I look at this game as either the “Road to Redemption” or the “Road to Ruin”. I can tell you from my perspective, the final score as to whether it’s a win or loss is not what will decide this for me, but rather whether we show up and play a solid game of football, a competitive game, or once again we look totally outmatched.
The Dolphins and Bengals are 2 teams going into this game at 3-1. The Bengals earned their 3rd win in a thriller over the Atlanta Falcons, while the Dolphins were thrashed and embarrassed in the Devil’s Lair, Foxborough Massachusetts. The good thing for the Dolphins is momentum only lasts until the next game, and the Dolphins have a chance to rectify certain things, that they aren’t pretenders, they’re for real. The Bengals on the other hand, are riding a high, but that can be obliterated quickly if the Dolphins get the offense going.
The Dolphins made some personnel changes as recently as yesterday, cutting former 2015 2nd RD pick, DT Jordan Phillips. The Dolphins also promoted DE Cameron Malveaux from the PS, The Dolphins also signed OC Wesley Johnson, who started 15 games for the NY Jets last season, after signing OC Travis Swanson last week, now that former starter Daniel Kilgore is out for the season with a torn triceps injury. At the moment, the Dolphins are evaluating a number of veteran DT’s, to fill the space vacated by cutting Jordan Phillips, but have not yet signed one. Right now, we have only 3 DT’s, and only 3, because of the loss of DE/DTWilliam Hayes, so we’re left with Akeem Spence, Davon Godchaux and Vincent Taylor.
The offense just didn’t work last week, and you can assign blame to Adam Gase, or credit to Bill Belichick, and both would be appropriate. Since our offense has been predicated on speed, getting our speedy receivers in space, Belichick countered that by putting 5-7 DB’s, switching from nickel to dime to quarter depending on our offensive formation, and it completely shut down our offense. I’d be lying if I didn’t tell you that I wasn’t extremely disappointed with Gase for not having an answer to that strategy. Still, Gase has another chance this week to get the offense going. The Bengals have allowed 113 points in 4 games, for an average of 28.3 PPG. That got a little bloated from last weeks game against the Falcons, who put up 36, but the Bengals have a decent defense, but not a dominant one by any means.
We all know we have to do a better job running the football. On the other hand, I think it’s important to recognize that all those short passes at or near the LOS are truly just an extension of the running game. Some refuse to see that, but it is, nonetheless. The NFL is evolving, and very few teams hand off the football to a feature back 20-30 times a game. Almost every team has a committee of running backs, and very few backs in those situations get more than 15-20 touches, and that includes runs and pass plays. Even the teams that have elite RB’s don’t run as much as teams used to. Ezekiel Elliott and Todd Gurley are the only premier backs that have gone to 20 or more carries at least once, and the Cowboys are 2-2, while the Rams of course are undefeated. It’s about playing to your strengths, and unfortunately, here in Miami, our strength is NOT rushing the football. Our O-line has already taken 2 big hits, both of our offseason acquisitions, OG Josh Sitton and OC Daniel Kilgore are on IR. LT Laremy Tunsil has struggled with consistency, as has RG Jesse Davis and especially RT Ja’Wuan James. Our O-line just isn’t our best asset, but we need to get it to be serviceable at a minimum. I don’t think we can come out week after week and not run the football, that’s a recipe for failure. We cannot be one dimensional, as NE was so kind to point out to us.
Last week’s game tipped our PF/PA into the negative side, so we’re now allowing 22.5 PPG, not bad, considering we got blown out 38-7 last week, and we’re scoring only 20.5 PPG, also off kilter due to the lopsided score last week. Forget about all the stats, all of them, because this game our team has to show up and play competitive, physical football. I’m not going to dwell on the Phillips release, but the team showing poorly in 2 consecutive weeks will not be boosting this teams morale, or Adam Gase’s value to the team. We need to rebound, even if we don’t win this game, although winning it would be ideal.
Some have said Devante Parker could be the next guy to have his exodus from the team, and if you look at how little he’s been used, you would be hard pressed to notice if he was here or not. If the Dolphins would like to extract any value for Parker, it would be in their best interest to showcase him, and hope a team might be interested when his value is higher after a good game, rather than an all-time low as it presently is.
It looks like Bengals RB Joe Mixon is not likely to play this Sunday, which leaves veteran RB Giovani Bernard as the starter. They have remarkably similar stats in any case, but they lose the depth w/o Mixon. WR Tyler Boyd has recently become a favorite target of QB Andy Dalton. Talented TE Tyler Eifert is healthy (for now), and is beginning to round back into form. (OOPS! Eifert broke his ankle last week and is on IR) Tyler Kroft will replace Eifert at TE. The Bengals of course also have superstar WR A.J. Green, and newcomer, speedster John Brown. LB Nick Vigil, who I recall some liked here, is the team leader in tackles, and they also have DT Geno Atkins. The Bengals also have their starting OC injured, 1st RD pick Billy Price is out with a foot injury and he will be replaced by Trey Hopkins.
So which road do the Dolphins take this week, redemption or ruin? I should have been born in Missouri (The Show Me State), because until this team shows me they can compete with a better NFL team, I just don’t see it happening. Let the boos begin, and I hope I’m wrong, but . . .
CIN 30 – MIA 16
Finsmob Unleashed 
First and Oink
Awesome write Mike E — and matches my thoughts in many ways, including that whatever we are it will not be a running team…. but am sure ORob will be glad to point that out each week. 🙂
FYI — Eifert was placed on IR. Bad for him, but easier for our back 7.
Ah, yeah, missed that about Eifert. Thanks!
Yeah Eifert suffered a gruesome ankle injury.
When you do whatever is necessary for intel
LOL!
I’m still amazed at how many pig images are out there. Still haven’t found one of a pig shoving broccoli up its ass though. LOL
Some day…
LOL
This is how his newest Avi came about. Disgusting inter species acts.
Like you’ve never done a tiger
Very good write up, Mike. This team needs a bounce back game on the road against a good Bengals team. That is the bottom line.
Thanks Tim
Good job, MikeE. Just win, baby!
Thanks Randy, do you think we will win?
I read Your lengthy Your novel Rock, good reading and some deep stuff to ponder.
I visited Beverly Hills and Malibu beach about 5 years ago, even went to the Santa Monica pier shown in the Forrest Gump Movie.
But it looked like it was an incredible mountainside beach area before it was exploited for corporate gain.
On world famous Rodeo Drive and Stars Wakk of Fame, You had to hold your shirt or mask over Yoir face, or Your threat would get scratchy and get bad headaches from the smog.
I figured The pier would have better air since it juts out into the pacific, so we went there to hang out.
The air pollution was worse! Wtf standing on the pier, visibility was so bad You couldn’t see the parking lot 300 yards away. There were no swimming and no fishing signs, and toxic warning stickers everywhere.
I googled it up and found out that in the fifties and sixties, that area was very clean, and the residents tried their best to fight off industries and development, but failed because of Corporate deep pockets and lawyers overpowered them. And of course, just like Florida, big corporations paid off the California pols and got what they wanted.
California is perfect for polluting factories, because they sit up high on hills near the water, all that’s needed to get rid of waste is gravity and a damn pipe to dump it in the ocean
No need for expensive pumps to pollute, gravity is free and US citizens don’t have any rights to clean air and water, that just good luck to have those, and Beverly Hills was unlucky
It always comes down to greed and a despicable lack of responsibility.
Just curious, how is Andy Dalton doing this year? Anyone seen him?
Basically like he’s always been. Can be very good and not so good at times. I watched the CIN/ATL game when they switched from the Dolphins game and that was a great game. Dalton played very well hitting A.J. Green for the winning TD with 0:07 left.
I haven’t watched him much this season, but he’s doing OK. Completing 65% of his passes, 11 TD’s, 6 INT’s.
He’s a lot like Tanny, he trows some bad passes, makes some mistakes, and overall isnt very consistent. I think he pushes the ball down the field more, but he also has the receivers and the system for that. I think he and Tanny compare pretty well.
D, I agree on the Dalton/Tannehill comparison. We don’t have an A,J, Green or a Tyler Eifert though, but Parker was supposed to be our Green and Gesicki is supposed to be our Eifert. But they lost Eifert for the season so we don’t have to deal with him this Sunday.
The only way you are ever going to rid yourself of the pollution problem is when you rid yourself of the source. In a world thats over crowded and full of consumers (ie no one produces for themselves) you will have an increase in pollution. You want to change the world and make it less polluted, walk away from technology, walk away from being a purchaser, grow your own food, make your own clothing, etc. The idea that pollution is a problem caused by corporate America is bunk, the problem is the consumers, as long as people are buying and buying at the volume rate they are, the consumers will keep producing and the government will let them.
We all live lifes of excess, we are the pollution problem.
Part of what you say is true. But people and corporations and not just America but all around the world pollute irresponsibly without a conscience. It’s a part of bad human behavior to me. I see people throw garbage out their car windows anywhere and everywhere. I do not do that, do you, probably not. That’s just one small example.
That’s utopian and cool. However the ones in control thought of that too and devised ways to cock block us from doing that.
Monsanto controls the seeds, and the seeds available nowadays suck compared to what used to be available, or what’s sold in other countries. Monsanto won’t even let farmers reuse their own seeds that the farm generates, they are forced by contractual law to buy more gmo seeds from Monsanto. Monsanto spies on them, and actively pursues legal redress if farmers stray. I bought seeds at several places, everything died and produced nothing, but I used seeds from foreign countries that worked, what is that? I dunno but it’s frustrating. Some multi generational farmers told me the store bought seeds are engineered to fail so control of food isn’t relinquished to the masses.
The corporations, control the citizens, some call this the Matrix
Also local governments and HOAs have rules against farming and lifestock , making it illegal to try to do anything.
So again, who is to blame? The Monsantos of the world, and the pols with filled pockets
David, do you mean Wyoming’s post?
I think he meant what you were saying regarding Florida’s environmental issues last night.
Oh my bad, Wyo’s post was more about social culture than pollution so I thought it was from last night’s environmental discussion.
Yes, sorry, Wyomings novel, where’s Yours? Lol. Jk buddy my mistake saying Rock instead of Wyoming
D – You from Brooklyn? Dalton trows dose bad passes, makes ya fuckin head spin? lol
Lol.
LOL
Anyone remember the crying Indian TV commercial from the seventies.?
It shows an actor portraying an Indian paddling down a stream filled with garbage like potato chip bags, etc.
Then the Indian is looking at everything in disgust, and a car rolls by and people throw trash out the window at his feet, and a. Tear rolls from his eye at the destruction of once proud land.
And at the end of the commercial, You can write for more government info on pollution, they send brochures about it.
Here is a government funded commercial illustrating what pollution is, who’s to blame, and how we can stop throwing trash in the water. It’s all the citizens fault isn’t it?
The commercial didn’t show factories, smokestacks, steel mills, Air Force bases polluting or nothing that makes corporations liable in any way.
It’s those damn citizens polluting everything to blame, tossing shit out car windows is 100 percent of the problem? The Matrix can fool some of us,,,,
An actor portraying an Indian? Do you think the actor wasn’t an Indian? lol
No he was Italian-American who portrayed Native Americans in films. LOL
Yep! I remember it well.
I grew up fishing in Harriman State Park in Rockland and Orange counties in NY. It’s not far from the NJ border. It’s a take in take out park with garbage cans provided.
I fished many of the lakes there both from shore and boat. There was always garbage on the shores, the peninsulas and islands. Why? Because of people with no conscience.
This is just one park 47,527 acres in one state. Now think about this happening across the globe. That’s why our oceans, rivers, streams and lakes are filled with garbage and marine life and other species are injured, sick and die from it.
It’s friggin sad.
Meant to say even with some garbage cans provided in some areas like the beach areas. Everywhere else take in take out.
ocalarob says:
October 3, 2018 at 2:29 pm
The Flying Pig says:
October 3, 2018 at 1:12 pm
First and Oink
_________________________
Is it just coincidental that you are always oinking first or are you violating the insider trader act?
——————————————
Dont you know, pigs always oink first, just as mrs pig.
Tim is correct, that wasn’t a real Indian, just an actor
Matrix just sent me a presidential alert, now big brother can directly text everyone of us about whatever the fuck they want and we aren’t allowed to opt out
I’m terrified. LOL
The Flying Pig says:
October 3, 2018 at 1:12 pm
First and Oink
_________________________
Is it just coincidental that you are always oinking first or are you violating the insider trader act?
It’s my snout senses
True we’re 3-1 atop the AFC East, but are we the beast of the East?
it’s not that we lost to the Pats it’s how we lost that has me deflated
I think we all feel that way.
Not the Beast of the East in the Least. Looking pretty solid for 2nd place though.
Have AJ Green in fantasy. Dude is a beast. Gets doubled all the time like Gronk, but still manages to get it done. I’m guessing they’ll have X-Man shadowing him and throw at least a safety shade on him as well.
His issue is a lot like Parkers with him staying healthy, but Green, even coming out of college was a all pro waiting to take his place. Parker even when healthy hasn’t looked that good. I think Parker could be Green light and even potentially better with contested passes, but thats only 100% health and 100% committed and i dont think we have ever seen more than a couple to three game stretches with Parker like that.
No Parker isn’t anywhere nearly as consistent as Green has hasn’t had as good a career. Similar skill set though and Green is one of the WRs Parker reminded me of coming out of college.
Yeah — comparison btwn Green and Parker is right on. AJ Green 2.0 is how we were hoping we were drafting. And Parker has shown he can be that on given plays, but only that.
D says:
October 3, 2018 at 2:42 pm
ocalarob says:
October 3, 2018 at 2:29 pm
The Flying Pig says:
October 3, 2018 at 1:12 pm
First and Oink
_________________________
Is it just coincidental that you are always oinking first or are you violating the insider trader act?
——————————————
Dont you know, pigs always oink first, just as mrs pig.
Reply
We signed DT Garrison Smith to the PS. If we don’t add another DT to the 53 my guess is Woodard and Malveaux with get some snaps inside on passing downs.
Oink
Fart
Squeal
This is the code
Encouraged cause McCain is out and he’s next man up.
That was my thinking.
Good point
I am on vacation at Disney and have been a bit out of touch. Just stopping in to once again say “I’m on to Cincinnati” That is to say, I can only hope they play better and get a win!!! I know, in depth analysis there…lol
Great post Mike, I always enjoy your articles.
Son, thanks for the “cheers” about the Brewers. I am pumped, especially since it came at the expense of the Cubs.
You just can’t enough of wearing Mickey Mouse ears can you? LOL
Lol…..Minnie
Nice weather today for Disney, You lucked out.
My friends sister is at Disney today, You may recognize her, she’s smokin hot, lol
Thanks Bookman! Have fun in Disney!
Hope it cools down for the Fest in a few weeks. I might have to get a bigger mug..lol
Impossible!!! lol
I just realized Jordan Phillips would have been UFA this offseason
Just a thought: why not just keep him on the inactive list, let him walk via FA and then get a comp pick?
Gase doesn’t like distractions….but you make a good point. Sometimes you have to make the best business decision.
I just hate wasting picks
Piggy, after a few years it becomes more about the player than his draft status. Also no guarantee losing Phillips to FA gets us a comp pick. The formula is more involved than that. FA gains vs. losses and the size of contracts. It’s based on the value of gains and losses. I doubt Phillips signs anywhere for big money.
The only way we would get a comp pick for him would be if he signed a pretty big deal in FA. IF we bench him for the rest of the year he probably doesnt get a big enough contract that it wouldnt get washed out in whomever we signed, and/or it would be a super low comp pick anyways. We didnt lose anything with him other than being a little light at the DT position this year.
I dont think there was anything wrong with cutting Phillips when we decided there was no market for him right now. If he id dead weight taking up a spot where a productive player could be, cut him and cut your losses. Im upset because i knew what Phillips potential was, but it wasnt like he was showing any signs of living up to it. He did little bits here and there, like teases of what he could be, so it was just time to cut the cord and move on.
I dont think Parker has ever rubbed Gase the wrong way and i dont think Gase has ever said that Parkers problems is attitude or lack of effort. I think he will give Parker all the chance to redeem himself and at the end of the season if he hasn’t, they will rescind the 5th year option and let him hit FA. I really dont see him getting cut unless he just overnight becomes a malcontent. The people here might be more interested in getting rid of him than the coaches are i think. I think though he might be a person shopped for trade deadline stuff, just to get something out of him, but i dont think Gase WANTS him gone.
I dont really see too many other players i think Gase would want gone. Most everyone else seems to be his type of guys. I dont think Tankersly is on that list either. Again, it might be that he would be shopped around at trade deadline, but i think Tankersly isnt developing like we or they would have liked him to, but i also dont think he is under Gase’s skin.
Gase wanted Landry, Ajayi, and Phillips gone. He didnt like how they were acting or the presence they brought to the locker room.
See my post at 3:01 about Tank.
McCain beat him out and he’s been inactive due to STs. He’ll likely suit up this Sunday though.
Im just trying to mine those draft picks…just saying….maybe…
You wouldnt get anything for him in a comp pick.
Not even a commemorative 2015 draft 💩 pin?
I know it’s just a month into the season
But I’m starting to think our 1st round pick in 19 will be either:
QB (if there’s a guy we really like available); DT or interior OL
Maybe a pass rusher bc we can never get enough of those and Harris’s is kinda womp womp
Harris is doing ok, i dont think he is racking up sacks like we would want him to, but he has been bringing pressure. They called out Quinn’s name a couple times when giving praise for the pressure brought from that side and it wasn’t Quinn it was Harris.
Harris is really a backup to Wake and Quinn. Hayes was used as the big DE and now that’s he gone we’re using Woodard in that role. With Branch out I expect to see more of Harris moving forward. I still have hopes Harris will develop. He was a prospect that had the skill set but needed to a get a little bigger and stronger and polish his overall game. The more he plays, I think the more plays he’ll make.
Just curious . . . Has anyone watched Quenton Nelson play? Is he as good as advertised?
Good question and no idea.
You usually on hear about OL when they are struggling. I heard announcers in the game giving him praises but seemed a lot of it was because of his draft pedigree and college playing, I dont know that i have heard anythign abotu him just dominating top class plaiers or anything like that, no getting blown out by them for that matter.
Minkah is 2nd on the team in tackles, 2nd in PD’s, Tied for 3rd in INTs, and i know of at least two TD saving tackles i have seen him do, and by that i mean he stood the guy up at the goal line and kept him from crossing it. He’s had a couple of other ones where he hawked a guy down and tackled him on a break away too.
He’s been as good as advertised and I don’t think we’ve seen his best yet. The more comfortable he gets the more plays he will make. Like you said, he’s made a few tackles preventing 1st downs too. His coverage has been solid overall.
He’s tied for 5th in most snaps with McMillan behind Alonso, McDonald, Howard and McCain.
https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/mia/2018-snap-counts.htm
That’s been the story of his career. Never a major injury, but in the scheme of things, it doesn’t matter, because he’s never really able to play to his potential, because these injuries debilitate him. It’s insanely frustrating to see it happen week after week, year after year.
Yes it is.
What could have he had possibly done to his quad?
Did it fall off? I feel like this guy would call a Charlie horse an injury
Harris in limited playing time has 8 tackles, one TFL. 0 sacks.
Quinn only has 12 tackles, 2 TFL and 1 sack. Statistically, there isnt much difference in either and Quinn has a lot more snaps.
Wake has 9 tackles, 1 TFL and 1 sack….. again more playing time too.
Statistically Harris is the third best DE we have and he is doing that with less snaps.
This just in. Parker’s leg falls off putting on his pants.
Wish he’d just listen to Piggy….
Devante Parker should have “Limited” as his career description
I wonder why Eifert is listed as DNP. I thought he was done for the season
He’s on IR.
But may not be officially on IR yet.
Well we all know why he did not participate. LOL
I can’t believe we kept Parker, he’s been a horrible first round pick, we should have bailed on the guy.
We didn’t want Landry, Parker We did? Wtf Parker isn’t 10 percent as productive ! I never liked Parker from day one, I thought he was a second round pick at best, and Bud Dupree was on the board
Oh brother!!! Parker isn’t being paid $15M per for 5 years. Parker was always skill wise a 1st rd talent. That draft of WRs hasn’t panned out to be what they were projected to be. Cooper, White, Parker, Perriman, Algholor, Dorsett. Cooper started off fast but has regressed. Algholor has probably been the most consistent thus far. But hindsight is always 20/20. LOL
When healthy, Parker is more productive per touch than Landry. But nagging injuries has been the story of his career.
We didn’t need Parker, We needed Bud Dupree. Whatever we pay Parker is money wasted, he can’t perform. What the real waste was using a first pound pick on a guy like him.
Yes of course Parker is much cheaper, but cheaper doesn’t mean Parker is valuable to the team, he’s damn near worthless
Btw Landry is at least 20 times more productive than Parker, no comparison
Bills claimed Jordan Phillips
When you sin in a Dolphin’s life, Buffalo is an appropriate purgatory. You ever been?…..talk about a place hope never have to go too again.
Maybe they want intel on our defense. LOL
Of course he would end up in the AFC East. So now let’s see what becomes of him . . .
I don’t expect it to be anymore than what he was here do you?
I don’t know Tim – I’m starting to have my doubts with Gase and his coaches just a little bit, like a little crack on a windshield. Not bad yet, but sometimes those little cracks just start creeping all over the windshield. Seems like there’s too many personal conflicts.
I think this was about Phillips, not the coaching staff. The book on him has always been questionable work ethic and hot and cold performances. Coaches don’t like that. If he was a dominant player most of the time, they probably would have put up with him. But he wasn’t.
Burke is a 2nd year DC and DL coach Kris Kocurek who has a very good reputation throughout the league is in his first year here, they most likely had a lot to do with this. He was passed on the depth chart by Spence and 2nd year 5th rd pick Godchaux and 6th rd pick Taylor. Phillips should have been the leader of that group by now in his 4th year. But he wasn’t.
Listen I always held out hope that Phillips would become more consistent and flash his talent more than a few plays per game. But we all know what he’s been here. Hot and cold. Godchaux jumped him last year as a rookie. Then Phillips did what he did and they said okay now you made this easy.
Did we ever think this defense was going to be built around Phillips?
Just remember players who were brought in prior to new regimes are always vulnerable. New regimes always bring in their own guys that fit into what they’re looking for. The ones who survive are the ones who buy in. The ones who don’t are gone. Happens all the time.
LOL Stanger – He will probably hate it there, but I bet he can’t wait until we play them. He may not have been the most driven player we ever had, but watch him find some drive when he plays us.
It very well may end up being the wake up call he needed. Should have known it before, but know even he has to know his career is at stake instead of wondering exactly how big that 2nd contract will be.
MikeE,
Do I think we’ll win? No. Do I think we can? Sure, but it will take a better performance than we’ve seen lately….especially on offense. We may need to score 30 points. We don’t do that.
Yeah, I hear that. I don’t see us scoring 30 either, it happens so rarely. I wouldn’t mind at all being completely wrong on this though
I feel the same way. A win in Cincy would be a very good win whatever the score. It will be a tough game.
I figured either Buf or Cleveland. Lol
Think Landry chimes in on this? Gase sent Phillips to BUF to die?
But we had no say on where Phillips ended up.
Tim – It’s not so much that Phillips has been great, but he’s certainly serviceable, and every now and again he can dominate for a little bit. It would be one thing if we were flush with depth on the D-line, but right now we’re pretty damn short. Sometimes you make a move like that when it’s a strength, and then sometimes you work it out, and hold onto that player who just happens to be a UFA at the end of the season anyway. It’s not that it;s outrageous that he cut him, but would it have been so bad if he didn’t?
Phillips went diva. You can get away with that if you are Le’Veon Bell. He comes back and all will be good. Doesn’t play as well when you are the DT 4th on the snap list….. and yes he was that for a reason to start with.
Obviously the team had an issue with him. We have 3 pretty good DTs who were ahead of him. If they start going down it’s going be tough to keep going anyway. Look at it as if Phillips got hurt like Sitton or Kilgore. You have to keep playing – someone else has to step up. I’m sure we’re not done at DT. I wouldn’t be shocked if we traded for one.
Stanger – C’mon man, if you have 1 employee out on vacation, and another on disability, you don’t fire an employee that week, you wait till the one comes back from vacation. I guess you disagree, I just think you don’t have to make that move. Lots of players pop off, and they don’t all get cut.
Depends!
Sometimes it’s better to be shorthanded than sabotaged!
Sometimes you handle players the right way, they don’t sabotage you. Look, we have no real track record with Gase as a HC except what he’s done here. No has ever anointed him as the coach best suited to handle player relations. We’ll see what happens on both sides, how we do with our new 4th DT, and how Phillips does in BUF.
Maybe just the story, but seemed Phillips asked for it. And don’t know what happened behind the scenes, but sure as heck caught his posts to the world after. Head case…. and not talented enough of a player to put up with it.
MikeE,
That’s kind of how I feel about Phillips. He’s at least an average DT who can be a beast at times. Couple that with our need at interior DL, and it seems like bad timing. It’s not a major blow or anything. I’m just getting tired of guys not being coached up. This is part of why rotational lines can be a problem. Not all guys like it.
Yep, that’s where I’m at
Mike E I an tell you from experience that it’s a fine line between being a hard ass, and too soft!
If you swing the pendulum either way it will go into the shitter quick!
You can be a hard ass, hell, I don’t care if Gase took him aside and cursed him out and benched him for the rest of the game. I just don’t think it was prudent to cut him when you got no one to replace him, You can even call it irresponsible
Being a hard ass isn’t about cussing and screaming!
That’s just a dick, and to be quite honest most supervisors the scream and holler are not hard asses!
Being a hard ass is setting a line and sticking too it, no matter what!
Can I ask you guys how you coach up a player up who doesn’t take it in? Godchaux, Taylor, Howard, Minkah as examples don’t need it because they are all self motivated and put in the work. This isn’t pre-school. It’s professional football. LOL
Albert Haynesworth had the same issues but he was far superior than Phillips. Once he got paid he laid down. If I remember correctly this was a concern by many on this blog that Phillips would ball out this year in a contract year, get paid and revert back to his lazy ways. Now it’s work with him, coach him up, don’t give up. I mean, come on guys. He wasn’t balling in a contract year. Apparently it was the exact opposite. He is who he is. He didn’t want be here anymore either because he felt slighted.
I think much of this has to do with pointing fingers at the FO and HC and his staff and ignoring the player’s actions. We’re still 3-1. 🙂
At this level you shouldn’t have to. That’s why certain guys wash out. They have gotten by on just their physical gifts until they reach a point where everybody has these gifts. Now its push yourself or fade away….
Agreed. My daughter is manager at a breakfast/lunch type bistro restaurant. She has had to hire and fire people, mostly young people. She trains them and works with them, tries to “coach” them up, but at some point she has to tell them, you don’t seem to be that interested in your position and you’re not working out. You’re a nice person and all but this isn’t working. That’s it.
Mike E
I fire them is they deserve it no matter what. Cant be held hostage….
Wy said is perfectly. I’ll work 100 hrs a week if need be.
So Gase is lining up at DT? He better give the O-line that crazy eyes look he’s got. lol
That’s right! Beat them before they snap the ball.
I’m moving on from the Phillips story. I’ve said what I had to say about it based on everything I’ve read about the situation. It wasn’t about his tantrum on the sidelines, this has been brewing since TC. It came to a final conclusion.
Onto Cincy where I do have some concerns more than Phillips’ departure. Coming off of a bad loss, losing our starting center in Kilgore for the season, McCain being out for a few weeks, Jones still questionable, and the entire team needing to play better. This team needs to rally in some way to go play a good game on the road. Another clunker won’t end the season but it will not be a good sign. Losing a close hard fought game on the road won’t worry me, the Bengals look pretty good so far. Getting blown out again will summon the dark clouds for everyone.
Please Dolphins, go play a good competitive and entertaining game and if you could… win the game. 🙂
Tannehill is out there AGAIN saying, “I’ve got to play better ”
No shit! Quit saying it already and just do it. So sick of hearing it.
At 3-0 with a passer rating over 120 with one bad game and you’re done. Come on, Son, you’re overreacting. How about your boy Cousins against BUF? The Bills have been dominated by every other team they have played. Our loss to the Pats was a team loss from top to bottom. Not all about a bad game by Tannehill. Now stop being silly and rile up some positive Dolphins spirit and send that shit to Cincy. LOL
So tired
Tired of waiting
Tired of waiting for [him]
Game won’t be on tv here so I’ll be at Ale House with Dolphins gear on and blowing money on this friggin team again.
I don’t see how we can stay in the game with Cincy, I hope we do but our offense is bad like real bad.
The Yankees are in for a tough game. They never play the A’s good in the playoffs.
I haven’t been following MLB baseball much this season with the Mets blowing their season so early on. But I will watch this game because one and done like game 7s are dramatic sports theater.
I don’t follow baseball much either and I’m afraid to watch. Every time I watch the Yankees they play like crap.
I just texted the Yankees that if you watch they’re done. They said something like what’s his address but I wasn’t sure if they said mattress. LOL
Lol
That’s too bad!
I’d much rather play the Stankies than the A’s!
The winner gets Houston no matter who wins?
son of a son of a shula says:
October 3, 2018 at 7:46 pm
The winner gets Houston no matter who wins?
—————————
Na the Winner gets Boston!
But the A’s give Houston a better game than the Yankee’s!
The Flying Pig says:
October 3, 2018 at 3:34 pm
Like you’ve never done a tiger
Never!!
What? Those scars on my back? Ummmm, I fell.
bookman11 says:
October 3, 2018 at 3:39 pm
Hope it cools down for the Fest in a few weeks. I might have to get a bigger mug..lol
Will this allegedly bigger “mug” have wheels? I don’t see you being able to carry around otherwise !!
Lol, any bigger it stops being a mug and becomes a barrel
Well then show it
Here come the judge
Boom 💥
🥔
I wonder what Luke Joeckel is up to these days. He came back from ACL, MCL, and meniscus tears sustained as a Jaguar to play for the Seahawks last year… 11 games in all, even though he had an arthroscopic procedure on his knee nearly a year ago to the day.
According to PFR, he’s now played LT, LG, RG, and RT: we could REALLY use a guy like that if he’s healthy. He’d be an instant fit in our ZBS, he’s still young at 26 years old, and he was Tannehill’s LT back at A&M.
I can’t find SQUAT on Joeckel’s current status, availability, or recent articles. Seems as though he’s packed it in, so to speak, yet I can’t find a retirement announcement. He’s fallen off the face of the Earth, much like Dri Archer.
Anybody here know anything recent about Joeckel? Is he even still alive?
I would guess if he’s stable and able to play he would have a job.
That would be my guess as well, man. But still… I can’t find SQUAT about him. I wonder if he’s pondering retirement, or if he’s still trying to come back strong from his injuries.
A lack of closure (or disclosure) is what makes me wonder what’s up.
M13, as of right now we have to roll with this on the OL:
LT Tunsil
LG Larsen
C Swanson (TV dinner – salisbury steak lol)
RG Davis
RT James/Young
I would not be surprised if Young starts over James healthy or not.
I also wondered and asked about Joekel, howecer,
Joekel must be beat up or something else may be wrong,
because I think a team would be calling him in if He could play at a high level, OL are always needed around the league
Last year Drake took off with Davis at RG and Young at RT when James went down. Just saying!
This from last year,,,
ESPN’s Dan Graziano named Joeckel one of the five worst free agent signings of the year:
Again, not a long-term budget-buster. But did the Seahawks have to guarantee $7 million to a former tackle who ended up ranked 53rd among guards by Pro Football Focus? The Joeckel signing was the 2017 offseason example of the Seahawks’ tendency to see Band-Aid solutions on the offensive line — a strategy that has backfired badly two years in a row. They ended up making a trade for left tackle Duane Brown during the season, perhaps signifying that they intend to change their approach.
Joeckel’s first four years in the league included two seasons in which he missed the majority of the Jaguars’ games with injury, and two seasons in which he was very underwhelming and inconsistent at left tackle. The hope then was that on a one-year deal Joeckel could prove he could stay healthy, but also that even if he was a bust at tackle that he could be an above-average player at guard. Joeckel couldn’t really prove that either point was true.
After requiring midseason knee surgery, Joeckel ended up missing five games and the Seahawks went 3-2 in his absence, with rookie Ethan Pocic filling in. With Pocic in place of Joeckel, Seattle had two of their three highest-scoring games of the season (41 against the Texans, 31 against the Falcons) and I’m sure that there’s not enough evidence in all of Pro-Football-Reference.com or FootballOutsiders.com or ProFootballFocus.com combined to convince me that the team was better off with either player starting; but Pocic sure did cost about $6-7 million less.
One thing about him, he’s known not to pollute. He has never thrown garbage out of his car window here or there. 🙂
Lol, but he has a leaky septic tank and a Coke smelter in his back yard between the oil rigs!
Allow me to chime in on this whole leadership vs the cutting of Jordan Phillips thing…
Different people respond differently to different styles of leadership. If a leader thinks that s/he must be a one-size fits all/cookie-cutter type of leader, that’s not… NOT a leader. A leader must be able to get the best out of EVERY individual, and EVERY individual is different. This is fundamental, IMO.
The BEST leaders inspire (generally by example, first)… the WORST leaders perspire (generally by ruling with an iron fist).
Conversely, there will ALWAYS be those who just don’t want to pull their weight, relying on others, and that’s a GIVEN: if Jordan Phillips is/was one of those, good riddance to him.
POINT: let’s hire TEAM PLAYERS first, who want in on this team culture that Coach Gase is building.
COUNTERPOINT: it’s not nearly as easy to identify these players as some would think; some (not talking about vet$) will lie to your face and have ya believing in them.
BOTTOM LINE: this is a BUSINESS, and Coach Gase will be assessed on his W-L record by the owner. Ya don’t want your Coach/manager/supervisor (Gase in this case) to have a ‘fire happy’ reputation (iron fist mentality) when something goes wrong with his plan and vision.
NOT trying to diss Gase here, but Jay Ajayi ALREADY has 1 less rushing TD this year with 3 (after four mere games), than what our entire team had last year with 4. But EVERYBODY else that Gase has sent packing has been a ZERO for other teams.
If I’m the owner, I’m watching what my manager (Coach Gase) is doing. Gase needs to be careful so that it doesn’t backfire on him… what with his now annual ‘October surprise’ releases/trades. But at the end of the day/season, Gase will be what his record says it is… for better or for worse, based on his decision-making. So far, so good, in my book.
Not bad brah, I can roll with this 😎
Thank you, Brah David!
I liked the way You Used Point, Counterpoint, and Bottom Line to lay it out. And the points are logical and plausible, Gase is Team first, no matter what the fallout
Once again… I think Adam Gase is doing so far, so good, in my book.
Now if he can just clean up his Offensive playcalling…
At the end of the day, this point you made is all that matters.
“BOTTOM LINE: this is a BUSINESS, and Coach Gase will be assessed on his W-L record by the owner.”
Gase wants to roll with who believes in. End of story.
We can chirp as fans and the media can write their stories. W/L is all that matters.
Indeed! Thank you, Bro. I’ll try to use this more effectively in future posts and writes.
A little quiet from our local Athletic supporters
Starting to get late…
I’ll raise my ‘cup’ to that.
Lol
🙂
M13, I hear you man. I think you laid it out pretty well and I think both parties had a roll in how they decided to deal with Phillips. He was what everyone says but he was never a malcontent and he was always jocular (to use a Father Mulcahey word). His twitter assault the other day was just venting.
He’s a viable NFL player we just ushered out the door.
Thank you, man.
David C (@DolphinsSB52) says:
October 3, 2018 at 10:25 pm
I liked the way You Used Point, Counterpoint, and Bottom Line to lay it out. And the points are logical and plausible, Gase is Team first, no matter what the fallout
——————–
Thank you, David. I’ll make this a staple of mine in future writes.
I appreciate your feedback!
However You still SUCK bro, because You won’t come to Florida and hang out with Us, lol jk. If You come to a damn fest, I’ll even go to it, been wanting to Meet for several years
I know Philly and Pitt have airports, cmon down and hang with us sometime
One day, my brother! And it shall be sooner than later. I want to meet ya too, dude. I think most here are good peeps, and I look forward to attending a fest soon.
Ive been thinking about going to the fest, but my MRS can’t get off work, and I think it might be too late to join up with this one on My own, maybe next year
Good points M
We will see how it all plays out for Gase. I am all for buy in or bye bye.
Buy or Bye, lol. Good one!
Ha! I like that too! 😀
Thanks, Bro ER.
Oh okay David… stuck in traffic for 3 hours… can’t meet me and my crew in 2015 for the Giants/Dolphins game Monday night. LOL
lol I know right, the traffic was horrible, worst I had ever seen, I wasn’t Jim Carey with the Lambo and all the cars move to the side like in Bruce Almighty
LMAO!!!!
The Yankees win
Ttttthhhhhheeeeeee Yankees win
They kept looking at your mattress and all your tags were good. LOL
If James is benched
I’m going to be furious (at James)
But it doeslook like he is in the doghouse
So how is this D-line rotation going to work with 3 DT’s? We were built to rotate a bunch of guys in and out. I know, Cameron Malveaux will slide to DT. Good luck with that.
It’s possible that with Taylor playing so well, it made letting Phillips go a lot easier.
Randy – Not BB, but all we heard about was how we won’t be relying on 1 or 2 players, how we’re going to rotate our DT’s in and out to keep them fresh. That was the plan going into this season for months. So now all that changes because Vincent Taylor is playing better and Jordan Phillips acted out too much? Is Taylor better than Suh? I just don’t want to hear that the agenda and long term strategy has changed because he decided to cut a DT after a disagreement. This HC better get this team motivated for this game, because I’m seeing things I really don’t like, and I’m not just going to keep quiet because no one wants to hear it.
James frustrates me. He can be really good, but he seems to lose focus and intensity. Maybe he’s one of those guys who needs a regular kick in the ass to play at his best. Not a good thing. When he’s locked in, he’s a top RT.
Phillips is a guy who has always gotten by by the fact that in general he’s the biggest and probably one the most physically gifted guys on the field. He didnt get that way by work, his is natural.
These guys can either wind up one of two ways, humble and realizing that to stay the best takes work. They have a good work ethic and combined with elite physical gifts, they go on to be superstars at all levels of play.
Then you have the group that i think Phillips is in, the group that just gets by on his gifts, and then he hits a level wher he no longer is special among the group he is with and then he atches others pass him by because their effort puts them ahead.
Since they arent used to working for what they get, they boo hoo and bitch that things arent working out for them anymore instead of sucking it up and realizing they are their own worst enemy and rebel against that little laziness monster in them telling them they dont have to try to be good, that they have always gotten by without giving their best so why start now.
I don’t disagree with any of that. We know what Phillips is, but he was a FA at the end of the season anyway, so we could have just kept him for the rest of the season. We still haven’t signed a DT, so if we do sign one, will that DT be ready to play Sunday? If not, just 3 DT’s? What if there’s an injury? I get that Phillips isn’t the ideal player, but do you cut your nose to spite your face?
Mike is ready to go all scorched earth.
Better step it up Gase.
Better step it up Tannehill.
I miss Bat and Ffr speaking of scorched earth.
Me too man, me too! I am irritated. Right now it’s just minor rash, but we get blown out by Cincy, it’s gonna friggin spread fast!
stangerx says:
October 3, 2018 at 5:23 pm
When you sin in a Dolphin’s life, Buffalo is an appropriate purgatory. You ever been?…..talk about a place hope never have to go too again.
———————————————–
Seriously. Its a horrible place, the city and its people are colder than their winters. I found nothing redeeming about that city.
Those decaying industrial cities depress me. Figure most of those who have the smarts and chance move somewhere else and just come back for holidays.
IMO Coaches would rather have a guy who is luke warm all the time than a hot and cold player as Tim was referring to Phillips as. I think they would really like HOT all the time but, settle for consistent effort vs play on take 2 plays off kinda thing.
They have been having motivational, big picture, conflicts with Phillips since they got here. He wasnt one of their picks, he wasnt the type player Gase likes and i think until he decided to thorw that bitch fit and challenge him, they probably would have kept playing him and trying to get the most out of what they could get for him. Phillips wanted to spend this year showcasing his talents, and Gase has to make a team decision, not a whats best for Phillips coming into a contract year.
If he was so concerned about playing time, why hasnt it been a concern all along, that tells you a lot about the guy IMO. Im completely fine with them cutting him. I liked the guy but he never gave us his best, he saved it for when it would benefit him.
MikeE,
I am just trying to figure out why they made this move now. I think it was stupid but maybe they felt more able to let Phillips go because Taylor has been playing really well.
I agree that’s part of the reason, I just want to know how they’re going to handle the rotation going forward, and if/who it is they replace Phillips with
MikeE: “This HC better get this team motivated for this game, because I’m seeing things I really don’t like, and I’m not just going to keep quiet because no one wants to hear it.”
****
Welcome to my world when it comes to Tannehill! Lol
Ha! He gave us 3 good games, and 1 clunker. Let’s see if he can rebound. We’ll probably give up 200 yards to Gio Bernard this week though, so he’ll have his work cut out for him. lol
MikeE,
I’d say 2 good games and 2 not so good. He better start making plays. This Cincy defense is tough. He gets paid like the best player on the team….start playing like it.
Bengals D hasn’t shown it all that much this year. Am more worried about their offense.
If you look at this from Phillips perspective, this is a huge year for him personally. 2nd contracts are usually players’ biggest….and possibly last. Could it be he felt the team was limiting his snaps to keep his production down, possibly limit his options in FA so they had a better chance at resigning him and be able to resign him to a cheaper contract? If so, the best thing for him would be to get out of Dodge. None of us know what was going on behind the scenes.
No thats exactly what i was saying about what his perspective was when i wrote what i did above. I think Philips was playing for Philips and Gase wanted a player that focused on being part of teams scheme of rotating. It was a bad relationship and its ended now. Time to move on. I know that they could have held on to him for the rest of the year, but if he was going to do what he was doing because they were using him as they intended to, then it was going to be a problem all year. Im sure they will look to add a guy, and we had some stand outs from TC on our PS that we can look to bring up too. It suks but its done and i dont think its going to be a huge loss.
Phillips has always been a motivational problem going back to his days at Oklahoma. He is gone that is too bad but never developed into a consistent player. On to the next man up
stanger,
True, I probably should have said “can be tough”. I think their front can be a problem.
If I played on an NFL DL…. I sure would like playing the Phins on Sunday. Same time think they are a team we can get our speed game going against.
If Howard doesn’t bounce back from last weeks game, we will be in for a world of hurt because AJ Green will kill us. No way Bobby McCain covers Green and i dont really like the idea of him covering Ross solo.
With Eifert out, we can probably roll with 5 DB’s and get the coverage we are going to need but we are really going to have to lean on the front 6 to hold their own because we are going to need 5 DB’s most of the game. Mixon out, but Benard isnt a slouch. I think we can contain their run if we play well. I think we cant probably get decent pressure on the QB, Glenn was getting worked by Tak last game, and i think Quinn can do the same to him.
If we play as well as we did the first 3 games, and i am saying that fully understanding those werent really great performances, then we can beat them. I am worried about our DL depth and how worn out they might be by halftime, but it is what it is and we have some DE’s that can rotate in at DT so we should be in an ok place.
McCain is out for a few weeks. It’s up to Tank, McTyer and maybe Jalen Davis if they bring him up
Oh i thought his injury wasnt as bad as they had thought and he was back. Yeah that makes it pretty bad then. McTyer probably covers Ross better than McCain though, he has a lot better straight line speed, so they will have to have Howard shadow Green all game.
If Jones is healthy then Minkah moves to CB
Very possible.
Worst matchups for us is Geno Atkins vs Davis and AJ Green vs whomever has him in coverage. if we can win those two wars, it should be a pretty good game for us.
Add in our tired ass D-line who are rotating one DT in and a 265lb DE at DT. That should be fun!
If we don’t add or call up another DT for the game this Sunday the three DTs are going to rotate and play a lot. Not sure if Woodard plays inside at all or he’s used mainly as a big DE, but we do know Malveaux has played some inside but that will likely only be on obvious passing downs. I know Malveaux is listed at 265 but he looks bigger than that to me.
Best thing we can do for our defense is for the offense to sustain some drives and score some points throughout the game, not sputter about all day and then have to try to make a 4th quarter come back. I don’t think that will work in Cincy.
Branch is back practicing – he’s ahead of schedule. We really need Jones back too.
Reshad with two full practices in a row. Branch wouldn’t count on next week, but good back at all. Most worried about Wake, but maybe he’s just getting vet rehab time.
It sounds like sore knees with Wake. Gase said he played more snaps than he probably should have and gave everything he had.
Sore knees is an old man thing. But damn is Wake still playing NFL ball at a most physical position a couple years older than when I felt my body couldn’t even take mid-level club rugby anymore.
Yeah I’d say it’s an age thing too. I don’t think Wake needs much practice to be ready to play though either.
Dont expect us to take a DT in the 1st under Gase, he wants rotational guys.
There are some good ones!
Probably taking a QB
I think Harbaugh will select a RB and OL help next year
A shot at Tannehill?
Somhow guessing that when they watched tape of the NE game that Burke’s words were something other than “Guys — am disappointed that you didn’t have the poise and execution needed “
Supposedly the coaches really got on the players after watching the game tape on Monday.
Rob – This guy?
thats the dude!
He might only last a year, but man would he be fun!
LOL
Not that psycho
No Son, just reality – I think we need to bring in a young QB. It doesn’t have to be RD 1, but it might be.
Falk is pretty young
Young and talented I should have said? 🙂
Yeah, you didnt clarify. LOL
I didn’t realize we lead the league in INTs with 9.
Mike E. says:
October 4, 2018 at 4:19 pm
He might only last a year, but man would he be fun!
_________________________________________
I doubt that, he would win because he knows how to run the ball
I’d take Harbaugh any day of the week, I wanted him before we got Philbin, but I don’t think he’d come back to the NFL. Why do you think he would?
Wash rinse repeat….
It’s kind of crazy after one loss even though it was a bad loss.
Yep. Its week 5.
The feeling around here is as if we’re 1-3.
Our most gloriously green Com Czar Hulk wants to know who coming to the Fest he does not have contact info for. If you are on the list and don’t know he has it, then need to make it happen. Very important come Fest weekend.
——————————————
HULKFEST — Sunday 10/21 vs Lions
Sat eve meet-up as always plus our new to be usghe event — tunes with the Dog on Friday on Hollywood Beach. And traditional Chef Warren spread at the tailgate.
Ended up with Sec 317 (like the 40) and way down lower than we normally get. Seats in rows, 10, 13 and 15 in Sec 317 to be had at $65 each….unless they run out of course.
IN
Hulk
Mike E (+2)
Pig
Doggy (+2)
Son (+7)
Rock
stanger (+4)
OD
Phelon (+1 and own seats)
Toba (+1)
Bookman (+1)
Brian NY (+son…in OD’s seats)
Twice
Naples (+1)
I have a phone # or email address for all but Phelon I think. My email is Kenmastroni@sbcglobal.net. Shoot me an email Phelon with your contact info and I will set up a group chat so we can get in touch with each other when we are all in Florida
Phelon is covert ops, not sure he gives his phone # out. 🙂
Not 1-3, and I’m not going off the deep end. I admit though, I feel like this season could easily slip away if we have a poor showing, and that wouldn’t surprise me at all. I think Kong is a pretty level headed guy, he said sayonara the other day. We’ve seen this play out before. I find it hard to remain optimistic when we know if we ant the division, it goes through NE, and we had a chance to step on their neck.. Instead we tripped on our shoelaces and got strangled by them. Then we cut a DT, and don’t sign one. Not inspiring any confidence in me, sorry . . .
^ if we can’t win the division . . .
Not just you, Mike. A lot of people are just really down. Let’s see the next game and after that to see if the team can get back on track again.
Who knows, we might bring Pittman up and if not we’ll role with the 3 DTs for at least this next game. I’m sure we;ll add a DT at some point.
They definitely have me for at least this game, as long we’re competitive. We don’t show up Sunday, I’m going to find it difficult to devote so much time to this. I hope they beat the Bengals up and down the field, it would be therapeutic. Get some of my pent up frustration out of my system.
The Fest will still be a blast, so there’s that . . .
Tim – I know you weren’t singling me out, I was just stating my case. lol