It's hard to temper expectations when you witness a performance like the one we saw today. We haven't seen that type of consistency and toughness out of the Miami Dolphins in a long, long time. We saw a team hungry, competitive, and playing aggressively on both sides of the ball. We came out on the field, and smacked San Diego straight in the mouth. On top of that, we further validated the existence of the Wildcat package. To the casual observer, it looks like we're the ones with the super stud RB, as Ronnie Brown played light years ahead of an all-world LT. Solid win for the Dolphins today, and validates that the Arizona game was actually the fluke, not the New England Game. What I Liked A solid effort from top to bottom, that's what we witnessed. Smashmouth aggressive football. We confused the Chargers, and took them out of their comfort zones. We limited Antonio Gates to one catch. Rivers completed less than 50% of his passes. LT was held in check. Kudos again to the game plans put together by the offensive and defensive coordinators. 4th and Goal Stop - Probably the biggest momentum changer in the entire game. San Diego goes for it from the 1 on 4th and Goal to start the 4th quarter, and he's promptly met by Vonnie Holliday and Channing Crowder. Great play, and it took the momentum away from San Diego for the remainder of the game. This wasn't a cheap stop against a lesser team either - we're talking about a stop against a team that went to the AFC Championship game last year, and playing with the NFL's best tailback. It's Not a 1 Week Wonder - By my count, Ronnie Brown took 10 snaps out of the Wildcat (Wild Phin) formation this afternoon. This accounted for roughly 14% of the teams 69 offensive snaps today, or 1 out of every 7 snaps or so. The TD run in particular was a thing of beauty, and kudos for CBS capturing the best picture of the game - Ronnie lined up in the Wildcat, with a huge grin on his face prior to the touchdown. It's an effective formation. We averaged 4.8 yards per play out of it (with 2 plays going 10+ yards), and also scored a touchdown thanks to San Diego's CB getting out of Ricky William's way. We're Not a 1 Trick Pony - This kind of ties into the previous point. While as a fan, I love seeing the Wildcat (and man, was I hoping to see #34 get that pass off today), but I don't want us to be characterized as "gimmicky" or "nothing without the wildcat." That's simply not true. On the 30 runs that didn't come out of direct snap, we ran for 119 yards, just a hair under 4.0 YPC. That kind of production in the running game should make you stand up and take notice. What's more, is you can't stuff the run, because Pennington is completing over 75% of his passes - a simply ridiculous number. Hard Hitting and Solid Tackling - We saw a lot of hard hits out there. My personal favorite came on the offensive side of the ball, where Ronnie punished Antonio Cromartie and shoved him down. It was a great hit, particularly since Cromartie seemed to be on a mission to hit anyone and everyone out there today. For the most part, we played good defense, without the missed tackles that plagued us during the Arizona game. The Disappearance of LT - Anytime you can hold a running back like Tomlinson to 35 yards on less than 3 yards a carry, it's a win for your team. The run defense, a liability last year, has been completely revamped and is getting to the point it's making teams one dimensional. I can't believe I just wrote that sentence. What I didn't Like This was the most complete game we've seen yet from this team - so there's very little in the way of things I didn't like. Big Plays Against the Secondary - We've cut down on the mistakes in the secondary, but Andre Goodman still allowed Vincent Jackson to get in front of him for a huge 42 yard gain. Will Allen also just looked silly on the Chambers TD (by the way, Chambers was carted off - hope it's not a serious injury and I wish him a speedy recovery). I feel like I'm picking on the secondary a bit, as they made more plays than they gave up - and played with real emotion today. It was nice to see passes being batted down and solid defense out there. It's a work in progress, but I can live with the occasional big play if we get the effort like was saw today. Not-So-Special Teams - I love Davone Bess, but he needs some help on kick returns. I haven't been impressed on returns yet (he has looked good in limited action in the passing game). It was exciting to (finally) see Ginn out there on punt returns, and he responded to the opportunity by promptly muffing his first punt return. Bess wasn't any better, as he fumbled late in the game. I want to see someone step up and start making plays back there, and at this point I don't care who it is. Lack of Second Half Points - We pretty much played beat the clock in the second half, although our best drive came with 4 minutes left in the game. I would have liked to see us capitalize on more chances offensively in the second half, as we missed a field goal and had a couple of 3 and outs. I don't expect us to score every time we touch the ball, but more points could have helped put the game away earlier. Standout Players Hats off to Tony Sparano and the rest of the coaching staff. They kept the team hungry during the bye week, and didn't allow the New England win to go to the player’s heads. It was good to see the entire team fresh, focused, and hungry. They've taken a cast off QB (Pennington), and have him playing some of the best football of his life. They've reinvigorated lost causes - see Martin, David - and have this team playing as good as I've seen in recent memory. Ronnie Brown - Another game, another 100+ yards for the Phins new QB. He keeps this up, and people are going to stop whispering about that 3 letter acronym (ACL) and start whispering about another 3 letter acronym. He's recovered, healthy, and looked fresh coming out of the bye week. Ted Ginn & Greg Camarillo - A combo award for the maligned starting wide receivers. Ginn led the team in receptions with 7, and Bizarro Welker contributed 68 yards receiving. Ginn made his share of bonehead plays (the muffed punt, running out of bounds with 3 minutes left in a contested game), but he has started to make his presence felt. As far as utilizing Ginn in the Wildcat - a good idea on paper - but I think those type of plays illustrate an immature level of play - the coaching staff does not trust his decision-making skills. Camarillo is developing into a solid Wayne-Chrebet type that picks up tough yards and simply makes all the catches. There's a long way to go for this group, but modest production is a step in the right direction. Matt Roth - This just in, the move to OLB is a success for Roth. He wreaked havoc out there today, pressuring Rivers and getting in his face all day long. Roth has emerged as a solid counterpart to Joey Porter (who had another good game in his own right), and has proved he's not a liability in the passing game, either. The announcers raved about Roth all game, and with reason, as he led the team in tackles and sacks. This is the player we thought we were getting in the Surtain trade. Honorable mention: Matt Scifres (San Diego Punter). His line? 6 punts, 50.5 yard average, long of 67, and 5 over 60. Wow. Invisible Players Once again, with it being a team effort, there were contributions from nearly everyone out there. Not much to critique in the way of players failing to step up and make plays. Ernest Wilford and Derek Hagan - Hagan was inactive, so he has an excuse. Wilford, however, was active and again did nothing. By the way, if you take the total yards Wilford has in receiving (15) and divide by his salary ($6 million), that works out to $400,000 a catch. It's a sweet gig, if you can get it. Kendall Langford and Phillip Merling - Quiet day at the office for the Dolphins rookie defensive linemen. I don't expect boatloads of sacks, but I didn't hear their names called out at all today. Jason Allen - The secret weapon didn't even touch the field today (we must have not needed him). I would not be shocked to see him dealt before the trade deadline. Overall Thoughts A solid win that took the fundamentals of the New England game and built on them. Ronnie Brown had another big day taking direct snaps and looks fully recovered from ACL surgery. Chad Pennington's career resurgence has continued, and Greg Camarillo and Ted Ginn have finally started making plays. We're getting good pressure on the QB from Porter and Roth, and our secondary is coming around. We've just swept the two teams that played for the AFC Championship last year. Don't look now, but We're 2-2, and suddenly relevant in the NFL landscape again (there's only four teams with better records than us). I'm really looking forward to building on this win next week against Houston.
Bro we had some miscues on Special Teams, but we did an outstanding job of containing Sproles. He was coming into this game on fire.
That's a good point. Kick coverage was the one area I was extremely concerned about. We did well defending kicks, I just want to see us get decent field position for a change.
Ginn has had 2 pretty solid games in a row. My only gripe with him is that everything that goes to him is short stuff. Can we at least TRY to throw it downfield to him? Even if he's covered, let's see if he can make a play. But he made the biggest catch of the game on that 3rd down on the last drive. Went out in 1 on 1 coverage and snatched the ball out of the air AND kept both feet in bounds while coming down....great play. Camarillo deserves more respect. The guy is a fantastic receiver. He may never be a star but he will always be on the field if he keeps this up. He always seems to come up with the big catches to keep the chains moving.
Great write up VO! As good as it would be to score, that scoreless half was a very good one. We killed a boatload of clock with the runs including a drive that starting inside the five I believe. Really liked that line.
The only one that he didn't boom was the last one, where he pinned us inside the 15. Every other punt was huge.
Was nice to see. The Texans have a pair of really good burners that take kicks and punts in Jacoby Jones and Andre Johnson. Both have multiple TDs in the last few years, so the coverage units need to show up again next week. The return game ... doesnt it seem like its been an issue forever? Hell, even when we had Marion returning kicks we usually got good FP, but did anyone ever think he was gonna break one? Please, Ginn, Bess, whoever, make something happen, and for the love of god cover that ball! But overall pretty solid game. Would have like to score in the second half, but that last drive was great burning the clock like that, and the D rose to the occasion.
Nice write up. But who would trade anything for Jason Allen? I wouldn't be surprised if he's released by the midway of the season
Yeah hes got a big contract and not much of a solid track record, I dont see many teams biting at that. Very sad he hasnt gotten into the game. Thought maybe he was turning around last year but who knows with him.
maybe so but it's best to at least attempt a trade. good game. good write up. lets go against houston.
GREAT WIN!! Here a few things we need to improve... 1. Return game! Bess was just OK and Ginn was invisible! 2. Goodman still needs to work on being in the proper position, dodged a bullet on that deep throw to Jackson! 3. Ginn is a friggin' knucklehead! Stay IN bounds when running out clock and AT LEAST TRY to make a first down when we're trying to move the ball! He is FAR from a playmaker yet... 4. Ricky is FAR FAR OFF from the old Ricky. Anyone remember the last time he successfully broke a tackle? POSITIVES: 1. Ronnie Brown is OBVIOUSLY our best player! PLEASE LET HIM STAY HEALTHY LORD! 2. CP is the man! What accuracy! 3. Ferguson is a tree-trunk... What a beast! 4. Yeremiah Bell, Matt Roth and Joey Porter are bringing the heat! 5. Wes Welker who??? Camarillo is a faster version...
You know what I loved during this game too: Our Kick coverage was awesome! And this particularly sticks out to me because just 2 weeks ago it was awful vs. the Pats (the only bad thing in that game). It shows that we are improving significantly week to week under this coaching staff
The calls for him to gain playing time have been quelled in light of 2 consecutive victories. And don't look now, but both Renaldo Hill and Chris Crocker made plays yesterday. I probably should have given more credit to Bell than I did ... he pretty much made Antonio Gates a non-factor, which is really incredible. I love Bell, just wish he could stay healthy. Allen's window of opportunity is shrinking in Miami.
Interesting. Ginn is on pace for 60 catches this season, but only like 530 yards receiving. At MINIMUM he should be over 600 yards to be considered any type of threat in my opinion. Camarillo on the other hand, is on pace for 68 catches and over 800 yards and 4-5 TDs. Not bad for an undrafted wideout who is on his second team...
True they both mae plays but Crocker was TOAST on the deep route by Vincent Jackson. We should all thank Rivers who overthrew a WIDE OPEN Jackson on that play.
Thanks as usual, VO but I think you gave too little response to that end of the game drive...that, to me, was the icing on the cake, the pièce de résistance if you will. Getting the ball with 5:55 left and running the clock out was the game. That is something we haven't seen around here since Shues was running the show...I put that at the top of the "what I liked" list....
Gutting out tough first downs on third and short. Imposing our will on the defense ... it's not really something we've seen since the 70s (before my time). The teams in the 80s, 90s, and early 00s could not get the running game to work in their favor, often allowing teams to get back into the game. It was a good way to end the game, although in a perfect world I would have really liked to see a breakaway run to seal the deal.
