A Gigolo's Postgame Analysis

Might as well write me one of them postgame thoughts threads, too. As it happens, I have quite a lot of thoughts.

Chad Henne: I don't know who that guy wearing #7 was or what he did to Chad Henne, but I certainly wouldn't mind if he stuck around. Seriously though, I have to give credit where credit is due: This wasn't just Chad Henne's best game as a Dolphin, it was the first game in which he looked like a legitimate NFL QB. And I'm not just referring to some rather beautiful throws, but to calling audibles, recognizing blitzes and reading coverages. It wasn't perfect and I wouldn't lose sleep if he never threw a fade again, but if he performs like this consistently, we've found ourselves a quarterback. I'm not giving out the "he turned it around" label quite yet, it's only one game and quite frankly, we're going to see (much) better defenses than the Patriots one down the road, but for the first time, I'm seeing it.

The running game: I'll have to withold judgement until I have the stomach to rewatch the entire game (which is also why there won't be an offensive line section; it's quite impossible to come to any kind of valid OL analysis without watching the game again at least once), but I'll say this: If they hadn't realized that Reggie Bush isn't a between tackle runner, then they should've realized it yesterday. Yes, there wasn't much to work with, but games where you fail to get an initial push happen and you need a guy who can at least power through a tackler and pick up 2-3 yards every other attempt. Reggie Bush just isn't this kind of guy and I'm afraid we'll see him on his way to IR shortly if we continue giving him carries like this. It'll become clearer once Daniel Thomas is back, that's for sure.

The receiving game: I'd like three things: I'd like Fasano to play like this every weekend, I'd like Bess more involved and I'd like them to stop with the damn dropsies. Bench them, fine them, send them to bed without dinner, but give me one bloody game without at least one gut wrenching drop. At some point, I have to attribute this to coaching or accountability or both. A team that isn't able to play "perfectly" every once in a while won't compete. Yes, I'm also looking to you, Richie Incognito (thought you were in the clear because there's no OL section, huh? Ha!).

Offense gameplan/playcalling: I love the fact that we chose to receive. It might seem like a small matter, but I'm flat out loving it. If you want to open it up, be aggressive and generally let your QB lose, you want that damn ball, especially at home. I'm also madly in love with the QB draw call - not because it worked (although that certainly helps), but because it showed guts - and guts were entirely absent from Dolphins Stadium in 2010. That said, I wasn't a huge fan of the playcalling as a whole - there were calls that would have made this board raging mad if they had been made by Dan Henning - but I do like the general approach. That fade to Hartline, however, should make Sparano and Daboll blush with shame. There HAS to be a better play in that situation. There just has to.

The defensive backs: I see a lot of blame being passed around Jones, Carroll, Davis and Smith, and while much of it has certainly some merit, I chose to look at the bigger picture. On Sunday, three decent to very good defenses (KC, Atlanta and Pittsburgh) got blown out by offenses no one would call powerhouse. I suspect that we'll see this trend continue for at least a while; if you can keep your offense on the field and sustain long drives, those missed months of workouts will show their ugly heads on the other side of the ball. Our secondary wasn't simply gassed when the 3rd quarter came around; they were playing without focus and concentration the hole night long (you saw a similar thing, to a lesser extend, on New England as well). Like a wise coach once told a much younger and much more lazy me: You cannot have concentration without good conditioning. I'll reserve judgment on the actual play on the field for when they show up in, you know, actual playing shape.

The front 7: Much of what applies to the defensive backfield also applies to the front 7. I didn't see a unit in playing shape. I saw Karlos Dansby looking like he dragged a 16 ton weight along as he missed tackle after tackle. I saw Wake getting owned by Nate Solder, not because Solder held all night long (although he certainly did) but because he flat out dominated him physically. I saw the DL get manhandled at the point of attack again and again and then some. I won't say that Dansby, Wake, Starks or Soliai are bad players. I will say, however, that they simply didn't show up in anything resembling regular season shape.

Defensive gameplan/playcalling: In the past, Nolan has sometimes been criticized for not adjusting all too well during the game, and that's what I saw yesterday. I can't fault his gameplan: Throwing pressure at Brady is the proven way to beat the Patriots. But after the fifth or sixth or seventeenth ineffective blitz, and with a clearly gassed unit, you have to switch to a bend but don't brake/prevent scheme. I'm generally no fan of these schemes, but if Brady's picking you apart no matter what, you might as well drop 7-8 in coverage instead of sending them on suicide missions.

Special teams: Three questions: Will I ever see a game without a holding penalty on a return (maybe there was one last season, but it sure feels like there's twelve in every game)? Why did Davone Bess return punts when we desperately needed a big play and have, you know, Reggie Bush on the team? And why oh why do we insist on running it to the 15 yard line when we could have it at the 20 instead? Yes, I know, Gates was called back twice, but here's the deal: As long as we can't avoid stupid penalties on special teams (or on the OL, for that matter), I'd rather have it on the 20 every guaranteed time. That way, you're also not getting pinned down at your endzone when an OL decides to go a-holding again. If you have a proven, quality return man like, say, Darren Sproles, sure, run it out. Clyde Gates? Not so much, not yet anyway.

Outlook: If anyone told me beforehand that Chad Henne would have an impressive game and that I'd still be pessimistic about our chances, I probably would have looked at him funny. But it's true and here's the reason why: The Patriots have just given everyone a blueprint on how to beat us badly. And two of our next three opponents have the offensive firepower to make use of it. Unless we can miraculously get our whole defense into shape in just 5 days, I don't like the matchup against Houston at all. Go no huddle, expose our depth at CB and tight end us to death - it's easy. I wish I could say that Improved Chad was good enough to score right along, but alas, he's not. Not yet, anyway.

 

Danny Woodhead could run between the tackles because their was no one bothering to actually tackle him. But sure, if you happen to play against an opponent that will let themselves get dominated at the LOS, doesn't particularly bother to tackle and is completely gassed when the game's about halfway over, then run Reggie. Or run the waterboy, it doesn't much matter anyway.

 

I don't think there's any reason to name Chad Henne an elite quarterback just yet, but he had a very solid performance much like what we've seen from Matt Ryan or Joe Flacco on good days. He still left some plays on the field and I have no clue why he can't throw a fade (the one he did throw was awful because an interception isn't much worse than an incomplete in that situation, so make sure you make it catchable), but he showed improvement on nearly every aspect of his game, so it's hard not come away with a positive note despite the ugly loss.

 

I didn't necessarily intend to imply that Houston will be able to execute it as perfectly as New England did (although I do think that they're capable to). But if I'm the Texans, I'm looking to mimic what New England did: Heavy on the no huddle, a lot of 3 and 4 WR sets to exploit Sapp and Carroll, get the TE to the seam and challenge someone to stop him. It's not like you can't defend this approach but considering how poorly we looked in terms of physical shape, I'd be quite confident that I could capitalize in much the same way. And unless Wake, Taylor or someone else actually steps up, I'd also be quite confident that my line can handle a pass rush even the injury rattled and center-less Patriots had no problem with. I don't think you'll see many OCs going easy on us unless we get in shape pronto. This showing, sadly, just begs for more exploits.