Quick Hits: Dolphins @ Broncos

So here's an interesting stat that most folks don't know:

The Dolphins are 3-0 when I'm on my couch instead of my usual recliner, and when I wear a K-State shirt. In all other games, they are 1-4. Coincidence? I don't know, but I'm not about to tempt fate. I'm following this routine until they lose a game.

It was a strange game out there. If you had told me we would win against Denver by shutting down their passing attack and by not being able to run the ball, I would have called you crazy. If you had told me that Andre Goodman was going to be our defensive MVP, I would have asked you to share whatever it was you were smoking. But that's what we saw out there today. Maybe that's the identity of this team - they're like Jekyll and Hyde out there. Someone mentioned in chat that we seem to play to the level of our competition - and, if you take the New England game out of the equation, that's a pretty fair observation. I'll take the win, and the .500 record, though.

What I Liked

I really liked how we closed out the game. I suspected this game would be a lot like the Houston game, mainly because Kubiak is a Shanahan disciple. We saw shades of it throughout the game; early interceptions by the opposing QB, an inability to get an early lead, settling for field goals instead of touchdowns, and not getting off the field on third down. I was calling it "Houston II." Difference is, we closed this game out. That means the lessons that our guys learned in that Texans loss were applied in our win today. It's great to watch this team grow week after week, and take lessons learned from earlier in the year and apply them to current circumstances. I haven't been this excited to watch this team since the Jimmy Johnson years - and I mean that.

• Pass Defense - We got major contributions from a lot of players in the secondary today against one of the top QBs in the NFL. Brannon Condren and Tyrone Culver both came up with big interceptions today, and the tandem of Will Allen/Jason Allen/Andre Goodman held Brandon Marshall to 2 catches for 27 yards, leading to visible frustration for the Broncos #1 receiver. Cutler went over 300 yards, but he threw it a ton - 46 times - and had 3 picks. Rookie Peyton Hillis had a huge day (and an amazing hurdle), but that's due to the coverage of our linebackers, not the secondary.
• Fourth Quarter Drive - As we got the ball in the fourth quarter, I was extremely concerned that our team had not put up an offensive touchdown. However, our team responded with a tremendous drive - a drive that playoff teams make - a 15 play, 8 minute masterpiece, capped by a pretty Ronnie Brown run for a TD. Highlight of the drive for me was the fourth down conversion - an "attitude" run by Lousaka Polite, of all people. I also thought that Ricky Williams came up with a tremendous catch on third and thirteen - not exactly our best situation - that got us set up for the TD, and not a FG. What was even more about this drive was that the mixture of run/pass was 5 runs to 10 passes - that means that our receivers held onto the ball, and more importantly, kept the ball in the field of play. Just a great drive any way you look at it.
• Mistake-Free Football - We made a few mistakes today - 2 to be exact. One was a holding call on offense, and the other was a pass interference call on defense. And that's it. Denver, on the other hand, had five times the penalties for twice as many yards. Those are the "hidden yards" that coaches talk about - and we were +39 in that category.
• Rush Defense - Denver managed 14 yards rushing. This is a team that has made their living the last 10 years by being able to consistently run the ball. Huge credit goes to the entire defense for a team approach to the running game - we saw linebackers filling holes and taking the right pursuit angles. More importantly, they stayed in their lanes, which negated the ability of the Broncos running backs to cut back. Against Baltimore McGahee gashed us, and against the Bills the tandem of Lynch and Jackson gouged us. Do not underestimate how valuable the Jason Ferguson addition has been to this defense. If Pennington is the Offensive MVP (and midway through the year, he is), then my money is on Jason Ferguson on the defensive side. Those two moves - Ferguson and Pennington - are why we are 4-4 and not more like 2-6 or even 1-7.

What I didn't Like

If there is one thing I didn't like, it was the third quarter Denver drive. What saved the drive, for me anyway, was that we finally stopped Denver on third and short, because up to that point it looked like the defense was failing fast. Overall though, another solid game, leading to only a few minor quibbles. I was a bit concerned with Pennington today, he didn't look overly accurate, and also put Ted Ginn back on his "ignore" list. I hold back judgment on Chad for a couple of reasons - he's proved more than capable this year, and I suspect that his inaccuracy may have been a by product of the Denver air. Backup data: This was Pennington's first game at Mile High.

• The Wildcat - Let the cries of "obsolete" begin. I don't have the numbers, but I do know the Wildcat looked pretty tame today, even more so than against the Ravens a few weeks ago. The strategy to defend it looks pretty simple - focus on Ronnie Brown, and rush him. On the pass attempt, D.J. diagnosed the play, left his responsibility, and attacked Ronnie. It's a good strategy, and worked well today. There's still a place for it in this offense, I think, but in some respects I feel like it's stunted our traditional running game.
• Anemic Running Game - Brown got his carries folks. It didn't translate into a huge day. Our tandem toted the rock 26 times, which is great, but only managed 75 yards, less than 3 yards per carry. Take away Brown's 30 yarder in the first quarter, and we are looking at 29 yards on 19 carries. Yikes. Against one of the worst defenses, no less. Double yikes. We have to be able to run the ball effectively if we want to progress beyond a middle-of-the-pack team. If we can't run now, against this Bronco defense, then there's no way we will able to run in December (and, if you want to dream, January).
• No Stopping the Bootleg - Mike Shanahan must have played Tecmo Bowl. A lot. Seemed like the Broncos ran that Cutler-to-Hillis bootleg no less than half a dozen times. We bit on it every time though. Roth got lost on the play pretty much every time it was run, and Channing Crowder kept taking the fake. Roth basically stood still, and Channing Crowder couldn't recover in time, leading to huge chunks of yards and a career day for Hillis. Defensively, this was my only concern with our effort today. I'm not sure how we were not prepared for it; the bootleg has been a staple of Shanahan's playbook since Elway. Maybe we were and the Broncos just executed better than we did.

Standout Players

The list is longer than usual today, and that's because we saw a lot of good plays out there. The identity of this team is starting to really show. Tough, physical play on both sides of the ball. Minimal mistakes. Pressure on the QB, and a focus on stopping the run. Sounds like a Parcells team.

• Andre Goodman - It's official folks. Andre Goodman is turning into a good football player. The guy was all over the field today, breaking up passes and making tackles. When he was matched up against Marshall, he was more physical. Just a great overall day for him, probably the best I've ever seen him play.
• Will Allen - And when Goodman wasn't making plays, Will Allen was. What a great read by Allen on that interception return TD. He'd better be careful; he might start getting used to catching all those interceptions. Allen had another solidly spectacular day, helping to blanket Marshall and coming up with the biggest play of the first half with the pick six. Allen and Goodman both played at an All Pro level today.
• Greg Camarillo - 11 catches and 111 yards for Camarillo today. Granted, Champ Bailey was on the sidelines, but that's still quality production. What I like most about Camarillo is his awareness. In the game today I watched him run routes at the right depth - i.e. beyond the sticks - and, late in the game, make a concerted effort to stay in bounds. He's a blue collar player, a move-the-chains type. Lots of folks compare him to Welker (I've been guilty of that myself), but as I watch Camarillo's progression he reminds me more and more of a Wayne Chrebet type player, not shift in open space, not a deep threat, but a guy that runs solid routes and moves the chains. If we can get Camarillo and Ginn going in the same game we might - emphasis on might - have a pretty decent little wide receiver tandem. Give me Camarillo, Ginn, Bess, and Fasano/Martin, and, believe it or not, I like our chances in most games. We get Brandon London lifting off (and boy, did he nearly come up with a spectacular grab, or what?), and maybe, just maybe, things aren't as bleak in the passing game as we once thought.
• The Big Uglies - What a great effort by these guys today. Ferguson played excellent today, and doesn't appear to having any lingering effects of the oblique injury. Holiday, Merling, Langford, and Starks all made contributions holding down the front line. We got a good push when Cutler dropped back, forcing him to move around in the pocket. More importantly, we did it with a 4 man rush, allowing us to drop 7 back into coverage to blanket the Denver receivers.
• Dan Carpenter - 4 of 4 on field goals, 3 from 40+ yards. The air also helped Carpenter boom a couple of deep kickoffs. Good effort from him today.
• Jason Allen - Speaking of good effort, nice to see Jason Allen get the start and respond with an interception early in the game. Allen played very good coverage, but deserves an Oscar for his flop on the Marshall TD. Another good outing for Allen, who is again showing why he needs more playing time. Also, I don't know if anyone noticed, but it seemed like Allen was playing a bit of a rover position - almost a CB/S hybrid, or at least that's the way it appeared to me.
• Yeremiah Bell - Led the team in tackles, again. Solid play over the top in the secondary. Made a really nice play on a pass in the third quarter. Oh, and 3 pass deflections too.

Another week, another Ray Guy punting against us. Brett Kern had 4 for an average of 46.3 yards, including a sick 61 yard coffin-corner job that had us starting inside the 10. To be fair, outside of the shank, Brandon Fields had a good day for us too, backing up the Broncos inside the 10 on two occasions.

Invisible Players

I was tempted to put Channing Crowder on this list, but he wasn't invisible, just didn't make a couple of plays like he should. Overall, we got solid contributions from the majority of our players today. I was surprised we did not see or hear from a couple guys, though.

• Matt Roth - That sound you here is the clock running out on Roth's career in Miami. I like the guy, but he was repeatedly a liability today, particularly in the passing game. Roth couldn't hang with Hillis today, leading to a huge game for the Bronco's rookie FB. He was solid in the running game, but he has done next to nothing in the passing game since the San Diego game. We need a Robin to Porter's Batman act. I was hoping that would be Roth, but I just haven't seen it from him.
• Vernon Carey - Carey simply got blown up on an Ebenezer Ekuban sack. By blown up, I mean "decleated." He's another guy on the hotseat this year. I'm not so sure we don't let him walk and pick up a similar player (i.e. cheaper) in free agency or the draft. That's sort of depressing to consider - other than Bell, Carey is the only other holdover from the Wannstedt era.
• Hagan & Wilford - Nothing else needs to be said.
  

Overall Thoughts

I'm looking forward to Sundays. This team has made it fun to watch the Miami Dolphins again. We've had a couple of clunkers (Arizona, Baltimore), but overall we've been in pretty much every game we've played. Despite Pennington having an off day, and our running game not doing much of anything, we somehow put together a fourth quarter drive, closing the game out and ending any chance of a Denver comeback. Folks, we just beat a playoff-caliber Denver Bronco team, in one of the toughest stadiums to play in, by shutting down their hallmark and forcing their All Pro QB to throw 3 picks. What a great win for this team. I love seeing the confidence and swagger back.

Also, we've got a chance to make some noise in the NFL. Our next four games are against the Seahawks, Raiders, Patriots, and Rams. I don't want to be guilty of looking too far ahead, but we could be staring at 7-5 or even 8-4 going into Toronto for the Bills game.

Good stuff, all the way around.

 

I forgot about the tipped pass. Still, that was more on Porter for not coming up with the sack.

On Wannstedt holdovers, guess I should have said "draft picks" - that was more of my thought process there.

I think Ricky has a bigger day if he doesn't get tripped up on a couple of runs today. Though he isn't running with the anger or violence we saw from him back in the day.

I think we still show the Wildcat every now and then, if only to make teams prepare for it, but it's clear teams are figuring it out.

 

Playcalling would have been a major issue, had it not been for that fourth quarter drive. Dan Henning called a masterpiece on that one. Saved the day, in my opinion.

I was extremely concerned about our lack of offensive production, until that last drive. The good news is, if we can do it then, we should be able to do it anytime. Should go a long way towards helping our offensive confidence.

Well there weren't any penalties that were called, so the onus is on our coverage unit to do a better job. What irritates me personally is that I had complemented their coverage on the previous kick return, then they let the Royal return happen. I don't know if it's a lack of coaching or quality talent to make plays, but we were pretty horrid on that Royal return. Missed tackles, and plenty of blame to go around.

I still think the good outweighed the bad. Nice win on the road. Now hopefully we can win the next three at home.[/QUOTE]

 

I disagree on the amount of pressure we were getting. I saw us collapsing the pocket with only 4 guys, allowing us to drop 7 back into coverage. There were a few times where Cutler had all day to throw, but overall I thought it was a good effort. It's not always about sacks. Sometimes it's about how effective you are at making the other QB uncomfortable.

Ryan Clady played at an All-Pro level against Porter. No other way to say it. Dude looked like a veteran out there, not a rookie in his 8th game.

EDIT: Porter was doubled pretty much the entire game. His lone sack came against a TE/RB double team, and that one was more luck because Cutler stepped up and into him.