OK Dolphins fans, the Dolphins defeated the disinterested NY Jets who came in without any desire to play and there is much joy in not only this FMU blog but with Dolphins fans everywhere. We love beating the Jets! Bah! Humbug! Rivalry you say? NY Jets at 3-9 and our Dolphins at 5-7, and I’m supposed to get all jacked up about our supposed rivalry? Nope! I dream for more, hope for more, expect more. This team was supposed to be competing for not only a division title, but a playoff run to the Super Bowl. We hold a slim chance to get in, which so you know, will require a whole lot of losing by the other teams that are ahead of us, namely the Baltimore Ravens (8-5), The Los Angeles Chargers (8-5) , and the Denver Broncos (8-5). The Ravens remaining schedule includes the NY Giants, the Pittsburgh Steelers, Houston Texans, and Cleveland Browns. I see at least 2 wins probably 3, because they face both the Steelers and Browns at home. The Chargers have an even easier path, they face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Denver Broncos, both at home, and the 2 final games they travel to New England and then to Vegas to face the Raiders. I see at least 3 wins there. Finally, the Broncos face the Indianapolis Colts at home, travel to LA to face the Chargers, travel to Cincy to play the Bengals and then the finale at home against the Chiefs, who may or may not have anything to play for. So not only do our Dolphins have to go on an improbable run of 4 straight but we also need one of the 3 teams above us to collapse. Each and every team ahead of us has been, and will likely continue to be better than our Dolphins. Most have been better defensively, and some of them offensively as well. With the exception of the Ravens, the Chargers have the number one defense (points allowed), and the Broncos are #2.
In Dolphins news, the Miami Dolphins and WR Odell Beckham have mutually agreed to part ways so our supposed 3rd WR who was going to be the guy that could step in for either Tyreek Hill or Jaylen Waddle is now gone. Beckham contributed 9 receptions for 55 yards. Boy, we have whiffed on some backups this season for reals folks! QB – Skylar Thompson check, LG Isaiah Wynn check, WR Odell Beckham Jr. check. I haven’t discussed the tsunami defensive line plan. Hey, let’s talk about one good signing. TE Jonnu Smith has been money this season, easily the best signing they made. It’s actually pretty close with DE Calais Campbell, but Campbell will only be here for this season, and thankfully we have Jonnu for one more season. I said before the season he could be a really good weapon for us, but even I didn’t expect the volume he’s been getting. If I told you he’d be within 100 yards of either WR Jaylen Waddle or Tyreek Hill through 12 games you would have laughed at me. He’s been a run after catch monster and took over the OT session against the Jets last week for the win. Tua did throw a dime on the TD throw, but the 2 screen passes were all Jonnu, especially considering one of them was tipped.
With the departure of WR Odell Beckham Jr., this elevates rookie WR Malik Washington to slot WR and #3 WR. RB De’Von Achane is the leading rusher but his YPC average has fallen to half of what it was last season. Achane in his rookie campaign averaged 7.8 YPV, now down to 3.9 YPC. It seems that Mike McDaniel has almost given up Achane getting chunk yards in the run game and he is often used in screen passes which sometimes allow him some space and time to get moving. WR Tyreek Hill has the most receptions with 65, but is followed closely by Achane with 63, and Jonnu Smith with 61. Last year, if you recall we didn’t have ONE TD from any of our TE’s. This season, Jonnu Smith has 5 of his very own. He has been a huge difference maker, a welcome addition.
On to the Texans! This will be a tough matchup for our Dolphins, quite different from last week’s battle against the “Walking Dead” NY Jets. One good thing is the climate won’t be to our disadvantage, the Texans play in an indoor stadium. The Texans are on the fringe of top 10 on both offense and defense, 11th in points scored (23.7 PPG) and 12th on defense (22.2 PPG). They have one excellent WR, Nico Collins who missed 5 games but is back and playing great football. WR Tank Dell is also a capable receiver but not in the class of Collins. John Metchie is the slot WR and he’s a good one They also have a dual threat back in Joe Mixon, who is their workhorse back and has 887 yards rushing and 244 yards receiving, along with 12 TD’s, 11 rushing and 1 receiving. CB Kendall Fuller is back, but he looked disinterested in contact last week, and we’re going to need a better effort from him against the Texans. Nickel and slot corner Kader Kohou has struggled tremendously lately, and behind him are UDFA CB Storm Duck, CB Ethan Bonner and CB Siran Neal who is more of a ST’s guy. This will be a tough task for these guys, especially if we don’t get pressure on QB C.J. Stroud. Bradley Chubb is nowhere to be found, so it’s going to be on Sieler, Jones, Campbell, Chop, Ogbah, Bell and Kamara, and some timed blitzes from our guy who does everything, Jalen Ramsey.
The dink and dunk offense has been working, but the problem we’ve been having is scoring TD’s. Losing those huge chunk plays, or seemingly even the threat of them has really hurt us. I’m not going to harp on this, but this offense was supposed to carry the team, and the defense, if whole, could have been adequate. The problem with the latter is we lost pass rushing LB Jaelan Phillips in game 4, and our other star pass rusher Bradley Chubb has begun practice but no timetable as to his availability has been heard. Our offense is 23rd in the NFL in scoring (20.3 PPG). Our much maligned defense is actually 14th in points allowed (22.5 PPG). Last season, our offense was 2nd in scoring (29.2 PPG). We were supposed to be close to that, and of course, we lost Tua for 4 games, which hurt us big time. This is the the type of game we need our QB Tua Tagovailoa to be great. Don’t throw completion percentages at me, or yards passing, those don’t translate into winning football games. Scoring, however does. If we can put a 30 spot on the Texans I feel pretty good about our chances. If we’re going to kick FG’s all day and out the onus on our defense, then this game could easily end this supposed playoff run. We need greatness, the weather won’t be a factor, this could be a signature game for QB Tua Tagovailoa if we can outpace the Texans.
GO DOLPHINS!!!
Finsmob Unleashed 
Tua diving headfirst again. Good move
That was a horrible decision
what a stupid play call
they don’t trust the OL to hold up for a throw downfield
Nice kick Sanders!
Cooked some official Texas chili this morning, with beans and potatoes 😜
Interesting
defense getting it done so far
That looked very Tannehill ish
There is our big game offense
Tua sucks today, if that continues were toast
It’s going to be entirely the offensive line’s fault. To be fair, they were worse than bad that series, but geez, can Tua overcome some adversity in a big game just once please
Not just Tua, but the whole team
agreed . The OL sucks. If we know it, he knows it. That clock has to go off in his head faster.
no, i mean he’s very inaccurate, missing lots of easy throws he normally makes, like he’s scared
I agree with you Steve, I’m saying people will say it’s the oline’s fault he is playing this way.
That was a heck of a tackle by Ramsey
Who the fuck was 21 moving up to cover?!
poyer?
Hollamd and Poyer watching the TD like it’s a free show
Worst safety tandem in the league this year. I don’t get what happened with Holland. He had so much promise. Poyer is playing as soft as he said we were. What happened to our defense saying they wanted to be “Bullies”? What a joke.
Our next offensive drive is probably going to tell us a lot about the rest of this game. Are we going to stay in it or fold like cheap chairs.
I think we all know the answer to that question.
thinking chairs
next season is 9 months away, so we have to play in the present, any game we win is going to hurt the future, this team can’t compete against the elite
Hopefully he can come back from that, but with our luck he probably tore something
Waddle done for the year won’t help next year, thinking Chubb 2.0
why was he in there playing patty cakes anyways?
omg if they throw another screen 🤢
It’s just insane to me that we cant throw anything in the 5-10 yd range. It’s 90% behind the line of scrimmage.
Having a holiday party today so feel free to lay on the Tua love today. How about that offense? Juggernaut, eh?
hanging around for now
Imagine thinking the defense who has, once again held a playoff caliber team to almost no offense in the first half, is the problem when the team went all in on offense the last 3 years and is still not a top 16 offense.
Team looks like the 37 yr old Tom Brady offense with no weapons in NE. Matt Patricia would be proud of this offense. We have tons of weapons on offense unlike them. A young QB. Talented RBs. Yet….once again…..look at this shitshow. 108 yards of offense in a half. Two FGs. WOW……
it’s that kind of games
I can guarantee you, if we had 21 pts the D would be looking like shit
Have we had 21 points before halftime of any game this year? Looking, yes one. 6 games of more than 21 points Two games with more than 21 in a half. How do you win scoring less than 21 points in 7 of your games when your identity is offense?
stupid rule Texans have to use a TO, when the clock is stopped inside 2 minuted
Atta boy tua🤪
wow
another fist pump here is about all we can hope for
so stupid with the timeouts and 3pm seconds to run N.A. screen
no one is open
Throwing 4 yards passes with 30 sec left because you want that 10-9 score at halftime instead of going for the gold.
Wow again. That’s two he never saw
there ya go all of you Tua apologists
stupid playcalling
stupid QB play
just all bad
Play calling was fine . QB was the issue
no – the playcalling was shit
screens with 30 seconds to go is ridiculous
fuck you and your waste of a contract Tua
the one thing he couldn’t do
Tom Landry rolling over in his grave looking at MMs clothes
Tua is now gun shy to throw it downfield
Halftime analysis:
Yep. Seems about right.
Houston’s not even that good honestly. This would another GB game with a stronger team.
piggy,
the one time they throw the ball down the field on that drive he throws a pick. They were throwing screens and short stuff to get into position for a field goal.
it doesn’t matter.
they had a gift turnover – you need to put pressure on the defense there and they just came out and did the same defense they ran all game instead of a routine 2 minute drill
they don’t have to throw down file – they can throw shallow slants and crossing routes and utilize the middle of the field when teams typically protect sidelines
MM is ridiculously stubborn
I’m stuck watching KC again. But, the stuff I see Andy Reid do just by how he designs plays makes me wonder why MM doesn’t do the same stuff to help his OL. Reid invites rushers or creates a gap for a rusher to go while the play is designed to go to a different gap. There are so many ways to help an OL just by simple stuff, but we never see MM do any of it. I just don’t understand.
Probably because you still think he’s a talented playcaller. He could have been utilizing the Shanahan tricks as well but….
I guess Mike McDaniel is the coach bullying Tua into being a shit QB now. All the money for Tua, Reek, and Waddle to watch this 4 yard pass bullshit every game as Tua apologists talk about his high comp %. High schoolers can throw accurate 5 yard passes dudes! Defense saved their asses YET AGAIN! This should be a 17-6, 21-6 game right now but the defense is carrying these sorry asses. With a new DC! Umm, Tua’s doing great! I want more Mike McFailure!
It’s the defense’s fault!!! How can you expect Tua not to fumble, or throw INT’s?
Tua better have sumpin’ special up his sleeve in the second half, or this team needs to be dismantled from top to bottom!
It does either way. We may not do it but anyone with two functioning eyeballs knows this isn’t working. No number of excuses can tell you different than what you see all year long. There are worse teams out there but playing it safe is why we stay in the same spot every year. Mediocre.
New Age,
I’ve never liked MM. He was Gase 2.0 to me, but we’re talking basic stuff here. We’re starting backups all over the OL. How can you not anticipate and prepare to do more to protect them both in design and play calling? It’s self destructive. It makes no sense.
Yes, Gase 2.0 is exactly right. Gase was terrible at this too. I think he’s in over his head and has kinda bowed out. Tell me what counters he’s initiated against defensive coordinators at any point as a coach here? Especially in game. What has he done to counter the 2-safety look? As a long time run game coordinator, how’s the running game look? When they decided they didn’t need great OL due to Tua’s speed of release, what was the fall back in case it didn’t work? Was there one? I doubt it. He’s just not qualified for this level of coaching.
time to clean house, oh wait they signed Puny and are on the hook for 3 more years
we need some big plays
but we aren’t made bc plays all season
Ok….time to comeback and win this damn game. Let’s go.
cheap shot
The way this team is constructed, the offense must score 25-30 points per game. We may not score half that today, and thankfully, this charade will end.
This team is fucking cursed
Wow this is longest delay I’ve seen since Hamlin
This is bad
Who’s hurt?
can’t watch the game
Dubose
Cut his jersey off, unscrewed face mask …. Boarded out with oxygen
Damn!
jonnu 👍👍
what a catch
lol, of course
Pork chop
🐷🫱🏻
Heck of a play by Chop. Now the offense has a chance to get us right back in it.
we’re not longer fun to watch, when we should win like last wee it’s nerve wracking, today it’s like they’re just going thru the motions
the only time there’s any passion/emotion is after the play
I think the last time I was this miserable watching the team week to week was 1-15. We just find so many ways to play bad football, it’s hard to stomach.
Tua looks calm after the int
Regardless of how it turns out, at least we didn’t get blown out before even reaching the 4th. Feel bad for Duboise as he just came back off IR- hope he’s ok.
for sure season ending, maybe career, Houston hits hard
why does this drive feel moot?
MM can’t get the play in, in time, kick it
wasting 1st downs with those screens
oh boy….
May need to fitted for glasses
sigh…tell me again how Tua is the answer
In big games…it…keeps…happening
minimum of 9 point swing on his INTs, we could be leading this game
When the question is what QB cannot see the safety lurking and throws into …
Tua is the answer to the Q:
why don’t more NFL teams draft tiny QBs?
Skylar, Tua, Young
fn auto correct Kyler
lol, I was wondering why Skylar was in there
this Houston D is tough, they give us nothing
Another WTF was he thinking throw!!!
Should have been picked 3 times today
there is no defense for Tua after we lose this game
Nope.
and we’re on the hook for 3 more years
Both INTs when in scoring position…clutch…winning football play…lol
….but his completion % is tops in the league! Who the fuck cares? Lol…
^^^
typical Fins give up drive
Defense does its job again. They really did a great job keeping us in this game.
how can the ball end up a couple yards OB on a punt and they mark it back 10 yards?
it’s a simple thing, after the punter kicks it put a beanbag on the spot, then another where it lands, then draw the imaginary line
Just put us out our misery this game…this season…this decade…this millennium.
At least unless something crazy happens, it looks like Shula will keep the wins record- woohoo, lol. And we still have the only perfect season!
People wonder why I care about those things. I say look at the Dolphins last 20+ seasons; what the heck else do I have to care about?!
holy shot – taking a timeout there is just crazy
Perhaps the season defining drive, we go – false start, sack, wasted TO. We literally haven’t even been able to run a play successfully.
LMAO, followed up that play which I can’t even describe
another coaching disaster, let someone else call the friggin plays
he calls plays like he does a presser, uh duh duh
They’ve been setting up this punt all season
looked like it
Too bad we wasted two TOs in the 4th when we had the ball.
if you call TO with 2:02 left you’re giving them a free pass to throw the ball dumbass
Good job, D. I think it’s fitting our season is going to end with our offense failing.
Oh, that was even better, lol
nice hit Seiler, that play was worth watching
if they call a forst down screen I don’t know what to do anymore
now do you see why they are calling first down screens Piggy?
Tua coming up big in a big game yet again
Underthrown and lobbed pass! That’s on TUA!!!
All fucking TUA!!! in game that all he needed to be was ok….as in, don’t throw any fucking interceptions!
Way to go team 👏 🤮
Post game analysis:
Yep. Seems about right
the play of the game they say, the fake punt
Texans were holding right at the point of attack behind the LOS
Yay…getting ready for Happy Hour!!!
Didn’t get to watch the game. Someone was looking out for me. lol
Can we talk draft now. I know that is not much fun either knowing we will still have Grier and MM.
Does everyone finally have their blinders off now? You can’t possibly believe in anyone running this organization. They players signed for $$$$ and the construction.
Blow it all up.
I got a guy…
his # is 305-246-ROCK
What kind of injury/how bad for Waddle?
does it matter
he may as well sit or the rest of the season
Brian
you can throw the ball underneath and not throw a screen
I’m not asking for deep balls – I’m asking for short quick plays on first down
I don’t know what they got away from it and decided they are going to throw screen after screen
Oh wait… Was it too cold ?
Well fuck
Same ol same ol
Maybe MM is drinking again and too hungover to think about what to call and just calls a screen.