Wow, that was a HUGE win that Miami picked up tonight and put in their back pocket tonight. It's a short week, coming off a rough loss - both from a mental and physical standpoint - and the Dolphins rose to the occasion. Honestly, when's the last time you can say Miami won a game they "needed to win"? 2008, against the Jets in the regular season finale? That's the best I can figure. I hate these Thursday Night games as they're tough on your roster physically, and they're usually sloppy due to a lack of preparation time. I think that was evident on both sides, for both teams, tonight. But still, you can't undo a 22-9 W! Onto the review this week. Good, Bad and Overall. Good - For the most part, I thought Bill Lazor nailed that gameplan. He got Tannehill off to a quick start and allowed him to get the ball out of his hands quickly to try and mitigate the Bills' pass-rush. There are some things that certainly need cleaning up, some things more urgently than others, and I'll touch on those later. - Ryan Tannehill played pretty well all things considered tonight. Jerry Hughes made a heck of a play on the forced fumble and the poor throw to Wallace on the last FG drive stood out as plays I bet he wishes he had back. Maybe the deep ball as well. However, I thought Tannehill was more accurate with touch throws, especially on crossing routes than he's ever been. Think about it, a year ago, he probably doesn't even get the ball out to Hartline on the 32 yard crosser. I don't think he gets the ball out Clay on a few of those as well. He's come a long way and is still growing and improving. I like what I saw all things considered. His pocket management was better, though there were still a few times I think he gets caught in the wash instead of climbing the pocket, but again, he's getting better. He was able to distribute the ball well tonight. - Running game; Lamar Miller had a gutty performance and hit the holes pretty hard. Damien Wiliams with that one-hand grab on the 3rd & 1000 miles. Nasty. - Brian Hartline, welcome back. - Jarvis Landry made some nice plays and made up for the fumble of the free kick. Honestly, he might be the best redzone weapon Miami has right now. - The O-line. I'll give them some kudos for stemming the tide of the Bills' pass-rush enough for Miami's offense to function. They got some nice push in the ground game, especially Shelley Smith pulling, and I thought Ja'Wuan James held up Jerry Hughes pretty well. Samson Satele did well also, but how does a center get a false start? - Pass-rush. Miami didn't get numbers in sacks, they had 2 (Mitchell and OV), but they really rattled Kyle Orton the whole second half. OV and Wake had some nice hits; OV forced the pressure on the intentional grounding safety. Miami really did a nice job of shutting down the run game (54 yards, 2.8 ypc), especially after that first drive. This is an area that's really improved. - Earl Mitchell did pretty well tonight and the dude just has a motor. He nearly tracked Bryce Brown on Buffalo's big screen play. - Brent Grimes. I don't feel I need to write anything else. - Reshad Jones played pretty well again, and has tackled really well since coming back. - Jamar Taylor. Good showing for your first start and he made some nice plays, especially in run support. I think it's clear he's got more to work with than Will Davis. - Thanks to the officials for that pass interference call. I know it benefited Miami, but Stephon Gilmore has a legitimate gripe. - Total defense. Since week 7, Miami is #1 in the league in points allowed with an 11.2 avg. The run defense has really improved. You're seeing guys like Jared Odrick, Jelani Jenkins, Koa Misi, and Reshad Jones really elevate their games. Combine with the steadiness of guys like Wake, OV, and Grimes...that's a nice recipe to be cooking with. Bad - I know it's a short week and a reshuffled O-line, but some of the play designs Miami had were pretty questionable. Exhibit A would be the play-fake where Dallas Thomas gives Mario Williams a clean release with Dion Sims coming across the formation, with no back to help (as the back was in the play-fake) to try and block Mario Williams. Really? That's a poorly designed play from the get-go, even if you're not facing Mario Williams. $h!tcan that one. Now. - Redzone Offense. Is it execution? Is it play-calling? Play design? This is an area that really needs to get better. Hopefully the Gibson TD play is a sign of Lazor recognizing that and getting Tannehill on the move. Buffalo coverd his first two reads right off the bat, but to have Gibson coming from the backside on a crosser; that's a well designed play. Hopefully there are more of these coming. - 3rd down Defense in the first half. Strangely, Buffalo was 6-8. Miami turned it around in the second half as Buffalo went 0-7. I feel like Kevin Coyle gets cocky and shows that Double-A gap pressure and has BOTH LBs back out of it so often. Miami gave up a first down reception to Chris Hogan in the first half in the right slot. Both Koa Misi AND Jelani Jenkins were in that Double-A gap look and BOTH were in BETWEEN the hashes. Essentially, neither covered anything on the play. Coyle seemed to learn form that and starting bringing one on a blitz or delayed blitz, or both with one coming right at the snap and the other delayed. Buffalo had no answer for that. I'd just caution that's going to be pretty risky as Peyton Manning will pick that apart. - Will Davis had played pretty well on special teams the past month or so. That knee injury did not look good at all. Hoping for the best...but man, that was ugly. - Dallas Thomas. Mario Williams had 3.5 sacks tonight, and he didn't look all that great in the run game except for when he's pulling lead, though he whiffed on the block on Jarvis Landry's screen reception. At this point, I'd consider starting Nate Garner and calling up Sam Brenner if you really want someone as a backup who can play center. Von Miller's up next, and he can really wreck a game. Overall - A win is a win is a win. And that was a BIG win. Miami could really use a Colts win this Sunday. That'd be nice. - On a short week, this team came out fired up, and if they functioned better in the redzone, this game would have been a blowout. I didn't think Miami would come out that way and am glad they proved me wrong. - It's nice to see the offense spread the ball around. Hartline, Wallace, Clay, and Landry and the backs all made some nice plays in the pass game. Brandon Gibson got involved with a couple of catches as well. - You have to feel like this upcoming matchup with Denver could be a really good game. Going into this weekend, Miami's D is #3 in points allowed, #2 in total defense, #2 in pass defense, and #8 in run D (finally got the average allowed under 100 ypg; it's at 94.5 now). As I said earlier, since week 7, Miami's #1 in points allowed. Denver, on the road, will be quite a test. The one upside to the Thursday Night Games, when you win, is it gives you a chance to get some extra gameplanning done, get healthy, and gear up for a big "measuring stick" game. I think you could look at addressing the O-line, and perhaps reshuffling some guys (*Dallas Thomas*) there. You probably need to make a move at DB. I'm guessing that Will Davis is probably done. Yeah, you probably get Finnegan back, but just think, if something had happened to Grimes or Taylor tonight, you'd have been forced to stick Jimmy Wilson or Lowell Rose on the perimeter. Yuck. Miami has T.J. Heath on the practice squad. Something tells me Dennis Hickey will be shopping for DBs during this "mini-bye". Hopefully Miami can get healthy and get ready to go into Denver. It'd be something to go in there and come out with a win. Enjoy the weekend all!
Loved Tannehill missing that last TD throw then coming back to the bench pissed off and immediately rifling through the book to see what he did wrong. Great mentality from that guy.
We snapped Marcel Dareus' 9 game streak with a sack. Our interior line made a statement tonight and I can't actually recall Dareus doing much of anything. And i say that with respect, Dareus is an amazing DT.
It is pretty apparent there is much bigger drop off at RT going from James to Thomas, than at LT, going from Albert to James. I'd seriously consider starting Fox at RT if they asked me. Thomas is better suited to be a backup swing man. If RT had not slid on that one nice run he made late in the game, it looked like he could have gotten another 10-15 yards to me. Guess he wanted to play it safe. At that point it may have been the better way to go.
I was just as pissed. I have Wallace on my FFL team. He was good for only 3.80 points tonight. Guess I'll just have to be happy the team won in real life.
What was with Hartline and all that YAC tonight? He didn't get tripped up by a blade of grass even once. Maybe he read that thread about him here this week. Glad we could help light a fire under his ***.
I was so excited when he did that though. I want him to run when he can/should, but I don't want him taking any chances. Get out of bounds or get down pronto. I'll gladly give up a shot at a first down to avoid Tanny taking a big hit.
Great write up as always. Minor gripe though, you mentioned distributing the ball around a couple times, and maybe I'm reading too much into it, but it seems like you think this new for Tannehill.
i never hated them until this past year. For one, their fans suddenly started getting pretty cocky. For a rather worthless franchise, they should never be cocky. and two, i thought the benching of manual just didn't make any ****ing sense. Like orton was some diamond in the rough. Hes kyle ****ing orton. We proved that tonight.
I should have said equal distribution. Lately, targets have gone more towards Wallace and Landry predominantly. Tonight, everyone who touched it in the pass game seemed to have pretty equal numbers of targets, other than Dion Sims.
What didn't you like, other than Landry's fumble? I thought the coverage units were pretty solid and Fields pinned Buffalo deep on the opportunity he got.
Just some updates from my OP: - Miami moves to 2-1 in division play. Realistically, I think they HAVE to win 2 of the 3 remaining AFC East games to get into the playoffs. Good start tonight. - Lamar Miller posted a 5.7 ypc last night. Underrated performance with a banged up shoulder. They're going to need him against Denver's tough run D. - I'm not sure why LaMichael James didn't play. My only guess is that it was a short week to prepare, but I think using him on short passes against Ware and Miller could be a nice weapon to have. Damien Williams has done a nice job the past two weeks in the pass game. - Earl Mitchell had Miami's other sack. He still may prove do be Dennis Hickey's best signing long-term. - That 54 yards rushing Miami allowed. Well, that was with a 2.8 ypc average. If they can limit Denver from running, I really think Coyle can come up with some timely blitzes against Manning; here's hoping he took a page out of the Patriots defensive playbook. - Redzone woes. Miami scored TDs on 2 of 6 trips against the Bills. This HAS to be better if you're going to keep pace with Denver. This HAS to be better in general, not just next week. At the moment, I'd consider this the team's biggest weakness, Dallas Thomas aside. - Opposing running backs in the pass game. Kansas City beat Miami up and down the field all day with this. The game-winning play against Detroit was a pass to RB Theo Riddick. Bryce Brown had 7 catches last night. This is something Miami needs to be cognizant of. If you're scoreboard watching this weekend, here are the teams to root for: Texans over Browns Saints over Bengals - Bengals are still pretty banged up still and have a bad history in domes. Seahawks over Chiefs Colts over Patriots - Man, wouldn't it be nice if that game down the road was for the division lead? Titans over Steelers Also, for what it's worth, St. Louis plays Denver. I seriously doubt Shaun Hill is going to outplay Peyton Manning, but that Rams defense? Well, hopefully they can play physical and chew up that Denver offense a bit this weekend.
He could have gotten another 10-15 for sure. He had Gibson out blocking the DB on his left, so only had to contend with the guy on the right. I am ok with him sliding given the situation, but I really wanted him to keep running as I thought he had a chance to break it for a TD.
Hah yeah I saw that, it looked like he checked out the book for about 3 seconds and then "EFF this darn book!" lol. Good to see him being hard on himself in that situation, frankly.
They asked him about that in his post-game presser, not the NFLN one, but the Dolphins post-game with local reporters. He was asked about that play and said it was a "horrible throw". He was pretty pissed about that, as he should be. If you're going to keep pace with Denver, that's a throw you HAVE to hit when it's there.
RoninFin4 predicted that we`d lose , so I`m boycotting his entire post for being wrong and doing such a thing in the first place.
As was mentioned in the OP, Whenever Shelley Smith is playing, the run game gets noticeably more productive. The run game last night did a lot to keep the offense clicking.
Well, my predicted score was 22-13. Had Carp made his FG, it could have been 22-12; that's pretty close. Just with the wrong team. The right team proved me wrong and won.
Honestly, I think if Miami really wants to get the most out of the O-line, you move Smith back to RG when Colledge his healthy, Pouncey to C, and Satele becomes a backup. You still have an issue with Dallas Thomas being at RT. But alas, I doubt Miami does this. They seem too enamored with Samson Satele at C.
I posted in another threat after the Detroit loss that Thursday's night game, for me personally, would be the measuring stick for where this team is. This is a game where we, in recent history, notoriously come out flat and either get blown out or snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. This team, the 2014 Miami Dolphins, came out precise on offense to start the game. The defense stepped up, instead of folding, in the 4th we pressure and solid coverage. Yeah, we got helped out with some questionable calls, (PI on Wallace) but the offense got the job done. That was the most fun/excited I have been watching a Fins game in a long time. Woke up with a tinge of a hangover (first in years) but what a great night for Dolphin fans!
Yeah before this catches on and becomes the narrative of the win, let's talk about the controversial calls: 1. That was absolutely intentional grounding. As was explained during the telecast, a missed route doesn't cover up a grounding call. If they did, then every grounding call could be thrown out. Also, that thing was lobbed just like a throw it out of bounds pass. 2. That was NOT pass interference. That was a bs call. We got a gift from the refs. 3. Landry did score. The tip of the ball is touching the line when his knee hit. That's breaking the plane. Even if not, we get the ball on the 2 and were averaging 5+ yards a carry. Having said that, we probably shouldn't have been in position to score because of #2. In the end, if you take away the 7 points gifted us through #2 which would negate #3, we still win the game at 15-9. Don't let anyone tell you the refs gave us that game.
Totally agree on the grounding. Great explanation by the official in that a bad route does not excuse grounding. I thought there was another grounding instance where Orton was outside the pocket and threw it away, but the ball did not make it past the LOS - I always thought the ball had to make it past the LOS, in or out of pocket if no one is around the ball. Anyhow they didn't call it and no one else seemed to think it was IG. What am I missing here? On the PI, it was crazy close but I thought the defender hit Wallace before the ball got there. Ticky tack, but not uncallable. If I was a buffalo fan i'd be pissed.
Were people questioning #'s 1 and 3? I thought those were pretty obvious. I agree with #2, Gilmore made a good play, that was a gift. Heck, Reshad Jones made darn near the same play when he broke up a pass to Watkins early in the game. For those interested, remember when Olivier Vernon got called for "illegal batting" against New England last year? See if you can find the play from last Thrusday Night's Game with the Browns and Bengals and just let me know what you think about the play where the Browns fumble into the endzone and the Bengals recovered for a touchback. Notice anything?
Has anyone on here? No. But as I said, this is BEFORE it becomes an issue on here. It will. Its already starting on a national level.
I watched that play a few times this morning in slow motion and the call could have gone either way. The defender bumped the receiver a second too early without playing the ball. It was close and if there was no call made we certainly couldn't complain about it that's for sure. No way was this a "gift win" by the refs though.
Most certainly WAS a PI...I just don't know how in the world the ref made the call at full speed. But re-watching it several times, no-doubt PI.
i think it was a good call, the quality is not great, but believe me that marked spot is the last piece from the ball and Gilmore already has his left arm wrapped around Wallace
I'm pretty sure that's allowed though, especially when both are making a play for the ball. If he was hitting him or holding him back or pining his arm, I think it would be a different story, but none of the contact is preventing the receiver from catching the ball. I could be wrong. Again though, it doesn't matter, because even if that series and the score are negated, we'd still win the game 15-9.
I see what you're saying but if it weren't preventing the receiver from catching the ball, then why wrap him up before the ball arrives? I think any time you've got your arm around someone's waist you're either trying to restrict their movement, or redirect their momentum (think dancing... or banging), or making a timely tackle. And there's the problem if you see where the ball is at that point in time. Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk 4
You are correct. Any time an official actually gets close enough to see this type of play they WILL throw the flag. The reason being that going full speed it is known to cover guys if they can sneak their left arm in there they can alter the play enough for an incompletion, especially when the receiver is smaller like Wallace. Good Call official.
Let them bring it up. They're just miffed another "feel good story" (Buffalo doing well in wake of Jim Kelly's victory over cancer) is pretty much dead with 6 weeks left in the season. They've got to play the Browns, at Denver, Green Bay, and at New England down the stretch. Feel good story vs. the "bullies".