Ryan Tannehill getting injured sucks, but at the end of the day I don't think you can be too terribly concerned. Matt Moore is likely to not be dramatically different in terms of overall talent at this point, and Tannehill's injury doesn't look too serious. I tend to hope they wait until he's 100% healthy, rather than immediately putting him back in.
Moore played pretty well, but I think you can see some pretty tangible differences. Moore wants to go down the field every opportunity he gets. He does it pretty well, but he don't give a **** about no short passes.
It's still the same story with the running game. Reggie Bush wasn't quite as bad this week as he was in the last couple of weeks, but he missed a couple holes and took another dumb loss in the backfield. He looks like he might be pretty close to completely healthy, a couple of the things he did this week would have not worked in weeks past. All in all it was an acceptable outing, but I think the Dolphins coaching staff should have doubts about re-signing him if he wants big money at this point.
Daniel Thomas was not very good in his own fashion. If you could somehow get Thomas to be less aggressive hitting the hole(or lack thereof) and Bush more decisive and more likely to hit the interior, you'd be golden.
A pretty middling game from the receiving targets, but considering the circumstances I don't think it was particularly bad. Nice to see Gaffney get involved, but tending towards conservative in this game was the right decision given a quarterback change and an early lead against a bad offense.
Anthony Fasano had a not particularly productive day on the stat sheet, but he's going to be hard to let walk. He had a nice catch on the touchdown, but watch him on the Daniel Thomas touchdown. He buries Quinton Coples and Thomas runs right through that area.
The offensive line played reasonably well, but there were some weird blocking assignment issues. The Tannehill injury was one, where Jonathan Martin picks up the blitzer and leaves the edge guy unblocked. There were a couple other instances, it looked like on the Fasano touchdown Long was expecting Incognito to pick up a guy going to his interior and was looking for an outside defender that never came.
I might have said this before but I feel like it's safe to say the Dolphins got a pretty big upgrade in terms of defensive coaching when they went from Mike Nolan to Kevin Coyle.
Nice game by the defensive line. Probably not their best effort, but not too shabby against a pretty good line with the exception of RT. Paul Soliai really seems to elevate his game vs. Nick Mangold.
Another good, but statistically understated linebacker game. Burnett and Dansby aren't going to put up flashy numbers for the most part, but they are really a fundamental part of this defense and playing quite well. The ability to put two guys in the A-gap in passing situations while being athletic enough to drop into coverage is a really big part of this defense, and I'm hoping Dansby isn't too beat up elbow-wise.
Nolan Carroll and Jimmy Wilson maybe aren't ideally starting/nickel corners, but these are both guys who deserve to be on the field and are looking like pretty big steals for where they were drafted.
The defensive backfield is just so much more physical in terms of breaking up plays and getting their hands on balls then they have been for a very long time now. I think every one of our "starting" defensive backs broke up a pass play today. Actually, looking at ESPN it looks like every starting linebacker did too.
Special Teams gave up the big Clyde Gates return, but it's otherwise hard to complain. Seeing a sideline shot of Mike Westoff hanging his head midway through the 4th quarter was pretty priceless.
Joe Philbin for such a milquetoast looking and sounding guy he sure gets caught cussing on TV almost as much as Todd Haley.
Also, he's got gigantic freaking balls for the onside kick right off the bat. That's two weeks in a row they've gotten aggressive on special teams calls against guys known for doing that themselves.
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Frumundah Finnatic, thisperishedmin, unluckyluciano and 18 others like this.
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I agree with you that adding Coyle to the staff was a huge deal. I think the play of the young CB's like Carroll and Wilson is something the KC is directly responsible for.
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this.
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You waited an awful long time to mention special teams and then when you did, you said it was hard to complain. With all due respect, the special teams today were MASSIVE. A blocked punt for a touchdown broke the game wide open. A blocked field goal before the half secured the first half dominance and preserved a shutout to that point in the game. When the Jets looked to be getting a little momentum in the 2nd half, getting their first points with a field goal on their first drive, Marcus Thigpen took it upon himself to make sure the momentum swung back in our favor with a GLORIOUS return. He would not be denied on his way to a 50 plus yard return. He would NOT GO DOWN!... HE WOULD NOT GO OUT OF BOUNDS.. I don't know what his position is on offense (running back or slot receiver) but IMO he deserves some touches in the regular offense. He is an absolute game breaker.
Darren Rizzi deserves special teams coach of the first half of the year if there is such a thing. Real glad Philbin decided to keep him. If memory serves Rizzi and DL coach Rodgers were the only two kept from Sparano's staff. And they've both been solid keeps.
Jimmy Wilson gets my game ball.
Was it a perfect victory? No... but any win is a thing of beauty when we take the Jets down. And they are now 3 and 5 heading towards a miserable season.Bpk, djphinfan, Mcduffie81 and 4 others like this. -
Well, I usually go Offense/Defense/Special Teams, but yeah, there's more to be said about it and you said it.Paul 13 likes this.
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and I didn't even bring up Brandon Fields... holy hell what a job he did today. And he put a couple in the endzone barely.thisperishedmin, maynard, Ludacris and 1 other person like this.
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The o-line is still not performing the way you'd want it to. Apart from Pouncy, who is just manhandling people out there, everyone else is playing a lot of "hit and miss" type football. Perfect example is as you mentioned, the injury to Tannehill. Mix-up between John Jerry and Martin, Jerry blocked the guy Pouncy was already blocking, and left Martin to deal with 2 rushers.
Special shout out to Special teams though, whale of a game. Fields, Jimmah, and OV playing great. -
James Saxon the RB coach, and Dan Campbell the TE coach were from Sparano's staff. I know George Edwards was with Miami before as well (Saban's staff maybe).Paul 13 likes this.
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I bet padre was pitching a tent for 3 hours today. :)
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Our running game sucks. And it's hurting our passing game having to convert long 2nd and 3rd downs. We're top 5 in yards to go on 3rd down. We cant keep that up and score enough points.
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Miami special teams accomplished what hasn't been done in 20 years today. So congrats there.
I still say we need to upgrade at both guard spots. Incognito and Jerry are barely serviceable. -
I think we go grab a zone blocking guard in FA as I think Jerry is a FA anyways. Then I look for value in the 2nd/3rd to challenge Incognito.
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1) almost a sublime display of punting in a game..
2) Punt block returned for TD.
3) field goal block.
4) executed onside kick.
5) no penaltys.
6) three for three on FG
7) hi average kick return..
8) no muffs or fumbles.
9) solid kick and punt coverage.
10) John Denneys unbelievable consistency..
I'd like to see a better all around game than that.Bpk likes this. -
I'd think I'd rank "needs" right now as follows:
1) Guard
2) Cornerback - depending on what happens with Sean Smith.
3) Receiver
4) Pass-rusher or another safety for depth. -
I'd rank the needs as:
Pass rusher
WR or CB
OL
As for the STs, this was one of those rare NFL games where one STs unit was so superior that they were a primary difference maker. I felt we simply out coached them. And bear in mind that Westhof is considered one of the best. -
I think it was Dan Fouts doing the color for the game. Did anyone else hear him compare Joe Philbin to Bill Walsh? Fouts said that Philbin reminds him a lot of Walsh with his demeanor. I hate to make that kind of comparison, particularly since Joe is only 7 games in as a head coach. However, I have read things where Joe Philbin strives for perfection in practice, and that was a trait Bill Walsh had. Bill would make his team run the same play over and over till it was perfect.
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I love him. I really freaking do. I supported Tony out of my loyalty, but Philbin just strikes AWE into me. Did you see him in the Post game press conference. "Yea, we played good against the Jets. We're in second place....but i expected it and we can do better."
YESSSSSSSSSSRevRick and thisperishedmin like this. -
I didn't see anything but the game (TIVO) but I'm hoping Rex cried again After the whooping we put on them :lol:
Considering the Jets almost beat the Pats last week, combined with turmoil the announcers talked about with Tom Brady among other problems including their poor record, does anyone else think we might be able to beat the Pats? -
dolfan22 Season Ticket Holder Club Member
It was Dan Fouts , who has NEVER liked Miami and been critical of this team ( mostly with reason ) yesterday he was very complimentary , with warrant of course , but good to see some movement from media types who have dismissed this team and structure for years. -
So does Alen, and considering that he's the best evaluator of that side of the ball that I know, that says a lot.djphinfan likes this.
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Of course, we "can" beat the Pats. The Cards and Seahawks did, and the Jets almost did, and we are at least as good as those teams. Whether we "will" beat the Pats will depend on a lot of things, with turnovers chief among them (as usual).
Before the preseason (when my confidence admittedly wavered), I felt this team could go 10-6. Over the last 16 games, going back to last season, this team is 10-6. I see the remaining schedule as pretty favorable. I think the division title will be decided in the two Dolphins-Patriots games. -
I didn't hear that because I muted them after hearing them talk about Tebow every opportunity they could think of. And at the same time they talked barely at all about Tanny/Moore, at least up to the point where I muted them.
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We dominated them as a team yesterday. The only thing that troubles me was the offense at times. Before Tanne was knocked out, he was leaving balls short. Clay was still a non-factor...we need something. It was a dominating performance by the whole team this week...i just want to see this offense hitting on all cylinders.
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and Jets are 3-8 in their last 11 and 6-10 over their last 16:up:
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Is anyone else glad to the the O called by Sprano for the other team. It was painful while he was here
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To me that list needs to be flipped but the positions of need are all there.
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