Well, Miami is 5-5 and currently holds the 7th spot in the AFC playoffs. Given the way they've played this year, 5-5 is exactly right. Miami's about as close to being 6-2 as they are to 2-6. The next 3 games are absolutely critical if Miami is to hold onto some playoff hope. I mean, at this point, every game is critical for Miami's playoff hope. I'll spare any personal narrative for this thread and just get straight into it. This week, we're back to "Good", "Bad", and "Bizarre".

Good:
- Usually I start off with something on offense and work my way into the defense, but this is something I think is very good. How's this for a quick stat? For the first time since week one of this year, Miami held it's opponent under 20 points. Let that sink in for a while.
- Ryan Tannehill is pretty good. He's been basically the entire offense for the better part of this season. Yes, he made a bonehead play by going out of bounds in the 4th quarter. I think he'll learn. You could see him mouthing "Sh!t" on the sidelines immediately after; he knew he screwed the pooch there. There's still 2-3 plays a game that make me scratch my head, but this kid is pretty damn good. For the terrible receivers he dealt with in 2012 to the terrible offensive line and coaching he's dealt with and is still dealing with this year, this kid has gone out and won games. And he's getting better.
- Daniel Thomas has a pulse. One of his better efforts. Ever.
- Rishard Matthews might be my favorite receiver on the team. I think he and Brandon Gibson, provided he fully recovers, have brighter futures on this team moving forward than Mike Wallace or Brian Hartline.
- Charles Clay had a pretty nice game today.
- I'm not really sure what to make of the O-line. It wasn't pretty, not that O-line play typically is, but they did fairly well today. Part of that is due to San Diego having absolutely no capable pass-rushers whatsoever, but for a makeshift unit, that was respectable. That said, I'm still scared about Carolina's defense.
- Randy Starks needs to be re-signed. I don't care what scheme Miami plays, who the coaches are, who the general manager is, this man is the best DT Miami has, and he's the best by a pretty wide margin.
- Jared Odrick had some nice moments.
- Dion Jordan might have more impact that hasn't shown up in the stat sheet than any defensive rookie I can recall. He's going to be good.
- Chris Clemons had his standard performance.
- Brent Grimes had his best game as a Dolphin today.
- Caleb Sturgis was shaky, but shaky worked today.

Bad:
- Ryan Tannehill running out of bounds in the 4th quarter deserves mention here. It was THAT bad.
- Lamar Miller didn't have a very good game today running the ball. He should study some tape of Clinton Portis and Jamaal Charles this offseason. If he can mix those two together, that'd be what I'm looking for out of him.
- Brian Hartline deserves mention here. He had some good moments. He had some really poor moments.
- Bryant McKinnie probably had his roughest day today. I'm not sure if that's got something to do with playing next to Sam Brenner, but I've got him for two of the three sacks (Tannehill running out of bounds was 4). One was a missed assignment, one was him getting beat 1-on-1.
- Olivier Vernon had a big sack late on the last drive. D.J. Fluker pretty much beat the crap out of him up until that point.
- It's a double-edge sword here. For only the second time in 10 games, Miami's defense held someone under 20 points. Kevin Coyle's scheme is horrid. You all know I think that and I've said it every week since the Atlanta game. It is what it is at this point I guess. Here's to hoping he's long gone next year. I mean seriously, how do you not try and incorporate Dion Jordan more? If anything, he better receive more snaps based on OV's lacking performance today. I will say, Dion Jordan did see a few reps at OLB today. To quote Jerrell Root, "It gives me a chubby."
- Nolan Carroll was pretty bad today. I mean seriously, give that guy two hooks instead of hands. Maybe he can stab the ball out of midair.
- Reshad Jones. Woof. I'm not sure what else to say. He's not been used the same way as last year...but that doesn't excuse his play.

Bizarre:
- Isn't it bizarre if you hold someone under 20 points, you most likely win in the NFL?
- It's very bizarre how Miami used Sam Brenner and Danny Watkins today. Jim Turner is a bizarre individual and I'm a little frightened at what kind of grotesque reports we'll hear about after he's interviewed by Ted Wells.
- It's bizarre the more Dion Jordan gets on the field, the less time opposing quarterbacks have to throw. Imagine if he were lined up opposite Cameron Wake on a regular basis.
- It's bizarre that Miami actually came out well today.
- I found it bizarre that that many people were in attendance today.
- Tweet from Jeff Darlington during pregame warmups: "Dark Poetry, Jeff Ireland walks by Darius "Dolphins Make Me Cry" Rucker on field while #Fireland Banner flies overhead." Dolphins football baby.

 

Strongly disagree. His run support against the Bengals was putrid. He didn't miss opportunities today. He also gave up few completions and yards against by my count today than he did against Cincinnati. The game-saving knockdown was very impressive. Probably the most impressive INT I've seen a Dolphin player make since Vontae Davis intercepting Mark Sanchez on a 2pt conversion back in 2009.

 

He also threw a laser to Brian Hartline who was falling down (no surprise) as he was trying to catch, and he got his own arm caught. I'm not sure if it's Tannehill's deep ball per se, or merely a severe lack in chemistry between he and Wallace.

Yeah, it needs improvement, but I'm not sure it's as all around bad as it seems.

 

An Andy Dalton misfire for a pick-6 isn't all that impressive when you've seen Andy Dalton play. Again, today was his best game. Great, all around, complete game today.

 

It was. San Diego spent the day running it at Olivier Vernon - away from Grimes' typical side. Grimes today, was better than he was against the Bengals.

 

Clearly you haven't seen as much Andy Dalton as I have.

 

Thanks Rocky. All is well. Most of the heavy stuff went either north or south of the city; I live about 10 miles north of downtown and most of it was well north of me. Never heard thunder or saw lightning, just a lot of rain.

 

Side note, but this Broncos vs. Chiefs game is pretty good so far. I envision Miami playing Cameron Wake and Dion Jordan like the Chiefs play Justin Houston and Tamba Hali. A man can dream, right?

 

Shhhhh...

 

- You and maynard both raise a very salient point about Tannehill sliding and staying in bounds. That was very heady. But it goes back to those head-scratching decisions; if he does it once, why didn't he do it again? I think he knows he messed up and will learn. The more he uses his legs, the better. I don't mean this to slight Tannehill, but I think I've seen several posters (CK, DJ, FinD, maybe a few others) equate Tannehill to Jake Plummer in Denver. I think he could be like Jay Cutler under Shanahan. Move him around, get him an O-line and a running game, and I bet he takes off.

- I'll withhold comments on the protection. Tampa Bay got pressure when they needed it. San Diego didn't have anyone who could rush. Carolina, however, has a lot of talent in that front 7. Maybe the best 4-3 front 7 in the NFL. We'll see how they handle it.

- I like Dannell Ellerbe. I think he's misused in this scheme and he'd be a better fit as a "Moe" LB in a 3-4, like he was in Baltimore. He was good today, better than the past two weeks certainly.

 

He's beaten up on weaker teams. Going into this year Dalton was 17-4 against non-playoff teams and 2-11 against playoff teams. Watch his games from this year against Cleveland, Baltimore, Miami. Watch his games against Baltimore and Pittsburgh last year and 2011. Tell me if you like what you see.