From CBS Sports
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/gametracker/preview/NFL_20160925_CLE@MIA
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Finsmob Unleashed 
The new video screens are awesome. They have one in each of the corners where they took the nose bleed seats out. Not only bigger and better, but because they are in the shade area they pop at you. Like watching a TV.
I think one of the mote interesting stories of the season so far has been how good the Vikings defense has been
What is really interesting about the Vikings defense and how its built is the emphasis on the back 7
Besides Anthony Barr they have drafted guys like Eric Kendricks, Trae Waynes, Xavier Howard, Mackensie Alexander and Kentrell Brothers over the last few years
Some of them aren’t starting but they still help to build a good overall unit
really deep talented defensive unit there
and helping them get past the QB issue they have had
its going to be hard to keep it up with their QB issues but I think their performance really shows us all something about the NFL
More than one to bake a cake Pig, but might be that the Vikings played the draft real smart by going the route. After the Giants beat the Pats in the Bowl the whole NFL went D-Line crazy (and pass rush more generally). Might be that the Vikes got more talent for the buck/draft pick cause they weren’t as caught up in the frenzy.
this might be a good thing to see some of the young players play. Jenkins hasn’t been that great the last 2 years.
Omar Kelly @OmarKelly 10m10 minutes ago Davie, FL
Jelani Jenkins has a groin strain.
The young players suck too….lol
at least I see better effort. How many time we need to get run over on the left side before a LB actually pursuits the runner on that side. I miss Zach and his pursuit.
Omar Kelly @OmarKelly 9m9 minutes ago Davie, FL
“My standard for him are high. He can be a difference maker on the offensive line,” Gase said
Omar Kelly @OmarKelly 9m9 minutes ago Davie, FL
Adam Gase wouldn’t commit to Ja’Wuan James starting vs the Bengals. “There was some good. A couple that were bad.”
I’m thinking Gase disciplining young guys in an effort to bring out the best in them is going to be a running theme
Ajayi, Parker and now James
it seems to be working
good to see Ajayi with the winning TD run yesterday
it might be Drake and Ajayi as the 1- 2 punch at RB
maybe he should start disciplining the defensive guys also. The defense was the main reason the game was even close.
Can’t say I am against. And especially since he is so young. He ain’t there Dad’s age, more like an older or young uncle. Still needs to get the players respecting him like he was some coach they saw on TV when they were growing up.
those 2 plays were the reason he was benched.
Seems if he was willing to do the obvious hold to protect his QB, James might as well have just made the tackle.
And this is the other INT
he sucks but maybe its from overusing his groin before games LOL
He basically collected tackles on a bad defense a few years ago and is thriving on that
He’s not our worst LB IMO
But he’s not very good either
the Wide 9 requires out LBs to be a little more instinctive than this group is
they just are never in the right spot it seems
The Vikings front 4 is ferocious. They really contained Newton and then beat him up.
Floyd is special
But its a compelte defense
good front 4
good back 7
no gaping holes like we have
I bet our front 4 could go toe to toe with theirs or even do better with the same personell behind our front 4
That’s what happens when you change personnel departments too much. We’ve had 3 GMs since 2013. Spielman has been in Minnesota for 10 years now.
stanger,
wasn’t the vikings GM once our GM?
Yep — and you got me too look up. In 2004, and he was our top player pro (although that does not mean he made the final draft call) for two years before that.
Yes
And overall I don’t think he is much of a GM
the Bradford trade was certainly questionable
but they’ve really had good drafts recently
and focused on defense
Harrison Smith, Shariff Floyd, Anthony Barr, Xavier Rhodes, Trae Waynes all 1st rounders since 2012 (they had 3 1st rounders 1 year)
Eric Kendricks and Mackensie Alexander 2nd rounders in the last few years as well
Remember at draft time we talked about Kendricks being like an extra DB
he is a really good coverage LB
A lot of emphasis on the secondary
If i remember correctly our defense was pretty good around that time. I think nick saban brought him in? or was it wanny?
Wanny brought him here in 2000. He was fired when we hired Saban.
BoulderPhinfan says:
September 26, 2016 at 11:25 am (Edit)
maybe he should start disciplining the defensive guys also. The defense was the main reason the game was even close.
****
he is an offensive guru and the defensive players in general are not so young
but maybe a player like Howard during the course of the season
I think you have to treat everyone the same. Young, old whatever. Jenkins was terrible. He should’ve been benched. And whoever is suppose to set the edge on the right side of the line should be benched. I just hate our defense right now.
our defense sucks right now
we look like a team that has to outscore everyone
I agree Tim
To much changeover
but I am still envious of the focus on defense the Vikings have gone through
Our defensive heavy draft likely starts next year. We need a good young DE and to add some good young LBs to the mix.
wake me up when we are ready to start drafting LBs
i’m tired of getting excited for it to happen….lol
and I think it deviates from the conventional thinking that good defense flows from the pass rush
not undermining the pass rush – but the NFL is so happy, its seems that coverage LBs, hybrids LBs and DBs can really help out the DL
Su’a Cravens had a great play for the redskins yesterday. I’m curious to see his development over the year. He’s is the perfect example of the hybrid LB that we keep seeing come up in the NFL
Funny you say that but LBs have been diminished with all the sub packages. Every team looks at the front 4 first, not sure why some of you guys think the opposite way. I have yet to hear one personnel guy say it starts with LBs and the DBs. The reason is because it doesn’t.
Now that doesn’t mean teams don’t like good LBs, it’s just not where you start. There are very few good coverage LBs in the NFL. Sure it’s great if you have one or two but they’re not easy to find.
I’m glad our coach is an offensive guru or this could be really bad LOL
” Against the Browns, who came into Sunday’s game as one of the NFL’s worst third-down defenses, the Dolphins converted 2-of-10 third-down attempts.”
I think you look at big plays like the Parker catch, the Landry catch. the Willaims catch and run or even the Ajayi run in OT as an example of the Gase offense
3rd down conversions are irrelevent to me if we score 30 or more
I guess we could have worked the clock and maybe that would have helped the defense
but I really think the big problem on offense were the TOs not the third down offense The TO’s should have lead to at least 13 points – instead it lead to a pick 6 and 2 missed FGs
we were lucky the Browns are as bad as they are
a better team capitalizes
if it was anyone else but the browns we would have lost that game.
The browns were the better team yesterday and gave the game away.
We also made mistakes that prevented us from putting the game away. It wasn’t what you would call a good win. But it is a W and now we have to keep working and get better. I see a lot of good things but we’re not consistent and I hope that comes in time sooner than later.
Also I still have hope that Hewitt can develop into a good LB. He always flashes here and there and especially on STs. He had a big hit yesterday. He’s got the ability, he needs to learn the intricacies of the game on defense.
Updated. Everyone got the browns game right.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1HYb9B1KHDXFHIfyAkIX-vaqSl8uCF7Zu7xsGsGspBpc/edit#gid=0
You guys and your fixation on defense and offense have no clue. What yesterday clearly proved is games are won by putting the best foots on leather.
M. Darr
6 punts
48.8 yard average
4 inside the 20.
C. Parkey
6 field goal attempts
3 worked
And don’t get me started on what would have happened if Franks hits that shorty FG in Seattle. You guys can argue about the Pats game, but kickers decided two out of three so far.
Fans tend to forget that any given Sunday is real and you see a lot of poor games played by teams deemed to be better. I have no idea who is really good right now. The Pats are, after that not sure who will be there at the end.
Did anyone see OV get a late hit that basically cost the Giants the game? We’ve seen that before. 😉
its true. When 2 of the crappiest teams in the NFL play each other, either one can win. That was proved yesterday. 🙂
Look at how many teams didn’t even show up in their games. It was one of those weird weeks.
Boulder — seems to me that we have had three games that we either won or lost not just in the 4th Q, but in the last say five minutes or less of it.
And in two of them the teams were at least not crappy.
And Darr had a darn fine game. Man has one big leg. His positioning is not nearly as good as Fields, but he can boom it more…..even if closer in what Fields would have at the five or six ends up at the ten or eleven.
And part of that is he gives up height (and the classic Brandon fair catch) for distance and goes the directional kicking route a lot more.
Each individual player has to clean up their game and as a team we will become collectively better. I do see promise. We just don’t string enough good together and play complementary football well enough.
This is Gase’s current challenge at the moment. Staring off better faster and closing out games late. I’m glad he and the team are not overly happy about this win. That’s a good sign.
Defense is still the major flaw of this team, IMO. Outside of Wake, our pass rush is trash. Our run defense is awful and I put the majority of that on our LBs. Can’t shed blocks, bad run fits, slow to close, hesitant at times, can’t cover, instincts aren’t there. That’s the major flaw right now. Maxwell SUCKS. He is coasting out there anytime he’s off ball or in zone. At least he defended a few balls… Howard didn’t stick out, which is a good thing, I guess. Jones is a total stud. He’s the type of player Miami needs to reward and focus on. Build around your Landrys, Jones, Wakes. Just about everyone else is expendable.
Just not seeing much to build on right now. There are a few bright spots, but overall we lack the kind of players that make up a winning team. Maybe we have the coach to get us there? We’ll see, I guess. I have little faith in our GM.
Tough being a Dolphin fan. One of these days, right?
The last thing this douche cares about is winning. He wants to get paid. That’s about it.
Omar Kelly @OmarKelly 4m4 minutes ago Davie, FL
“We’ve got to win and we’ve got to win now,” Byron Maxwell said.
Omar Kelly @OmarKelly 23m23 minutes ago Davie, FL
“I gave up some passes. I made the plays that count. We won the game. Got the W,” Byron Maxwell said.
stanger,
I see the same team we’ve had the last few years. It’s a mediocre team at best. Hopefully that changes.
My season prediction on your chart was 8-8, just like yours. Not sure what has happened to change either of our opinions. D’s great first game surprised me. What has happened since has not.
I said 8-8 but I wasn’t happy about it. I just know this team. Last time I checked 8-8 is pretty mediocre.
After watching this team so far, 8-8 would be pretty good. Right now I don’t see an 8 win team.
But mediocre was what we were all along. Was only going against crappy. High-side on this team is a wild card squeak in there. Low side is crash and burn. Seems only thing we have learned so far is that something magical is not going on….in the first three games at least.
i didn’t think we were going to be really good this year so mediocre might be it with the hope of somehow making the playoffs. They have a lot of work to do but I do think we have talent. We’re not a good team right now. They can get better. I really believe that.
With you Tim. Yeah I want the team to do as well as it can, but biggest overall thing for me this year is whether Gase is the man or not. And so far so good far as I am concerned.
I’m really surprised at JAX. I thought they were ready to make some noise, a legit contender, and there they are at 0-3. Hung in with the Pack but lost 27-23. Blown out by SD 38-14, and then a close loss against the Ravens 19-17.
I’m glad we switched to a wide 9 or our run defense could’ve been worse.
Armando Salguero @ArmandoSalguero
Miami Dolphins have the 32nd ranked run defense in the NFL. NFL has 32 teams so …
When the Lions ran the Wide 9 with Suh there, they were #1 in the league against the run
this is a dramatic difference obviously
I suspect 1 key difference is the personel behind Suh
Stanger continues to love the kickers…lol
never seen a fan so passionate about it
lets go FRANKS!!!
LOL — after watching yesterday……was thinking could have loved Judas if he was later four for six inside the twenty with a high forties average.
For anyone driving to The Fest.
I paid $40 bucks at a cash lot yesterday.
They now have “yellow passes” (which are just pre-paid cash lot pays in the same lots) going for $20 on stubhub. With fees that brings you to like high twenties or something…..you’ll still be doing the same walk from the cash lot but will save some.
You can also get an orange pass (inside stadium fence sections), but the lowest of those is going for $40……so add on ten bucks Less walk though to the tailgate though..
DRG
Suh actually has 2.5 sacks after 3 games
which is really strong for a DT
I think we hve pretty a pretty good interior pass rush actually
I just think guys have been open on shorter routes
I don;t love Maxwell
but he did not stand out to me as being really bad yesterday
of course I tend to give CBs a lot of latitude and I don;t expect much from Maxwell
I’m not eager to keep Maxwell after 2016
But I haven;t seen a whole lot of teams stretching us deep on the sideline
The more they play to his strengths the better he plays. It is somewhat limiting that he cant play a pure man coverage or pure zone, but he is capable when playing the scheme that i thought was what Joseph intended from the get go.
Our DL is very good, so is the DE unit. We get pressure just with the four, but they need short pass coverage help. We arent getting help from LB’s and we arent getting help from CB’s because of scheme.
We cant still bounce back, and i agree with Tim on one thing, we just arent as good as people hoped.
I like our RB’s. We may not have a Fournette in the group, but they are decent. I dont like the level of rotating we did last game, but maybe it was testing the waters before delegating more share moving forward.
I like the core of our WR’s. I dont think Stills in particular is a dynamic we cant get from plenty of other receivers, maybe even guys currently on our staff like Caroo. I wouldnt make him a priority resign. Parker and Landry are our core and we should hold on to them. I want to see what Hunter might be able to do for us, but if there isnt much there we can easily move on.
OL unit is looking fairly good. Promising. I hope it stays together and we dont lose a significant piece to injury. Steen was operating the OC position well, hopefully his injury isnt serious and he will be back, Pouncey coming back will really help us.
TE’s, we dont have a standout, but we have two decent guys. We can improve this unit and id suggest either getting Cameron back for a decent amount less money of letting him walk and getting an upgrade.
QB i think i get frustrated with because he looks so promising one second and then just awful the next and he still hasnt learned a few things that are core to being great, some may bemoan the complaints and say well set your expectations lower, he doesn’t have to be great for us to win. I differ with this opinion and suggest we must continue to search for great because great comes with consistency that we desperately need, and great comes with a guy who can help elevate the tam and not have to have a whole team of great players elevate him. We may need to at least look to draft a player early mid draft this year, but mid at the latest.
On defense we seem to have a nice core of DT’s and DE’s. They arent the youngest group, but they are solid players. Our safeties are also pretty solid. I think we could improve on Isa but he is good enough paired with Jones to be a difference maker. Very much a back burner position for upgrade though, only if we had the right player at the right price fall to us would i even consider it.
CB’s, i keep floating between horrible and decent. Maxwell at times looks great and it really depends on our scheme, Howard at least with an early evaluation is similar, both get burner on pure man coverage, and neither have shown good recognition and closing speed when in pure zone. I think we could really use adding another really strong player to round out the group, ie draft high at CB and competition kicks the loser out of the outside role to the nickle role.
LB’s oh sweet LB’s, we need 2 starting caliber players. I really only see one guy who would be worth dropping serious money on in FA, and that would be Jamie Collins. Double whammy of stealing from the Pats, and he is about as good as they come at LB. I think we have to re-sign at least one of the two, Jenkins or Alonzo, i think Jenkins provides the most upside. We would then need to draft one, two if the pipe dream of getting Collins falls through. Might mean having to double up, 1st and second pick on LB’s or stringing together some picks and going 1 CB, 2LB, 2aLB. LB depth is pretty good so we could probably pull off 2 starters from the 2nd round.
This is also a loose evaluation, we have miles left to walk, injuries left to suffer, and mid season wake ups to get to, but for now this is how i feel about the players we currently have.
Piggy
Reason I brought up JAX was they spent their first 5 picks on defense, and they’re 0-3.
RD1 – CB/S Jalen Ramsey
RD 2 – OLB Myles Jack
RD 3 – DE Yannick Ngakoue
RD 4 – DT Sheldon Day
RD 6 – OLB Tyrone Holmes
They didn’t have a 5th RD pick, and yes, I’m aware that Jack was a pick for the future, but still, they placed a strong emphasis on defense, and definitely had some nice offensive pieces in place with Bortles, Robinson and Hurns, TE Julius Thomas and a pretty good stable of RB’s with TJ. Yeldon, Chris Ivory and Denard Robinson.
give ’em time….lol
Is Jack even playing yet
Wide 9, really really dependant on the ability of the MLB and his football intelligence. I dont think Alonzo is that guy, he doesnt seem to read the plays well, and he doesnt seem to know his assignments well.
much less be able to put others into good assignments.
I think it’s too early to put final evaluations on anyone. I think there is a big learning curve going on.
Im putting game 3 evaluations on them. See my last paragraph, i said im not saying tis is the end of the year evaluations, but you can evaluate at any point for what thigs are….and they arent good.
I was reiterating your last point as that’s how I feel. 🙂
oh, ok
Mike Jags are 8th in the league in yards given up per game, we are 29th.They are 9th in yards per play, we are 17th. They are 16th in 1st downs gained, we are 27th. They are worse than us in points per game, but given we have given up more yards per game, it means they have been losing the field position war, so partially ST fail. You would also have to look at how much they have improved or not improved from last year to know for sure. Not saying drafting D in first 3 is the right way to go, but emphasis on D does pay off if thats the side of the ball you are worst at.
It’s kind of skewed, because NE put a ton of yards and points on us, the SEA we were much better, and we were bad, just not as bad against the Browns, but I thought we should have been a lot better against the Browns, which is why I was disappointed.
No argument there. I hoped to and expected to see a much better gameplan and execution. Was very sloppy, inconsistent and disappointing.
Fuck the stats bring substance. It’s hard to judge one team against another after 3 games, it depends on the teams and the flow of the game.
Anyone have a sleeper QB? Im looking at Luke Faulk right now as a mid round guy.
Terrible accident.
https://www.yahoo.com/sports/news/new-details-emerge-in-jose-fernandezs-deadly-boating-accident-154439898.html
“Veloz confirmed that Fernandez died as a result of the impact of the crash and did not drown.”
Clearly they were going at real high speed. And whether drinking was involved or not, clear one of Jose’s buddies screwed up big time.
Likely a very violent way they died. Very sad.
‘definitely had some nice offensive pieces in place with Bortles, ‘
how the fuck does bortles fit ‘nice offensive pieces’ but tanny is the worst qb in the history of the game. oh wait i remember bortles girlfriend has huge boobs……..nevermind
‘
LOL Rob – Way to break it down in a way everyone can relate to
Steve
I didn’t bring up any stats except for the Jags W-L record. If I can’t bring that up, what is OK to bring up? lol
MikeE
I noticed that you guys are in town. Hearts are going to be heavy tonight, even on your side I’m sure… But we might as well just mail this one in for I dont think anyone feels like playing now.
I wish you could have seen our broadcasts cause Jose was always the life of the party down there in the dugout even when he wasnt pitching. This jus isnt going to be right.
LIFE OF THE TEAM #16 😦
It’s awful that this team actually has to go back to work right now. I would expect it to be very somber, but maybe if they get something positive in the game going, it will be therapeutic, and they will do it for Jose. It could go either way.
🙂
D,
Philly is playing a wide nine defense and they traded alonzo. That should tell you something. 🙂
MikeE
I just heard on the Orlando news that tonight’s game is cancelled.
ARENT YOU GUYS STILL IN PLAYOFF CONTENTION? they cancelled yesterday agaist the braves but that certainly wont have to be made up.
I’ll be on the FSF to see if Marlins live is still on at 6:30
Nice!
Omar Kelly @OmarKelly 24s24 seconds ago
#Dolphins coach Adam Gase ready to make lineup changes, says ‘talent is irrelevant at this point’
That’s what I like about him so far. He doesn’t take mistakes and sloppiness well and addresses it. He benched James. He challenges players.
Well we don’t have to wait long for the next game.
D, I do think the coaches are still trying to find the right guys in the run game. Looking for a back to step up. Hopefully a few of them start picking up more yards.
Breaking news:
For the first time since Jimmy Johnson was the coach of the Dolphins a Dolphins coach is actually noticeably pissed off.
Stay tuned for more …
Being that it’s a short week I wouldn’t be surprised to see more guys play on offense and defense Thursday night especially if some guys aren’t getting it done.
Stanger thanks for the reports of the stadium. I can’t wait to see it.
Was it louder?
The announcers said it was loud when I was watching the game.
Game is on MikeE
Orlando news dont know shit! around here its all Arlnold Palmer… Sorry to here that but the man was 87!
Marlins live is very sad and I am crying.
SUCH A FINE YOUNG MAN, LIFE OF THE MARLINS #16
Yeah Howie, it’s a shame. Great kid for the community, for his team, the sport, and too young to go period. He will be missed by many
Tim, it seems like Gase is going to shake it up some as he tries to figure out the right formula for this team. I like it rather than sitting on his hands and hoping it changes. It seems he is, as a natural leader, filling a void of leadership this team has had for some time.
Howie
I don’t see anything mentioning that tonight’s game is cancelled. I can’t imagine they won’t play, they can’t cancel the rest of the season for them, they’re going to have slog through it, as difficult as it probably will be.
BTW – We’re in the lead for the 1st Wild Card spot, 1 game ahead of SF, and 1 1/2 ahead of the Cardinals
Local sports radio did a promo for Thursday’s game saying “when the Bengals come to The new Hard Rock Stadium ” bunch of doofuses.
I’m glad Gase is mad, I’m mad too!
I’m happy we won. I’m happy their kicker had the yips but glad we got a win.
Of course I’m glad we got the win, it’s “how” we got it that makes me mad. We have to play better. Mike Francesa just brought it up as I was driving home that if the Parkey didn’t miss 3 FG’s 3 makeable FG’s, there would be big time turmoil in MIA. What else is new?
Howie
The fins bungle in the jungle and scrap out a win. Juice gets loose on prime time.
Winning ugly but winning
24-21
I’m pretty tired today I wonder who’ll pass out first tonight me or Hillary?
Jeez, this is really sad. I’m crying too Howie.
Very touching.
Classy stuff going on right now.
1st batter Dee Gordon bats from the right side for the first pitch with Jose’s helmet on Then goes back to his regular left side and hits his 1st HR of the season.
FITTING
Short Week Update #3
DOLPHINS-BENGALS
Piggy 20-17 MIA
Naples 30-29MIA
N/A 28-17 CIN
Rock 31-17 CIN
Son 24-21 MIA
GO PHINS!
Perhaps I was wrong!
Marlins come out on fire
5-0 bottom 2
This José Fernández thing is heart breaking. I remember watching the kid pitch in high school. I went with a friend to watch her nephew pitch and just so happened it was against Jose. As most of you know i was involved in youth baseball and watching him pitch he was unlike anything i saw in 12 years of youth baseball. But with or without baseball talent it is just a sad thing when those that young are taken early. I mean when there are people like himary and trump that could be taken first why not spare the youth.
Yeah FFR you are from the Tampa area where Jose first came to the united states.
Although most of us have only known him for the past 4-5 years we are deeply saddend
6-0 #16
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has unveiled his very own Snapchat filter for tonight’s first presidential debate, which refers to his debate partner Hillary Clinton as “Crooked Hillary.”
New Hulk post up. Was trying to set it for tomorrow but Hulk goofed. Hulk angry now Hulk Smash!