SB Nation - Nathan Jones

Dolphins rally but fall in OT to Titans; playoff hopes now slim

Matty I — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 05:06:29 -0000

More photos » by John Russell - AP

If only Yeremiah Bell was a few inches taller...

I could sit here and talk about the heart, toughness, and resiliency that this Miami Dolphins team showed on Sunday in Nashville. As fans, we have every reason to be proud of this football team. They battled all game long, rallying from an 18 point second half deficit. But at this point in the season, "heart" doesn't get you into the playoffs. If it did, this team would be a shoe-in. But as it is, the Dolphins just made too many mistakes and failed to take advantage of too many opportunities, resulting in a heart-breaking 27-24 loss to the Titans.

Missed opportunities and very costly mistakes
I could sit here all day and talk about the numbers with you (and I will highlight a few in a bit). But the bottom line of any football game is you have to score touchdowns when you get into the red zone and you can't turn the ball over. The Dolphins did both. And perhaps it as fitting that it was a Chad Henne interception in overtime (and a completely bogus unnecessary roughness penalty) that wound up souring what could have been a remarkable comeback victory. I say it's fitting because Henne made a few bad throws. However, the Dolphins somehow kept their head above water and climbed back into the game despite those earlier miscues. But you just can't continue to make mistakes and expect to win a football game.

In a way, this game was a microcosm of the 2009 season for the Dolphins. They fell behind early, battled their way back, but eventually came up short.

I won't kill Chad Henne here like some will want to do. He's a kid who is just 11 starts into his career. These kinds of mistakes are to be expected. What is impressive is how he battled back, leading touchdown drives of 80 yards and 90 yards in the fourth quarter to get this thing into overtime. That's pretty damn impressive for as young quarterback if you ask me.

Henne, aided by a ridiculous catch by Brian Hartline, was 11/16 in the fourth quarter for 150 yards and a touchdown - recovering from a 17/27, 195 yard, 2 interception first three quarters. Entering overtime, you got the feeling that Henne would again march down the field, as he did on his two previous drives, and get the Dolphins into scoring position. But he made a horrendous throw. No excuses - and Henne owned up to it after the game:

"There are excuses, but I am not going to make them. I will just say that I missed the pass, and next time I will connect on it."

Honestly, there's no reason not to believe him, either.

Of course, this game goes deeper than just Henne's miscues. The Dolphins were unable to cash in on their first two red zone opportunities. After the Vontae Davis interception, the offense stalled out and settled for a field goal. Then, trailing 10-3, the Dolphins had it first and goal inside Tennessee's 10 yard line. That's when Pat White ran for a yard, Lex Hilliard ran for two yards and Brian Hartline got called for a false start. An incomplete pass on the next play forced Miami to settle for a FG once again.

That's two red zone trips resulting in six points - surprising considering how good this team has become at converting red zone opportunities into touchdowns. Then, of course, we had the Henne interception on the pass intended for Ricky Williams - a pass that was under-thrown, and should not have even been thrown on first down from Tennessee's 14 yard line.

And we can't forget about Ricky's most fumble that stalled another drive just outside Tennessee's 20 yard line.

Four turnovers and eight penalties. It's almost a miracle the Dolphins came as close as they did to winning.

Defense steps up in second half
Like most of you, I was ready to kill this defense for their terrible first half performance. They let the Titans convert on 6 of their first 8 third downs, including three on their first touchdown drive. They let these mediocre receivers get behind them way too often. Vontae Davis got beat. Nathan Jones got beat. Gibril Wilson, of course, got beat as well. All of this resulted in the Titans gaining 228 yards and scoring 17 points in the half.

But the second half was different. The defense actually stepped up. They held the Titans to just 136 yards, 57 of which came on their one touchdown drive. They limited Chris Johnson to just 33 second half yards on 15 carries. And Tennessee was just 2 for 7 on third down - an impressive turnaround from a unit that is known to collapse in the second half.

This was the third consecutive game, by the way, in which the Dolphins shut out their opponent in the fourth quarter - quite the improvement from where they once were. The coaching staff deserves a lot of credit for that.

In the end, though, this defense did all it could but couldn't overcome having to play against the referees, too. They held the Titans to -1 yard of offense following the overtime interception. But the terrible call by the refs to hit Greg Camarillo with a 15 yard penalty set the Titans up for a 46 yard field goal. A tough way to lose - but kudos to the defense for doing their part in the final 30+ minutes of the game.

Playoffs?
I know this will be asked a million times. But the bottom line here is that it's just not likely. To even think about the playoffs, the Dolphins have to first do their part and win their final two games - both at home. Then they need help. Lots of it.

If the Patriots were to collapse and lose both of their remaining games, Miami could win the division. Not likely.

I won't even get into the numerous other playoff scenarios. Let's first let next week play out and then we can (hopefully) look at some of these crazy ways the Dolphins can sneak in.

But don't be disappointed. Think about this. After starting 0-3 and losing Chad Pennington for the season, would you have signed up for 7-7 with two weeks left? I bet most would have - especially with Chad Henne going 7-4 in his first 11 career starts and leading three fourth quarter comebacks (two of which came against the Jets and Pats).

Instead of getting angry or being disappointed about how this season is probably going to end, think about where this team has come from and just how close they are getting to being where we all want this team to be. Despite the loss, it's an exciting time to be a Dolphins fan, folks!

QUICK HITS
Just a few more quick thoughts on Sunday's game:

Jason Taylor played exceptionally well on Sunday. And I'm not even talking about his sack. He was a key reason why the Dolphins contained Chris Johnson in the second half, setting the edge and keeping CJ inside. I was REALLY impressed with JT's performance. This is the first time where he actually looked like a strongside linebacker.
I really like this group of receivers. But don' get fooled - they are indeed missing that one key piece: a true #1 receiver. And I'm not ready to buy the idea that Brian Hartline or Davone Bess will become that guy. They could be great complimentary guys, though.
How much do you think we miss Ronnie Brown?
Enough with Gibril Wilson. It's time to send him to the bench - and then to unemployment once the season is over. He flat out stinks.
We desperately need new return men. Ted Ginn runs sideways way too much and Davone Bess is just not fast enough to be a real threat back there.

Ricky Williams leads the way as Dolphins defeat Panthers

Matty I — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:06:00 -0000

It sure did get nerve-racking a few times on Thursday night. But when all was said and done, the Dolphins went up to Charlotte and officially dug themselves out of the 0-3 hole they put themselves in to start the season by knocking off the Panthers 24-17.

Ricky steps up in Ronnie's absence to lead the way
There was a lot of panic amongst Dolphin fans over the past few days as we all awaited word on how serious Ronnie Brown's injury was. We then learned yesterday that Brown would be done for the season with a Lisfranc fracture to his right foot (he'll have surgery Friday, by the way). That's when we all began to wonder whether Ricky Williams could step into the role of workhorse and lead this offense. We all learned on Thursday night that - at least for now - Ricky's still got it.

In an outstanding performance, Williams carried the ball 22 times for 119 yards and two touchdowns - adding a receiving touchdown as well. This, by the way, was Ricky's third career three touchdown game and the first time in his career that he scored a touchdown both running and receiving. Not bad for a 32 year old back.

Don't let the numbers fool you, though. It was an up and down game for Williams. Nine of Ricky's 22 carries went for two yards or less - including four runs for negative yardage. Of course, it's not all Ricky's fault - sometimes he just got no blocking help from his line. But what impressed me most was how explosive Ricky was on some of those other carries. He looked very spry on that 3rd & 1 toss left to get down to the one yard line on Miami's second touchdown drive. And then, of course, there's the 46 yard scamper by Ricky in which he showed good burst and long speed on his way to the endzone - on carry number 22 on the night, by the way.

We said this week that without Ronnie and on a short week with little preparation time, the Dolphins would get back to the basics and play "conventional" football. They did just that - and it worked thanks to Ricky Williams. Now can Ricky keep it up for the rest of the season?

Henne and the receivers make some critical plays
For all the talk about how the Dolphins badly need a receiver - and they do - it's worth noting how well Chad Henne and his current group of receivers played on Thursday night. The stats aren't special by any means. And Henne was still a bit too inconsistent with his accuracy for my taste. But when they absolutely had to make a play, this passing offense got it done - against a pass defense that was ranked fourth in the NFL heading into this game.

Here's a stat I like a lot. When asked to pass on third down, Chad Henne started the game 0 for 3. But he then converted 5 of their next 7 3rd down passing situations - which included some of the biggest plays of the game.

It all started on Henne's completion to Ricky Williams out of the backfield on a 3rd & 9 inside the red zone. Ricky was running a Texas route out of the backfield (a zig zag where he runs towards the sideline out of the backfield and then cuts it inside like a slant once he hits the line of scrimmage) and Henne did a nice job of being patient and finding the open man.

On their next scoring drive, Henne converted a big 3rd & 6 by throwing a strike to Davone Bess, who made a remarkable lunging catch for the first down. Five plays later, Williams got into the endzone.

And then there was the biggest play of the game - which we'll get to in a moment.

All in all, you have to really like what you continue to see out of Henne. He didn't make any mistakes. He didn't take any sacks - a credit to both the offensive line and to Henne for getting rid of the ball when necessary. I'd like to see more consistency with his accuracy, of course. But it's not like he has an accuracy problem. Some of his throws are absolutely perfect in where they are placed (a couple throws to Bess, the throw to Brian Hartline, and the throw to Ted Ginn along the sideline). It's a consistency issue with him - especially when he needs to put some touch on the ball.

Henne's getting better, though. And I think his future is pretty bright.

TURNING POINT OF THE GAME
Some might say the turning point of the game was the 46 yard touchdown run by Ricky Williams. But that play never happens if not for the play that Chad Henne and Davone Bess made one play earlier.

Momentum was beginning to shift in Carolina's favor. The Dolphins were leading by only three late in the fourth quarter, staring down a 3rd & 12 and very close to a potentially costly three and out. The crowd was loud and the Panther defense was fired up. So what does a young, first year starting quarterback do? He takes the snap, rolls right, waits, waits, and waits some more. Then he shuffles left a little bit and throws a strike to Davone Bess - who was running right to left away from Henne, but also away from the coverage. Chad Henne showed outstanding poise and vision while Bess showed terrific awareness.

If the Dolphins don't make that play, who knows how this game plays out.

QUICK HITS
Many more quick thoughts on the game:

Some many performances deserve to be mentioned. But I'll start with Joey Porter. A team-high 8 tackles and 2 sacks? That's the "Peezy" I know and love. Welcome back! Put back-to-back games like this and I'll officially apologize to him.
Lousaka Polite is a monster. He's officially one of my five favorite current Dolphins. All he does is pick up short yardage first downs and knock heads. Even Joey Porter, speaking on NFLN after the game, talked about Polite's play tonight - and he wasn't even asked. It's easy to see why his coaches and teammates love this guy.
Jake Long simply owned Julius Peppers on Thursday night. Great job, Jake!
Speaking of the offensive line, how about that depth? Players kept going down left and right and it just didn't matter. Henne was never sacked and they opened up enough holes for Ricky. Huge shout-out to Nate Garner, by the way. The man played left guard, right tackle, and center at different times in this game. That's manning up.
Lex Hilliard - welcome to the NFL, kid. After back-to-back penalties by Jake Grove, Hilliard powered his way on a 3rd & 16 draw play - picking up 18 and a first down. Tacklers were just bouncing off of Hilliard on the run. He's not a bad fourth running back, huh? Again, props to the front office for the solid depth at running back as well.
Davone Bess - wow. How about those hands, folks? He had a few hiccups along the way this season. But it looks like our favorite undrafted wide receiver is back to his consistent form. That highlight lunging catch he made on a critical third down was the kind of catch that superstars make.
We have to give a shout-out to Ted Ginn. He didn't have any drops, made a couple of tough catches, and averaged 42 yards per kickoff return. He came into the game third in the league in kick returning. He now has a very real shot of leading the league in yards per kick return this season. At least that's something - and maybe will help build his confidence again.
Nice job by the defense getting pressure - at critical times, too. All four of Miami's sacks came on third down. Two of them were red zone sacks, too, forcing Carolina to punt. I think we need to dial up those safety blitzes a little bit more often - especially on third downs - moving forward. They seem to work and free up others to make a play.
Randy Starks is having a hell of a season. Starks was one of the two guys who made the initial stop on that 3rd & 1 run by the Panthers midway through the third quarter to stuff Carolina and force them to punt. He then sacked Jake Delhomme early in the fourth quarter on a 3rd & goal play to force the Panthers to settle for a field goal.
Nathan Jones is one of this team's unheralded key role players. He's made a number of big plays this season - including an interception to end a Carolina drive and a big pass break-up with under two minutes to go. He's becoming a terrific nickel corner.
Why not kick a field goal with 44 seconds left? It would have only been a 45 or 46 yarder for Dan Carpenter and would have sealed the game. A very bad decision by Tony Sparano here. Luckily, it didn't come back to bite him in the ass. But let's not have that happen again, alright?
Joey Haynos with two bad drops. Do I hear more calls for Kory Sperry?
Let's hope Jason Ferguson isn't hurt badly. Without him, this defense looks drastically different.
Just how important was it to get out in front of the Panthers 14-3 and take Carolina out of their game plan? Very. DeAngelo Williams was averaging nearly 10 yards per carry against the Dolphins. But he only got 13 carries thanks to a combination of poor play calling by Carolina and having to play catch-up late in the game. This game could have been ugly if Miami didn't get in front before the half.

Dolphins vs Patriots: Three Key Matchups

Matty I — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 05:19:04 -0000

Back to the scene of the birthplace of the 'Wildcat.'

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While we'll all admit it was great to knock off the Jets last week and sweep the season series, it's time to now shift our attention to the other divisional rival - the one that actually matters. The Patriots have been the beast of the AFC East for far too long. And even with the Dolphins improbable division title last season, things have shaped up in 2009 like they have shaped up for a while - with the Patriots currently sitting atop the AFC East. On Sunday, the Dolphins will travel up to New England to go toe to toe with the Patriots looking to make a statement.

To get it done, these three matchups will be critical.

Dolphins running game vs Patriots front seven
It's become almost legendary now what the Dolphins did against the Patriots up in Foxborough last season in the first meeting between these two teams - unleashing the 'Wildcat' and running for 216 yards en route to a 25 point thrashing. But in their second meeting down in Miami, the Dolphins were unable to get anything going on the ground, 'Wildcat' or not. They ran for only 66 yards and averaged only 3.7 yards per carry as the Dolphins, who hung with the Patriots for two and a half quarters, just couldn't keep up with the Patriots and their high-scoring offense.

Obviously, the Dolphins can't let themselves get involved in another shoot-out like we saw down in Miami last year. And while the Patriots are ranked 15th in rush defense - surrendering 109 yards per game, which doesn't seem that bad - those numbers are skewed due to the fact that most opponents are trying to keep up with New England's offense and abandon the run too early. They only see roughly 24 rushing attempts per game by opponents. But in the key statistic, yards allowed per rushing attempt, the Patriots are ranked 22nd - surrendering 4.5 yards per attempt. That, my friends, means there's a lot of yardage to be had on the ground.

Of course, everybody is aware that Miami's strength on offense is the running game and the Patriots will obviously stack the box to limit the amount of success Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams can have. That's why it'll be very important for the Dolphins to remain committed to the ground game even if it isn't working with a lot of success early on. Last week, the Dolphins got away from the run too quickly because the Jets were selling out to stop it. That can't happen on Sunday.

In particular, I hope to see a lot of 'Wildcat' on Sunday early and often. And I'm not talking about the jet sweeps or attempted passes. I want to see some of that smash mouth power running that the Dolphins did so well earlier this season. I have faith in Miami's offensive line to come in with the right mindset and play physical enough for the Dolphins to be able to pound the ball up the middle. Let's set the tone early by pounding the rock.

Randy Moss/Wes Welker vs Sean Smith/Vontae Davis/Nate Jones
Welcome to the NFL, rooks. Now go cover the best receiving duo in the game.

It's not going to be an easy task. We all know this. But if the Dolphins are to head up to New England and pull off the upset (a pretty big one, at that, seeing as the Dolphins are 10 point underdogs), then these two talented rookie corners are going to have to play their best games to date.

We've all seen flashes from both Sean Smith and Vontae Davis. But there have still been those typical rookie mistakes - whether their mental or related to technique - that have resulted in big plays. On Sunday, those two will have to face the second best passing offense in the league, led by two receivers who are as talented as they get and who compliment each other well.

I expect to see a rotation of Smith and Davis on Randy Moss. Moss is the tall deep threat who is one of the greatest to ever step on the football field. And both Smith and Davis bring different elements to the table. Smith has outstanding size and ball skills. Davis, though, is the more physical corner. And I hope to see Davis get the opportunity to play tight bump and run coverage on Moss. Vontae has the strength to disrupt the timing between Moss and Tom Brady and to move Moss off of his route. And I think that Vontae's make-up speed allows Davis to play physical at the line with Randy and jam him. However, in the red zone, I hope to see Smith match up on Moss to help prevent any corner or fade routes to the big receiver.

As for Wes Welker, expect to see a lot of Nate Jones on him. Why? Because Welker will primarily line up in the slot and Jones is the team's best slot corner following the season-ending injury to Will Allen. I think that if Welker does line up on the outside, we'll see Davis on him for sure. But when Welker lines up inside and attempts to do what he does best, it'll be Jones - who has come on these past two games - who gets the duty of covering the pesky little receiver.

If nothing else, this should be interesting - and will be an excellent learning experience for the two rookie corners regardless of the outcome.

Chad Henne vs Bill Belichick
This isn't exactly an ideal matchup for a quarterback making just his 5th career start, is it? It's hard enough for a young quarterback to head up to New England. Making things more difficult is the fact that Bill Belichick has had an extra week to game plan for the young kid thanks to New England's bye week. Ouch.

Let's be real here. Belichick is probably going to go out of his way to draw up a variety of defensive looks to confuse Chad Henne. The Patriots don't exactly have outstanding cornerbacks. But they have talented, versatile safeties and one of the greatest minds in the game creating the game plan. That means I expect a number of exotic blitz packages and a variety of disguised coverages to test Henne. In what will be a loud and hostile environment, this is going to be a hell of a test for him.

Sure, it's important for Miami's coaches to do a good job game planning themselves and preparing Henne for what he might see on Sunday. But all the preparation in the world won't matter when it's 3rd & long and the Patriots are lined up with no down linemen, five linebackers, and six defensive backs - shifting around all over prior to the snap as the fans scream their heads off.

Yeah - time to show us what you got, kid.

Tale of two halves as Dolphins collapse in loss to Saints

Matty I — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 04:27:55 -0000

More photos » by Jeffrey M. Boan - AP

I think this photo says it all. Darren Sharper would catch this ball off of Ted Ginn's hands and return it for a touchdown.

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With less than two minutes to go in the first half, it seemed like the Miami Dolphins were on their way to one of their best wins in years, holding a 24-3 lead over the undefeated New Orleans Saints. Unfortunately, football games require a full 60 minutes. The Dolphins put together an outstanding 28 minutes - followed by about 32 minutes of complete disaster - which is what makes this game so hard to swallow.

Defensive breakdowns in second half
Even after that disappointing end to the first half - which we'll get to in a little - the Dolphins still held a 14 point lead at halftime. But Miami's defense collapsed in the second half, allowing the Saints to just march up and down the field on seemingly every possession.

There are a number of places you can lay some blame for this loss. But the defense certainly has to get a lot of blame. They played so well in the first half only to allow 23 points and 317 yards on just 38 plays. Worse yet, the Dolphins surrendered 285 yards of offense and 9.83 yards per play over the final 20 minutes of the game. So while a lot of you will point the finger at others - who do deserve some blame as well - don't let an outstanding defensive first half taint your view of how this defense performed. The final quarter and a half was just disgusting.

What exactly was the problem? Some of it was probably execution and players not being where they were supposed to. That could explain why Saint receivers were running wide open down the field for much of the second half. Missed tackles were also a problem - such as Gibril Wilson's whiff on Reggie Bush on a key 3rd down. There was a lack of pressure on Drew Brees in the fourth quarter as well, which is not good. We saw in the first half how much consistent pressure on Brees makes him uncomfortable.

But the biggest issue might be what we don't know and likely will never know: did the Dolphins coaching staff go into halftime anticipating the adjustment New Orleans would make in the second half? During our live game thread, somebody said at halftime how it would be important to see how the Dolphins react to the halftime adjustments the Saints make on offense. That's hitting the nail right on the head. We won't ever know for sure - especially without being able to see the film. But there were clearly issues in the second half. We didn't see nearly the amount of receivers running wide open - especially over the middle - in the first half as we saw in the second.

Questionable play-calling a factor
I generally try not to harp too much on in-game play-calling because we simply don't know as much as the guys on the sidelines making the decisions. But it's impossible to not question a number of decisions regarding play-calling on Sunday.

Some will point to the play-calling on Miami's final possession of the first half as bad. Some will say Miami's decision to try passing on a 1st & 10 at NO's 40 yard line with 1:51 left was a bad decision - made worse by the screen pass to Davone Bess on the next play that resulted in a fumble. But let's be fair. If the Dolphins run the ball three times and then try a long field goal, many fans would be complaining about how conservative the Dolphins were playing it. Instead, the Dolphins were clearly going for seven before the half - the right move when you're facing a potent offense like the one the Dolphins faced on Sunday. Hindsight is always 20/20, though, and that's why some will probably complain about Miami's decision not to just run the ball and get into position for a long field goal.

However, a couple of possessions certainly deserve some criticism. The Dolphins' second possession of the 3rd quarter - the one following the Darren Sharper pick six - was terrible. If you have the top rushing offense in the league, it might be a good idea to run the football after your young quarterback, making only his 3rd career start, threw a pick six to cut your lead from 14 to 7. He might be a bit gun-shy. It might be a good idea to use your best offensive players - Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams. But no - the Dolphins come out and go with three passes, resulting in a sack, a short completion, and an incompletion - a lovely little three and out.

The other possession that really bothers me was the one following Reggie Bush's touchdown to cut Miami's lead to 34-31. Again, the Dolphins should have attempted to get back to what they do best and run the football. Instead, the Dolphins go with three passes - all incompletions - and punt the football away. And they would never again have a possession where they weren't trailing.

Too many miscues
From missed tackles to blown coverages to penalties to dropped passes, the Dolphins made mistake after mistake to help aid the epic collapse on Sunday. You can't commit eight penalties - especially dumb penalties like personal fouls. Channing Crowder and Joey Porter each had one of those on Sunday. Porter, meanwhile, who is supposed to be a leader, left the locker room on Sunday without speaking with the media. Good leadership.

As far as drops go, there were a ton of them. Some of the bigger ones include Ted Ginn's drop on a beautifully placed ball on the first possession of the second half as well as Anthony Fasano's drop on a pass by Ronnie Brown. Ginn's drop resulted in an interception as Darren Sharper plucked the bobbled ball from the air and took it into the endzone. Fasano's drop would have been a 20+ yard gain and would have helped swing the momentum back a little.

But even after all those mistakes, the Dolphins still found themselves with the ball, needing a touchdown to win, and having 3:23 to accomplish that. But that drive had even more mistakes. On 2nd & 3, Ginn again dropped a pass - this time with nobody even bothering him. It would have been a first down plus a little extra. Luckily, Chad Henne connected with Greg Camarillo on the next play for a first down. But on the next play, Camarillo made the mistake of attempting to fumble the football out of bounds after a 7 yard reception. He was trying to get to the sideline to stop the clock, couldn't make it, and then then basically flung the ball towards the sideline as he fell - which is illegal and resulted in a penalty. After the game, Camarillo admitted that he was trying to do that and wouldn't do it differently now if he could. On the ensuing play, Ricky Williams dropped a pass in the flat that would have sent for a likely first down. And then on the very next play, Jake Grove was called for a false start - making a 3rd & 8 now a 3rd & 13.

That's not how you execute the two minute drill. And miscues like these cost the Dolphins a potential win over an unbeaten team on Sunday.

TURNING POINT OF THE GAME
The turning point of the game is pretty easy. The Dolphins had a 24-3 lead with less than two minutes to play in the 2nd quarter. That's when Brees and the Saints' offense got going, driving down the field and getting down to the one yard line in about a minute and a half - converting two third downs along the way. Then, following an official review, the Saints had the ball inside the one but were seemingly going to settle for a field goal before the half. That is, until Tony Sparano called an ill-advised timeout. That gave the Saints the time they needed to change their mind and go for the touchdown. The end result was Brees taking a QB sneak over the top and into the endzone for a touchdown.

Whether you want to call the turning point of the game the Davone Bess fumble that led to this possession, either of the 3rd down conversions by the Saints, or the timeout by Sparano - most probably agree that this possession was the turning point - and the beginning of a disgusting collapse.

QUICK HITS
Some more quick thoughts on this game:

Will Allen was lost for the season with a torn ACL. This is a big loss, but gives Vontae Davis and Sean Smith a great opportunity to both start and learn as much as possible on the fly.
Say what you want about Ted Ginn, the bottom line is we can't just get rid of him this year. Yes - he's far too inconsistent. But he's also the only deep threat this team has. Without him, opposing defenses have no reason to be worry about the long ball. If nothing else, he's still a necessary decoy until the Dolphins can find another deep threat. Also - wasn't it just last week many raved about him after making a huge play against the Jets?
I was disappointed with the offensive line today. They didn't play as well as they have in the run game and had issues protecting Chad Henne in the second half. Let's hope this was just a one-game issue.
Related the the OL problems, the Wildcat only gained 30 yards on 14 carries on Sunday.
I don't have a problem with Chad Henne's performance on Sunday. He hung tough in the pocket and did make some nice throws. But he also had his receivers drop at least five passes. He'll also learn a lot from this game once he goes back and watches the film. Now I'm anxious to see how he does in his first career road start next week against the Jets.
Jason Taylor - you still got it. I apologize.
I do love the safety blitz. Both Yeremiah Bell and Gibril Wilson seem to be very good blitzers. I hope to see more of that in the coming weeks.
Nathan Jones - who knew? He had his best game as a Dolphin. And now he will see even more snaps with the injury to Will Allen.

Despite win over Bucs, Dolphins still have plenty of work to do

Matty I — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 05:39:57 -0000

More photos » by Brian Blanco - AP

Yes - Pennington can throw deep from time to time!

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Usually I am a firm believe that you take a win any way you can get one. After all, we saw just how hard it is to win in this league back in 2007. But in the preseason - especially in the third game of the preseason - I'm a firm believer in seeing crisp, efficient play on both sides of the ball rather than just focusing on the end result. Yes, the Dolphins knocked off the Buccaneers on Thursday night to remain unbeaten in the preseason. But if you're a Dolphins fan, you certainly aren't satisfied with your team's performance.

RUSH DEFENSE DOESN'T IMPRESS
During the first two preseason games, the Dolphins were very impressive defending the run - much more so than many anticipated. But on Thursday night, the Bucs consistently pushed around Miami's defensive line at the point of attack. And for the second consecutive week, there were a couple of missed tackles that led to big gains on the ground for Tampa.

All told, the Bucs' three-headed running back committee of Cadillac Williams, Derrick Ward, and Earnest Graham combined for 96 yards rushing on just 17 carries (5.65 ypc average) - an unacceptable number when you consider these three only played 2 and a half quarters.

SECONDARY STRUGGLES AGAINST MEDIOCRE RECEIVERS
The thinking going into this game was that the Dolphins would be able to really shut down Tampa's passing offense considering they were playing without their two starting receivers - Antonio Bryant and Michael Clayton. But then the game started and, for some reason, there were suddenly Buccaneer receivers running wide open down the field. By the time the game was delayed due to lightning, Byron Leftwich had thrown for 100 yards through the air in just over one quarter. And that number would have been even higher if he wasn't so inaccurate throwing the ball - missing at least two wide open receivers, including one in the corner of the endzone.

No - this wasn't how it was supposed to be, at least in many of our minds.

Who was the biggest culprit among the starters? The blame is probably equally shared between Will Allen and Sean Smith. Neither could apparently contain Maurice Stovall - who has just 20 career receptions over three seasons. Stovall caught six balls on Thursday night for 73 yards. Of those six catches, 5 came when either Smith or Allen were in coverage. The other was a short one yard pass. But here's how Stovall's night breaks down outside of that one reception:

Quick slant for 7 yards against Smith.
Skinny post for 18 yards against Allen.
Fly pattern deep down right sideline that is overthrown - but Stovall definitely beat Allen.
Quick slant for 5 yards against Smith.
Skinny post for 21 yards against Allen.
Post for 21 against Smith.

If this is how our corners perform against Stovall in the preseason, they have a lot of work to do in preparing for some of the outstanding receivers they face in the regular season.

OFFENSIVE LINE UNIMPRESSIVE
After a solid performance last week out of the starting offensive line, we were all hoping to see even more improvement this week. That's didn't happen. The starting unit surrendered two sacks, a handful of quarterback hurries, and failed to generate any running lanes for Miami's running backs. The starters played together into the fourth quarter. In those 3+ quarters, the Dolphins ran for just 62 yards on 19 carries - a putrid 3.26 ypc average. For a line that has $80+ million guaranteed between four of the starters, these kinds of performances are not close to being acceptable.

Make no mistake about it - this offense is only as good as the offensive line allows it to be. And we really didn't see anything encouraging for the first-team on Thursday night.

CONSISTENT PASS RUSH ONE OF THE POSITIVES
I was definitely satisfied with the pressure the Dolphins were able to get on the quarterback for most of the night. The defense tallied four sacks (including two against Tampa's starting offensive line in the first two quarters) and numerous QB hurries. I really love watching Nathan Jones blitz from his cornerback position - he has a knack for finding the quarterback. Jason Taylor also was a step or two away from a couple of sacks. All in all, it was a solid night for Miami's pass rush. And I expect that we've seen just the tip of the iceberg regarding some of Paul Pasqualoni's exotic blitz packages.

PENNINGTON MAKES SOME PLAYS, HENNE DISAPPOINTS
Can we end the "dink and dunk" stereotype of Chad Pennington. Yes - some of his throws float. And there's no question that his arm strength is less than ideal. But this idea that some have that CP can't throw it more than 10 or 15 yards is just ridiculous. On Thursday night, while he wasn't very sharp by any means, he played in poor conditions, didn't turn the ball over, and made some things happen.

While it was a high-arcing throw down the sideline, Pennington put the ball right on the money to Brian Hartline 30+ yards down the field on a 3rd down in the first quarter. But Hartline did indeed push off - good call by the ref. Pennington showed he can throw downfield again in the third quarter when he hit Hartline perfectly in stride 45 yards down the field. Two plays later, Pennington eluded the rush and gave himself enough time to find Anthony Fasano wide open for the touchdown.

Pennington wasn't great by any stretch of the imagination. But he didn't turn the ball over and he did enough to put his team in the lead.

I was really looking forward to seeing how Chad Henne would perform tonight, too. I was hoping to see what so many other Dolphin fans claim to see in Henne. And while I saw a very strong arm, Henne was very inaccurate, held onto the ball too long once or twice, and made a simply terrible mistake by throwing an interception in the redzone. Henne finished the night completing 2 of 8 passes for 55 yards (but if not for Greg Camarillo's run after catch, it would have been more like 12 yards) and that costly interception. Not a very good night for the second-year QB.

QUICK HITS
Here are some of my quick thoughts on various aspects of Thursday's game:

Third down is the money down. The Dolphins were 3/14 (21%). Eww.
Yes - Brian Hartline stood out a little. But I'm not ready to go overboard. Hartline's big play came against Tampa's backup defense. Has anyone heard of Torrie Cox? That's who Hartline beat on his 50+ yard reception. Cox wasn't even in the NFL in 2008. So let's not go crazy, folks. Yes, Hartline also made a key play earlier by turning an 8 or 9 yard gain into a 17 yard gain. But he also dropped a would-be first-down reception along the right sideline on third down despite the ball hitting him right in the hands. So I need to see more out of Hartline before I christen him as the second coming.
Ted Ginn was only targeted twice, from what I remember. The first time resulted in a 19 yard reception when Ginn found a hole in Tampa's zone. The other was an overthrow from CP in the endzone in which Teddy was open after his defender fell down. I was hoping to see more out of Ginn, though.
What's the deal with Greg Camarillo? Why does it seem like he's so far down on the depth chart? Did the coaches forget what he did last year before his knee injury? I need to see more Camarillo, to be honest.
Great job by Patrick Cobbs to block that punt. But what the hell was Charlie Anderson thinking? You don't touch a blocked punt that goes beyond the line of scrimmage. It's that simple. Just let it die.
Has Dan Carpenter locked up his job yet? He nailed his 34 yard FG attempt and, on his two opportunities to kick the ball deep, he hit it 2 yards deep into the endzone to start the game and to the 4 yard line later in the game. Connor Barth, meanwhile, didn't see any action. I think it's a done deal.
Brandon Fields has a ridiculous leg. His first two punts traveled 64 and 50 yards respectively. IF he can just become more consistent, we will have found a damn good punter for a long time.
Punt coverage remains a problem. The Dolphins again allowed a long punt return this week - a 30 yard return to be exact. These kinds of mistakes cost you in the battle for field position. And in bad weather, field position becomes even more important.
I like Ted Ginn as our kick returner - always have. But Davone Bess isn't doing it for me as punt returner. Who else do we have? Anyone?

CLOSING THOUGHT
Clearly, there's still a lot of work to be done. But that's what the preseason is for. And hopefully the Dolphins can learn a lot about themselves and improve from what they see when they watch this game film.

I also wouldn't rule out the idea that fatigue played a part in this. Thursday night's game was the Dolphins' third game in just 11 days.

Regardless, there are still two weeks before the games actually count. I have full confidence in Tony Sparano and his coaching staff - they'll take care of what needs to be taken care of.

Dolphins Depth Chart Bubble Watch, V. 4

Matty I — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 05:00:15 -0000

With one preseason game in the books and another just days away, the depth chart is starting to come a little bit more into focus. So I figured it's time to update the "depth chart bubble watch" to reflect what we saw on the field on Monday night.

Again, just incase you haven't seen this before, the idea behind it is simple - to put together a projected 53-man roster and to highlight which players I feel are on pace to just barely make the team and which just miss the cut. And it's important to note that this is not how I predict the roster will look once the preseason comes to a close. Instead, it's simply a snapshot that examines how Miami's 53-man roster might look if the cuts were to be done at this very moment.

The depth chart and some notes can be found below right after the jump...

	1st Team	2nd Team	3rd Team
QB	Chad Pennington	Chad Henne	Pat White
RB	Ronnie Brown	Ricky Williams	Patrick Cobbs
FB	Lousaka Polite
WR	Ted Ginn	Patrick Turner
WR	Davone Bess	Greg Camarillo	Brian Hartline
TE	Anthony Fasano	David Martin	John Nalbone
LT	Jake Long
LG	Justin Smiley	Andy Alleman
C	Jake Grove	Joe Berger
RG	Donald Thomas	Shawn Murphy
RT	Vernon Carey	Nate Garner
	1st Team	2nd Team	3rd Team
DE	Kendall Langford	Tony McDaniel
NT	Jason Ferguson	Paul Soliai
DE	Randy Starks	Phillip Merling	Lionel Dotson
SOLB	Jason Taylor	Quentin Moses	Erik Walden
ILB	Channing Crowder	Reggie Torbor
ILB	Akin Ayodele
WOLB	Joey Porter	Cameron Wake	Charlie Anderson
CB	Will Allen	Vontae Davis	Jason Allen
CB	Sean Smith	Nathan Jones
S	Yeremiah Bell	Chris Clemons
S	Gibril Wilson	Tyrone Culver	Courtney Bryan
	1st Team	2nd Team	3rd Team
K	Dan Carpenter
P	Brandon Fields
LS	John Denney

PUP: Matt Roth
Last 5 On: Jason Allen, Courtney Bryan, Nate Garner, John Nalbone, Erik Walden
First 5 Off: Brandon London, Andrew Gardner, Chris Williams, Ernest Wilford, Anthony Armstrong
Next 5 Off: Ike Ndukwe, Joey Haynos, William Kershaw, Brandon Frye, Connor Barth

Some quick notes on this:

The release of Eric Green made room for me to keep Courtney Bryan. The coaches like the kid a lot. He can play either safety spot and is a solid special teams player. But the Dolphins could go with six receivers instead of a fifth safety. Or they could actually bring in a free agent cornerback - there are some veterans with lots of experience currently available.
I can't say I have any real idea how the outside linebacker position will shake out. At this point, we know Taylor, Porter, and Wake will make this team. Roth will as well - but could start the year on the PUP list if he doesn't practice soon or is unable to consistently practice. As for the others, it's anyone's guess. None of the 2nd or 3rd stringers outside of Wake really "flashed" on Monday.
You can't help but wonder what happens if Chris Williams continues to get better as a return man. Could he be the 6th receiver on the roster despite only having one real role? If London or Armstrong don't show something during preseason games, I wouldn't be shocked.
I like Andrew Gardner but he didn't play much on Monday. It makes you wonder if the Dolphins are trying to hide him from other teams so they can sneak him onto their practice squad. As I have it now, Vernon Carey would swap to LT if, heaven forbid, Jake Long went down.
Ernest Wilford may have made a play on Monday night - but anyone could have really made that play. It was broken coverage and Wilford took advantage. But I was really impressed with John Nalbone's blocking while working with the second-team offense. And he's reportedly been much more consistent catching the ball in practice. Right now, I think he's got the inside track for the final TE spot.

Dolphins release CB Eric Green

Matty I — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 21:57:49 -0000

Many Dolphin fans, myself included, questioned the wisdom behind signing cornerback Eric Green to a two year contract earlier this offseason. He played poorly last year for the Cardinals and actually got buried on their depth chart by midseason.

Today the Dolphins showed they aren't afraid to admit their mistakes. After a poor offseason with Miami and a poor performance in Monday's preseason game, Eric Green was released today. This likely means Jason Allen's roster spot is safe...for now. He and Nathan Jones were believed to be competing for two roster spots with Green. With Green gone, both Jones - a coaching staff favorite - and Allen will likely make the 53-man squad.

This decision by the Dolphins, though, does add pressure on the two rookie corners - Vontae Davis and Sean Smith - to perform. Smith has played well and is now probably the favorite to win the starting job. Davis struggled in his preseason debut, making numerous mental mistakes. But with time and maturity, I don't expect too many of those kinds of games from Davis.

Hat tip to "VA phin Fan"

Miami Dolphins Training Camp Primer: Cornerbacks to be under microscope

Matty I — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 04:15:08 -0000

We focused on the linebackers yesterday. Today, we will keep our attention on the defensive side of the ball and talk a little about Miami's cornerbacks.

It's clear that the Dolphins wanted to address their secondary this past offseason. They signed Gibril Wilson to compliment the re-signing of Yeremiah Bell - creating a hard-hitting safety tandem. They also spent a lot of resources on upgrading the team's cornerbacks. And there's no doubt that the cornerback position will be one of the most closely watched positions once camp begins in just a matter of days.

THE QUICK BREAKDOWN

Virtual locks to make the roster: Will Allen, Vontae Davis, Sean Smith
On the bubble: Eric Green, Jason Allen, Nathan Jones
Long shots: Joey Thomas, Will Billingsley

THE QUESTIONS

Obviously, the main question with this unit will be how quickly the two rookie corners - Davis and Smith - can develop. If one can earn a starting spot, many fans would feel more comfortable with this unit than they otherwise might. Both Davis and Smith possess tremendous talent - albeit different talents. Davis is more of a press corner and he loves to lay the wood. Smith, meanwhile, is more of a play-making cover corner. He has good hands and absolutely ridiculous size (6'3 1/2) for a corner. But will either of the two earn the starting gig opposite of incumbent starter Will Allen?

But there are other questions that don't involve the two rookies. Will free agent acquisition Eric Green improve from his very lackluster offseason? You'll remember that one of the themes of OTAs and minicamp was Green's impression of burnt toast - getting beat left and right for big plays. Will Jason Allen finally develop into a servicable NFL player? He has all the physical tools you need - but has continually disappointed.

THE NUMBERS GAME

There's a thought that the Dolphins could potentially keep six cornerbacks this season. But last season, the Dolphins kept five cornerbacks on the 53-man roster to begin the season. And, in my opinion, I think that the Dolphins would prefer to keep just five corners rather than six - keeping a roste spot open for another player at another position. But this decision could come down to how the two backup safeties, Tyrone Culver and Chris Clemons, perform in camp. If the coaching staff feels comfortable enough with potentially using Culver or Clemons as a cover corner if necessary, the Dolphins could look to again keep only five corners.

WHERE DOES THAT LEAVE US?

There's more to the cornerback competition than just who makes the team. The depth chart is far from set. Really, the only player who is locked into his spot is Will Allen. But other than that, the cornerback situation is very fluid and will likely change from practice to practice until things get settled down - making for what should be an entertaining camp for this unit.

Vontae Davis, Sean Smith, and Eric Green will all likely get long looks as a potential starter opposite of Allen. Entering camp, some might say that Green has the leg up thanks to his experience in the league. But just being "experienced" won't be enough for Green if he continues to struggle. He's going to have two very talented rookies breathing down his neck all camp long.

Based on the practices that were open to the media, it seems like it was Smith standing out as the top rookie despite being drafted 30 picks after Davis. But that was also without pads and without real hitting. Davis excels as a physical corner and he loves to lay the wood. He's also the better player in run support - based on their college performances - which will certainly be beneficial to Vontae in his bid to win the starting job.

Meanwhile, it's looking like Jason Allen and Nate Jones will be in a battle to make the team. Of course, both could make it if the Dolphins keep six corners or if they give up on Eric Green despite signing him just a few months ago. But I still believe that it's likely that the coaches will only keep five corners - and I expect Green to be one of them. That means Allen and Jones will both have to prove they belong. Jones probably has the upper hand because he was the team's nickel back while Allen ended the year recovering from a broken hand. But Allen is a good special teams contributor - he led the team in solo special teams tackles last year with 14 - and he has a much more expensive contract. In fact, Jones is a free agent following the '09 season, meaning it could be even easier to cut ties with Jones.

THE KEY BATTLE

The key battle, like I said above, will be between Vontae Davis, Sean Smith, and Eric Green for both the starting job and the job of nickel back. We know that fans will all be pulling for the two rookies to land at #2 and #3 on the depth chart, shoving Green down to fourth. But you have to wonder if the coaches would be comfortable with having rookies fill the role of both starting corner and nickel back. What I guess I'm saying is that I get the feeling Green will, at the very least, get some playing time early in the season as the team's nickel - assuming he doesn't continue to get beat every day once camp begins - while the two rookies get more comfortable.

Of course, the optimist in me is praying for both Smith and Davis to excel in camp and win those two jobs behind Will Allen. But how likely is it for two rookie corners to receive extensive playing time from day one?

THE PREDICTION

We know Will Allen, Vontae Davis, and Sean Smith will all be on the team. I also expect Eric Green to stick. If the Dolphins do keep six corners, then this is a fairly easy prediction - Jason Allen and Nate Jones both make the team. But if they don't - and I suspect they won't - then I think Jason Allen will just barely make the cut. But there's a very real chance that the '09 season is his final one in Miami.

Dolphins survive scare in KC; now one win away from division title

Matty I — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 05:25:19 -0000

These Dolphins seem to defy logic, don't they? Last week, they won a game in which they held the ball for 17 fewer minutes than their opponent. This week, the Fins went on the road and won a game in which they allowed almost 500 yards of offense. Oh - and it was the coldest game the Miami Dolphins had ever played in.

And now, after winning just one game last year, the Miami Dolphins have 10 wins and are staring a division championship right in the face.

Wow.

Onto the headlines:

PENNINGTON THE EPITOME OF THE TERM "MVP"
Chad Pennington is officially one of my heroes. It's that simple. And he needs to be heavily involved in the league MVP talk. Because there's no doubt in my mind that without him, this amazing turnaround doesn't happen.

On Sunday in Kansas City, Pennington led the Dolphins in freezing temperatures and subzero wind chills to one of their biggest wins in years. And he led his back from a halftime deficit. His stat-line may not be overly impressive - 26/34, 235, 3 TDs, 1 Int - though it's definitely nothing to brush off. But what's more important is how Pennington leads this team in key moments - making all the key plays.

And I have two specific moments to highlight.

The firs,t of course, is when he led the Dolphins on that epic, championship-caliber 13 play, 85 yard drive in the 4th quarter with the score tied at 31 - a drive that ate up 8:33 off of the clock and resulted in what would be the game-winning touchdown. Earlier this season, Pennington might have had to say something before the start of a drive like this. But this time was different. Pennington said after the game:

"I didn't have to say a word. I could see it in our guys' eyes. 'This is it. This is what we've gotta do.' Earlier in the season you didn't see that. Now you see that, guys having a sense of urgency, understanding what the situation's all about."

On this "championship-caliber" drive, Pennington was perfect - literally. He connected on all 7 of his pass attempts for 65 yards - including a 14 yard TD pass to Anthony Fasano on a play where the Chiefs were blitzing and Pennington read the defense and knew exactly where he had to go with the ball. He got rid of it quickly to Fasano, who made a terrific catch on a pass that was slightly behind him because of how quick Chad had to get rid of it, who then carried KC defenders into the endzone with him. What a way to cap a season-saving drive.

But that drive might not have been possible if not for the second "CP" moment I want to quickly highlight. The Chiefs had just kicked a FG on their first possession of the 2nd half to take a 7 point lead. The Dolphins were facing a 3rd & 10 after starting the drive off with two incompletions. That's when Pennington dropped back to pass and calmly connected with Davone Bess - who is quickly becoming a damn good receiver - for a 12 yard gain and a first down. Two play later, the Dolphins had tied the game up thanks to a Ricky Williams 4 yard TD run.

I don't even dare think about how this game plays out if Pennington doesn't convert that 3rd & 10 play. A "3 and out" there would have been absolutely disastrous. But leave it to CP to save the say - with a little help from D-Bess.

AT LEAST THE DEFENSE SHOWED UP FOR THE 2ND HALF
We all know that the defense was damn disappointing on Sunday. The first half was especially ugly. The Dolphins allowed 347 total yards in a half to a 2-win team - which resulted in 28 first-half points for the Chiefs.

But the 2nd half was different. The defense played much better - and you have to credit the coaching staff for whatever adjustments they made at halftime and whatever they said to the team at halftime. It worked. It worked tremendously.

The Chiefs gained just 145 yards in the 2nd half. Sure, that sounds like a lot. But following their opening possession of the 2nd half - which resulted in the only 3 points of the half for KC - the Dolphins allowed the Chiefs to gain just 71 yards on 19 plays the rest of the half. And the Chiefs converted just 1 third down in the entire half. The defense was able to make plays to get off the field in the 2nd half - especially in the 4th quarter, which helped the Dolphins have a 9 minute advantage in time of possession in the decisive final quarter.

And the one player who stood out defensively all game long was cornerback Andre Goodman. Goodman had as good of a game as I've seen all year from any Dolphin cornerback. His interception on KC's first possession set up the Fins for a field goal and an early 10-0 lead. And then for the rest of the game, Goodman played "lights out" defense, blanketing his man - whoever it happened to be at the time - for all 4 quarters. He ended the game with a career-high 5 pass deflections to go along with his interception. And whenever a Chiefs' receiver or tight end made a big play, I never noticed Goodman being the player at fault. That's when you know you had a stand-out game.

But other players also made some plays at key moments. Jason Ferguson, who might have played his worst game as a Dolphin in terms of his run-stuffing, made a huge play when he got in the face of Tyler Thigpen and forced Thigpen into a terrible throw that resulted in a Nathan Jones interception. That was a key moment - possibly the biggest defensive play all game. The Dolphins had just tied the game at 31 on the previous drive and the Chiefs were again driving on the Fins - down to Miami's 26 yard line at the time of Thigpen's hurried throw.

Matt Roth also made a huge play at a key moment, reading the rollout on 4th & 1 late in the 4th quarter and stopping Thigpen, who slipped down when trying to avoid Roth, to give the ball back to Miami. Roth even said after the game that he knew the bootleg was coming - yelling it out at the line of scrimmage to alert his teammates. That just goes to show you how prepared Tony Sparano and his staff have this team on gameday.

QUICK HITS
-Despite the win, there are still things that need to be said. First off, why did the Dolphins decide to single-cover Tony Gonzalez often with a linebacker? Gonzo easts linebackers for lunch. And even using Yeremiah Bell on Gonzalez isn't good enough. He should have been double-teamed all game long.

-I loved the idea to go for that 4th& 1 inside the 5 yard line late in the 2nd quarter. But I was hoping for either a run p the middle or a bootleg, rolling out Pennington and letting him look for one of their 3 tight ends rolling to the right as well. A fade pass to a third string TE? Terrible call - especially in that wind. But I'm sure Sparano and Dan Henning will learn from this mistake. Remember - Sparano is a rookie, too.

-Yes, Nathan Jones had a crucial interception (that fell right into his arms, basically, thanks to pressure up the middle). But he got beat a lot on Sunday. Same for Will Allen. Allen looked lost at times. And can somebody get that man some cleats that help him stay on his feet?

-Earth to Joey Porter and the rest of the pass rush. We could have used some pressure on Thigpen - who had all day and night to throw most of the time. Can't do that next week against Brett Favre.

-Enough with the gripes, though. Patrick "WildCobbs" is the prototypical "Parcells kind of player." He does it all - making big plays in many ways. It could be on the ground. It could be through the air. It could be as a return man. It could be as a member of the coverage unit. What a player!

-Anthony Fasano = Mark Bavaro. If you're too young, research Bavaro - the popular Giants' TE during the Parcells era in NY. They are eerily similar players.

-David Martin strikes again! Where was this last year?

-Kudos to this offensive line! They played well today. The blocking on that end-around to Ted Ginn was amazing. Same on the reverse to Cobbs. All told, the Fins ran for 168 yards and Chad Pennington was never sacked - and rarely touched. And here's something to keep in mind. The same 5 players played the entire game along the offensive line. That means Samson Satele was at center all game, Andy Alleman was at left guard. And Ike Ndukwe was at right guard. And it worked well. They might be gelling - finally.

-All of a sudden, Miami's special teams coverage units are damn good. Nice job by this front office to find key cogs to the coverage units during the season.

FINAL THOUGHT
I could easily go on and one about this game and this team. It's been an amazing season - possibly the most enjoyable season in my lifetime. Their 9-game improvement over last season is the best turnaround ever for a 1-win team and is the second best single-season turnaround in history, regardless of record. The record is held by the Colts, who went from 3-13 to 13-3. A win next week matches that record.

Enjoy this next day or so. And then get ready to turn all of your attention to the Jets - a game that is quite possibly the biggest game the Dolphins have played in a decade!

One win stands in between the Dolphins and immortality!

Dolphins keep on rolling; knock off Niners to win 3rd in a row

Matty I — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 05:45:04 -0000

It was yet another tough, heart-stopping football game for the Dolphins. It took all 60 minutes to decide. Dolphin fans everywhere were definitely on the edge of their seats. Hearts pounded. Stomachs ached. Throats were sore from screaming.

Ah yes - this is what it feels like to play meaningful December football. And despite all the pain and suffering that we all might have felt as this game played out, I wouldn't have it any other way.

As this team has done time and time again, the Dolphins made just enough plays and defeated the 49ers to win for the 7th time in 8 games. That's right - the Miami Dolphins, who won just one game last season, are 7-1 in their last 8 and are officially one of the hottest - if not the hottest - team in the NFL.

WINNING WHEN THE NUMBERS SAY OTHERWISE
"All wins ain't cute, but a 'W' is always pretty." That's what Jason Ferguson said following the Dolphins's win over SF on Sunday.

And if you were to just simply look at the numbers from Sunday's game, you would think that the scoreboard was incorrect. Consider these figures:

The 49ers ran 79 offensive plays, 37 more than the Dolphins. They out-gained the Dolphins by 70 yards. They picked up 24 total first downs, 13 more than the Dolphins. They were 8/17 on 3rd down. They had 13 plays of 10 or more yards. The Dolphins committed 8 penalties to SF's 4. And the Niners held the ball for 17 more minutes than Miami.

And yet the Dolphins found a way to win this game - a game that had the feeling of a playoff game. It was intense. It was physical. The crowd was loud all game. And when it mattered most, the Dolphins were the players making plays. That is playoff football, indeed. And just as it is in the playoffs, it doesn't matter how you get the win. Like Ferguson said, a win is always pretty.

DEFENSE STEPS UP WHEN IT HAS TO
Yes, the 49ers gained 318 yards of offense and converted nearly 50% of their third downs. Yes, they had 13 plays of over 10 yards. But they only had 9 points. When you're talking defense, it's that points total that matters. Nothing else.

Sure, between the 20s, this Dolphins' defense didn't look very sharp. But don't that let deceive you. The Fins again employed the "bend but don't break" theory of defense and kept the 49ers out of the endzone. And as you all know, that's now 3 full games (12 quarters) that the Dolphins haven't allowed a touchdown - the first time the Dolphins have accomplished such a feat since 1973.

And from my perspective, it all started with the pass rush. Using a combination of blitzes, the Dolphins picked up 5 sacks and many more QB hurries. It seemed like Shaun Hill was under pressure. And if not for Hill's impressive pocket awareness and mobility, he likely would have been sacked at least 3 or 4 more times.

It was also the pass rush that stepped up in key moments to make plays. I think back to two, in particular. The first was the Niners' final possession of the 1st half. They had the ball 1st & 10 at Miami's 28 yard line before a sack by Charlie Anderson, a 5 yard penalty, and a sack by Nathan Jones knocked SF out of FG range and forced them to punt. Great defensive calls by Paul Pasqualoni and great execution on the field.

The other moment I think to, of course, is Joey Porter's game-ending sack of Shaun Hill. Porter was held in check for most of the game. But when the game was on the line on 4th & 10 at Miami's 21 - with Miami's playoff hopes on the line - it was Porter, the leader of this defense, who made the game's biggest play. He blew right by the right tackle after simply getting leverage on him and ended this heart-pounding game.

The best part of Porter's game-sealing play? He called it. According to Tony Sparano's post-game press conference, Porter actually told Sparano at halftime that he would make some kind of game-changing play. He said to Sparano, "I'm a closer." Indeed he is. And after that play, Joey can celebrate any way he chooses. He chose to rip off his helmet on the field and throw it. I'm cool with that. And if he had decided to rip off somebody's head and throw it, I would have been cool with that, too.

QUICK HITS
-I always heard that a good way to criticize somebody or something is to first give a compliment and then say the complaint. So, first, my compliment. Nice job by Dan Henning on coming up with some creative offensive formations. Splitting out David Martin as a wide receiver worked out well. And I really like the idea of putting Ronnie Brown in motion, splitting him out wide. It usually got him lined up with either a linebacker of a safety - a big mismatch. I hope to see more of that in the coming weeks.

-And now for my criticism. The Dolphins need to run the ball more. Ronnie Brown had just 3 carries in the first half - which is really unacceptable. And 11 total touches in the entire game for Brown is just wrong. It should be illegal. I hate to criticize after a win, but it has to be done. Ronnie needs the ball more.

-What a tale of two halves for Chad Pennington. In the first half, Pennington was 8/11 for 131 yards and 2 touchdowns. In the second half, Chad was 4/8 for 25 yards. But hey, like all of you, I still love him.

-Let's hear it for these tight ends! Five of Chad's 12 completions were to his tight ends. David Martin's catch was just spectacular. Where was that last year? And congrats to Joey Haynos on his first career catch - which was for a TD. And don't be surprised to see him more involved. He's a 6'7 monster and could really become a force in the redzone.

-On the flip side, the lack of production from the receivers on Sunday is a slight cause for concern. Let's just hope for better production next week.

-Both Jason Ferguson and Kendall Langford played damn well on Sunday. The Niners were very physical at the point of attack, but both Ferguson and Langford did a good job standing their ground.

-Please lock up Yeremiah Bell with a new contract.

-Brandon Fields is slowly becoming a very good punter. A lot of Miami's success on Sunday is thanks to Fields' ability to pin the Niners deep and not let the ball get into the endzone for the touchback.

-Did you know that Chad Pennington broke a Dam Marino record on Sunday? His run of 17 consecutive completions, dating back to last week's game, broke Dan's previous record of 15.

-Yes, I praised the defense. But they have got to do a better job of getting off the field and not allowing drives of 16, 16, and 13 - eating up 22 minutes of the clock.

-No turnovers yet again. Only 10 this season. The NFL record is 14.

FINAL THOUGHT
Despite the negatives, "Mission 3W" has officially become "Mission 2W." Like all of you, I'm not sure my heart can take any more of this. But I'll gladly take another month or so of games like this.

Next up is Kansas City - another game that won't be as easy as some probably want to think it will be.

Let "Mission 2W" begin!