Well, I thought Miami could win, and I thought Bill Lazor would open it up against San Diego's patchwork secondary since the Chargers don't present a great pass-rush threat, but I did NOT expect 37-0. 37-0...wow, what a win! I thought it'd be more like 20-17, 24-20, something like that, but to completely shut out Philip Rivers was a thing of beauty. Miami got to 5-3, finished the "2nd quarter" of the 2014 season at 3-1, and are on a roll heading into a tough stretch of games with a trip to Detroit up first. I'll be at that game next week! Miami really lit up San Diego and it was good to get a win for Coach Philbin as his father passed away. Two of my high school friends, ages 25 and 26, also passed away within 5 days of each other this past week, so it was an extra nice win for me. Unfortunately living in Bengals country I was in one of the few areas not to get the game and my stream of it was cut short in the early 3rd quarter so CBS could "...switch to a more competitive game." How they ended up switching to Chiefs vs. Jets is beyond me, but this is your warning in advance if I've missed something. I saw highlights of the Olivier Vernon sack and fumble and Jarvis Landry's TD; hopefully I didn't miss much else. Pretty easy for this week, just Good and Bad. Good - 37-0...and frankly, it could have been more if Sturgis didn't miss and Wallace got a 2nd hand on the ball he missed in the endzone. Dominant performance. - Ryan Tannehill probably played his best game to date and I think we know what he can do with a clean pocket all day long. - Good job by the O-line. I only noticed 1 or 2 pressures. I thought Albert and James were exceptional in the effort. Dallas Thomas did well in his first start. - Jarvis Landry. I asked Boomer about him on Twitter a month or so ago. His reply, "He's going to be good." Simple, but true. - Rishard Matthews seems to have a knack for getting open and is a physical presence despite being 6'0" 210lbs. Get him more involved. - Charles Clay was active today and hopefully he picks up steam in the 2nd half. - Earl Mitchell. Extremely good motor and a physical presence. - Wake & Vernon. Good pass-rush all day against a pair of underrated tackles in Dunlap and Fluker. Got good push consistently all day, from what I saw. - Jelani Jenkins continues to impress and I thought he did well in coverage. - Brent Grimes seems to be rounding back into consistent form nicely since the Bears game. - Reshad Jones. Made a statement play on that 4th down in the 1st quarter, got a pick, and has been really damn good since returning. - Koa Misi makes a noticeable difference and provides physicality that Miami doesn't get with Trunsnik in the game. Let's hope stays healthy. - Kevin Coyle gets a game ball from me today. Just some quick stats about the D's performance today: 0 points, 10 first downs, 3-11 or 27% on 3rd downs, 3 INTs, 1 FF and recovery, 3 sacks, and limited San Diego to 50 yards rushing with a 2.6 ypc, 128 yards passing, and a total average of 3.6 yards per play in the game. That, my friends, is a total beatdown. - Bill Lazor did what I thought he'd do and spread out San Diego to expose those new DBs and guys who don't play as much. Tannehill was pretty much perfect through most of the day and I thought he mixed in zone-reads very well. Bad - Strange as it seems, there were some areas of today's game that have me concerned. - I saw a tweet about Caleb Sturgis...is he Turdgis or Sturgmiss? At some point Miami's going to need him in the clutch and I don't have much faith left in him. - Mike Wallace had a rough day and I think he could have hauled in 1 or 2 passes he missed. It'd be nice to see him involved with screens more. - The Double-A gap pressure looks Coyle called in the 1st quarter. It didn't matter today, but Rivers started out fast and picked apart two of those looks with ease in the first quarter. This is more down the road as I think Matthew Stafford and Peyton Manning can expose those looks as efficiently or more so than Rivers did today. Otherwise, Miami's scheme was downright impressive on defense. - Bill Lazor's redzone play-calling leaves you wanting something more. Miami seems to not use misdirection, play-action, zone-reads, or screens in the redzone. I don't know if that's something they saw schematically vis a vis San Diego or they're purposely hiding stuff for a huge game against the Bills coming up on a short week after Detroit, or what, but I think this can be better. Overall Overall though, 37-0 in the NFL is a statement. Colin Cowherd, who I think is pretty knowledgeable about the NFL called Miami the "New team that is better than everyone thinks - it used to be Arizona". I think Miami's certainly trending upward, and that fudged away Green Bay game stings a little less now. But, the road ahead in the "3rd quarter" of the season looks to be the most difficult, at least on paper. Detroit is 6-2 and just won a game basically playing with a hand tied behind their back - they were missing Reggie Bush, Calvin Johnson, Brandon Pettigrew, Joseph Fauria, Eric Ebron, Stephen Tulloch, and lost Nick Fairley in the first half and still beat Atlanta. Buffalo has Miami's number as Joe Philbin's Dolphins have only beaten the Bills once in five tries. Miami owes them one and hopefully being at home on TNF will help out, especially since Buffalo will be missing C.J. Spiller and likely Fred Jackson as well. Then you've got a game at Denver, which is a tough, tough place to play. And of course, the Jets in a rivalry game to close that quarter which I think will be closer than it looks like it'll be on paper. But, after today, I think Miami can play with anyone. A playoff run seems like it's there for the taking...Miami just has to take it. Let's see what they're made of over the month of November. But, until next Sunday, I'm going to sit back, relax, pop a cold one and revel in a 37-0 W. Cheers all!
I think the playcalling issues in redzone has to have something to do with a lack of tall threat to go up and get the ball in the endzone. I think it's going to hurt us as we prepare to play Detroit and Buffalo again.
Wallace needs to improve that part of his game....he can if he works on it. He doesnt go up with both hands in Endzone.
Wow, Ronin. Sorry to hear about your friends. 26 and 25? That's heartbreaking and entirely too young. Way, way too young. I'm sorry to hear that. As for the game, I've been a die-hard Dolphins fan for over 20 years and this was the most complete, dominant game I've ever witnessed. All day long we just annihilated them. Three in a row. Let's keep it rolling!!!
You missed watching the Dolphins play Dion Jordan as a 3-4 DE pretty much the entire 4th quarter. I very much agree with the idea it was an excellent game from a performance/execution standpoint, but there are all these little nagging, troubling things. This is a team that is being held back by its coaching staff, and it makes it a bit hard to fully celebrate a thing like this when it's earning them job security.
If we keep beating good teams 37-0 the coaching staff can do whatever they want with Dion Jordan. Let him be the new kicker.
That game was awesome, atmosphere was great. First time I was excited for the defense to come on the field because I knew we would generate a turnover or a sack. Grimes, best free agent signing in dolphins history?
I did not watch the game, was moving to new place. I listened in my car to the broadcast until it was 14-0. Another great performance, they keep stringing them. Im happy for Philbin, what he's done is unbelievable.
I think you might be more irritated by my opinion than I am by the ramifications of my belief. It's better this gets figured out now than later.
I noticed that Gibson was in and Hartline was out on most if not all of the goal-to-go plays today. I love Hartline, but he doesn't offer a lot there. Gibson isn't big, but he's shown an ability to get open in tight spots and make catches in the end zone. I also don't care for the play design/selection in goal to go either. I know that part of it is how the other team plays defense, but check out the highlight of #10 Hopkins catching a TD in that situation for Houston today. Why can't we use Wallace in that exact same way?
I'd go Randy Starks based on longevity, but Grimes has been really good. These at least since I've been a fan.
Today was just a complete effort. Defense dominated start to finish. What a game. Detroit is going to be really tough on the road. On our predict the schedule thing, I chose this game as a loss followed by a win against the Bills. Lets see if we can make it four in a row.
The biggest thing that jumps out at me with this team is how different the Defense is with Misi in the middle and Reshad Jones playing safety. Dont know what got into Jones but he does not even closely resemble the player from last year. Misi is LIGHT YEARS ahead in the middle from what Trunsik brings. If he can just stay healthy is is a huge boost to this team
can't argue that, good to see you coming around with grimes Ronin. If I remember correctly, you were never a big fan of him last year.
No, I'm coming around. I think he's got some issue when receivers are physical, but he handled Marshall and Jeffrey pretty well and Keenan Allen is VASTLY underrated for his ability to get in and out of breaks/cuts and I only recall once where he got the better of Grimes. I think since the Chicago game he's pretty consistently matched his best play from last year. That said, I'll be interested to see what they do with Megatron and how the cover him. Perhaps Louis Delmas has some sort of insight.
Just saw the updated team stats on NFL.com... as of now we are: #4 in the league in pts/game #2 in the league in Yds/game (behind Detroit) #1 IN THE LEAGUE IN YDS/PLAY This is one hell of a defense we got here
Good read... sorry about the loss of your friends. Are you only 25-26 yourself? I assumed you were mid-thirties.
Thanks for sharing your take Ronin, sorry about your friends man that's way too early to go... What a game, pure domination from the opening snap. I figured this would be a good matchup because SD has no pass rush or run game but 37-0? Wow. As good as it was we still have Detroit and Buffalo up next and they can absolutely put heat on the QB. Looking forward to seeing how we do in these next three games, if we can get two of them then playoffs here we come.
Thanks, I appreciate that. I'm 28. I played football with the one who was 26. The one who was 25 played baseball with my youngest brother. He had a brother who was in my class and their dad was my baseball coach for a number of years. We've known that family for 20+ years now, so it hit pretty close to home.
So, #1 vs #2 defense in the league head to head. 5-3 vs 6-2. What do you bet the game gets almost no hype. Put some points up next week and then we're really rolling.
Are OV and Wake better then Miller/Ware? I think we're right there but thats the one duo that challenges us imo. That sucks. No other way to put it broski. I had a real close friend die when we were both 20 and it was someone I knew from pre-kindergarten. No one that age should be dying. Not to sound insensitive but you kind of expect older people to pass at some point because of age and you have some time to prepare for it mentally knowing that their time will likely be up before yours but when its people your own age and youre still pre 50 ish....yeah its a little harder I think. Condolences.
Thanks, I appreciate that. The one who was 26 had been battling brain cancer for nearly 2 years, so a lot of us knew what was coming; still shocking and still so young. The one who was 25 was very sudden and very unexpected.
Louis Riddick, who is one of my favorite football minds to follow because he knows the game so well, says he puts Wake and Vernon at the top of the list when it comes to pass rushing duos. I happen to agree.
I like the duo because they seem to be pretty good when they stunt up the middle, which complements the tackles. Its the type of line play that we had at the beginning of the year and its the type of play that we've seen these past couple games.
I didn't think the redzone playcalling was that poor at all. Lamar Miller's TD was on a zone read. They did run a screen action play to Daniel Thomas in the redzone. They would have had an additional TD if they challenge a Clay catch fumble (probably score from the 1) OR Mike Wallace simply catches the ball with 2 hands. Again, the corner route from the slot, whether it's Clay or Wallace is just money. They also called a PA pass to Gibson that could have been/should have been a PI on Brandon Flowers. Not to mention, when you're in the redzone, what 5 times, 6 times? it's hard to score a TD every time. The only poor thing I took away from this was Caleb Sturgis. Miami needs to bring Kickers in and compete. And if they perform better in practice, IR Sturgis, and roll with the new guy. He's simply going to kill us in a close game. I have 0 faith in him. I'm not a fan of Philbin, but the team clearly played for him today. We're on a high as a team. We're going to lose again. Ryan Tannehill is going to have another stinker game this year, but today's win showed me we're good. We can play. Not sold if Philbin is the guy or if Ryan Tannehill is the long-term/franchise QB we've all hoped for. But, I'm sold that we're good enough, from a talent standpoint, to be in the playoffs and compete.
OV has been a pleasant surprise. One of the chief reasons we're seeing success this year is that we've built a really solid O-line and a spectacular D-line. We've taken away the offense's ability to gameplan against Wake via depth at pass-rusher and really, really good push up-front. Mitchell has been highlighted recently, but I still think he's underrated. He's been a huge upgrade over Soliai and justified the FO's decision to err on the side of retaining Starks. Every game we've won, we've spent a good chunk of the game dominating in the trenches. IMO, the 4 biggest keys to success this year have been Albert, James, Mitchell, and Wake. Wake has drawn so much attention, and he's also contributed his standard holding calls and strip-sacks. Tannehill has blossomed as he's gotten comfortable with the offense and been given more time to throw. The secondary has been able to play aggressive, as the DL has consistently pressured QBs and given them very limited time/windows. I still see free receivers in the middle on blown crossing route assignments, but opposing QBs aren't because they've got 1.5-2.3 seconds to throw. The key will be maintaining those lines. OL shouldn't be a problem, as that unit will only get better as they jell together. DL is going to have to face some tough decisions in the next 1-2 offseasons. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
It happened once, he does not do that all the time. The reason IMO he tried to extend and catch the ball with just his right hand is you have more reach extending up/out/etc with one arm than two. Had he tried to reach that pass with two hands he may not have touched it at all. I for one am certainly not questioning Wallace's overall effort today.
Addendum: In thinking about it more, I think we've actually improved in essentially every position group. QB is an easy one, as is RB and OL. LBs is an obvious upgrade, and it's remarkable how we're doing it with youth. DL discussed above. CBs started rocky, probably playing overall below 2013 (though better as of late, and having better coverage LBs has been a boon). Safety is a tricky one... Jones has been top-notch, but Delmas has struggled at times (notwithstanding his accolades, which appear to be based largely on stats). Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I dunno, but one of the best UFA signings. Getting Starks back in 2008 was pretty damned good too. One thing though IMO, Grimes is the best pure cover corner we've had since one season of Tim McKyer in 1990. Also, likely the brainiest cover corner we've ever had, and yes even counting Sam, Pat and Troy.
My read was that he just misjudged it. He thought it was going higher than it did. My memory is that he extended his right hand but it ended up dipping on him and hitting his wrist. The throw was fine IMO I agree it wasn't about effort Sent from my Note 3
Say what? Im not sure where youre getting your numbers from but PFF has this coming in to today: Vernon 4 sacks 7 hits 11 hurries Wake 6 sacks 7 hits 21 hurries Ware 8 sacks 6 hits 14 hurries Miller 10 sacks 5 hits 25 hurries The one thing Id say to that is its much easier to rush the passer playing from 2 TDs up all the time like Denver does. But Ware and Miller have been nuts as far as pass rushing goes. Id take Wake over any one of the group but so far theyre playing better (or at least as well) and they have the better results. One advantage we'll have over other teams is that we have good tackles in Albert and James and MAYBE we stand half a chance of limiting their effectiveness