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 
The guy sitting next to me in the sports book was pissed at the Rams. He says the Rams are playing terrible. I said they’re playing great. He looks at me with a puzzled look, so I tipped my Fins cap to him. He said, he didn’t notice it😁
DiNucci looks like Garo in the pocket.
Home win. We are finally starting to get our home field advantage back. Good to see. You could see this defense coming together for the past several weeks. There’s still plenty of work to be done all over the field. Win, lose or kissing your sister, let’s continue to see progress. Good win against a quality opponent. Flores seems to know how to get his guys ready to play each week. Take it and move on.
***
Time to kick some Arizona ass.
^
i think one of the reasons we were lacking in offensive output was the fact we kept scoring on special teams and defense taking the ball out of the offenses hands, we were up 28-10 to start the 3rd qtr, that’s another reason for minimal offensive output, calling plays to kill time, not taking any big chances.
Exactly
Both of these teams stink. They keep trading mental errors and mistakes, lol.
Not like that is surprising. The winner will lead the division with 3 wins, LOL
ogbah and lawson had huge games, wilkins falling back into coverage and making the pick was crazy! i had seen wilkins line up as fb on the td carry for gaskin.
if i were flores on that third and short that we didn’t pick up running a play out of the shotgun, i would have put tua over center and wilkins at fullback the way we used polite. i think he picks that up every time. that shotgun play wasn’t smart.
If we were in the NFC East we would be running away with the division
We all would. LOL
Not the Jets. They would just be in the hunt
Outside of the 1st possession fumble, I don’t recall OL getting Tua “dirty”, so good job there.. my main displeasure was the wild cat stuff.. a) it wasn’t working , and b) it took more time and plays out of Tuas hands … I have no doubt the O will look and execute better next week
And williams two drops. Also pissed me off. Dude needs to learn to concentrate on “easy” passes that hit him in hands/chest
it would appear flores D owns the rams O
on those 3rd and shorts, give wilkins the ball from the hb position and let him run up behind kindley.
UNSTOPPABLE!
Man this is bad football
LOL, it really is
Watching Tua play, I couldn’t see any indications whatsoever that his injury is an issue. He looks totally healthy.
He’s just getting started. I’m pretty sure he was not happy with his performance overall. We won the game which is most important but you could see in his eyes he wasn’t satisfied. Tua played his first game as a starting QB. Think about the maturation of Russell Wilson. I’m sorry… that’s who Tua reminds me of as a lefty. 😉
I’m glad he took some shots and didn’t come up gimpy at any time or anything that may give pause. His first full game back, he came through unscathed and we won.
we are a half game out of the playoffs if the season ended today
pittsburgh at 7-0 has a very weak schedule the rest of the way, they play balt at home, @ buff & indy as their only tough games left, the rest are slouches like the jags, cincy & wash
i hope we can pop the cork this year,
LOL, even the Eagles and CRIS COLLINSWORTH have heard of QB sneaks.
Hopefully Gailey is watching.
How great has Haack gotten at pinning that ball inside the 10. Everyone has been talking about Hekker, with good reason, but Haack outplayed him today.
We may have best special teams unit in FB right now
Our STs have been outstanding – Haack, Sanders, Grant etc.
Through 8 weeks the Dolphins are:
#1 Defensive ppg
#9 Offensive ppg
#1 Special teams unit (arguably)
This is a team 1.5 seasons into a burn it to the ground and start over rebuild. F^ck yeah!
😁
Actually I think we’re #10 in offense. I think we jump the Raiders and the Browns.
But the Colts probably jump us so maybe we’re 11. Aghhh, nvmd lol.
Through 8 weeks the Dolphins are:
#1 Defensive ppg
#32 in QB sneak is a play awareness
#1 Special teams unit (arguably)
Yeah man it’s fun. 🙂
It has even been shitty punting tonight
ME AND MRS. OD had a particularly challenging day on her arduous road to recovery. Some day I may tell you a few details but, all in all, we got things settled In TIME TO SEE THE FOOTBALL GAME!! aS YOU MAY KNOW, some fool bragged to me that the Dolphins “sucked.” He offered me Miami AND 7 and 1/2 points in this game. I couldn’t get the $10 bill out of my wallet any faster!!
When the score hit 28-7, Miami, I was thinking about HOW TERRIBLE HIS DAY WILL BE TOMORROW!!! This asshole didn’t know that, at this time of year, the temperature on the visitor’s bench can be 30 degrees or more hotter than on the Dolphins’ side of the field. I hope all of you saw that it was over 100 degrees in the sun on the Sheep’s side in the 2nd quarter!! Meanwhile, on Miami’s shaded side, the temp was in the low 70’s!!
WELCOME to Miami, eh??
REALLY PLEASED with the “D” and the special teams. IN fact, “FLO” had these guys ready to kick some ass from play #1. I really believed that Flores would use the week off to design some sophisticated pass rushing schemes that would bewilder their over rated PAC-12 quarterback. —-BINGO!!!
Our fav team may be “up against it” when they fly to Phoenix for their next game. But I believe TUA and his corps of receivers also will show some plays that the Cards’ secondary has NOT SEEN ON ANY TAPES!! We also must show some improvement in the running game. And I think that will happen if for no other reason than no Arizona defender will come close to matching Aaron Donald’s performance in today’s game. That guy, pure and simple, IS AWESOME!!
————–
When the fins started 0-3, many pundits were laughing at the thought of Miami making the playoffs. Well, nobody’s laughing NOW, are they? Convincing wins over the’49ers and the Sheep have catapulted “FLO’S BOYS” into the thick of the Playoff hunt. – – – BELIEVE IT!!! An upset win over the Cardinals absolutely would NOT surprise me!!
————-
FINALLY, no reaction on today’s games would be complete without another CHEAP SHOT at the god-awful NEW YORK JETS!!! At 0-8, they are HALF WAY TO THE GOAL OF A PERFECT SEASON of 16 consecutive losses!! AND, believe me, THIS IS THE ONLY TYPE OF “PERFECT SEASON” JET FANS WILL EVER SEE OUT OF THEIR SORRY TEAM!!!
————
Was my 26-20 prediction one of the closest? OR, did some one on Howie’s list nail it?
Out for tonight. GOOOOO FINS!!!
The Phins were never 0-3. But 4-1 in the last 5 is cool. 😉
I half of this is enough
Next weeks game is one of the hardest games we have in the next few weeks
Cards, Chargers, Broncos, jests, Bengals
If we can go 4-1 in the next 5
And we are at 8-4 goi g into the last 4 games, won’t that be something
One game at a time. 🙂
Ok Schneider
Seems our opponents are a little slow trying to figure out what we’re doing, but then again, look how long it took to figure out the Cheats.
Something was wrong with Howard yesterday, he seemed off balance, or a step behind, like his knees weren’t cooperating, or it was his backlash on the trade rumors.
There’s a mood swing!
I found it interesting that it was Miami’s defensive players that were cramping up yesterday (Jones & Needham). An indication of how long they were on the field. They were gassed halfway through the 3rd.
On the long throw that missed Williams it looked to me like Williams let up expecting a back shoulder throw and Tua threw to hit him in stride. Must review. On the bad miss across the middle, I think he expected the WR to sit down in the hole, but the WR kept going across the formation. Another to review. The TD to Parker was special on both ends – Parker was being mugged and Tua put more on that ball than Fitz has in his whole body.
Pretty much every drive was killed by drops or stupid play calling. They should never run more than one gadget play per game. 3 and 1 should be power football.
If I was Gailey I would be stealing some of the WR formations and routes that LA ran.
My Victory Monday take!
Welcome to the 1980’s
Pet’s 2-5
Barfallo and Miami fighting for the Division!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The stej sucked then like they do now to 😁
They still play in the NFL?
I must have forgotten them!
Just like the 80’s!!!!!! 😉
After a night’s sleep:
1. Glad Pats lost afterall. It’s Fins and Bills, no looking over our shoulder at Pats.
2. Bills are not playing well and still have Seahawks and 49ers both playing good now (let’s see what Jimmy G’s status is this week and if he will be ready to play in 4 weeks.
3. We play Broncos during Bills bye week to make up a game in win column to put us 1 GB for rest the 8 games (2 before, 6 after).
4. We both play at Cards in back to back weeks. If we win and they lose, both teams essentially have 2 tough games remaining setting up a possible game 16 for the division championship.
5. We love our draft picks, but we may need to consider a trade for a bigger back for short yardage situations. We hit on so many FA signings that there is no way I’m gonna bitch about Jordan Howard. It was a good idea. Sounds like he is NOT a “Flores-team-first-guy”.
HOWEVER, Rams Defense was the toughest on our schedule, significantly, and we got a Win 🙏
6. Tua has a full game under his belt, took the hits (from the beast Donald), and gets to play against a defense that is not very good. Cards are being carried by their offense. So if our defense keeps being ‘opportunistic’ … then
Howie, Miami 26. Ariz 23
We have to win out in the division to win the division it looks like. 4-2 with a split with Buffalo would get us there assuming we catch them in the win column.
Another thing the O did yesterday was show very little to AZ for this weeks game. They likely don’t have much more info than the Rams did.
Tua did run the ball out of the RPO, but it was there a lot. I’d expect to see some of that this week.
With Goff being mostly a statue blitzing him had a big effect, but that’s an entirely different animal this week.
Victory Monday thoughts!
Mando, the Braided coconut, and the rest of the “media” can do things to my private parts that would normally cost me a “C” note! 😉
The team did not lay down because they were mad about the QB change!!!!!!!!!!
I’m not looking at winning the division right now, we have too many unknowns.
Can Tua actually lead our O better than he did Sunday? I’d like to think so, but we haven’t really seen anything yet.
What happens if he struggles, Fitz?
We have a chance, but I wouldn’t exactly call us contenders yet.
????????????
hey, i’ll let the stat monkeys harp on the stats shit, but i care about the ONLY stat that matters………. the W…… lol.
a big TEAM win…… it’s a great start to the TUA era 🙂
GO PHINS….GO COACH FLO……TRUST IN THE PROGRAM.
Stats mean very little in a game like yesterday’s, we made the plays on D when we had to have them and a late 1st down on O.
The biggest reason I’m glad Tua is starting is, because bad Fitz always seemed to render his head at the wrong time.
I got a bad feeling yesterday about Tua, his arm may be a problem. Not sure, if it was just not really being comfortable with Donald lurking or what, but something wasn’t right.
Timing surely was part of the problem, and that should go away with time.
He really didn’t look comfortable all day, like he was playing too fast. On a ball out to the right he fired it too early to the wrong location. On the fumble he had happy feet. Early he was off target with jitters, so lucky the D played like they did.
Overall it was really hard to come to any conclusion, except the stage wasn’t too big. I mean you have Donald coming at you, but he didn’t wilt.
Surely on Sunday we’ll know more, because he’ll actually have to do something.
I think it was just the game was so fast at this point. I agree that he never looked totally comfortable throwing the ball. It’s going to take time. This was like his first preseason game. It will come, but there’s nothing that simulates playing in an actual game other than playing in a game.
Herbert looked much more comfortable in his first game, even though he didn’t know he was going to start, until right before the game. No Donald, but Chris Jones.
Anyone notice the Rams on 3rd and long were just dumping the ball off early in the game? Pretty good indication how the coverage was at key times.
Then they found the Kupp mismatch.
We had an issue tackling, but seemed to keep the Rams mostly contained, as in bend, but don’t break.
It wasn’t just Miami:
“ The Ravens ran for 265 yards on Sunday and outgained the Steelers by 236 yards overall, which is a combination that usually results in a victory.
Per James Palmer of NFL Media, teams with 250-plus rushing yards that more than double their opponents’ yardage were 215-1-1 since 1933 before Sunday. The Ravens became the second team to lose in that scenario and four turnovers by quarterback Lamar Jackson played a big role in the 28-24 Steelers win.‘
I really don’t understand what folks expect from rookies. Tua looked pretty much like I thought he’d look yesterday. He was fired up. He was jittery adjusting to the speed of the game. At times, he wasn’t throwing in rhythm. Yeah? So? He’s a rookie getting his first start. It doesn’t mean a thing. Now, if we still see it 3 or 4 games in….then I’ll start getting worried.
***
Tua is supposed to be great at self scouting and getting better. We’ll see. I think he’ll get better. Frankly, the bigger issue for me was the OL. They didn’t hold up well. Lots of pressure and almost no running lanes. Gailey is who he is. We saw this last time. I wasn’t a fan then. Still, good win for a young, building team. Work to get better.
Victory Monday! Bring on the Cardinals
I don’t think the Cardinals defense is going to be anywhere as intimidating as the Rams was. Their offense though is our achilles heel style offense.
Steve – It’s on the coaches too, they basically took the keys to the offense out of his hands. That will change as he gets more comfortable. They’re going to need more offense going forward, this can’t continue. I’m not worried at all.
So houtz posted every drop back from the game, and since I didn’t get to see the game this was my first chance to see him in action. Looks like he played pretty well. He looked like he rushed a few throws especially after that first pop he got but settled down and had some really pretty pass s. He also has some good first down pickups to williams who dropped them so overall not a bad outing considering the other junk you guys were mentioning.
If you break down what happened on each of the 13 drives, like someone here did yesterday it’s really no big deal.
I can’t say he passed the eye test overall either, because there isn’t enough to go by. I also can’t say he didn’t either, because the pocket presence was good and he managed the game fairly well given the situation of not being asked much of.
We won the game, that’s all that really matters at this point. If we had lost the season may have been too.
Big Ben was on a great Steelers team that won the SB his first year without him doing much. We aren’t that talented, but overall (sum greater than the parts) we’re good in all 3 phases and scheme to win.
I think someone mentioned this yesterday, but we seem to be commenting like we haven’t won our last 3 games and 4 out of 5 by double digits and in blowout fashion.
Step back a minute and let that sink in. We haven’t seen that type of production since Marino.
Something is working for us, and I give the credit to Flores for making this happen.
Are we? Who would you say is commenting like that?
You😏
Our offense is going to have to help our D out in this next game. I think we are going to have fits with Murray.
Despite the double digit win, being on the field on defense for 92 plays each week isn’t sustainable. I did see Benito Jones in the lineup a couple of times.
31 first downs and 92 plays and lost by 11. Crazy!
I can’t stand this dude Ryan Clark! he seems to think that miami is forfeiting their playoff chances starting Tua based on yesterdays off output.
he doesn’t realize that the way the game played out took the ball out of miami’s offensive hands most of the game,
fumble return, we kick it back to the rams.
punt return, we kick it back to the rams.
van noy takes it to the 1 yard line, we kick it back to the rams.
wilkins pick was an offensive drive that went 25 yards, we kick it back to the rams.
he say’s for flores to start Tua is an injustice to the players.
while the jury is still out on Tua, i wouldn’t assess his play on yesterdays offensive out put.
Did he say this today?
Ryan Clark has always hated Miami
He’s a dick
Tua finally able to squeeze in the equivalent of 2 preseason games where he’d have played the 2nd half in each.
Rams are a legit top defense. Cards defense is NOT legit. I expect to see a MUCH better game from the entire offense this week. Over the next 3 to 4 weeks we will see Tua grow into whatever he might/could be. After Cards, we have 4 weeks of very winnable games before hosting KC.
Burrow’s Game 1: 23 for 36, 193 yds, 0 TD, 1 INT, 8 rushes for 46 yds, 66.1 RTG against Chargers (22nd vs pass) Lost
Herbert’s Game 1: 22 for 33, 311 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT, 1 rushing TD, 94.4 RTG against KC, Lost
Tua’s Game 1: 12 for 22, 93 yds, 1 TD, 0 INT, 80.3 RTG against LAR, Win
Of the 3, Herbert clearly had the best first game, but what stands out to me is that the usage of Tua was very conservative, likely dictated by the early lead provided by the defense.
5:40 mark of the video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cHDwPcoZxU
It didn’t really sound critical to me
He actually said Flores is one of the best coaches in the nfl
He jaunt said Tua didn’t do anything and was carried which are both true
he said based on the offensive play that flores does this team a disservice by starting tua who would not be the best man on the team for that job to simply find out if they need to continue their search for a qb, or at least that;s what i got out of it
Our defense has been described as bend don’t break but other players in the league and in those defenses that’s kinda what you will see a decent amount of yards against, a decent number of first downs by opposing offenses but not a lot of points against. I agree that’s not a comfortable way to lay but if that’s how we are designed, it’s successful in that setup.
Also, did y’all not get excited by Tuas TD pass. He drilled that in tight coverage right in there. That was a big boy pass. Some of the other more touch passes on the sideline were perfectly placed too. Very catchable passes even though some were dropped. When he was off it was overthrows where he got happy feet and slung the shit out of the pass and was ahead of the receiver. That’s chemistry and timing. He is just now getting use to throwing to them and again he was kinda amped up and trying to get it out really fast. I didn’t see a lot of bad, I saw a lot of nerves, lack of chemistry and then some really nice things too.
i thought the pass to grant was not good, it seem to not have good enough velocity on it. that pass concerns me.
As D pointed out, there were a number of drops yesterday. How much could that have to be Tua is a lefty You are an NFL wideout who trains his whole life to catch a ball spinning one way and all of a sudden you have to catch one spinning in the other direction. Might take more than a bye week to get used too (yeah thinking about those two straight drops by Williams).
I don’t think it should matter that much but then again I never caught a ball from a lefty.
Tom Brady rented Derek Jeter’s waterfront Tampa Bay mansion for the season. Now it seems he has a new roommate…… one Anontio Brown. Wonder if Brady asked him to pay half of the electric bill.
I wonder if Brady had to pay a pet deposit when AB moved in…
https://twitter.com/HereForTheFins/status/1323328372609527817?s=20
The sack stats are wrong, Donald had 2 sacks. When the QB is behind the LOS and someone knocks the ball out of the his hands it’s a sack/fumble. ESPN has it listed as 1 sack too.
You’re right about the strip sack being counted as a fumble – that’s why it’s called a strip sack. Was there another sack?
Sheesh
You’re right about it being counted as a sack, (I said fumble-doh) lol
Yes, Donald had a traditional sack about 6 yards in the backfield, with no one else around.
D, do you think Najee Harris would be there with our second pick in the second round?
He was there when I posted my NOV mock yesterday. Of course that is just a simulator. Wouldn’t this be sick though!
5 MLB Micah Parsons, 6’2 245, Penn State
14 Edge/OLB Joseph Assai, 6’4 253, Texas
37 OC/IOL Josh Myers, 6’5 312, Ohio State
46 RB Najee Harris, 6’2 230, Alabama
77 NT/DT Tedarrell Slaton, 6’5 358, UF
115 WR/KR Anthony Schwartz 6’0 180, Auburn
193 S Quentin Lake, 6’1 195
I left the last 2 picks off just incase they would be needed to move up a little to get one of these guys.
Harris isn’t as big or as fast as Derrick Henry but has a little more wiggle in him than Henry especially for a big back. He is also a good receiver a solid 3 down RB.
When the cheats won during their dynasty, I don’t remember anyone saying the way that they won wasn’t sustainable. Why must we nit pick with these no shit Sherlock obsevations?
We can’t get killed in TOP and yards and win every week.
If we played a real team instead of the jets we wouldn’t be able to get away with…
OK, if you think we’re gonna score 2 TD’s on defense and special teams every week, then maybe we can. It’s not nit picking either. Fuck man, it’s just talking about the game, and going forward what we need to get better at. Are you saying if you win you can’t discuss negative aspects of the team? I saw that defense exhausted at the end of the game, they were spent, shot.
No we’re not going to score 4 TDs for Tua every week. I said you play the game that’s dealt.
You can say the rushing attack sucked or Tua sucked or any other unit, but to parrot what the media always says, like we can’t win that way every week or if we played a better team…you sound like a no shit sherlock cliche.
Every week is something different, you play the game in front of you. Next week we may be down 14-0 and have to open it up and take chances and pass, pass, pass. You do what you have to, to have a chance to win, if one unit sucks on a given week the other 2 pick them up, that’s what Folres is preaching.
Parrott the media? I think I can form my own opinions w/o listening or reading what the media thinks. It’s not about playing the game you were dealt it’s about getting a stop instead of letting a team running all over you. The passing success the Rams had at the end of the game didn’t concern me, but watching them get first down after first down most of the game did. OK, whatever Steve, you’re the only one who can form opinions here, we’re all just dummies.
Ok you aren’t parroting the media, it was just stored in your subconscience mind for later use😏
Other than Ryan Clark, who gives a f* what Ryan Clark has to say?
His mother
Probably not
His echo?
Dolphins D has given up 34 points in the 3 games since Byron Jones came back.
Not saying all cause of Bryron Jones.
Not saying Byron Jones is better than X.
Am saying that 2 shutdown corners really opens up this D.
That’s what I was hoping for when we signed him. Last year on 3rd-15 on D it was like you guys better get that stop. This year its get the TO.
Middle of the game Jones went out, I was like rutrow…
I was like “oh shit he broke his groin” — and that would have meant another 3-5 weeks. But he came back.
It allows them to play 0 coverage with no high safety and load the box.
This is a longer video but wanted to post it to show off his receiving ability. The catch and run at the :54 second mark was awesome.
People are saying he’s not as talented as his former Bama RBs
But he should still go by round 3
About 3 games ago Grant had a horrible game, dropped punt, dropped passes…even though we won he didn’t help.
The last 2 games he’s been money. Wonder, if someone got on him?
I think he got on himself.
Landry was that type of player, but I haven’t seen it from Grant. The guys that get on themselves generally wear it on their sleeves, then get back out there and get it done.
Steve Smith in a playoff loss where the Panthers were getting killed said, get out of my way I’m returning this punt, they showed him irate on the sidelines, then he took the punt to the house.
Was just checking out what seats for the Chargers game cost in the Covid-lite seating. They ain’t cheap. The ones we had set up for the Fest at around $50 are $150 – $250. Guess that is supply and demand and also why the Phins ticket guys never called me back. 🙂
Wow, I don’t know what the deal is with the Niners. They have had so many injuries, and excepting last year, it just keeps happening to the m year after year.
Toba’s better half ain’t happy about either of those. Me neither. Since we beat them and they play our division was hoping they do well.
Have always thought that Peter King is a closet Dolphins fan, but check out where we are in his latest power ranking. That’s playoffs.
——————–
10. Miami (19th, 4-3)
What a strange game, the 28-17 victory over the Rams in Tua Tagovailoa’s first start. You’d see the score and say that must have been a good opener for Tua. Uh, no. Miami was awful on offense, with eight first downs and 145 total yards. For now, it’s going to be Miami’s defense that leads the way. It has to be this way, until Tagovailoa starts playing the way he did as a force of nature at Alabama, or until Brian Flores decides Ryan Fitzpatrick is a steadier hand. Flores won’t hesitate to do what he has to do. Miami is higher than you might think they should be because of all these defensive guys—Wilkins, Van Ginkel, Baker, Ogbah—you don’t know well. “We’ve got an emphasis not just to get to the quarterback and get a sack,” said Jerome Baker, the third-year Ohio State linebacker, “but to create takeaways. You drop an interception around here, it’s a sin.” The Dolphins, with defense like they played Sunday, could make it very hard for Buffalo to win the East.
Maybe when you are less busy you’ll have more time. Even if think too high….. pretty cool to see the Phins at #10.
Najee isnt as powerful a runner as Jacobs, and he isn’t as just dominant as Henry, but what he is is well rounded. Be blocks well, he catches passes well, he had power to his running style. Id call him more like Drake, with more power but less home run. He can still get it, but his blended style makes him someone that would work better in our system. I do think he will be a 2nd rounder, i think he combines so much into one RB he will be highly sought after but now enough just crazy elite in one area that he could go in the first.
That is my take 100% (he combines so much into one RB).
Our offense didn’t do a good enough job sustaining some drives in the 2nd half to give the defense a break so that’s why they wore down late. This game was not a usual game. But sometimes that’s how it goes. Getting the W is all that matters. It’s a lot easier to work on things that need to improve after a win. Tua has that first game under his belt and he knows he has to play better. So does the entire offense. I expect he and they will. 🙂
The problem didn’t start in the 2nd half. This is the length of each offensive drive in the game.
Drive 1 – 43 seconds fumble
Drive 2 – 2:31 punt
Drive 3 – 1:44 punt
Drive 4 – 2:55 TD
Drive 5 – 8 seconds fumble
Drive 6 – 56 seconds Punt
Drive 7 – 4 seconds TD
Drive 8 – 11 seconds End of half
we had ONE “drive” in the first half.
That is why our guys were cramping in the 4th
The defense was not tired in the 1st half. The offense wasn’t on the field because the defense and STs scored and set up the easy 1 yard score after the Van Noy fumble recovery. So we kept kicking back to the Rams. It was in the 4th quarter when it started to catch up with the defense.
Yeah they were tired in the 2nd half because they were on the field the 21 out of 30 minutes in the fist half. The ineptitude of the offense in the first half was the issue with them being tired in the 2nd half is my point.
I don’t agree. The defense started to slow down late 3rd and 4th quarter. They came out in the 2nd half and stopped the Rams on 3 consecutive drives.
According to Beasley — “The Bills have the fourth-hardest remaining strength of schedule; the Dolphins have the 13th-easiest.” Not a huge difference, but a difference nonetheless.
That’s actually like 16 spots difference. (4th hardest and 19th hardest)
Was traveling during Sunday but I’m super impressed with the defense this year. It feels so good to have a top notch unit and I think we have two right now (ST and D). Our offense is a work in progress but we have some really good tools if they can stay healthy. I remember everyone talking about Donald and wondering how we’d handle him. He did some damage and the offesne was terrible but it still didn’t matter. Great game.
This is a great read and I’m not even going there yet. It’s still fun as hell to read though. https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/30240301/is-end-new-england-patriots-dynasty-how-got-here-next-why-not-easy-fix
Well, don’t expect to ever have a top offense with Gailey as OC. Gailey has never led an offense that finished in the top five in scoring, counting both his seasons as a head coach or a coordinator
Other than the wildcat stuff that I didn’t like, it wasn’t about play calling. We didn’t play well on offense. Tua trying to feel his way and too many drops. Gesicki has to catch that ball that Tua put right on his hands. Williams two drops and there were a couple more.
I completely disagree. I think much of the play failure was due to bad play calling. But we can disagree.
Okay agree to disagree. The old play calling vs. execution debate. 😉
I still don’t know how to watch my team win games comfortably. This is a strange experience I could definitely get used to. Encouraged by the young guys developing and our defense improving as the season progresses. Too early to say for sure, but sure seems like we’ve got a good coach in place who sets the tone for a successful team. The patsies defense got better every year and was a top unit for the playoffs. Hopefully, Flores can do the same thing for us.
I felt bad for Fitz getting benched. Would’ve been fun to see him lead us to the playoffs this year. I really think with him starting we would’ve found a way. I’m cool with Tua starting though. Won’t be drawing too many conclusions from this season. Just improve as the season goes on and gain more comfort with the team, offense, and speed of the game. Given his size, he’s going to have to be special in lots of other ways to excel. I think he has what it takes. We’ll find out, but sure is fun winning games and enjoying watching the Fins every week.
Hope all you guys are good!
Hope all is well with you too.
The defense has been coming. You could see them start to play more fluidly this past month. They were shifting and moving around with a purpose and not because they were unsure. You can see how a fluid front can allow you to specialize your rush packages to best impact a team’s weakness. They did it to us too. Having two very good corners…and coverage guys in general….allows you to implement those rush packages without worrying too much about your back end. Our guys are getting it a little more and a little quicker now. We’re still not quite there. I think we are still a couple additions in personnel away from being really good, but maybe we will be by next year. Good start.
***
I’d say the offense is actually okay. We were bound to see a drop off when Tua went in….especially against a quality defense. I am not a fan of Gailey. I’ve just never liked how he calls a game. But, it’s still on the players to make what’s called work. If it’s 3rd and 2….go get 2 fucking yards. I don’t give a shit what play is called. Give Tua some time and the guys around him some time to adjust to him, and I think we’ll be okay in a month. I still gotta see more out of the OL. This was a big test for them, and they didn’t exactly shine. The offense has been way too inconsistent though. I see effort and discipline but not an over abundance of execution. And, again, I really think some folks underestimate what Fitz did for this offense as a veteran leader.
***
Throw in some good STs, and I am fairly pleased with where this team is now. There’s still plenty of work to be done, so maybe it’s just a matter of your perspective. I’m just enjoying the ride so far.
^
that was a great hit by elandon roberts! he rocked both the te and rb
That was beautiful
POP!
Roberts is a rocket and a thumper.
Nobody was complaining about play calling when Fitz and others were hot and scoring points. It was one game that was setup by very good defense and STs play. Tua and the rest of the offense has to be better next week from an execution standpoint.
That’s not true. All you have to do is go back and read the previous blogs. There’s been plenty of complaints.
Okay I must have missed that. When a play doesn’t work the first thing a fan does is blame play calling. I wouldn’t have done this or that there, I would have done what would have worked. LOL
That’s been going on forever. Like Randy said, if you need 2 yards go get the the 2 yards. What play are you supposed to call – a double reverse?
A very positive indicator for a team is good / very good special teams (which I think we have) because that squad is mainly made up of the “depth: players. Teams with better depth wind up playing later into the season.
You know who I’ve noticed that plays good STs is WR Mack Hollins. I’ve noticed him right around the punt returner for weeks now.
Plenty of poor playcalling. Plenty of poor execution. Gailey didn’t do a good enough job to get Tua settled at the beginning of the game and allow him to get into a rhythm, combine that with the defense and special teams getting several quick scores and it’s a recipe for a lack of production.
Other than the wildcat that went on too long and they didn’t execute that either, what was the bad play calling?
3rd and 1 is all I can come up with
What was the play?
Tua in the shotgun on 3rd and half a yard.
Having 3rd and short 3 times and not one QB sneak.
Can we create and call some plays that utilize Gisicki?
I’ve consistently disliked his playcalling this year, and just basically our whole scheme. I think we lack creativity offensively, and I think we go too conservative too early in the 2nd half of every game when we get a lead. It’s worked out because our D is lights out, so I get that. I just don’t like the way he calls games and I think his career numbers back up that he’s very average.
All that said, obviously execution is part of any equation in regards to our issues. We have drops, missed throws, etc that are quantifiable. Drops and fumbles killed 4 drives yesterday. That’s simply execution.
Part of my problem is one of expectation too. Ravens fans and Steelers fans of the last two decades wouldn’t be complaining about a conservative offense that relied on its defense to finish out games. That was the expectation of those teams.
drg said it pretty succinctly, “I still don’t know how to watch my team win games comfortably.”
I feel that way, so when I’m watching, all I can see is how this offense is going to cost us the game, lol.
Just so you know there were a few plays I said to myself ahhh… why run that here? But you see that in any game you watch. Football is never perfect. What is?
Kong, what is the creativity you seek?
To me our young and new OL, our QB transition and no stud RBs are our problem. But we’re winning games to be in the mix without that yet. We’re one year removed from being considered possibly the worst team ever even though the Jets are seriously challenging that this year. LOL
Football is not that complicated. You need players who make plays. That’s it. Did Dalvin Cook go off yesterday because of creative play calling? No! He’s that good.
Of course you need players to make plays…and creative play callers like Andy Reid and Sean Payton make even average players playmakers. I mean, Gesicki has 4 games this year where he was targeted 3 times or less. A creative OC would get more plays to their playmakers, but Gailey has his system that looks exactly the same as it always has, good enough to decent, but nothing special.
I can see the a combination of issues. If you think we just don’t have good enough players, and that’s the only issue, that’s fine. But I’ve been calling for Gailey to run a damned QB sneak since week 1, lol.
Ahhhh… so it’s the QB sneak you seek? LOL
I was starting to think it was a unicorn, but then the Eagles ran it last night so I know it exists, lol.
LOL
I don’t have prospect names yet but what I think we might do with our first 4 picks (1, 1, 2, 2) in 2021. In no particular order.
C – future starter
WR – speed playmaker
RB – physical move the chains
DL – a front 7 playmaker
I’m not sure I love the idea of spending an early pick on a center
I agree with the other 3
I probably go front 7 d with that other pick
I like BBMilkes idea of Parson and Ossai a lot
Man I hope the Giants can keep this up
Daniel Jones sucks tonight, because even though they’re winning 14-6 he’s only thrown for 91 yards😏
That was a dumb play by Jones.
Which one😁
Confirmed Brady won the Refs in the divorce
looked like P I to me
If that wasn’t PI I have no idea what is.
Giants coach will be fined for saying that’s a fuckin joke.
But should he, if true?
Shouldn’t but …..
That was a total Patriots call
I didn’t think it was PI. Great timing is what it was. Unfortunate but it wasn’t PI. Would the Pats get that call back in the day, probably. But it wasn’t a penalty.
Today is the day.
And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth
Is that the new Biden ad????? 😉
Yes, it’s the only one of his campaign that isn’t based on a lie. He wanted to wait until the witching hour to give us a glimpse of democratic socialism.
Tim Knight says:
November 2, 2020 at 9:23 pm
I don’t have prospect names yet but what I think we might do with our first 4 picks (1, 1, 2, 2) in 2021. In no particular order.
C – future starter
WR – speed playmaker
RB – physical move the chains
DL – a front 7 playmaker
———————————————————————————-
C: Hill out of UGA, part of that incredible OL they had last year, with Thomas and Kindley.Alternate: Landon Dickerson, OC Alabama, obviously pin part due to familiarity with Tua.
WR: Jaylen Waddle, in part due to familiarity with Tua but mostly because he is the fastest WR in college and he runs great routes. Alternate DeVonta Smith.
RB: Najee Harris, see review above. Alternate Kylin Hill Miss State.
DL: Christian Baramore, DT, Alabama, hybrid DT/3-4DE, perfect fro our system. Alternate: Terredell Slaton UF DT/NT, true 0/1 tech that we could really use.
Lol literally, we could scout one school this year and likely get the guys we want.
Hill might be a 1st rounder but towards the end or early second, Waddle will be a first rounder, Najee is probably a second, maybe 3rd. Baramore will be a first. So if we got your list of guys and my players, out first would be DL. WR. and our seconds would be Hill/Dickerson and Harris. I wouldnt cry if thats how it turned out. Flip and flop any of those guys up there and i wouldnt be upset in how that turned out.
Damn Rowe!
Yeah he beleaguered that drop in his interview with the media. Was an easy TD.
I waited until Election Day to vote
Took about 5 minutes
No lines at all
with election day upon us ;
to the folks who actually think i love football MORE than MY country. you seem to have greatly underestimated me, NOT sorry to disappoint you 🙂
but with the potential of America (as we know it) ending with a biden victory, it’s just too hard to focus on “football only” as a topic. especially with the powerful forces out there that are so disparately trying to destroy this country. and you don’t have to look hard to find that there’s plenty of people still alive that “USE TO HAVE” freedom and rights in other parts of the world, but no longer do, that’s why i still believe in the greatest country on the planet, and have sworn to protect it and the constitution against ALL enemies foreign and domestic.
i’ve lived my entire adult Marine Corps life by this code (and in this order) :
1.) god
2.) country
3.) corps
4.) all the perks that come with America’s freedom.
so, football falls into the # 4 category. i sincerely hope you ALL understand. but if you don’t, well ….. that’s on you, “too bad – so sad” 🙁
TRUMP 2020
The gaslighters on the left, using the MSM, have really done a number on half the country. They use slogans like BLM, but haven’t done a damn thing for black people, as evidenced from the shootings in Chicago to the slums of Baltimore.
These people closetly like Trump’s policies, but hate his personality, so they’re willing to blow up the greatest country on earth to see him lose.
Their hatred for this man is greater than their love for the country.
I went to the dentist yesterday, and the lady cleaning my teeth said, a lot of people are pissed off at the governor and are trying to recall him. They fear, that, if Biden wins there will be massive shutdowns here.
Recall him? Like a product recall? Fix or replace him? What does that mean?
A recall election (also called a recall referendum, recall petition or representative recall) is a procedure by which, in certain polities, voters can remove an elected official from office through a direct vote before that official’s term has ended. Recalls, which are initiated when sufficient voters sign a petition, have a history dating back to the constitution in ancient Athenian democracy[1] and feature in several current constitutions. In indirect or representative democracy, people’s representatives are elected and these representatives rule for a specific period of time. However, where the facility to recall exists, should any representative come to be perceived as not properly discharging their responsibilities, then they can be called back with the written request of specific number or proportion of voters.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recall_election
It’s how The Terminator ended up Governor of California in 2003. We recalled Gray Davis, had a special election, and inserted Arnold.
Wow, only in CA. Sorry Kong. lol
Bookman was saying the other day they are in the process of recalling their 2nd Gov in a row. So Minnesota is even more jacked, lol.
The recall is not going to happen, the point was a lot of business people are fed up with the politics that are being played here. The dems are holding these small businesses hostage, so the politicians can gain power.
oops
He needs to catch the ball
My dad is left handed. I never noticed anything different about how the ball came in. Pig is right, no excuses, just catch the damn ball.
Never heard any issues at Alabama.
Doing the # 91 proud
Is Creed Humphrey still the top center in the draft
If we are picking at 32, where I expect to be picking 😛, we might take a look at center