Our Miami Dolphins (6-3) travel across the country to play the Denver Broncos (3-6). This Dolphins team has had one consistent thing going all year long, whether we won or lost on game day, it’s that’s the fact that this has been a well coached, well prepared team. The Dolphins are the 4th least penalized teams at 4.3 penalties per game and are 5th at penalty yards per game at 37.8 yards per game. It’s much more than the penalties though, it’s about getting the players to buy in to the program, and in that regard, Brian Flores has been excellent. The contract extension of DL Zach Sieler is an example. Sieler came from the Baltimore Ravens, a winning program and a perennially well run organization with excellent coaching provided by John Harbaugh. Sieler was originally a 7th RD pick that was discarded by the Ravens in 2019 after Week 4 and the Dolphins picked him up quickly. This year, Sieler got more playing time due to a season ending injury to DL Davon Godchaux and Sieler never looked back. Cultivating players like Sieler is just as important as grooming our young QB Tua Tagovailoa as after all, this is a team game.
The Dolphins remain in the top 10 on both offensive scoring (9th at 27.9 PPG) and defensive scoring (5th at 20.2 PPG). The win streak is now up to 5 games in a row as we take on yet another young QB, which will either be 1 year vet Drew Lock if he’s healthy enough to suit up, or rookie Brett Rypien. Which QB starts has yet to be determined at this writing. The Broncos are 28th in offensive scoring at 20.7 PPG and 27th in defensive scoring at 28.2 PPG. QB Tua Tagovailoa gets his 4th start after winning his first 3 contests. The Dolphins will likely get RB Matt Breida back this week but after a strong showing last week, RB Salvon Ahmed will most likely get the majority of the carries with Breida filling in as he had been doing for Myles Gaskin most of the season.
The Broncos bring a good RB tandem of Melvin Gordon and now healthy Phillip Lindsay, as well as a sprinkling from Royce Freeman. The ball has been spread around pretty evenly among the receivers, the leader is TE Noah Fant (35 receptions, 367 yards 2 TD’s), second is rookie WR Jerry Jeudy with 34 receptions for 552 yards and 2 TD’s and a heady 16.2 YPR, followed by WR Tim Patrick with 31 receptions for 444 yards and 3 TD’s. RB Melvin Gordon is the rushing leader with 439 yards and 4 TD’s but the more explosive and more dangerous back is Phillip Lindsay who has an impressive 5.5 YPC. On defense, the Broncos haven’t been effective stopping the run or any passing attack and are in the bottom 5 statistically in both. On the flip side, the Dolphins are just about mid pack in both categories but more importantly, as previously stated, are stingy when it comes to giving up points.
On the offensive line, it looks like Jesse Davis will be back at his usual RT position next to RG Solomon Kindley. Ted Karras remains the center next to LG Ereck Flowers and rookie LT Austin Jackson is back as well, returning a couple of weeks ago against the Cards. On the defensive line, I’m not sure whether DL Christian Wilkins will be able to return, if not the Dolphins will run with Zach Sieler, Raekwon Davis and Emmanuel Ogbah along with depth guys rookies Jason Strowbridge and Benito Jones. At LB, Shaq Lawson, Jerome Baker, Elandon Roberts, Andrew van Ginkel and thumbs up Kyle Van Noy round out the corps. Xavien Howard and Byron Jones make up one of the NFL’s best CB tandems along with slot CB Nik Needham. Rookie Noah Igbinoghene has been pulled back some and is usually in when the Dolphins employ multiple DB’s. The safeties are Eric Rowe and good ole Bobby McCain. I say keep Going with the Flo!
GO DOLPHINS!!!
Finsmob Unleashed 
That is awesome.
I thought Parker actually had a pretty good game last week. He made some tough, clutch catches. He still doesn’t look completely back to his old self prior to the injury. I give him lots of credit for playing thru it, but he’s been hobbled a little. It looks like separation is the big thing to talk about now. With a guy like Parker, I really don’t care because he can make the contested catches….you know…like most catches in the NFL. I think the whole separation thing is a little overdone. I don’t like how they use Grant. I’d use him in different routes. I’ve never been a fan of Gailey, but he is who he is. He’s always been a fairly basic, repetitive OC. He ain’t gone change now. Lol
Parker is the best we have. An thing about him an Williams is that the get vertical separation. You want as much of the normal kind as you can get too, but there is a difference.
stanger,
I think every WR is different, and they gotta use their specific tools to make a catch. Most catches in the NFL are contested, so guys better know how to make those catches. Who wants a WR who can only make the wide open catch? Lol
***
Our offense sucked on Sunday because the OL was getting their asses whooped. Because of that, Tua was thinking more than playing and not getting the ball out on schedule. Something that was talked about here as a concern before he ever played. We didn’t lose that game because the WRs weren’t getting separation. The OL needs to bounce back and play better.
I’d take a wideout who gets clearly open on most plays for an easy catch. And yeah was a tough day for the OL on Sunday.
Vertical separation, high-pointing catches, winning contested balls, stretching the field = a good WR.
Imo.
Don’t think anyone will argue with a guy whose tall enough to get the high balls and fast enough to stretch the field. And not like Parker is slow.
Tua averaging 148 yards per game over 4 games.
Fitz 112 yards in less than 1 quarter
do the math
I did. I count INTs. Fitz wins again.
we need to take a qb every year in the 2nd round until we get it right
Happy Thanksgiving
YOUNG STANGER: I just LOVED your comments about Shadow and Isabella watching Fins games from Doggy Heaven! I trust BOTH will enjoy the defeat of Gase’s boyz this Sunday in the Meadowlands!! The return of Wilkins will be a big factor, no doubt.
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Does anybody have an update on when Preston Williams will return to action?
Pretty sure Williams is eligible to come off the 3-week IR at this point , and if not will be for the Bengals game.
And yeah our dogs will have fun. Dolphins trained.
No prime time football on T-Day.
“Due to positive COVID-19 tests on the Baltimore Ravens, the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers will be played Sunday.”
The supposed “chasm” between Fitz and Tua isn’t real. I think Tua has a lot more talent than Fitz ever had, has now, ever will. Plus, Fitz plays like he’s got nothing to lose, as evidenced by the game sealing INT. He literally HAS nothing to lose and is playing with house money at this point. Tua is young and the Broncos had him stymied. It’s the first time in 4 games we saw this. If it happens again and again, then I’ll start worrying. Fitz knows this offense and the receivers much better than Tua does, Fitz has been playing with these guys for almost 2 seasons now. I do recall Fitz being benched and Rosen being the starter. Fitz grew from that and so will Tua. It’s amazing how quickly we shit on players here. If anyone here thought he was going to play great every game, I don’t quite understand that.
^
The chasm is real and I for one did not shit on him. You must be mixing posts.
The offense has been pedestrian at best for Tua. We must have forgotten all the talk about how all 3 phases of the game, team effort, few mistakes, have contributed to the 5 wins.
Our offense has carried one game by itself this year. Not one.
^Offense has NOT…
You could say the Jax and SF games were won by the offense.
Krishna – Not mixing up anything, just adding your feeling along with everyone else, some who are already saying we shouldn’t have drafted him. Again, that chasm is false. Fitz played like the gunslinger he is and he ended up getting the loss anyway. I don’t want to say bad things about Fitz but I think/hope in time we will all see how much better Tua really is.
You are mixing when you claim in a sentence about chasm and shitting on Tua. That’s bs
Look what I said about Tua. “Give the guy a fucking break!” Seriously? Where am I shitting on him?
Critical of his performance is not shitting on him when you support him. It’s called real and constructive. Blowing sunshine is the shame of it.
Please don’t twist my words to support your position.
A chasm is not being shitty. It’s being real.
MikeE,
The Viking and Green Bay fans around here are just as nuts. Lol
***
It’s just part of how some people express their fandom. I don’t get it either, but I remind myself it’s just a football game. It could be worse. They might be like that about politics too! Lol
LOL – I guess. We made an investment in Tua so whether there was a QB I though would be better, I just want him to succeed here. His talent is undeniable, he just has to get totally comfortable and just play the game, I think he’s playing a little to cautiously and measured right now. Every situation is different. Herbert got the starting spot by default because of the injury to Taylor. He’s played well but his team loses a lot too. His situation was more suitable to let it fly because he had no one behind him. Tua came in with the team in contention, and despite the fact that he hasn’t lit the world on fire, he’s 3-1 as a starter. He didn’t lose the game last week, he just didn’t win it.
M13, I saw The Fish Tank on Miami Dolphins.com and they had Davone Bess on and he seems to be doing well.
MikeE,
I think the only logical or reasonable concern with Tua is his health. Otherwise, the kid has pretty much everything you’d want. His arm isn’t great, but it’s plenty good. He’ll work his ass off to get better. I think he’ll probably be an average QB at worst to a top 5 guy at best. Comparing rookies to each other has never made sense to me. Besides, we don’t need Tua to be great now. We want him to be great in a couple years when this team is, hopefully, a true playoff caliber team and fighting for SBs.
Turkey and Ham family here. We do that for Thanksgiving and don’t usually have a big Xmas dinner. We do have our own ‘4th of Thanksgiving’ dinner we do on or around July 4th along with our normal fireworks festivities. We decided to start doing that about 10 years ago because 2nd Thanksgiving dinner, hello? Yum
Tua is going to start this Sunday.
https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/armando-salguero/article247421340.html
Goose and pheasant or duck family. Turkey or ham? Rich people problems! Lol
olddolphan says:
November 24, 2020 at 9:03 pm
MF-13; Good to see you on the board.
IMHO, it takes at least 2-3 full seasons to fairly determine which of 2 rookie QB’s was the better selection. You probably remember John Elway was unceremoniously benched after a handful of poor performances his rookie year. But, as time went on, he reclaimed the starting role and the rest is history. I fully expect that TUA will prove to be the better guy after 3 full seasons. And I’m just as sure we WON’T KNOW FOR SURE after just one season.
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Good to see you too, Mr. Campbell.
I absolutely agree with you: I’m VERY happy we drafted Tua. For those who choose to only read what they care to (not talking to you, Randy), I feel the need to repeat myself yet again. Once Tua gets a regular offseason where he’s not rehabbing — rather hitting weights for improvement — he’s going to ROCK.
Sky is the limit for this young man, he just needs to get stronger: he’s only a mere year removed from what could have been a career-ending injury. Don’t blame our WRs, don’t blame our OC, etc, etc… he just needs to get stronger… and he WILL.
By year 3, I’m willing to bet he’s a top-5 QB in this league.
One thing I’ll say about his offseason conditioning next year that you’ve brought up, he did say on that 17? yard run he had for a 1st down against the Chargers that he never felt that slow before. He definitely doesn’t look as quick running as he did in college but not sure if that’s the NFL or he’s not 100%, or a mix of both.
It won’t surprise me if we hear next year he says he was not where he wanted to be physically as a rookie but didn’t want to put it out there. He was good enough to compete and play but not all the way back yet. So you might be right. We’ll know more as this season goes on and then next year. Go Phins!!!!
Yessir, I remember that quote from Tua, where he said he felt super slow on that 17(?)-yard run. I think it’s clear he’s not yet 100%, but I don’t fault him in any way, shape, or form after what he’s been through over the last 365 days: he’s trying hard.
I truly believe he’s only going to get better and better with time, and there’s nothing to worry about in the long-term… just don’t get homeboy funked up in the interim… which is why I think Flores pulled him. That last sack he took right before he was pulled? I let out a very loud “NO…”, thinking the worst had just happened: that he got his hip tore up again. I’m SURE Flores hit the ‘panic button’, thinking he’s seen enough. I’m good with Flores’ in-game decision, to protect the future.
Thoughtful post, and I dig that, man.
I think after 6 sacks while dealing with a mild foot injury all week, and not playing well enough Flores said get him out of there – we’ll regroup for next game. Nothing wrong with that decision at all. It’s part of the learning curve.
EXACTLY, man!
Tim Knight says:
November 25, 2020 at 7:01 pm
M13, I saw The Fish Tank on Miami Dolphins.com and they had Davone Bess on and he seems to be doing well.
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Thanks, Bro. I saw it advertised on my Twitter feed and I have yet to hear it. Thanks for the reminder, I appreciate it!
He was candid about what was happening with him. Glad he got out of that dark depression he was going through in all phases of his life. He seems to be in a good place now. Happy for him.
NICE!
I’ll listen to it fairly shortly.
Tight windows anyone??????????
Deep fried Turkey and Ham at my Mom’s for Thanksgiving. We used to do that for Christmas too, then switched to prime rib for quite a few years. The year my dad passed away, 2 days before Christmas, none of us wanted to cook, we had a lot of appetizers etc, things people had dropped off to my moms so we didn’t have to cook. We had that for Christmas that year and found that not cooking allowed us all to spend our time together instead of cooking and cleaning up. After that, we’ve continued it every year. Lots of appetizers and snacks, no real Christmas dinner at all. It works for us.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone.
Happy Thanksgiving to you as well, Herd.
My family has been doing appetizers on Christmas for years. No big meal. Thanksgiving is the big meal. This year the gatherings will be much smaller as we know. 😦
My son and I have been self quarantined here for two weeks, just so we are safe to go to my Mom’s tomorrow. Just immediate family at dinner this year.
Good call! Lots of people I know are split up in small groups this year. It sucks but it is what it is. Enjoy!
Ham and Turkey for Thanksgiving!
We switch up Christmas, Prime rib Mexican, Sea Food, Cajun?
And I’m gonna have whoever wants to come over!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I will fry the turkey!
I’ve heard fried prime rib if good! Haven’t tried that yet?
Very interesting interview. Seems to me that Davone has gotten his charisma back: GRAND! He was always full of MAJOR charisma, dating back to Hawaii.
Seems that whatever he had been diagnosed with is now under control. I’m very happy for my guy Davone!
Sidenote: I was happy to hear that Joe Philbin tried to intervene with Davone. He may have sucked as a HC for us, but he was ALWAYS a class-act and had empathy for others… especially being he’d lost his own son before coming to Miami. Thumbs up, Mr. Philbin… thumbs up.
I don’t think he had a diagnosis other than his world fell on him in all phases rather quickly; injuries, bad influences in his life, marital problems, self-medicating to escape it all, and we all know that’s not the answer. He overcame it all, and yes Joe Philbin is a good man. His career as HC in Miami also started with the death of his son. That’s a really tough situation. I think he was a hurting man trying to do a big job. He’s always been a respected coach. Really sad timing for him.
This year will be kind of sad. My son decided not to join us tomorrow because he was with a couple of friends that are sick and may have COVID-19. Originally, we were supposed to go to my nephews house but it became too many people so we’re not doing that, so it’s just going to be the three of us. Certainly bad, but still a little sad. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
This year has been sad on so many levels. I know people say just let 2020 end like it will all change in 2021 when the clock strikes 12, but it won’t. Too early for all of that. Forget the government, citizens need to unite. We need to stop with the definitive lines in the sand. Enjoy your day, man.
No doubt Tim, I think the funny thing is that so many people thought if they just got Trump out of office that America would just come together. It’s not quite going to work that way. People really think differently, and that’s OK, but too many people just can’t get past that, and you’re right, that is sad.
Well that’s a good attitude Mike E.
I certainly feel the temperature everywhere has gone down. Maybe you should change your circles.
It’s going to work if people want it to work. It’s a restart. But, in your eyes it’s fruitless. Attitude? Sore loser? I love the silence here, then you bring it up. Hmmmm.
It starts at home man.
There is no magic bullet or quick fix.
It takes work/effort on everyone’s part.
Begin anew. If you want/can?
Thats good news, this run d needs help
watching Tua play he does have great footwork, Henne had horrible footwork. footwork is an integral part of playing QB. He seems very accurate.
the down side is he’s a small guy, i know there have been other successful guys that are small, Fitz is small and he towers over Tua or so it looks on camera.
he looks like a boy among men in the pocket, it appears at times he has trouble locating recs due to being short.
he also has marginal arm strength, it’s very evident on some of his throws.
he was drafted 5th over all
I don’t think his intangibles warranted such a high pick.
I may be wrong and they me carving a bust for him in canton down the road, i just don;t see it.
sorry to piss on your turkey.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Going to meet up with a friend to make Turkey sandwiches to hand out to the street people. Never done this before so it should be interesting.
Good for you!
That’s a very nice thing to do Krishna, thank you!
You are better man the me Krishna. That is a great thing to do
Krishna – Just reporting what I see daily in social media. I find it so odd that some people who voted for Biden are now saying things like let’s put aside our differences and heal. Where the fuck was that for the last 4 years? Why couldn’t you put aside your differences before? I would almost equate that to an athlete that can shake hands after his team won but won’t after his team lost. Biden is really no better than Trump, he has shown his racial side many times with his ignorant comments.
To answer your latest query, I have never been any different with any of my friends, no matter what side of the aisle they belong to. That’s my point. To me, it’s the opposite of what you said. It’s not that I’m a sore loser because Trump lost, it’s those people that coined “Not my President” and carried on for 4 years berating Trump and his supporters are now sticking out their hand to try and be nice. That’s a sore winner who was previously a sore loser 4 years ago.
^
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Krishna, good for you! My wife and I do the same thing. Done it the last couple years. There are only 4 of us but I am cooking a 21 pound turkey and tons of fixing’s. Going to make 15-20 to-go plates and take them to the homeless that hangout near our office. It’s crazy how many homeless live/hangout near the jail and Sheriff’s office. lol
Tim/M13, talking about Tua, could you tell if he was having trouble with throwing lanes due to his size or was it just me? Looking at the stat put up earlier regarding tight throws, throwing lanes may not have been the issue though. It may have just been the lack of separation and wanting to protect the ball.
He was seeing/feeling the rush, the lanes were probably there
Rotisserie Turkey on the Weber, the moistest turkey I’ve ever had. Last year was the first time we did it and I’m looking forward to today’s.
Small group for us as well.
Happy Thanksgiving to all of you, enjoy
Just the immediate family, my wife, my 2 boys and I. We are ordering Thanksgiving from one of our favorite local favorite restaurants. Complete with appetizers, salads and apple pie. Doing a zoom call with my in laws and my wife’s brother and sister so my in laws can see all 7 grandkids today
NEW BLOG UP!!
Rockette epic fail, very disappointing