Philbin said he expects his team to Now perform at a high level..I think we're seeing it, slowly yes, but it's happening. Now I know we struggle to score tds, but this offense is showing signs of gelling at the right time..Ryan has issues with touch passes but he's slinging the rock and threatening all inches of the field..he should be pushing over that 85 qbr after today, and today seemed like the timing of the offense was on point, even with Wallace.. Mike Wallace is not a one trick pony, he just has a unique skillset that players and coaches around him either adapt to get the most use out of the skillset or be stuck with a player that won't come close to the contract given, I think you can win a championship with this guy as one of your players because I do believe he takes up two players mind sets. Charles Clay was once again outstanding..catching Tannehill fast balls all day are not easy, man am I impressed with that guys development at 24 years old. Brent grimes, Jimmy Wilson and Nolan Carroll with another great day in coverage, only giving up about 60 yards total in coverage between them. OV...I know I've told this story before, but I just love telling it, when he was a rookie and I went to training camp, he got hurt on play, he was down for about 5 long minutes, then all of a sudden he got up, and was swinging his arms to tell the trainers to get off of him, feverishly looking for his helmet to back into the practice, he did so while limping to the huddle, a player had already replaced him so they called him off the field, he left the huddle pissed off and stood there on the sideline by himself til the next play..ran back in when it was his turn.. I said in my notes, that dude is a tough mother grabber.. Ryan Tannehill is just relentless in his approach, he doesn't give an offense a chance to rest on a previous bad play, he just..keeps..coming..how he isn't scatter brained is a testament to his mentality..he just doesn't care about pressure..that element of his game, and his toughness, is pretty freakin cool. He made a real nice run today, and a couple of escapes that came before the pressure was on top of him..I'm not sure but I think he's getting better at recognizing a bit earlier as to when to escape. I think the deep ball is a concern because I think he's been throwing the play for 26 NFL games and doing that under game speed is difficult, he didn't do it in college.(fuller, Swope) don't think so...and he didn't do it in high school (strict wishbone), and two of those college seasons he played receiver...I don't question too much from the pocket beau use I feel he has arm talent and accuracy, my only concern moving forward is his reflexes, I want them quicker.. Miller looked more decisive and Mike G to me in limited touches, looked downhill, compact, with some short area quickness..move Thigpen down the roster, move the kid up.. Maybe Padre tweeted Thigpen and told him he need not to break stride any more..there seemed to me a conscious effort no to..props to whoever got in his ***.. Good job by the coach to have his team relevant with the last quarter of the season to go.. God job by Ross for paying incognito and Martin while their not on the team. Wow..Brian Hartline..on pace for his best season ever..he's a funny looking catcher of the football, but he sure is smart in his route running..little shake and bake as well today.. Man Ryan was throwing the ball with velocity today...props to all our receivers, don't think we had one drop. I saw Dion Jordan shedding blacks and making some plays against the run..once again didn't allow a catch in coverage. I just feel pretty good about where the team is progressing..I said this the other day, win 4 out of five, get your third year no questions asked.. If this offense can continue some rhythm and momentum from this 2nd half, and we can get up on team in the last quarter of the season, we can then play our game...pressure the Qb..
I'm just going to express general skepticism of the idea of a one-data-point trend. We solidly beat a team that had lost the previous two games by a total of 57 to 17 and whose QB was playing so awfully that they had to make a change at halftime. Let's talk after the Pittsburgh game.
It optimistically looks like we're gelling at the right time, coaching included, but I agree with Chris to hold off until after Pitt.
I've been talking before this game that they must win four out of five, no excuses, jet celebration over, steeler time.
If you look at my post in the game thread (first one) you will see this is not a celebration for beating the jets, I expected that, it's about 1 down next one up.
in fairness to you, no one can argue that we're not gelling when we seem to be clicking better as a team, even if it was the Jets.
No. The reason is simple. It's one thing to play a good game. It's a whole different thing to show that you can string together good games. That's what Miami has had trouble doing even during that three game win streak.
DJ. We won an NFL game on the road vs our hated rival....you have no reason to apologize for showing excitement or being optimistic.
Sorry dude...but that's kinda BS. No way you thought we would rush for over a hundred yards and limit them to one sack. I know you are very objective....and that's fine. But, no reason not to look at the positives.
Miami has had trouble stringing good games together for 5 years now, and even though they won this game going away, there are still too many signs that suggest the inconsistency is still there.
The forever debate............... We are not ready to be a playoff team so I would rather we not make it just to get embarrassed by a playoff Defense..............again.
I guess it's all about what each one of us thinks "gelling" means. Could we be "gelling at the right time" the same way that we were "gelling at the right time" against the Bengals (shortly before "falling apart at the worst time" against the Buccaneers), or the way we were "gelling at the right time" against the Chargers (shortly before "falling apart at the worst time" against the Panthers)? Sure.
Fact is....all the signs of inconsistency are gonna be there till we start winning games in a row. But, I remember a whole hell of a lot of people yapping about how amazing the Jets defense was. How hard it was going to be to go to NY and win. I don't know what they will do next Sunday. But we BEAT THE PISS OUT OF THE MFNY Jets...and Im proud of this team.
If we had beaten Carolina and done this against the Jets I'd be more optimistic. I'd rather make the playoffs than not regardless. I like watching my team play. (62-7 not withstanding)
It's interesting. Miami's rushing performance today produced a lot of empty yards. Our running backs combined for a negative win probability added (WPA) and also negative expected points added (EPA). This is what I suspected, because this team can't run when they have to. Gaining 6 yards on 3rd and 8 improves your volume stats and averages, but it doesn't do much to help you win games.
I agree. Today was an excellent win for the Dolphins but the Dolphins probably have to beat the Steelers next week to have a legitimate chance at making the playoffs. The Steelers have a pretty easy schedule over their last three games, so if the Dolphins don't win next week, they would lose tie breakers with the Steelers and the Ravens. Based on what I saw today, I don't see any reason the Dolphins can't go into Pittsburgh and beat the Steelers next week.
I mean, I agree. But it is nice to actually play a bad team...not our first game against bad teams...and actually beat them easily. Id say with our problems, and certain positions not playing to well, we are a few bad breaks from being 8-4 team. And really were in position at one point or the other to win 10 games this year.
I have said all along that he really isn't a #1 type running back. He is an excellent change of pace back but the Dolphins need to upgrade this position in the off season.
Personally I've held to the theory that Miami would beat the Jets up in New York for a number of weeks but I did expect a better showing from the Jets at home, based on their home record. But in the end, it had been a full month since the Jets had played well, home or away...and that ultimately mattered more than the home record. I don't know why we're going to sit here and say Miami had a great game, personally. That first half was maddening and against any team worth a damn they would've entered halftime losing because of the blown opportunities in the first half. Then the second half becomes a different matter as Miami can't lean on the other team the way they did the Jets, like a chip leader at a poker table. Seriously, lets say the Dolphins lost the game 23-26. Would anyone NOT point to the first half when we walked away with only 6 points despite having moved the ball into scoring position (opponent 35 yard line or better) six times in the half? That's not good. The team blew as many opportunities against the Jets in the first half as they ever have against any opponent this year. The difference was the Jets blew even worse. The defense helped them do that of course, but the Jets played a half with potentially the worst quarterback in the NFL and then turned the ball over on a fumbled hand-off in the second half even when a better QB came in. Oh and that "better" QB wasn't even good enough to start consistently in college in multiple stops.
... plus it looked like we were gelling against NE, TB, Balt, and Carolina before we started ungelling in the 2nd half, so that leaves me wanting to see a few more quarters of it before turning optimism to excitement.
Oh what so it's racial now??? just kidding. Nice write up. After a fins win I always enjoy reading anything out there and soaking in the win. It did seem that RT had more of a veteran type presence today, especially with the pocket. Remember the days of KNOWING our starting QB was not the answer? Its nice to have QB to be optimistic about, especially knowing he can keep getting better with experience.
I agree. I had no words for that series. I was flabbergasted. And let's not forget the 2nd down run where replays showed that Mike Gillislee's knee had NOT touched the ground before the ball crossed the plane. The Dolphins needed to challenge that play and didn't. A guy at the bar and I were having a debate about whether the 4th down play should be a QB sneak or a bootleg to the weak side from an unbalanced look. Ultimately I came out on the side of QB sneak because it was half a yard, and he came out on the side of the boot from an unbalanced look. I saw where he was coming from though. I just thought there was a good chance the Jets could send a blitzer from the weak side or the defensive end could spill immediately and they have ends that can run just as fast as Tannehill. The Dolphins came to the line in a power formation and then did a formation shift into the spread look, and both of us immediately said we don't like this call even if the draw play works out. Because, obviously this was going to be a draw, right. But then it wasn't even a draw play. It was what you said. Unbelievable.
Your not gonna hear a bunch of gooey happiness in this thread, it's just to acknowledge that the goal of every team is to peak in the last quarter, we all look for those signs in different ways,and as much as I wanted to Hurt somebody last week, I saw some signs again that the NFL game is not always indicative of who the better team is, or how much one team is better than the other, and how far away those teams are from gelling..it's a systematic philosophy..break tendencies, move forward, become more threatening.. The signs for me were, an improving qb who is moving quicker. A Qb and a receiver relationship getting to know one another better. Stability along a dis functional oline. A defense that knew they couldn't be beat by the pass. My main gripe from that game was the coaches, that's why I said I believe we have the talent to make this run possible, and if not, it will be an indictment of the coaches...it's a cool sign that they played hard today and finished.
What are you talking about. I wasn't getting personal. And why are we debating anything.....theres nothing to debate, its a matter of opinion, not who is right or who is wrong. Of course we look at the first half and see the flaws. But if we had gotten beat today, and Im not saying you, but how many people would have laid accolades at the feet of the might NYJ defense.
I thought Its Cooper who's really been raped by Decker today, not Smith from what Nantz and Simms have been saying? Im watching it, but working on some stuff too... so not paying full attention, just what I've heard from them...
Why are you looking at it like that..what about a 2nd year coach and a 2year Qb, along with a top 8 team in terms of youth getting valuable experience?
You said the following: Debating whether or not the Dolphins played well today is out of the question? Why?
Atleast 1 maybe 2 are on Smith, also has seen some abuse from Demaryus. But it's Peyton Manning, that's gonna happen.
This season there's definitely a bit of schadenfreude with respect to Sean Smith, who is playing well for Kansas City. Same was true of Jake Long until it became beyond obvious that he was playing really well in St. Louis. The same was also true of Brandon Marshall until it became beyond obvious that he was playing really well in Chicago. Personally, I don't like it. But it's really a natural thing, to be expected. There were probably Atlanta fans laughing every time Brent Grimes allowed a catch or had a bad game (Baltimore, for example)...until it became beyond obvious he's been an absolute steal for us. I know there are Pittsburgh fans laughing about Mike Wallace, for sure.
Deej, do not forget this, Special Teams is the thermometer of a team Ours is barely hanging out at 98.1 never mind 98.6' Do think the offensive line is playing far better than it was a month ago, does not mean THill suddenly will learn how to properly place passes
Yep. I'd say, lets see where they are in 3-4 weeks. If they are undefeated in December then we might say they are "gelling" at the right time.