The Dolphins come home to Hard Rock Stadium and get an extra day of rest when they face off in a Monday Night Matchup against the Tennessee Titans. For those of you who don’t know, I used to love the Dolphins playing in a Monday Night Football affair. You also know how I lament the fact that it is no longer the NFL marquis matchup it used to be, and if my feelings aren’t enough to prove it, this is actually a Monday Night Doubleheader, the other game being the NY Giants hosting the Green Bay Packers. As a football fan before the likes of the NFL Sunday Ticket, nothing was more exciting than having the Dolphins slotted to play on Monday Night Football. With Thursday Night Football, Sunday Night Football and soon to come Saturday Football, it’s really just another game, which in my mind is a shame.
The Dolphins have a lengthy injury list, and those include LT Terron Armstead and RG Robert Hunt, and of course LB Jerome Baker, all who did not practice this week. Armstead still has a chance, but if I had to make a guess, I’d say Hunt won’t be playing this week. Good news is G Robert Jones is back at practice and full practice. T Kendall Lamm also did not practice which would give T Kion Smith another start if Armstead doesn’t go. RB Raheem Mostert gets these “maintenance” days which translates to veteran rest, and he’s good to go for Monday night, as well as De’Von Achane who participated in full and is no longer on the injury report. TE Durham Smythe did not practice but I suspect he will play Monday Night.
The Titans at 4-8 are having a miserable season, but QB Will Levis is a bright spot in the murky darkness. WR DeAndre Hopkins is having a nice comeback year, with 50 receptions for 774 yards and 5 TD’s. RB Derrick Henry is 2nd in the NFL just ahead of our own Raheem Mostert with 841 yards rushing and 8 TD’s. I don’t need to tell you all which back leads in the NFL in rushing TD’s, but it’s so much fun to say Raheem Mostert with 14! Mostert trails Henry by only 13 yards so let’s hope Mostert takes over 2nd place after this game. The Titans offense is 25th in the NFL scoring 17.8 points per game and the defense is mid pack at 16th, allowing 21.3 points per game. The Dolphins are 2nd in the NFL in scoring at 32 points per game and on defense, have improved to 21st allowing 22.2 points per game. Our defense has really been killing it, and although it was thought RB Derrick Henry may miss the game with a concussion, he will be playing. First we lost OLB Jaelan Phillips for the season and now LB Jerome Baker is week to week. AVG and Emmanuel Ogbah have done well in Phillips stead, and LB Duke Riley played his best game as a Miami Dolphins last week against the Commanders. It’s obviously a tough task trying to bring King Henry down at 6’3 247, so this defense will have to get to Henry early and not allow him to get a head of steam.
The Dolphins signed DE Jason Pierre-Paul, and also signed big DT Justin Ellis to the PS this week. Ellis is a massive 6’2 350 nose tackle type of DT who may help down the stretch as we know our DT’s all play tons of snaps. I think JPP will be playing mostly on the D-line either at end or maybe even tackle in pass russ situations. Both Sieler and Wilkins have been over 75% of the defensive snaps, so both Ogbah and JPP can give these guys a breather so they’re ready for the championship run. On offense, WR River Cracraft is back, although Tyreek Hill is the show in Miami. WR Jaylen Waddle is a distant 2nd to Tyreek, Waddle has almost exactly HALF the receiving yards (743) of Hill (1481) and 1/4 of the TD’s (3) to Hill’s (12). Still, Waddle is important as he’s always a threat, but he’s had a tough season with some untimely drops. RB Jeff Wilson seems as the break glass in case of emergency back with Mostert and Achane sharing very productive carries. WR Cedrick Wilson Jr. has quietly done some good things although the last 2 games he was not targeted.
Now that the Dolphins are the #1 seed, they have a target on their back, but also have a target set for themselves, to keep the #1 seed and play every post season game, with the exception of the Super Bowl at home at Hard Rock. Will Levis is a capable QB, and while his completion percentage is garbage at less than 60%, he has 7 TD’s and only 2 INT’s, splitting the season equally, and sharing a 2-4 record with QB Ryan Tannehill, who this season had 2 TD’s and 6 INT’s. Titans TE Chigoziem Okonkwo has the 2nd most receptions (35) behind WR DeAndre Hopkins (50) followed by RB Tyjae Spears with 33. We need to shut down King Henry and let our new dominant secondary and pass rush limit the Levis to Hopkins connection and we should be able to win this game. No trap games, every game must result in a W to maintain that all important home field advantage.
Finsmob Unleashed 
that woman ruined his career huh?
day-to-day is great to hear on Tyreek. Sucks about Williams. We’ve lost too many on the OL already.
Ugh!
I’m glad we don’t have to worry about hold outs and contract extensions for Wiliams now…
We know why he wanted that extension with more guaranteed now.
[video src="https://thechive.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/nfl-memes-week-14-12.mp4" /]
Yup
We have the exact same record as we has last year….Ready for the 5 game slide?
Four
Isn’t 9-4 one win better than last year at this time?
I think so- I believe we went 8-3, lost five in a row and won the last game to get into the playoffs.
Jeremy Fowler
@JFowlerESPN
Veteran pass rusher Melvin Ingram is signing with the #Dolphins, per source. A reunion
Ogbah not getting it done. Also, they may want more of AVG in the middle.
What about some OL?
I’m not panicking just yet it was a weird game. It happens. I thought we had it wrapped up at 27-13 .
Should have
We’re not sliding, but last night’s loss was fucked. No two ways about it, we fucked up assignments on D to allow those 2 TD’s in 3 minutes. The offense, in particular the passing game, never really got going with Tyreek out.
So : fantasy football playoff update
Congrats to Stanger for being regular season champ ….
Condolences to Hulk and Phelonius for not making the cut , they will have a bye week or two and play for the hind tit award …
1st round matchups are :
1 Stanger vs 8 Toba
2 Twice vs 7 Piggy
3 Mike E vs 6 Herd
4 our son Alex vs 5 Darlene
Good luck to all it has been a very difficult year …
Toba — thanks for making it all happen.
It’s been a very long time since our Phins really ruined a day after for me: today was dreadful. Nobody messed with me at work because I never mess with anybody after their team loses… I’m not a smack talker being I’ve been a Phin fan for so long and know what it’s like to lose a very important game.
It’s just that we squandered what should have been a win to maintain the #1 seed and the myriad of INJURIES we suffered. I really thought this was our year to go to the Super Bowl, but now I fear a collapse is imminent.
Our O-Line is in tatters (as usual), ‘Reek is only going to be about 75% of his normal self for the rest of the season with his nagging ankle (it’s been going on for several weeks now and he’s battling through it), Waddle has been playing injured for most of the season (got decked early on yesterday), and Tua seems to be hitting a wall of sorts. Not to mention, our Offensive coaching has been suspect for a few weeks.
2 injured starting Safeties on Defense, Phillips lost for the season, Baker’s out for several weeks (though Riley has looked good), AVG and Ogbah were neutered yesterday, and it seems as though Fangio forgot how to call a game yesterday.
I’m still sulking from our loss. 😡
Two specific plays affected the outcome yesterday if you ask me, though there is PLENTY of blame to go around…
1) If Bradley Chubb hadn’t spiked his helmet on the field and gotten a 15-yard penalty, the Titans would have opted to kick a FG on 4th and 3. Instead, they scored a TD (King Henry’s TD run). Assuming they make the FG, Right there takes 4 points off the board for the final score and we win.
That one there was self-inflicted and we beat ourselves.
2) The blocked FG attempt. Why on Earth did Jason Sanders try to kick the ball so low in the air? It’s not as though he was kicking into a 15 MPH wind and it wasn’t a LONG FG attempt. If he kicks it properly, it gives us 3 more points to the final score and we win.
Our STs have been less than mediocre this season and it’s hurting us with games on the line.
So even with all of the injuries incurred yesterday, we could have (SHOULD HAVE) won the game. I’m really deflated like a Tom Brady football right now.
Rockphin says:
December 12, 2023 at 4:16 pm
I’m glad we don’t have to worry about hold outs and contract extensions for Wiliams now…
———–
As stellar as Connor Williams has been for us (minus the bogus snaps), I think you are absolutely correct. Who knows if he’ll be the same after the torn ACL, we’ve got others to extend (see Christian Wilkins and Tua), and we’ll probably look to the Draft for a future Center.
Paging BB Mike regarding a new Center via the Draft.
Forget about burning down the white house, looks like someone needs to worry about her own backyard😜
LMFAO!!!
😆
Who’s gonna watch Hard Knocks tonite?
Not I
I feel like it will help me purge this loss. I’ll let you know if it works. 🙃
😂please do. I’m still infuriated.
I watched even though I said I wouldn’t. It didn’t improve my mood. The only positive I can think of is I’ve seen it and won’t ruin a future good mood by watching it later. 🤢
Rich Eisen on the implications of us losing yesterday… it’s BAD
The Titans are the #5 most sacked team in the NFL while we’re tied for the #3 most sacks in the NFL… and all we could manage was 1 fucking sack (Christian Wilkins) yesterday?
I realize it’s a game of matchups, but REALLY? Only ONE SACK?
We were getting after Levis most of the night but we didn’t wrap him up and he did a good job avoiding it. We had breakdowns on defense. It sucked!
And sucked it did!
Howie’s List
Week 15
🐬@ ✈️
🏈: 24-23 🐬
Watch it!! It feels great! No kidding at all
I’ll watch it tomorrow, without a doubt.
So are we to believe you, or Herd? 🤔
Obviously we have different feelings after watching it, I felt better after watching it. Maybe it’s kind of like they moved on and now so have I
I’m not over it yet. The 2 story lines with Mostert and Ingold I liked. The last part with the game….nope. Not over it.
The loss sucked, but it’s not like our season is over. We have time to make it right. Now whether we’re capable without Connor Williams, Tyreek Hill, Jaelan Phillips and Terron Armstead, we’ll see. We just need to get back on the winning side again.
Not going back and reading….I thought the Dolphins O was shit, particularly Tua. Seriously? It’s not ok…lol
Did the O score?
Now gun owners are fighting over their need to have DIY silencers….lmfao. when will it stop….TO DEFEND YOURSELF. Really?!!!
Why would suppressors scare you? They don’t do anything but make shooting easier on your ears. They don’t “silence” the gun.
^
LOL…scare me? Don’t shoot them and they won’t hurt your ears….lmao
Kinda like weed…but doesn’t kill you!. Iol
0.4% chance to win, yet Titans won. Disgraceful baby bullshit! Lol
I wonder if Hunt would have changed the outcome??? Lmao…we’ll never see him again this season. Nor Connor Williams…Armstead? 40-60% of OL gone….
The only receiver Tua knows is Hill? That’s sad….
I get that our OL was a shambles but it’s still only an excuse. This Titans team is a mess, and they were also playing backups. Chubb was going against a rookie all game and did nothing. There’s no excuse for that performance against that team. Period. I’m sure the team is moving on, as they should, but they better damn well be taking ownership of their individual shitty performances. I want to see an angry, focused team next week who comes out looking to fuck some people up. None of this new age McDaniel milk toast bullshit.
***
And this was a perfect example of pressure versus sacks. Sure, we were getting pressure on Levis but couldn’t finish those pressures with sacks. We allowed him to make plays by not putting his ass on the ground. So, our pressure was worthless. Imagine what a sack or two might have done to change the situation in those last 3 minutes.
^ 100% Meaningless pressure
Should we go get Ben Jines to be our center? Pro bowler I think is available.
Jones
Was looking at the list yesterday. There are a couple out there available but don’t know what their injury status is.
We’re still 9-4. That’s better than main rivals KC and Jax and Buffalo and the great majority of other teams.
If our stupid coaches and over confident players needed a wake up call, they got one. As Brian repeatedly said, we hadn t lost that game we were supposed to win yet like most other teams. So maybe Titans was the best one to lose to beside Cowboys. Maybe this’ll wake guys up.
Especially McDaniel who needs to cut the cute and also find another way to win than just Deep to Reek.
I wish they had played JPP during the end of that game.
^
Ogbah doesn’t move well laterally IMHO, which is why he goes for slap downs instead of sacks. He seems to only have power going straight ahead and can’t loop or bend on the rush very well.
And he has real trouble setting the edge in the run game.
Ingram is a ferocious tackler and is fast sideline to sideline (or at least he was in his younger days) so maybe he’ll help out against the run and let AVG move to ILB where we do need help vs. the short crossing pass routes.
Somebody has to cover Taijae Spears out of the backfield, or teams will do that to us all the time.
That was exactly why Ogbah had not gotten many snaps prior to Phillips going down. He is not a good fit for this defense. I knew there would be a big drop off when he is in there. He does still flash some plays.
Just not consistent enough.
Howie’s List
Week 15
🐬@ ✈️
🏈: 24-23 🐬
🗿: 28-20 ✈️ Fn bums
I still think we take care of the Jets and finish 10-7. The question is if the Bills can beat the Cowboys to win the division this week. I’m hoping not but winning against KC was a really good start. 10-7 isn’t necessarily going to get us in but I think it will even if the Bills win the division. 11-6 was a shoe in for the playoffs but those beat up Titans with a rook QB were far too tough for this team to manage.
mf13ss says:
December 12, 2023 at 7:52 pm
Paging BB Mike regarding a new Center via the Draft.
———————-
M, not a great year for centers, IMO. At least those who could start as a rookie.
I think we could get one of them with our 2nd round pick as I don’t think any center in the upcoming draft is worth a 1st unless it is a “need”, you are picking late 1st and you are dead set that is your guy you want (Sedric Van Pran).
Sedric Van Pran, UGA, 6’4 310. Has started the last 43 games at center for Georgia. He has gone up against the top DT’s in college football 3 straight years and helped UGA win 2 national championships. I think the only knock on him I hear is he needs a little more mass to him. If that’s a knock.
Zach Frazier, UWV, 6’3 310. Considered one of the best IOL out of UWV in over a decade is what they say about him. Very smart, stout and strong. Lacks some athleticism as far as getting to the second level. He declared for the draft and sustained a “significant leg injury” in the 4th quarter of his last game. Can’t find anything on what the injury was but had to have surgery. Hearing he will be ready to play come summer.
Jackson Powers-Johnson, Oregon, 6’3 320. 2021-2022 he played 430 snaps at RG, 64 at center and some at LG. This past season was his first full time starting at center. Big, thick built blocker with a ton of lower body strength. Good at the second level. Kind of a lunch pail player. Not elite at anything but no big flaws either.
Frazier and Powers-Johnson have already declared for the draft. The talk on Van Pran is he is 100% going to enter the draft, just hasn’t officially declared yet.
Honorable mention: Beaux Limmer, Arkansas, 6’5 307. 5th year senior. Started at RG for most of his career (2033 snaps) then moved to center last year.
Dark Horse: Bryce Foster, Texas A&M, 6’5″ 325. A lot of upside but got hurt and only played 4 games this season.
Under the radar: Matthew Lee, UM, 6’4″ 295. Solid. Was very good at UCF before transferring to Miami. Played well for UM also.
That’s all I got for now. lol
Howie’s List
Week 15
🐬@ ✈️
🏈: 24-23 🐬
🗿: 28-20 ✈️ Fn bums
————
Ok, I will play. Can’t do emoji’s on my computer though.
With this OL, dolphins squeak it out unimpressively 19-16. Lots of pissing and moaning. Defense scores a safety. Defense keeps Jets out of EZ except for a Breece Hall TD. We win the turnover battle but Tua throws an INT to Sauce G.
Post game, TIM posts, “Hey, we are 10-4”. lol
Howie’s List
Week 15
🐬@ ✈️
🏈: 24-23 🐬
🗿: 28-20 ✈️ Fn bums
🔐: 19-16 🐬
🦬: 27-20🐬
TY
Trade down:
36. Sedrick Van Pran OC Georgia
61. Ruke Orhorhoro DT Clemson
96. Tommy Eichenberg ILB Ohio State
157. Anthony Belton OT NC State
166. Curtis Jacobs LB Penn State
189. Ainias Smith WR Texas A&M
221. Erick All TE Iowa
I couldn’t watch it
BB Mike,
Thanks for your list of Centers @ 12:35 PM up the board: I appreciate it! IMO, it would be nice to nab one on day 2 of the Draft, preferably in the 3rd round. We should be using 1st and 2nd round picks on game-changers, not on a Center.
3rd round… 3RD ROUND… 3RD ROUND.
Wait, why don’t we have a 3rd rounder in the upcoming Draft again? 😡
Yes, after pick #61, we don’t pick again until the 5th at #157. Probably a big drop off in talent at the center position as far as looking for an immediate starting caliber player.
There will be a big group of them available in the late rounds. How soon they could contribute if at all, I don’t know.
Revising the 2023 Draft, had our clown owner not tampered with Tom Brady and Sean Payton…
*R1P21: Deonte Banks, CB, Maryland (it was forfeited)
R2(57): Brenton Strange, TE, PSU
For those who had missed it or don’t subscribe to HBO…
There was talk not long ago about not being sold on Tua. His game does seem limited. His passes outside the numbers lack zip. Wouldn’t hurt to find a possible upgrade to back him up and possible future starter. Someone better than White and Thompson. Was doing another mock without a trade down and this happened.
29. Bo Nix QB Oregon
61. Sedrick Van Pran OC Georgia
157. Curtis Jacobs LB Penn State
166. Nazir Stackhouse DT Georgia
189. Ainias Smith WR Texas A&M
221. Robert Scott Jr. OT Florida State
Doubt both Nix and Van Pran last to those spots but I would take it in a heartbeat.
Interestingly enough, when I looked back at this past Draft, had we not forfeited our 1st round pick, we could have selected Will Levis to backup Tua.
THAT stated, I still think Tua is our QB for the long haul. I was only ever concerned about re-injury/concussions. He seems to be doing very well on that front.
Is that a pad lock and key for BBM’s emoji? I’m not sure what the heck it is.
BB Mike,
I’m still very interested in USC’s Center from last season: Brett Neilon. I had mocked drafted him to us in the 7th round this last Draft, but he was injured and went undrafted.
I cannot find any recent updates on him regarding his recovery or if he’s still interested in turning pro. Had he not gotten injured, he probably would have been the first or second Center off the board this past Draft.
It was between Brett Neilon, Joe Tippman, and John Michael Schmitz to see who was the best Center in the nation last season. Then, Neilon suffered his injury… causing him to go undrafted.
It’s time to revisit Neilon to see if he’s ready to go!
ALSO, I’m talking about next season, not as a means to replace Connor Williams in the here and now.
there is your backup center Matt Skura
Yup!
I don’t want anybody to think I’m talking about Brett Neilon for this season… rather, for next season.
The NFL grind and the battle of attrition. A good portion of my FF team heading into the playoffs is banged up. 😩
As some of you have also, I have been worried about next year’s salary cap. We are currently $41M over the anticipated cap for ’24.
That’s not have bad compared to the Saints, who are $87.2 million over next year! YIKES! They aren’t even that good a team!
Half bad. I don’t fucking mumble Siri
It was a torn Achilles (2022) for former USC Center Brett Neilon that caused him to go undrafted. It’s time to check in on him to see if he’s ready to go for 2024.
Not sure we’re looking to add players for next season, we’re trying to keep our roster going for this season.
Salary cap, my guy. If Neilon is ready to resume his career, we save by not re-signing Connor Williams.
So in the offseason is what you’re saying.
CORRECT!
PFF grades for the TItans’ game.
Top 5
WR Cedrick Wilson Jr. – 86.7
WR Tyreek Hill – 81.2
WR Jaylen Waddle – 80.3
RB Raheem Mostert – 78.3
OL Lester Cotton – 73.6
Bottom 5
WR Braxton Berrios – 57.9
WR River Cracraft – 53.8
FB Alec Ingold – 52.6
OL Liam Eichenberg – 51.4
TE Julian Hill – 40.6
How different would this board be today if the field goal was not blocked, Tua didn’t fumble close in or the 2-point conversion wasn’t made? It’s football man.
The fumbled exchange between Eich and Tua that resulted in a turnover was offset by Sieler’s pick-6. I’m just sayin’.
I’m more upset about the blocked FG (as you stated) and Chubb’s 15-yard penalty (we had them stopped at 4th and 3) that consequently resulted in a TD for the Titans.
But we’ve GOT to be honest… there was a whole host of issues with plenty of blame to go around for the whole team, including the coaching.
Obviously a bunch of stuff went wrong, but we easily could have won by 7-10 points.
Maybe we can win the easily could have won Lombardi?
Rockphin says:
December 13, 2023 at 3:50 pm
Is that a pad lock and key for BBM’s emoji? I’m not sure what the heck it is.
————
Yeah, I guess there is no handcuff emoji.
If there is, I didn’t see it. Emojis are hard. 😂
there is your backup center Matt Skura
—————–
Jonotthan Harrison is a center also. Has not played in a regular season game since 2019.
Which makes me wonder why he was signed to the active roster and not Skura
We had Skura on the team a few years ago, and if I remember correctly he was less than impressive .
stangerx says:
December 13, 2023 at 6:04 pm
Obviously a bunch of stuff went wrong, but we easily could have won by 7-10 points.
—————
100% agree, Stanger. You must have read one of my posts from yesterday! 🙂
mf13ss says:
December 12, 2023 at 7:44 pm
Two specific plays affected the outcome yesterday if you ask me, though there is PLENTY of blame to go around…
1) If Bradley Chubb hadn’t spiked his helmet on the field and gotten a 15-yard penalty, the Titans would have opted to kick a FG on 4th and 3. Instead, they scored a TD (King Henry’s TD run). Assuming they make the FG, Right there takes 4 points off the board for the final score and we win.
That one there was self-inflicted and we beat ourselves.
2) The blocked FG attempt. Why on Earth did Jason Sanders try to kick the ball so low in the air? It’s not as though he was kicking into a 15 MPH wind and it wasn’t a LONG FG attempt. If he kicks it properly, it gives us 3 more points to the final score and we win.
Our STs have been less than mediocre this season and it’s hurting us with games on the line.
I accounted for 7 lost points on two pivotal plays.
herdfan says:
December 13, 2023 at 12:52 pm (Edit)
Howie’s List
Week 15
🐬@ ✈️
🏈: 24-23 🐬
🗿: 28-20 ✈️ Fn bums
🔐: 19-16 🐬
🦬: 27-20🐬
🐷 40 -0 🐬 bounce back blowout
What pisses me off the most about the last game is all they had to do was lock down 2 players on the Titans O. Hopkins a RB. They couldn’t do that when it mattered.
They face the same this weekend. They only have 1 WR and a RB to worry about. Hopefully they can step up when it matters this time.
wasn’t meant to be a reply to the video
Meant to reply to Ryder’s video in that I don’t know why he said our D was gassed when we a big lead in the TOP until the final 4.5 minutes.
Comeback Pig is over Monday Night and ready to move on to
Sunday
Who’s with comeback pig!
🐖 💨💨💨💨
We act like every game has to follow a perfect pattern. That’s not football. Someone once said but I’m still enjoying the ride.🤔
I want to be. Not there yet.
This evening, my sister and I take my mom out to dinner, our midweek ritual to get her out of the house. Her memory is horrible, but not so bad that she couldn’t forget about the game Monday night….
“Didn’t the Dolphins play the other night? “
Don’t want to talk about it mom…
“Didn’t they have a big lead at the end? “
Not enough, don’t want to talk about it.
“How did they lose that?”
Don’t want to talk about it
“I missed the Voice to watch that game….”
I’ll be hearing about that for a few more days.
😣🥴🤐🤣
Lol
I have a dolphins phone case on my phone
And all week, While riding the subway, I’m covering the dolphins logo on my phone.
I just don’t want to talk about it
Especially with the jests coming up
Piggy – I’m with you. I feel like our team is going to bounce back nicely. We might even win 3 out of 4, or even win out
I love your optimism. I’m actually worried we are going to lose to the Jets this week.
I think we take the Jets but I have zero faith we win any of the last 3.
I’m with you Herd
Perhaps I’ve missed it this season, but I think we’ve yet to see a BOMB from Tua to Waddle. Why is that?
I think we’re going to destroy the Jets at home. Their defense is overrated and their offense is not good. Just saying.😉
I binged all 3 seasons of Ted Lasso over the last 2 days- it was like soothing aloe on my sunburned Dolphins-loving soul. Sublime
Totally loved the Ted Lasso show.
Our run D was stout against Henry…2 ypc,
and the Titans only got 2.5 per as a team.
but failed to shut down the only good WR they had
definitely the DBs were at fault on those last two horrendous drives
Tua completed 70% of his passes with no picks.
I fear the spiral is coming. We will not win another game this year.
That should not have been a reply
Looks like Skura will be a backup center and Harrison a backup LG.
The reality is we were only in that game because of the Titan’s giving us back the ball in their own red zone twice and the pick 6. They could have easily beat us by 14. We didn’t lose because of a missed FG. We got supremely lucky to even get the lead we had and then we went belly up.
***
Unless our OL gets healthy, this team won’t accomplish anything worth talking about because Tua can’t overcome stuff and win games that aren’t paint by the numbers.
^
I’m home sick with COVID so I’m watching sports talk shows. Greg Cosell….who Jahn always loved…just said exactly what I’ve said about Tua and our offense and why we lost.
That sucks Randy. Get well soon!!
Greg Cosell is one of the best. What did he say?
Feel better Randy!
I really fear this game vs the Jets with this patchwork OL. The Jets D is not overrated.
Some must forget that the Jets beat the Bills and Eagles which we were unable to do.
The jets just blew out a hot Texans team 30-6 last week. Don’t fool yourself. The Jets D is good especially their front 7. Our patchwork OL won’t hold up against them.
Tua will have to prove he can elevate this offense and possibly without Tyreek.
Agreed
All of this! This is why I’m not over the last game.
Also, don’t expect the same 7 sack performance like the last meeting. We lost Phillps and Boyle will not be the QB.
The Jets defense is good not great. We ran the ball down their throats in their building.
Eichenberg was playing center for all 4 losses this year.
Tua retook the league lead in passing yardage Monday night.
Most of the sacks were coverage sacks due to WRs not being able to get open.
And the OL played like shit. In particular Jackson
Jackson had his worst game
and so did Ramsey by far.
X also had issues and
with both Baker and Holland out,
there was no defensive signal caller
either for the front seven or for the DBs.
So guys got lined up wrong a lot
during the hurry-up drives at the end.
Vrabel saw something and took advantage of it.
The hurry-up did not allow us to get sub packages in,
so Riley had to call generic vanilla defenses
using whoever was out there.
Fangio needs to fix that this week in meetings.
He needs to designate who sets up the defense on the field. And he needs get his subs in even if he burns a TO.
That would be better than letting them score twice in 4 minutes.
I think Fangio not being on the sideline is not
a good thing.
He can never sit his guys down
for a quick meeting
or yell out orders to them.
Who on the sideline is in charge of the defense?
It’s not McDaniel.
I actually think the jests D is overrated
The offense is so bad,
The pace of the game sort of settles into a sluggest
They remind me a lot of the type of team Flores coached the Dolphins to be
The jests defense is the best part of the team
But of the jests actually had a productive offense, I’m not sure their defense would look so good
Bounce back blowout coming
Either we win this game big
Or the anxiety causes my colon to blowout
🐖💨
Don’t always define a team by a bad loss. We’ve seen all the good teams have clunkers this year. There is no dominant team that is basically flawless in the league currently. It’s still wide open. Just get into the tournament. Everyone resets and the past doesn’t matter anymore because only the next game matters.
Well that’s how I look at it anyway.🙂
I think that is true and what has to be done.
It was a flukey 1-point loss
9 times out of 10 we win that game.
What can’t happen is for us to go into a downward spiral.
We still have the second best record in the whole AFC.
If I’d have asked you last summer if that would be ok with you,
would you have said “yeah being ahead of every team but 1
after 13 games would be fine with me”?
And we have an excellent rushing attack.
And an excellent run D.
And Jalen Ramsey.
So we’re not pitiful,
because those 3 things are what wins in the late season.
Raiders / Chargers tonight
They’ll probably both lose somehow.
What a horrible game
🤣
Naples, Fangio most likely prefers being upstairs to get the all 22 view live. He probably has an assistant coach he relies on to fire guys up on the sideline. They all communicate all the time during a game. The Titans caught us with our pants down.
Onto the next game.
Our biggest nemesis moving forward? The Injury Bug.
Agreed
Thank goodness we have as much depth as we have… probably the most depth we’ve EVER had in recent memory.
But even so, it may not be enough to get us to the Super Bowl this season.
Laundry list of injuries…
— STARTER: Jalen Ramsey missed essentially the first half of our season
— STARTER: T-Stead is — as always — missing games
— STARTER: Connor Williams missed games and is now out for the season
— STARTER: Isaiah Wynn was lost for the season in week 7
— STARTER: Robert Hunt has been battling through injury all season and missed games
— STARTER: Jevon Holland has two bad knees this season, battled through, and has missed games
— STARTER: Jerome Baker is out, probably for 4 weeks
— STARTER: DeShot Elliott is out
— STARTER: Jaelan Phillips missed games and is now out for the season
— STUD: Nik Needum has missed most of the season
— STUD: De’Von Achane has been banged up and missed many games
— STUD: Jeff Wilson missed half the season
— DEPTH: Brandon Jones has missed a lot of the season
— DEPTH: Salvon Ahmed is out for the season
— DEPTH: Keion Crossen is out for the season
— DEPTH: EZ-E is out for the season
— DEPTH: Chris Brooks has been out for most of the season
I’m sorry, but that is a LOT to overcome, for ANY team.
OH! I almost forgot…
STARTER: ‘Reek has been dealing with a bad ankle most of the season, plus a messed up hand, playing through injury
STARTER: Jaylen Waddle has been banged up most of the season, playing through injury
And…
STUD: River Cracraft has missed multiple games due to injury
Robert Jones missed some games too, I think.
Correct, and several others to boot.
naplesfan2010 says:
December 14, 2023 at 3:10 pm
Eichenberg was playing center for all 4 losses this year.
———–
This fact scares me, moving forward.
M13, lots of teams are limping into the final stretch. That’s why it’s not easy to win a championship. Enjoy the ride.🙂
Believe me, I AM enjoying the ride! I just don’t want to be let down once again.
All I can see is Lucy pulling the football away from Charlie Brown… again.
You have an absolutely outstanding view and positive output, my Brother. And THAT is the way we should try to live our lives.
RESPECT!
“Dolphins Twitter” is trending on X/Twitter and for all the wrong reasons. LOL, it really is a toxic place for Phins fans and I honestly don’t engage with it.
Clarification: I don’t engage with toxic fans, even when we’re winning… and certainly not when we’re losing. It’s a loony bin over there.
Too many wannabe’s on Twitter just trying to claim that they are the ULTIMATE fan. Most don’t even understand the nuances of football… from the salary cap to the Draft and more.
Remember it’s easier to be negative.😉
Wise words, sir! Completely agree! 🙂
And Shock G would absolutely concur! 🙂
Sorry for the delay in responding but I went back to bed after my posts. Basically Cosell said that this is a timing offense and if a team can take away Tua’s first read between the numbers that he struggles to make plays. He’s gotta hit his back foot and the ball’s gotta come out. When he can’t, bad things happen?
***
We see it constantly, if Tua can’t drop back…hit his back foot and throw the ball on time…he struggles. Any time a team can prevent Tua from doing that, it creates confusion. Tua is slow and sluggish and doesn’t scramble well. Our OL isn’t good enough to give him 3-4 seconds to adjust and make off schedule throws.
I’ve always been a fan of Greg Cosell. If this is true (I don’t deny it), I can all but guarantee ya that Tua will work on this all off-season long. He will become greater by focusing on his weaknesses.
By the way, I think this post is really good!
David Long has a 92.5 run D grade, best in the NFL.
And I was concerned about losing Elandon Roberts. Turns out that David Long has been GREAT for us!
M13:
I’m not a sports talk show watcher. I’m rarely home watching TV during the day. Cosell was on that Herd guy’s show. I know who Cosell is but I can’t say I listen to him much. It was just interesting to hear him say what he did because it just verified what I’ve been seeing in games….and I always remember how Jahn used to quote him and Kirwan. Lol
I understand your point Randy, but
this quote could easily read like this:
“We see it constantly, if the QB on any team can’t drop back…hit his back foot and throw the ball on time…he struggles. Any time a team can prevent the opposing QBfrom doing that, it creates confusion.
Confusion causes athletes to be slow as having to think affects play speed, so even pro athletes appear sluggish and even the most elite aren’t able to always scramble well under pressure.
98% of NFL OL isn’t good enough to give a QB 3-4 seconds on a regular basis to adjust and make off-schedule throws.
EDGE rushers these days are just too fast and strong. They are usually the best athletes on their team. That’s why they get paid so much.”
To me. it’s up to the HC / OC to devise a scheme and
a game plan to handle the pass rush.
Randy, all QBs can’t operate without protection. You should know that as a former OL.😉
Tim,
Yeah but some QBs can deal with pressure better than others….thats where individual physical talent comes in to play. Guys like Mahomes or Allen for instance have the physical talent to still make plays. Tua really doesn’t. It’s more about how teams have beat us though. They clog the middle of the field and make Tua go off his first read, and he’s not able to make plays consistently doing it. There’s a lot of things Tua does well but teams know how to put him in situations where he’s minimized. Look at our losses and you’ll see the same things happening.
Naples,
Yeah, I didn’t even mean to make this about Tua. I actually think he’s done a good job given the status of our OL this year. But, none of that changes how teams have been beating us this year. McDaniel already has designed a system to make up for poor OL play….with the help of really fast receivers. Tua gets the ball out faster than anybody in the NFL. I’m not sure what else he could do other than running the ball more which he seems to struggle with sometimes.
Hope you are feeling better soon Randy.
Thanks Herd. My first COVID experience and it sucks!
Randy,
Get well soon, fella! I appreciate you and what you bring to the table, always.
Brandon Staley is going to be fired tomorrow
Wow just saw the score. Yeah he’s a dead man walking.
YUP, DMW
Now 35-0, Raidaz. WOW!
3:50 still left to go in the 1st half.
Holy shit!!! Yikes!
Our 70 is in jeopardy
Tua is a rhythm QB not an improv guy with dangerous running ability. Some QBs have that ability but most of them are not rhythm QBs. It always comes down to a team game.
This is where he stops being like Montana 🤷♂️
I watched the Giants destroy Montana multiple times.
42-0, Raidahz over the Chargers… in the FIRST HALF!!!
The second AFCW team to give up 35 or more in the first half this season
49-0