SB Nation User Blog: Matty I

Dolphins in the red zone: Week 9

Matty I — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 02:11:37 -0000

This post is sponsored by Comcast and their NFL RedZone channel. Want to see every touchdown from every NFL game as it happens as well as live look-ins to all of Sunday's games in key situations? Then you need Comcast's NFL RedZone.

While there may be a handful of reasons as to why the Dolphins lost to the Patriots last week, red zone inefficiency is certainly not one of them. The Dolphins were two for two finishing off scoring drives inside New England's 20 yard line. But the two red zone possessions were quite unique.

On the first one, the Dolphins only needed one play to reach the endzone. The Dolphins used a mixture of 'Wildcat' and 'WildPat' to get to New England's 15 yard line. That's when the Dolphins busted out the spread option, with Pat White running right and flipping the ball to Ricky Williams, who did the rest. It was a well designed and well executed play that was called at the perfect time and completely caught the Patriots off guard. But nobody ever wants to give the coaching staff credit when they succeed, right? Eh - I suppose this isn't the time or place to start that argument. All I ask is to be fair - as much as we all kill the coaching staff for their play-calling at times, we also need to give them credit when the play-calling and design are absolutely perfect.

Miami's second red zone trip occurred on the opening drive of the second half. The Dolphins slowly matriculated the football down the field. But the key play on the drive as a 3rd & 5 play from NE's 14. After back-to-back Pat White runs, Chad Henne came back into the game and connected on a perfect pass with Greg Camarillo for 14 yards and a first down.

From the 2 yard line, the Dolphins then used the 'Wildcat' exclusively. Ronnie Brown ran left for a yard on first down, and probably would have gotten into the endzone if Jake Long didn't miss on a block of Brandon McGowan. Brown was then stuffed on a run up the middle on second down, setting up a 3rd & goal from the 1. I loved the play call of having Ronnie take the snap, roll left, and throw a rainbow touchdown pass to tight end Joey Haynos. Again, well designed, well timed, and well executed. Kudos to the coaching staff for the call.

Over their last three games, the Dolphins are 3/3 in the red zone. For the season, the Dolphins are a very efficient 65%. Let's hope for more continued red zone efficiency in the coming weeks.

Dolphins vs Bucs: 5 Good Questions

Matty I — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 21:05:14 -0000

In preparation of Sunday's intrastate battle between the Dolphins and Buccaneers, myself and Niko from Buc 'Em - SBN's Bucs blog - have exchanged some questions about each other's team. Niko's responses to my questions about the Bucs are below. Be sure to head over to Buc' Em to see my responses to his questions about the Dolphins sometime in Thursday.

Matty I: While many aren't surprised with the struggles that Tampa Bay has gone through this season, I don't think anyone thought they'd struggle this much. What's been the single biggest reason for Tampa's disappointing start?

Niko: Its hard to put it on one reason, but the bottom line is the Bucs did for 2009 what they were supposed to do probably in 2006 or 2004. Instead of rebuilding, they kept plugging in BandAids, and now in 2009, that was all that was left. Youngsters, and bandaids. The little flesh colored plastic bandages were removed in the offseason, and now this team has to put together a real team like it did for Tony Dungy in 1996.

Matty I: Josh Freeman made his first career start on Sunday against the Packers and, from an outsider's perspective, played relatively well in leading his team to their first win. Can you break down Freeman's game in a nut shell (strengths, weaknesses, etc...)?

Niko: We were all amazed mostly at his poise. Here is a kid who did not start out brilliantly, and had many drops kill his completion percentage. But unlike other quarterbacks in recent years, Freeman was able to convert 3rd downs and convert red zone opportunities into Touchdowns instead of FGs. He did great moving around and throwing on the move.

Matty I: Many might not be very familiar with these Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Tell us a player or two that Dolphin fans might not know too well right now but will certainly be familiar with by the end of Sunday's game.

Niko: Wide receiver Sammy Stroughter (#18) was an up and coming college player who had three or four close relatives die all at once. He suffered from depression at the worst time, going into his senior season and the combine. The Bucs got a steal picking him up in the 7th round and he is going to be a leading receiver for Freeman in the years to come. He ran a kickoff back for a TD, too. Geno Hayes from Florida State wore Derrick Brooks number in Tallahassee, and he has taken his old job now, too. Hayes is coming into his own as a linebacker.

Matty I: How do you see Sunday's game unfolding? Who wins and why?

Niko: We're really not sure how to grade the Bucs win over the Packers, but we know we are still not stocked with enough talent on defense to implement Jim Bates defensive system which Dolphins fans know oh so well. I think it will be a close game and feel that Miami will run for over 250 yards - and we know what happens when you run for that much. If Miami cant run for 100 yards, it will spell trouble for you.

Matty I: And finally, same question back to you. If you could have any player on the Dolphins' roster, who would it be?

Niko: Ted Ginn Jr. would be nice, as we are lacking in WR help.

Thanks to Niko for his time. And be sure to head over to his blog for a little Dolphins talk.

And yes, I too almost fell out of my chair when I read that Niko would like to see Ted Ginn in Tampa Bay. But jokes aside, I wonder if that statement by Niko should tell us something about how others feel about Teddy. Are we being too hard on him because of his draft status - which isn't Ted's fault at all? Maybe there is still hope for him. If nothing else, assuming the Dolphins find a receiver who can stretch the field this offseason, perhaps the Dolphins should call up Niko and help him persuade Tampa's front office to give up a draft pick for Teddy.

Dolphins Second Half Preview: What to watch for

Matty I — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 04:38:11 -0000

More photos » by J. Pat Carter - AP

Are we starting to see the beginning of the end of the 'Wildcat'?

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Yesterday we took a look back at the first half of the Dolphins' season and I tried to help ease some of the pain by highlighting many of the positives to come out of the first half of the season. Today we take a look ahead as I highlight just some of the story lines to watch in the second half of the season.

But before I do that, I just want to quickly state the obvious. I know that some fans will respond by saying that the only thing to watch for is if the Dolphins can make the playoffs. But let's be real for a moment. The Dolphins are 3-5 and I think it's pretty fair to say that it will take at least 10 wins to make the playoffs in the AFC. Some will argue that 9 wins can do it and will break out the remaining schedules of other teams and begin forecasting wins and losses to compute a way that a 9 win team can make the playoffs. And while it's possible, I'm simply not counting on it. That means the Dolphins will have to go 7-1 to have a real shot at a second consecutive postseason. That's a huge task - and I'm not counting on it at all, really.

But with that said, we can all hope. After all, you never know...

Other than an unlikely playoff appearance, here are some other story lines - in no particular order - that should make the second half of Dolphins football very interesting.

Is the 'Wildcat' finally beginning to lose its teeth?
I really hope it's not because it's become part of who the Dolphins are now. And it sure did look great for the first five games of the season, averaging 6.6 yards per play out of the formation. But in their last three games, the 'Wildcat' has been rather ineffective. One can't help but wonder if the formation is beginning to hurt this team more than help it at this point.

Of course, we also now have the 'WildPat' - when rookie quarterback Pat White takes snaps and executes a spread option type of offense. I'm fairly confident that we haven't seen the last of that formation, either. But the 'Wildcat' - as defined by having a non-quarterback take the snap from center - is either going to rise up from the ashes yet again or is going to continue to slowly die a quiet death. Which one will it be?

Can Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams become just the fifth running back duo to each rush for 1,000 yards?
Three games ago, it looked like Ronnie and Ricky had a very good chance to pull off this feat - an accomplishment that former Giants' teammates Brandon Jacobs and Derrick Ward achieved just last season in New York. But suddenly, it's not looking as good. As it stands, Brown is on pace for 1,132 yards while Williams projects to just 912. But with four of the team's remaining eight games against teams that rank 22nd or lower against the run, this dynamic duo could still pull it off. But it all has to start this week with strong showings by both players against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and their 30th ranked rush defense.

Of course, for this to happen, Miami's $150 million offensive line has to start playing better than they've performed in these last three weeks. This unit looked like it was on its way to becoming one of the league's most physically dominant offensive lines. But they've looked average at best since the bye back in week six. Hopefully they get things back on track, beginning this week.

Will Chad Henne continue to improve?
Back in week five against the Jets on Monday Night Football, Chad Henne gave Dolphin fans everywhere a huge reason to be optimistic about his future. Making just his second career start, Henne completed 20 of 26 passes for 241 yards and 2 touchdowns as he lead the Dolphins to a fourth quarter comeback win over a hated division rival. But since then, Henne has looked pedestrian at best - completing just 54% of his passes for 542 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions over his last three games while being sacked 9 times. Granted - it's not all his fault by any means. His receivers don't get much separation and, when they do, are prone to dropping passes. His offensive line has also struggled at times to protect him.

Even still, I'm hoping to see continual positive progression from Henne over these final eight games of 2009. He needs to be a little bit more decisive in his reads and does need to improve his accuracy as well. With that said, I'm slowly becoming a true Chad Henne believer. Hopefully these final eight games seal the deal for me.

Can we get a little bit more Wake?
It was understandable at first. Cameron Wake was a very raw former CFL standout who needed to learn how to play the game at this level. Plus, we also had two veterans who have proven track records of getting to the quarterback. But I think it's finally time to let Cameron Wake get more and more snaps now. After his 2.5 sack performance against Buffalo, many of you wanted to see more of Wake. But I understood the coaching staff's decision at the time. Buffalo's offensive line is probably the worst in football's, so that could have contributed to the success Wake had. And like I said, we didn't realize at that point how ineffective Joey Porter (and to a lesser extent Jason Taylor) would become.

But against the Patriots last week, Wake saw 11 snaps and had a sack and a quarterback pressure. And just from my hazy memory, I do recall noticing Wake was a step or two away from getting to Brady at least one or two addditional times. Porter, meanwhile, suddenly looks old. I think it's time for Wake to see a major bump in his playing time.

How much better will the three rookies in the secondary continue to get?
One of the things to amaze me this season has been how - despite all the passing yards this team has surrendered - I don't cringe whenever the opposing quarterback drops back to pass. I imagine this has a lot to do with how well rookies Sean Smith and Vontae Davis have been performing. Have they made some mistakes? Yes. Have they gotten beat for big gains and touchdowns? Of course. But you can just tell that both of these guys are going to become excellent players very quickly, giving the Dolphins an outstanding young cornerback tandem. Sure, they will continue to surrender big gains at times throughout the remainder of the season. When that happens, just think of it as a good learning experience for these two kids. After all, the future is very bright for these two.

There's also a third rookie in the secondary, though, that I think will continue to see his playing time slowly increase as the season goes on. His name is Chris Clemons. The rookie safety out of Clemson finally got on the field three weeks ago, even starting the game against the Saints at free safety in place of Gibril Wilson. And let's be honest - if Gibril doesn't pick up his game as a cover safety, then we are likely to see more and more of the speedy rookie. That would be fine with me.

Dolphins Mid-Season Review: Shifting expectations

Matty I — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 21:10:48 -0000

by Lynne Sladky - AP

Can this head coach/quarterback (Sparano/Henne) duo eventually do what the greatest head coach/quarterback (Shula/Marino) duo in team history couldn't do?

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We've officially hit the halfway point of the 2009 Miami Dolphins season and are now a season and a half into the Bill Parcells-Jeff Ireland-Tony Sparano era in Miami. Considering where we were when the "trifecta" took over, nobody should be disappointed about where this team is in terms of the long haul. With that said, of course, it's difficult to not be disappointed with Miami's current 3-5 record.

In this league, you are what your record says you are. That's generally true. But in the grand scheme of things, the Dolphins are much more than just an average run-of-the-mill 3-5 football team.

A shift in expectations

Entering the season, I was among the many who declared we wouldn't just be satisfied with an 8-8 or 9-7 season because of the "tougher schedule" the Dolphins faced in '09 as compared to '08. I wanted to be a playoff team once again and I honestly thought this team could pull it off. But lo and behold, wouldn't you know that it was indeed these "tough games" that have dug the Dolphins into a deep hole in the AFC playoff picture.

Now I'm not saying that I'm giving up on the playoffs in 2009. In fact, if the Dolphins take care of their next three games (against Tampa Bay, Carolina, and Buffalo) and they get a little help from New England's tougher opponents (@ Indianapolis and @ New Orleans), the Patriots could potentially be heading down to Miami on December 6 with a 7-4 record to face the 6-5 Dolphins. While those are a ton of "ifs" that must break in favor of Miami, it's not totally out of question.

With that said, my own personal expectations have shifted. I'm no longer as concerned with making the playoffs in 2009. If the Dolphins somehow pull it off and reach the postseason, that's terrific. But if they don't, that's fine too. Why? Because injuries and a lack of talent at critical positions have made me more concerned with developing this team for the long haul - not just for the immediate future.

The injuries to Chad Pennington and Will Allen, in particular, have changed what this season means to the Dolphins. I'd say that most fans would agree. But it's been these losses to teams like the Colts, Saints, and Patriots that have made me realize that this Dolphins team just isn't ready to really compete with their talent level. However, the strides that this franchise has made since the 2007 disaster are remarkable.

Integration of young players

Want to know why I'm not as distraught as some other Dolphin fans seem to be about this 3-5 season? It's because of how the Dolphins are setting themselves up for the future. The coaches are doing something that you don't see too often - they are trusting a number of rookies and young players. And the result is that we're seeing tangible reasons of why we should be excited for the future of this franchise.

First and foremost, there's Chad Henne. As you all know, I was squarely on the "start Chad Pennington" bandwagon all offseason long. While I hate to see what happened to CP - he deserves better but his body continually lets him down - letting Henne play and gain experience has been huge, and will continue to be huge, for this franchise. Ffor the first time in a long time, fans, coaches, and the front office can all be excited about the quarterback position. Folks, I really think we've found "our guy."

Has he been great? No. Has he been terrible? No. Has he shown flashes of greatness? Yes. Think back to just his second career start when Henne put together one of the best fourth quarters a young quarterback has put together in recent memory.

Does he have a lot to work on? Of course. His accuracy is shaky at times. He holds the ball too long sometimes. At times, he runs backwards when pressure is closing in - especially when he's pressured on those designed roll-outs.

At the same time, I've seen just as many positives. I've seen that strong rocket arm. I've seen some perfectly thrown balls. I've seen a toughness to hang in the pocket and deliver a pass with pressure bearing down on him. I've seen him get back up after taking a nasty shot in the pocker - like Sunday's "roughing the passer" hit by Patrick Chung. Most of all, I've seen the poise and mental toughness necessary to lead a team in hostile situations. Sure, against both the Saints and Patriots, Henne was unable to lead a game-winning or game-tying drive late in the fourth quarter. But both times, it wasn't because Henne failed. His teammates failed him.

There's a lot to like about Henne, that's for sure. But there are also other young players with a lot to like.

You got two rookie corners who are being trusted to start. And neither of them have played poorly. Both Sean Smith and Vontae Davis have had their ups and downs. But there have been more positives than negatives and they will only continue to get better. Over the long haul, the Dolphins are set with their starting cornerbacks.

The offensive line is also set for the foreseeable future. Only one starter, Jake Grove, is over 28 years old. And two, Jake Long and Donald Thomas, are only 24 and in just their second season. The way an offensive line gets better is by playing together for a long time, and that's what we're going to see in Miami over the next few seasons.

The defensive line also suddenly has a nice young core to build around. Kendall Langford, Phillip Merling, and Randy Starks all look like long-term contributors at defensive end for the Dolphins. And none of them are older than 25 years old (Starks). Tony McDaniel also looks like he could become a solid backup and he's only 24 himself.

The Dolphins also have other young contributors who could become major long-term factors. Chris Clemons and Tyrone Culver are two young safeties who will probably see more and more opportunities as the season goes on. Davone Bess and Brian Hartline are two young receivers who, ideally, would be very good complimentary receivers. Greg Camarillo is also relatively young and is looking more and more recovered from his knee surgery every week. I will continue to stand by my belief that Camarillo, once he's healthy, can be a starting #2 receiver in this league.

And let's not forget our favorite former CFL stand-out, pass rusher Cameron Wake. He's only 27 and has the potential to be a pass-rushing force for years to come. But he is still raw, which is probably why he hasn't seen the amount of snaps many would like him to see.

Clearly defined needs

One of the positives - if you can call it that - to come from Miami's 3-5 start has been how well defined this football team's needs have become. We all know what this team needs - some needs more pressing than others, of course.

Perhaps the most pressing need is at the wide receiver position. This offense will never be what it needs to be to get to that next level until they get a true "go-to" number one receiver. Opposing defenses have no reason to respect Miami's passing attack, allowing them to go all-out to stop the only real threat this offense has - their ground attack. But Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams will become less and less effective on the ground as teams continue to put eight, and sometimes even nine, in the box to shut them down. In all honesty, can you blame them? I'd do the same thing. None of these receivers would even scare me a little bit.

This need has been magnified even more the past few weeks, too. In their last two losses, the Dolphins have been within a touchdown and had possession of the ball with over three minutes left. But each time, the Dolphins failed to move the ball, thanks in large part to receivers who just can't make the plays necessary to win football games.

But there are other needs as well. The Dolphins need upgrades at both inside and outside linebacker. A play-making free safety is another obvious issue. And we saw on Sunday that Paul Soliai might not be anything better than a back-up nose tackle. He underwhelmed as a starter, replacing the injured and aging Jason Ferguson. So nose tackle is also a need.

See this team for what it is

As a fan, we all want to see our team win championships. Year in and year out, we all look through "aqua and orange colored glasses" and view our team as either championship caliber or playoff caliber. But let's be real - this team just isn't as talented as the league's elite teams. That's why it's so impressive that the Dolphins were able to play teams like the Colts, Saints, and Patriots and nearly knock them off. Is it frustrating to lose those games? Of course. But we need to see what these losses show.

The Dolphins played teams with superior talent and gave them all they can handle - with a number of rookies and second-year players being key contributors. That says a lot about where this team is.

It says a lot about this coaching staff. Say what you want about some of their questionable play-calling and their gameday decisions. But this staff knows how to prepare to play more talented football teams.

It also says a lot about the mental toughness of these players. Some young players will go into a shell and back down to the elite NFL teams. But not this group of guys. They battle. And they're only going to get better.

The future is bright, people. We just need to give this front office time to address those remaining needs and the young players on this team more time to mature. But we're clearly on the right path.

I think [Porter] was very motivating for our team throughout the course of the week and into the...

Matty I — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:48:53 -0000

I think [Porter] was very motivating for our team throughout the course of the week and into the game. When you hear that kind of stuff, guys take it to heart, coaches to heart.

-Pats QB Tom Brady, talking on the radio today about Jory Porter's comments leading up to yesterday's game.

Is it time for Porter to shut his mouth yet - at least until Porter makes a play on the football field? I'd say it is. If nothing else, this confirms that opposing teams do indeed use trash talk as the occasional motivator.

Big plays doom Dolphins as they fall to Patriots

Matty I — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 04:09:41 -0000

More photos » by Charles Krupa - AP

Note to Paul Pasqualoni: You might want to double-team Randy Moss. He's only one of the greatest receivers of all-time.

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A lot of people will likely want to focus on the negatives in the Dolphins 27-17 loss to the Patriots on Sunday. And I'll obviously highlight some of the more glaring ones myself. But let's not sell this team short. The Dolphins went up to New England and stood toe-to-toe with a team with superior talent. And despite everything that went down, the Dolphins had the football with three and a half minutes left in the game, needing only a touchdown to tie. That's not too shabby.

Of course, there are no m oral victories in the National Football League. And I think head coach Tony Sparano said it best:

"Close in this game just doesn't get it. That's why these guys have a lot of banners out there right now. They figure out a way to win those close games. From our end, we understand where we are right now."

"We're a good football team. We're really close to being a really good football team. But we've got to get it to turn.''

Let's talk about some of the story lines from Sunday's game.

Can we get a little pressure, people?
You will look at the box score from this game and see that the Dolphins registered two sacks. But even that figure is misleading. Personally, here's the important question to ask: did the Dolphins make Tom Brady uncomfortable at all in the pocket? The answer, obviously, is a resounding "no."

How many times did we have to sit and watch Brady sit in the pocket for three or four seconds? How many times did we see Brady have the time to stand tall in the pocket and pat the football two or three times before firing a completion to one of his receivers? Far too many times, folks. Far too many.

After the game, Sparano himself acknowledged that a lack of pressure on Brady was a huge problem. But he also explained why the Dolphins couldn't just continually blitz left and right like some were probably hoping to see.

"We need to have more pressure on the quarterback," Sparano said. "Against a guy like Tom Brady, you can't come out there and just blitz the guy. This ain't his first rodeo. You've got to be able to win some of these [one-on-one] deals. You've got to win some of these five-man rush situations. We've got to do a better job of getting pressure on the passer, period."

Randy Starks was among those who echoed Sparano's sentiments.

"He had far too much time sitting back there," said Starks. "When you have the one-on-one, you've got to win."

Reggie Torbor was another Dolphin who believes that a lack of pressure on Brady was a big problem. In fact, even Brady himself said after the game that he really didn't feel any pressure, telling the media:

"There weren't too many pressures or hits, or anything like that. I had a lot of time to sit back there and make the throws."

But for some reason, Joey Porter - whose mouth I might be beginning to grow tired of - doesn't think that anything was wrong with Miami's pass rush:

"As a team we got pressure on them. But not enough. We could have made more plays out there. But it wasn't the lack of pass rush why we lost the game."

Ugh! Of course the lack of a consistent pass rush wasn't the one reason why the Dolphins lost. But it's among the biggest reasons. If Joey honestly thinks that the Dolphins got enough pressure on Brady, then I think he needs to take some time off or something because he's delusional. His head coach, teammates, and even the opposing quarterback all agree that the Dolphins really didn't do a good job at all pressuring the passer. And in my humble opinion, the lack of consistent pressure was the single biggest defensive problem on Sunday.

The 'Wildcat' and 'WildPat'
You know, maybe this Pat White experiment has some hope after all? That's what many Dolphin fans - those who have doubted White - were left saying following Sunday's game in which we saw some extensive Pat White snaps.

While White is still yet to complete a pass, we saw the kind of play-making ability White has and the new wrinkle - the spread option - that White introduces into this offense. White had a dazzling 33 yard run on Miami's first touchdown drive. And that drive was capped by a Ricky Williams 15 yard touchdown run in which White took the snap and ran the option to the right side, executing a perfectly timed pitch to Ricky, who then did the rest by powering his way into the endzone to tie the game at 10.

If nothing else, this is just another wrinkle now that opposing defensive coordinators must prepare for when facing the Dolphins. But at its best, this new wrinkle has the potential to gain some of that elusive "chunk yardage" that this offense seems to have so much trouble gaining.

White actually looked comfortable running the ball, too. He showed good vision, terrific acceleration, and even some toughness when running between the tackles. It's enough to get me excited about what this new wrinkle could become as White progresses.

All told, White took eight snaps at quarterback. On those plays, the Dolphins gained 60 yards of offense - including 52 of the 80 yards gained on that first Miami touchdown drive. Not too shabby.

On the flip side, the 'Wildcat' wasn't very effective at all. The Dolphins gained just 11 yards on 10 'Wildcat' plays. But they did lose 11 on the attempted reverse pass in which Henne was sacked. So if you take that away - which is a high risk, high reward, kind of play - the 'Cat gained 18 yards on 9 snaps. It did score a touchdown, though, when Ronnie Brown threw a 1 yard pass to Joey Haynos. And I really like the potential of more 'Wildcat' snaps inside the red zone because of Ronnie's ability to accurately throw. But the 'Wildcat' was bottled up effectively for the third week in a row.

To be fair, though, the entire running game was bottled up due to the lack of any real passing attack. Ronnie and Ricky combined for just 81 yards and averaged only 3.68 yards per carry. So it's not so much that the 'Wildcat' is dead as it is Miami's inability to run the football right now due to defenses making it a priority to shut down the ground attack.

Passing continues to be an issue with mediocre receivers
Chad Henne's stat line wasn't terrible. Of course, 42 of those yards were garbage time passing yards. But even still, I like what I have seen out of Henne thus far.

Henne continues to impress with his arm strength. There's no question that he has a cannon. His accuracy is still off at times - but I see the number of inaccurate throws going down each week it seems, which is a positive sign. But most of all, I have been impressed with his poise and toughness in tight situations.

Take that final drive with the score 24-17, for example. In a hostile environment with the game on the line, all Henne did was put the ball right on the money on to two of his receivers. But, yet again, Miami's receivers failed to make the plays that must be made to knock off good football teams. Brian Hartline dropped what was a catchable ball and would have resulted in a first down. Then two plays later, it was Ted Ginn dropped a catchable ball that would have also resulted in a first down and extended that potential game-tying drive.

Was either catch an easy catch to make? No. But Henne put the football right where it had to be each time to give only his receiver a chance to make the catch. Both passes hit the receivers in their hands. Both catches have to be made.

But more than anything else, those two plays just emphasize what the Dolphins must address in the offseason. They need that true "go-to" receiver that good NFL teams have. They need to give their young (potential franchise) quarterback some help out there. All he can do is stand tough in the pocket and put the football right where it needs to be. He did that twice on a potential game-tying drive and his receivers failed him. It's that simple.

With all that said, Henne still has issues to iron out himself. For example, he can't run backwards when under immense pressure. He needs to learn to either throw the ball away or at least reduce the negative yardage by going down rather than backwards. Obviously, his use of that "fourth timeout" was costly in a crucial moment of the game - resulting in a five yard penalty. But even still, he showed the mental toughness to put that mistake behind him and make a throw to Ginn that a good receiver has to make.

The fact of the matter remains that the Dolphins simply don't have the receivers to get the job done. And until they do, this offense will struggle. Teams will key on the run - as we've seen these past three or four weeks - and will force Chad Henne to beat them. I think he has the talent to do so. But he needs his supporting cast to make some plays.

TURNING POINT OF THE GAME
The Dolphins had just put together a 16 play, 66 yard, 10 minute touchdown drive to take a 17-16 lead. Leave it to this defense to give the lead right back.

On the ensuing New England possession, on the third play of the drive, Tom Brady connected with Randy Moss on a crossing route - in which Brady had a ton of time throw - and Moss stiffed-armed Vontae Davis and was off to the races for a 71 yard touchdown. The Dolphins never recovered. Without question, that play was Sunday's turning point of the game.

QUICK HITS
Some more quick hit thoughts on Sunday's game:

I know the secondary didn't perform well today. But I'm very excited about the futures of Sean Smith and Vontae Davis. Vontae's interception was a spectacular play. And he even impressed Randy Moss, who said after the game about Vontae, "Look, I'm heading out of this league. You're coming in. You're going to be a good player. Keep working."
So why was Moss single-covered so much? Tony Sparano said after the game that "you can't double them all." And that's exactly it. When the Patriots have 5 guys going out in routes, the Dolphins don't have too many options. Should they have had a deep safety more often? Probably. But a deep safety doesn't help on Randy's 70 yard touchdown off of a crossing route. And Vontae was step for step with Randy on his first big reception. He just didn't get his head around quick enough and Randy made a terrific one-handed catch. What can you do?
The Dolphins converted 52% of their 3rd downs (9/17). That's pretty damn good.
Dan Carpenter continues to earn his "DC$" nickname. Anyone want to argue about it at this point?
Joey Haynos? Ain't nothing wrong with that. I want to see some more of him in the coming weeks.
I'm still not a fan of Ricky Williams taking the 'Wildcat' snap. I think I've seen enough of it. Ronnie just has a knack for it - let's stick to him as the 'Wildcat' orchestrator.
Did the Dolphins miss Jason Ferguson and Channing Crowder or were the Dolphins just too concerned about the pass? Either way, the Pats averaged 4.5 yards per carry on the ground. Not acceptable.
Still some questionable play-calling. But the thing is - if those play-calls work, nobody would be calling for Dan Henning's head like some were during the game. He's a genius if a play works; an idiot if it doesn't. Is that fair?
With that said, I HATED the quick screen to Davone Bess on a 3rd & 19. At least take a shot deep. In fact, why didn't we see at least one deep pass attempted during the game?
Last word about the "clock" controversy before halftime: it's not a controversy. When the football hit the ground on the incomplete pass, there was still one second left on the clock. Period. Sure, if it's in Miami, the operator would run that second off. But props to Gillette Stadium's clock operator for being alert and stopping the clock as soon as the ball hit the ground. That's a benefit of home field advantage. If the roles were reversed and we were at home, I'd hope our clock operator would be as alert.

Post-Game Thread: Dolphins hang tough but fall to Pats

Matty I — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 21:02:48 -0000

More photos » by Charles Krupa - AP

3 days ago: Miami Dolphins cornerback Vontae Davis, left, goes up over New England Patriots wide receiver Randy Moss (81) to intercept a Tom Brady pass during the first quarter of their NFL football game in Foxborough, Mass., Sunday, Nov. 8, 2009. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Browse more photos »

A loss is a loss. But I'm very proud of how the Dolphins stuck with the Patriots. We all know that the Pats are the more talented team. But this Dolphins team played right with them. So let's not get too frustrated here.

The Patriots did win 27-17. But I'm not hanging my head at all.

As far as Ted Ginn goes, lay off him. Yes, he dropped that nice 4th down pass form Henne. But we should all know by now that Teddy isn't going to make that catch. In fact, no Dolphins' receiver is probably making that catch. That's the biggest need right now - a true number one, go-to receiver who will make those big catches.

Oh - and Brian Hartline dropped a pass on what would have been a big pass completion two plays earlier. And Davone Bess had a couple of drops himself. So don't single out Ginn.

That's all I'll say for now. Use this thread to discuss the game. Please don't create a new fanpost just to write a few sentences about today's game - that's what this post is for. So keep all of the talk about today's game in this thread.

My usual recap post will follow tonight.

Dolphins at Patriots Overflow Thread #2

Matty I — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 01:30:29 -0000

24-17 Patriots.

Use this thread now for live game discussion.

GO DOLPHINS!!!

Dolphins at Patriots Overflow Thread

Matty I — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 01:29:23 -0000

How about a little Pat White, folks?

10-10 in the 2nd.

Use this thread now for all live game discussion.

GO DOLPHINS!!!

Week 9: Dolphins at Patriots Game Thread

Matty I — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 01:16:10 -0000

MIAMI DOLPHINS (3-4)	WEEK 9	NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (5-2)
	AT

Date:	November 8, 2009	Location:	Foxborough, MA
Time:	1:00 p.m. ET	Stadium:	Gillette Stadium
TV:	CBS	Spread:	Patriots by 10.5
Radio:	WQAM (560 AM)	Over/Under:	46.5
Weather:	Sunny, 63°F	SBN Affiliate	Pats Pulpit
Final Score:	Patriots 27 - Dolphins 17

Today's Inactives:

Dolphins - LB Channing Crowder, DT Jason Ferguson, WR Patrick Turner, LB Quentin Moses, OT Lydon Murtha, QB Tyler Thigpen, RB Kory Sheets, and OT Andrew Gardner
Patriots - RB Sammy Morris, RB Fred Taylor, WR Julian Edelman, CB Jonathan Wilhite, LB Eric Alexander, OT Matt Light, OG Rich Ohrnberger, and DE Jarvis Green

Lionel Dotson will be active today for the first time this season. But I'm a bit disappointed that we won't see Patrick Turner or Kory Sheets on the field today.

Regardless, gameday is here. I'm pumped. You're pumped. So let's sit back and hope for the best, folks.

As usual, please don't post any pictures in this thread - they only slow it down. And remember - do not request or post links to illegal internet streams of the game (instant temporary ban if you do).

Overflows will be posted as needed.

Overflow Thread: Click Here
Overflow Thread #2: Click Here

GO DOLPHINS!!!