Positives
WE WON
Both sides of the ball stayed focus with the delays
Tannehill actually played really well and was pretty good on intermediate throws, which normally I don't think hes great at
Offensive line wasn't a disaster
RBs are both good
Howard and McCain were both good
Jones missed one tackle but came back next play with a big tackle behind the line
He also was in the right place at the right time for two big interceptions
I just like the way Albert Wilson plays and goes about his business.
Last but certainly not least. Fitzpatrick is a dude. His instincts are off the charts. He dropped a pick that he jumped a route beautifully on. I think top to bottom was our best player on defense tonight. What a homerun pick!!

Negatives
What the hell with the pass rush? Super concerning. Two back up tackles on the outside and we had little to no rush at all tonight.
Linebackers...figured would be the case. They got washed out way to easy on run plays.
It continues to baffle me why McDonald plays a ton. Another awful awful angle tonight that lead to the long game tying touchdown. Luckily for Miami a holding call brought it back. Jones is better at the LOS than McDonald and Fitz is better in coverage and as a single high.
Geiscki got bullied in the endzone by Butler. We all knew he wasn't much of a blocker, but if he doesn't get more physical then he isn't going to be that redzone threat we think he will be.
Sloppiness, but I am not too concerned with that. I think the penalties and communication will clean itself up.

 

I thought the Dolphins did a pretty decent job overcoming penalties. Unless they happened on third down.

 

One thing I noticed was that Tannehill showed he could run a hurry up offense several times in the 1st half. Never really had confidence in that part of his game in previous years (he always seemed to be slow getting the ball snapped), but I saw enough today that I think that part of his game has significantly improved. Also, he was more decisive in running for a 1st down when the pass wasn't there.

Anyway.. I'm just happy for the win. Nothing to really complain about today. We have two relatively weak opponents coming up which should give everyone time to click (or not). Have to wait several more games before we see what this team is really like.

 

Pretty fair write up. I think we still need a CB and I agreed about the linebackers. We need either McMillan or Baker to learn their positions quickly because they both played like rookies today. Kiko actually had a good game when I watched him. Even broke up a pass to a TE..The dline looks alright. On offense I'm excited. Albert Wilson looked dynamic. It's only one game but he might be the most dangerous slot receiver we've had. Gesicki bothers me a bit. Even with the injury, he didn't start. I think He's a slow developer. It might be year two before we get what were hoping for from him. The strength of Tennessee's defense is the edge so tunsil having problems with holding occasionally might not be overly concerning but if it continues we will need to move him back inside and draft another OT

 

There was one play early in the 2nd quarter where the announcers were bragging on Butler pretty heavy and calling him the savior in the Super Bowl for NE. Anyway, he broke up a pass or made a tackle (I can't remember) as they were bragging so hard. Watch THE PLAY AFTER THAT ONE. As a former lineman, it was my favorite play of the game by a very wide margin.

Here's what happened. It was a sweep to the left and the guard pulled to seal off Butler. Only, he didn't "seal him off", he hit the guy at full speed and made him do a backflip. I mean, I'm surprised his balls are still attached...that's the kind of hit it was. He launched Butler at least 3-5 yards backwards, spinning in the air like a rag doll. The run blocking was sensational on that 98 yard drive.

 

I can't remember where I read it, but high round rookie tight ends have notoriously been complete non-producers. Even those who end up as studs like Gronk struggled in their rookie years. I think it's fools gold to expect Gesicki to dominate. A 4-500 yard and 6-8 TD season would probably be big win honestly. It's going to be a struggle position as far as receiving goes, but our depth and RB and WR should help mitigate.

 

Yep.

I've been saying that we fans need to temper expectations for a year 1 rookie TE you drafted in Round 2. We are setting ourselves uo for disappointment.

 

Considering Tannehill often starts the season slow and takes a couple weeks to warm up, I thought he looked pretty good, especially after being out for 2 seasons.

Come to think of it, this might be the most convincing season opener win for both Tannehill and Gase.

 

I agree. When I've said he'll be huge for our offense, I mean a big catch or two per week and a couple of TD's each month. He needs to be used sparingly until the timing and everything else is there.

 

The INT by RT was inexcusable. Against good teams we won't win doing that. Its something he cannot fix, imo. He's like watching Groundhog Day. It's what Tannehill is. Our mediocrity starts and ends with him. Yes, the OL still stinks, but we knww this, as long as Tunsil is there...there are going to be presnap and holding penalties. But with Tannehill, I don't think we finish better than 8-8.

 

If the QB makes that throw, it won't matter how physical Gisecki is, that pass will still be an INT. That was on RT. That play, imo, sums his career up. Sums up his time in Miami. Do a lot of things right, be decisive, blah, blah, blah, throw an INT in the endzone.

 

What a surprise.

The guys who have never liked Tannehill still don't like Tannehill.

And hang their hat on one play from a game as if it discounts the entire body of work from the game.

I expect Tannehill's numbers to go up as he continues to get comfortable on the field again. Obviously the int in the red zone was bad, but, again, some are putting all the blame on Tannehill. Everyone watching knew where that ball was going, so the play was going to be extremely difficult to make already. It was already going to take a perfect throw. If you're running a play where everything has to be perfect to even have a chance, it's probably the wrong play. Tannehill's throw wasn't great, but Gesicki got manhandled.

 

If RT was a guy who never looked in the mirror or never took responsibility for a bad play or poor throw then I would be more concerned. However, RT recognizes he needs to play better and is working hard to get better, so I don't have a problem with him right now. Nobody is perfect. Everybody left a play or two on the field. We won. We know we have to get better. We are working to get better. I am confident that we will get better. That's all I ask.

 

Just reviewed the Butler interception. That one is definitely on Tannehill. Butler moves away from Gesicki back inside to comfortably collect the ball. Obviously Gesicki should have stayed on his feet but that was just a bad pass.

 

Great post.

Ryan was fine, tale of two halves for the most part. Sloppy conditions and delay's matter.

My only real concern is the 3rd downs.....that needs a lot of work still. Not concerned with the red zone pick, he has proven to be a good red zone QB so that one play doesn't define him.

 

He is doing that. He is working each and every day to get better. Has been now for 7 years. Each and every day. And to this point, it's got us a top 20 QB. Let's hope the work he's doing each and every day will soon elevate that number.

 

He's actually one of the better red zone Qb's in football. Agree the first INT was a bad throw....the second was just weird and he may have just tried to make something out of nothing on 3rd and forever.

 

Red zone should concern you...not just 3rd downs--Still kicking redzone FGs when they should be TDs. Now, of course I KNOW there are "many many others to blame". Because of course there are. You should be concerned with the rz pick. It was atrocious. A better QB doesn't make that play at that time.

Now I know Gesicki is an rookie, and Gase called a bad play, and the CB used to play for NE, and some guy here did some thing there, and some guy there did some thing here, and some other guy some other place did some other thing...its not all Ryan's fault. I get that. I am well versed in all of that. But Ryan STILL made that throw.

 

Throwing an interception is going to happen to all QBs in the NFL. To paint it as anything more then a bad throw on week 1 football is a little silly. Tannehill wasn't as sharp as he could be, but all signs point to him feeling comfortable with the scheme and in control of the offense. This was probably about as draining and miserable of a game environment as you can ask for, and he got us a win. This was the type of game we lose in dramatically awful fashion going back just a few years.

The real light at the end of the tunnel, is that none of our question marks going into the season seemed like train wrecks week 1. It's still early, I still don't think we will know what we have on D until about week 5, but at least the entire team looked like it belonged on the field.

 

Yes, if you look at this QBR it appears that he's not as awful as the results. But the results aren't good. If there is a WR open and he can't hit him because he isn't smart enough to see the guy and make the throw, he either eats the ball or throws it away. We end up with a FG attempt and his QBR isn't adversely affected. While the good teams are scoring TDs in the redzone (or are creating big plays regularly).

 

Naturally it pissed me off and I had 3 hours to marinate on it.

However this is not a habitual flaw in Ryan's game by any means (Red Zone play).

 

How many field goals are a result of stalling inside the red zone, or green zone as some call 10 years in? As I recall, we're generally pretty good 20 yards in.

 

Sometimes, I need to remind myself about how hard it is to win games in the NFL. These guys are so talented that I take their smarts and athleticism for granted. Like Fitzpatrick did for us, Butler did for them. He took advantage and made a great play! It happens. Yes, RT should have made a better pass. Yes, Gase should have called a better play and one that was not so obvious. Yes, Gesicki should not have fell to the ground. It happens. They know it and we know it. The thing for me is will we learn from it? I think so. This isn't a play that any of them will soon forget. I am just happy that this bad play didn't cost us the game or anything. It's a long season. We got a "W". Let's see how we can improve, and it's on to the JETS we go.

P.S. There is a lot to like about what RT did in the Titans game. Did you see those perfect throws to Stills on his two TDs? It doesn't get any better than that. On the deep pass where Stills beat Butler the ball placement is why Stills scored a TD. It was perfect! We didn't win the game despite RT, we won largely because of him. He stayed within himself and managed the game very well. Sure he had a mistake or two, but I would say that's not bad considering this was his first live game in almost two seasons. I am betting that RT will only get better as the season wears on.

 

How about Frank Gore? What a great changeup he's going to be.

 

The good:
Miami was one of only 5 teams that didn't fumble the ball.
The team was also +1 in turnovers at the end of the day having taken it away from Tennessee 3 times.

The Bad:
Tannehill was one of only 7 QBs with multiple INTs.

Have to clean that up.

 

Like I said earlier... Tannehill isn't known for his great early season play, quite the opposite... he takes a few games to get settled into the season, we've seen this over and over in the past.

And so far in Gase's body of work, he's shown to be the type of coach that gets more out of his team as the season goes on, more towards the middle to end of the season.

If all of what I said above continues to be true this season, then expect us to be really good by late October. I thought we were better yesterday than probably any season opener we've ever played with Tannehill or Gase.

 

Yes.

I've harped on that magical, hard to quantify decisiveness regarding Tannehill, but I saw something different that may not be perceptible (or maybe it's only in my head) to most people - I saw Tannehill react with better anticipation and awareness. I came out very excited about Tannehill.

In fact last year, I said I'd like to see Tannehill take more chances and sling it more often, so I have no problem with the INT on the overthrow. I'd rather see him throw a few more INT's this year if it also results in game breaking bombs like the one to Stills.

 

So 25+ teams fumbled this past week? WOW! That seems hard to believe.

edit- I believe you...it's just pretty darn surprising =)

 

Question- when he puts his hand on his head (like, "Neener, neener, neener") and runs down the field with others copying him, how exactly is that not flagged for taunting? I thought that live and forgot about it until watching the replay. I'm pretty sure it's against the rules to make fun of others after an interception.

 

Bad throw by Ryan, but does Gesicki know he has arms and consequently, hands?

Also, "Titan Up"? I don't know if I can take the pun-ishment any longer.

 

I thought he was doing the Fins Up thing to taunt Miami.

 

Thill was thill... couple of nice throws mixed in with his usual ineptitude on money downs not to mention his interceptions that all his fanboys want to explain away.

2-10 (20%) on 3rd downs & 0-1 (0%) on 4th downs and 1-5 (20%) in the Red Zone

 

Same here. Immediately thought of it as taunting. It could easily be missed, or else, perhaps taunting needs to be directed specifically at a player rather than just using a fan symbol/sign?

 

Please find where anybody around here has said RT is a perfect QB and doesn't have anything to work on. Also, I take it your not a fan of RT, so if you would, give us an alternative to Tannehill. Name someone who is available right how that you would play in RT place.

Don't bring up Rosen in the draft, because that's a big if. We don't know for sure what the details were. We might not have been able to trade up for him even if we wanted to, so hearing about why we should have drafted him doesn't count. Name someone available now that we should be playing that will give us a better chance of winning rather than RT.

 

What you need to understand about 75% of the people who hate Tannehill is that they rarely watch the play of other QBs to keep things in perspective and only get their information from Top 10 highlights of the 4-5 QBs who had killer weeks, expecting our QB to match the 400 yards and 4 TDs each game.

Most of these people just think the grass is always greener, like the Matt Moore saga we endured over the last 3 years. There's no pleasing them, and they typically won't be happy with anyone under center. It's just so much easier to blame everything on one guy.

 

“if we try to use him in the framework of our base offense I think he’s going to get manhandled”

My concern about Gesickis lack of physicality was on display..your right Res he got manhandled..

Ryan has to account that this guy is not gonna get a lot of seperation and throw the ball at the apex of his catch radius.

 

Umm.. same could be said for those who like/love Tannehill. Most here don't watch most games.

You know that insider's poll of coaches, GM's, scouts, etc... where Tannehill has consistently been ranked in Tier 3 = "good enough to start but need lots of support, making it tougher to contend at the highest level". Well those guys probably have the best perspective of how everyone plays. Also, stats utilize similar amounts of information for every player and also put Tannehill where those insiders place him.

So if anything, having greater perspective about how everyone else plays seems to put Tannehill at about average level, which is different from BOTH extremes, not just those who hate him.