He we are, still close to the recent dawn of a new season, and the Dolphins are all but out of it already.

We’ve only played two games, and we’re already two and a half games behind in our division.   The math is almost illogical, but it’s very true and very sad.

We’re 2.5 games out already, and it’s not gonna get much better.

Thad Lewis had 2 career wins, both against Joe Philbin. Dolphins have a brutal history of losing to 3rd and 4th string QBs

Watching New England use a 3rd-string project of a QB to decimate Houston shows us several things.

• It shows that New England’s system is a well-constructed work of art that should be copied, verbatim, so that any old ham-and-egger off the streets can come in a win games at QB.
• It shows us that Miami should have hired Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, who was with the Pats for all 4 of their Super Bowls, instead of Adam Gase and his Zero Super Bowls.
• It shows that when you want to run the ball, you simple reinforce your line and you ground and pound the ball right at the opponent.  With EXTRA blockers, not fewer.   But when Miami wants to run the ball on the other hand, we spread the formation, leaving the same 5 (and only 5) blockers in for running plays.  IT DOESN’T WORK.
• It shows us there is no balance in the AFC, especially the AFC East.   No one is going to challenge the Patriots, and now all us Patriots haters will have to become fans of whoever New England plays in the second round of the playoffs after their first-round bye.  They have a few easy games coming up, so 5-0 is a near certainty.

Helen Keller could lead these guys to a win.

If there’s any hope at all, we can hope that the close games against NE and Seattle mean we’re close.   If we blow out Cleveland, that might make that point.  If the NE and Seattle losses came while we were already 8-0, it would be no big deal.   But getting gutted early with this NFL schedule did us no favors.    We only know that the Dolphins and hang close to the elite teams, but we honestly don’t know how the Dolphins are against mediocre or crappy teams.

We’ll know that as of Sunday afternoon.

It will be very interesting to see how the Patriots handle their QB situation on the short week.

I, for one, hate the idea of TNF.   I love having an extra game in prime time, but to be fair to all teams, it should be on a Saturday night, not a Thursday,    Even a Friday would be better.

Whoever the Pats use at QB, their system is good enough where they should destroy the Texans tonight.  But I’ll be rooting for Houston and Lamar Miller to take them out.

Okay, I think we finally have the chat room situation worked out.

It’s been pretty popular in the past for a bunch of us to get together and gripe about how the game is going in real time!

Anyone wishing to participate will need to first register a user name.   In the right column of any Dolphins Truth page, under the META heading, you’ll see “Register”    Should be to your right just under the ad.   Register.

Or just click here:   http://dolphinstruth.com/wp-login.php?action=register

It will ask you for a User Name and your email.    You have to enter your real email, because the system sends you a temporary password.  Don’t worry, I don’t even see this and I won’t collect emails and spam you.

Check your email and following the link to set up your password.

Follow the links to log in.   It may bring you to a profile page, which you can skip.

Then go to this page:   http://dolphinstruth.com/chat-room/game-day-chat/      There’s also a chat room link in the left column.

You can do this now to get all set up for Sunday.

Now that the hurt and anger have simmered (somewhat), we turn our attention to the mess of a team they have up in Cleveland, our next opponent.

We only need one play in our entire playbook going into this game:     Have Tannehill look to see which WR Jamar Taylor is covering, and then throw it to him.   It’s that simple.   For several years, Dolphins Truth pointed out how horrible Jamar Taylor is, and he certainly didn’t get any better by moving up north.   There is no excuse to not pick on him.   It will turn into easy receptions, easy yards, easy points.  No need to test any other Brown DBs…just pick on Jamar.

Jamar has a nice view of this TD

I watched and studied and re-watched Adam Gase’s press conference Monday, and the thing that stands out is that he emphasized a lack of execution on defense in the first half.     New England didn’t fool them.   He says he had the right defenses called.  It was just a matter of the players not executing.

Welcome to the Miami Dolphins, Mr. Gase.   The land where the players don’t execute.   It’s not for lack of trying.   It’s more because of lack of excellence.

Welcome to Miami, where we address a Continue reading →

Another pig of a game with nothing to show.

What do you guys think:     Blame?   Praise?   Rants?   I turn it over to you folks.

Okay, Gronk is out.   That’s the good news.

The bad new is the stupid chat room is requiring you guys to login in with accounts, so I said No for now.   Let’s just chat via the comments.   Or, if you see the chat window in the right column, underneath “recent comments” you can try that.   I think if you have a WordPress account and log in, then the chat will appear.

Deciding who to root for in a Jets-Bills game is like deciding what poison you want to drink.

Let’s just root for some injuries.

For anyone interested, we’ll have a new Chat Room up during game days starting Sunday around 12:45 EST, if all goes well.  Always cool to chat live with our fellow Dolfans.

Adam Gase had his first post-game press conference today, and there were some interesting highlights.

First of all, he is mad at himself, and that’s a good thing.   He has to learn from his mistakes, and getting mad at himself will do the trick.

He was talking about Tannehill’s touchdown drive…and why it took the Dolphins so long to score.  “I was mad at myself because I should have went to what we ended up going to earlier in the game. I kept talking myself out of it. He (Ryan T) kept pressing me to get to that stuff, basically that drive that set up those plays. And I kept talking myself out of it. And finally, once I listened to him, we marched the ball down the field. It was a great lesson to me; when he says go to something, we’re going to go to it.”

Although I HATE HATE HATE a head coach who admits he needs lessons (didn’t we get enough of Philbin trying to learn each week?),  I see the context is different here.   Gase seems like a guy who Continue reading →

A.   Cut him for costing us the game by dropping an easy touchdown.

Thanks a lot, Kenny and Company.

B.  Cut him for disrespecting the country that gave him the chance to become a multi-millionaire.

C.   Cut him for committing a holding penalty on our very first play of the year.

D.  Cut him for getting in Jarvis Landry’s way on 3 different plays when Landry was trying to run.

E.  Trade him to New England for Continue reading →

Kenny Stills dropped the easiest, sure-thing touchdown pass in NFL history, which cost the Dolphins 7 valuable points and all the momentum in the world as the Dolphins went on to drop a tough one in Seattle, 12-10.

Stills began the day by refusing to stand for the National Anthems.

On his first play he committed a hold.

After Stills refused to stand up for the National Anthem, at least he made up for it by making this easy catch…

Andrew Franks missed a short field goal that didn’t help momentum either.   Technically it was blocked, and the announcers pointed out that Laremy Tunsil was lined up wrong.  I see their point, so it’s hard to figure out who to blame, so I go with Darren Rizzi, the most over-rated coach in the league.

Then there’s offensive genius Adam Gase, who called a timeout on defense while the clock was ticking down on a Continue reading →

No other explanation for how Stills is handing a free win to the Seahawks.  He must have bet money on Seattle.

Even before he dropped the easiest catch in NFL history, he got in Jarvis Landry’s way on THREE different WR screen catches to Landry.   And on the first play of our NFL season, he held a guy.

Not to mention the way he spat on our country by not standing for the National Anthem.   I hope we have the phone number for Griff Whalen’s agent.

It appears that Jay Ajayi has quit the Miami Dolphins.  Or, at least, he has quit on the Miami Dolphins.

Numerous reports have surfaced to indicate that Gase has benched Ajayi for our season opener Sunday.  In fact, Ajayi was told to stay home.    He is not in Seattle.  Sources seem to indicate that Ajayi and Gase had words over Gase’s decision to move Ajayi to the second string.   Team sources said Ajayi sulked all week and was extremely upset.

As many of you know, Dolphins Truth has been a strong supporter of Ajayi, but we can no longer do so.

Just when our off-season was about to end quietly…

First of all, it’s not like a second running back doesn’t get in the game; he does.  A lot.    Given Arian Foster’s annual season-ending injuries, Ajayi would have been starting soon anyway, just as soon as Foster got hurt.   All Ajayi had to do was wait and  behave, and then he’d be the starter again.   But the best laid plans…

Apparently Ajayi thinks his limited NFL games made him experienced enough to beat out a 1,000-yard rusher.  Apparently, he doesn’t like healthy competition. And he certainly doesn’t like the fact that he got beat out, fair and square.

Dolphins Truth will keep looking into this, and it more be more to it.  We’ll certainly owe Ajayi an apology if these early reports are wrong.

This is the type of thing that doesn’t go away.   On Monday, will Ajayi show up at practice and suddenly say, “I learned my lesson, and I promise to accept that I’m only your second choice”?    It doesn’t happen.

Thanks to reader Sean for tipping us on this story.

Not sure if it’s good news or bad news, but Dawn Aponte is leaving the Dolphins.

She will, however, still be on Stephen Ross’s payroll, as she transitions into his real estate companies.

Over the years, I’ve asked hundreds and hundreds of fans of all NFL a funny question.   I always ask them if they know the person in charge of their team’s finances.  They usually answer with the owner’s name.   No, I say, I mean the actual employee who does the paper work.   No one ever knows.

Except Dolfans.   For some reason, Aponte’s name has been in the news the last few years as often as the Dolphins GMs.  Almost as much as the coaches.   We shouldn’t know the name of a middle manager.   But because of the dysfunctional front office, we do.

I’ve been reading plenty of quotes and comments all day, and a lot of folks are disappointed with this, calling Aponte a salary cap genius who will be greatly missed.   First of all, these guys are just repeating stuff that the Dolphins have been saying.   Someone calls her a skilled numbers cruncher a few years ago, so it evolves into her being some kind of genius?   Second, don’t all teams have accountants who know what the cap is and know how much to spend?  I’m certain they all do.

Whether true or not, Aponte has been associated with numerous Dolphins rumors in the past few years, including alleged feuds with Jeff Ireland, Dennis Hickey, Clueless Joe Philbin, and more.

The winning team, just one year ago.

There were always assertions thst she had too much power.   I tend to believe that, just for the fact that her name was always in the news, and the same position held by 31 other NFL teams was never in the news.  There were always reports, true or not, of Aponte striving for more and more power.   Some reports listed her as Continue reading →

There were a few questionable moves as the Dolphins cut down to 53, but there were no great shocks.

For Dolphins Truth, the biggest disappointment was that Damien Williams made the team.  He’s had 3 years to prove himself, and for 3 years he’s done nothing.   He drops passes, gains a yard or two at a time, and misses assignments.

And let’s never forget the time he fielded a kickoff, dropped it in the end zone, ran out of the end zone, ran back into the end zone, and dove back out…all so the Dolphins cold start a drive on their one-yard line and get a safety against them on the very next play.   THAT is the type of player Damien’s been with us.  I don’t know what Gase sees in him.

Jordan Lucas is our pleasant surprise pick.   He quiet makes plays and covers his man well.   There was some doubt if he would make the team, and it’s good news that he did.   Keep you eye on this kid.  He’s closer to a Sean Smith than he is to a Jamar Taylor.   (Keep Week 3 in mind as we go up against Taylor and his Browns….Our offensive game plan is simple.   Isolate whoever Taylor is covering, and throw it to him.   Every play, all day.)

We kept the usual suspects on the offensive line, but let’s watch the waiver wire this week.

Chris Jones was cut from the D line, and this was an interesting move.   I didn’t see him excel in any of the 4 preseason games, so maybe it’s not as bad or surprising as some are indicating.

What are your thoughts on the moves?

UPDATE:   Griff Whalen has been cut to make room for new WR Justin Hunter, whose been hurt most of his career.

Is anyone at the game or knows someone there?  Please send in your comments about the new stadium, seating, awning, scoreboard, food, Zika…anything.  Very curious about the atmosphere there.

Jay Ajayi just fumbled away his starting job.   Congratulations to Arian Foster.

Why not have some fun from our own 45 and go for it on 4th?   Does our punter really need that much more practice than our backup linemen?

Xavien Howard just got neat for a first down.     Good thing he is finally back form injury and ready to stop passes, right?!

Tony Lippett, on the bubble and fighting for a job, makes a great interception.  Go DOLPHINS!!

Our pal Damien Williams gets the ball on 4th and inches.   We know the result.

Dolphins defense just committed 4 penalties in a row!

Our defense has some starters out there too, so it’s not just our scrubs.    The Titans’ 4th-string QB who will be unemployed tomorrow is owning our starters.    Need to repair this fast !

Daniel Thomas battling Damien Williams to see who gets cut first.   At least Daniel scored.   Nice, gritty one-yard run.

Like many of you, we at Dolphins Truth were hesitant at first when the Dolphins hired Adam Gase.  He was not on our radar for head coach, and we definitely wanted to hire a coach with experience and a championship under his belt.

And while he’s still never coached his first game yet, we’re seeing things in him that are starting to win us over and give us a little confidence.

First of all, his youth and modern thinking could be an asset.  There was a time in the NFL when the shotgun formation was a new marvel.  When a cover-2 D or a zone blitz were innovative.  When the West Coast offense was unstoppable because no one knew how to defend it.   Joe Montana made a career out of dumping 3-yard screen passes to Roger Craig because no one but no one threw to the RBs consistently at that time.

The point is that the game evolves.  And too often (attention, Mr. Philbin), coaches with 20-30 years of Continue reading →

UPDATE:   

So the non-football injury list is a reserve list, meaning that Jordan and Vigil are not eligible to play until Week 7.    It looks like Vigil has a back injury, and Jordan has numerous injuries, including judgment, maturity, etc.    I’m not sure how the Dolphins are able to call these non-physical injuries, but it has to do with wanting to keep them on the roster without wanted to I.R. them for the entire season.   

The Dion Jordan saga continues…

Projected starters Kenny Still, DeVante Parker, and Laremy Tunsil were all injured at practice Monday, but as of now, the injuries are not considered serious.   Either that, or Adam Gase is keeping the extent of the injuries a secret.   This would have been a triple-headed devastating blow if all three were seriously injured.

In other news, Chris McCain was traded for a draft pick.   I thought this was an interesting move.   I suppose a trade is better than just cutting him, but still, it’s hard to envision what McCain did (or didn’t do) to warrant the trade.

He was an exciting player when given the chance.    He played both defensive end and linebacker.   Personally, I liked him the LB slot, where he did more damage.     Dion Jordan hasn’t even been healthy, but they’re keeping him.   I guess the Dolphins feel Dion deserves a second second chance, while loyal players like Continue reading →