Regarding The Miami FootBall Dolphins

[Off The Grid]

Bad Fish.

It's a Trap!!

...Just a friendly reminder.

 

[PatsDeb]

Yes, you're right. We (LOL - the team) need to stop looking back and laughing at the Jets, looking ahead at Baltimore and Houston and envisioning playoff seedings, and look straight ahead at the team on the schedule this weekend. They aren't even that bad, as their record is 5-6 and they just put up a win last Sunday. They are still in it for a wildcard, so they will be playing hard. I haven't had a chance to watch Miami at all this year. I thought their QB situation was dreadful, but they do have 5 wins and a pretty good Reggie Bush.

Is shutting down Bush the key to a win? How is their D? Thanks for any info!

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Yes, you're right. We (LOL - the team) need to stop looking back and laughing at the Jets, looking ahead at Baltimore and Houston and envisioning playoff seedings, and look straight ahead at the team on the schedule this weekend. They aren't even that bad, as their record is 5-6 and they just put up a win last Sunday. They are still in it for a wildcard, so they will be playing hard. I haven't had a chance to watch Miami at all this year. I thought their QB situation was dreadful, but they do have 5 wins and a pretty good Reggie Bush.

Is shutting down Bush the key to a win? How is their D? Thanks for any info!

We can look beyond the Fishies (or the LOLphins, if you prefer).

I'm sure BB won't, though.

 

[patsfaninpa]

A little earlier in the season and I would call it a trap game. But, we have the 3 extra days to prepare. And more importantly, we can clinch the AFC East. Hat Game. I think we'll be ready.

 

[PatsDeb]

A little earlier in the season and I would call it a trap game. But, we have the 3 extra days to prepare. And more importantly, we can clinch the AFC East. Hat Game. I think we'll be ready.

It's pretty unbelievable that we can clinch this weekend, but I guess we can. If we win we'll have 10 wins and nobody else can catch us in the AFC East, no matter how well they play down the stretch. This is actually a very important game as a win for us puts Miami (the only other team that could catch us if they win out) to bed for the season. Go Pats!!

 

[FinNasty23]

Yes, you're right. We (LOL - the team) need to stop looking back and laughing at the Jets, looking ahead at Baltimore and Houston and envisioning playoff seedings, and look straight ahead at the team on the schedule this weekend. They aren't even that bad, as their record is 5-6 and they just put up a win last Sunday. They are still in it for a wildcard, so they will be playing hard. I haven't had a chance to watch Miami at all this year. I thought their QB situation was dreadful, but they do have 5 wins and a pretty good Reggie Bush.

Is shutting down Bush the key to a win? How is their D? Thanks for any info!

What makes you say that? IMO Tannehill has been pretty promising this season...

 

[Kontradiction]

Also, win this game and we'll only have one more game before we could potentially complete a season sweep of the division for the third time in the last five years.

 

[Kontradiction]

What makes you say that? IMO Tannehill has been pretty promising this season...

I think he's been a bit better than people give him credit for, but he's been streaky at best. One game he'll look like complete trash, the next game he'll look like a decent rookie. Need to see what he can do with more weapons around him before I make any final judgments. But, at least he's been better than Sancheez.

 

[PatsDeb]

What makes you say that? IMO Tannehill has been pretty promising this season...

Nothing except I think the Dolphins went through a losing stretch where their QB play was spouted as the reason on the national shows. As I said, I haven't been able to watch the Dolphins at all. Why do you think he looks promising? Who are his good targets? We haven't played Miami in so long I forget who they have other than Bush. Is Devon Bess still there? Any good? Who is their TE these days?

 

[FinNasty23]

I think he's been a bit better than people give him credit for, but he's been streaky at best. One game he'll look like complete trash, the next game he'll look like a decent rookie. Need to see what he can do with more weapons around him before I make any final judgments. But, at least he's been better than Sancheez.

There has been more to the "streakyness" than just him. Obviously, a rookie QB has his ups and downs... but a big part of the 2 game stretch where people said "he had hit the rookie wall"... also coincided with a couple other big factors. First, his knee was still hurt from when he got knocked out of the Jets game. 2nd, we could not run the ball at all to help take a little pressure off of him (55 rushing yards against Tenn, 53 rushing yards against Buff). And 3rd, we could not protect him at all... kid was taking a beating.

This past week, we got back to running the ball effectively, and most importantly, we protected Tannehill well.

But he has had more good games (Oak, AZ, Cin, StL, Indy, and Seattle) this season than bad games (Hou, Tenn, and Buff)


...and being better than Sanchez is no endorsement, lol.

 

[FinNasty23]

Nothing except I think the Dolphins went through a losing stretch where their QB play was spouted as the reason on the national shows. As I said, I haven't been able to watch the Dolphins at all. Why do you think he looks promising? Who are his good targets? We haven't played Miami in so long I forget who they have other than Bush. Is Devon Bess still there? Any good? Who is their TE these days?

Which I'm sure you are well aware that those shows typically are filled with lazy analysis entailing looking at box scores, lol. He didnt play well... but there was a whole lot more behind the struggles than the QB, as I outlined in the previous post.

Its no coincidence that when we stop running the ball effectively and stop protecting the QB, that his play declines... and that it improves when we start doing those things again like last week.


As far as why do I think he looks promising? He's shown a lot of poise and ability that I didnt expect for a rookie (was one who was pounding the table to let him sit for a year). He is making all of the protection calls at the LOS, and is audibling and checking plays/formations all the time based on the defensive looks (coaches are estimating that hes audibling a little over 1/3rd of the offensive plays, which for a rookie is a LOT). He has been one of the best QBs in the league against the blitz, as well as has one of the best completion % on deep ball accuracy. A lot of things you wouldnt expect from a rookie... especially one that was supposed to be "raw" and in need of grooming.

As far as who are his weapons? Well, I'm sure hes asking himself the same question, lol. We dont have much to be honest. Yes, Bess is still on our team. Hes a fantastic slot WR, but he isnt much else. Hartline is our "#1"... although we all know he isnt one, more like a decent #2. Regarding the TE, Fasano is still our #1 TE, however Charles Clay has been emerging more as of late. He is still the #2 TE though (he is in the mold of an H-Back type).

 

[Kontradiction]

There has been more to the "streakyness" than just him. Obviously, a rookie QB has his ups and downs... but a big part of the 2 game stretch where people said "he had hit the rookie wall"... also coincided with a couple other big factors. First, his knee was still hurt from when he got knocked out of the Jets game. 2nd, we could not run the ball at all to help take a little pressure off of him (55 rushing yards against Tenn, 53 rushing yards against Buff). And 3rd, we could not protect him at all... kid was taking a beating.

This past week, we got back to running the ball effectively, and most importantly, we protected Tannehill well.

But he has had more good games (Oak, AZ, Cin, StL, Indy, and Seattle) this season than bad games (Hou, Tenn, and Buff)


...and being better than Sanchez is no endorsement, lol.

I watched the Tennessee game and thought it was a complete failure from top to bottom. Once down by two scores it was pretty obvious the Dolphins quit. That's something you should hope has been corrected by the coaching staff going into this week's game.

 

[FinNasty23]

I watched the Tennessee game and thought it was a complete failure from top to bottom. Once down by two scores it was pretty obvious the Dolphins quit. That's something you should hope has been corrected by the coaching staff going into this week's game.

Oh man... if thats the only game you've seen of ours... ya we looked pretty horrific. It was easily our worst game by far. I wanted to turn the game off (but of course couldnt, lol).

That game was a trainwreck. Pretty much everything that could have possibly gone wrong... did.

We cant ever play another game like that. Some of it carried over against the Bills on the short week TNF game. I'm hoping we got most of that corrected though. At least, it appeared to be fixed against the Seahawks. We'll see if the corrections stand up against you guys, lol.



We are going to be in an early hole against you though. With as bad as our secondary has been playing all year... I expect you to jump out to an early lead, leaving us to play catch up the rest of the game. And w/o much offensive fire power... those dont typically turn out well, lol.

 

[RodThePat]

This is a hat and t-shirt game for the Patriots, anyone talking about "trap game" is being foolish. There's no way they'll overlook a game in which they can win the division.

And I think Tannehill has done pretty well, considering the crap the Dolphins have at WR, and the fact that Jake Long has sucked for most of the season. He still makes some mental mistakes, and the coaching staff doesn't really trust him to try to stick in there in the redzone yet, but that's to be expected from a rookie. He's no Andrew Luck, but he has the arm, the legs and the smarts to make some plays if the defense sleeps on him. I fully expect our defense to have a chance of getting their hands on some passes though, especially if we can generate some semblance of pressure.

 

[Kontradiction]

Oh man... if thats the only game you've seen of ours... ya we looked pretty horrific. It was easily our worst game by far. I wanted to turn the game off (but of course couldnt, lol).

That game was a trainwreck. Pretty much everything that could have possibly gone wrong... did.

We cant ever play another game like that. Some of it carried over against the Bills on the short week TNF game. I'm hoping we got most of that corrected though. At least, it appeared to be fixed against the Seahawks. We'll see if the corrections stand up against you guys, lol.



We are going to be in an early hole against you though. With as bad as our secondary has been playing all year... I expect you to jump out to an early lead, leaving us to play catch up the rest of the game. And w/o much offensive fire power... those dont typically turn out well, lol.

I've actually seen quite a bit being where I live. I've seen the Texans, Rams, both Jets, Bills, Bengals, and Cardinals games as well as the Titans. The Titans game was really the game that stood out as a quitting effort. Could have been the Dolphins went from being on an emotional high to an emotional low after the Colts game. But they definitely quit against the Titans. If we buIld up a big lead this weekend, it could happen again.

 

[signbabybrady]

I'll find him for three but I'll catch and kill him for ten.........Ten thousand dollars
for me by myself. For that you get the head, the tail, the whole damn thing.

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

It's pretty unbelievable that we can clinch this weekend, but I guess we can. If we win we'll have 10 wins and nobody else can catch us in the AFC East, no matter how well they play down the stretch. This is actually a very important game as a win for us puts Miami (the only other team that could catch us if they win out) to bed for the season. Go Pats!!

9 wins not 10....yet

 

[PatsDeb]

9 wins not 10....yet

Right, sorry (getting ahead of myself). I was doing the math thinking that the Dolphins have 6 losses, so if they win out, they have 10 wins, so we need 10 wins to beat them out of the AFC East title. But actually, we need 9 wins (and at least one of them against the Dolphins themselves), as we'll have the better division record if we beat the Dolphins at least once. There is a reason I was an English major in school.

 

[PatsDeb]

Oh man... if thats the only game you've seen of ours... ya we looked pretty horrific. It was easily our worst game by far. I wanted to turn the game off (but of course couldnt, lol).

That game was a trainwreck. Pretty much everything that could have possibly gone wrong... did.

We cant ever play another game like that. Some of it carried over against the Bills on the short week TNF game. I'm hoping we got most of that corrected though. At least, it appeared to be fixed against the Seahawks. We'll see if the corrections stand up against you guys, lol.



We are going to be in an early hole against you though. With as bad as our secondary has been playing all year... I expect you to jump out to an early lead, leaving us to play catch up the rest of the game. And w/o much offensive fire power... those dont typically turn out well, lol.

I hope you ARE in an early hole against us. Brady always has trouble with the Dolphins, it seems, at least IN Miami. We have been getting killed on both long passes (although not so much in the last two weeks since our secondary is finally solidifying) and mid-range TE passes over the middle. Our linebackers aren't great against the pass. We have been good against the run, except against Buffalo a few weeks ago. Hopefully they can contain Bush and put some pressure on Tannehill to throw some picks. That has been our savior this season while our secondary goes through its annual swoon (that and Brady putting up huge points, of course ).

 

[RodThePat]

I hope you ARE in an early hole against us. Brady always has trouble with the Dolphins, it seems, at least IN Miami. We have been getting killed on both long passes (although not so much in the last two weeks since our secondary is finally solidifying) and mid-range TE passes over the middle. Our linebackers aren't great against the pass. We have been good against the run, except against Buffalo a few weeks ago. Hopefully they can contain Bush and put some pressure on Tannehill to throw some picks. That has been our savior this season while our secondary goes through its annual swoon (that and Brady putting up huge points, of course ).

Brady's last 4 games against the Dolphins, in Miami: 91 of 126 for 1376 yards, 13 Touchdowns and 3 Interceptions for a 132.2 passer rating. His days of struggling in Miami have been over for a while now.