This game features the Miami Dolphins, owners of the flip-flop season in which they lost 7 games and then won 7 games, with a win before the losing the streak and then a loss to end the winning streak. They face the New England Patriots who are 10-6, and potentially division winners, depending on what happens in the Bills vs Jets game which is also a 4:25PM game. So with 1 game to go, we have regressed from a 10-6 season to now 8-8. The Patriots have improved from 7-9 and are currently 10-6. The Patriots will be playing for a division title while we’ll be playing for pride and to be the spoiler.
One game in a season of 17. Last week the Tennessee Titans exposed us for what we are. An incomplete team. We have a good defensive unit and really an awful offensive unit. I think what the physical Titans showed us is that our good defense isn’t good enough against better teams. It’s been said countless times but we all tend to ignore these sage words . . . “The game is won in the trenches”. The Titans superior offensive line wore down our defense. They took our strength away which is creating pressure in the pass game and forcing errors and allowing our excellent secondary to make plays. They had instead of a balanced attack, a heavy dose of running the ball which simply took away what we do best. I looked at this game and thought we’re going to feast with our pass rush, that QB Ryan Tannehill was going to fold under the pressure. The problem is, the pressure was never there. He had nothing to worry about after all. The run game opened up play action, we had to respect the run because they ran a lot. On pass plays, not even necessarily play action passes, we were held at bay, and when we did get pressure, the athletic Tannehill rolled out which then gave our defenders a choice, stay with the receiver they were currently defending, or or slide off and try and rush the QB who was now 10 yards away. Well, like opening day 2020 with Cam Newton running the college style RPO where the QB runs with a RB laterally in the backfield and either has the choice of keeping the ball if there’s a hole or handing off the the RB if there’s a hole further outside or a corner to turn. We guessed wrong all game that day. We basically did the same last Sunday peeling off a receiver and then rushing the QB which left an easy toss for Tannehill to the vacated receiver. Besides that, the Titans ran all over us, to the tune of 198 yards. Bad decisions were made all day because the Titans beat us in the trenches and frustrated us. Even star Jevon Holland bit hard on play action in the red zone and left TE Geoff Swaim wide open for a TD. It was just that kind of day.
Now to the offense, which was quite offensive. The Titans were more than willing to let us run the football, but they weren’t going to let star receiver Jaylen Waddle beat them. Taking away Tua’s security blanket seemed to throw Tua off all game. He picked an awful time to play very poorly. He wound up on one throw only to have the ball slip out, usually that kind of thing happens when the QB is Jolted during a sack but Tua managed that all by himself. Tua was also under pressure a lot of the day, the Titans finished with 4 sacks. I think the formula for this game could be easily broken down like this:
TENNESSEE TITANS O-LINE > MIAMI DOLPHINS D-LINE
TENNESSEE TITANS D-LINE > MIAMI DOLPHINS O-LINE
That’s really the story. They were better in the trenches than we were. They imposed their will on both sides of the football. Our zero pressure looks with 7 guys up on the LOS actually made it easy for the Titans to break off some big runs. You get a crease while 7 guys are all up close to the line there’s no one left to tackle at the point of attack. D’Onta Foreman and Dontrell Hilliard both had runs of more than 30 yards and Foreman had another of at least 20. Head Coach Mike Vrabel outcoached HC Brian Flores. He knew his teams strengths, even without their best RB Derrick Henry. He knew he had the horses up front and used them accordingly. They had a small edge with their O-line on offense although like I mentioned, our defensive scheme actually played right into what they wanted to. Their defensive and front 7 were significantly better than our O-line. They had pressure all day and Tua was feeling it whether it was there or not.
So what does this game mean for our team? I think it means a lot. It’s not just that it’s against our hated division rival, it’s about the state of affairs. at 8-8, we’ve been Jekyll and Hyde. One game left to decide which team we want to end the season as. If I’m Chris Grier and Brian Flores, I want to smack the Patriots in the mouth today. I want to beat them so much so that people will be wondering why they’re in the playoffs and not us. After all, we will have beaten them twice this season. I know we’ve had success with our short pass game, but I’d love to either see us open the offense up and let Tua throw the ball downfield, even at his own peril. Either that or I’d like to see us run the ball down their throat, let Duke Johnson and Phillip Lindsay run wild! Of course the question is, with our offensive line, is either plausible? Probably not, which is why we’ll more likely see what we have seen all season. Whatever the gameplan is, please execute it well, and take down the Patriots. There will be no excuses for the Patriots, they need to win.
So what does this game actually mean? Are Chris Grier and/or Brian Flores on the hot seat? Rumors are swirling about on Jim Harbaugh, maniacal spittle and all.
There are so many things to evaluate when making the decision to cut ties with either the GM and/or HC. First off, if you fire the GM, and keep the Head Coach, is it fair to tell the new GM this is your Head Coach or do you try to find a GM that likes Brian Flores. It’s always been my feeling that if you are tearing it down, you tear it ALL down. No half measures, just clean the slate. I like Brian Flores, I want him to be our coach for the next decade or more. I feel less so about the GM. Lots of questionable moves. I’m going to pick an easy one. We sent OG Ereck Flowers packing to WFT for a measly 7th RD pick in April. Ereck Flowers had a good year in 2020, and was probably better than most of our O-linemen. Why trade a solid player for weak draft capital? The Shaq Lawson – Benardrick McKinney trade. I for certain did not want Lawson to be our starting LB/DE, but he would have fine as a rotational player. We traded for a guy that didn’t play football in 2021. At first I liked the idea of acquiring McKinney but I had no idea he was done, damaged goods. Our 2020 draft, filled with tons of draft capital. At pick #5 we chose Tua Tagovailoa over Justin Herbert. Despite what I think, that move appears to be an error. At #18 we reached for a young (20 year old) OT who was a raw product coming into the NFL. He has all the attributes, athletic ability, size, frame etc., but right now he’s a LT playing LG (and poorly to boot!). Our third first round pick, DB Noah Igbinoghene has been a complete bust. he played a very minor role in 2020 playing 28% of the snaps in 16 games as a DB. This year he only appeared in 7 games starting 1 and playing 17% of the snaps. So much for the expected growth. The rest of that draft was hit and miss, OL Robert Hunt and NT Raekwon Davis were hits in RD 2. Safety Brandon Jones was a hit in RD 3. OG Solomon Kindley (RD 4) who may have played a part in the exit for Ereck Flowers regressed this season to the point he was scarcely used. After RD 4, we have only Long Snapper Blake Ferguson still on the roster.
The 2021 draft appears to be an excellent draft so far. Our top 3 picks, the first two both in RD 1 appear to be huge hits with WR Jaylen Waddle and DE/LB Jaelan Phillips. Safety Jevon Holland, our first pick in RD 2 seems to be an ALL-PRO in the making. MFFF who? The other 4 picks are questionable, although less so with the second of two 2nd RD picks. I think Liam Eichenberg is going to be a good OL. Give him a veteran OL with talent next to him and I think he’s going to be just fine. Sometimes you’re only as good as the guy next to you.TE Hunter Long had a rough year with injuries but hopefully he can turn it around next season. He has potential. Only one of the rest of our picks is still on the roster, RB Gerrid Doaks is on the PS. There was also all the trades preceding the draft We moved from pick #3 to pick #12 with the Niners. Then we moved up to 6 to acquire Jaylen Waddle. In the process, the Niners have our ’22 1st RD pick, and we have theirs. We received the Niners 1st RD pick in 2023 as well, so while it burns us next season, it will be good in 2023, provided they don’t finish high in the standings in 2022. All in all, I’d say it’s hard to kill Grier for what he’s put together here. Remember also that Tua was injured and missed 5 game starts, he came in relief for Jacoby Brissett in the win over the Ravens. I know we’re going to take a step back in the standings, even with a win on Sunday. I think Grier has put together a talented team with the exception being the O-line. I think we have talent there, we just a need a couple of talented players added in the mix to make it work, preferably veteran players. At 1-7, it’s amazing that Coach Flores held the locker room, and managed to do what’s never been done before, lose 7 games in a row and then win 7 games in a row. Never been done, probably won’t be done again. It’s hard to keep your team in line when lose like that but the team bounced back. You can certainly fault him for losing 7 in a row, no question about that. Bad decisions were made that impacted those losses. Still, I like Flores, but he needs help. The defense seems to be in good hands with Josh Boyer, but the offense, terrible O-line and all needs a legitimate OL coach and a better Offensive Coordinator.
The Patriots are 10-6, tied for the division lead with the Bills. They’re #8 offensively scoring 24.8 PPG. They are #1 in defensive scoring allowing only 16.9 PPG. Ironically, that’s precisely what we scored game 1 for the 17-16 win to start things off. Either our offense or defense defense is going to have to be special to win Sunday. We can’t show up and win this game. Last game against NEA we hit mac Jones a lot but he delivered strike after strike before getting hit. I thought he played well in the loss. The Patriots are running the ball and the combination of Damien Harris and Rhamondre Stevenson have yielded over 1400 yards rushing and 19 TD’s. The Dolphins are 24th on offense scoring less than 20 PPG and 16th on defense allowing 21.8 PPG. Like I said earlier, be a little different today. Open it up one way or the other. I’d be fine with running the ball 40 times and winning and I’d be fine if Tua threw 4 TD’s and he was letting it fly. Be special. Be different. Win.
#stangerstrong
GO DOLPHINS!!!
Finsmob Unleashed 
First!
bailbondmike says:
January 7, 2022 at 11:03 am
Another small school player to watch for later rounds is CB Joshua Williams from Fayetteville state. He is 6’2.5 and has track speed. Having hard time finding video on him. It will come up closer to the draft. He was highlighted on “thedraftnetwork”. “A supremely athletic prospect—like Bell—Williams is a downhill defender who isn’t afraid to stick his face in the mud in the run game. His fluid feet and quick-twitch ability to flip his hips in man pops on tape and are traits that should immediately translate to Sundays. He’s looking to become the first Bronco to be drafted since 1976.”
He will be playing in the HBCU Legacy Bowl which is a new bowl like the Senior Bowl to feature the best NFL draft-eligible football players from Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
Reply
bailbondmike says:
January 7, 2022 at 11:10 am
I think the HBCU Legacy Bowl will become a valuable draft tool like the Senior Bowl. You look at the NFL talent who have come from these small schools is kind of mind blowing.
“Legends of the game initially made their names at HBCUs. From Jerry Rice (Mississippi Valley State), Walter Payton (Jackson State), Michael Strahan (Texas Southern), and Doug Williams (Grambling State), to more recent standouts in Darius Leonard and Javon Hargrave (South Carolina State), Terron Armstead (Arkansas Pine-Bluff), and Tarik Cohen (NC A&T), the talent is there, it just needs the necessary spotlight.”
From such a small school he may pop, but then can’t cut it in the NFL against better talent.
His combine will be very important
Oh, I agree, as with all these small schools players.
I think what the physical Titans showed us is that our good defense isn’t good enough against better teams.
—–
What it shows me is our D gets run down, when the O can’t move the ball
Didn’t help that we had just played on the road on Monday Night, and other issues in black/white
It’s funny, that was the same excuse used years ago too. I hated it back then and I hate it now. In a defensive struggle, if both defenses are playing well, both offenses are struggling. If our defense was better, their offense would struggle too.
It’s about matchups and which direction you build your D, ours is built to stop the pass, not the run in cold rainy conditions on 5 days less rest on the 2nd of back to back road games
Sure it’s like an excuse, but should Buffalo scrap their D, since they couldn’t get it done in their windy game against the cheats?
Good article MikeE. Yeah, I just want to see them throw everything at them. Let’s have another miracle in Miami. lol
Thanks Mike!
Good article Mike E,
I posted something similar on the last blog. We need to gain some consistency on and off the field. We definitely need to finish the season strong against a division rival in decisive fashion. As fun as the Miami Vice and Miracle in Miami games have been, I don’t want to win with some wild play at the end. Even our first game this year was won with a fumble recovery as they were marching down the field.
That first game is how the NFL goes most games, the team with the ball at the end within a score wins, unless they turn it over
it’s how our games tend to go.
Thanks SB!
Don’t really consider the Tenn game a blowout, could’ve easily been 17-10 in 4th
Shame on NFL for scheduling this game so one sided
It’s a game you just throw away and forget about
From last blog:
I think we all need to upgrade our backup QB position. Just not sure who that would be with the current f/a market for QB. Drafting one is a crap shoot and don’t care to do that 1st 4 rounds unless someone really slips. One guy who caught my eye in the Texas Bowl was Skylar Thompson from Kansas State. He is 6’2 223. His numbers have gotten better every year though not eye popping. He missed a few games this year but came back for the Texas Bowl and will be playing in the Shrine Bowl. Looks to have decent arm strength but not a cannon. Has good footwork and pocket presence. He has all the tools to work with IMO.
His best game this year was vs #6 Oklahoma where he was 29-41 for 320 at 70.7% with 3 TD’s and 0 INTS.
I would draft him in the 6th or 7th if he is there. Right now, he is projected 7th or UDFA. I think he climbs in this weak QB group.
Another is Dustin Crum from Kent State, 6’3 210. He is also a late round prospect or UDFA. He is more of an RPO running QB than Skylar Thompson.
They both will be playing in the upcoming Shine Bowl.
Dustin Crum sounds like a Harry Potter character.
Crum will get you some yards on the ground but takes a good bit of sacks also. That is something that can be fixed. Kind of reminds me a a little slower Taysom Hill.
Steve – it’s like the Saints game. We stopped their offense, even with Kamara. We could have done the same to the Titans but we couldn’t. They beat us in the trenches
Point was you have to choose where to spend your money, and can’t be very good in every position group
That’s not what I’m saying though. I remember when Tannehill was here there were those that were saying the same the same thing, the offense wasn’t good enough when we got shut down, it wasn’t the defense’s fault. I said it back then and I say it now, if our defense was elite, it wouldn’t matter what our offense did unless we turned the ball over 5 times and shot ourselves in the foot. We only turned the ball over twice which is not terrible. I was thinking about those few times when our defenders left their receivers to rush Tannehill and left the receiver wide open. If the DC saw what was going on and told our defenders to fake a couple of steps towards the QB and then drop back, they probably could have had a couple of chances at INT’s, because as soon as our defender vacated Tannehill saw it and threw it.
No defense in the NFL can live up to your standards of being elite, you want something that isn’t possible
Stanger update:
He continues to improve physically. He is stronger and is sitting himself up in bed. He remains unable to communicate at this time but is working with a speech pathologist. He tracheostomy remains in place. He is off all sedation
^ Keep working Stanger!!!
#StangerStrong
Sounds like he also had a stroke
No stroke but there was hypoxia
Thanks Ken – as good news as possible right now. Keep up the baby steps Stanger.
#Stangerstrong
LOL @ SB!
Regarding Harbaugh, if he leaves Michigan, teams he could end up at are Raiders, Bears and Jaguars. Possibly Vikings if they decide to make a coaching change.
Keep bringing the good news about Stanger.
Of course this draft is based on we sign a RT and LG in f/a. Used thedraftnetwork simulator.
22. Garrett Wilson WR, Ohio State
48. Nakobe Dean LB, Georgia
100. Brandon Smith LB, Penn State
116. Jerome Ford RB, Cincinnati
119. Coby Bryant CB, Cincinnati
157. Emil Ekiyor IOL, Alabama
201. Chris Rodriguez Jr. RB, Kentucky
220. Robert Cooper IDL, Florida State
I haven’t researched the draft yet, I have to get that going. I agree we need probably 2 veteran OL in FA. They don’t have to be the best of the best, but I wouldn’t mind if 1 was, and the other was a young up and comer. I don’t want to get two old vets, maybe around 30, and the other a young guy maybe 25-26 who knows what he’s doing out there. I’d love Laken Tomlinson (49ers) at OG, guy plays every game every season. At C, I wouldn’t mind picking up C Mason Cole from the Vikes. He played C for the Cards and Vikes. At the very least if Deiter turns it up, we have solid depth there, but he’d have to play well to beat out Cole.
I agree, but I am almost all in on Pats RT Trenton Brown
I may be crazy but I think if we can bring in an OL coach who’s worth his salt, we’d have Liam Eichenberg at RT and Austin Jackson at LT, with Laken Tomlinson at LG, Mason Cole at C, and Robert Hunt at RG. I fucking like it already!
Will peruse your article at length tomorrow Mike, but thanks for keep doing what you do. I know you will also be as saddened by today’s passing of Sidney Poitier as me. “Sir” has gone for ever. RIP
Thanks UK! Wow, you remember that! Sidney Poitier will always have a place in my heart. I can assure you I cry every time I watch that film and now I’ll likely cry even more. Was just talking about watching that with my boy, we have a list of movies he’s never seen, that’s one of them.
RIP Sir!
Did a couple trade downs on PNF simulator.
32. Jahan Dotson WR Penn State
51. Brandon Smith LB Penn State
64. Isaiah Spiller RB Texas A&M
87. Thayer Munford OG Ohio State
99. Travis Jones DT Connecticut
119. Jerome Ford RB Cincinnati
135. Alontae Taylor CB Tennessee
158. Cameron Jurgens OC Nebraska
172. Isaiah Pola-Mao S USC
179. Nick Broeker OT Mississippi
202. Skylar Thompson QB Kansas State
Nothing solidifies an O-line better than having someone you can rely on to do the right thing playing next to you. Not sure we ever had that this season, which is probably one of the reasons why were at the very bottom.
Jags are interviewing Bill O’Brian…
Ah, ok
MikeE, I can’t see Jackson turning it around that much in the offseason and TC.
I think the kid needs a coach who believes in him. He’s got all the right attributes to play LT in the NFL, he just needs someone to show him how. By playing Jackson at LG and Eichenberg at LT, you have two guys out of position.
Agree
Steve – That’s ridiculous to say that. In the six previous games, the Titans averaged 17 points, scoring 13 points in 3 of those games. We didn’t do that, did we? We gave up 17 in the first half. Face it bud, they beat us down, both offensively and defensively. You think holding a few drives counts as a great effort. I think we didn’t impose our will on them. We didn’t shut down the run and we didn’t get near him when he passed. If we shut down their run game and harassed Tannehill when he threw, we had a shot. We were far from dominant. We were dominant for a few drives and then became submissive. You have to play 4 quarters, and you can’t blame the offense every time. We had 16 first downs, they had 17. We had 256 yards, they had 308. Problem is, we broke and gave up some big plays, their defense didn’t allow that. So to rationalize it in your head, you blame our offense rather than admitting that our defense wasn’t up to the task either. We played a bend but don’t break defense all year, except this game we didn’t just bend, we broke. I know our offense didn’t get the job done, they came up small, but the defense didn’t come up big either. Not sure why you can’t see that.
Now you’re putting words in my mouth, didn’t say our D played great
I agree the D wasn’t good enough in a defensive struggle game, there were reasons for that, bad punting and coverage didn’t help, also we aren’t built for the situation that occurred last Sunday
You seem to think our D should be dominant in every game against every team and situation
If you actually read what I write I don’t think that our defense should be dominant every game. I did say I’d like it to be dominant in a big game, but it never is. Go back to 2013, we had the 8th best scoring defense that season. We come up against BUF with fucking Thaddeus Lewis as their QB. Result? BUF 19 – MIA 0. We needed that game to make the playoffs. BUF was 20th in defensive scoring that season. Who’s defense showed up? Not ours! I remember the Bills converting a few 3rd and 15+ yard conversions against us that day. We never finish, we never are the dominant team on defense in a game that counts for the playoffs. It hasn’t done anything like in I can’t remember when with the season on the line. I thought about our matchup against TEN and I thought if we could stuff the run like we did against NO, we could force them to pass and our pass rush could change the game. That didn’t happen. I just think you and other tend to put too much blame on the offense rather than seeing how poor the defense was. The truth lies somewhere between what you think and what I think. lol
Any PBR drinkers here? Asking for a friend. 😂
LMAO!! I can see the comparison.
Lol. PBR me a ass a p?
Depends on how many I already had. After a certain amount PBR is acceptable
Actually after enough beers eating ass is also acceptable
Not since high school!
I went to this event a couple years ago and the only beer was ice cold PBR and Miller High Life. Had to say, after many years of not having either one, they were quite tasty.
Or maybe I was just that thirsty.
I’d guess you were especially thirsty! Either that or maybe you had COVID. lol
When I was 11 and still living in South Carolina we would camp in the woods behind our house. We had trails going everywhere through the woods. Dad would come out about 11pm and put the fire out and make sure we went to bed. After he left, we would get up and take this one trail behind a neighbors house. He had a fridge full of PBR in his garage and the back door was always unlocked. We would sneak in there and take a six pack, go back, restart the fire and drink our beers. A six pack split between 3-4 of us, we thought we were the shit. lol
I wonder if we’ll be wearing the throwback jerseys Sunday. I think we only wore them once this season. Anyone know if that’s correct?
I think you may be correct.
I mentioned this a couple times during the season. I only remember one game with throwbacks. I really hope the guy that takes over after Ross wants the throwbacks.
I hate our ‘presenting’ dolphin logo. It might as well be bent over a table, smh.
Good write, Mike. In a game like we had with the Titans, when the offense can’t keep up you tend to see games get away sometimes. I think our defense is fine, but you can’t ask them to shut every team down and not score more points. The same issues we’ve discussed all season on offense are still there and we need upgrades. You have to score points in the NFL to have success and we’re not there yet.
Thanks Tim. The defense is fine as long as it’s not a big game. Understandable since we’re rarely in a big game. 🤣
Like we were saying after the game, the game was close and in reach but we couldn’t score. That usually catches up with you as the momentum totally shifts to the opponent. Sometimes you have to win those back and forth games and we haven’t been good at that most of the season.
I wonder if we’ll be so bold to go after Guard Brandon Scherff this offseason. He’s a 5 time pro bowler and 2020 1st team all pro. He just turned 30 in December so he likely has a few top level seasons left in him. But he won’t be cheap.
It’s pretty lame when in the last week of the regular season, the biggest news you can find about your team is how Will Smith farted at their practice today.
Yippie! Lol
Tim – My first thought was Scherff, but his salary projection on spotrac.com is $25M per year. That’s too much if it’s even close
As you know the market goes up every year and next year the cap goes up so even that number will be less than what it will cost for top players. I know it’s not ideal to pay a guard that much but we have to get better up front.
That’s why I chose Laken Tomlinson. He’s good and he’s durable too. Less expensive. Not cheap, maybe $13M
I’m cool with him.
LMAO Kong regarding the logo!!
I saw an Omar tweet, don’t judge me, he was saying Palardy’s stats were slightly better than Haack’s in several categories and I didn’t think he was all that. But what I noticed was 29 more punts for the year. We couldn’t get a first down in a lot of games- 3 and out over and over. And not like we were great last year. Can’t win that way. Offense has to get better.
Palardy is more of a touch punter than a big leg. I thought he was okay but yeah we don’t want to see him that often.
Guess I’ll do some music.
Ken, thanks for the update on Stanger. Keep getting better, brother!
Herd – the offense must get better. Fix the trenches, the rest will follow. Pretty sure we’ll be getting an upgrade at RB and a WR to complement Waddle. I’m curious as to what we do at TE
I’m not sure about TE either. I’m not sure if we’ll re-sign Gesicki or not. I was listening to Tiki and Tierney today and Tierney who is a Jets fans wants them to sign Gesicki. He was all excited about that thought. Tiki agreed it would be a good signing.
I base resign on if the player has top 10 skills and if they are on the upswing and I think both are true with Gesicki. I’d definitely push to resign him.
TE isn’t as easy to replace as WR or RB which for those players the really need to be top 5 to resign, unless you get value on the resign.
Yeah I’d have no problem if we re-signed him I’m just not sure we will.
I don’t see Scherff commanding that much. I could see 20 potentially but I think 18 is more likely.
I clicked on Scherff again this morning and it said 12.7M. I swear when I looked yesterday it said 23.9M, unless I clicked a different player by accident.
OK, it was Terron Armstead that was $23.9M
Mike E,
Good article. When you look at Tennessee, they have a identity. Run based team with a good defense. When you look at how they’re built, it’s to run the ball and play hard D. Tannehill only has about 3500 yards. AJ Brown barely has 800 yards and the other WRs are nobodies with poor stats. The TEs don’t have great stats. No one does…but the RBs cause that’s how they are built. Like you said, the trenches were built strong..and success followed.
What is our identity? How have we built this identity for success? Do we have the people in place to make it work? Grier’s not been very good…but I don’t think Flores has been either. You name Boyer as a good coach but who else? Would Boyer be a DC anywhere else? Is Flores running the D? The HC is supposed to bring talent to the coaching staff like the GM brings in player talent. Has Flores done this this? I don’t think he has. The only area of the team I think is weaker than our assistant coaches…is our OL. Maybe he can prove me wrong but I definitely don’t want that dude playing his best Jeff Fisher impersonation. He’s 23-25 and was on board with the tear down. You are what your record is.
Our identity is we don’t have a legitimate O-line so we run a short passing game which we use like a run game. Some still say it’s run like that because of Tua, but I don’t think it’s true. I’m not sure if we’ll ever find out because we may pick up a QB in the offseason. I hope that’s not the case. We’re building a good defense, but the offense is so bad. If the offense doesn’t catch up some to the defense, we’ll never be able to beat the better teams. I’m hoping an O-line fix and drafting a quality RB get us started in that direction. Then there’s the matter of WR and TE. I don’t want to be right about Gesicki leaving and becoming a great receiver elsewhere but if we’re going to continue to not use him here we may as well let him go.
Difference between Grier and Flores is Flores has the potential to be a great HC, don’t think anyone feels Grier will ever be a great GM
Flores is involved in drafting players, so maybe he’s just as much to blame as Grier, if not more, but if that’s the case, then change the power structure and give less player acquisition power to Flores
A D coach needs a great OC, we should look for one, how about Gase(jk)
We have an offensive identity it is the short play action passing game. However that is not going to work until:
1. We fix the OL
2. We get more playmakers than just Waddle and
3. We get a credible running threat
I want them to re-sign Hollins, Smythe,and Gesicki. I’m tired of watching talent walk away to save a couple bucks or pick up another late draft pick. They should try building around the core for a change.
Agree, even if Gesicki stays past his welcome
Take more steps forward than bacwards
I think Hollins is a no-brainer. He won’t be expensive and he brings a lot to the table. He is the right kind of hard worker utility player ya need for culture and production.
Gesicki I think is really too hard to replace. Taking nothing away from his character and work ethic just he to me represents one of our best players on offense and at a position you just don’t get a lot of dynamic players come out every year.
I agree on Smythe too. I think he is quietly become a very important piece in our offense. He won’t be crazy expensive to resign either. They need to make the effort.
Mike, the difference is he is an OG, and he is the top guy so I could see him getting more than 12. OC are 15-20 if they are in that top 5 market, and 12-15 has been top for OGs and I don’t see anyone of his caliber that he is competing with at this time. I’m guessing just because he’s the top, he could hit 15+.
Palardy must go, we can’t be both a non running team and one that can’t stop power running, and have a punter with an avg leg, he killed us against Tenn and wasn’t very good all year
He was 26th in punting avg at 43.3, tied with Haack
Keep up the good work on selecting a P Grier
Palardy is horrible
If you ask me, Grier and Flores are equally questionable as far as being the future at their position and both are pretty equal on potential. I can’t put a vote if confidence in either to be great for us. I think we need to ride with both because there have been times I thought both were the right people for their positions, and then it has fallen off as of late. I think both have potential to get back in the conversation of potentially being great for us, but right now neither of them feel like we could bet on them making the turn. I’m ok with both remaining but short leashed. They gotta get something done next year or they both should walk out the door together.
I think last year’s draft gets Grier another and the 7 game streak gets Flores another year
Yeah pretty much what I’m basing my opinion on. They are both hit or miss and that’s gotta change on both their parts
Anyone planning on getting this jersey?
https://twitter.com/miamikid88/status/1479838856769900546?s=20
LMAO
Lol. “I will take The Rapists for 1000 Alex”. “ That’s Therapists Mr Connery”
It should be #4. 🤣
Hah hah
One thing I think you have to give Grier credit for is he’s handled the cap well. Now all that draft capital that are now young players and the cap space we now have has put us over the top next year or it was all for not. But the plan was good. We have to a playoff team in 2022 though.
How does 23m in dead money equate to doing a good job with the cap?
You can’t just say we have the most cap space for 2022, so he must be doing a good job with the cap, if that’s your reasoning
Mike, I don’t get that we don’t use Gesicki. His numbers go up every year. The problem with him not getting even more production is he’s kind of limited in the routes he runs. He’s effective when he’s on the move, but he doesn’t get much done with the stop and go type stuff. He’s kind of stuck in the offense that we run as we’ve all discussed. If he went to a team that runs the ball well, he’d likely be very productive on play-action down the field. We’ve seen some of that over the years with us, but we don’t run the ball well so it’s not as much as we would hope.
Until we fix the issues we have on offense I’m not sure what to think of any of our players because it’s more than just a couple of things. We’ll see how we approach the offense in the offseason. But it can’t remain the same.
The MNF pre game people are horrible. Steve Young is pretentious and Booger is a waste. Keep Suzy and get rid of the rest, including Moss.
👍
Put Peyton and Eli in
Melvin Gordon is an option for us at RB in FA
No, thank you. He’s another malcontent.
Entering this weekend, the Broncos are the #3 Defense in the NFL, in terms of points allowed (294)… we stand as the #16 Defense in terms of points allowed (349).
Entering this weekend, the Broncos are the #23 Offense in the NFL, in terms of points scored (311)… we stand as the #24 Offense in the NFL, in terms of points scored (308).
Entering this weekend, the Broncos have a +17 in scoring differential. Entering this weekend, we stand with a -41 scoring differential.
Entering this weekend, the Broncos have a 7-9 record… we have an 8-8 record.
SoS aside (yes, that’s important), this should tell y’all just how absolutely abysmal our Offense has been this season. Even the BRONCOS have a more efficient scoring Offense than we have, and they have the #3 Defense.
Yes, we can win with this Defense. No, we can’t win with this Offense… same applies to the Broncos.
Us against the Bills this season: 61-11, Bills. THAT certainly played a part, and our D (early in the season, twice against the Bills within our first 8 weeks) had yet to figure itself out.
If we can’t contend with the Bills, we’ve got problemos.
MF13, what has Gordon done to be considered a mal-content, I honestly don’t know.
I’m very surprised ya didn’t know: he was another holdout, like Le’Veon Bell. Not to the extent of Bell, but close to it.
https://sports.yahoo.com/melvin-gordon-chargers-addresses-holdout-194335695.html
ANYBODY who does that on their first contract: BEWARE!
Ok, I don’t tend to remember these types of things being the number of players in the league. This happens all the time. I mean, you like Xavien correct? It is just business.
Read above: 1st contract.
Ok, that is an issue for you, I couldn’t care less.
All good, man! I’m not trying to be contentious with anybody. I simply don’t trust Melvin Gordon (and his agent by extension), and it’s a mere opinion.
Sorry if I offended ya, Bookman.
No problem. I don’t care if we sign him or not. I just have not heard him labeled as a malcontent. If he comes in as a FA, he will be getting new money, no reason for him to be unhappy.
Any of you guys ever had hot pot
I just had it
Mmmmmmmmmmm
Yes. Love the crusty rice at the bottom.
Doesn’t it always get hot in the bottom of the bowl 😉
SMH
Steve, dead cap has a lot to do with former contracts that didn’t fit the new direction and some bad ones along the way. Our cap situation has not been hampered by that. No team is perfect in this regard. We have plenty of firepower to take the next step in 2022 both in FA and the draft. That’s all I meant. There really are no excuses.
Dead cap has everything to do with former contracts, that Grier was in charge of
Only reason we have so much cap next year is, because we have so many FAs, lots of 1 and 2 year contracts coming due
Sure we have lots of firepower, but Grier has been awful so far in FA
Agreed, Grier has made mistakes, but he didn’t hamper us – like we only have $15M in cap space. Our heavy drafts have been questionable and very good. All of that along with the 2022 offseason has to pay dividends or it was a failure. We didn’t sellout though, we still have lots of options. That’s the GM’s job. Then the HC has to coach the players he has. Big year for both Grier/Flores.
Melvin Gordon still has game but 8th year RBs are not getting big money. He’s in that time where he’s a good fit for 1-2 years.
There is no RB in FA I’m relying on long term. I’d draft one early and late along with a short-term vet to make the position better and deeper. Rashaad Penny is a sleeper but durability is a concern.
Looking at our OL, if we signed proven vet OL at C/G and T we can still see how the younger guys like Deiter, Jackson, Hunt and Eichenberg compete for starting positions. This year looked more like we wanted them to be the answer, so let’s play them. Too many guys still learning on the fly at the same time. It didn’t work. But it doesn’t mean those guys are all failures. We need some vet leadership and performance on the OL. It’s helps the offense and the entire team.
For whatever the fuck it’s worth??????
https://twitter.com/NealDriscoll/status/1479860916875313160?s=20
It’s going to be this until it happens or doesn’t. It sucks!
Following some of our other discussions, drafting Tua and looking to trade the farm for Watson within1-2 years is not a good look for Grier. You better win!
Watched most of this Dallas/Philly game. Was focusing a good bit on Cowboys LG Connor Williams especially on replays.
M13, you were spot on with him! Dude is solid. Was standing up DL, not giving up ground, getting to ight on his second level blocks the whole game.
Dallas is in cap hell next year. Second worst at -11mil. I know there are things they can do to make room. Also have to resign Vander Esch.
Just Win Baby!
https://twitter.com/MiamiDolphins/status/1480151786983993345?s=20
Those moderations sure cut down on the morning conversations
😂
LOL
I’ll watch the game, but I’m really not too excited. Last week really took the wind out of my sails . I’m tired of the same thing every year!
Now let’s through the Harbaugh rumors into the mix too. Should be a fun offseason !
I think Harbaugh to Raiders may be the biggest talk to come. We’ll see.
Yeah. Hopefully it gets resolved quickly
*throw
I am going to watch the game mainly to watch Pats soon to be F/A RT Trenton Brown vs Ogbah and the left side of our defense.
First game we got no sacks. Pats almost dominated the game. Only thing that saved us was the forced fumbles but they kept Mac Jones clean and ran for 125 on 30 carries.
And the fact that we kept them out of the EZ, except for the drive Roberts got the sack and they somehow got a roughing the passer called
Even though Bills are at home vs Jets, I think the Pats are going to bring it. 1. To avenge the season opener where they dominated in all stats except turnovers. 2. They would like to win the division and have home field for game 1 of playoffs. Take care of their business and leave it in the Jets hands.
Let’s go Dolphins, Falcons and Saints!
Where did I get that? WTF
Let’s go Dolphins, Rams and Saints!! Fuck the Falcons!
Food for thought????
Hey, I’m at Level 57 also!
LOL
????????
It’s game day ho hum
I know some will hate this, but I really have a feeling we are going to trade for Watson.
I have given up on trying to predict what we are going to do. In my gut I think it is unlikely but I wouldn’t be shocked if we did either
If Tua shits the bed again today it’s not going to help him out in that regard.
I think the most likely landing spots for Watson are Philadelphia or Carolina regardless of what happens today
I think we are squarely in the mix Ken
Remember, he has a no trade clause
The other 2 have more bargaining power and need. Cleveland is also likely to be in the mix. More teams will be in the mix in the off season which reduces the odds
I know he has the no trade clause but his leverage is diminishing
Wyo – Cheerleaders are smilin’ hard. I’m hardly smiling as another NFL last week of the season comes and go without the Miami Dolphins in the playoffs
If we get Watson, I’m going to have a conundrum as to whether I want to root for this team anymore. It’s one thing if it’s a WR or a RB, but when that player is basically the face of the franchise, is that the face you want? I freaking hope not!
Well Cleveland say’s they are all in on Baker.
There’s always Hebert, or Burrow?
For you Florida folks Jacksonville and Trevor are just up the street!
Maybe you North Easters can watch the game today hoping to see Mac Jones shine like a diamond in a goats ass?????
I want to see Mac Jones buried in the Hard Rock turf!
You sound like a Fin Fan now! 😉
I’m always a Fins fan, but part of being a Fins fan is bitter disappointment. Wouldn’t it be great if we could be like KC, GB, NE, BAL, PIT, 8 out of 10 years a playoff team?
All of those teams you mentioned Mike have had an elite QB. There is a connection there.
Maybe not Baltimore, but they have luckily have had QBs have career years at the right time.
Right Wyo. The Dolphins have never come out and said “we aren’t trading for Watson, Tua is out QB of the future.” Until they do that, I think there’s a real chance he could end up here.
That’s because the owner is an ass! I still can’t believe he called Watson during the season. Just stay out of the football business!
I love seeing FA RT. It cracks me up every time!
Bri – Baltimore is one reason why I want to keep Flores. They are built on defense and O-line. Strong in the trenches on both sides. So far Flores has only managed the defense, but I really think that with a proper O-line coach and OC, this offense can progress and be much better. They’ve had Harbaugh for a long time, so that consistency is there. I’d like to see Flores get to Harbaugh status.
Of the 18 teams currently not in the playoffs (a couple still have a chance), only 4 teams had a Strength of Schedule LOWER than .500. Of those 18 teams in the LOSER GROUP, the Dolphins had the second easiest schedule of .467 only just above the Falcons at .462.
Of the 14 teams currently in the playoffs, only 3 teams had a Strength of Schedule ABOVE .500: KC .538, LAC .509 and SF .508. Only 2 playoff teams had an easier schedule than the Dolphins: Bengals at .465 and Eagles at .466. There is a 3-way tie for 3rd easiest schedule to playoffs and that was Packers, Bills and Titans tied at 4.71.
By these numbers, if we were any resemblance of a good team, we would be in the playoffs.
Maybe you didn’t see weeks 2-8, we were horrible
And why I keep advocating for Flores to remove his inner Belicheat and quit tearing it down each season, have some continuity
I did see weeks 2-8. That’s why I put this out there
I think I’m going to take the same road I did before the trade deadline!
So I’m not going to get all bent out of shape until there is something to got bent about!
Until I see it in writing, I’m just going to chalk it up to rumor!
^
Eagles have 3 first round picks this year. Watson to Philly would be easy for them.
I love seeing FA RT. It cracks me up every time!
——————————————–
Same here!
Trenton Brown at 6’8 and 380 pounds is a big ass FA RT!!
LOL
sheesh, I woke up early for no reason. I thought we were on at 10, lol
Damn, can’t get “topstream” to load today. What browser ya’ll using?
I always use this link and choose either 1stream or buffstream
https://reddit.nflbite.com/
Awe shit, it’s an afternoon game lol
I just realized it’s a 4pm game
Wtf
4:25PM game to be exact
Am I the only one who thinks it’s weird that 3 playoff teams got to play yesterday and get an extra day of rest?
I think last week of the season, everyone should play on Sunday.
Wait until you see the playoff schedule
Wildcard round there’s a Monday Night game, let’s see if that winner has to play the #1 seed the next Friday
Holy smokes, Steve, that’s right; I forgot the NFL announced they were doing that.
$$$ over competitive equality
TJ Watt just tied the sack record, and he didn’t even need Favre to give him the final sack. Did it in less than 15 games too.
Should say less than 16 rather than 15.
Nevermind, they didn’t give him credit for the sack, the stat crew called it an aborted play instead of a sack. I didn’t even know that was a thing.
I think Thursday Night football should move to Friday night.
Or removed, the players hate it, turn around is too quick
I think the NFL is bound by some kind of anti-trust agreement that they can’t play on Friday’s because is HS football, and not on Saturdays until after Army/Navy game
Not anti trust, they just agreed not to compete
Man, with these turnovers and false starts, I thought I was watching one of our games for a second. (Pitt/Balt)
Just wait, this is that officiating crew that calls all the penalties also.
Would make sense for Pitt to replace Rapist with a sexual deviant.. although trading away picks is not their way ..
That punter throws a better ball than Huntley, though incomplete.
What a crappy slate of morning games. I honestly couldn’t care less if the ground swallowed up both the Steelers and Ravens teams, and none of the other games are even worth checking out.
Yeah I’m having a hard time being interested in any of them .. my buddy the pats fan is coming over for the game .. and wife will be wanting 9ers and saints games on … see which game gets audio 😊
LOL
LOL, it must suck the be Josh Allen of the Jaguars. Every time he’s in a highlight, he’s labelled ‘the other’ Josh Allen.
steveccnv
CavalierKong
23m ago
Wait until you see the playoff schedule
Wildcard round there’s a Monday Night game, let’s see if that winner has to play the #1 seed the next Friday
Steve, why would there be a game on Friday?
I think whoever plays on Monday will play on Sunday. No different than a team playing on Sunday, then the following Saturday.
I’m pretty sure he meant Saturday, but now that you mention it, as long as the Monday team plays on Sunday the following week, it’s a good point that it’s no different than playing on Saturday after playing Sunday. I hadn’t really thought it through, it’s not really different.
Actually, after reading it again, I think he was being facetious, but still good point on the Monday game.
So the Texans had the Titans shut out until about 7 minutes left in the 2nd quarter. For those who said it was ridiculous to expect that kind of effort, well, it happened the very next week. Eat it!
Oh, and Houston isn’t playing for anything. 🤔
Well I’m braising short ribs while we wait for the 4pm games
baby backs or spare ribs? 🤣🤣
Sheesh, I must still be half asleep, my last 4 or 5 posts are goofy and I keep missing things people are saying. You said short ribs, so my post wasn’t funny.
I’m going back to bed till 1:00
wyoming85 says:
January 9, 2022 at 11:50 am (Edit)
Well Cleveland say’s they are all in on Baker.
——————
I don’t buy it. That team has the running game, the OL, the D and the HC. There is one reason and one reason that team is not going to the playoffs
Now 14-0 Tennessee, but Houston has been worse than us on offense, if you can belive that
Tannehill is playing his best ball of the season the last few games. Titans are going to be a force to reckon with in the playoffs
Yes, but my point was our defense with the season on the line could have been better. Houston isn’t playing for anything at 4-12, yet their effort on defense has been better than ours. I feel like everyone here always gives the defense a pass. I know our offense is the weak link but we never get a heroic effort from them in a big game
I agree with you on the defense last week and in big games.
I think our defense needs improvement. It sucked ass last week. We can get overpowered at the point of attack in the run game. Our D is more suited to playing with a lead and rushing the passer than playing field position slug it out type of game
What kind of pig do you think I am Kong?!?!
BEEF Short Ribs
Liar. 😉
You cannibal
Now Watt has tied the sack record, without a bogus give up play like Strahan got
BBM – Are there any great LB prospects in this draft? Guys with a little more sand in their pants than Baker but just as fast and athletic?
Ken – agree on the defense. Raekwon doesn’t usually get any push. I guess he needs to get stronger. Ogbah and Wilkins were great this season. Wilkins is everything we’d hoped he could be.
Davis was stout and hard to move until the knee injury. Wonder if that is still and issue??
Since the Texans gave up 21 in two quarters at home on equal rest, I guess that proves our defense is good, lol.
Did you see how the Titans scored their 3rd TD? There was 26 seconds left in the half, Titans have the ball near the 50. On 2nd and 10, Tannehill throws to the endzone and it’s picked off. Defender and WR both looking back at the ball collide and they call DPI. Steratore said it was a bad call. Next play is a play action pass TD from the 2 yard line
What are you saying? Other factors came into play? The refs are impacting that game? It wasn’t just the Texans defense sucking? That’s crazy talk, lol.
LOL
Colts are laying an egg against the Jags. I don’t know what their scenarios look like, but they’re getting smacked by Jax. They’ve been a weird team this year. If they finish that one off they’ll have beat two strong teams in the Bills and Colts (and us of course, lol).
I didn’t watch our Jags game and haven’t seen Lawrence play at all. What do you guys think of him after his first season?
Damaged goods after the Urban Meyer debacle. Can’t really judge him until he gets a real coach and coaching. He has all the physical talent so way too early to give up on him
I don’t really think it’s fair to judged anyone on their first year as QB
But he had a really bad year