Dolphins game thoughts

[barrett]

Great win today. Great overall defensive performance. I wonder when a QB last had less than %50 completion against us.

Demeco Ryans was probably worse this week than last week. He whiffed on a number of tackles (including Bush and Henne dead to rights in the backfield on separate plays), and he got washed out of plays numerous other times. This is the biggest single hole on our defense right now. I really hope he plays better.

Cushing was solid again and is also one of our better pass rushers when they send him.

Barwin was much better. Not sure what was different, but he got more edge pressure today. Reed played some but I did not notice him either way. Braman had a good special teams play. And Mario can simply be pointed at the QB and told to run in that direction really hard and fast and it works. The guy is like a defensive forest gump. But he has an impact which is what matters.

The DEs were solid again. Miami obviously saw Smith getting upfield on tape because they took advantage of it on a lot of draw plays. But he was a great interior pass rusher again getting lots of pocket push. Watt is a stud and makes plays in every different area of the game.

Quinn looked like a pro bowl guy out there. Solid in the passing game, and an amazing job tackling. Manning was solid as well. Joseph was very good, not lock-down good, but good enough to be the best CB on a plus defense. Allen was terrible. Jackson looked good in moments but has a lot of Reeves in him (in place but never making a play).

The OL struggled in the redzone and that got the whole offense bogged down. No push up front in the first half drives that stalled. We also had to drop back more since the bootleg/running game was not as sharp. Not suprisingly we struggled more in pass protection than we have in a while.

JJ was good and so was Johnston. Anderson got in for a handful of plays but had little impact. AJ was AJ.

Tate was really good. Not quite Foster good, but there are about 2 dozen teams that would love to have him as a starter. Foster hopefully is improving not getting worse. Casey seemed to have trouble finding a man to block on a few plays, like the goalline play Dansby blew up.

Schaub was very good. There was not always a ton there, but he was very good and very smart in a game we had to screw up in to lose.

Great win and 2-0. And I still feel like our best football is in front of us.

[Nconroe]

Agreed. The defense getting two turovers and offense not giving a turnover really helped.

Also our sprcials teams, the punter really has a leg and helped a lot with field positions, as did Manning and Jacoby on their returns.

[barrett]

Totally forgot about special teams. Outstanding in returns and coverage which has shocked me the first 2 weeks. And Hartman makes our past punters look even worse than they were.

[cland]

I agree it was a great gritty win, and I'm proud of the team. But I have an issue with a couple strange coaching decisions that I'm left wondering about.

The dolphins have basically 2 elite players: Brandon Marshall and Cameron Wake. I was perturbed by the fact that it took us so long to commit extra resources there way.

The glaring example that stands out is when I was looking at Jason Allen screaming for safety help (Manning), not being heard, and then taking a 15 yard cushion on Brandon Marshall who caught the ball and pushed his way into the endzone. Marshall could have ran about 20 routes and still score the touchdown.

Second, I couldn't understand why Winston was left on an island so much against Cameron Wake. The pressure on the edges--not to mention the 2 holding calls against Winston--shut our offense down in the 3rd quarter. You would think that our gameplan would highlight their two elite players and allow the rest of the team to out perform their (IMO) less talented players.

We got it done in the end, but I do think the Texans coaching staff didn't adjust quick enough.

[painekiller]

Originally Posted by cland

I agree it was a great gritty win, and I'm proud of the team. But I have an issue with a couple strange coaching decisions that I'm left wondering about.

The dolphins have basically 2 elite players: Brandon Marshall and Cameron Wake. I was perturbed by the fact that it took us so long to commit extra resources there way.

The glaring example that stands out is when I was looking at Jason Allen screaming for safety help (Manning), not being heard, and then taking a 15 yard cushion on Brandon Marshall who caught the ball and pushed his way into the endzone. Marshall could have ran about 20 routes and still score the touchdown.

Second, I couldn't understand why Winston was left on an island so much against Cameron Wake. The pressure on the edges--not to mention the 2 holding calls against Winston--shut our offense down in the 3rd quarter. You would think that our gameplan would highlight their two elite players and allow the rest of the team to out perform their (IMO) less talented players.

We got it done in the end, but I do think the Texans coaching staff didn't adjust quick enough.

I echo this post. I am glad they won, and it feels different then last season. I am baffled by Kubiak's or whoever decides these things total lack of help for Winston when he faces speed rushers. Winston has shown time and time again that he cannot handle a speed rusher. He has slow feet. I am going to start looking at RT as our 3rd biggest need in next years draft.

[nunusguy]

Game stats show that Demeco got a grand total of 1 tackle yesterday, so
should and if so when does Wade make the move to replace him with Sharpton or Dobbins ? I know that would be a tough call given DeMecos popularity with his teammates and on field role as captain of the defense, but all the medical analysis I've read of DeMecos season-ending injury last year indicated "IF" he achieves a full recovery it wouldn't happen until 2012, and he clearly needs more time.
And while the experiment of Mario at OLB is showing some flashs of success along with some growing pains, I'm not so sure about the absense of a big guy in the middle of the DLine ? If we thought Miami ran up the middle on us yesterday, it could really get ugly this coming Sunday in NOLA with that huge
guard-combo the Saints have ?

[TheMatrix31]

I thought DeMeco played pretty well last week, but this week he was a complete non-factor. Very disconcerting.

Was not very happy with the way we played today, but I do like that when it came down to it, we got stops and put in a dagger-ish TD drive. Offense was sloppy, perhaps due to the RB issue and no Walter. Offensive line was getting ABUSED. Defensive line was getting worked too.

Painfully obvious how important Johnathan Joseph is. When he was out of the game, our secondary looked just as bad as last year.

I liked Schaub's smarts. Got rid of the ball, didn't make his patented "shitty throw of the game", etc.

Playcalling was severely lacking. PA is our bread and butter and how often did we use it? I think that contributed to our offensive struggles.

[barrett]

I bet Demeco starts losing PT to Dobbins who seems much more physical.

I had no issue with the playcalling. When you are clearly better than a team and the only way to lose is turnovers, I am ok with 29 passes and 36 runs. As for playaction, it is tough to naked boot against a 34 team. A standup OLB has a better chance to diagnose the fake, and they generally get more depth and have less responsibility with a run to the opposite side of the field. So in general we will boot less against 34 teams, and you combine that with the fact that our running game was not gaining the big chunks that make the defense react.

I think it was a great game considering we played most of it without Foster and Joseph and all of it without Walter. Most teams don't overcome injuries that easily.

Just consider this, we have not trailed for a second yet this season. That is impressive, and it also keeps the play calling conservative. Early on we threw it on the first 3 plays. It was with a lead we never gave up that we got conservative.

I will have a problem this week though if we go in trying to win it 23-13. We need to get out to an early lead to neutralize there defense and the blitzing. They have turned their defense into the Colts the last few years, where they can't stop the run and can only play when their offense is putting so much pressure on the opponent to score that they can blitz the QB into submission.

[WMH]

Not saying this is the complete issue, as I think we might struggle a bit against solid RB's this year, but I think they played an awful lot of nickel yesterday. 6 in the box vs 7 could be a huge disadvantage in the running game, especially without a run stuffing NT that we obviously don't have.

Might be a reason for the poor productivity from DeMeco as well.....dunno.

Tough to criticize the game plan too much, it was a winning formula. No style points in the NFL, and as Barrett stated, we have YET to be behind this year. WOW, didn't realize that. That in itself is pretty damn impressive.

Concerned about JJoe's ankle more than anything.
NOT concerned about Foster's hammy. I am a believer in Tate, and as long as we can get Ward back this week, we can manage another week or so without AF.

Oh, and how about that block by Brahman on one of JJ's punt return. Dude BLASTED 2 MIA defenders. Took them out completely, leveling both of them. I rewatched that play a couple of times, that was freaking awesome.

[barrett]

Originally Posted by WMH

Not saying this is the complete issue, as I think we might struggle a bit against solid RB's this year, but I think they played an awful lot of nickel yesterday. 6 in the box vs 7 could be a huge disadvantage in the running game, especially without a run stuffing NT that we obviously don't have.

Might be a reason for the poor productivity from DeMeco as well.....dunno.

Tough to criticize the game plan too much, it was a winning formula. No style points in the NFL, and as Barrett stated, we have YET to be behind this year. WOW, didn't realize that. That in itself is pretty damn impressive.

Concerned about JJoe's ankle more than anything.
NOT concerned about Foster's hammy. I am a believer in Tate, and as long as we can get Ward back this week, we can manage another week or so without AF.

Oh, and how about that block by Brahman on one of JJ's punt return. Dude BLASTED 2 MIA defenders. Took them out completely, leveling both of them. I rewatched that play a couple of times, that was freaking awesome.

I agree that Demeco is struggling in part because he is playing behind 2 penetrating DEs and Sean Cody. That is almost no protection for the MLBs. That means our LBs have to be point of attack guys instead of flow to the ball guys. I don't think that is Demeco and I don't really blame him if he struggles in a spot that minimizes what he does well and maximizes what he does poorly.

But it all definitely adds up to being soft in the middle. That could make the Jacksonville games far more difficult than they should be.

[nunusguy]

I don't enjoy being negative, especially the day after a win and our season opening up at 2-0, but if we are gonna be honest about it the truth is our wins came against 2 of the worst teams in the league with the Colts maybe being the very worst ? And if not for Kareems Jacksons fumble-causing-hit on the Miami rookie back, we very easily lose that game when you consider where all of the momentum was headed right before that play.
Now we got games against NOLA, Pitt, Oakland, & Baltimore in the next month and we are gonna see what kind of a team we've got in 2011 ? Then we get into our intra-Division schedule and that's the upside because we may be in the worst division in the NFL this year ?

[Keith]

Originally Posted by TheMatrix31

Playcalling was severely lacking.

I'm not one to nitpick playcalling myself, since isolating plays in general can be a bit unfair as they all fit into the overall tapestry of the game.

That said, I thought there was a combination of some uninspiring calls and some ineffective offensive execution yesterday.

First series, had 1st-and-goal from the Dolphin 8:
1-8-MIA 8 (11:17) 23-A.Foster right end pushed ob at MIA 5 for 3 yards (58-K.Dansby).
2-5-MIA 5 (10:52) 23-A.Foster left tackle to MIA 5 for no gain (58-K.Dansby).
3-5-MIA 5 (10:11) 8-M.Schaub pass incomplete short left.

Second series, 1st-and-10 from the Dolphin 12
1-10-MIA 12 (6:06) 8-M.Schaub pass incomplete short left to 81-O.Daniels.
2-10-MIA 12 (5:59) (Shotgun) 23-A.Foster right guard to MIA 6 for 6 yards (90-R.Baker).
3-4-MIA 6 (5:24) 23-A.Foster right tackle to MIA 4 for 2 yards (99-J.Taylor; 37-Y.Bell).

Both ended in field goals. Had a chance for a big early lead, instead came away ahead 6-0.

This was right before halftime.
1-10-MIA 11 (1:13) 8-M.Schaub pass short left to 80-A.Johnson to MIA 10 for 1 yard (21-V.Davis) [99-J.Taylor].
Timeout #1 by HOU at 00:40.
2-9-MIA 10 (:40) 8-M.Schaub pass short left to 44-B.Tate pushed ob at MIA 13 for -3 yards (21-V.Davis).
3-12-MIA 13 (:33) (Shotgun) 8-M.Schaub sacked at MIA 18 for -5 yards (91-C.Wake).

Not going for the throat here before getting into a third and long. Another field goal.

These three drives resulted in 9 points when 21 points were on the table. I understand not every drive will end in a touchdown, but the Texans should have won this game by halftime.

[nunusguy]

Anybody else still totally faked-out why Miami coughed up several millions dollars of guaranteed money for Reggie Bush ? He had 6 rushs for 18 yards, 1 pass reception for 3 yards and returned 0 punts, which is probably the one thing he's does fairly well ? And they signed him in FA after drafting an impressive rookie running-back in the 2nd round of Aprils Draft ? How is this guy worth a single red cent more than league minimum ?

[barrett]

Originally Posted by nunusguy

I don't enjoy being negative, especially the day after a win and our season opening up at 2-0, but if we are gonna be honest about it the truth is our wins came against 2 of the worst teams in the league with the Colts maybe being the very worst ? And if not for Kareems Jacksons fumble-causing-hit on the Miami rookie back, we very easily lose that game when you consider where all of the momentum was headed right before that play.
Now we got games against NOLA, Pitt, Oakland, & Baltimore in the next month and we are gonna see what kind of a team we've got in 2011 ? Then we get into our intra-Division schedule and that's the upside because we may be in the worst division in the NFL this year ?

I really don't think this Miami team is one of the worst in the league. They were 7-9 last year and are no worse talent wise. And we looked better defensively against Miami and Indy than their other opponents did.

Basically you can't win an NFL game twice or carry over your extra points. There us only taking care of business or not.

[barrett]

Originally Posted by nunusguy

Anybody else still totally faked-out why Miami coughed up several millions dollars of guaranteed money for Reggie Bush ? He had 6 rushs for 18 yards, 1 pass reception for 3 yards and returned 0 punts, which is probably the one thing he's does fairly well ? And they signed him in FA after drafting an impressive rookie running-back in the 2nd round of Aprils Draft ? How is this guy worth a single red cent more than league minimum ?

And I'm right with you here. All I'll say is they figured out in 2 weeks what Sean Payton took years to realize.

[Nconroe]

well, we won so hate to nitpick to much, and it is a game of adjustments and early in the year so hope still improving.

one thing I noticed to improve in third quarter seemed we had several holding penalties along the OL which stopped our drives and actually had some very nice gains reversed into backwards plays.

then the last two drives and last 10 minutes we seemed to close out the win pretty well on offense and defense.

[NBT]

I lay it mostly to Kubiak's conservative playcalling which bled over to the defensive side of the ball too. At some point he is going to have to open it up some more. I though the offense underperformed. And the defense, even though constricted in their playcalling, did the lions share in the game

Bright spot was Tate continuing to play well. He is very hard to bring down AJ had his usual good game. We need more production out of the rest of the WR's.

If we hope to win against NOLA we need to play better in all aspects of the game.

[barrett]

Originally Posted by NBT

I lay it mostly to Kubiak's conservative playcalling which bled over to the defensive side of the ball too. At some point he is going to have to open it up some more. I though the offense underperformed. And the defense, even though constricted in their playcalling, did the lions share in the game

Bright spot was Tate continuing to play well. He is very hard to bring down AJ had his usual good game. We need more production out of the rest of the WR's.

If we hope to win against NOLA we need to play better in all aspects of the game.

The Victory?

And what constrictions are you talking about in the defensive play calling? Did you hear an interview about Kubiak restricting Wade's playcalling yesterday? That would be very interesting if it happened.

[cadams]

they weren't world beaters yesterday, but they had the lead from the first series, and held onto it. we will know a lot more after this week, but i think kubiak and phillips just wanted to make sure they didn't get burned by the big passing plays. they played most of the game with only 6 men in the box to keep the dolphins from anotehr 400+ yard passing day. they accomplished that. i would have loved to have seen them score another td or so and allow no tds,but that isn't realistic in the nfl. against the patriots the dolphins ahd over 400 yards in passing and scored 24 points. they scored 13 against the texans and had under 200 yards in passing i believe. the defense is causing turnovers and getting to the qb. the whole team was kind of down in the 3rd quarter, but all teams are going to have bad stretches.

even if they lost this weekend, and i think the odds are that they will, it won't be the end of the world. at the beginning of the year i think most people thought 2-2 after the first 4 games would be an acceptable (while not desirable) outcome. well, we are already at 2, so if they can win one of the next two we will be ahead of that mark.

[Fonz the Boss]

The difference between our matchup with the Dolphins vs the Patriots/Dolphins matchup is that we have a run game and a better pass rush than the Patriots. Anytime you have Brady and company going no huddle and torching opponents at will, then that means your defense will spend a considerable amount of time on the field. When our run game is effective we can control the tempo of the game just like we did in the 4th quarter yesterday. Our run game sealed the victory by taking a huge chunk of time on that last drive. This is the main reason why I think we will be able to beat the Saints. The best way to prevent Brees from beating you is to keep him on the sidelines. The saints D looked impressive with all those sacks yesterday but they havent faced a run game like ours. I believe we will be able to push them around. The less time our defense is on the field the better chance we have to win the game.... easier said than done LoL