By Dr. Bruce Banner
Bruce Banner here again. I have not had a season as peaceful as this season in a long time. The Miami Dolphins are 9-5, in sole possession of the 6 seed in the AFC playoff picture and in control of their own destiny. Every time I get that angry feeling like things are going to implode these Dolphins do something to help calm me down. Take the last game against the Jets, they got down 7-0 early on and the Jets were driving looking for a second touchdown. I was starting to get angry, pacing, punching walls and feeling a little green and then all of a sudden a turnover. Then a score and then another one. They took the lead and didn’t look back. It had an amazingly calming effect on me. When I am calm I am very reflective and some thoughts came to mind that I would like to share with you.
First is how good Kenny Stills has been. He is not a number 1 receiver but he has been one of the best deep threats in the NFL this year. He has 7 touchdown catches, all of them over 24 yards long. 3 of them over 50 yards long. He has developed into a true stretch the field threat that could seemingly get behind any defense. In my scientific opinion I would make it a priority to resign him this off season. Our offense is undoubtedly better with him on the field.
It also occurred to me while watching the game this past Saturday night that we may have witnessed the beginning of something special in the secondary. Ronnie Lippett and Xavien Howard were on the field together as the top 2 corners for really what was the first time all season. They proceeded to take a very talented Jet wide receiver corps out of the game. Lippett demonstrated his WR ball skills on a tremendous interception while covering Marshall and then snagged another on the final play of the game. Howard had a number of fine pass break ups as well. This combination has not been on the field much due to injuries from Howard and the need to transition Lippett from a WR to a CB. However, I think we got a glimpse of the future of what these 2 young corner backs can do and I was very impressed.
It cannot be stated enough about what an impact Adam Gase has had on this franchise. First and foremost he is holding players accountable. He is putting in the rookies and giving significant responsibilities during this playoff push. There are no more kit gloves. But more than that he has brought an aggressive play calling style to the offense. We push the ball down the field and he is willing to take chances instead of the Sporano 2 yards and a cloud of dust play calls and the Philbin 3 yard curl route. His aggressive play calling was never more evident than last Saturday’s game against the Jets. With a backup QB playing and the Jets stacking the box to stop the run, Gase put the game in the hands of Matt Moore. He aggressively called for some down field shots and throwing the ball to beat the Jets. He was not afraid to put the game in the hands of his backup QB.
Finally, I must mention how impressed I am with the job Matt Moore has done. He has delivered for us 2 weeks in a row. He came off the bench cold against the Cardinals and delivered a game winning drive in adverse weather with time running out. Then he goes on the road into the house of divisional rival in the middle of the playoff hunt and throws 4 touchdowns while leading this team to a huge victory. He is not as physically gifted as Ryan Tannehill and you can see he threw a couple of flutter balls. But he also made really good quick decisions. He has a very quick release and showed a great command of the offense. If he can win one of the two remaining games and deliver this team to the playoffs he will go down with Earl Morrall and Don Strock as among the great backup QBs who have played for this franchise. Moore has done exactly what you want a backup QB to do. Be ready when called upon and if needed to go out and start some games then his job is to give you a realistic opportunity to win those games. Moore has delivered on that in spades. There are some that say trade Moore this offseason as he likely will have the highest trade value he will ever have. However, I believe that Moore’s role as the dependable backup is far more important than any trade value he will bring. His presence of knowing you can’t count on him if Tannehill goes down is a calming effect on this team. And as you guys know I am all about staying calm.
Finsmob Unleashed 
Hal Habib
@gunnerhal
Dolphins’ Matt Moore is AFC offensive player of the week.
Kim Bokamper’s take on the team:
“I don’t think it feels fluky at all. You’ve won eight out of nine games, you’ve beaten good football teams and you’ve beaten bad football teams. You got a smart head coach making all the right calls….I think this is the corner that needed to be turned for this franchise.”
This is good news for next year. Yeah Pouncey might put a good spin on it, but probably not this much if surgery and career was in question.
———————
DAVIE, Fla. (AP) — Miami Dolphins center Mike Pouncey says the hip injury that ended his season isn’t career threatening, and he’ll be ready for the team’s offseason program….
Pouncey broke his hip during the preseason, came back for Games 5 through 9 and aggravated the injury, ending his season. He said Wednesday he probably came back too soon because he was eager to play.
I can’t believe the Phins doctors never heard of silly putty. gheez!
Awesome!
Lets go Pouncey!
It’s ALL OVER the place!!! When you’re backup QB gets the honor you may have something going
The Miami Dolphins played the Cleveland Browns in Miami on Sept. 25. And the Dolphins should have lost.
The Browns used an emergency kicker after their regular kicker got hurt in practice that Friday. Cody Parkey, the last-minute replacement, missed three field goals in regulation, including one on the final play. The game went to overtime and the Dolphins escaped with a win.
Again, the Dolphins lucked out to get an overtime win at home against a Browns team that is 0-14 and hasn’t lost by fewer than 13 points since October. And that was the Dolphins’ only win through five games. At 1-4, with that lone win against the Browns, the Dolphins looked like a contender for the No. 1 overall pick, not the playoffs.
The NFL can change without warning. Usually huge changes happen season to season, like the Carolina Panthers, Arizona Cardinals and Denver Broncos can tell you. The teams are evenly matched for the most part, and so many games are decided in the final minutes by a bounce here or there. That’s why variance should be expected. But the Dolphins’ 2016 variance is extreme.
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Miami has won eight of nine and if the season ended today, the Dolphins would be the sixth seed in the AFC playoffs. There weren’t any signs this was coming. They were competitive Week 1 at the Seattle Seahawks, though the offense scored just 10 points. They were trailing the Patriots 31-3 – with the Patriots using quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, then Jacoby Brissett after Garoppolo was injured – before a late rally. The Browns win was followed by a 15-point loss to the Bengals and a 13-point home loss to the Titans. You had to squint really, really hard to see any signs of life from the Dolphins.
Then they turned into a different team. They beat the Pittsburgh Steelers at home and away they went. Ryan Tannehill seemed like he suddenly got first-year coach Adam Gase’s offense. Jay Ajayi, who had shown practically nothing in a year-plus in the NFL, rushed for 200 yards in back-to-back games. The receivers made plays. The defense played better, and somehow didn’t seem to miss do-everything safety Reshad Jones after his injury. Then when Tannehill went down with a knee injury, Matt Moore came out of the bullpen and threw four touchdowns in a road win over the New York Jets.
Gase deserves plenty of credit. He kept the team together despite an awful start. He probably learned some lessons himself. All of a sudden his offense started working as we’d seen it work when he was coordinator with the Broncos and then the Bears. If there were any concerns about Gase as a head coach after five games – and it wouldn’t have been unfair to have some – they’ve been erased now.
The Dolphins had a good Week 15. Not only did they win, the Broncos’ loss was big for them too. The Dolphins, amazingly enough, can clinch a playoff berth in Week 16 with a win over the Bills and a Broncos’ loss at the Chiefs. Miami also is guaranteed a spot if it wins out (the Miami Herald had a full explanation of the Dolphins’ playoff clinching scenarios).
Maybe the Dolphins’ turnaround doesn’t seem unbelievable because just last year we saw the Chiefs go from 1-5 to a playoff spot. But the Dolphins’ turnaround is just as amazing, especially with a rookie head coach.
^^^^^^^
This is from Frank Schwab – Yahoo Sports
Commenting on this
1-4 was painful
but the low point was the 1 win vs the Browns
and I didn’t even know they would be 0-14 at the time we lost
but that game was miserable bad for this team
what happened between the Tennessee game and the Pittsburgh game?
(Piggy shrugs)
Here is the best theory I can come up with
Brian in NY, who attended the Pittsburgh game, spiked the Dolphins gatoraide with Super Serum then he went back the next week and spiked it again at the FEST
both big wins!
Those 2 spikes were enough to carry the Dolphins to close wins from week 9 through week 14
All of our wins through this time frame were close wins
even a bad loss
It makes sense
bc Super Serum wears off over time which is common knowledge
Then the Dolphins travel to NY to play the jests
And surprise Brian, who conspicuously goes by Brian “IN NY”, is there to spike more Dolphin hydration
I don’t know if you guys know this, but Buffalo, like Brian, is also “in NY”
So I expect another spiking and a big win
This time Brian, my suggestion to you is to use enough Super Serum to carry over to the New England game unless of course you plan on making another South Florida trip that week
I don’t know why Yahoo Sports doesn’t touch on Brian’s involvement….
Brian had this with him at the Fest
I think it explains how he deals with security (codename “Roadrunner”) to get access to the thirst aid
Great past 10 days for Matt Moore.
How about Cam Wake for Defensive Player…
HELL YEAH!
Evening Update
DOLPHINS-BILLS
Howie 27-23 MIA
Naples20-17MIA
Wyo 24-17 MIA
Stang 17-10 MIA
Piggy 35-10 MIA
Herd 31-20 MIA
MikeE 23-12 MIA
Toba 31-13 MIA
B’man 21-13 MIA
Rhino 21-20 MIA
UK 20-17 MIA
Old 17-16 MIA
Vinnie 27-16 MIA
GO PHINS!
Anyone else have a question? I’ll take a couple
ASK MIKE nj1dolfan@yahoo.com
I can check in on Tanny if you guys want. Pensacola is my old stompin grounds, and only about 45 mins from here.
I thought Andrews was in Birmingham though
D
http://www.andrewsinstitute.com/about/
World–class athletes, weekend warriors, youth athletes and everyday people have access to state–of–the–art performance training and health care services conveniently located in Gulf Breeze, Florida at the Andrews Institute for Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine. Under the leadership and reputation of internationally renowned orthopaedic sports surgeon Dr. James Andrews, the Andrews Institute provides a spectrum of services in order for patients to quickly and accurately address their orthopaedic needs.
Piggy
I was just watching Dolphins Daily on their web site and they liked to thank all you guys at Slattereys..
They had a couple quick shots of you all inside and then outside posing for pictures.
I was trying to pick you out but its real hard on my little phone.
Looks like a great crew up there
WAY TO REPRESENT!
I avoided being in any pictures so you won’t see
There were actually a ton of people there that are not in any of the photos I’ve seen
It was a big crowd
Howie
I’m going to put this up so anyone who wants to see it can see it. Thanks for mentioning it.
http://www.miamidolphins.com/multimedia/videos/Dolphins-Daily-December-21st-2016/240fbb6e-e85f-4a61-bfd8-26dec482b680
If you’re watching the bowl game tonight keep an eye on San Diego States Damontae Kazee and Calvin Munson.
disregard. It’s Wyoming vs BYU. However two good RBs to watch
Brian hill is on my watch list.
Interesting Mikey, says he works with Baptist health care, which is a company I contracted with for a little while when I lived there.
There is a James Andrews that specializes in sports medicine, specifically orthopedic surgery, that practices in Birmingham AL, who is renown for working on sports stars as well.
Dug into it a little more and it’s the same guy
Emmit Smith is from Pensacola, I think.
He is. Played at escambia highschool before going to UF
Lots of pro baseball players from there. Trent Richardson also from Poland, went to sane HS as emmitt
Pcola not Poland lol