at least one more next weekend!

    btw, pennington was 22 of 30 today, not 12 of 22

    thats one lengthy players of the week list. I cant disagree though. they were all huge in this win.
     
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  9. BrazForPhins

    BrazForPhins From south

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    Good hits, as usual Odin.

    As we can now officially talk playoffs, what a tough task miami has to reach the AFC conference game.....
    The two opponents ahead of us have one thing in common: outstanding defenses. Baltimore 2nd best, Pittsburgh 1st.

    though after this 11-5 miracle, everything is possible to me now
     
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  10. Vengeful Odin

    Vengeful Odin Norse Mod

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    I like our chances in both of those games. Baltimore is starting a rookie QB, and the status of Roethlisberger is uncertain the following week.

    And we've got the league MVP on our side. Yeah, I like our chances a lot.
     
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  11. Ludacris

    Ludacris Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Awesome summary as usual VO.

    First thing that popped in my mind when you said that Mangini was a bad sport. I must have missed him running into the tunnel after the game but yeah that's shocking.

    I did remember two pretty decent things he did though. Not sure if he wanted to save time outs but he could have challenged two plays but he didn't. One was when Cobbs received a kick in the endzone and he started to run out of it but changed his mind. Mangini could have challenged that the ball broke the plane before Cobb ran backwards but he didn't challenge.

    The second was when David Martin got hit in the back and knocked out of the game. Mangini could have challenged that Martin didn't catch the ball before the hit and that it could have been incomplete. He didn't challege that either so I was thinking, that was good sportsmanship...or i am giving him too much benefit of the doubt?
     
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  12. cnc66

    cnc66 wiley veteran, bad spelur Luxury Box

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    Nice work VO, thanks bro.

    ludacris.. imo, it was stupidity not sportsmanship

    I could swear I saw mangina mid field with Sparano after the game.. the loser favray ran
     
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  13. Vengeful Odin

    Vengeful Odin Norse Mod

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    Yeah, I gotta agree ... I just think Mangini was clueless when it came to the challenges, not classy.

    I didn't see him on the field after the game ... maybe someone else did but I did not. Either way, I thought it was pathetic for Favre to tuck tail and run. The guy initially didn't even come out for the last series. What a baby.
     
  14. Larryfinfan

    Larryfinfan 17-0...Priceless Club Member

    What I liked happened this am....Mangini fired...serves the jests right....
     
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  15. arsenal

    arsenal Sunglasses and advil

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    great write up...

    Merling i think deserves even more props... not just the INT but he was in there stuffing the run A LOT... he played a great great great game all around... probably the best game hes played all year... and you love to see someone step it up when it matters most...
     
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  16. The Aqua Crush

    The Aqua Crush New Member

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    nice write up VO.

    I would add to the list of likes our Special teams coverage units. As well as their blocked punt. THat was huge in the field position battle in the second half. Outside of Denny I thought they played extremely well, especially containing Washington.
     
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  17. slickj101

    slickj101 Is Water

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    I'm pretty sure that the ball has to come all the way out of the endzone on that play, not just break the plane.


    As always, nice write up man. I think our opinions of Crowder vary a little bit. He had an "ok" game at best for me. He's probably still hurting (I hope), because he looked extremely slow out there and was beaten pretty badly on many plays.

    How could you forget the best "quick hit" of all? lol Yeremiah Bell planting Farve on his *** on the last play of the game. God that was great.
     
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