![Screenshot-2017-11-5 Watch Oakland Raiders vs Miami Dolphins [11 05 2017] - NFL com](https://finsmobunleashed.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/screenshot-2017-11-5-watch-oakland-raiders-vs-miami-dolphins-11-05-2017-nfl-com.png?w=640&h=555)
As we can all gather, those stats up there don’t mean an awful lot, because today Dolphins fans, we will see a glimpse of what out NEW offense will be, without Jay Ajayi. Who will get the heavy workload, Drake or Williams? Will it be a RB by committee approach instead, with Drake, Williams, Perry and Smith? It’s not really important how they go about it, as long as it works, and our running game is effective. Like I said in my game preview, I wouldn’t be surprised to see us use our backs much like the Falcons do, with Drake as Devonta Freeman, and Williams as Tevin Coleman.
Cutler is back with his cracked ribs, and we have to do a damn good job of protecting him, or the rest of the season will be Matt Moore and David Fales. Ted Larsen will be active for this game, but LG Jesse Davis will get the start.
Enjoy the game, and all the other NFL games today as we’re the Headliner tonight. I hope you remembered to set your clock back, or else you may be a little early for the start of today’s games.
GO DOLPHINS!
Finsmob Unleashed 
This is very disappointing, but there are some things we can build on.
Their last TD drive completely set up by some bad calls. Extended by bad calls. Shit happens with the refs but there were big holding called missed. Penn grabbed and tackled Godchaux on the beast mode TD after a bad call on Jones
Parker’s catch is a contender for best of the year.
It’s got to be, it’s hella body control one handed, highpointed, etc etc lol
Fabulous play. A real “WOW” catch
The offense looked much more creative tonight, and it worked. You can’t overcome all those penalties though. Every time we made a nice play it came back. It was maddening.
This loss was better than some of our wins to be honest
I know for sure we had at least three 1st down holding calls and one 1st down false start.
The officials once again ruined this game for me but the outcome was fair. The defense set the offense up twice to take the lead and failed both times. Game, set, match! Raiders win!
Both times the drives we’re killed by penalties
Yes phantom ones and real ones. There were bad calls by officials all day and some committed.
I’m not into watching football worrying that every good play I’m going to see the yellow flag icon come up on the screen and control the game, for both sides. The game is not very fun anymore and that is saying we deserved to lose 27-24. But the officials made it less enjoyable. 😦
We didn’t give up.
Team looks like they tried really hard, and what a difference this offense is with the TE’s making an impact
Thomas looked Vintage tonight , hope it continues
Hopefully we’ll see more of this Cutler going forward.
Yeah, no doubt, he was borderline excellent tonight.
Nfl.com stuck at 10:00 left in game .. twice is kicking my ass
Does look like will be a timeshare at RB. It worked well , shitty that Drake lost that fumble though
That and the penalty on Jarvis that negated the big run were the two biggest killers, plus giving up the FG to end the half.
If I told you Cutty would outplay Carr big-time in this game, would you think we’d have lost? Strange . . .
On a different note, man, the Knicks are an exciting team to watch. All Ive wanted was for them to get rid of Melo, and finally, it’s paying dividends. They’re a T-E-A-M now, not just 1 selfish fuck and everyone else standing around watching him.
Our own home field (shitty) conditions hampered our D this game (maybe both D’s). No traction to get to QB. I saw Kiko slip at least twice in the 1st half trying to cover the TE when the TE made his cut. The shitty field (IMO) contributed/caused James’ injury also.
On a different note, I hate the Knicks! LOL
The offense shit the bed when it mattered most. Twice at the end. Too many penalties. The defense can’t cover and where’s the QB pressure?
But at least there was life. There was something to build upon hopefully.
The offense as we saw it last night is unsustainable. It may have looked like there was some life there but, like a lot of people said, we SHOULD have been able to take advantage of the Raiders depleted secondary and we did to a certain extent but we were too late in doing so.
Why is it unsustainable? We threw the ball 42x last night, 70% of the time, vs 18 rushes. We had success vs the Raiders somewhat because their secondary was so banged up. That’s not something you’re going to want to do in every single game and the offensive line isn’t going to just turn it on somehow and start run blocking a lot better than they have. The one thing we have going for us is Cutler’s offseason and preseason is finally over and he’s getting to the point where he should be.
Unfortunately, we’re probably looking at splitting the remaining games at best and going 8-8 and hopefully that puts us in position to make an impact on the offensive side of the ball.
Actually, if you look at the remaining schedule, I can really see them going 6-10.
Ross is doing a lot of good things in the community and with the program he has for the players for after they leave football but I thought he was getting his shit together with the football side of the business but it still doesn’t look like he understands what it takes to field a competitive franchise and appears he’s still more interested in flash rather than substance.
He’s got a beautiful stadium for the fans to come enjoy the games and fantastic restaurants and ambiance galore but he’s not paying attention to what matters most. The field was shitty again last night because of hosting another Hurricanes game the night before at the stadium and he continues to stick with a GM who is incapable of getting the job done on the football side of the organization.
We’ve got CAR, NE, BUF & KC away and NE & BUF home. Could easily see every one of those games being losses. I’m not saying it to start trouble or be an ass but this is just being realistic. You can’t keep playing from behind and think you can turn it on late in the game and come back to win.
They did it again last night. They play flat for the majority of the game and then they come out and start hitting the downfield stuff when it’s too late to get it done. But, I really don’t think that’s going to matter much.
As for now, the best thing to do is to try and just evaluate what they’ve got over the remaining games and see where they stand talent-wise and make the changes they need to make during the offseason. They rid themselves of some money and will have some cap to spend on some offensive line help and then will need to focus heavily on offensive line in the draft.
Anyone know the situation with the James injury? If he misses time and Sam Young is the best we’ve got that’s also going to put a huge damper on things.
with ajayi we win that game
From what i had seen last night never mind the score williams and drake are not reliable bread and butter RBs, the decision to jettison Ajayi looks more lame now than ever. I didn’t know that Drake couldn’t replace him but now it’s evident. Being a head coach involves dealing with young defiant people. you have to weigh your decisions for the betterment of the team. If you’re having problems with a player i would assume there’s better ways to handle him vs hurting your team. this decision hurt this team. you cant win if you don’t have a rushing attack. we’re back to the lazor offense of mostly predictable passing. and now that brings up the question for those who pulled this crap off are they worthy of running this organization. T Baum ans Gase may have traded their jobs to philly as well, it will take time to recover from this huge set back!
on a more positive note i loved the way they used the TE gray as a full back to pick up the 3rd and 2. i haven’t seen that since Polite use to do it for sparano. so many times with philbin we would be in short yardage and were dismal. there’s nothing the D can do to stop that. when you implement a play like that you stick to it in that situation.
Super bummed that the offense could not score after this amazing defensive play
Oh the penalties
I don’t really blame the refs (the jones call was horrible)
The penalties have been an issue all season
Other than that, it might not be popular after a loss – but I thought we played our best game of the season
We at least played our most complete game from start to finish. And it sure was Cutler’s best game. That is a team that can have a chance in almost any game.
ocalarob says:
November 6, 2017 at 7:33 am
with ajayi we win that game
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I think I agree with this. We’d probably have won the TOP battle while wearing their Defense to the ground. Ajayi was to us what Marshawn is to the Raiders… and they wore us down last night.
We did VERY well against Marshawn in the 1st half, only to have him sink our ship in the 2nd half.
Here’s something that KILLED us last night: the field conditions. We can’t bend the edge on Defense when the field is that poor. Mr. Wake, for instance, was totally neutralized by the field.
Believe the announcers said that was the 4th set of sod on the stadium of the year. Some of that might be cause of the storm, or maybe the turf just isn’t up to both the Phins and the Hurricanes.
This is an issue that MUST be addressed. I think the ‘Canes should have their own stadium, for one.
Completely agree. Wake couldn’t get that bend that allows him to get around the edge because of the field.
Thank you, Kong! I was beginning to think I was the only one who saw this!
Rob
I would say it’s a little early to make that determination on the 2 RB’s. They just haven’t seen any action, and yet both proved they could catch the ball very well, combined for 12 receptions and 82 yards receiving, and Drake had 69 rushing yards on only 9 carries. Give these guys a chance. Last nights game was obviously about attacking the raiders through a short passing game, and if it wasn’t for all the penalties, it worked pretty damn well.
Stanger
I absolutely hate that we share our field with the Canes. They need to get their own stadium man. It has to ruin the turf, how many games can a natural grass surface take?
Stadiums cost big money though. The other solution is one we all hate, but at least the synthetics are a whole lot better now than in the days of Astroturf.
We’ve always had natural grass. It would be a shame to put synthetic turf in, but I do agree, they are much better than they used to be.
And not like the guys weren’t going for it last night. The Williams TD, Suh’s strip sack and the Parker one-hander are all in there for best play of the year.
ALL were studly plays!
Ajayi’s numbers and Drakes numbers were very similar
I actually think the offense was better utilizing the RBs in the flats
And I think Gase wants to doh At more
That is how I remember his offenses in Denver and Chicago
I love Ajayi but I kind of saw what Gase was talking about last night
I don’t think Gase wants to be an offense that gives a guy 30 carries
For me last night the difference makers were
1 Drake fumble
2 3rd down defense
3 penalties
If you clean that up we are a much better team and closer to I think what most of us thought we were going to be
Also
Eventually you have to work in the deep ball a little more to Stills and Parker
D says:
November 5, 2017 at 11:44 pm
This loss was better than some of our wins to be honest
______
haha. pretty much.
I actually agree
The first 7 games seemed like our offense regressed to the point of no return. This game leaves me more comfortable with the team going forward and not hopeless like some of our other games including the wins
Basically – clean it up Dolphins and we can compete every Sunday
Piggy
Last night – It was pretty obvious to me they did everything they could to keep Cutler from getting hit. I don’t think we’re going to have to be so careful all the time. I don’t mean we don’t have to pass block well, just that we were running very short stuff so Cutler could get rid of it quickly.
Yeah – I think that’s the design
But I don’t the no that dump off pass was utilized for the first 7 games
I remember Gase Broncos and Bears offenses using the RB more in the passing games than we have so far. I think it’s part of the offense Gase wants us to be.
Raiders were also playing a ton of zone D too
I don’t know the story with the canes sharing the stadium
Is there a contract in place?
Do the canes have any plans for the future?
Soccer too.
The Flying Pig says:
November 6, 2017 at 10:17 am
Also
Eventually you have to work in the deep ball a little more to Stills and Parker
————-
100% agreed, Pig. We’re wasting Cutler’s arm with this dink-n-dunk stuff. It won’t be long until Defenses take it all away from us. And without Ajayi, there’s no longer a need for ‘8-in-the-box’.
I will say that the Dolphins played with more ENERGY last night, for sure.
The Ajayi thing is what it is (had a real nice first game with Philly without “knowing their playbook” lol)…
I feel like a broken record every year… but at some point we need to move pass the philosophy of “anybody at Guard if Tackles are studs”… Teams that run the ball great on a consistent basis seem to have invested in stud Guards in the high teen first round area (I’m thinking right away of Pittsburgh and Dallas… but I’m sure this could be debated either way… just a gut feeling). Last year we had (when healthy) Tunsil playing Guard which got Ajayi to second level on a consistent basis.
At some point we got to invest in ‘tires’ … ‘even though ‘new speakers’ impress the girls more.
^^^
Well said Rhino….says a guy who wanted either a stud G in FA or first two rounds badly, but then the D sure does look better. Larsen is back now though.
I don’t want to take anything away from Cutler because when ya look at the box score, he rocked. But honestly, he was dinkin-n-dunkin once again all game. I think if ya bring Mr. Pennington out of retirement last night, he could have made all the same throws (except for the beaut to DeVante) and looked like a star.
Truth is, GASE took a lot away from Cutler… and from a decimated Raiders Secondary, to boot. JMO
It’s pretty stupid that we have other games playing on the field making it shitty for the Dolphins.
We dinked and dunked because that’s how the Raiders were playing us. They were protecting their banged up secondary.
You may have something there with the Raiders… but by the same token, we’ve dinked and dunked for 7 out of 8 games this season.
I mean, it’s not as though we’re playing banged up secondaries every week.
Gase has said we’re seeing a ton of zone. We’ve taken some shots down field and hit on some too. But it’s not going to be a regular thing.
Tim Knight says:
November 6, 2017 at 11:30 am
Gase has said we’re seeing a ton of zone. We’ve taken some shots down field and hit on some too. But it’s not going to be a regular thing.
———–
Why do you think we’re seeing a ton of zone? Hmmmm…
Because we haven’t been good on offense and it’s working for opposing defenses. This offense is still a work in progress.
Exactly! What’s more, it’s an indictment on our O-Line.
Last night was a decent game for the offense but it still wasn’t good enough. We had opportunities to take the lead and couldn’t take advantage of it.
4+4=8…..welcome back TJ.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/56479575/usa_today_10209994.0.jpg)
Tim Knight says:
November 6, 2017 at 11:47 am
Last night was a decent game for the offense but it still wasn’t good enough. We had opportunities to take the lead and couldn’t take advantage of it.
————
You’ve got it! And I don’t mean to sound patronizing, but that’s EXACTLY the way I see it as well.
That, and Marshawn wore our Defense down. Wish we had a back similar to Marshawn… WAIT… is it too early? 😉
But in defense of the trade of Ajayi, our O-Line let him and us down.
IT ALL COMES BACK TO OUR O-LINE
We had some really bad games on offense with Ajayi in there. Let’s not forget that. Let’s not make everything about him.
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I’VE DONE TOLD Y’ALL since the Draft ended that we were one key injury on the O-Line away from becoming undone. Peeps, we’re seeing it right before our very eyes. We’re now 0-2 with our THIRD-string LG.
… and people thought that Old Dolfan and I were just blowing smoke.
Dude, you two were not the only ones with concerns about the OL. We don’t make the decisions so I don’t see the point in tooting your own horn over and over. The issues on offense have been about more than just the OL.
There’s no truth to saying that with Ajayi, Miami wins that game. Heck, I say Phins don’t even score with him in there……
You’re VERY likely correct being our O-Line sucks.
And Asiata can’t even see the field.
Don ShulaVerified account @DonShula 17h17 hours ago
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Great to be with Dan, my grandson Paul & Ryan pre game. Go Dolphins! #nfl #miamidolphins #danmarino
I expect we see Larsen next week
And Davis was doing a good job last night
One of the illegal formation calls on James was pure BS
Larsen was the plan to start with, but also right with you that Larsen looked pretty good. James went out though…..did he come back?
Sorry — DAVIS looked good.
honestly I thought it was the offense and the OLs best game of the year
We still probably should make OL the focus of the ’18 offseason. But we were better last year
They looked better, but seemed the game planning took the pressure off them too. Not sure if that was cause of what made sense against the Raiders, protecting Cutler’s ribs from hits, or fitting scheme with the two new backs. Could be some of each.
Tim Knight says:
November 6, 2017 at 12:03 pm
Dude, you two were not the only ones with concerns about the OL. We don’t make the decisions so I don’t see the point in tooting your own horn over and over. The issues on offense have been about more than just the OL.
————–
Agreed that Old Dolfan and I weren’t the only ones, but he and I were certainly the most vocal. And it’s not about “tooting horns”… it’s about DAMMIT! Who couldn’t see this coming? Well, seems like Gase and company didn’t see it coming, nor did 75+% of the fan base. SMMFH
I don’t GET OFF by supposedly “tooting my horn”, I get UPSET. 😡
For the love of svucks, why isn’t our team listening to mere LOGIC???
What would you have them do alternatively then what they did this offseason?
We had to focus on D this offseason. Those improvements are notable. What has happened with the OL is some of things we did in the past regressed this year or didn’t work out.
Well you did say “At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I’VE DONE TOLD Y’ALL since the Draft ended that we were one key injury on the O-Line away from becoming undone.”
Indeed! I’m just frustrated, my Brother. Nothing more, nothing less. I wear my heart on my sleeve when it comes to our Phins… and I see flaws.
NFL’s proudest DB after the game yesterday was the Jag’s Jalen Ramsey.
“AJ Green was ejected against the Jaguars in the second quarter. The star wideout completely lost his cool. Green and cornerback Jalen Ramsey had been engaged in heated trash talking all game, but it finally boiled over when Green grabbed the back of Ramsey’s neck, took him to the ground and threw several punches. Green finished the day with just one catch for six yards.”
Unless Ramsey said something the ref heard that we couldn’t, it was BS that he got thrown out too. All he did was get tossed around like a ragdoll. That doesn’t usually merit a disqualification, lol.
Still funny that there is more than one way to be “a shut down corner.” If we play the Bengals, I’d give up Howard or Tank for the rest of the game for Green in a second.
The Flying Pig says:
November 6, 2017 at 12:52 pm
What would you have them do alternatively then what they did this offseason?…
———-
NOT waiting until the 5th Round to address the O-Line, for ONE!!!
Adam BeasleyVerified account @AdamHBeasley 8m8 minutes ago
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No update on Ja’Wuan James from Gase.
James WalkerVerified account @JamesWalkerNFL 8m8 minutes ago
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Dolphins HC Adam Gase said “we’re not where we want to be” at the midpoint of the season.
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Ummm… ya think?
Adam BeasleyVerified account @AdamHBeasley 35s36 seconds ago
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Gase said he did not scale back the offense yesterday.
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Oh yeah?
I guess we didn’t scale it back because we got rid of Ajayi for a hamburger.
Hamburger is better than nothing. Lol
M13, we all see flaws with the team because they have them.
I know, man. I’m just VERY frustrated.
It’s been a frustrating season for a lot of reasons.
I was a whole lot more frustrated after the Ravens game. Yesterday I saw some hope.
ProFootballReferenceVerified account @pfref 2m2 minutes ago
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Carson Wentz had his 3rd 4-TD game of the season. The only QB w/more in his 1st or 2nd NFL season is Dan Marino http://pfref.com/tiny/m1B7Q
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Note to Prof Lou: our O-Line SUCKS. We could have traded the moon for Wentz as you’d proposed… he’d end up with DCS (David Carr-Syndrome… TRADEMARK by ME).
ElephantRider says:
November 6, 2017 at 1:25 pm
Hamburger is better than nothing. Lol
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True, but I’d rather have had STEAK or LOBSTER in exchange. LOL
Jason LieserVerified account @JasonLieser 47s47 seconds ago
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A testy Adam Gase is asked whether TJ McDonald is ready to jump right in. “I don’t know. Run across the middle and you’ll find out.”
Jason LieserVerified account @JasonLieser 27s27 seconds ago
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My unofficial count is that Gase stifled no less than 43 f-bombs in 18 minutes of answering questions today. Just muffled ’em like burps.
———–
Sounds like me today as well.
JMO, and please realize I’m in a very grumpy mood today after last night’s loss…
Gase is on the cusp of either becoming the next evil genius (Belicheat*, W/O the cheating), or the next over-hyped ego-maniac (see Josh McDaniels).
Y’all KNOW I’m hoping for the former, not the prior.
Barry JacksonVerified account @flasportsbuzz 3m3 minutes ago
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A greater percentage of homes in New Orleans, Buffalo, Richmond watched Dolphins-Raiders than in Miami-Ft. Laud. How does that happen?
Cause the game was on national TV, started at 8:30 and so many are retired here… that “early bird special” thing is no joke.
M13
If we nabbed an OL in days 1 or 2, we have issues in defense
Tankersly and Harris are playing well
We really dodged a bullit with the McMillan injury
Who do you pass on in favor of OL. And which OL comes in and is a difference maker today from the ’17 draft
Mike E. says:
November 6, 2017 at 9:58 am
Rob
I would say it’s a little early to make that determination on the 2 RB’s. They just haven’t seen any action, and yet both proved they could catch the ball very well, combined for 12 receptions and 82 yards receiving, and Drake had 69 rushing yards on only 9 carries. Give these guys a chance. Last nights game was obviously about attacking the raiders through a short passing game, and if it wasn’t for all the penalties, it worked pretty damn well.
_________________________________________________________
Mike, you have RBs like Lacy,Blount,Lynch,forsette, and Ajayi, forceful runners. then you have RBs like Drake and Williams, while there is a need for a Drake and Williams type RB there is also a need for a forceful back, one that may not outrun D’s but will pound and get you the tough yards while stressing the opposing D, I don’t think neither Drake or Williams fits that category.
without that type of RB we become a passing team, one dimensional just like we were with Lazor and in my opinion that wont work. we need to establish a running game then pass, if we can’t establish a running game we are doomed, they both rushed for a combined 80 Yards.
there’s a reason why we were undefeated when Ajayi rushed for 100 + yards.
look what Coughlin did as soon as he got to Jacksonville, he drafted Forsette and Cam Robinson, a big RB and OT in the 1st and 2nd round. do you think Coughlin knows how to win? it all starts with a stout running game, Jacksonville is sitting at 5-3 and getting better everyday!
from what i seen last night we don’t have a forsette, we can’t impose our will on Ds, Temas like the pats will kill us if we are one dimensional and that’s what we are!
ORob:
It wasn’t a lack of running why we lost last night. It was too many penalties and the fumble. The penalties and the fumble essentially negated 2 scores.
IMHO
It’s not a dump pass if it’s a designed halfback pass!
I’m so frickin tired of slamming into the line for no gain on 1st down I almost had a woody when we had a 5 yard pass!
If Grey can be the “H” back pass catching full back I will have several prayers answered!
once the LB’s start bailing for coverage we should be able to run the ball without 365 in the box!
That many passes in a game is not the answer long term! But it’s going to take awhile for teams to take us seriously!!
It’s all about getting the ball in space! and we have proven that we can’t do that with just the running game, time, time,,time again!
To keep doing the same thing and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yeah we definitely called plays for the backs in the passing game. It should only get better with Drake and Williams as they get more snaps.
and after last night how can you not be excited to see Drake with the ball in space??????
Adam SchefterVerified account @AdamSchefter 22s23 seconds ago
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Buccaneers are shutting down QB Jameis Winston for “a few weeks” to rest his injured shoulder, per league source.
Adam SchefterVerified account @AdamSchefter 16m16 minutes ago
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Jets WR Jeremy Kerley suspended without pay for the team’s next four games for violating the NFL policy on performance enhancing substances.
It might take a little time for this offense to come together as they are constructed at this time. I think we’re gonna see a multiple additions throughout the offense in the offseason.
I can tell you this.
the D coordinator of Carolina has a lot more to think about this week than he would have last week!
ocalarob says:
November 6, 2017 at 2:03 pm (Edit)
Mike, you have RBs like Lacy,Blount,Lynch,forsette, and Ajayi, forceful runners. then you have RBs like Drake and Williams, while there is a need for a Drake and Williams type RB there is also a need for a forceful back, one that may not outrun D’s but will pound and get you the tough yards while stressing the opposing D, I don’t think neither Drake or Williams fits that category.
without that type of RB we become a passing team, one dimensional just like we were with Lazor and in my opinion that wont work. we need to establish a running game then pass, if we can’t establish a running game we are doomed, they both rushed for a combined 80 Yards.
there’s a reason why we were undefeated when Ajayi rushed for 100 + yards.
**********************************
Rob – Ajayi only went over 100 twice this season, and 4 times last season. You know what man, that’s just not enough. He really opened it up in a few games, but his problem is he wasn’t consistent like the guys you’re talking about, Ezekiel Elliott, Le’Veon Bell. Those guys do it every week, Ajayi was very hit and miss. Now a lot of that has to do with the O-line too, I get it, but if that’s what we have, we got our yardage in different ways. I know it’s good to have a stud, but most of those guys just aren’t sustainable anymore, and teams have gone to RB by committee. Fournette will probably be the next guy to be in the class of Bell and Elliott, but there’s nothing wrong with getting over 100 yards combined rushing and receiving like Drake did. Also keep in mind, Ajayi had ZERO TD’s for us this season.
Oh, and everyone made a big deal about that run he made in Philly, he wasn’t even touched until the 2 YD line, the defense was flattened, he really had no work to do until he dove from the 3 or 4 yard line.
Drake also had a 42 yard run, not for a TD but he can break big runs.
Tim – Drake was fine last night except for the fumble. He got over 100 multi purpose yards, and that’s fine. Williams contributed in the pass game well too, and he’ll do better in the run game. Plus, this was really the 1st game getting a fair amount of touches for Drake, he’s going to get better with playing time.
Agreed. I know fans of tired of hearing this but we have to patient with this offense because a lot has gone on with them, they have struggled mightily and we need to be realistic that they’re a work in progress, not a where they need to be group yet. At least they scored some TDs last night and showed some promise. Build on that.
If our offense played all season like it didlast night l season
We probably would not be last in offense
They competed and had chances to take the lead and win the game. They came up short.
If we played the Raiders defense without 3 of their DB’s, we might be top 10. 😛
I’m curious to see what Ted Larsen and T.J. McDonald bring to our team next week
We might need Larsen if James can’t go. Davis could move to RT.
Thta’s a good point. I hope James is OK. Anyone know exactly what he injured?
Hamstring
Thanks Tim
James WalkerVerified account @JamesWalkerNFL 3h3 hours ago
Dolphins HC Adam Gase said he’s hopeful guard Ted Larsen is close to being ready. “We’re going to need him,” Gase said.
You guys think Davis looked good? He had back to back penalties that cost us on the one fumble recovery drive that died because of those penalties. He wasnt all that good.
The penalties were bad but there were so many other plays. That said I didn’t really focus on him.
PFF
TOP 5 GRADES:
TE Julius Thomas, 88.0 overall grade
WR DeVante Parker, 86.9 overall grade
QB Jay Cutler, 85.0 overall grade
S Maurice Smith, 82.8 overall grade
DI Davon Godchaux, 82.3 overall grade
PFF
PERFORMANCES OF NOTE:
QB JAY CUTLER, 85.0 OVERALL GRADE
This was a game that Jay Cutler showed two sides of his play. The majority of the game Cutler was happy to spread the ball underneath and allow his receivers and especially the running backs to gain yards after the catch. However as the score started to tilt towards Oakland’s favor, Cutler started to take chances downfield and was able to hit them. One of the best things that can be said about Cutler’s performance was there was no throw that could have been intercepted, everything was only where the Dolphins player could make a play on the ball. When the Raiders didn’t blitz, Cutler completed 83.3 percent of his passes.
RB DAMIEN WILLIAMS, 76.7 OVERALL GRADE
With the trade of Jay Ajayi, the running back duties fell on the shoulders of Williams and Kenyan Drake. While Williams was only able to gain 14 yards on the ground, his ability in the passing game was a game changer. He caught every pass sent his way, racking up 47 yards and a touchdown. The duo of Drake and Williams will determine if Miami’s offense will be able to stomach losing Ajayi going forward.
DI DAVON GODCHAUX, 82.3 OVERALL GRADE
Godchaux didn’t do much as a pass-rusher, with just one hurry and a batted pass on the night, but he was the Dolphins best run defender against Oakland. He had four run stops on just 18 snaps in run defense after having entered the game with seven stops in his first seven games combined.
YIKES
LB KIKO ALONSO, 33.7 OVERALL GRADE
Alonso was tasked with covering Jared Cook for much of the night, and he struggled to stay with the athletic tight end. Alonso allowed five catches for 82 yards to Cook, and gave up a 12-yard pass to Michael Crabtree as well. Five of the six catches against went for at least 10 yards, including four first downs.
A couple of those he was kind of hung to dry. One specifically and Collingsworth pointed it out, was when Timmons jammed him then let him go and Alonso had to chase him from the middle to the outside. We allowed Cook to run free too many times. At one point it seemed that he was the only receiver doing anything for the Raiders. It wasn’t just Alonso though he did get beat a few times. It happens against talented players like Cook.
The Flying Pig says:
November 6, 2017 at 2:00 pm
M13
If we nabbed an OL in days 1 or 2, we have issues in defense
Tankersly and Harris are playing well
We really dodged a bullit with the McMillan injury
Who do you pass on in favor of OL. And which OL comes in and is a difference maker today from the ’17 draft
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I dunno… let’s just pretend that the status quo is working for us, right? And let’s pretend that Dion Dawkins and/or Pat Elflein couldn’t have helped us, right?
… and maybe if we didn’t get so cute with trading draft picks last year so as to keep us from trading up for a STUD this past draft…
but we would be down a young pass rusher, LB or CB
We needed all that too
Our defense really needed that youth
You can play this game all day with a boat load of players at any position. Could have done a lot of things differently in hindsight. I also don’t think one OL changes everything. We have used a lot of resources on the OL the past few years. When it doesn’t work out so well it’s easy to criticize. Many teams have issues on their OL.
naplesfan2010 says:
November 6, 2017 at 4:34 pm
YIKES
LB KIKO ALONSO, 33.7 OVERALL GRADE
Alonso was tasked with covering Jared Cook for much of the night, and he struggled to stay with the athletic tight end. Alonso allowed five catches for 82 yards to Cook, and gave up a 12-yard pass to Michael Crabtree as well. Five of the six catches against went for at least 10 yards, including four first downs.
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There was at least 2 big run plays i saw where he wanst in the right hole and there was a big gaping run lane and the OG sealed him out for a big play. I might be shocked its this low, but im not shocked it was a bad grade.
One was on a TD run, where beast mode went almost untouched.
I dont think drafting an OL earlier helps us here, and definitely not at the sacrifice of tankersly, McMillian, or Harris.
I was going to post the same thing. And what if we took an OL in the 2nd rd and he went down just like McMillan did? It happens.
I can look at the OL and say “we need help”
but I can’t look at those picks and say “we should have taken OL instead”
Tim,
Brother, I LOVE your optimism, man… ALWAYS have and ALWAYS will!
But on the realist tip? We’re DEAD LAST in points scored with 116. Dude, even the winless Brownies (119) and ‘9ers (143) have more points scored than us.
I don’t want to HEAR about EXCUSES and about ‘love and peace’… I want RESULTS, DAMMIT. This Gase-led Offense is a fuckin’ TRAIN WRECK.
Gee thanks for the update on the status of our team. LOL
I’ve watched the games, bro. It’s not just the OL. Cutler had time a lot last night. and he played well. We didn’t make enough big plays. Last night’s game is not the one to point to as an example of our struggles on offense.
But Gase handcuffed Cutler once again!!! And against a defunct Raiders secondary!
Did he or were the deep shots not there? We lost a close game, man. We had opportunities to pull this game out and fell short. Our slow 1st quarters are killing us.
I agree that we need to give Alonso some help schematically to cover a TE like Cook is.
Maybe TJ will take more of that coverage as well.
Another thing that kinda got lost because we did go ahead and lose the game, but Cook only had like 2 catches for 12 yds or something like that in the second half, so we made a good adjustment on him. Michael Thomas switched onto Cook as the game went on and denied Carr a throwing lane to him several times.
But I don’t think Thomas can cover Gronk.
I think McDonald might be our guy for Gronk.
Its not the scheme that makes him bad on coverage, its his play recognition and some of his decisions on who he has in coverage, or if he should be the underneath guy or trail the receiver, etc. Its one of the reasons i thought it would be much better for him to be moved out of MLB to be an OLB because last year not only did some of his bad reads cost him, but he was calling out the coverage’s to the other LB’s and it was making them miss theirs as well.
Athletically he can run with any of those guys he is being asked to cover, including Cook, the big problem is that when you make a one or two step mistake with some of the RB’s and TE’s, you can get back into coverage before they got ya. Cook doesn’t leave you that luxury, so it exploits the fact that he thought run for a split second too long before recognizing pass and getting back into position.
Don’t get me started on our Defense, either. SMH
Hey, we’re ALL MMQBing here. I want to see SOLUTIONS, not more of the same old BS via coach-speak through the media.
Most of us have seen this scene play out before.
Last night actually showed some good signs. Parker and Thomas played like we need them too. We have to get everyone going.
Tim id have Jones covering Gronk, and let TJ head hunt in a shallow safety zone. If we do that though we are going to have to really stick to the Cooks, Dorsett, Amendola and Hogan. McCain is going to have his best game ever. And Tankersly and Howard are going to be gassed staying with Cooks and Dorsett. Lets hope we can manage to keep their offense off the field as much as possible, otherwise we are going to get lit up towards the end of the game. When we start losing a step on those two, id probably switch TJ to having Gronk in man and letting Jones play centerfield, zone and just make sure no one gets over the top.
If TJ lights up Amendola and Hogan a time or two i promise they will be listening for footsteps the rest of the game.
Jones as well and he’s done it.
Maybe Dion Jordan can cover Gronk?
(Piggy pukes in his mouth)
Tim Knight says:
November 6, 2017 at 5:19 pm
Did he or were the deep shots not there? We lost a close game, man. We had opportunities to pull this game out and fell short. Our slow 1st quarters are killing us.
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C’mon… like the deep shots were NOT there with our 3 STUD WRs? Teams play zone against us for a reason, man… well beyond what we spoke about earlier.
Either Cutler can’t throw our receivers open from the mid-deep routes (my injury theory), or Gase doesn’t trust him to throw mid-deep (which is Cutler’s bread-n-butter).
I don’t what else to say about it. It didn’t happen. Thomas 27 and Parker 26 were our longest plays in the passing game.
We didn’t lose because of offensive scheme or play calling. We were moving the ball just fine. We lost because penalties killed too many scoring opportunities and the Drake fumble did too.
Yep! We shot ourselves in the foot once again. The opportunities were there.
The fumble wasnt great, and yeah it literally killed one drive, but otherwise Drake had a pretty good game. He makes a habit of dropping the ball, then id say hang him for his errors, but really that’s his lone cock up from that game.
D:
I am not killing Drake for the one fumble, they happen. I am just pointing out that the reason why we lost didn’t have anything to do with play calling but rather penalties and that one fumble had more to do with it than the dink and dunk passing game
Just to be clear, I and OD (these are the two people that I can remember doing so) advocated for addressing OL EARLY in last years’ draft. Doesn’t matter because it didn’t happen, and in the end, I’m just an observer who understands that I’m not entitled to have the management monitoring my posts for advice. I make beer for a living, and as of today have not solicited Fins management on my business decisions. 🙂
We’re 4-4 with a daunting schedule ahead. Yesterday was a costly loss, but it wasn’t an ugly loss. I’m grateful that my team offered me a little hope of something to watch going forward. FTR, I can’t help but notice how different this offense looks when Parker is in the lineup vs. when he’s not.
I’ll say this about deep shots…if teams are playing zone, they’re playing either 1 or 2 deep. If you have to send 3 deep to beat that, you still need to do that a few times during the game. The difference can be a TD to someone underneath (because a safety is honoring the deep ball) or a TD on the ground (for the same reason).
I do agree with M13 that we didn’t do enough to take advantage of the deep ball yesterday…but I also am careful about dabbling in playcalling because I acknowledge my shortcomings in doing so…
Generally I think you take what th D is giving you and generally I think they did that yesterday
We need to have a deep ball arsenal in the grand scheme of things but I was okay with what we did yesterday bc its not like we do that each week. It was nice to see some 1st downs….lol
Is this a big ballsack dance?
According to SI….
https://twitter.com/sinow/status/927409531159793664
I really want to know how they proved that. They went up against a team with a decimate db corps and EVERYONE said the team should have been able to kill it with the pass and beat the Raiders because of it and they couldn’t take advantage of it.
Beating a dead horse, they passed 42x and ran 18x, an unsustainable offensive scheme. I think, being optimistic, they do what they need to do to get these guys to play at a high enough level for the rest of the season so they can get a proper evaluation on players so they can make the call on who stays and who goes season end.
Maybe even play some guys they may not have thought would see much time. The season is over. These last 8 games are the toughest portion of the schedule and we went 4-4 over the first 8. The team is looking at winning 2 or possibly 3 games to finish the season and management has nobody to blame but itself. And, that can be solidified by James missing any time for injury and being replaced by Sam Young.
Will the Ajayi trade have a long-term effect? Probably not. They can find another rb in FA or the draft. So, yeah, I guess we can move on. But, if this team just refuses to address the elephant in the room again next offseason it’s going to be difficult to sit there and watch them flop all over the field again for another season.
You want to be optimistic and be able to say the offense finally looked like it had some life but you also need to put things into perspective. One, they lost. Two, they couldn’t run the ball to save their lives. The offensive line’s run blocking is horrible and has been horrible and it doesn’t look like anything will get any better any time soon.
Did penalties play a part in the loss? Sure. But that goes back to lack of preparation and lack of discipline and that’s on the HC. So, things aren’t all as cut and dry as some would like to call it. There’s still a lot of questions that need to be answered.
Again, if they win anymore than 2 to 3 games to finish the season I’d be surprised. The one bright spot in that will be draft position.
it was the best offensive output of the season. The proof is in the yards.
It was also the second highest scoring offense in terms of points (jests game had more)
We had 395 yards last night
the second highest this season was in the jests game, somewhere around 350. Charges game is 3rd with around 330
And those are the only games where we had over 300 offensive yards
we had under 200 yards in multiple games with Ajayi
I like the player (Ajayi) but I do think our offense was clicking better yesterday than with Ajayi in the lineup
I need to see it in multiple games. But if it happens again in the next couple of games, I think we can move past the Ajayi trade
Speaking of throwing up in your mouth, Dion Jordan is set to return to the Seahawks
Oh he’s finally going to play some day? LOL
maybe you can get some use at of that jersey after all