By: Randy Campbell (OLD DOLFAN)
GAME 2: MIAMI @ OAKLAND, Sept. 23, 1973
The Miami Dolphins 21-13 win over San Francisco the first week of the ’73 season raised several questions. Foremost among them was “What happened to the offense?” After three quarters the Dolphins had scored just six points. Only AFTER the oppressive heat forced several 49er starters to the sidelines did Miami finally score 15 fourth quarter points to win the game.
Head coach Don Shula knew there was no chance a heat wave would come to his team’s rescue when Miami flew to California to play an outstanding Oakland Raiders team. Shula had to find a way to ramp up his offense as they prepared to meet one of the NFL’s best defenses.
The Oakland Raiders were the eighth and final charter member of the fledgling American Football League. In late 1959 managing partner F. Wayne Valley hired ex-Navy coach Eddie Erdelatz to be the Raiders first head coach. Oakland finished 6-8 in their debut season. Ownership conflicts prevented Oakland from signing ANY of their top college draft picks in 1961. (Most of those picks signed with the rival NFL during this era of fierce competition between the two leagues.) When Oakland lost their first two games in the ’61 season by a combined score of 99-0, Valley fired Erdelatz and elevated O-Line coach Marty Feldman to head coach. Feldman led Oakland to a miserable 2-12 record. His successor, Red Conkright, presided over an awful 1-13 team in 1962. Oakland management was desperate. In 1963, little known Al Davis, age 33, was hired to be both the GM and head coach of the Raiders. Davis immediately installed his “vertical game” passing attack, an aggressive passing strategy developed earlier by Chargers’ head coach (and future Hall-of-Famer) Sid Gillman. Under Davis, Oakland improved immediately to a 10-4 record after going 3-25 the previous two years. Davis was voted the AFL’s Coach of the Year in 1963. The Raiders slipped to 5-7-2 in 1964 but rebounded to 8-5-1 in 1965. Davis’ promising coaching career came to an abrupt end when he was named Commissioner of the AFL in early 1966.
Davis was instrumental in bringing about the AFL-NFL merger. When the deal was finalized, Davis returned to the Raiders as a part owner (he bought 10 per cent of the team for $18,000) and head of football operations.
In 1967, Davis’ hand-picked coaching successor, John Rauch, led Oakland to a 13-1 record. They destroyed the Houston Oilers 40-7 in the AFL Championship Game to advance to Super Bowl II in the historic Orange Bowl. On January 14, 1968, Rauch’s Raiders fell to Vince Lombardi’s Packers 33-14 in what was Lombardi’s last game with Green Bay.
The Oakland Raider teams of the 1970’s were thoroughly dominant (and nasty) for much of the decade. They produced 8 Hall of Fame inductees plus a Hall of Fame coach in John Madden. Oakland made the NFL playoffs in 1970 (where they defeated Shula’s Dolphins 21-14). From 1972 through 1977 the Raiders made the playoffs for SIX CONSECUTIVE SEASONS. The highlight was the 13-1 1976 team. After defeating New England in the AFC semi-final game, they defeated their arch-nemesis, the Pittsburgh Steelers, to advance to Super Bowl XI. The Raiders led the Minnesota Vikings 16-0 at halftime and coasted to a 32-14 victory, claiming their first Super Bowl title.
Oakland’s reputation for dirty play went to a new level in the 1978 preseason when Patriots’ wide receiver Daryl Stingley was paralyzed for life by a hit from Raiders FS Jack Tatum. However, a critical loss by Oakland to the Miami Dolphins late in the season kept the Raiders out of the playoffs.
In 1980, the Raiders, under 2nd year coach Tom Flores, advanced to Super Bowl XV where they easily defeated the Eagles (quarterbacked by Ron Jawaorski) 27-10. Two years later, Al Davis moved the team to the L.A. Coliseum after the courts ruled the NFL was wrong to deny his move. In 1983, the Los Angeles Raiders destroyed the Washington Redskins 38-9 to claim their THIRD Super Bowl Championship.
In 1989 Al Davis opened negotiations with the city of Oakland to return the Raiders to 
that city. In mid-1995, a deal was reached. This time the NFL did not stand in Davis’ way. Since 1996, this franchise has again been known as the Oakland Raiders.
All Davis passed away during the 2011 season, ending one of the most colorful, litigious and controversial careers in NFL history. His signature phrase, “Just Win, Baby,” has become a registered trademark of his bad-boy Oakland franchise.
On Sept. 23, 1973, the Dolphins met the Raiders NOT at Oakland-Alameda Coliseum (as wrongly reported in some inaccurate renditions) but in the University of California’s Memorial Stadium in Berkeley. Upgrades and repairs at the Raiders’ home stadium forced 
this change of venue. It was bright, sunny, and 62 degrees at kickoff. A sellout crowd of boisterous Raider fans was waiting for Miami. And Don Shula was worried. His offense struggled on opening day against San Francisco. And All-Pro wideout Paul Warfield was unavailable due to an injury. New offensive coordinator Bill McPeak (who replaced Howard Schnellenberger when Howard became the new head coach of the Colts) knew he’d have to pull a few rabbits out of the hat to confuse and fool the highly rated Raiders’ defense.
Oakland decided to pound the football time after time after time. They ate up the clock with long drives on several occasions. Their first drive ate up over half of the first quarter. It ended at Miami’s 5 yard line when 46 year old placekicker and back-up QB George Blanda booted a 12 yard field goal. (At this point in NFL history, the goal posts were still on the goal line, NOT the end line as today). Oakland stuffed Miami’s subsequent drive and the opening quarter ended with Oakland leading 3-0.
Raider running backs Marv Hubbard and Charlie Smith took turns running the football behind future Hall of Fame linemen Jim Otto and Art Shell. After another long drive, a penalty forced Oakland to attempt a long field goal. Blanda’s 46 yard field goal made the score 6-0 at half time. Miami’s offense was dead in the water.
Shula and McPeak made some half time adjustments. More flare passes were called for the Dolphin running backs, especially Mercury Morris and his back-up, Charlie Leigh. McPeak hoped this might free up wide receiver Marlin Briscoe and tight end Jim Mandich for some intermediate passes from Griese.
But Oakland’s ground game kept Miami’s offense off the field for most of the second half.
Another time-consuming drive engineered by QB Darryl LaMonica ended at the Miami 12 yard line. Blanda’s 19 yard chip shot expanded Oakland’s lead to 9-0 after three quarters.
Miami was having little luck with their running game. Morris would run for just 48 yards; Csonka for just 47. So Griese switched to the passing game. But the Dolphins were forced to punt again. One final time Oakland marched down the field, using the pass sparingly. The drive ended at Miami’s 3 yard line. Blanda’s fourth field goal gave Oakland a seemingly insurmountable 12-0 advantage.
With only 1:05 left, Griese completed a 28-yard touchdown pass to Jim Mandich. But it was too little, too late. Oakland ran out the clock
Head coach Don Shula and quaterback Bob Griese of the Miami Dolphins Sept. 23, 1973. (Photo by Sporting News/Sporting News via Getty Images)
and Miami’s 18-game winning streak was over. The Raiders had won 12-7. Raider nation was ecstatic! On the day, Griese was 12 for 25 for just 90 yards. And the ground game produced only 105 yards. “Their offensive line was exceptional and their defensive line took away our running game,” said a disappointed Don Shula. Left unsaid was the absence of Paul Warfield. No crack-back blocks to spring the running backs. And no double-teaming of Warfield by the defensive backs to free-up other Miami receivers. It is a fact that during this two-year run, Miami was UNDEFEATED in games played by Paul Warfield.
For the first time since Super Bowl VI (19 months ago) the Miami Dolphins had tasted defeat. But better days were on the horizon. The New England Patriots, a team Miami had dominated in 1972, were coming to town.
The 1973 Miami Dolphins were now 1-1.
Finsmob Unleashed 
Twins win….time to go to bed.
so what! It’s not like they will win the series! (negative fan 😉 )
Randy, I don’t think anyone who has posted with you for any amount of time will mistake you for a member of the lolly pop brigade, ever. I am pretty sure we all get it and accept you as you are.
I think what you may be experiencing as discrimination (being shouted down more because you are negative) may just be your perception due to the nature of folks wanting to defend what they love.
Cameron Wake #39 & Brent Grimes #38 on the list of top 100 players (as voted by the players) is too low IMO. But I don’t, you know, PLAY so I guess I can have my opinion and they have theirs.
▪ Kelvin Sheppard returned after missing Tuesday’s session because of the birth of his child.
Congratulations Kelvin Sheppard! (also glad to hear WHY you missed Mini Camp practice yesterday.
Congrats Kelvin!
Cameron Wake has been #999 in December when we’re hunting for the playoffs. Just saying . . .
I think part of that to be fair is because of a lack of depth. The guy plays at 100 MPH every snap and by the end of the year it’s only natural to lose some hop in his step. That’s why we’ve discussed cutting down his snaps and keeping him fresh in the 4th quarter and at the end of the year.
We need Shelby, Fede and even McCain to earn more reps so both Wake and OV can be at their max late in games and at the end of the season. Hopefully this year we’ll see that.
I don’t think the offseason with our young franchise QB which Tannehill is, is the same as any other offseason because we haven’t had that with a QB heading into his 4th season with the arrow pointing up since Marino. It’s new and fun and I like lit so fuck off! LOL
Horrible story with that shooting in Charleston, SC at a church. It appears to be racially motivated as it was a black church and 9 people were killed. I think when I went there back in Feb. we saw that church on our horse and buggy tour. Sad that this sort of stuff is still going on.
I saw that church on one of those tours so very possible. Sad to see such hate.
Tim
Fair or not fair, Wake disappeared when the stakes were high. Some special players just make things happen when their team needs them, and some players don’t. I think Wake is a very good playeer, just not that special team that will put his team on his back.
I’m not sure I buy that when the entire team seemed to lose their edge. It’s kind of unfair to put it on one guy. Remember he’s also a focal point for the opponent.
That’s like blaming Niese for last night’s loss.
I’m far from putting it on one guy, I blame everyone. Some guys can do more than just be one of those guys who don’t get it done, but he’s obviously not one of the special ones. That’s all I’m saying.
I was on one of those tours last week in Charleston SC. I was thinking we saw that church but wasn’t sure.
Did they talk about how the city market was not used for slavery?
Mike E hates Cam Wake. LOL
Just telling it like it is. No need to sugarcoat it, that’s what this blog is for.
Who are you, Randy? LOL
I watched an interview with Chris McCain yesterday and he said he learned last year that he definitely should have studied the defense/playbook more and because of that the coaches had to pick their spots when to play him. He said he can’t wait for the pads to go on because he loves the physical part of the game.
did he say if he has studied the playbook this year?
He was basically saying he learned how different the NFL game was from college. So I’m sure if he knows he should have studied more last year, that he did during the offseason.
Tim
I’m not Randy, but my guess is he’d probably say the same thing.
I’m just joking.
Very disturbed individual.
http://news.yahoo.com/shooting-erupts-church-charleston-south-carolina-021744448.html
Tim… over 200 guitars and amps destroyed in house fire.. The Horror.. The Horror.
http://abc7.com/news/ammunition-explodes-in-garage-during-yorba-linda-house-fire/792208/
Some of those guitars in cases look okay.
Some of those cases are vintage.. Would love to see whats inside.
Phindog says:
June 18, 2015 at 11:35 am
Some of those cases are vintage.. Would love to see whats inside.
Based on all that ammo that was in there probably machine guns inside. LOL
You could be right..
I was born and raised in Charleston and have attended services at that church as I am also Methodist. I hope they capture that guy who did this and shoot him 15 or 20 times until he dies.
I also lived on Isle of Palms which HerdFan mentioned she had traveled to recently and remarked about surf-fishing attracting sharks to areas where naive children are frolicking..I have seen that too, as I was born on an island off the coast of Charleston and lived on 6 different islands there.
Here you go Naples….
http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/18/us/charleston-south-carolina-shooting/index.html
Hope he fries..The spineless Fuck !!
They did catch him.
Cam Wake caused two fumbles against NE which went a long way to helping us win that game. The first game counts as much in the W-L standings as any other game.
He also is the guy who got the walk-off safety against the Bengals, so i do think he is clutch.
“When you consider Ryan’s contemporaries, Andrew Luck had 38 starts in the NCAA, Russell Wilson had 50 NCAA starts, Colin Kaepernick had 51 NCAA starts…. And then after that say… ‘Ryan Tannehill had a grand Total of 19 NCAA starts at QB’…. It places things in perspective.
“Ryan Tannehill’s contemporaries have each had at least double the number of starts… And in 2 cases they have had way More starts. That makes a HUGE difference in how Ryan perceives NFL defenses in games.
“As it stood moving into 2014, Ryan had started right at 51 games. college and pro. In other words… He was then where Wilson and Kaep were with experience in 2014 (or 2013 with Luck) One of those two seasons is when we would have seen RT17 as a rookie, had he not taken one for the team and played at WR for two years.”
I’d take last year as a pretty DG rookie year output. And NOW….!!!
from comments to a post … I DID NOT WRITE THIS.
Randy says:
June 17, 2015 at 11:30 pm
Twins win….time to go to bed.
why? is that some sign of the Apocalypse or something
When Randy goes to bed, all of Minnesota goes the bed.
Tim Knight says:
June 18, 2015 at 12:26 pm
When Randy goes to bed, all of Minnesota goes the bed.
it’s what happens. when he closes that bucket top, if you arent in, you freeze to death
Naples
What did Wake do in December? That’s all I’m talking about. I know he’s a pro bowler, I’m just stating the fact that he, along with the rest of the defense disappeared in December 2 years in a row. If you wan to dispute that with me, shoot.
The defense wasn’t the problem in 2013, it was the offense. They scored 7 points in the last two games. Defense allowed 39 which is less than 20 per game. I know I know, they should have pitched shutouts.
Although games in December SEEM more important, they are not. 8-8 is 8-8, no matter when the Ws and Ls happened. If we had lost the NE first game and won the Jets 2nd game we would’ve still been 8-8.
If you want to say that Wake was beaten down towards the end, then let’s look at a reason why (and I do have my reasons, for BOTH years), but I disagree that you can characterize Wake all by himself as not being clutch in big games.
For several of the later Sparano years people lamented the “slow start,” so it does not matter whether we start slow or finish weak, both are devastating. So is a midseason slump.
This year i predict we start fast, weather a mid-year challenge, and finish strong.
Go Dolphins!
Every game is different. Sometimes it ends up that the defense can win the game for you and sometimes it’s up to the offense. I think we will see an improved run defense this season. I still think our LBers are suspect, but I don’t think they’re a major concern. I’d like to see Jones playing more in the box like he did his first couple years. I think teams will run at Wake in order to tire him out…and he’s just an OK run defender. I wouldn’t mind seeing more of Shelby on early downs. Stopping the run is a team effort.
Scott Kacsmar on Twitter
Frank Gore ran against eight or more defenders in the box a league-high 76 times last season.
Defenses understandably had zero respect for Colin Kaepernick and the 49ers’ pass game. Gore’s move to Andrew Luck means he’ll be operating against six- and seven-man boxes a majority of the time, and he also projects to be used as a receiver far more. No back in the league (outside of perhaps C.J. Spiller) will benefit more than Gore from a change in scenery.
next i hope buffalo trades Sammy Watkins to Jacksonville.
VERY BRIEF theories on the two year-end collapses: Bully-gate required such a huge psychic energy expenditure just to keep on playing hard, that when we hit Buffalo and they stonewalled us, we had no further reserves to call upon during that game or for the next one. Especially Wake and Odrick, who seemed genuinely saddened on a personal level by the whole mess, but also Pouncey and the big RG who were tainted by association. And the coaches had no further motivational speeches left at that time, as the OL and OC were dead men walking.
Naples, I do think games late in the year are important simply because the idea is to win a championship and you need to be playing well that time of year.
Say we go 12-4 this year because we had a great start but lost 3 of those games in our last 4 and not playing well. We get into the playoffs and lose playing poorly once again. That would be suck wildebeest nads.
If we go 12-4, half this blog will metaphorically suck gnu-nads out of sheer ecstasy.
LMAO!!!!
Hey just read that we will have joint practices (pass da spliff mon).
I don’t understand why some people question Miller’s running inside or act as though Ajayi is bigger or stronger between the tackles or in short yardage. The facts are in the article below, which shows how good Miller was in short yardage runs.
I LOVE Ajayi but I think it’s because he is such a great make-ya-miss talent, and he is WAAAAYYYY better than Miller as a receiver. Miller had a horrendous drop rate last year.
https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2015/06/17/secret-superstars-miami-dolphins/
I think the short yardage thing has been on the OL and not the backs. Miller did improve as a receiver as the year went on. He started off with a lot of drops but cleaned that up. He had some nice gains out of the backfield. All of our backs can catch.
Naples
True character is shown in times of distress and challenge. Anybody can play well when everything is going right, but how do you play when they’re not? If you’re a professional, nobody should need to motivate you to play at your very best ALL the time. If you’re getting your ass kicked, be the guy who steps up and plays even harder and leads the other guys to do the same. Be the player who sets the tone….especially when things aren’t going good. This team has shown itself to be mentally weak the last few years, in my opinion.
***
The leadership on this team has been nowhere to be found far too often in recent years. I’m hoping Suh changes that on defense. Who does it on offense is still a question in my mind.
I think that changes this year.
Naples,
I read that last nite on Lamar Miller…was good stuff, even comparing him to Jamal Charles last season.
Miller is really coming into his own as a very good RB. He turned 24 in April, so he’s just hitting his stride. We got him @ $660K this season, but now do we pay him for long term?
He had 8 rushing TD’s & 1 receiving TD last year on limited touches compared to most feature backs.
I look fwd to how he’s used this year and how many touches he loses to Ajayi & Williams.
I like the potential of our backs
from PFT (in case jetssuck is watching) 😉
The last time the Panthers practiced against another team in training camp was 2000 against the Lions, and rookie safety Deon Grant broke his hip, was hauled off in an ambulance with the owner riding along, and wasn’t sure he’d ever play again.
So maybe that’s why the Panthers waited so long to try again.
They announced this morning they’d have joint workouts with the Dolphins at their Spartanburg, S.C. camp on Aug. 19-20. The two teams play in the preseason Aug. 22 in Charlotte.
“I have a tremendous amount of respect for coach [Joe] Philbin, and we’re excited to be working with the Dolphins,” Panthers coach Ron Rivera said. “The Dolphins do some things differently on offense, defense and special teams so it will be an opportunity to work on all three phases of the game in controlled situations with really good tempo. Our players will see some different looks, and it will be a couple days of quality practice for us.”
Grant missed that 2000 season, but recovered to have a productive and prosperous 12-year career, by the way. So maybe it was just a fluke.
We used to do this all the time. I think the last time was with the Titans.
I hope you’re right, Tim. I think Suh is the type of player who can lead. Other than that….hard to say. We’ll find out.
Yes on Suh….Tanny can lead too, he’s shown more and more as he’s gained experience.
I think now he really takes the reigns on Offense.
I think now that the franchise made him the man he will step up more in that role.
Even the eggs are weird in FLA… LOL
http://abc7.com/food/-rare-perfectly-round-egg-found-in-carton/792378/
We gave up 20 to the Jets, and 19 to the Thad Lewis led Bills. Wake, by the way, had 1 tackle against the Jets, totally neutralized.
In 2013. He had 3 tackles against the Bills.
You can say the defense wasn’t the problem, but they weren’t the answer either. They could have shut down the hapless offense of the Bills and Jets, with Thad Lewis and Geno Smith at QB. What can I say, make all the excuses you want, Wake and the defense did nothing 2 years in a row with the playoffs on the line.
Still was on the offense. 3.5 PPG won’t cut it. Thad Lewis did very little in both games against us but people love to keep bringing up his name.
15-25 193 0 TD 1 INT 67.6 QB rating – whoa he really tore us up.
The defense held them to 4 FGs when our offense turned it over twice and punted 10 times.
I watched the game, so did you. He converted a few 3rd and ridiculously long plays. It happened. How many sacks and INT’s did we force? ZERO. It’s OK that their defense shut us out, why couldn’t we do the same? We had the playoffs on the line, they had nothing to play for.
LOL
That’s Bill Lazor with our LEADER! 🙂
Anyone here a word on why Kenny Stills has been held out of practice? I hope it’s something minor. I wanna see him ball early on this year.
^hear^ a word on Stills?
Mike E, you can’t blame a defense when you lose 19-0. We could have held them to 3 and we still lose. They scored one TD and kicked 4 FGs because we kept giving them the ball back. The defense kept giving the offense opportunities and they kept punting – 10 times we punted. 10!!!!
Look, it depends on what perspective you want to look at it from. It’s not just that we could have given up 3 and lost, if we didn’t allow the FOUR scoring drives, maybe we could have gotten the ball deep in their territory. The whole game changes. You make 4 FG’s sound like they did nothing, I see 4 scoring drives. The whole team failed, it’s crazy to JUST blame the offense. The defense lost the game as much as the offense.
The offense wasn’t just bad, it was dreadful. 103 total yards – 89 passing and 14 rushing. There is no other way to look at it to me. No team wins with numbers like that.
Not to jump on Wake or anything but Mike E is right that he disappeared in December last year. He played in 5 games last December and tallied a TOTAL of 9 tackles and 2 assists with 2 sacks and 2 passes defensed.
BOTH sacks and 4 of the 9 tackles came against Min. So yeah, he basically did nothing in December last year….
Teams sceme against your best player to take him out.. Let me introduce you to MR. Suh.. I don’t see wake being double or triple teamed that much this season.
Vernon is the guy who may really benefit as teams will be trying to key on both Suh & Wake.
Vernon had like 6.5 sacks last season. He could very well go double digits easily this season, thus earning himself a nice pay day….IMO.
I think he along with others did wear down last year. That’s why we’ve discussed the need for Shelby and Fede to play more snaps this year. We have the depth at DT, we need better depth at DE.
Doggy
I hope Suh does what we think he does, but that still doesn’t excuse Wake from being a magician the last 2 years in December. lol
Mike…
Wake will be fine this year.. We have a great addition that will require more attention to than what they will give Wake. Not worried about the last 2 years. That’s behind me.. This D is going to kick ass !!!
Damn.. I spilt my Koolaid reaching for a lollypop while observing a unicorn under a rainbow..
LOL! I’m not worried about Wake either, I’m worried about the whole team.
Tim
Would you say a baseball team played great defense if they made 3 errors in one inning and only allowed 1 run, and the team lost 1-0? To me, that’s what you’re saying with the last 2 years. Looks good because the point totals were low (20,19), but against teams with shitty offenses that we should have turned over and shut down as easily as they shut us down.
The defense kept stopping the Bills who were given good field position over and over. I don’t think you remember the game that well or how bad the offense really was. They weren’t even competitive.
103 total yards – 89 passing and 14 rushing. There is no other way to look at it to me. No team wins with numbers like that. We punted 10 times!!! Who does that?
LOL Those are stats for a quarter, not an entire game….(usually)
I think what Mike E is eloquently presenting and what Randy said about leadership are closely related and why it was Wake whose stats were so diminished. He was the most talented player and most admired leader on the defense, the heart AND soul if you will of our defense, so as the year wore on, OC’s began to realize that if you take him out of the game, no one else can beat you.
I think you could put Grimes in there with Wake, as his coverage wilted late as well, for the same reasons. The Game Plans schemed to neutralize those two, as we had guys off their sofa at the other CB and one safety and no playmakers at LB, even though Jenkins played well for a “rook.”
Nobody is with me on Vernon??? You freaks rather cackle about Wake all friggin day! sheesh
Cackle-cackle
Wake-didn’t-tackle. lol
Mike E,
I have to agree with Tim for 2013. 7 sacks, 2 ints, 10 punts, 23 minutes of possession. …No defense is going to win with those numbers. It’s just like a pitcher throwing a perfect game for 8 innings, wears down, and then throws one slow fastball and the game is over. Not his fault his damn hitters aren’t hitting anything all game.
The D was horrible at the end of last year. The offense was horrible at the end of 2013. There was a reason that Sherman was fired. That offense stunk!
Or I should say any defense is going to win if THEY force those numbers. They dominated our offense that game.
I agree the offense was bad, but game situations dictate the flow of the game. If we had turned them over in their territory, it could have changed the whole game. We did nothing. Sometimes it’s a pitchers duel, but our pitcher (defense) didn’t match theirs (defense).
We turn them over down 10-0 in the 2nd quarter. Carroll picked off Lewis who was under pressure. From our 26 the offense drove to the Bills 36 and on 3rd and 8 we were sacked for a loss of 7 and our player of the game Fields came out to punt for the 5th time. Still 2nd quarter and already 5 punts. LOL
I think a “proof” of how good Grimes and Wake are despite “disappearing” for December is that they were voted 38 and 39 as voted on by the NFL PLAYERS!! When your peers select you that high, it’s real. And December is one fourth of the season, so if they truly stink for 25% of the year it would not be invisible. All those opposition players in the December games voted too. There were no fanboy pencil neck geeks voting on a Hollywood image.
Maybe they should do these polls in December. lol
You sure?
“The defense kept stopping the Bills who were given good field position over and over. I don’t think you remember the game that well”
*
Tim … The Bills scored on 5 of their 11 possessions in the game. When the score was 13 -0 midway through the 3rd and the Bills were backed up on their 5 yard line, instead of making a game changing play, the D rose up and allowed Thad Lewis to lead a 90+ yd drive consuming almost 10 minutes and effectively ending the game. …Perhaps it is you who does not remember the game that well …lol
You’re not going to change my opinion. You and Mike are nuts. You’re both asking the defense to not just play well, but probably play one of the best games ever to win that game. They would have had to stop every drive and score all the points because the offense wasn’t scoring in that game.
You point to the Bills scoring on 5 of their 11 possessions (4 FGs), you have to like Mike says, look at the game situations. We kept giving them the ball with good field position. Their 9 4th quarter points all FGs were from our 33, 48 and 17. Yeah it’s on the defense. The game was 10-0 through 3 quarters. LOL
Apparently Omar is now running our Defense….SMH!
Omar Kelly ✔ @OmarKelly
“@ericwolf3784: is coyle gonna move his CBs closer this year?”» NOPE. And CBs decide how they play. Not Coyle.
Part of his move to be a politician for all of Florida later in life. Step one is to be a ‘reporter’, Step 2 is to take over the Dolphins from inept coaching, Step 3 is to make Florida his political playground.
This is his world, we just rent out space….
He’s so spot on… Great Players never listen to their coaches…. What A Tool !!
Bat
Thank you! These blind defense protectors are making me laugh. Their defense was great, ours was eh.
As for leadership on offense, I think Tannehill is a leader and I think Pouncey is a leader and I know Albert is a leader and I KNOW Jennings is a leader and I think Jarvis will be a leader.
Pouncey seems to have finally matured out of gangsta mode and part of his epiphany will show these next few years as he begins to be the point man a Center is supposed to be. Last year he showed leadership by agreeing to play RG despite it not being his natural position yet never complaining. THAT’S leadership and one of the reasons they rewarded him at contract time.
Greg Likens @GregLikens
#Dolphins didn’t practice today but went through a team-building activity with Navy Seals
Tannehill has shown leadership by getting up after 130 sacks in his first three years. No Gabbert/ David Carr syndrome here.
He showed leadership by never throwing anyone under the bus, EVER. I never heard him say anything about all those drive killing drops, Wallace pouting, or his old college coach gettin a little senile. All of that and working his ass off to make massive statistical improvement every year is leadership by example.
+1000000
Our defense wasn’t great but I bet there isn’t a single example of a team punting 10 times and having less than 150 yards of total offense winning a game in the last 20 years. We looked like one of the 1990 NFC Central teams trying our best to win games 6-3 with no offense.
“Damn.. I spilt my Koolaid reaching for a lollypop while observing a unicorn under a rainbow..”
I am hereby plagiarizing this. This image rocks.
Dog you should make a poster out of this and sell it in New Age tea rooms.
How could ya not like this guy too. Glad he was brought back. Time to ball!
New Age … Nobody is defending the offense.. they sucked .. but the D sucked just as much. ..Team effort…
YEAH … and the Coaches suck too don’t forget and the FO and that sucky owner and … and …
also don’t forget the ball boys sucked too for not deflating when appropriate
(LOL pls)
No actually the defense gave the offense every chance to get back in the game.
Naples .. LOL ..Don’t get me started on the coaches ….
New Age says:
June 18, 2015 at 2:38 pm (Edit)
Our defense wasn’t great
_____________________
You could have ended it right there. They weren’t even very good, when they needed to be with the playoffs on the line, against a lesser QB.
I have a little theory that our DL was getting numb to our DL coach. Even though lots of people said Kacy Rogers was good, there comes a time when a coaching change must be made just to get a new message and some new, well, coaching in the room. Players plateau after a while and systems get stale. That is why Andy had to move on to Kansas City; he is still a good coach, but he and Philly both need a change.
Anybody heard any more out of our new DL coach? He was highly praised by Phillips. Maybe new coaching will give Wake a new wrinkle on run D or teach OV a new technique.
If our defense was as stout as you guys defending them, we would have won that game 6-0. lol
Mike and Bat are so off it’s comical. I’d like to see you debate this.
Down by an insurmountable score of 10-0 after 3 quarters. The Bills 9 4th quarter points all FGs were from our 33, 48 and 17. The defense kept them out of the end zone every time and they got the ball already in FG position twice. Yeah it’s on the defense. LOL
naplesfan2010 says:
June 18, 2015 at 2:41 pm
“Damn.. I spilt my Koolaid reaching for a lollypop while observing a unicorn under a rainbow..”
I am hereby plagiarizing this. This image rocks.
Dog you should make a poster out of this and sell it in New Age tea rooms.
Naples.. I wish I could photo shop but that is not my skill set..
May I do one for you?
What’s comical is how good you think the defense was that day.
I just showed it to you that they played well enough to win the game by a long shot. They got zero support from the offense. Not just not enough support, zero, nadda, nothing!!!!
Tim
Just answer this very simple question
Whose defense was better that day, The Bills, or the Dolphins?
The Bills because they were a better defense (might still be), but they also got to face one of the most pathetic offensive performances I’ve ever seen.
You could easily say their defense was part and parcel as to why we were so bad on offense. I think our defense should have done the same to them. Didn’t happen.
The defense wasn’t good and there are much better examples that year like the Tampa Bay game. Our run D had been exposed already in 2013. At the same time, the offense was so bad that you really have to be looking to even get past their ineptitude.
10 punts really is all that needs to be said for the entire game. I think anyone would know that the team who punted 10 times…was in trouble.
Tim … two of Buffalo’s scoring drives started from their five yard line …with Thad Lewis!!! ..In addition to the drive I highlighted above which put the game away, our stalwart D gave up the games only TD on a 95 yard drive in the first half … You really want to continue to make excuses for this?
So what, 10-0 after 3 quarters. I’ll debate this all day because you’re barking up the wrong tree. You can’t win this debate and the stat line supports my opinion. 🙂
A defense gives up two 90+ yard scoring drives to an inept offense led by a practice squad QB and some feel they played well enough to win …lol
How many scoring drives did we have? That’s what I thought. LOL
Mike E, just because you think our defense should have had a dominant game doesn’t make it realistic. They didn’t. Our OL was putrid in that game, it wasn’t competitive. The Bills offense at least competed but we stopped them most of the time.
By the way I never said the defense played great, I said good enough to win the game and they did.
Tim .. Yes, a stat line that includes two 90 yard scoring drives given up to a garbage offense is certainly representative of winning football ..Clearly I must concede ..lol
That doesn’t matter, 10-0 after 3 quarters. I forgot how insurmountable of a deficit that is to overcome. LOL
and the cheerleaders sucked too!!!
wait … what?
Tim .. The failure of the defense to make a single meaningful play over the course of four quarters is not mitigated in any way by the pathetic floundering of the offense. At 10-0 in the third, the D could have made a momentum changing play with the Bills backed up but instead they found a nice soft spot to lie down in …lol
Or the offense could have scored and did their job. The defense’s job is to make stops which they did. You’re still barking up the wrong tree. You guys make the offense seem like an after thought when it was probably one of the worst performances in NFL history.
Naples… Please Do.. I can’t wait to see what you do with that photo shop..
Tim
The Bills averaged 21 PPG in ’13, we gave up 20.9 PPG in ’13. Seems as if it was about average for our defense and their offense. Give that defense a big cheer for holding the mighty Thad Lewis led Bills 2 points under their average!
Our offense gave them the ball on our own 33, 48 and 17 for their last 9 points. Ya know game situations. I’m amazed you guys view it the way you do. ‘Maybe I’m Amazed’ is actually playing on the radio right now. LOL
Also I never said the defense was great but good enough to win the game if the offense even competed a little. So saying stuff like give them a cheer is an exaggeration and not accurate to what I’ve said about the game.
Mike … To be fair, the Bills offense didn’t have to face big scary mismatches like ours did …lol
Tim ..the Bills scored on 5 of 11 including the two long drives ..Your definition of “making stops” is lenient indeed …lol
You can keep saying that and ignoring this and I’ll keep posting it right back at ya.
Our offense gave them the ball on our own 33, 48 and 17 for their last 9 points. They didn’t have to do much to kick a FG did they?
Tim, I never said the offense didn’t suck, it did, typical Philbin December choking. That doesn’t mean the defense didn’t choke too, it DID!
I don’t think the defense choked. Played well enough to win.
If they played well enough to win we would have won.
We only had one drive of over 5 plays the entire game.
Let’s change the argument. Down 16-0 did the Seahawks offense decide to quit? To let their top 5 defense for the past 3-4 years do all the work? They had 4 ints. Did they change QBs like we did? Did they completely abandon the run?
Did they completely stop the Packers from scoring again? Did they have more stops against Rodgers than we stopped the Bills in that game? (no).
The D did not play well against the Bills but when looking for a primary reason for the loss….it was the offense 100%.
The argument started because I stated a fact that Wake disappears in December. The whole team was a letdown that day, I fault the HC and the team for a really shitty effort with the playoffs on the line.
No doubt it was a letdown with the playoffs on the line. It sucked the week after as well when we lost 20-7 to the Jets.
Yes it did. Infuriating to watch garbage play like that in need of one lousy win.
That is a fact so far. Hopefully, the new and based off last year’s stats, improved DL helps him re-appear, lol.
I do blame the whole team for that loss. Defense was allowing gashing runs just like last year. The offense was much worse and we had Sherman calling plays. Team looked horrible. Not any better last year at the end except the defense was the primary culprit this time.
No one did enough either year is what I’m getting and you are right.
Andrew Abramson @AbramsonPBP · 33m33 minutes ago
#Dolphins face back-to-back former 2nd rounders on the road to open the pre-season: Daniel Thomas (Bears) & Jonathan Martin (Panthers)
Is anyone else scared? LOL
Mike E, seriously? You have to score to win. Oy! This debate is fucking retarded, I’m done with it. Everything I say gets ignored and exaggerated and it’s annoying.
I’m sorry… What did you just say ?
That was the side Martin was covering…
Tim … The game was over when the last two FG’s were kicked …One came after a Moore garbage time pick and the last on a turnover on downs on the Fins last possession ..When the game was still in the balance the D did nothing ..choked just as bad as the offense. A big play giving the offense good field position or turnover that led to a score either time the Bills were backed up could have shaken the offense out of its stupor and gave the team life, but I guess the D was satisfied with all the wonderful “stops” they were coming up with …lol
Right so why keep saying they scored 5 out of 11 times to make things look worse towards the defense than they really were. It was 10-0 in the 4th quarter.
I’m sorry, if you spend that much time blaming the defense in that game I can’t discuss it with you anymore because I think you’re totally wrong. It’s so obvious to me what the problem was that it’s mind boggling that you’d even look anywhere else.
Mike E, and Master Bat,
I agree that the D was bad. The run defense especially was a foreshadowing of the collapse the next year. Definitely the reasons I didn’t mind the DL re-do. Coyle could not get it done with what he had.
Total team loss but at least the offense wasn’t the primary factor in the Perfect Game(geno version). Embarrassing!
Yes, that’s pretty much what I’ve been trying to say for the last 3 hours. The defense gets no free pass, the team was awful.
The game was still winnable on the scoreboard. That’s all that matters. You can’t score 0 and win. With how bad the offense played we’re lucky it was only 19-0.
Wyo
I’d be more scared if we faced DTinfinity and Jonelle in December. lol
New Age .. Coyle was just as culpable as his lackadaisical charges for the past two seasons no shows at crunch time. I would have respected Bazooka Joe just a bit more if he had had the courage to show Cautious Kevin the door.
Tim … If the D doesn’t give up the two 95 yard drives, it’s a 3-0 game in the 4th quarter and anything can happen, even with our brain dead offense. Or is the offense to blame for allowing those drives as well?
LMAO!!!! Football is a competitive sport. The other team makes plays too. The Bills weren’t that good on offense, they just had the ball all day. Our offense did nothing. I’m closing the book.
“Football is a competitive sport. The other team makes plays too.”
Certainly not from the Bills perspective …
That’s been my point all day. The offense didn’t do a thing. They weren’t even competitive.
I’m actually getting nauseous continuing to think about that game or the end of that season. There’s gotta be something better to discuss. 🙂
I am LOL at the Tim and Mike E debate. You are guys are both right. The offense stunk in that game. Dreadful and disturbing how bad they were. The defense was also dreadful in that game. 2 90 plus yard scoring drives to a guy who can’t even make a roster any where else says it all. It was a dreadful defensive performance especially considering the fact of who was playing QB. So who lost the game? Both the offense and defense and coaching staff and well you get the idea. The debate is silly, both units stunk. No offense intended at either of you in calling the debate silly. I have been known to have my share of silly debates.
I know that’s your stance and knew you would post what you just did. LOL
What YEAR are you guys arguing about? We lost to the Ravens last year. That was the game that put us out of the playoffs. Ravens loss, Patriots Loss, Vikings Win, Jets Loss final four games…
2013 loss to the Bills at end of year.
Tim .. And my point has been as horrible as the offense was, the D wasn’t much better. They also made no plays and were barely more competitive. ..combined with poor coaching, the result was a given
Are you guys talking about 2013 still????????? Come ON! We lost to the bills EARLY last year 10-29 and then beat them in November 22 -9
Rock …This heated debate centers on the epic 2013 collapse when we needed a single win against the Jests and Bills ..
The defense didn’t suck as much as the offense did in that game. Does that settle the debate?
Totally true, but both units sucked. That’s all that matters to me. lol
Ya hear that Tim???? The defense sucked! LMAO!!!
It’s okay, I don’t think they played badly at all. They weren’t great or anything, but not bad.
It’s not like they gave up 3 90 + yard scoring drives.
oh christ! I’ll be back later……
I had a really horrible dental experience in 2013 and it was way more fun than that stupid Bills game.
Sue the dentist. A jury here in Connecticut just awarded $4.5 million for a bad root canal.
What does bad mean, they drilled into her brain and she can only say: ding fries are done, ding fries are done!!!?
In the case in Connecticut they drilled too far in the root canal and when they filled the filling material penetrated well below the gum and impinged on a nerve causing permanent neurological injury.
It all started because Mike E hates Wake. LOL
December Wake. The Magician. lol
I think we should discuss Kong’s dental experience for the next 3 hours. Was it the Dentist that sucked, or the hygienist, or his teeth? lol
The hygienist sucked off the dentist while Kong was high on laughing gas.
As long as Kong didn’t suck off the Dentist, I’m Ok with your version. Kong is also relieved. lol
LMAO!
Mike … All our guys are very tired come December … You really should be more understanding …lol
LOL Bat – yeah, who wants to work another week or so, that would be awful!
Mike,
I agree 100% on Wake. Additionally, and I have said this before, Wake seems to be all or nothing in most games. His sacks tend to come in bunches, and other game s he simply disappears. Hopefully that changes with Suh this season.
Part of that is not enough pressure up the middle. Both Wake and Vernon get around the edge quite a bit but QBs get the opportunity to step up too often. I thought we’d be better at that then we were last year. I hope we’re much better at that this year lead by Suh.
Mike … LOL ..Not much danger of that with Bazooka Joe calling the shots …
Ding fries are done…