First off, let me start by saying, "Holy ****...we won???"
Today we got a ton of help by the refs, the defense, Atlanta making stupid penalties and most of all, Jay Ajayi. The J-train is simply incredible the way he plays with so much explosiveness on virtually every down...it is so very refreshing to see him take control in the 4th quarter.
Make no mistake though, this was also Cutler's game today. He came out looking sharp, moved us down the field and....got picked off. Next drive, he moved us down the field and had some drops, but the big thing was that Gase wasn't throwing screen passes or limiting what Cutler was doing. Even in the first half, we were challenging the field vertically and it made all the difference in the world.
Not that Gase didn't have his bone-headed moments....several of today's drives were stalled because we would run on 1st and 2nd down. For instance, with three minutes left in the game, 9 in the box and everything on the line, we sent Ajayi straight up the middle twice in a row. Stupid....especially since we had Grant in press man coverage on 1st down.
That ALMOST cost us the game...but it didn't because Cutler made up for it time and time again with great clutch throws.
I'll save the complaints for another day though because it was an awesome 2nd half and great play calling overall- the TD pass to Landry was genius! Ajayi was also a true stud all day long and this was a MASSIVE LEAP for our offense. Pay no attention to the 20 points part...this was the first time all year we actually attacked the field and we did it without Parker.
Also, the defense is legit this year folks. The play by Tankersley to win the game was beautiful...I was waiting for that pick the entire drive since Atlanta got greedy. That's a super high powered offense and we completely shut it down in the 2nd half, partially thanks to some long drives of our own. But even in the first half our D was great! What a difference Jones being on the field makes for our team...the man is everywhere.
Folks, if this Miami Dolphins shows up every week, there's not a team we can't beat moving forward. It's all on Smokin' Jay's shoulders now....hopefully he's feeling good in the locker room right now and has some serious conversations with Gase on how to run this offense moving forward. While he wasn't perfect by a long run, that's the exact skill/tempo we need to make it a long way this season.
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It's a gut check win assisted by some really bad Falcon penalties. I'll take it.
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A few thoughts (JMO)
I'm not really in the we have a dominant defense dept. But going into the game was mostly focused on the DB's play.
Have to say they did better than expected not great but much more decent than I've seen from them in the previous games ( Ryan 24 for 35 ). And improvement was really all I was looking for and they were improved.
Shout out to Timmons, what a nice pickup he's becoming...
Cutler did what he had to do but his lack of accuracy at times was real disappointing. Also think that the WR's dropped a few they should have caught. Lack of improvement and the continuation of inaccuracies like we saw today would be legitimate reason to possibly give one of the other guys a try, but we ain't going anywhere this year to fret over it.
OL showed some improvement but still an area of most concern IMO. Looks like Pouncey will be out for awhile again (concussion?)...we will need a reliable C in the future. Pouncey is great usually but health a major problem, if hes not on the field he's not really doing us any good (and $$$$).
Its funny the first half was hard to watch and the second half beautiful, oh ya thanks to a couple of penalties at just the right times....
Gase ? Feeling that I'm tired of on the job training and wish we had a good old successful veteran for HC who's been here and done that, though I do think in time, (1-2 more years) Gase will be much better but now have my doubts and think of that saying its better to be lucky than good. But I know because of the win people will be back on his ban wagon but sitting very near the edge...KeyFin likes this. -
There’s no way you can say we got “helped” but the refs here Key...
The DPI was a foul. Seemed more like holding than PI though. And the hit to cutler had to be called.
That’s not getting help. That’s them doing their jobs.
Help is when we get the benefit of questionable calls. Neither of those were questionable to me.Pandarilla, Irishman, The_Dark_Knight and 4 others like this. -
The Falcons beat themselves on those two plays. We could've been down a lot more without them. Alas, the Phins took what was given to them.Dolphin North and KeyFin like this.
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Here's how I see it...there was holding, PI or illegal contact on just about every pass thrown today. We got called on the PI with Tank in the 1st quarter where the receiver pushed off 15 yards down field. Tank did grab the guy, definitely a penalty, but that's the only time it was called the entire game. Three plays later when we had the ball, the exact same thing happened to Landry....the guy was laying on him...no flag. Next down, same exact thing...no flag. That's life in the NFL though, the refs call whatever the heck they want to call and it's rarely consistent.
You're right, the flags we got were legit penalties on Atlanta. But so were the fifty no-call penalties that they missed/ignored as well. They'll call that hit on Cutler every time but the rest of it, I always appreciate the refs when they happen to notice. =)brandon27 likes this. -
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Cutler's final numbers .....
19-for-33 (57.6%)
151 yards
4.6 Y/A
2 TD's
1 INT
76.7 rating
To sum up his performance today, I'd call it "opportunistic". When your defense is playing aggressive and the run game is putting up 4.5 ypc (26 carries - 130 yards for Ajayi) you'd think that YPA would nearly double. Alas the passing offense is still playing very tight and Gase's leash around Cutler is clearly visible.
To Cutler's credit he converted key 3rd and 4th downs in the second half, as well as a beautifully scripted TD pass to Landry that saw him all alone on the left side. That play call by Gase caught Atlanta with their pants around their ankles.
The Falcons didn't do themselves any favors committing senseless penalties on two gifts Cutler laid out there which could've had the Dolphins could've down 24-0 at one point. His footwork continues to be deplorable with all of this ad-libbing, back peddling, and jump/hop throws. The drops aren't going to stop unless that does, which is unlikely.
The offense showing yet again that its survival sits squarely on the shoulders of Ajayi and the running game.Last edited: Oct 15, 2017MikeHoncho, Puka-head and KeyFin like this. -
I agree with everything you said BUUUUTTTTT (big but there) we don't need the next Joe Montana with the way our defense is playing. Twenty-one points per game would have us at 5-0 right now, and I really think that's a legitimate goal for the season....get this offense to where they can score 21 consistently.
On those first three drives of the day, Cutler came out throwing well and moved the sticks with the help of Ajayi and company. What killed all three drives though was that two TE formation with a single back and one WR split out to the side- everyone in Atlanta knew Ajayi was running up the middle there and it's why I counted an average of 8 in the box on those plays. Yes, I actually paused the TV and paused it on those wasted downs pre-snap to make sure I wasn't missing something...there was nowhere to run except with a sweep. And if I know it at home, Atlanta definitely knew it too (hence, 8 in the box).
I also counted 4 Landry drops so it's not like it's all Cutler here, which I think is actually good news since there's lots of areas for improvement. Like I said though, those first three drives were all Gase...getting to the opponent's 40 and lining up in power running formations is not the way to go.
Again though, it's all good news since Gase, Landry, Ajayi and Cutler can all make adjustments and come out stronger next week. With an all-time low bar of 21 points being the goal here, it's hard not to feel good about our chances going into next week against the shockingly hot Jets. What a difference a week makes!Irishman likes this. -
Defnately a legit D this year, and will only get better throughout the season. Lets just hope the offense doesnt handicap them and they can play efficiently.
The Rev likes this. -
Not sure I like hearing this, but reinforces my earlier comment about this offense still seemingly trying its best to hide Cutler for the most part.
Pandarilla, MikeHoncho and gilv13 like this. -
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It looks to me like Gase doesn't trust Cutler with the ball. When we were down in filed goal range he kept giving it to Ajayi instead of trying for 7. If Jones doesn't get that pick the game would have most likely went to OT. I think if he loosens the leash a little and we have some success teams wont stack the box so much and the run game would be better. If they get the Offense figured out with this D they could be scary.KeyFin likes this.
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I think Matt Burke is holding this team together. Gase needs to send him a fruitcake or something.
I still see remnants of the same problems. We are going crazy long periods of time without scoring points. There is enough talent on this team that we should not scoreless in any half.
I'm hoping Larson returns sooner than later.
Adam Gase probably owes Matt Burke multiple fruitcakes. He prolly owes him an orchard of some sort. -
There is definitely a direct correlation to the defense playing well and better LB personnel.
Irishman, SocaCasualuk and KeyFin like this. -
Immediate Reactions
The offense still has issues they have to fix, but it was a win over one of the top teams in the league. Jay Cutler was 19-for-33 for 151 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. He finished the game with a 76.7 passer rating, which should not be good enough to win the league, but the Dolphins are starting to realize their identity is not Cutler or the passing game.
It’s Jay Ajayi. Head coach Adam Gase fed Ajayi on Sunday, and the running back responded with 130 yards on 26 carries, a 5.0 yards per attempt average.
Jarvis Landry continues to rack up receptions, adding eight on Sunday for 62 yards, with a touchdown. Kenny Stills added another touchdown on one of his four receptions, gaining a total of 49 yards.
The defense continues to look like it is ready to become an elite unit, with two more sacks, one from Ndamukong Suh and one from Cameron Wake on the day. Reshad Jones recorded the interception - off a Cordrea Tankersley pass breakup - that cemented the game, the first interception of the season for Miami. The Falcons gained exactly 100 yards on the ground against Miami, with 239 yards per game. Atlanta entered the game seventh in the league in passing offense, averaging 262.5 per game, and eighth in rushing offense with 125.8 per game.
There are things that have to be fixed - especially Cutler’s mechanics - but today, we are going to celebrate the Dolphins coming away with an upset win in Atlanta.
https://www.thephinsider.com/2017/1...t-falcons-final-score-and-immediate-reactions
I think Gase has realized that signing Cutler wasn't going to be the Golden Goose he had hoped it would be and the only way to set up any success in the passing game is feeding the ball to Ajayi to loosen up defenses.
Miami's offensive success lies on the shoulders of the J-Train. -
That drove me crazy in field goal range with 3 minutes left....clear running formation with only 1 receiver on 1st down and 2 receivers on 2nd. While I realize it was Ajayi who got us there in the first place, there was no reason to choreograph our intentions like that. We also had Grant covered 1:1 on first down with the CB at the LOS and NOBODY else on the field past five yards....Cutler has to be able to recognize those golden opportunities, call an audible and lob the easy TD. Grant literally had the entire field to work with....that's one place where RT shines and it's really missed this season.
I agree with you though- there's not a whole lot of faith on Gase's part.Colmax likes this. -
Footwork. Footwork. Footwork.
This absolutely needs to be addressed by the coaching staff as it breeds inconsistency with Cutler's throws. That INT when Miami was pushing for what looked like a score cannot happen anymore. Like, anymore. He's had a couple of those this season.
Batted balls. There were a few there. Some of those might not fall our way in the future.
And for the life of me, why in the hell does Cutler duck his head, bail out, and look like he's running for his life when no one is around???
Firstly, it looks like he's in high school. And secondly, it prevents his eyes from being downfield. It's a frustrating thing to watch. He's so gun shy back there. He looked a lot more poised in the preseason to the point where I thought Miami would be okay on offense. They're not with the exception of Ajayi.
I've officially given up hope that Cutler will become a QB who can manage this offense without having hiccups. The D will have to continue to battle and keep these games close.
Ajayi had a solid game. Tough to bring down, but I do think he could've gotten a tad more rest in the game. I hope he doesn't flail down the stretch. I would have like to have seen Drake in there later in the game on an outside run. Their D was spent!
TOP at 34 minutes and change, with Miami holding the ball for 13 minutes in the 3rd Quarter. That's just awesome. I love seeing opposing defenses tire out at the end of games.
STs is consistent. Very underrated.
Defense, which had some struggles earlier in the year are starting to come into their own. Pressure is there. The tackling is much better. Burke has really put together a solid unit that plays hard.
For the most part, it's sound football with some flash plays here and there. Kiko and Timmons working really well. I hope to see more turnovers in the future.
Miami is a tough squad. As lackluster as the offense looks, it can only get better. I'm confident it will start looking somewhat better, but regardless of playcalling, it really hinges on Cutler's play. He needs to become much more consistent.
I hope he does. Then Miami will be a team people don't overlook on their schedules. -
Puka-head My2nd Fav team:___vs Jets Club Member
The OL played together and kept Cutler up for the most part. I was afraid Cutler was going to fold after that big hit but it seemed to light him up a bit.
Big difference I think was the team having a full normal week of practice. They haven't had that yet this year and Cutler has had less than 25 practices with his new team. Couple of home games in a row and we might be on to something around here. -
Even a broken clock has the right time twice a day. A on-the-road win from a 17 point deficit against one of the best teams in the NFL is very impressive. But it'll take more than one game to convince me about Cutler. I think the D is legit, tho.
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I'm not at all convinced Cutler is the right choice even after today, and I still think Moore should have replaced him several games ago (dare I say we might even be 4-1 instead of 3-2 had that happened?). We got lucky today with the Falcons defense committing key penalties when it counted.
Still.. a win's a win and this gives Cutler some more time to work with the receivers. He still throws too many passes that are only technically on target though – they hit the hands but are low percentage catches. In any case as most people have already noticed, our defense is legit and it would be a shame to waste this season with a league-worst offense (only 12.2 ppg on offense LOL).Puka-head and Rock Sexton like this. -
I just saw on the news that Kiko is still carrying Taylor Gabriel around, no word on when he set the young man free.
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I can't say this enough- we don't need Cutler to be good. We just need him to be good enough. That's exactly what he was today without a first down to spare. Just remember, he doesn't have to grow on you because he's only going to be around for 11 more games...plus maybe a few playoff games. After that it's back to retirement.
Side note- did any of you catch Tannehill throwing the ball on the sidelines in pre-game warmup? He wasn't zipping the ball or moving very much but still....I think that's major good news. They say that he's WAY ahead of schedule with his rehab and I'm going to call it now- he's pushing himself for the possibility of football in January.
It's way too early to have that conversation, of course, but keep it in the back of your mind as he piddles around the practice fields in the weeks to come. -
Puka-head My2nd Fav team:___vs Jets Club Member
I saw the end of that. Anybody able to post the whole play???
Never seen that on the field before. Woulda been seriously HI-Larry-US if he woulda smacked his arse a few times.
Love Kiko, even if he had to bring his fat friend Byron along. -
In the past this team would have slammed him and we would have been penalized
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Kiko came in late and popped the guy as the whistle blew. If he would have slammed him then it would have been a penalty, so he instead just lifted him up and took him for a stroll down the field. Why he ran with him for 6-10 yards is anyone's guess....momentum maybe? It was funny though and the announcers commented on it as well.
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BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I told you fools ATL and Melty Ice sucks, last year was an aberration. Still glad we picked Jake Long. Matt Ryan and Russell Wilson are still comically over rated HAHAHAHA, Ryan Tannehill would have a 3 SB appearances by now if he played in the garbage NFC with an elite D like Seattle has had lmfao!!! Without Rodgers, The rotten, stinken Filthadelphia EAGLES are the best team in the NFC, how PATHETIC is that HAHAHAHAHAHA!
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