Monday Night Football! Dolphins go prime time again! Prime Time has been nothing less than brutal for our “Not Ready for Prime Time Players”.
vs Saints in London – LOSS 20-0
vs Ravens TNF – LOSS 40-0
vs Panthers MNF – LOSS 45-21
So basically, 3 games in prime time, and we were outscored 105-21. That’s unbelievably hideous. I don’t know what to expect from our Dolphins after we drubbed the Broncos senseless on Sunday 35-9. Will that be the team that shows up on Monday night, or is it the NRFPTP troop? I wish I could tell you, but I just haven’t a clue as to what’s going to happen. If I’m being honest, I’m not really expecting us to be in this game, I just can’t imagine we’re going to put it all together against an NFL team like the Patriots who is just methodically dismantling every team they play. Even on a day where QB Tom Brady has a poor game, they win easily. They are a tough beat at 10-2, they really are. On the other hand, we usually give them one tough game per year, so maybe this is it.
Well, Gronk did us a favor last week when he got all frustrated that the Patriots didn’t get a call for once on what he thought was defensive holding at the least, or even pass interference on Bills DB Tre’Davious White, so Gronk took matters upon himself to dish out judgement, and after doing a whiny little dance about not getting the call, he promptly turned around, and dove on top of White who was already face down on the sidelines, and delivered a vicious forearm shiver to his helmet. Gronk should probably be missing a few games for that, but he happens to play for the Patriots, so . . .
I’d love to see Drake have another strong game, and I would really love to see Devante Parker have a freaking big game for once! If Parker does nothing, I’d sit his ass and start Leonte Carroo III at least for one game, while the embarrassed Parker assumes the bench role Carroo III currently owns. Who knows, maybe the kid will finally show us why we traded up for him. I’d also love to see the defense play like they did last week, and make some big plays and turn the Pats over a few times.
Anyway, enjoy the game, and hope for the best!
Finsmob Unleashed 
First and Oink
What are you trying to say about the Dolphins on prime time Mike?
I didn’t notice any issues with them on prime time
(Piggy removes the pencils from his eyes)
Oh wait…we suck on prime time
We are due to win on prime time and against the pats.
DILLY DILLY!
This is the game we hit tom lady a lot.. He was licking his wounds from our last game.
We’re gonna win Sunday and Suh might get suspended. Good, about time.
We’re not that drunk…
son of a son of a shula says:
December 6, 2017 at 8:07 pm
They are not BPA they’re BPA at a position they’ve prioritized
Example?
McMillan wasn’t the best player on the board he was the best linebacker.
But maybe not as much recently but certainly in the past – Ju’wan James
Grier has said they look for the best player for their team. That may or may not be the BPA.
Draft Baker Mayfield and make him spend the off season with Suh and Phillips.
Let’s roll
That Gronkowski only got one game speaks so much on the state of the NFL, nothing the patsie’s do no matter what or how egregious matters. The Clinton’s of football, lol
professorloumiamidolphinsblog says:
December 6, 2017 at 7:39 pm
Let’s be honest. Is an offensive guard worth a first round pick?
———–
If the prospect checks both need and talent when we select, then I say — without hesitation — YES. Your QB will thank you, your RBs will thank you, your receivers will thank you, and your entire Defense will thank you if the Offense can keep them off the field.
Yes, the O-Line is comprised of 5 players… that’s why it’s so important to address the unit in it’s entirety. And if one is only as strong as the weakest link, it’s imperative the weakest link is strong.
More Offensive Coordinators get fired for having a shitty O-Line than for anything else. If you don’t have a solid O-Line, ya can’t pass nor run.
When ya can’t pass nor run because of a shitty O-Line, it doesn’t matter if ya have a Pro-Bowl QB, Pro-Bowl RB, Pro-Bowl WRs, and a stud TE (mid-2000 Dolphins) playing together, you just spin your tires like Nick Saban had done in Miami for 2 seasons. And when Nick Saban spun his tires in Miami, he went to Tuscaloosa.
Don’t be like Nick Saban… fix the damned O-Line!
Other teams will thank you when you leave corners, ends and tackles on the board for them too.
Thus, making it even easier to trade down while garnering more picks (Pig will LOVE that!).
exactly
trade down and then draft your OL
it will help you draft more than 1 that can contribute in ’18
interior OL is generally easier to find later (it just hasn’t been for us)
last year we had 4 first round picks playing on our offensive line with Albert, Tunsil, Pouncey and James. This year it was 3 until James was hurt. Again, I don’t see it as where the player was picked as much as that we actually pick guys. You can find good, quality offensive linemen in rounds other than the first.
I reserve the first round for the playmaking guys, the wr who can go up and get the ball over the db, the DT who’s in the backfield, the DE who’s racking up the sacks and hits, etc. One offensive lineman by himself isn’t going to have as big an impact as one of those other guys. JMHO
Anybody here familiar with Adam Breneman, TE, UMASS? I did a little homework on him and he seems like he’d be a STEAL in the late rounds, where he’s currently projected. He used to play for PSU before transferring.
I need to check his tape to see if he can run-block. I hear run-blocking was a priority for him entering the ’17 season, but I can’t find ’17 tape on him… YET.
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NEW: 64 #NFL Players who may be trending toward the roster bubble in 2018, including the financial cost/savings to trade or release each.
http://www.spotrac.com/research/nfl/nfl-players-on-the-2018-roster-bubble-664/ …
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Free keg of cyber-beer from me to whoever guesses the cat I’d sign if released…
For Son…
I think he’s awesome too
but I don;t think there are any sure things
That said – I would not shed a tear, and would probably celebrate quite a bit if we drafted him even though we have a lot of other needs
I’ve been a fan of Mayfield, but his recent antics have me souring on him a bit… coupled with his arrest history. I do NOT want to see a “Johnny Football”, part II.
He’s certainly a very good player, but is he mature enough to handle the fame of an NFL QB? I haven’t the answer to that, but I can tell ya that if he can channel his passion into positive energy, he’s going to be a STUD.
I keep hearing people talk about Mayfield being too short at 6’0″: his average O-Lineman is 6’5″. This is Russell Wilson at Wisconsin all over again… this is NOT a problem! Plus, he’s only had 2 passes batted at the LOS all season long.
I keep hearing people talk about Mayfield being a gimmick player. What? Nah, he’s the REAL deal, IMO. He plays in a major conference and he’s flourished.
But I DO have questions about the kid’s maturity. That is the ONLY knock I have on Baker Mayfield, PERIOD.
M
C. Patterson
Or
Amerson
🙂
professorloumiamidolphinsblog says:
December 7, 2017 at 5:22 am
You can find good, quality offensive linemen in rounds other than the first.
I reserve the first round for the playmaking guys, the wr who can go up and get the ball over the db, the DT who’s in the backfield, the DE who’s racking up the sacks and hits, etc. One offensive lineman by himself isn’t going to have as big an impact as one of those other guys. JMHO
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I think QB…DE…..T…..CB…..WR…..LBer……..S…..G/C…….RB/TE
Should be the order of value, if you go down the list i do believe QB is a not a viable pick, we are loaded at DE having taken one last year, the Tackle position should stay intact whether we resign James or they may think Davis is just as good.
so now we come to CB, having tank and howard truly young corners verner, mctyre and lippett in the fold I think CB should be a consideration with our 1st pick unless of course this team comes to their senses and drafts Saquon Barkley a center and guard
PIGGY SAYS “Interior O-Line is generally easier to find later (it just hasn’t been for us).”
TOTALLY AGREE!!!!!
And WHY is THAT??
ANSWER=We’ve got the WRONG PEOPLE doing the picking!!!
It seems like almost everyone in the NFL universe understands this EXCEPT our “DOOFUS BRIGADE” leadership.
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ALL of us want a top notch offensive line. And the ONLY WAY we’re going to get one is to CHANGE those responsible for making the selections. Proven failure begets more failure.
JOE MADDON’s back in town here in Tampa. Yes, the former Rays manager returns on a regular basis to run charitable events in the Tampa Bay area. He’s bringing with him several players from different teams to add a special flavor to this event, including David Ross plus current and former Rays stars.
Actions speak louder than words. Joe Maddon’s commitment to charity (in every city he’s lived in) says volumes about his priorities.
BRAVO to you, Joe Maddon.
Dec. 7, 1941, a day that will live in infamy.
Let us never forget those who made the ultimate sacrifice so we could be free.
M
Blake Bortles
ElephantRider says:
December 7, 2017 at 4:22 am
M
C. Patterson
Or
Amerson
🙂
———–
It’s AMERSON! I’d love Cordarrelle as well, but Amerson in our zone system would be good for 6+ INTS and 20+ PDs a year, BET.
I really wouldn’t mind Bortles as a backup to Tannehill, either. I think Gase could turn him into a very good QB as a reclamation project. 🙂
I should have known! 😉
I would take a high quality RB with our first round pick this year if one falls to us.
Exactly! even though RB is a devalued pick it is a tremendous need, I’m not buying the all of a sudden high expectations for drake after running well at home against a 3 win team
Can’t complain about this…….
“The Miami Dolphins say every player on their roster has completed paperwork to become a registered voter…..The signup effort was supported by the Ross Initiative in Sports for Equality, an alliance created by Dolphins owner Stephen Ross to improve race relations.”
That’s 53 new illegal voters to Trump
LOL….but give our guys credit. They could have been part of the millions of illegal ones last time around too. 🙂
what about the practice squad coaches and trainers?
Matt Moore won’t be playing on Monday. Much as hoping for a win…..might get to see Fales in action.
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000889243/article/ryan-shazier-undergoes-spinal-stabilization-surgery
Scary stuff man – I doubt he’ll ever play football again, but I wouldn’t be shocked if he does. These guys thrive on that comradery and the competition, and of course, the $$$. Plus, his surgeon is a Maroon!
I just hope he recovers 100%
Me too Rob. I’m sure that’s his priority at the moment. Get healthy, and then at some point, if he gets the itch, he can weigh his options then.
ocalarob says:
December 7, 2017 at 4:08 pm (Edit)
what about the practice squad coaches and trainers?
**************
I know 1 former coach voted for the legalization of cocaine
What do you expect from a “line” coach?
Good one!
Jokes aside…..how did Gase not know? But guess a whole bunch of Wall Street guys did the same as well.
My wife told me today on the way out the door “you are the best gay husband ever.” Oddly enough that was a big compliment.
Well Now ..
Try to hide that side from you guys but that was after after long conversation about what shoes and belt to wear with her outfit.
Makes sense while the rest of us were requesting rock and roll classics for Phindog to play Stanger kept asking for show tunes
Ken and I are in don’t ask don’t tell after the Fest…but challenge anyone on the board about knowing show tunes. And here is one would love to see P-Dog do.
Having been a guest at Stanger’s I can honestly say she is right. Oh wait a minute…
I don’t know about anyone else, but I enjoyed Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean. He did a great job with Bring Me Home, which is not an easy song to sing.
Bring Him Home
Don’t remember her name but the first Cosette in Les Mis when the show hit was incredible. And Jackman did well. But then always thought should have been Julie Andrews instead of Audrey in the movie version of My Fair Lady as well.
Big fan of Julie Andrews. As a kid, Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music were some of my favorites.
…Along with Star Wars and Indy, of course.😉
Also, Anne Hathaway kicked ass with I Dreamed a Dream.
Best player on a team’s board is BPA. It’s not universal on who is the BPA.
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2017 College Football Awards: Complete list of all this season’s winners
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.@StanfordFball’s Bryce Love wins the Doak Walker Award (top RB).
He averaged a RIDICULOUS 8.3 yards per carry this season.
Chris Collinsworth twice a week is cruel and unusual punishment
^^^
“I’ll tell ya what…”
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.@UHCougarFB DT Ed Oliver wins the Outland Trophy (top interior lineman).
He’s No. 5 on @chad_reuter’s list of the top 10 #Heisman candidates for 2018
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Minkah Fitzpatrick wins the Bednarik Award (top defensive player).
He won the Thorpe Award (top DB) earlier. Big night for the @AlabamaFTBL DB.
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The @Browns have hired John Dorsey to become Cleveland’s general manager, per league sources. He will be introduced at a press conference Friday.
What’d they do “interview” Hue to satisfy the Roonie rule?
Stanger.. I apologize, I don’t know any show tunes.. And never will 😎
Getting back to my question from earlier about taking a guard in the first round, I’d be more apt to take someone like Connor Williams as he fits what we do better than a lumbering, smash mouth guard. We can kick Tunsil back inside and possibly end up with another left side like we did when we had Webb and Sims.
We talk all the time about people knowing better than we do or knowing more than we do because they are there and that’s what they do for a living but when you look at Sashi Brown’s resume there was no good reason for him to be a GM of an NFL team. He didn’t have the qualifications. So, there are times when these guys really don’t know any better than some of us fans. The guy was a lawyer placed in the role of GM by a clueless franchise.
However, with Dorsey, they now have an actual GM who’s been there before.
D, I see the rain/snow line runs between Birmingham and Montgomery to New Orleans jus NW of Atmore, AL. Are you getting any of it? They are saying we might get a spit of mix sometime tonight. What are you getting? 40 degrees and rain here. Sucks!
I’m not buying the all of a sudden high expectations for drake after running well at home against a 3 win team
Do you mean three win team with the best run defense in the league?
Plus, his surgeon is a Maroon!
Man he must be ancient! The maroons disbanded in 1929
Dorsey is the guy I was banging the drum for years ago. I would certainly rather have him than The guy who destroyed the Jets salary cap!
It is freaking freezing here in Louisville Kentucky this morning ! I lost my only wool cap in the taxi from the airport last night. 22 degrees Makes the skin on my bald head hurt😇. ( that is ice on my bald head not a halo)
Go drink some bourbon to warm you up
LOL it’s freaking 1020 in the morning and I am here to meet clients probably not a good idea
It’s 5:00 somewhere. – Jimmy Buffett –
David Diehl douche bag
http://dailydolphin.blog.palmbeachpost.com/2017/12/08/broadcaster-says-jay-cutler-is-the-guy-you-want-to-smash/
Agreed. I’ll take Suh’s word over Diehl’s word in a HEARTBEAT!
http://www.espn.com/blog/miami-dolphins/post/_/id/25887/ndamukong-suh-first-sack-came-against-now-teammate-jay-cutler
And here’s this from Suh on Cutler in 2014…
http://www.detroitnews.com/story/sports/nfl/lions/2014/12/17/ndamukong-suh-bears-jay-cutler-elite-quarterback/20545083/
M – That’s kind of like Belichick saying Cutler’s a great QB and we have a great team. When you’re asked about an opponent you’re about to play, the praise you give the other team is hardly genuine.
Agree to disagree on this one. Suh has beaten the $#!t out of Cutler over the years and Cutler just keeps getting back up like the Terminator in T2. I feel Suh has a genuine RESPECT for Cutler.
This is for Mike E, not Rockphin.
I gotcha M – I’m sure Suh respects Cutler as a player, especially absorbing his hits, but elite? Cutler was only dreamed to be elite when drafted by the Broncos. He’s been a middle of the pack QB or worse most of his career.
Okay, I hear ya on “elite”… that was probably too strong a word to apply to Cutler.
Isn’t Diehl Coughlin’s nephew?
Nah, never mind, that was a different Giants OL, Chris Snee
Geez, it’s not even his nephew, it’s his son-in-law. I’m a fountain of misinformation!
$#!t happens, Mike E! LOL 😆
I hate mornings when I screw something up like that, but shake it off. It’s all good! 🙂
🙂 All good. It’s part of
getting oldbeing thousands of years old.I realize that it sometimes sounds as though I’m a Cutler ‘apologist’, but I’m certainly not. I loved him coming out of Vandy, but that’s where my love of Cutler began and ended. Up until his concussion, he’d played fairly well for us… despite a lack of yardage (Gase calling dink-n-dunk plays).
He was actually on track to throw more TDs and fewer INTs than Tannehill had last season. He has since fallen off and that sucks. He won’t be back with us next year. He’s one tough SOB and I respect him as both a QB and player for our Phins.
But y’all KNOW who I wanted to get to fill in for Tannehill this season. He was the 3rd-string QB for the Vikings entering this season and his name rhymes with Ace Need’em… 😀
His entire career is basically what could have happened instead of what did
I dont think we need to go over the top with bashing Cutler, but I think the team signing him was just a flat out bad decision. I expect to move on and be done with Cutler soon.
I don’t love Diehls unsolicited personal attacksn on him when asked about Brady but I don’t waste energy defending him and I don’t know why anyone does.
Yeah — least what is settled with Cutler is that next year only way he is here is if it it is with clip board in hand for a lot less money. Don’t blame him for taking the $10 mil or the FO from trying to save the season after Tanny went down though.
I don’t blame the FO for doing something
But they are accountable for the bad decision to pay Cutler 10m.
What if we didn’t sign him and used that money to resign Landry?
Most of the harm of signing cutler is behind us now in the lost 2017 season – but if this offseason we let landry leave or overpay him, I will personally wonder if we could have avoided it had we passed on cutler and instead resigned Landry
Just a really bad decision by both Gase and The FO on cutler imo. For me the question is not ehether it was justifiable or not – but instead how much harm was done
I don’t think the Cutler decision has any bearing on Landry Imo, Landry is not an elite rec, he is limited due to no break away speed, he is a possession rec the 2nd coming of Hartline. so how much is that worth, in Landry’s case no more than 8m per, i think he’s seeking a lot more than that which is probably why he went unsigned.
LMAO!!! Listen to this seemingly lovely lady quote Suh!!! Turn your speakers down if you’re at work!!!
😆 😆 😆
I LOVE the emphasis on the “FFF” 😆
Suh had a definite point…..even if sure he was more worried about 15 yards of flag and less about player safety.
took a while, but looking like everyone is happy about Anthony now except maybe Timmons. Stephone is on the books for $1.5 mil in his 2018 contract year…he’s also only 25. Might turn out to be a 5th well-spent.
——————————-
“Against Tampa Bay in Week 11, Anthony played 12 defensive snaps (18 percent). In Week 12 in New England, Anthony played 18 snaps (25.7 percent). Last week, Anthony was on the field for 29 snaps (40.3 percent). He’s been regularly rotating in on third downs, replacing the veteran Lawrence Timmons on passing downs.
Miami sent New Orleans a fifth-round pick in September for Anthony in the wake of Timmons’ AWOL episode. While it took the young linebacker several weeks to find the field, Anthony has earned his playing time. If he can stabilize the weak-side linebacker spot, the Dolphins could be set at the position for years to come.”
Full with more: http://dolphinswire.usatoday.com/2017/12/08/dolphins-hc-adam-gase-impressed-with-lb-stephone-anthony/
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32 observations on 32 teams by @chichester_mark
http://pffoc.us/2kvnWPL
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“Miami Dolphins: Linebacker Kiko Alonso has racked up 14 tackles that have resulted in zero or negative yardage for the opponent. This is tied for the second-most among linebackers this year.”
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Roar
Least someone still has faith in the Phins on Monday night. 🙂
“It’s a good football team. They have a lot of talent. The first game was really a lot closer than the score indicated. The score was tight there in the fourth quarter until the stop on downs and the touchdown on that last series. A good team, play hard, tough, explosive, got a lot of big-play players in all three phases of the game. It’ll be a big challenge.”
Who was that?
Belichick again?
The hooded one. Think he would put out how his team is probably going to lose before the father/son flag football game in the summer.
Check out this female HS kicker lay this dude out in Pennsylvania.
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“Ah shucks, it was nuthin’!” *in my Scooby-Doo voice* 🙂
We had opportunities to make the first game against the Pats a closer game but shot ourselves in the foot like we have done much of the season. This team can compete with any team based on talent, but the self inflicted wounds are too much to overcome because we’re not that good. LOL
We do have a core to build on but we need to clean some things up and add a few more pieces and we could be a solid team. I do not think we’re going to blow anything up.
That is the big Q…..blow it up or not. Am right with you on that won’t happen, but do think Gase’s seat will be a bit hotter next year. And that comes with making moves for the 2018 record instead of to building that core.
Any time a team has a bad season everyone involved is on the hot seat going into the next season. Gase and the FO has to fix what’s broken and build on what’s good.
We’ve had a bad season, but it hasn’t been awful. Our starting QB went down, and the offense has struggled all year, leading the defense to struggle, but it’s not like we’re 1-11, or 2-10, we’re 5-7, which is pretty much where we’ve been at most of the last decade or more.
Gase really shouldn’t be on the hot seat, not if they think he’s the guy. I think they need to give him some time, see if he improves in certain areas.
If you go back and watch some of the highlights of Drake’s performance last week you see a lot of the same stuff Ajayi did when he was having success. Quick cuts and decisive running picking up chunk yards, showing some power to move the pile, then the speed to take it to the house.
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/0ap3000000887145/Kenyan-Drake-highlights-Week-13
At least we get to see the throwback uniforms Monday night. Hope that isn’t the only highlight.
We’re kickass in those uniforms. That makes the game . . .
THROWBACK UNI’s vs PRIME TIME GAME
Pretty sure we won BOTH games when we wore the throwback uni’s last year
Definitely looking forward to the throwback uniforms. I wish we would go back to the old helmet design permanently.
Is ORob STILL bitching about the Ajayi trade?
http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/21711294/nfl-reviewing-behavior-new-orleans-saints-coach-sean-payton-officials
Man, Payton says what everyone else has been saying this season and the league investigates his actions instead of the damn piss poor refs. I know its possible both are out of line and both need to be investigated, but i can surely see how a coach would get frustrated by the kind of shit thats going on. Like he said the shit isnt being decided by the paly on the field, a lot of them are being decided by blown calls, no-calls, or calls that apply their judgment and seemingly show bias against a one or the other team (ie exact sam call on one team they dont make on the other).
IMO, what Gase did last year, earned him a pass for a year like this. This is the kind of year we should have gotten last year and he was able to get things turned around and we made the playoffs. I know it can be argued we stumbled into the playoffs, but without Gase i dont think there is a chance in hell it happened.
Now, do i think it buys him another year’s pass. No, but certainly its easy to see we had some really big obstacles thrown in front of us, and yeah we tripped over them. Next year is going to be a chance for him to show us if he can get the team back on its feet, avoid having the same obstacles and get the team back to competitive levels. If he can fix this, then he deserves to keep his job, and right now he at least deserves a next year to show that.
Right with you. If anything, Gase’s first year might have been too good for his own good. Obviously tanny going down was tough, but thought going in we had some natural regression in us. And we’ve had a tough schedule versus the easy one last year. All those people who said “can’t go by what happened last year” in Sept as far as that probably won’t be too happy when we are the last in the draft order at whatever record we end up at.
What if an experienced great coach becomes available this off season, do you make the move?
Nope!
Ross signed Gase to a 5 year deal so I highly doubt one down season is going to make Ross fire him and pay him for 3 years not being here. Sometimes you have to invest in something long-term and not be overly reactionary to some hard times. If we go 6-10 next year it might be a different story. But I think if some things go right this offseason getting some players back and adding some new pieces, we could be a competitor in 2018.
do you sign Harbaugh if he’s available? remember Ross went after Harbaugh years ago
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32 observations on 32 teams by @chichester_mark
http://pffoc.us/2kvnWPL
—————–
“Miami Dolphins: Linebacker Kiko Alonso has racked up 14 tackles that have resulted in zero or negative yardage for the opponent. This is tied for the second-most among linebackers this year.”
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If his football IQ ever develops where he can have better pre-snap reads, and his post-snap reads start becoming more instinctual, we will have a really great LB. I think right now he is playing purely off a really elite level athletic ability, but when he gets a little more consistency with his play reads, he could really be something special.
I think the entire defense needs work on being on the same page. They seem to have too many communication issues and that could be due to not a lot of time playing together. Build on it and get better.
WOW!!–No one’s posted for about 3 hours and 20 minutes!!
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SUPPOSE the Fins pick around #12 or so in the upcoming draft. Which quarterbacks coming out this coming draft would you take with the 12th overall pick?? –Certainly I’d take Baker Mayfield. But I’m pretty sure he’ll be gone well before that. I’d sure as hell pass on any other QB at #12, although the Indy workouts MIGHT change my mind on that, along with the upcoming bowl games.–Others have mentioned trading down and getting (perhaps) a late 1st round pick plus a 2nd round pick. THAT would certainly give us a chance to plug TWO huge holes in the Offensive Line, something we should have considered LAST YEAR instead of waiting until round 5 to pick someone
who has totally failed to help us THIS SEASON!!
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BEWARE THE THROWBACK JERSEYS!!! — The football gods are TRYING to tell Ross to shit-can the new, wimpy, Dolphin in favor of the much larger, ’80’s style Dolphin. The gods also want Miami’s true colors brought back and those Jacksonville like putrid greens tossed in the garbage!! —How do I know this?? The gods have brought us comeback wins while wearing throwbacks and unexpected losses (to the fuckin’ Buccaneers, no less) in the Ross outfits way too often!! –Go throwback next season and the gods say we will FINALLY WIN A PLAYOFF GAME WITH STEVE ROSS AS OWNER!!!
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Take Miami and the 10 and 1/2 points on throwback jersey night!!!!! –It’s a signal from the football gods!!
I think Mayfield will grade out as about a 3rd round prospect. He will be on the board well past 12
THAT’s very interesting, Ken. IF Miami plugs two O-Line holes in the first two picks, I’d sure as hell take Mayfield in round 3. JMHO.
I posted at 7:07pm in reply to ORob.
OD, I know we have our run-ins about the Phins team/org, but I want to apologize for saying FU. I wasn’t in the mood at the time and I felt your comments were if it’s not “perfection” you have a loser mentality and that’s really not the case. Life is full of obstacles and you need to fight through it.
I know you’re a mega fan and a long-time supporter and season ticket holder. Just wanted to say that opinions on sports shouldn’t define anyone and I want to extend the olive branch or peace pipe, which ever one you prefer. 🙂
OLIVE BRANCH WORKS, Tim, because any smoke causes me to go into an asthma attack. Nearly died from one a few years ago. Glad you did this gesture.
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Points to ponder; 1) Shula beat the Bills 20 consecutive times from 1970 thru 1979.–The Bills (and OJ Simpson) went “O for the ’70’s” against Miami—the ONLY time that’s ever been done in NFL history!!–Yes, Shula, and most other teams, had a rough time with the Bills in the late ’80’s and early ’90’s. But, for the 100+ times these two teams have met, the Fins own a significant advantage. And, as we all know, the “O” in BUFFALO stands for Super Bowl wins!
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Gotta run. Mrs. OD needs me. Hope to talk with you ttomorrow.
PEACE!
I’m a break down our Offensive roster for ’18…
QB: Tannehill and ????? (maybe we re-sign Moore, but I think we’re moving on)
RB: Drake, re-sign Damien, either of Perry or De’Veon, and ?????
WR: DeVante, Stills, re-sign Jarvis, Grant, and Carroo
TE: re-sign Fasano (need a blocking TE!), Gray, and ?????
LT: Tunsil (he’s going to be good) and E.Smith
LG: Larsen and ?????
C: Pouncey (if he’s not cut) and Brendel or ?????
RG: Asiata and ?????
RT: keep James??? and J.Davis
We’ve got an arsenal for Tannehill to work with, now we just have to protect him and open lanes for the RBs. Lots of ????? on the O-Line and upgrades to be had in the Draft.
I think we go heavy OL and TE in the offseason. Drake showed me he can be the guy last game. I know it’s one game but he looked the part. He’s just getting started. He reminds me of Ahman Green. Can he handle a heavy workload week after week, nobody knows. We’ll add another back in 2018. But I’m a fan of Drake. “Love the Drake!” 😉
Can’t argue with any of that!
HELL YEAH!!!
Way to go Tim and OD very cool
🙂
I’m not even going to breakdown our Defense. IMO, we’re VERY good on that side of the ball. I’d re-sign William Hayes (GREAT run-stopper), Lippett and Raekwon will be coming back off of I/R, and I’d look to draft a pass-rusher (can’t have enough of ’em) and another LB at some point.
The only qualm I have on Defense is Matt Burke as DC and our heavy-zone calling in the Secondary. I’ll give Burke a mulligan as it’s only his first year as a DC. And if we continue to play heavy-zone, dammit, give us CBs who THRIVE in zone (see Brent Grimes). Either that, or start playing ‘JAM-BALL’ like the CBs on our roster were drafted to do on a regular basis.
Clarification: when I say I think we’re VERY good on that side of the ball, I’m talking about our roster. There is NO reason why we shouldn’t be a top-5 Defense, IMO. And that is why I saddle Matt Burke with a lot of the blame, here.
I think Burke is learning on the job as a DC and also dealing with a ton of personnel changes and groupings. Lots of young players too. 2018 will tell us more.
I’m with ya, Tim… and I can’t help but love Matt Burke as a person. I sincerely hope he rectifies his shortcomings and takes us to a top-5 level next year. This Defensive roster of ours is VERY nice and it’s not translating as such.
I think that sometimes guys take the safe route. I know you said before that a coach who does the things I would like to see would end up getting fired but I think Burke took the safe route with the defense and decided to stay the course rather than do his own thing.
I think he was afraid to make a change and be second-guessed if things didn’t work out too well. Of course, this is all speculation but that’s the “feeling” I get. Maybe someone forced his hand with that, maybe not, but IMO if you think you can build a better mousetrap why not take the chance and see if it’s going to work rather than stay with a defense that sucked last year?
I think sometimes we’re too quick to make excuses for guys. Maybe we should; I don’t know. But, I look at other teams and they always seem to find the answers we don’t. You look at the Rams with McVay and what they’re doing. Look at the Saints. They revamped their LB unit and brought back Dennis Allen; this time as a DC. He had one other stint as a DC with the Broncos in 2011 and his D sucked.
Granted, they’re not top 10 but they’re also not that far away. It kind of gets frustrating. Maybe these teams just get lucky with their hires. Again. I don’t know. I wish we could get lucky once.
professorloumiamidolphinsblog says:
December 8, 2017 at 9:22 pm
I think that sometimes guys take the safe route. I know you said before that a coach who does the things I would like to see would end up getting fired but I think Burke took the safe route with the defense and decided to stay the course rather than do his own thing.
I think he was afraid to make a change and be second-guessed if things didn’t work out too well. Of course, this is all speculation but that’s the “feeling” I get. Maybe someone forced his hand with that, maybe not, but IMO if you think you can build a better mousetrap why not take the chance and see if it’s going to work rather than stay with a defense that sucked last year?
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There’s a lot of merit in what you’re saying, Prof Lou… you may be 100% correct. I know that if I was in Burke’s shoes (first time DC), I’d be playing it safe as well. There’s no reason to be reckless in your debut in any new position in any walk of life. Good call!
Not me man. If I’m going down I’m going down with guns a blazin’. If the defense is going to work and be great it’s going to have my signature on it; not someone else’s. If I were to be shown the door and not taken that chance I’d be more pissed that I didn’t take the chance
DL – Hayes, Godchaux, Taylor, Harris and even Branch only 2nd year.
LB – Timmons, Allen, Anthony with Alonso only 2nd year and McMillan back in 2018.
DB – Howard (2nd) and Tankersley (Rook) both young corners with McDonald new to the team and some other young guys in the mix.
This is not a battle and time tested defense, it’s a work in progress. They should be much better in 2018 even if some changes happen.
this is why we need to get set with these positions rather than just keep bringing in band aids as a quick fix and a short-term solution. you bring in Timmons and Mauluga, Bushrod, Larsen, Allen at safety and it just continues.
It’s time to start DRAFTING the future at positions rather than signing FA’s all the time who have little to nothing left to give and who aren’t going to solve our problems for us. Don’t ya think so?
There are a good amount of draft picks and prime players on defense.
Hey Lou, the paper… the paper… 😉
I’m in the mood for some throwback music…
Way to go Tim and OD. In the same spirit I know I have taken some shots at Prof Lou of late so let me offer my apologies to you Prof Lou. Differences over sports should never get personal unless you are a Patriots fan then in that case FU
Not a problem. If anyone’s been a pure dick around here it’s been me. I owe everyone here an apology.
Not a problem either
So where is it?
I feel the love on the blog tonight now let’s go out and kill the Pats and beat up Brady
Win. Keep your job. Lose. Get the boot. Just like every other HC, Gase needs to start winning. He hasn’t handled this year very well, in my opinion. Things haven’t gone smoothly against overmatched teams like last year. Fair or not, I judge folks by how they perform in bad situations…when things don’t go your way. Has Gase stepped up and led this team when things were bad? Or, has he been part of the problem and been exposed a little? Either way, he’s a young, inexperienced HC, and he’ll probably get at least one more year to prove his worth. Just like the rest of the team, he needs to be more consistent.
Young an inexperienced, Ross’s required Resume for the HC. Nothing like experience in any job you do.
I’ve worked construction for a good part of my life and to hire someone who has no experience is a choir.
they look stupid next to those who have experience. i would think this is the same in any job you are trying to take on.
this weeks game is like a licensed contractor against a laborer.
M
I disagree that RT17 has an arsenal to work with. Landry, Stills are really the only playmakers. Drake may become a real good back, but that is it.
Kenny Brit is available?
What with this silly human “olive branch” business
Everyone knows the best way to make peace is a lifting of the squiggly and a passing of gas
To each of you I want to offer my deepest fart
OCALAROB; I THINK your criticism of Ross for hiring ONLY head coaches who lacked head coaching experience is PERFECTLY VALID. TO WIT:
SPARANO: NO prior HC experience at any level.
BOWLES: NO prior HC experience at any level.
PHILBIN: NO prior HC experience at any level. The fact that he was an OC who wasn’t trusted to call plays SHOULD HAVE BEEN a major red light. But, Ross ignored it and ran a red light!
CAMPBELL: NO prior HC experience at any level. Bless him, he sure tried hard, though, to make Miami a winner.
GASE: NO prior HC experience at any level.
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The single most successful head coach hire in club history was a coach who had had GREAT SUCCESS ALREADY in the NFL—the incomparable DON SHULA!! ANOTHER guy, who had an impressive resume (Jimmy Johnson) also achieved playoff WINS with this franchise.
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SO HERE’s the totals: 5 coaches with NO prior experience=ZERO playoff wins! 2 head coaches with prior playoff wins =PLAYOFF WINS AT MIAMI.
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GOT IT???
OD, so what you are telling me is any of us have a chance at being HC of the Miami Dolphins….Saawwweeeeeet!!!!!!!!
I think Cambell is the best of the bunch
The trend in sports is hiring young, inexperienced Head Coaches, in baseball, managers are being hired league wide without managerial experience, and in the case of the Yankees, possibly the biggest sports franchise period, they hired a manager without any coaching experience at all. None.
There just aren’t that many HC’s available with previous HC experience that are desirable. Most of them are the retreads that haven’t done well anywhere, and others are deep into their TV broadcasting career and want no part of the hours that are necessary to put in for a HC.
Who, specifically did you guys want to be our HC that has previous experience? Just curious . . .
I disagree, great coaches become available but you have to be ready to shop when that happens, look at Andy Reed…Tom Coughlin….maybe this year Jon Gruden or Jim Harbaugh….You have to be ready to pull the trigger, you don’t wait until your inexperienced head coach collapses and then go looking, at that point the cupboard is bare.
I don’t think Jim Harbaugh will ever come back to the NFL. He, like Saban, found out it’s much easier to have success in college. I would bet you that Jim Harbaugh and Jon Gruden will never be NFL HC’s again. Tom Coughlin isn’t coaching now, he took over football operations for the Jags. So what do you do, just hire a retread until the HC you want all of a sudden becomes available? I’m not sure I get what you’re thinking.
Tom Coughlin would have been a great hire no matter what the title, throw the bank at him he’s a proven winner, he knows how to win, as for Gruden and Harbaugh they have been mentioned as new candidate hires to nfl teams such as the Giants this year.
saying they will never coach pros again is simply speculation.
furthermore i’m just giving you examples of the coaches who have and may be available, you never know what will happen down the road. the point is your comments say this will never happen at which i disagree because it has happened recently.
It’s definitely speculation, but it’s also speculation to think that when one of these great coaches become available, that they would pick our team to coach. Honestly, you think Gruden is going to come back and grind for 12 hours a day every day during the season, while he’s making good money working 1/2 that right now?
Rob
I remember Cowher’s name came up every year for a while after he went to TV. So far, he’s still in TV. It’s just a much easier lifestyle for these guys, and they get paid enough to keep them in TV, and off the field.
at this point i don’t think its even relevant because i do believe Gase will be here for a while and who’s to say that he wont figure it out along the way.
And not just easier, but in a lot of other ways also better. Most of these guys have wives, kids, and in some cases grandkids. Plus we’ve all seen what scrutiny HCs are under….we all put the pressure on or own ourselves.
Long as you are a good announcer, all you have to do is “don’t.” Don’t swear, Don’t show up late, Don’t throw a hissy fit on air, Don’t say anything that will hit the news, and Don’t get in a scandal that hits the news. Plenty of quality coaches get fired for reasons beyond their control.
if he doesn’t figure it out in the next year or two they will fire him and begin another frantic search for a rookie HC and the promises will start again.
ORob — not certain who they would look for next, but for sure Gase knows he only has so many mulligans left. Ross seems both patient buy into him, but the job pressure is building.
Piggy,
watch out for open flames.
Ugh. Trying to post highlights of the 1994 comeback game vs Pats when Marino threw 5 tds
Irving Fryar had a day!
That was so last century 😎
KEN: I’ve got the issue of S.I. that had all the details of that classic 1994 game. I’ll need to get with someone who has lots of computer skills to transfer the great photos and Rick Telander’s wonderful story line to this site.
Marino’s first game back from achilles surgery is the stuff of legends!! –It is, in my opinion, the GREATEST GAME EVER PLAYED AT THE STADIUM NOW KNOWN AS HARD HEAD. And the noise level when Fryar scored the winning touchdown was as loud as I’ve EVER HEARD AT ANY SPORTING EVENT!!
IT will make the hair on your arm stand up! (except for you bald guys!)
Sounds cool OD I would love to see it. That was my favorite game of all time. No one knew if Marino would ever be the same and he was just awesome in that game
I just watched it. What a shootout. Man Ben Coates was good for the Pats. I had forgotten about him.
Ken – That was definitely one of my favorite games, if not my favorite as well. It was so good to see Dan tear up the Patriots defense that day, wondering if he could still play like he used to. He answered that question with a resounding YES!
The other game that is up there for all time great games was 1985 vs the Bears
Sorry the Yankee fan in me couldn’t resist:
Sir Didi Gregorius
✔
@DidiG18
@AaronBoone Hey Skip am i still batting 4th ??? pic.twitter.com/oUadnUmf7i
10:04 AM – Dec 9, 2017
Jimmy Johnson ran Marino out of town.
Nobody mentioned Fat Tuna…..guess it’s selective memory of how well that went. Sparano was hand picked by him too. So I guess that is Ross failure too?
Marino played for Jimmy every year he was there. Wannstedt is the one who was criticized for running Marino out of town. Both Johnson and Marino retired after the 62-7 loss to the Jags in the playoffs.
That said I think Marino was done. He couldn’t throw the deep out anymore and he looked like a shell of his former great self.
That trade might be the best thing Jeter ever did for the Yankees. It smells fishy to me, that they took so little back in return (Marlins). I think MLB should open up an investigation. How did the Marlins NOT get any of the Yankees top prospects, like Torres or Frazier? I swear something is wrong with the trade.
Stanton’s had more to do with it than any thing else. He shot down other deals because he wanted to go to the Yankees
No trade clause ^
OK, so why make the trade then? They just became an awful team, and didn’t get nearly enough compensation for the best slugger in the NL. No one said they had to trade him, they just did it.
He was going to leverage his way out of there. In baseball the players have way too much power under the collective bargaining agreement. I would be pissed too if I was a Marlins fan but I am not
It’s not like the Knicks trading Melo, who was past his prime, and even in his prime, was a one dimensional player. Stanton is a great hitter and he has a great outfield arm. Just shedding his contract is a disgrace. They should tear that team down.
YOU ARE TOTALLY RIGHT, Mike!
Ken
Even if they hung onto him until the trade deadline, they could have got more for him that way. What was the rush to get rid of him for nothing? It doesn’t make sense to me.
E.R.; The “Fat Tuna” never was Miami’s HC, THAT’s WHY I never mentioned him–boy, talk about “selective memory,” SHEESH!! –TUNA should have been given “the boot” on day 1 of Ross’s regime but, NOOO-O-O, he was “encouraged” to stay around and supervise the collapse of this franchise!
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WAY TO GO, Little Stevie Blunder!!!!!
But you listed Sparano…..
Rob mentioned Coughlin coming here…..
Coughin is ancient
KEN: IS JETER REALLY an agent for the Yankees?? He’s sure NOT going to enhance Miami’s attendance by getting rid of the best player in baseball for a bag of peanuts!
GUESS this qualifies Jeter to be the next GM of the Dolphins, right??
Man do deals like this make me happy the NFL has a real salary cap in place. And much as would love to be a Mets or Yankees fan…..least the cost of my next seat in Miami for a Pirates game just got cheaper. 🙂
And I really don’t count interim coaches as failures…..if the team was good there wouldn’t be an interim coach. Lol
I don’t know which is worse….all the woulda coulda shouldas, or all the fucking koombayah.
We will be back yelling at one another. Give it a few days
Going back to the discussion about the defense I think we’re building a good unit. They just need more time playing together. They could be really good next year. Maybe we add a piece or two and get back McMillan to be a part of it, but this offseason should be about the offense. We need to get tougher up front and add some new younger talent at TE along with another RB and a QB to develop. I believe we could be a good team in 2018.
I don’t see our D being anything special. We are still weak at LB and CB. Wake looks like he is slowing down too
We’re not special right now but we’re young at corner but talented, and the LB position is being revamped and better than it has been in years. I think they’re an ascending defense. Look at how many new players we have including rooks and other young players. It takes time to jell into a top unit and the only way to get there is to play them so they all get on the same page.
Not sure about special, but least we are fairly deep and relatively young. Jones and Suh are studs. So has been Wake, but hard to get around his age. Maybe TJ or Harris become the next real playmakers to step up.
The fuckin Yankees are back at it. Somehow they always acquire great talent for peanuts. WTF?!!!
BOTH the NFL and the NHL have firm salary caps and enforce them. MLB lacks a hard cap. And the soft cap MLB has allows some teams to spend 4-5 times as much on salaries as some other franchises do. THAT’s why so many have left, never to return, to MLB. IF you live in a city that has one of the Top 10 spending teams, you are happy (perhaps). But if you live in cities ranked 11-30 in spending, you already know your season is over BEFORE spring training starts.
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THIS TRADE, if it stands, will be the death knell of the Miami Marlins.
MEANWHILE, across in Tampa Bay, Stuart Sternberg, managing owner of the Rays, wants locals to pay about 80-90 per cent of the cost of a new stadium for a franchise that CAN NOT POSSIBLY compete in the future with the Red Sox and the Yankees, who are in the same division as the Tampa Bay franchise.
My advice to Sternberg and his buddies is this: pay your fair share of the new stadium (at least 50-75 % of the total) and spend at least HALF of what the Yankees and Red Sox spend on salaries and maybe, just maybe, we can negotiate a deal to keep MLB in Tampa Bay. But if you insist on area taxpayers paying for nearly all of these stadium costs, my advice to you, and those who think like you, is to get your fat butts out of here while you still have them AT YOUR EARLIEST CONVENIENCE. Don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out!
OD — but that is the problem with not having a hard cap…….your Tampa owners simply can’t spend half of what the Dodgers, Red Sox or Cubs do and still make money. But maybe some rich billionaire steps in do what you want as a hobby/ego thing.
One of the nice things for us though is that Hard Rock is privately owned, newly upgraded, prime event tourist spot….. a big old asset sitting there. We can biotch about on the field all we want, but least seems the team will not be put up for the highest bidder and do the Irsay out of town.
ACTUALLY, Y.S., someone CAN and HAS stepped in and spent close to half of what the Yanks and Sox spend and WON an American League pennant and a spot in the World Series. It’s the very same Stuart Sternberg who, a few years ago got his “Devil Rays” to the Series only to lose to the Phillies. Later, however, he turned to “Mr. Cheapskate” and the gap between the Rays and the Yanks/Red Sox got even wider, with Sternberg pocketing the difference. He just assumed Joe Maddon would stay around and that the FANS also would stay around. WRONG ON BOTH COUNTS!! –Maddon went on to the Cubbies where the owner spent an appropriate amount on salaries and WON THE WORLD SERIES while Rays’ fans stayed home in huge numbers for the last two seasons. Strangely enough, the voters can see through Sternberg’s bullshit and are in NO MOOD to finance this cheapskates raid on the public trough. NO WAY the voters will vote to pay the vast majority of money needed for a new stadium in this scenario.
So sounds like Maddon was smart and good enough with his skills to move to a big money team. Who would not like to start with more cards to play with before you hit the field? Trust that you will deal with Sternberg as you see fit. Keep in mind though that he is not rich as far as pro team sports owners go. So more than just a hobby for him.
Can’t one argue that this team also needs to fix the LB position once and for all? If we’re top ten or close and have a shot at Roquan Smith he’s my guy.
Sure but I think we’re getting there. Anthony might replace Timmons next season as he’s already replacing him in nickel lately. We get McMillan back and I think Allen has been a nice find as an UDFA. No reason we can’t add another young LB to the mix.
I liked Anthony a lot coming out of college and thought we should have taken him in the first. Hopefully he becomes one of the answers for us in that unit along with McMillan. Smith would be a huge addition for us if we were to land him. We need help in a lot of areas still and there’s no reason IMO to not keep an open mind when it comes to positions.
The problem with appearances is they can be deceiving. You would think that with 3 first rd picks on the offensive line and a vet like Bushrod at RG we’d be better off there than we’ve been too but it didn’t happen. It would be a different story if these guys hadn’t played together in the past but that’s also not the case.
Ken says:
December 9, 2017 at 1:06 pm
The other game that is up there for all time great games was 1985 vs the Bears
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how about the epic in miami, the hook and lateral game, SD vs Miami in a divisional playoff game, has to be the best game ever played.
another more recent the Wildcat game against new england!
Would have been a better game if we won but yes that was a great game
OD i think the way the marlins finance records work is they make 150 mil thru revenue sharing etc….so if they reduce their payroll to 80 mil they profit 70 mil.
it’s not about winning it’s about the bottomline.
Baseballs dirty little secret
maybe a 6% return on their 1.2 billion
Lou, like I pointed out last night, we only have a few players who have played with each other on defense for more than two seasons – Suh, Wake, Phillips, Fede, Hull, Hewitt, McCain, Jones and Thomas, and some of those guys aren’t starters. We started retooling the defense last year and I do believe they’re on the right track.