Let me start by saying that the Dolphins team we saw today is what I expected to show up against the Bills last week. We dominate the 1st half on controlling the LOS and forcing turnovers, while the offense tries to figure out their identity. It was a good game today that we lost overall due to a rare missed field goal by our guys in aqua. With that said, I'm a little frustrated because I don't know the NFL rules anymore. For instance, the bomb to Fuller in overtime- the defender had both hands on him and twisted Fuller sideways....with a ref standing two feet away. That's not PI? Or maybe the deep pass to Parker two plays before? The defender only had one hand wrapped around him on that one- I thought the gold standard of defending someone is zero hands/arms wrapped around the guy catching the ball? Isn't the rule that if the defender isn't looking back, the flag comes out with any type of contact? If so, Miami won that football game against the Raiders but clearly got dominated by the refs. So much for overtime booth reviews. Likewise, the holding penalty against Jackson in overtime- that was worse than the no-call on Fuller. Jackson got bull-rushed, dropped low, brought his arms in tight and fired forward....completely DOMINATING that DT. He drove him back three yards....backwards. How can you be holding when you're running someone over and knocking them to the ground?!? I brought this one up to say Jackson bounced back well this week; not a perfect game since he had an offsides and struggled on some blocks, but he was a scrapper today. Very glad we did not bench him! In all honesty, the Raiders were the better team in the 2nd half since our offense struggled to get something going until it was too late. Gotta give Brissett credit for getting in the endzone after we waste two downs on wildcat- the offense was in a rhythm at that point, why switch it up at the 2 yard line? I'm not loving this co-coordinator thing. Folks, this was the bounce-back game that the Dolphins desperately needed and to be honest, there was a ton of improvement this week all the way around. Brissett got hammered several times though and extended several other plays he had no business extending, so I am very glad Tua was on the sidelines. Even so, I saw enough this week to say that Miami can salvage this season...given that we did enough to win, lost to the refs, and still rallied fairly well at the end. A loss is a loss- I get that. But if you have to lose to a red-hot team, that's the way to do it. Our boys fought hard today and almost stole the W against a quality team.
Agree as I posted this game had a lot of issues, but those two plays sealed our fate and cost us the game. The REFS should be beaten with the flag until they understand what the rules are they are being payed to enforce!!!
I like how they didn't quit. I'm still fine with Flores as HC, but as so many others have said we need a replacement OC ASAP. Anyway, this loss was expected so I'm not too upset. The final point differential was also much better than I thought. I was thinking double digit point loss being likely. Vegas on the other hand got it almost exactly right with a 3.5 spread lol. However, I won't be fine with a loss to Indy next week. We can't do worse than 4-4 to open the season if we want to (barely) make the playoffs. A loss next week and my outlook changes. Still on track though.
Same here- I'm taking this one in stride since I did see lots of improvement. No shame in losing a battle where both teams are struggling against tough competition.
The way I feel about this game will change depending on how Miami plays in the next few games. If the offense is called and is played like it did in the 4th quarter then I will be fine with this game. Hopefully that was a turning point of the offense to not be the worst in the league.
Some head scratchers today. Naked screen to Waddle in the end zone results in a safety. Jakeem Grant being used in the red zone on the wild cat two plays in a row? He’s not running through anyone.
That safety was terrible all-around. Terrible play call, terrible pass (Waddle had to jump...which guaranteed the safety), and honestly terrible catch since we would have been better off with a drop. Why it wasn't a quick slant to Waddle instead is mind-boggling.
That's the play that cost us the game. And if I'm a defensive coach or player I'm about to slap to slap the taste out the mouth of Godsey or Bridge or hell both of them for that call. And why the hell can't we call slants??? We have two wide receivers in Parker and Waddle, and backups in Fuller and Wilson who are built for and picked for that game. WHY??? Should be called 12-15 times a game. Yes, between Parker and Waddle and Fuller and Gesicki even we should throw slants and sluggos until they make us stop. I really don't get it
I was hoping we’d turn the corner and put together an 11-5 season and these last 2 games have reminded me that sometimes you have to take a step back to move forward. This is especially tough for Dolphins fans who’ve been insignificant for the better part of 2 decades. I have to remind myself that we are very, very young. I’m still not sure I believe Jackson is ever going to be good but maybe Covid kicked his ***. While I hate everything about that trade up to draft Waddle, at least he’s out there making some plays in this abysmal offense. Phillips/Holland were out there in the mix a lot and seem promising. Liam is going through the growing pains of a rookie OL. I guess what I’m trying to say is I’m going to let calmer emotions prevail, maintain hope for the future no matter how unrealistic it is and give Flores more time before I judge this team. I still think Grier has done somewhere around a C- to D+ job but it is what it is.
Good sum up, that's where I'm at too. What I liked yesterday, which was mentioned here already, is that they didn't quit + it was nice to see Phillips out there and he looked okay. I don't think we'll have a loosing season because I still believe Flores is a good coach but he has to figure out what to do with his offense and what to do with the Bills because they are legit and have our number.
If you like screen plays and draws the 1st 3 quarters must have been heaven for you. Also not enough talk about that play call on the safety. An all time laugher!! That was the turning point in this game!
Not only that he didn't even come close to diving at the ball. He dove at the wide receiver. That was 100% pass interference and probably gets called 75% of the time.