SB Nation User Blog: LeftCoastFinFan

Anybody notice some comments missing from yesterday?

LeftCoastFinFan — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 23:49:28 -0000

I know of at least 3 comments that were in fan posts yesterday that are missing today, one from TTD, and two from me. I know the site was having some problems posting yesterday and am wondering if that is the reason.

I guess Matty could have deleted them, but the were not offensive comments so I am presuming that is not issue.

Just curious to know if things are getting lost somehow. I can actually see the comments when I do a search for them, but they are no longer in the comment sections of the posts.

The Dolphins' Secret Weapon Against Brady

LeftCoastFinFan — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:02:32 -0000

I seem to be picking up on a lot of doubt from folks around here about whether or not these Miami "Smashmouth" Dolphins can beat up on the New England "Hair pulling, girly slapping, pansy-ass" Patriots. All I can say to this is,

WHAT THE HELL FIN FANS?!!

I mean, come on folks! Even when the Fins have been going through the worst of times we have somehow figured out how to beat the Pats.

So ASIDE from the fact that the stinkin' Pats lost Richard Seymour.... ASIDE from the fact that their starting DE is out, and they are on the 3rd string guy.... ASIDE from the fact that they have been short on LBs and will probably not be able to stop the WC effectively with what they have..... ASIDE from the fact that right now we have THREE CBs playing better than ANY Dolphins CBs since Madison and Surtain.... ASIDE from the fact that it is THIS game that Sparano and Co. have been grooming Pat White and the SECRET spread offense for... ASIDE from ALL THAT, WHAT is the ONE thing that has been consistent through the years; the thing that is our consistent "Patriot Killer"; the thing that gives Brady nightmares before a game with the Dolphins???

If you don't know, you are probably either a new Dolphins fan or not a fan at all. So rather than spell it out for you, let me SHOW you.

Ireland to Sparano: "Tony, last year our secret weapon against the Pats was the Wildcat. But THIS YEAR…. wait’ll Brady gets a load of THIS!!"

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"Ya know, I usually feel bad about picking on someone smaller… but YOU, I LOVE knocking the crap out of…."

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"Pssst…. Tom… guess who?"

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"Just pretend he's a grape, Crowder. Keep crushing him until he let's out a little wine."

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"C'mere boy! Don't you run from me, son! That will only make it worse!"

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"BILL, HELP!!! GET ME OUTTA HERE!!! OH GOD, NOW HE CAN FLY????!!"

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"RUN TOM! RUN!!! WE CAN’T STOP HIM!! HE’S COMING! HE’S COMING!!!!"

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"LOOK! I’M THROWING IT AWAY!! YOU CAN HAVE IT… OH PLEASE, DEAR LORD SAVE ME!"

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"Taxi! Get me out of here… quick!!!"

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"Look man, I told you. Next time, just stay down."

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"Hey Tom, here’s your nuts back. You left ’em on the field."

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Most of these I posted in a thread last year, but I thought now would be a good time to resurrect it and get everyone fired up about this game. If you don't think for one second, that Tom Brady is PAINFULLY aware that JT is once again a Miami Dolphin, you haven't been paying attention!

GO FINS!!!!!!!!

Ginn paves way as Dolphins sweep season series against Jets - Part Deux

LeftCoastFinFan — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:17:51 -0000

I started to post this as a comment in Matty's main thread, and realized that it was getting pretty long. So, incorporating the main points in Matty's post, I am adding my own 2¢ here about yesterday's game.

To begin with, did this strike a chord with anyone else?

It was the kind of performance to make even the most optimistic Dolphin fan think, "here we go again."

Boy did Matty call this! This was me yesterday. After the Bess muff, I started to get worried and on the last Jets drive, I was definitely thinking "here we go again".

Also, I am very happy for Ginn. As a Fin fan, you gotta be happy when a player steps up, even if he is proving you wrong in the process. I have not been a big fan of Ginn returning kicks.... mainly because I have never seen the three things out of him that I saw yesterday:

First, he actually hit it up in the hole right away on both returns. None of that fancy running backwards crap. Maybe he is starting to understand the speed of the guys he is playing against. Running backward or laterally across the line doesn't work well in the NFL.
Second, he juked someone! Yes, those of you who have seen my posts criticizing Ginn on returns will know that this has been my #1 complaint against him... the apparent inability to make some miss. This is the first time I have really ever seen him dodge guys!
Third, he took some contact without giving up and crumpling to the field in a ball. Granted, it wasn't a LOT of contact, but part of that was due to him dodging guys so they couldn't get a clean hit. Because of his history, when he ran into the wedge, I was surprised not to see him go down right way. But it was on the one return, when the defender grabbed for him along the sideline, and Ginn stumbled for a second, that I found myself VERY surprised that he did not fall down or go out of bounds.

These things are new for Ginn, and show some promise. i would not even worry about his progress as a WR at this point. I would try to reinforce what he is doing right in the return game, and build on that. Remember, Hester is only now starting to show some skill in the passing offense, after being mainly relegated to the return game for the past few years.

----------------------------------------------

Here are a few of my own "quick hits":

- Bess had a bad game, but part of the thing to keep in mind is that Bess has not played well with Henne at QB yet. The muff was just a stupid mistake and I don't think we will see that again. But he might have a little trouble adjusting to Henne's throws.

- Our Defensive play calling was the problem in the second half. Our rotation is solid. Our guys can make plays. But this is the 3rd, 4th? (I have lost count now) game this season when the D almost goes into a Prevent when they have the lead. This is horrible play calling by Paul Pasqualoni. We run a 3-4, with at least 3 solid pass rushing OLBs. But when you leave the LBs back in coverage to try and cover the TE, we get burned. And we have solid DBs, but when you leave the WRs all day to get open, we get burned. When we consistently bring pressure with our front 3 (which is pretty consistent) and then bring 1 or 2 guys coming from different directions, we almost always create pressure. i haven't gone back and looked at the game and counted the times we backed off on bringing that extra man or two, but IIRC, in the second half we have done it quite a bit. I am definitely laying this one on the play calling and not the players.

- I LOVE our DBs!!! I am still down on Wilson, but he played better in terms of missed tackles, and was AWESOME on those blitzes. I still think he is a SS trying to play FS, and this is a long term problem. But he helped yesterday and nothing bad really stuck out.

- Speaking of DBs, I can forgive Davis for going for the pick. He played will and will learn from this mistakes. However, did anyone else catch the announcers calling our Sean Smith for giving up a play on Edwards, and notice that it was actually Davis that got beat? I didn't have this recorded, so I couldn't go back and look, but when they replayed it during the game, it was Davis that was in coverage and Smith coming across the field to help make the tackle. I am not sure if it is the same play Matty is talking about in his post as a the "Sean Smith rookie mistake".

- I can't say I am surprised by the lack of drop off at MLB with Crowder out. I was pleased to see Torbor step up, but Crowder has always been merely good... not Pro Bowl caliber. So Torbor really didn't have big shoes to fill. It is good to know that we have depth at the position though. Maybe next year we draft that Pro Bowl caliber MLB.

- I was actually glad to see the Dolphins not have to rely on the Wildcat, but it certainly wasn't because they were moving the ball well out of their base Offense. The whole Offense seemed to lack commitment this game... no WC, no pounding running game, now deep passing threat. Ricky Williams was really the biggest bright spot. It just felt like they were afraid to try and grind it out with the WC after the Jets had most certainly spent a lot of time preparing for it. Which makes sense. But wouldn't you have expected a heavy dose of TE/RB screens? Or pounding the ball inside? Or something consistent? I mean, with all the 3 and outs, if you are at least pounding the ball, eventually you will have some success.

- We are talking about mistakes made this game, in regard to our Davis and Smith, Henne, and Bess, but in this case, chalk them all up to a good thing. If all of these guys can make those mistakes in a hostile game setting, and the Miami Dolphins can still come away with the win, then we can consider them valuable learning experiences and hope that the entire team gets better because of the mistakes. The one area I am concerned about is the play calling. If you win, do the coordinators learn from it? Or do they view it as good enough to do the same thing next time?

Here are some interesting facts:

- The Dolphins went 4-14 on 3rd down conversions.

- The Dolphins lost the TOP battle by almost NINE MINUTES.

- The Dolphins GAINED a net total of 104 TOTAL YDS ON OFFENSE.

- They LOST 60 YDS ON OFFENSE due to sacks.

- Chad Henne averaged 1.9 yds per pass.

- Ricky Williams alone produced 68 yds of the total offense.

- While the run D was solid overall, Thomas Jones ran for 102 yd (almost as much as the total Dolphins Offense), AND averaged 3.78 yds per carry. Those are not bad number for Jones. What this means regarding the Fins run D is that they made the Jets grind it out and did not give up big plays on the ground. Not bad.

- Did anyone here foresee saying, reading, or hearing the statement "Special Teams won us this game." this year? I know I sure didn't.

BEST QUOTE OF THE ENTIRE SEASON SO FAR, WITHOUT QUESTION!

TOOL OF THE GAME
Bart Scott - you're an idiot.

Dolphins have true character while Jets are full of characters

LeftCoastFinFan — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:55 -0000

This is the best article I have read so far about the BS that continues to come out of the Jets locker room and office of the Richard-head coach.

And you know what the BEST part of this article is? It does NOT come from a local Dolphins beat writer. Oh no! This comes from a newpaper in the Northeast!

Here are a few of my favorite quotes, and the link so you can read it yourself. It really gave me another level of personal satisfaction to know that and awful lot of other people around the country recognize the real lack of character and integrity that this pitiful team and it's coach have.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. The Miami Dolphins are a team with character. The New York Jets are a bunch of jerks.

That, as much as Sunday's 30-25 final at the Meadowlands, is the difference between the bitter AFC East rivals.

The Dolphins overcame an internal earthquake that shook the lineup and an external avalanche of criticism that threatened to shake their confidence. The Jets talked smack and got smacked.

The Dolphins went to a bully's house and didn't back down. The Jets tried to bully the Dolphins and got a black eye for their trouble.

The Dolphins and Jets. Night and day.

Through adversity and despite their own flaws, the Dolphins responded in this game the way teams with resilience are supposed to respond by winning and claiming their second victory in as many games against the Jets.

The Jets?

They are a beaten, battered bunch that has lost four of five games but still, inexplicably, don't know when to shut up.

"We outplayed them but got beat," Rex Ryan bloviated. "You have to give their kickoff return guy credit. It's almost 4-to-1 in yardage, but I'd rather be in their locker room with a win than here, even though I'd rather be in this one moving forward. We have a better record right now, so I'll take this locker room."

Go for it, Rex. Have your locker room filled with big talk and so little in the form of results. Have your locker room that drips sarcasm when a little humility is more appropriate.

The Dolphins take this victory because they found a way to win when there seemingly was no way. On a day the offense was ineffective the Dolphins were outgained by the Jets 378 to 104 Miami still scored 30 points.

The Dolphins got 14 of those points on Ted Ginn Jr. kick return touchdowns. And those touchdowns were a statement about Ginn's character.

Ginn, you see, was benched by coach Tony Sparano last week. He was publicly criticized for playing poorly against New Orleans. He could have retreated.

But Ginn responded with that 100-yard return and then that 101-yard return. Note to the coaching staff: Let him return punts, too!

Ginn wasn't the only embattled Miami player last week. Free safety Gibril Wilson was similarly relieved of his starting job, and rookie Chris Clemons shared snaps with the veteran most of the game.

Wilson responded with two sacks of New York quarterback Mark Sanchez.

Resilience. Character.

"Some people rise up," Sparano said, "some people don't."

Miami Dolphins activate Matt Roth, could play against Jets

LeftCoastFinFan — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 22:19:24 -0000

Miami Dolphins activate Matt Roth, could play against Jets

Roth, who missed more than 2 1/2 months of practice with a mysterious groin injury, has been activated off the reserve list, the Dolphins announced Saturday.

To make room for Roth on their 53-man roster, the Dolphins have released 2009 fifth-round pick John Nalbone. That leaves the Dolphins with just two tight ends -- starter Anthony Fasano and Joey Haynos -- on their active roster.

Miami Dolphins release rookie tight end John Nalbone

LeftCoastFinFan — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 22:17:49 -0000

Miami Dolphins release rookie tight end John Nalbone

The Miami Dolphins have released rookie tight end John Nalbone from the team's 53-man roster.

Nalbone, a Monmouth standout whom the Dolphins selected in the fifth round of the 2009 draft, hadn't been active all season.

It's likely the Dolphins made this roster move to activate one of the players on the team's eight-man practice squad in time for Sunday's 1 p.m. game against the Jets.

Nalbone was one of four tight ends on the team's roster, which includes fellow rookie Kory Sperry, who is a member of the practice squad.

It's possible Nalbone could be added to the Dolphins practice squad early next week if he isn't claimed by another NFL team.

The Jets Are REEEEAALLY Mad!!!

LeftCoastFinFan — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:58:44 -0000

It's not often that Armando @ The Herald writes something that:

1) I agree with, AND

2) Makes me reeeeaaally laugh.

But this blog entry did, so I thought I would share it. The link to the full article is at the bottom.

Enjoy!

To get his little minions all excited about Sunday's game against the Dolphins, Jets coach Rex Ryan used a quote that appeared on this blog following the first Miami beatdown of the Jets on Oct 12.

"Coming into the game we're watching how they blitz and we were like, 'OK we'll just sit back and play football then, and let's see who has the tougher 11 people on the field,' " Ronnie Brown said on Oct. 14.

Well, you'd think Brown had stolen Ryan's buffet ticket because the coach was so vexed he actually read the quote aloud to his players during a team meeting on Wednesday.

So the Jets, who wanted revenge against the Dolphins before hearing the quote, now reeeaaaaalllly want revenge against the Dolphins. Oooooh, now they're reeeeaaaallly, reeeaaallly motivated. Now that Brown's incendiary quote has set the Jets' collective britches on fire, they're going to reeaaaallly study their game plans and reeeealllly practice reeeaaaally super duper hard.

Jets all hot and bothered by Ronnie quote
Armando Salguero - The Miami Herald

Joe Namath

LeftCoastFinFan — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 06:14:15 -0000

Joe Namath

Will the REAL Pat White, please stand up!

LeftCoastFinFan — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 23:36:01 -0000

What's that? You ARE standing up?

hehe.. sorry, couldn't resist the short joke.

However, it seems lately that "Pat White" seems to come up as a topic of discussion in almost every FanPost on The Phinsider, so I thought it would be a good idea to give the discussion a place of it's own.

There has been a lot of talk lately about how Pat White was a "wasted pick"; how we would have been better off taking a player at a position of need, like Linebacker, with that 2nd rounder. And a lot of the recent disillusionment has a lot to do with the fact that White is not immediately contributing. As a matter of fact, many of us here have felt that, the few times the coaches have tried to get him into games, he actually had a negative impact on the offense - stopping drives, and stifling momentum. And you can include me, to a degree, in feeling like White has been more of an experiment by the coaching staff, rather than a role player with any particular role to play.

While all of this criticism is certainly reasonable, and probably fair, there is still another side to the story. One that many Dol-Fans, myself included, have either forgotten, or of which they were never aware.

When Pat White was working out at the Combine, prior to the draft, there was a LOT of interest in him by quite a few teams; the putrescent and perennially annoying Patriots among them (look it up, I had to to write it).

And the interest was not just about the Wildcat, or moving him to another position. During the QB drills, it was White who seemed to come away the clear winner:

From Yahoo! Sports

White put up what appeared to be the strongest throwing performance of this year’s scouting combine. This coming from a player who had been projected as an Antwaan Randle El type – a future NFL wideout with occasional passing gadgetry.

But after appearing to outshine USC’s Mark Sanchez in drills, he might have changed some minds.

As expected, White ran the best 40-yard dash of any quarterback at the combine, notching times in the 4.48-4.54 range. But he opened eyes when he began throwing, working out in the same quarterback group with Sanchez. White squared up well and showed a good arm, particularly on a set of out routes, which typically separate the best quarterbacks from the pack. He delivered with good timing, and appeared to have consistently good ball placement.

"I think he showed that he can be a legitimate quarterback prospect," said an NFC assistant coach who watched White’s workout. "If you cover one eye and just watch where the football is going, I don’t think you would question the skill level there. But the whole package is where you uncover that eye and say, ‘OK, he’s not the [ideal size].’ Then you have to get into some judgment calls."

And this from Don Banks at SI

...of all the quarterbacks who threw on Sunday in Lucas Oil Stadium, none looked better than West Virginia's Pat White, the record-breaking senior passer who many have been trying to project as anything but a quarterback.
White threw the ball accurately and with authority in his quarterback group, looking poised and comfortable in an unfamiliar setting that has thrown many a highly-ranked quarterback off his game. White was especially strong in throwing deep outs, which always catch the eye of NFL scouts.
"I'll tell you who looked good today and that was Pat White,'' one longtime NFL offensive assistant coach told me. "He really helped himself with that workout. He made people recognize him as a quarterback.''
"He was sharp and he made all the throws you want to see,'' another NFL talent evaluator told me. "Our quarterbacks coach said he looked better than most people anticipated.''

And even right before the draft, Mike Mayock (who I personally would rather listen to an opinion from than goofy haired Mel Kiper, any day!) had this to say about White:

"Pat White is not a gimmick,'' Mayock said. "He's the type of kid who you want the ball in his hands. I don't care if he's running it, throwing it, or catching it. I want the ball in his hands. Some teams like him as a quarterback. I'd take him in the second round with no hesitation, use him as a Wildcat this season, and try to develop him as a full-time quarterback, because I think he's got that kind of ability.''

Now, that doesn't mean that everything is roses. White is still much smaller than your typical NFL quarterback... and I'm not just talking height. Because he is so sleight of frame, there are questions about his durability. But almost every talent evaluator that discussed White after his performances in the Senior Bowl and at the Combine generally agreed with this comment from Paul Burmeister (host of NFL Network's College Football Now and Path to the Draft):

....he really impressed people with how well the threw the football. He has a natural rhythm, nice touch, and better velocity and arm strength than people gave him credit for at West Virginia.

Having said that, there are some legit concerns with him being a full-time QB -- he is under six feet and less than 200 pounds. There are no starting QBs in the NFL at that height and weight. Two, he was not operating an NFL offense at West Virginia. The concern there is he spent very little time under center. So the height/weight thing, and the majority of his training being in the shot gun, are real concerns. I think he has impressed enough the last few weeks, though, that teams are intrigued by him. He won't get out of the second day. I think he's a second-round pick. Then the fun begins, because an offensive coordinator has to figure out a way to develop him as a QB and utilize all of his talents.

So read that last part again - "Then the fun begins, because an offensive coordinator has to figure out a way to develop him as a QB and utilize all of his talents."

Boy, do I feel stupid. Of course that's what they are doing now! They have an exceptional athlete, who by all accounts, is an exceptionally talented QB - he has accuracy, arm strength, and seems to make good decisions. But he needs to learn the Pro Style offense, and the coaching staff is going to be tinkering with him this year and probably into next to figure out two things:

1) Can he play QB full time and be successful?

2) Where else can they utilize his unique skill set?

Personally, I would like to see him returning kicks while they are trying to figure out where to work him in on offense. that is nothing against Pat White; his skill set; or his desire to play QB. But when I ask myself, "Self! Where do you think Pat White could help this football team today, taking into account his entire skill set, and the reality of how long it will probably take him to develop into being able to play QB?", the answer seems obvious. He has sub 4.5 speed, great hands, and is a shifty little son of a gun! Don't believe me? Watch this!

I'd love to see him back there taking returns to the house, but whatever the staff does with him in the meantime, I am sure he will be a play maker and an asset to the team.

It just might take some time....

-LCFF

Where's Omar?

LeftCoastFinFan — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 00:10:22 -0000

It has been brought to my attention, that a certain South Florida Dolphins Beat writer has become a regular troll at the Phinsider. So my question to all of you is, "WHO is it? Which one of you, seemingly naive fans, is REALLY just hanging around here to get ideas for your next article?

I mean, I know we have a lot of knowledgeable fans, and insightful viewpoints, but at least identify yourself, and maybe throw some of us a "kudo" one in a while for inspiring some of your writing.

Come on dude, seriously. Who are you, really?

Any ideas?