I think at this point, you can pretty cleanly come up with a eulogy for this season. This is a team with talent, upside, effort, and coaching, but not enough to consistently make up for a rookie quarterback and its own mistakes. I'm almost tempted to add victim of conspiracy to the aforementioned statement. At this point I'm almost suspicious Joe Philbin got drunk and showed his dick to the competition committee at some point. Not an awful game, but I think the evil Ryan Tannehill showed up this week. He had some decent drives, and I like that he has gone back to taking off and running, but his accuracy was not good this week. It wasn't just the missed long-balls, either. I think Mike Sherman deserves credit for restructuring the running game around plays Bush will be more successful on. He's seemingly gone outside his playbook to try and get Reggie Bush going again. This week it was Center pulls and letting Bush go crazy on breaking this off-tackle. Brian Hartline very easily could have had a monster game with a little bit better accuracy on those deep passes. He had the cornerback cleanly beaten on a couple of plays. Charles Clay didn't have a big game, but this is now I think three straight games he's had his head out of his ***. He threw a real nice block on Jerod Mayo at one point, too. Jonathan Martin had a pretty good game at left tackle this week. Rob Ninkovich is hardly a pass rushing dynamo, but this is two good weeks in a row for him. I'm not sure if Jake Long just ended his career as a Dolphin, or made it easier to get him re-signed. Nate Garner...es no bueno. He's not awful, but life is hard when he's your swing tackle. I'd rather they shuffle things around and get John Jerry out there. I never got the sense that Mike Nolan was ever putting the defense in a position to be "in" a game with the Patriots. I didn't have that problem with Kevin Coyle today. There were a couple motion issues, and Kevin Burnett didn't seem like he was able to handle Aaron Hernandez consistently, but I was pretty happy with the gameplan today. Defense had I think a quite good game for like 85%, but that last Patriots drive was ****ing killer. Having the Patriots run game dead in the water for almost the entire game, and then letting them drive the length of the field for a game icing field goal with two pass plays was brutal. Kevin Burnett seems like he's either lock-down in coverage, or having a rough day. Today was the latter, which is something we've not seen much of this year. Olivier Vernon seems to be more and more linebacker as the year goes on. At the end of the day, I'm not unhappy with the defensive backfield. They fielded cornerbacks that went through camp respectively as the #4, as a back-up safety, and not on the field, and did a good job. Reshad Jones is the best player on the defense behind Cameron Wake this year, and deserves to go to the Pro Bowl. The guy is kicking *** in all areas of play. He had 10 tackles, a sack, another hit, a tackle for a loss, and an interception today. I like Darren Rizzi, and think he's a good coach, but I'm not sure if Special Teams has won us or lost us more games this year.
That drive illustrated the difference between the two teams. The Pats simply turned it on at will there, and we were unable to match that.
I think the other pertinent question is if the Dolphins ****ed up or were unlucky with the state of their need to rotate- Cameron Wake and Paul Soliai weren't on the field for most of that series.
The offense wasn't getting much going and didn't give the defense much of a breather. I think they were just gassed.
Strange that Kheeston Randall was inactive today. That's the first time all season he's in inactive to my knowledge. I don't think he was injured or even listed on the injury report all week either.
Defense did a real good job of keeping us in this game today with the amount of time they were on the field. Reshad Jones has become a player I love to root for on Defense. Always around the ball, very physical, and for all the talk about 40 times is actually fast....in pads. You could throw out Clemons' 40 time of 4.3 all you want. When they strap on the pads, Clemons looks like a snail next to Jones on the field. Tannehill was just awful today. His worst game, IMO, because today unlike the Buffalo or Tennesse game he actually had a running game that performed relatively well and a defense that made Tom Brady look just average. This game is easy to point to and say "Today it was on the QB, not the talent." I thought Martin looked good at LT today. I'm curious what the future holds for us with Jake Long. Very curious. The running game actually improved with Long out. I completely think this is more coincidental than anything, but it happened nonetheless. and it could be evidence to point to when making the decision whether or not to sign him. Reggie Bush still doing his crap behind the LOS....killing drives when he should just be getting a yard or 2. Someone needs to sit him down and dictate the monumental difference between 2nd and 12 and 2nd and 8. In my 20+ years of watching this team, I have never consistently seen this many calls/non-calls go against them. Just when you think that it has to stop this week, it continues. 3rd week in a row Special Teams has made costly errors. What happened to the unit from the 1st half of the season? Daniel Thomas's mental lapse cost us a possible 4 points when he failed to pick up the blitzer and instead double teamed the RE along with Martin. All in all, we still had a chance to win this game. With better play and accuracy from our QB and better execution on about a handful of plays, especially the two punts (fumble, and roughing the kicker), I think we would've been in very good position to win. It all starts with Tannehill. His progress is the #1 factor in this team's future success. But that certainly doesn't mean we don't need immediate upgrades this offseason at LG and a 3rd WR option. Incognito is at the point where he's a complete liability on the field. And unlike Martin, he's not getting better.
I can't believe you blame RT when the D gave away the fourth quarter and all those third and long. The D was mediocre at best and didn't get done when they had to.
mostly agree with the OP. Although he's not mentioning Anthony Fasano anymore. Jake Long? I"m with you... I'm more unsure of whether he's going to be back next year after this game and injury than I was before. One thing is becoming more and more clear, he won't be signing a long term deal anytime soon. So, we'll either franchise tag him or let him walk and receive at most a third round pick as compensation. If we franchise tag him at least that leaves the possibility of trading him for more than a third round pick. Do think Martin has looked fairly decent lately. He seems better suited for left tackle. It just looks natural to him in his pass protection. We've got the 49ers next week and Aldon Smith. Lets see how he fairs against him... Yeah Garner at Right tackle is just really really bad. I do think Jerry could play there. I think we could move Pouncey to right guard and see what Samuda can bring at center. I'd also like to see Yeatman come in and play some tackle as well, left or right. I think he could be the future. I'm going to continue to pound my chest about Reshad Jones. I was one of a few that liked the draft pick and said he'd be a stud for us. Even in his early struggles I never gave up and called for him to be released. If there's one good thing to come out of this season and our secondary it's that we have one of the safety positions locked up. #20 can ball. If not for the refs, I think we could have won this game today.
I think it's clearly obvious that we need a speed WR on the outside regardless of the 2 times Hartline got deep today. We have far,far too many 3yd passes and Tannyhill's accuracy was really poor. Defenses do not respect our passing game more than 10 yards down the field and when our QB is inaccurate as he was today...it really does present a problem.
I really have a hard time calling our defense mediocre. THe new England patriots have scored 190 points over the last 4 games. 1-9-0 points! 3 of those games were against good defenses. our defense held them to 23 points, which isn't that bad considering Fields gave them the #$!@# ball on our own 10 yard line to start the game. so, besides that gimme TD, we gave up one more TD to arguably the #1 offense in the NFL right now.
And if you do just a little bit of research on how this team has performed in comparison to teams with rookie QBs who have played similarly, it's real easy to say that about the whole season. It's only when you want to preserve some fantasy that Tannehill could somehow perform unlike a typical rookie QB this year that you blame other factors for his performance.
Just a few points: - Tannehill's "inner clock" needs a new battery. His feel for the pass rush is absolutely atrocious at times, and he really looks to bail (either throwing it too early causing a mishap throw, or flushing out of the pocket) early when he does sense the rush. I also am not a fan of the fact that he nearly ALWAYS flushes outward when there is an opportunity to slide back into the pocket allowing for an entire field of play rather than cutting out 2/3 of it when he runs toward the sidelines. Until he becomes more comfortable in the pocket, expect more of the same. In his defense, some of the offensive lineman play restaurant host a few times a game; "Seat with Ryan Tannehill, Mr. Ninkovich?". Not looking forward to Aldon Smith.... - I was wondering the same thing regarding Long, Disgustipate. I am just not feeling him this year. And really, I did not feel him last year, either. I hear color commentator after color commentator regard him as one of the best LTs in the league. He is getting by on namesake only. I am just not sure what you do with him? Do you slide him to RT and have a solid backup LT? How much would he cost? Long has always been susceptible to fast edge rushers, but he has looked very bad at times getting beat inside because he does not want to get beat outside. I really like Long, and wonder if, other than injury, something else is going on? Maybe something personal that is leaking into his football life?
Calling for that punt block was a flat out HORRIBLE decision. You take the 3 and out against the Patriots everyday of the week and twice on Sunday. I think I heard the CBS crew say they had gone 3 and out 12 times ALL YEAR, you take the 3 and out and run to the bank, don't get greedy. Yes, we are getting ****ed by the officials so much this year it no longer phases me. I don't like to blame losses on officiating because over a span of time it tends to even out but even my faith in the impartiality of the officials is being shaken. Every week we seem to have at least a few plays that are just killer. It's like a routine now. The pass interference call on Dansby was total crap. The ball was totally uncatchable. Edelman got away with an All Pro push off, no call. On a positive note, Cam Wake was only held about a half dozen times today without a call...progress I guess. Speaking of Karlos Dansby, he makes far too much money to be "a guy". I cut him and his cap number in the offseason. And I move Koa Misi to the middle. He played a man's game today. Speaking of man, Reshad Jones is one. He's also a Pro Bowler. Jon Martin played well. Aldon Smith is waiting on deck though. Ryan Tannehill was terrible today. He had chances but was inaccurate all day. Our pass protection was still shaky. We need an explosive player on offense and no, I don't think Reggie Bush is that guy. I want a home run hitter. It feels like everything we do is.....so...............................difficult. We need speed. We need a guy that has a nose for the endzone and knows how to finish plays. No one on this roster can do that. I think Jake Long played his last game in a Dolphin uniform.
Good post but 2 disagreements. Number one, I liked the punt block call. You need to be aggressive against a team like NE. It nearly worked, too. Number 2, I wouldn't cut Dansby just yet. Cutting him next season would actually cost you salary, I believe. And he's still a good player. It wouldn't make sense to cut him and add another need to the team.
Karlos Dansby is overpaid, but again...welcome to big money free agency. Very rarely do you end up signing a player to a contract directly commiserate to how good they are. In the grand scheme of things, Karlos Dansby is a success as a free agent signing. He's playing about 80% of his contract, which is pretty efficient in its context. They should keep their eyes open to replace him, but I think it's a bit easier said than done. You need a linebacker big enough to not get destroyed in the run game sugaring the A-gaps, but athletic enough to get back in coverage. It's not an easy find, and I'm not even sure Koa Misi could stay on the field in Nickel packages much less do that.
Right. I agree with you. But I'm not going to pin the Buffalo game soley or mostly on him. Not when the running game couldn't get 2.0 YPC. Today the running game was working, WRs were open, and the offense still sputtered. That's on the QB.
Right, but I think you have to leave room for the fact that when you're playing a rookie QB, and defenses don't have to respect his ability a whole lot, other aspects of the offense are going to suffer on a routine basis. In other words, the ability of the QB opens up the opportunities for the rest of the offense, not just the other way around.
Special teams might have won the last game against the Jets but they helped lose this one against the Pats. Fields dropped a punt at the 12 yd line and Wilson nailing the kicker for a 15 yd penalty and a fresh first down for Brady. Without out those two blunders it might have been a very good game even with Tannehill not throwing on target.
NE won w/o their best receiver/TE (Gronkowski); Offensive Lineman (Mankins); D Lineman (Jones). They also lost Edelman and WE still could not win? Are you Fn kidding me!??!?!!?
Logan Mankins hasn't been a great player for a couple years now, to be fair. Gronkowski was a legitimate loss for them. Julian Edelman is not a good enough receiver to even mention.
and yet the Pats were favored by NINE on the road... apparently the oddsmakers are idiots right? (well, we did cover ) who knew Vince Wilfork wasn't their best defensive lineman? 12 pro bowls say otherwise.
That's kind of a backwards argument. The oddsmakers favored the Pats by 7.5 points because they knew that even despite all the things going against New England in this game, Miami would still botch it. It's right to question why Miami shouldn't have had a better chance in this game. Nobody in an organization having lost 10 games in a season sleeps better at night knowing that they weren't really favored by Vegas to win those games anyway.
The Cardinals, Ravens and Seahawks didn't find them so insurmountable. Hell even the Jets took them to overtime and lost by a field goal. With Mark Sanchez at QB. People have to separate their powers of evaluation from their fandom. Just because we can easily predict this loss to a good team, doesn't mean the fans in us have to accept it. The fans in us should very well be asking the question, "Why not us?". And every player, coach and front office man in that organization should be asking the same thing. Why weren't we the ones favored? Why didn't we win?
So literal. Look I have their D on my fantasy team and Edelman (Sp. Teams) is deadly. Worth mentioning or not. And not D lineman but pass rusher. All they have is Jones basically. How the F do we let Welker catch 12 passes? Really?!?!?!?!? So Russell Wilson and his steroided out CBs can beat them and we cannot?!?!?! Blasphemy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My worry is the next time we play NE they have all those players back and then whats the score? 49-3?
We also made a **** load of mistakes yesterday and the refs certainly didn't help our cause (as uuuuuge). If we had played better we very easily could have won that game yesterday.
