Good Lord....did that game really just happen? Did Reshad Jones really try to tackle a defender on the sideline, have his helmet violently ripped off, and then get a 15 yard "defenseless receiver" penalty? And on the very next play, did the receiver really grab Howard 20 yards down field with both hands, right in front of the ref, and then earn a PI call for his team?
Two plays, two ridiculous calls and 74 yards later...this was the worst officiating I've ever seen in an NFL game.
Parker catches an amazing pass down the sidelines? No catch. The Raiders receiver scoops the ball off the ground two minutes earlier? Definite catch. Suh gets grabbed by both shoulder pads as Lynch cuts past him at the goal line? No hold. Every play Miami had over 15 yards? Holding, ten yard penalty, repeat 1st down. It was literally the Twilight Zone tonight where the Raiders could do no wrong.
I learned long ago that it's senseless to complain about bad calls- even ones where your players get their heads ripped off and then somehow get flagged for it. But tonight was on an entirely different level of crazy....we had 8 drives killed by penalties that were either minor or non-existent. And the few times Oakland did get a flag, it took Suh getting in the head linesman's face saying, "We did not decline that rare penalty...it's rarer than a rainbow unicorn as it is. Please march their asses back 10 yards out of field goal range."
Suh played a monster of a game tonight- that strip sack could possibly be the play of the year on defense. But it's what happened afterwards, him getting back up and chasing down the play to be involved in the 2nd strip sack.....Suh is a freak of nature. Nobody can say that he doesn't give everything he has for four quarters- he darn near won that rigged game single-handedly.
In fact, the defense looked pretty solid all night long, not counting the 14 points that were handed to the Raiders off of phantom penalties. It was just one of those nights folks.
The stat of the game to me- Cutler was hit twice tonight. Our right tackle played like a true stud shutting down the defensive player of the year Khalil Mack completely...it was a heck of an effort that most people will completely overlook. Cutler stayed upright though and silently had one hell of a night in-between penalties...it was probably his best showing as a Dolphin. It's a shame he didn't get many opportunities to launch the deep ball because our team was moving the ball at will for most of the night.
Now let's talk about Williams and Drake. Williams looked so at ease staying in to block and then releasing for the easy dump off pass....and every single time was for easy positive yardage. Four yards here, eight yards there, it was effortless. Both RB's looked good running the ball as well (besides the Drake fumble) because they were hitting holes and taking what was there....even if it was only for a few yards.
I saw where others are screaming about Ajayi today and guess what- he had zero yards on his last 15 carries in Miami. Drake and Williams were stopped behind the line twice the entire game. Coincidence? Nope...they just did what Gase told them to and hit the open holes. That's what they're paid to do and it kept the offense in good situations tonight...until the refs said otherwise, that is.
Parker and Landry looked sharp tonight as well, although I saw at least 3 plays where PI wasn't called on them. That play where Collinsworth said that the defender timed his hit perfectly when Cutler threw a bullet to Parker at the sticks? The ball was still 3 or 4 yards away when initial contact was made. We just couldn't buy a call tonight....we know because Suh tried.
Although we lost tonight Dol-fans, this is a game to keep your heads up about. Yeah, 5 and 3 would have been a heck of a lot better than 4-4, but our team competed all four quarters tonight and should have stole that victory. It all comes back to the difference of the Raiders punting from their own side of the field with 5 minutes left to back-to-back unbelievable calls for 70+ yards....our team is not good enough to overcome that level of screwing by the officials.
Maybe it was payback for the Alonzo hit last week...the NFL didn't act like it with a tiny 11k fine but darn, they really laid it on us tonight.
I thought Gase called a really smart game to keep Cutler clean and I think Cutler/Williams will become quite the weapon in the weeks to come- it's a dynamic we haven't had in quite some time. I saw nothing but good tonight from our young team despite what the scoreboard said, so I'm just moving on with a smile on my face. **** those ****ing refs for that travesty of a game.
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my thoughts: threw away a win. bad penalties/refs handed oak the game. wtf was the roughing call on Jones, the WR was still inbounds. holding penetalites and the tickytac illegal formation. if not for those penalties, we'd prob win. percent i missed ajayi 0%
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Consider: score is 20-16 in the 3rd quarter, the defense gets a crucial fumble and gives the offense the ball near midfield (Mia 48 yard line) and the offense does what?? 3 and out (technically 4 and out because of a penalty)! Then the defense once again stops the Raiders by forcing their own 3 and out, giving the offense the ball near midfield (Mia 45 yard line) and the offense does what?? Another 3 and out! LOL
The next drive is the Raiders' drive with the bad penalty call. What did Miami's offense ever do to make it seem likely we'd get a TD when needed without that bad call? We had 3 straight "3 and outs" and then 1 drive where we gave up the ball on downs before that last TD. And the Raiders weren't as concerned as before (when it was 20-16) about giving up a TD and 2 point conversion once they went up 27-16 with only 2:20 left in the game. So I don't see that last TD we got as a "given" if the refs don't call a bad penalty.
Can't blame this one on the refs. Offense just couldn't perform when needed.bigballa2102 likes this. -
well at least the offense showed life. Now the defense is struggling. No pass rush. This team lacks talent on both sides of the line
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This loss boils down to two plays:
1) The Drake fumble deep in Raiders territory in the 2nd quarter.
2) The Landry hold that wiped out that huge Williams run in the 4th quarter.
If either of those plays go our way we likely win. Hopefully Drake learns from his mistake going forward. That second one is the most frustrating to me because it seemed Landry's defender was grabbing his facemask also. We had just gotten near the redzone... if that play had held up we'd probably get at least a FG out of that drive, instead we punted.Last edited: Nov 6, 2017KeyFin likes this. -
But while those two plays you've mentioned were clearly huge hits on us, but I think the plays that really hurt us were at the end of hte second half, and at the end of the game. That call on Jones? Pure BS. There's no other way to describe that one. Some have said Howard shouldnt have been flagged, but I'm not as angry with that one, I'd have to see it again.
Either way, we made enough mistakes on our own, but when there were plays we didn't, the officials seemed to try really hard to find some.
Another good example... in the first half, the Raiders DL who rightfully gets flagged for unnecessary roughness for going after one of our guys after being blocked out of the play, then gets up, shoves, and throws two punches are the Miami OL that manhandled him. He's given the penalty, rightfully so, but is allowed to stay in the game after throwing two punches? I mean... come on. Not that I'm saying this is a game changer or anything like that, but it just really goes to show the inconsistency, and how incompetent these officials are. Also, look no further than some of the highlights from some of the other games this weekend where "fights" broke out. Officiating is just in an awful state across the league right now. You should expect differences from crew to crew, no doubt, but the gap in consistency between them, and from game to game with even the same crews, is pretty large. It's a shame. -
Play calling and clock management still looks like ****. Gase is balless! 3rd and long draw play when Cutler and Parker are hot...WTF! 2 mins left in the half with 3 time outs and Gase is playing for a damn field goal. That crap is a joke. Reminds me of Tony S. We should have won this one.
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I think you have to have a qb and a line to fully eval him. They were kind of rolling until the AZ game last year -
The problem with Miami D is that everyone knows we don't blitz and when we do its jones off the end. Suh is constantly double teamed and last night wake was constantly chipped (great coaching) nothing those guys can do with that happening so why not help them out and send Alanzo, or someone through the A gap. The zone defense is so suspect its not even funny I cant believe all night Cook was wide open all night 9 targets 8 catches for 126 is unreal for him lol if Crabtree or cooper don't get pizza fingers and drop 2 passes this could have gotten outta hand. Ajayi was not the problem the running game showed the saem it did with him we still managed our measly 80 yards a game on the ground. cutler cant throw the ball down the field, and I have no idea why he is falling away on his throws and gase has to see this its getting apparent the guy is trying to make his money and not get hurt he doesn't step into throws he throws it to the first option every time no matter what. im trying to find a video of it when he hit landry across the middle he had still doing a post route in the middle as well about 15 yards farther down field buck naked open and didn't see him. Im tired of GAse hat can someone run by and knock it off!!dolphin25 likes this. -
another thing is, is if you look at the stats that game was so even its scary, and we got an onside lol I just don't think this team has it, I don't know what "it" is but its very painful to watch.
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I hope the Gase haters realize, he backed up what he said about the problem with the offense.
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looking at the remaining schedule, I can see the season crumbling to 4-12.If we end up that bad , Gase should go. Couldn't believe the run play on 3rd and 22 last night. I could have called it better than that
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That receiver should have been ejected for that play on Jones...we're lucky Reshad isn't in the hospital right now. It's inconceivable how they could have called a flag on Miami there- and then the PI with the receiver clearly grabbing Howard and holding him right in front of the official on the very next play. As I said earlier, that's the worst officiating I've ever seen in this league in any game...you can't get much more rigged. -
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap30...fls-most-least-balanced-offensive-playcallers
Makes me wonder if he had a philosophical discussion with the Seahawks during that SB they lost.bigballa2102 likes this. -
Ajayi is talented as hell, but he was also a cancer. I don't see how you casually say, "Oh, we only ran for 80 yards...." when Ajayi had zero yards on his last 15 in Miami and he was averaging 2.3 yards on the season. Suddenly Drake, a much inferior player, averages 8.0 yards per carry and that doesn't raise any eyebrows? Dumping Ajayi was a smart move.ripper1961 likes this. -
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Ajayi averaged 9.625 YPC in a committee and had a rushing TD against DENVER, the 6th ranked rushing defense in the league. -
The narrative on this site, all of a sudden, is our running game is better without Ajayi. It’s not. We can’t run the ball, not even against one of the worst defenses.bigballa2102 likes this. -
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