Finsmob Unleashed

It’s still one game in 17, and at 6-3 the Dolphins are far from being out of contention. However, one needs to accurately put in context exactly what we are in contention for. To win the division, sure, its definitely possible, likely even if the Bills lose tonight against the Bengals. Winning the division is nice, but we have tried to assemble a team with a very small window of opportunity to go all the way. As currently constituted, that won’t happen. At least I should say “shouldn’t happen”, because we haven’t defeated a good team with a winning record since September of ’22.

We got back Jalen Ramsey, Xavien Howard, Jaelan Phillips, Bradley Chubb and Andrew Van Ginkel are all healthy now and playing well, yet we still can’t close out a good team. The offense was more of an issue, and if I’m being honest, why was Raheem Mostert used so sparingly in this game until it was almost too late? Besides De’Von Achane, Mostert is our best RB, our most consistent guy. I know he’s a little banged up, but Ahmed and Wilson just don’t threaten the defense like Mostert does. He looked pretty darn fresh in the 4th quarter, I wish we didn’t save him until then because we squandered too many drives without him. Penalties have been a killer as well, and we escaped a penalty today that should have been called against AVG. It’s not that AVG was looking to hurt Mahomes, he actually turned away and hit him with his back, but the fact is, Mahomes was out of bounds when AVG ran into him and that’s a penalty.

I don’t want to hear the excuse that we had 2 OL out. Every team has subs somewhere, and the O-line was making plenty of room for Mostert in the 4th quarter. Tua had a subpar performance for him. Tyreek Hill dropped a big pass, but Tua with the game on the line let a pass slip out of hand and mishandled a snap, one which did not look egregiously off target. He said it himself, you can’t end a game for your team on a play like that. Another observation is we’ve had a few slow starts. Those of you that attended the Fest game know we were behind 14-0 after the 1st quarter. We scored 3 points against the Eagles in the 1st quarter. We scored 7 against the Patriots, and were shutout the entire first half against the Chiefs. If we’re going to defer, we need to do a better job in the first half because the really good teams put their foot on your neck and don’t let you back in the game.

What can I say, the narrative that we can’t beat the good teams will continue to exist as long as it’s true and accurate, and right now it’s 100% accurate. We look like a different team against the better teams, we’re tight, and we get shut down on offense, and sometimes it’s the defense that looks disinterested. Today, the defense did its best, but the offense was the weak unit that didn’t hold up their end of the bargain. It’s great to be the #1 ranked offense in the NFL, but it sucks when you can’t back it up against better competition. Who cares if we can score 70 against the Broncos when we can only score 14 against the Chiefs?

We have the BYE week next week. Last week we lost OG Isaiah Wynn for the rest of the season, and it’s likely the same fate waits for OG Robert Jones, who ironically just filled in for Isaiah Wynn after coming off this week. Hopefully, after 2 weeks of rest, RG Robert Hunt will be back, and be healthy for the rest of the season. Lester Cotton, who played RG today will probably slide to LG as long as Hunt as healthy. RB De’Von Achane should make his return in Week 11 at home against the Las Vegas Raiders. He will undoubtedly give the offense a huge boost, and when we split carries between the two backs, Mostert and Achane both really thrive. It doesn’t leave that vacuum every time Mostert comes off the field.

Listen, it sucks, if you have friends that are NFL fans like I do, you know they’re getting a hearty laugh at our team, and rightfully so. We have yet to look anything like a team to fear when the opponent has been top level. 48-20 loss to the Bills, 31-17 loss to the Eagles and now a 21-14 loss to the Chiefs. Just remember, the #1 scoring offense in the NFL at a whopping 33.9PPG, practically 34 points per game has scored 17PPG against winning teams. Forget the defense which on occasion has not played well, but the high flying offense seems to wither when challenged, and our young HC Mike McDaniel needs to find a way to stop that from occurring. That won’t be an easy fix, but it has to happen if we’re going to ascend to a playoff winning team. I think our defense is going to be good going forward, but the offense has to be as effective against the good teams as they are against the weaker ones. I needed to vent this, spew it out of my system, it’s cathartic.

GO DOLPHINS!!!