The halfway point of the season, the Miami Dolphins 3-3 host the 5-2 LA Rams. It’s going to be very different for the 3-3 Dolphins because their veteran fun loving QB is no longer at the helm as he is replaced by rookie Tua Tagovailoa. There aren’t many parallels to find in the history of the NFL but I do recall Eli Manning replacing Kurt Warner in NY for the Giants in 2004. The NY Giants were 5-4 and after replacing Kurt Warner who had thrown for 2054 yards with 6 TD’s and 4 INT’s ended up finishing the season 1-6 with Eli Manning at QB. Ryan Fitzpatrick after 6 games has 1535 yards with 10 TD’s and 7 INT’s. There are similarities, but to me the biggest disparity is that the Dolphins at 3-3 are only a game and half behind the Bills (5-2) while in 2004, the Giants at 5-4 were pretty far behind the division leading Philadelphia Eagles who were 8-1 and comfortably in first place as they cruised to a 13-3 record. After watching the play of the Bills against the NY Jets last week, those Bills are fortunate to have won that game.
So even though it’s technically game #8 for us and not the start of the second half of the season, this season will be forever divided from this point on. Did the Dolphins make the right move inserting their rookie QB with a chance to win the division? We’ll find out, and this Sunday’s matchup against the LA Rams will give us an idea. The Rams boast a +52 point differential after 7 games, the Dolphins +47. The Dolphins are 12th in the league in scoring (26.7PPG) while the Rams are 18th (25.1PPG). Defensively, the Rams are 2rd in the NFL allowing 17.7PPG and the Dolphins are right behind them at 3rd allowing 18.8PPG. The teams are pretty even but definitely take a different approach getting there. On offense the Rams truly have had a RB by committee approach with Darrell Henderson leading the team with 87 carries for 411 yards followed closely by Malcolm Brown with 65 carries for 274 yards. Cam Akers was drafted early (RD 2 pick #52) by the Rams but minor injuries have stifled his season. In contrast, the Dolphins have relied almost singularly on RB Myles Gaskin with 82 carries and 340 yards and then Matt Brieda has had a few carries sprinkled in some games for 33 carries and 115 yards. The disparity is even wider in the passing game where Gaskin has 27 receptions to Breida’s 7. For the Rams, they seldom throw to the backs, Goff loves the WR combo of Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp who have 30 and 37 receptions respectively. The Rams offense relies much more heavily on its run game than do the Dolphins, the Dolphins have about half the rushing yards.
On defense I think we match up well against the Rams passing game. The pass rush which has come alive can make things difficult for Goff. The Dolphins secondary, now at full strength with Byron Jones healthy opposite Xavien Howard. Nik Needham has been handling the slot and safeties Bobby McCain and Eric Rowe, along with Brandon Jones, Kavon Frazier and Noah Igbinoghene will probably once again leave the Rams to focus on the run game. At the time of this writing, I don’t believe the Dolphins have made a roster move to replace Davon Godchaux at DT. Raekwon Davis will start there but until they bring someone for the PS or acquire a DT DE’s Zach Sieler and Jason Strowbridge will likely fill in. This is important, because I think the Rams are going to try and control the game with their run game so our depth and strength on the front 7 will be imperative to success at stopping the run. The Dolphins are midpack allowing 745 yards rushing (124 YPG)) while the Rams are #12 with 702 yards allowed (100 YPG).
On offense, all I can do is guess as to how we attack the Rams. LOgic would dictate that we’re not going to be doing a lot of prototypical NFL dropbacks with Tua, that we will have him moving around to keep him away from Aaron Donald who as 8 sacks in 7 games, along with 15 QB hits. The good news is that no one else on this Rams defense is close to that, so the task will be neutralize Donald and take your chances with everyone else. My hope is that we get TE Mike Gesicki more involved in the offense. Only twice has Gesicki been targeted more than 5 times and in 2 games he’s had only 1 reception. I want that to change. He’s a big time weapon and should be better utilized. The Rams won’t be easy to run against but they have very little to go on with Tua except 3 plays in the Jets and his college film, so Tua is the “X” factor. In some ways I’d be surprised if they lean heavily on Tua in this game but sometimes great players make it so, and if that happens, I’m willing to let Tua be Tua.
GO DOLPHINS!!!
Finsmob Unleashed 
HA HA HA HA!
Shanked
shanked it on the page turn !! Good move by the blog.
Man oh man we need this first down
GOT IT! hell yeah. About time.
Great 1st down
Whew damn we needed that first down
We’re going Tua win
Gaskin doing a Csonka impersonation
looked like OL were moving the pile more than a Csonka thing. lol
OL ‘carrying’ Gaskin for 6 yards. wow.
1 more and we can kneel it out!
That is pretty cool
#1 to #11 for his first NFL TD on 11/1
LOL
Rhino says:
November 1, 2020 at 4:18 pm
OL ‘carrying’ Gaskin for 6 yards. wow.
Reply
GUYS!! WE CAN’T CARRY THE BALL BUT WE CAN CARRY THE BALL CARRIER!!! LET’S GO!
SWEEEEEEEEEEET!
Woohoo!
Whew this team is learning how to win..
That is a statistically incredible game.
They dominated us, almost. LOL If not for having two more turn overs we got whooped on offense and defense. Everything except where it counts. On the score boards. WOW
Defense 💪
2nd Half … ugly, brutal, stressful, DONE. We lost the half 7-0 when it could have been much worse.
Game ball to the entire defense without a doubt. We may be one more DL guy away from being really really good.
Enjoy the rest of your Sunday and 1-0 in Tua era. He hasn’t played a full game in a long time, let’s see if he gets it going against Arizona.
Well guys this was a great birthday present but I’m exhausted
This is why I love football. You never know how a game will go. This Dolphins team is is growing at a fast rate. It’s not all there yet but man you can see the storm coming. Love it!!! Go Phins!!!!
They rushed for 131 yards passed for 340. converted 41% of their first downs against our 25% and held the ball for a quarter of a game more than us.
No wonder our D was cramping. Incredible team win on incredible individual efforts.
The class of 69 is turning 69 this year, and today it’s my turn.
11/1/51
Happy Birthday!🐬🎂🎁🎉
T/y v/m
We have never lost a game that Tua started…..
Make me say that again next week bitches.
Hell we never lost a game he has played in
Howie’s List
🇨🇦24-20 🐬
🐷 20-14 🐬
🦍 22-19 🐬
🐟 35-14 🐬
🤠 21-20 🐬
🐃🐃 27-24🐬
🎲 27-21 🐬
🦏 23-2o 🐬
🌞 21-13 🐬
💰 26-20 🐬
🎙E 27-26 🐬
Rockphin 23-21🐬
💩51-7 🐬
M13 31-30🐬
🎩 31-13
Nobody got it
Happy Birthday Naples!!!!!!!
Thanks Wyo!
The Dolphins are 6th in the league in net points with 68. 5 of the top six in this stat are in the AFC
Defense has two sides. I’ve felt all along our rush defense is suspect, and if we’re not ahead like we were, it’s going to hurt us. They were exhausted in the 2nd half, so those turnovers and scores by the defense were huge. Teams are going to try and exploit our run defense from the get go every game until we prove we can stop it.
Happy Birthday Naples!
Thank you young man.
Woohoo!!! Great win!!
Chan Gailey suuuuuuucks. I am so sick of this guy as a playcaller. The offense looked like stanky, hot garbage, and the playcalling really didn’t help. Why is Gailey so against a fucking QB sneak?
Fucking Williams decided not to show up today. Thanks for single-handedly killing that one drive.
Defense was unbelievable. We are legit on D. Love seeing us have a great gameplan coming out of the bye. Good coaches make that bye count.
When Gaskin fumbled, that 2 play defensive series by Roberts, Ogbah, and Van Ginkle…what a fucking answer by the D!
It seemed every single play on D we nearly had a TO. How many INTs did we drop today? 3? Rowe and X had at least one each. How many tipped passes that fell just out of reach? Man that was fun!
Ahhhh, glorious fucking game!
Because of the defense and STs the offense rarely had the ball and a chance to get into any kind of a rhythm. Then we kind of got goofy with the wildcat and Perry. Anyway… we showed that option and got away with it and won the game. Really well coached game. Stats smats! Doesn’t mean anything other than the scoreboard.
Tua now has that first NFL butterflies start out of his system. Everyone needs to keep getting better here on out.
Happy Birthday Naples 👍
Great win for the defense!! Our O needs to put it together quick. Loved the win 🐕🐬🏈🥃🥃
Thank you, sir. Go Dolphins
LOL, the Rams had 31 first downs.
Dolphins only had only 3 penalties for 30 yds
We thought we would get the Tua game. We got the Phins D is pretty frick’n awesome instead. Tua will be behind center next week.
Happy Birthday Naples
69
I know, right? Sixty fucking njne.
nine. Nine
Laughing, but that is the right thing to say. It was not a great day for Tua.
Happy Birthday Naples
Thanks, piggy.
Tua’s first game.
12/22 for 93 yards with a 4.2 average, 1 TD, 0 INTs, 1 fumble and one sack for a 80.3 QB rating.
And a big fat W!
Donald had 2 sacks.
Maybe ESPM had it wrong. Was just going off their box score.
Just the beginning ,guys.
Rams do have a tough defense too, so it wasn’t all on Tua. I’m beginning to wonder whether Gesicki will ever be a regular contributor for this team.
……
…………
GO GESICKI!
Catch22 Mike, the reason we had so many less plays, TOP, and yards was, because of the TO scores and Grant’s punt return, then add to that a rookie playing his first game.
I watched the play Van Ginkle cut his ear, I still don’t understand how that happened, unless maybe the helmet got jostled when he fell and it pulled his ear to the degree that it split. Yuck!
Looked like a cleat?
But that would be wonky to????
The receiver’s heel cleat got wedged between his toe in the turf and van gink’s earlobe.
All my life, when people talk of high school, I’ve always been the class of 69. Strange thing to carry all through life.
The most important play of the game was the Van Ginkel TD. The Ram chasing him should’ve caught him, unless blocked by our 3 idiot defenders that were just running down the field cluelessly, but his effort was also a going thru the motions play.
Happy birthday Naples
Thank you, Hulk.
Well, Go Dolphins. Tua got to learn and not lose. On to Arizona.
Happy Bday Naples. Welcome back.
A closer look at the spikes on Kupp’s cleats explains Van Ginkle’s injury
I didn’t think Tua looked terrible. He never got a chance to get into the game. The TOs and ST scores made it a game of weird offensive possessions. And the playcalling was very conservative in the 2nd half because we had a three score lead, and the D kept getting stops.
Tua had a missed throw on a crosser to Grant on 3rd down. That one sticks out in my mind.
Two drives were ended by drops (Williams and Gaskin)
Two drives we were stopped on 3rd and 1.
Two drives ended on fumbles (one was Tua’s fault).
Two possessions ended in TDs (one of which was a short 2 yd possession).
We had 13 possessions total (not counting the kneel down at half).
Our inability to convert 3rd and short has really hampered our offense all year. Can someone send Gailey the diagram for a f^cking QB sneak?
In due time. 😉
LOL, he’s just waiting to pull out the aces when the time is right 🙂
https://www.yarn.co/yarn-clip/ac187401-cf69-4ec9-90ef-369f78c3e5d1
I agree. Tua did what he had to. D and ST made it so he didn’t have to do much which is exactly what you want with a rookies first start
You couldn’t ask for more support from the team (sans Williams, lol). It was amazing to watch.
Happy Birthday Naples!
Happy Bday Naples
So what’s the “journalists” narrative now? Sure didn’t look like team is in disarray over the QB switch….freaking hacks.
I love that Newton fumbled to cost the Pets the game. I cant stand that guy, lol.
Me either. He’s only around when things are good.
The 2-5 Patriots. I know we wanted them to win today but it still feels good
LOL, my wife and I had to keep reminding each other we were rooting for the pets 🤮
Sometime in the 3rd quarter, I said to hell with it and just started rooted against them like is natural.
Steve – It’s so much more than the turnovers. We couldn’t get anything going on offense and then we couldn’t stop their run game at all. If we weren’t up so much we could have lost that game. I’m just saying we have no reason to feel confident we can beat a team that can run the ball efficiently.
The word your looking for is Curmudgeon! 😉
Rumor is Pats going to trade off some talent which most likely means Gilmore
I believe I heard he listed his house today with offers needing finalized by Tuesday 17:00
Mike E. says:
November 1, 2020 at 5:11 pm
I watched the play Van Ginkle cut his ear, I still don’t understand how that happened, unless maybe the helmet got jostled when he fell and it pulled his ear to the degree that it split. Yuck!
Reply
I think his helmet was partially pulled off and the sharp edge of the bottom of the helmet scraped his ear up. There was a burst of blood!
I agree with this. The announcers said it was Kupp’s cleat but I watched it carefully in slo-mo and the cleat never came close to his earhole.
Lucky Van Ginkle doesn’t have ears like this guy or it could have been a life threatening injury…
Lol
I am going to enjoy this win all week but I already have major concerns about our game next weekend in AZ. They are on a roll and coming off a bye. Some of their good injured players are due back next week. They have the #4 rushing offense in the league. This game had to take a huge toll on our defense. I don’t see our offense improving much over the next week.
And coming off a huge upset win over Seattle.
Time to sign Ogbah to a long term deal
^
^
I bought a new game ball for the beginning of the Tua era. The last 3 gameday balls I’ve bought since Marino retired have all started off their lives with losses. This ball starts off with a win. Things are different now…
Missed the game, but just got power back so I am happy lol
I would have loaned you my generator!
We won a game today we really shouldn’t have based on our offence, with a rookie starting his 1st game against a great defence ..
Next week we need to play a whole lot better on offence, and stopping the run …
The offense was put in weird situations. I say scrap this one and move on. 😉
Unless the D and ST show’s out again! 😉
But I agree, it’s not feasible to rely on that every week!
WTF is up with the NFL medics?????????
I wish we didn’t do so many of the direct snap plays. Why did they do that? Once maybe if you can surprise them… then it’s like oh, here’s that again.
LMAO @ Kong
D – glad you got power back man. It’s miserable without it. Everything else cool?
Wyo – we have a good young team. I’m just pointing out a weakness that I believe can derail us against a team like Tennessee or Pittsburgh and certainly KC.
Tomorrow!
Today we gloat about the win!!!!!!
Let’s make it Tua in a row!
A+
Dolphins
They entered the game as 3.5-point underdogs on their own field, but that’s not how they played. The Dolphins had a huge chip on their shoulder and they used that anger to slap the Rams around at will in the first half, recovering from an early fumble by Tua Tagovailoa with an onslaught of defense and special teams play that propelled them to a 28-17 win that wasn’t nearly as close as the score indicates. It took all three phases of the game to get the win for the Dolphins, and while Tagovailoa didn’t have the gleaming first start many would’ve hoped, his first career NFL touchdown came after a Jared Goff interception and was timely in helping to establish momentum for Miami. In the end, all told, this was a dismantling at the hands of Brian Flores and his overlooked Dolphins.
^
Brian Flores is a thorn in Sean McVay’s side. LOL
What’s up with Jordan Howard? Looks like we have to eat that one as a bust FA signing. He’s gone from very few snaps to inactive. Part of the process I guess with a guy like Gaskin stepping up. But he can’t carry the running game. An impact RB better than Gaskin could change the entire team.
Lack of effort would be my guess!
Put a Dalvin Cook type on this team and we’re in the mix with anyone. I like Gaskin a lot, he’s a gamer, but he’s a #2.
Trifecta!!!!!!!
Wyoming Football W!
Miami Dolphins W!
Chase Elliot W!
Howie’s List
🐷 28-17 🐬
two weeks in a row Piggy?
Time of Possession
Rams — 36:29
Dolphins — 23:31
That means we got crushed right?
Stats smats! 😉
Howie’s List
🐷 28-17 🐬
🦍 31-24 🐬
Total Yards
LAR – 471
Mia – 145
Passing
LAR – 340
Mia – 90
Rushing
LAR – 135
Mia – 55
We were rag dolled. LOL
That’s what stats hounds will say but they didn’t watch the game. LOL
Just don’t say cooking. These copy cat announcers and let Russell Wiksin cook is getting annoying.
We really need an upgrade at RB.
Baker Harris with our first pick of round 2.
Najee….thanks auto correct
Wow the end of Chargers/Broncos.
Howie’s List
🐷 28-17 🐬
🦍 31-24 🐬
🐃🐃 27-24🐬
Piggy wins!
We play Arizona next right?
Ben DiNucci
lol
wyoming85 says:
November 1, 2020 at 6:28 pm
I would have loaned you my generator!
Reply
————————
Thanks for the offer, but it wasn’t too bad. It was really cool over the last few days so it has been more annoying than awful. My kids might disagree since it unplugged them from their electronics and they went through withdrawals, but really not awful
We lost power for about a week earlier this summer and now every time the lights flicker my son shivers at thought of being without his electronics again
Don’t move to California 😏
with a generator and a hot-spot you can talk to your Dolphin buddies!
I don’t’ use it for AC? I run the well so I have water!
Howie’s List
🐷 28-17 🐬
🦍 31-24 🐬
🐃🐃 27-24🐬
🤠 35-31 🐬
Mike E. says:
November 1, 2020 at 6:37 pm
D – glad you got power back man. It’s miserable without it. Everything else cool?
————————
Like I said the other day, there are things to complain about if I wanted to but I feel very fortunate so I’m just going to deal with what I have to and remain very happy for the good graces I did receive. Pretty ok all things considered.
A real stinker coming up in Dallas vs Phil.
Philly for Survivor pick 🦅🦅
We have all seen Marino throw for over 400-500 yards and lose. Win the game. 😉
SHHH!
Let them wallow in their fear of success! 😉
Okay… shhhh nothing to see here. 😉
Howie’s List
🐷 28-17 🐬
🦍 31-24 🐬
🐃🐃 27-24🐬
🤠 35-31 🐬
🇨🇦 31-27🐬
I’m not calling out anyone here, just pointing out how stupid the media is for making these types of statements.
Unless the D and ST show’s out again! 😉
But I agree, it’s not feasible to rely on that every week!
You play the game that’s in front of you. If you can get away with low risk plays like we’ve seen in all of our wins, then go for it. Obviously we’d have more yards, if not for the 3 non O responsible scores.
And of course we aren’t going to see the D and STs spoon feed you a win like this every week.
Last week the media said, if we weren’t playing the jets…well we were, so we did what it took to comfortable beat them.
Gaskins fumbles deep in our end, I’m sure a lot of you guys were pissed, and Ogbah makes a play. Last week Fitz started out hot. Every week it’s someone else making plays. That’s the Belicheat way.
Next week we get the scheduling disfavor against us. Az off this week and we have to travel.
Having seen a few plays on video replay, Russ passing didn’t look sloppy. Reading y’all’s responses it also sounds like they weren’t really calling plays that he could get in a rhythm with mixing I. All that wildcat shit and some low percentage gadget stuff.
Rams made some big mental mistakes, such as not blocking Ogbah on the biggest play of the game.
Also several dead drives because of dropped passed. Sounds like the O just wasn’t linking up much. Maybe just haven’t gelled yet. It is Tuas first game but it’s also their first game with him.
Tuas passing not Russ. Another winner from auto correct
Why don’t the announcers know what a double reverse is?
LOL
Tim Knight says:
November 1, 2020 at 8:10 pm
We have all seen Marino throw for over 400-500 yards and lose. Win the game. 😉
Take Burrow, he had been throwing for 300+ and losing today 249 and they win.
Do yo want to win or just get stats?