I was really hoping to see the Bills win that game today. The only thing that makes a Miami win sweeter is when Favre and the Jets lose. I should warn that this is going to be a bit shorter than usual. I was in my normal position, on the couch (and wearing the shirt), but I really didn't get to watch the game efficiently, as Mrs. Odin's relatives interrupted the game to begin the second quarter. Aside from trying to engage me in conversation (which I pretty much ignored), they also decided that we should all go to Buffalo Wild Wings. At the restaurant things weren't much better. The only TV carrying the game was an ancient 19" CRT in the opposite corner of the room from me, so my ability to effectively watch the game was pretty much impossible. Making matters worse, the prattling waitress was sporting a Losman jersey and liked to stand directly between me and said pathetic TV. I finally got them to put the game on a TV closer to me - as in directly behind me. Oh, and because BWW has the Ticket, everyone was there. Including Jet fans. Now I have no idea why there are Jet fans in Kansas, but lo and behold, there they were, in all their loud and obnoxious glory. There were also Bills fans, who don't bother me as much usually, but as that game wore on the supporters of both teams grew more and more vocal, to the point where it was a distraction. Jets fans suck. What I Liked It was another nail biting game today. Reminded me a little bit of the Seattle game from that perspective. From my limited view, I liked our defense, obviously, and our pass rush, particularly in the second half. I liked what I saw out of our special teams, and how we played the field position game with a team determined to bleed out the clock. No TDs - Three consecutive games without a TD for this defense. That's pretty impressive. I was reading that Pasqueloni is being considered for a head coaching position. Can't really argue with that - he's managed to get the most effort out of a secondary that's below average, and generate a pass rush despite only really having Joey Porter as a consistent threat. Satele at Right Guard - I thought Satele looked more comfortable at guard, maybe that's just me. We also seemed to move the ball more efficiently with him at the spot. The question, to me, is whether this is a permanent move, or just an effort by Sparano, Henning, and Maser to get their 5 best offensive lineman on the field at the same time. If it is permanent, then who starts next year when you get Don Thomas and Justin Smiley back? The other question is whether Johnson is an upgrade over Ndukwe. I tend to think he is. I liked it, more than I thought I would actually, and I wouldn't be surprised to see us continue to use it. What I Didn't Like Aside from my negative game experience, my biggest complaint with the game is that we once again played to the level of our competition. Just once, I'd like to see us stake to a 3 TD lead, instead of allowing teams to hang around. We've talked about this team manufacturing their own conflict in order to motivate themselves; I think there's probably something to that theory. Credit goes to San Francisco and Mike Singletary though, as they never rolled over and kept coming at us. The Disappearance of Ted Ginn - I don't know what's happened to Ginn these last 2 weeks, but his regression has been both stunning and puzzling at the same time. We simply need more from him than 2 catches and 6 yards. He had a decent kick return, but that was about it. If we want to make the playoffs and more importantly if we want to win in the playoffs, then we're going to need Ted to get back on track and start making plays. Not Controlling the Ball - We really allowed San Francisco to hold on to the ball, too much in my opinion. We lost the Time of Possession battle by just over 16 minutes - meaning that the Niners held onto the ball for a full quarter more than us. The good news is that despite leaving our defense on the field for 38 minutes, we still didn't allow any touchdowns. I would have liked to see us with a few longer drives, particularly in the fourth quarter. Game Balls of the Week We got a lot of contributions out of folks this week, especially on defense. It was really nice to see Charlie Anderson, Matt Roth, and Nathan Jones record sacks today. Roth in particular, from what I saw of him, was making plays. Tim Ryan did a wonderful analysis of Roth setting the edge and funneling the running game inside - and Roth set the edge terrifically all day long. Good to see Charlie Anderson build on his success from last week (and nearly cause another fumble). Tyrone Culver made some good plays, Kendall Langford has returned to form. David Martin - Perhaps no other Dolphins player better illustrates our turnaround this year than David Martin. He's gone from a potential wasted free agent to a consistent threat in the passing game. His early touchdown was a thing of beauty, as he simply made a better play to grab the ball and take it to the house. I've gone from hoping he will get cut to hoping that our front office resigns him in the offseason. Davone Bess - Bess was quieter than normal in the passing game. I'm not sure if that was because of the game plan (which looked like it was focused on matching up the tight ends against the Niner linebackers), or if he was blanketed most of the day by superior San Francisco defenders. Bess had a great punt return in the second quarter that set up our second touchdown. Yeremiah Bell - Bell had his usual solid game today, with 6 solo tackles and 1 assist. He's tremendous in run support, and very good in pass defense. Bell reminds me most of a guy like Roy Williams, though Yeremiah can actually turn and run down the field with receivers. He's played well enough this year to be in the Pro Bowl, though I'll be somewhat surprised if he receives that honor. Matt Roth - Roth has finally started to regain his early season form. Joey Porter - What a way to close out a game, again. Joey Porter simply makes his biggest plays when it matters most. I may have my homer glasses on, but I'd argue that we have the league MVP (Chad Pennington) on offense and the Defensive Player of the Year (Porter) on defense. Goats of the Week Honestly, my goats of the week would be my in-laws, simply because they distracted me so much during the course of the game. Jets fans would be a close second. Dan Hennig - I don't understand how you can only allow Ronnie Brown to touch the ball 11 times during the course of the game. I don't expect Brown to get 25 carries a game or anything, but 10 carries? Really baffling to me, to say the least. His first carry came at the 10:43 mark in the second quarter. He still managed to gain 67 yards on those 10 carries - 6.7 YPC average. Ted Ginn - Ginn simply has to raise his play if we want this magical season to continue. Will Allen - Allen's play was puzzling to me today. He allowed the ancient Isaac Bruce to catch 7 passes for 71 yards, and seemed to be slipping and sliding a lot. I don't know if that was due to technique, wrong cleats, or what - but it wasn't his best effort today. Overall Thoughts I thought we played well today, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Special teams, which as recently as 2 weeks ago was holding us back, looked solid for the most part (despite the "oops" from Carpenter's crossbar shot). Bess had some nice looking punt returns, and Ginn had a couple of decent kick returns. I would have liked to see us do more offensively, as we really couldn't get anything going at all in the second half. Good win for us today against an opponent that's been on a bit of a hot streak. Next week we play a scrappy Kansas City team in Arrowhead stadium, a game that I will be personally attending. That means I'll probably be late posting my thoughts. Kansas City lost today, somehow, in a game that they really should have won. Tyler Thigpen presents a bit of a matchup problem for us, as mobile QBs sometimes give us problems. Dwayne Bowe is a big target at WR, Tony Gonzalez is still capable of making plays, and they've got Larry Johnson. I think it's going to be a close game - and a cold game - but that we should be able to win, provided we don't start looking to the Jets. Can't wait to see it.
Great read as always. You must be a saint. I woulda told the in-laws that I like my wings extra-spicy and to bring some back for me while I watch the game in peace and quiet!
Good Stuff as usual. To build on Dan Henning....3rd and 6 at the 31 and you run a toss? I could understand that call if there was less than 2 minutes left, but there was 2:40 left on the clock! And your asking a lot from your kicker too. I know we were running to the outside extremely well, but after the timeout SF was geared up to stop the outside run. That should've definitely been a pass.
In hindsight, that's really what I wish I would have done. Between them, their kids, and the Jets fans, I didn't have the best game experience. Glad we won though.
Great write up as always VO. As usual i can't really disagree with much. Ginn was very disturbing today aside from that one decent kick return. he had another drop, on that 3rd and 4 or whatever it was, he ran a crossing route 2 yards shy of the first down marker... it was just puzzling what he was doing out there IMO. Why ronnie only had 11 carries, i'll never know. It was awful. It was nice to see him come out on that final drive though and run up a storm. It was almost as if he was trying to prove a point... kind of like hey, henning... see what happens when you give me the ball!
I'm really not sure how much of this is really on Ginn. He's got such a great burst off the line and sometimes it just looks like Pennington can't get the ball to him if he wanted to. Ginn burned Clements on that one play down the sidelines and Pennington threw up an under thrown duck. I really wish they'd try to get the ball in Ginn's hands more. Screens, hitches, reverses, whatever. They always throw those quick screen passes to Bess...why not throw a few to Ginn and let him do his thing? I think the blame falls on the schemes, play calling, and Pennington's arm as much as it does Ginn, but that's just me. I just wish they'd make an effort to get him the ball more. Of course it would help if Teddy could get over the little drop bug he's had the past few weeks.
I'd like to hear a little about Satele at RG with Johnson at C. I'm wondering if it made much of a difference as the running game looked fairly strong. Satele in motion going left Long's side could be a pretty devastating way of beating the Jets. It avoids Ellis and Jenkins concentrating on their weaker RE and ROLBs. It's also Ronnie's best side to run towards.
Nice write up as usual! Ain't it great that inlaws always know when the games on so they can take ya to dinner? (conspiracy I tell ya) I sure you don't want to be told what threads to start but: I'm sure i speak for a few that would appreciate any info on the weather there since you live in the trenches this week. We know Arrowhead can be brutal but any insight into stadium conditions, wind etc would be cool! How has the weather been the last couple weeks? Can we expect nasty bitter cold r maybe we get lucky and see some of this global warming I keep hearing about? Thanks in advance GO PHINS
One of the best things was watching the combo of Roth/Anderson at OLB. That position isn't looking like such a problem anymore. Satele might make a good G, I'm not sure- too finesse for this team. We can't effectively run the ball up the middle, and getting a very good C has to be a priority in my opinion. It would be great to see Al Johnson work out, but I still have a sneaking suspicion about Alex Mack and if not him, Antoinne Caldwell would be a welcome addition. It would have been nice to see Ted Ginn show up at work today instead of being MIA. WR remains a need position.
I believe Satele moved to RG midway through the second quarter, and stayed there for the duration of the game. Seemed to work out okay, though we didn't run the ball as much as I would have liked to really form a complete opinion. Putting Satele next to Carey may help Vernon raise his play as well. From what I saw yesterday, it didn't seem like we had the same kind of penetration that we have seen in the past with Ndukwe in there.
I'll be honest, I'm getting sick of Ginn. He's not making plays in any aspect of the game. On offense, it's Pennington, who's lack of arm strength is really limiting his abilities. On special teams, it's his blocking that isn't opening any lanes for him to run through. On decision making/awareness, it's Henning's play calling that's putting him in bad situations. What's the common denominator in all these instances? Enough with the excuses already... he can't be disappearing for games on end.
