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Second Watch of the Dolphins/Pats Game

Discussion in 'Miami Dolphins Forum' started by KeyFin, Oct 1, 2018.

  1. KeyFin

    KeyFin Well-Known Member

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    I watched the "shorts" this morning and have to say that I saw the game in a different light. Yup, we still got our asses kicked....but it wasn't as bad as I expected. There was some encouragement.

    First off, we held the score to 3-0 in the first quarter. The Fins came out attacking vertically and a penalty stalled our first drive. No shocker there since that's sort of our thing. On defense, we stopped the Pats pretty well in the first half until the penalty flags started to fly....mostly for checking the receiver (which is legal within 5 yards). This is critical because it took us out of press coverage.

    Then the Pats went to work on Howard. The slot receiver ran into him on the first TD (which is an easy flag) and the receiver pushed off Howard in the endzone on another one (also an easy flag). Once the Pats were up 17-0 though, we were forced to stop the run and we just couldn't do it with our weakened D-line.

    On offense, we saw the defender spin Wilson around as he ran the stop and go route that would have been a TD. Smart play- it prevented 7 points and we did get the flag. That was one of the few times though since the Pats defenders had their hands on Dolphins receivers almost the entire game. If you watch the shorts, just focus on receivers and their releases...we were checked at the line and had someone hanging on basically the entire ride. Gisecki, Stills, Wilson....they were held over and over again without a flag in sight. That's how NE shut down our speed.

    Tannehill still looked out of place on the field and I'm not going to make any excuses for him- the blocking in the first half was very good since the Pats were only rushing four. But on at least three of his TD throws, our receiver had a hand on their back and they're protesting the ref for a flag. You see this over and over again throughout the day.

    Also, I noticed that we sent in defensive play calls via a board with two numbers on it.....you can't do that with Ernie Adams in the opposing press box. I'm wondering if that played a factor at all.

    Anyway, we still got our asses beat- I'm not making excuses. The Pats shut us down though with physicality....sometimes legal and sometimes not. I don't think the sky is falling though and I don't think this was all on Gase or Tannehill. It was a typical Pats at home performance where the flags only fly one way. Now, I won't say we would have won with unbiased refs, but it certainly would have been a different game. Just in 5 missed calls, we have 35 points added/taken off the board- three scores for Miami and two for the Pats. This realistically could have been a 21-10 Miami lead going into halftime folks.
     
  2. Harleydude666

    Harleydude666 Active Member

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    LOL
     
  3. cbrad

    cbrad .

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    Yeah I gotta disagree KeyFin. The emotions may be gone or subdued, but the inability to put together any decent drive and the inability to score any points until no one cared still remains, and it remains in the minds of all those who thought that MAYBE this is the year the Dolphins show they're for real and can win in Foxboro. Losing is OK, happens to everyone, but losing like THAT?

    Nah.. that was a crap-fest supreme.
     
  4. KeyFin

    KeyFin Well-Known Member

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    All I can say is watch the tape and watch Stills ridden like a pony down the sideline time after time with the pass in the air. My only point here is that we didn't do anything different from weeks 1-3, NE just found a way to shut it down (via holding).
     
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  5. cbrad

    cbrad .

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    We had no trick plays. I'll agree the first quarter was similar, but not what happened after that.
     
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  6. KeyFin

    KeyFin Well-Known Member

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    That surprised me as well. No wildcat. No Wilson passes. No end-around pitches (although Wilson went in motion for it a few times). Grant barely touched the ball as well.
     
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  7. TheHighExhaulted

    TheHighExhaulted Well-Known Member

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    Miami going into halftime down 17-3 would have been a huge victory.

    They had nothing yesterday. Shotty officiating or not.

    I'm not writing them off at all like most everyone else. But this loss has to light a fire under everyones *** down there. I'm hoping it was a blessing in disguise.

    Gut check time in Cincinnati. If they don't show up again then they're in trouble. Then all of the children on here can have their hissy fits and be justified.
     
  8. hokiephin

    hokiephin New Member

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    Long time lurker here and wanted to reply and thank you for the take, KeyFin.

    I only had the stomach to watch that game one time, but I saw the same game that you did with many encouraging signs to be found in between futile play on the offensive side of the ball... which in many ways reminded me of the Patriots/Rams Superbowl in 2002 that started this reign of terror and played a large role in changing the illegal contact rules. Both offenses were dominated by the opposing defenses through the first quarter to quarter and a half, but one of them was playing by a different set of rules and as a result went up 10-0. Swanson's 95 mph fastball from the shotgun supplied the momentum to make it 17-0 and after that, Foxboro happened. Personally I'd be very surprised to see a similar game unfold in Miami in December, and we've got plenty of history to support that outlook.

    Having said all of that: Gase needs to figure out how to make the offense move the chains better. I love the guy, but he's currently making me long for the days of Joe Philbin and moving the ball in between the 20s and kicking field goals. Right now we have the opposite of that, and it's putting the defense behind the 8 ball, especially with the recent loss of defensive line depth.
     
  9. Surfs Up 99

    Surfs Up 99 Team Flores & Team Tua

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    I am trying hard not to think about conspiracy theories here, but I don't know what else can explain it. The refs were inconsistent as hell. They called ticky tacky calls on us, while NE got away with mugging our guys. I see this strategy all the time in the NBA, too. The refs favor the preferred team, and then when the game is out of reach start calling it fair.
     
  10. M1NDCRlME

    M1NDCRlME Fear The Spear

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    There was A LOT of money on the Dolphins +7 yesterday. As long as the Patriots covered, there was a lot of money to be made.
     
  11. KeyFin

    KeyFin Well-Known Member

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    Welcome to the forum (the posting part anyways)! I've always hated blaming things on the refs because the calls usually go both ways- there will always be a bad one or something missed that could play in your favor. Grant was being mauled out there though and Wilson/Stills had a hand on them practically their entire route tree. This wasn't just one or two plays though- it was consistent throughout the game. But then we'd get flagged for the exact same thing....holding before the pass.

    Then the pushing/shoving on Howard on two different touchdowns....it's just ridiculous. Remember, all scoring plays are reviewed so even if it was missed the first time, they sure as heck saw it eventually. That push-off in the end zone (for the 3rd score) was among the worst robbery I've ever seen on tape.

    The worst part, however, is that coaches can't complain about bad ref calls- they're physically not allowed to by the league. I don't see how you don't review that tape this morning though and say that it was a fair game.
     
  12. Phins_to_Win

    Phins_to_Win Well-Known Member

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    I'm going to try to take a little bit of a positive spin from yesterday (believe me its pretty hard). I think we needed that loss. We weren't looking to take a down and dirty game to NE. We were running around waiting for other players to make a play. Everyone seemed to be thinking "no big deal, we will get the ball back" and then it snowballed on us. This team doesn't deserve to sit in the limelight, they need to be scratching and fighting on every play as an underdog. We aren't good enough of a team (yet) to go in and just be more talented and walk away from another team.

    Its easy when we are winning, I want to see what this team does now that its been punched in the mouth. I'm embarrassed just being a fan of this team today. They sure as hell better be embarrassed and want to do something about it. We are at a crossroads. We can either grow from this, or we live with the "same old Dolphins" mantra for another year...
     
  13. The Guy

    The Guy Well-Known Member

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    This team's offense is still suffering largely from the absence of a reliable pass-catching tight end.
     
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  14. Slk018

    Slk018 Member

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    I agree with the bad officiating take. The difference is when the Pats got a BS call to extend their drive, they took advantage and scored a TD. Fins got one right after and couldnt get any more first downs and proceeded to trot our Haack for another 25 yard punt.
     
  15. KeyFin

    KeyFin Well-Known Member

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    I'm not in any way denying that the Pats were the better team. But if you take two TDs off the board on crystal clear textbook violations, then it's still a ballgame and NE isn't committing to the ground game....which we clearly couldn't stop. If it's 10-3 at half instead of 24-3, then things for both teams play out differently. That's all I meant.

    As I said in the original post though, we got our asses handed to us in the trenches on both sides of the ball. You can't win a football game consistently if you can't control the LOS. We have essentially zero run game for two weeks straight and that's the basis for this offense...we can't win many without it.
     
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  16. ExplosionsInDaSky

    ExplosionsInDaSky Well-Known Member

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    I'm with CBrad^, It's the way we lost. Just getting absolutely beat down like we stole from them for 60 straight minutes was just inexcusable. I don't care how angry New England was, I don't care if Brady was "on a mission" (so tired of that narrative). We should not have gotten ousted the way we did. I get that every team loses and some losses are bad and i'll get over this, but damn....We just flat out laid down and let them kill us. No fight, no emotion, no spirit, no nothing. Gase seriously was out coached and basically Jay Cutler'd his way though the game. The injuries are piling up, we have a tough game against Cincy on Sunday. We have a decent looking schedule ahead of us, we can win some games and keep this going, but guys and some of the reserves are going to have to step it up.
     
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  17. jerry graham

    jerry graham New Member

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    You cannot leave a def out on the field that long no matter how good they are. The off was not running the ball effectively and tannihill was off. It happens sometimes but this was a whole game almost.
     
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  18. Colmax

    Colmax Well-Known Member

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    There are few pressing issues, obviously.

    I noted the subpar O-line play from the very beginning, and quite frankly, Kilgore was one of the main culprits. I never like seeing someone injured, and I always defer to the coaching staff on which players should start. Sitton was a big blow.

    3rd downs on offense and defense: too many 3rd and longs on offense and too many 3rd down conversions allowed by the the defense (although, overall, they’ve been playing solid ball).

    No identity on offense. None. I get what Gase is trying to do, and I noted last year or the year before that his offense reminds me of an Andy Reid offense. We see what KC is doing right now with the right pieces.

    Here’s the deal, and I think it’s the biggest deal: Ryan Tannehill has to learn how to play off script in order for this offense to click. He is so concerned with playing within script that it actually handcuffs this offense. His escapability is mediocre at best. This is the second game this year where he had that “deer in the headlights” look. I HATE that Ryan Tannehill. I honestly do not know what I think about him anymore. And I hate it because I really, really like the guy. Make plays with your legs!

    As for the defense, I’m seeing the same old same old on 3rd downs. WHY can this team not get off the field?? Then make the spectacular 4th and goal stop, or red zone INT?? This defense is feast or famine, and very much the same identity as I saw back when Vance Joseph was here. Exciting, but they shoot themselves in the foot at times. Btw, kudos to McCain for in hell of an INT yesterday. You don’t see that much. Fantastic play!
     
  19. Electric Boogaloo

    Electric Boogaloo Inventor of the question mark

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    Tannehill struggles at throwing guys open. He’s money at the fastball to a spot, but is a second behind in his willingness to let it fly to the open gap in the coverage where his read can/should be going. I do agree the refs missed a ton of calls. They missed illegal picks, a number of offensive holding calls and made some borderline illegal contact calls.
     
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  20. Redwine4all

    Redwine4all Well-Known Member

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    Then we wont be clowns? Rofl...yeah. Ok.
     
  21. Redwine4all

    Redwine4all Well-Known Member

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    If we "needed" our *** kicked, we got what we needed and more.
     

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