The HIGHS:

Boy, there are few highs, but we’ll start with Jake Stoneburner, who had a nice touchdown catch for our only score of the second half.  I saw it coming a few plays prior, as he was being used as a decoy prior and set up the Jags.

Rishard Matthews.   A few nice catches have made him quite reliable.

Jelani Jenkins.  Showed heart and was all over the place making tackles.

Jared Odrick.   He had a wonderful game and showed how valuable he is to his team.  Clearly he was the best defensive end on the field today.  Oh, wait…

Now the LOWS:

I’m starting with my first-ever low for Brent Grimes.  Right before halftime, the announcers were saying that Jacksonville should just run out the clock because they just weren’t good enough to move the ball to score.   Blake Bortles then immediately proved them right by throwing a pass that hit Brent Grimes in the numbers.

Grimes dropped that easy pick-6, and Bortles never looked back.  A terribly costly mistake by Grimes. A rare mistake, but a killer.

Walt Aikens.   His hands-face penalty negated a sack and extended the Jax drive that ended up pinning us back.    If Aikens doesn’t get his hands up, you gotta figure we get good field position and kick a game-winning field goal, instead of Jax kicking it.

Bill Lazor.   Absolutely nothing new or original or fast-paced or exciting about the plays this year.    So hard to tell if Philbin is throttling his play calling, or if Lazor himself is this vanilla.  When plays did work, Lazor only tried it once and moved on.    Why stop throwing to Jordan Cameron?   Why not throw screens or pitches to Landry?  Those plays were big early on, but then abandoned.  And at the end of the game, the spike on 2nd down killed us.   If you have your team at the line of scrimmage, run a play.  Never give the D a chance to regroup.  “Same play on one.”  Is that so hard to call?  How about the practice squadder who came in, and we never went his way once.   It’s as if Bill Lazor were too polite to pick on the newcomer, so he threw away from him all second half. Awful play management today.

Kong Suh.    He’s done nothing in two weeks.

Olivier Vernon.  A stupid penalty didn’t hurt as much as you think.   without Vernon’s penalty, Jax kicks a 43-yarder for the win instead of 28 .   But Vernon doing nothing all day long lands him on the list here.

Ryan Tannehill.   His lack of pocket presence was on full display today.  I don’t expect him to escape the blindside attacks, but when he DOES see the rush coming, he is just horrible at avoiding it.  Far too slow with his deliveries too.  Not to mention the pass where Jennings’ defender fell down and Jennings was wide open…Tannehill threw it 40 yards over his head.  And at the end, you shouldn’t need guys up in the announcer booth to tell you to throw it to your best player.    Landry was sitting all alone, but T-hill never even thought to look.  Mental mistakes are worse than bad throws.

Jason Fox.   He got burned often, late in the game when we needed him most.

Andrew Franks.  His first NFL miss was a huge one, as it was the difference in the game.   Meanwhile, the Jag kicker nailed one from 58 yards.

The Dolphins executives.   Whoever decided we needed Davante Parker instead of a defensive back or offensive lineman?  Parker is a first round benchwarmer who’s done nothing.   We already have five other really good WRs, but we only have one or two good offensive linemen and only one good CB.   But the way, whoever decided that Jared Odrick was expendable should be looking for a job tomorrow.  And boy was Mike Wallace missed.  I guarantee you one thing…if some practice squad bum cornerback comes into the game, Mike Wallace would be demanding the ball against him.

Greg Jennings.   Philbin’s old Green Bay pal dropped an easy pass in the first quarter that killed a drive and forced us to go for three.   Didn’t think much of it at the time, but that drop and those potential four points cost us the game.

Jamar Taylor.  Another terrible penalty early in the game kept our D on the field and led to Jags’ first touchdown.   That came back to haunt us just as much as the decision to keep Taylor on the  team

J-wuan James.  A few costly penalties that stalled not one but several different drives.

I WANT to put Philbin on this list, but I see a lot of player-execution errors that I do not blame the coach for.   Is it Philbin’s fault that the players had no passion against one of the worst offenses in the NFL?   I mean, the Jags are an embarrassingly bad team who just made us look even worse.  How can Philbin have no answers?   Ask Brent Grimes or Walt Aikens.

Punt return team.   Landry had no room to run all day.  We needed one block to spring him a few times, and it never came.

Stephen Ross.   He assembled the executive team who hired this NFL team who lost to a j.v. team from upstate.    How can we compete with the superior teams when we cannot beat the lousy teams?

 

27 Comments

  1. Tannehill a low? OMG! He was the only reason we were ever in the game. He had little run support, scrambled multiple times and made several accurate throws on the run, and put his team in position to win. 30-44 for 359 yards and two tugs with no picks. Too bad his team and headcoach sucks. So he got sacked twice and probably held the ball too long on one of those. I could say that you’re reaching here but that would be a gross understatement. Defensive secondary was the true low and should be number one on the low list. They made no plays all game. But thanks for the laugh. I needed that.

    1. Author

      Gang, I am a T-hill fan and I point out regularly when his line lets him down. But on some plays, he makes unwise decisions when there’s a rush on him. He does not avoid sackers well. He didn’t even look at Landry on our final play, and the announcers were pointing out that Landry was wide open, would have gained 20, and then got out of bounds. The defense stop J’ville 4 times in the fourth quarter, and Tannehill has to share some blame for doing nothing with those 4 opportunities. Not ALL blame, but I’m giving him some for not running away from trouble when it was obvious that trouble was coming.

  2. Juwuan James and Brice Mccain had nightmare days. And as usual we managed to get outcoached by the worst of coaching staffs.

  3. Tannehill is good, top 15 good… but it doesn’t help when the coaching is as bad as it is. The team seems to be a several steps behind in its first two games, and is only bailed out by talented players making big plays. For all the hope I had, I also had an unsettled feeling that this coaching staff just isn’t right for this group of players.

  4. Funny but all the pats do is throw short passes to the same two players and they have no trouble scoring 40 a game. Edelman could have also been had by anyone a few years ago but no one wanted him so it’s not like he’s a super star. Yet the Fins feel a need to spread things around. I’d just keep passing to Landry and Cameron until teams take it away….then take advantage of wide open guys.

    1. Author

      Yep. 2 receivers all day long. If you put Landry and Cameron on the field, plus Tannehill = 3. Then you leave in 8 other guys to block. We will win. Lazor’s theory of sending 5 wideouts out into pass patterns means that we only have 5 blockers. And that doesn’t cut it.

  5. Tannehill stinks. Another Chad Henne, No pocket presence and no accuracy. Terrible in the 4th quarters. Comeback wins are rarer than SB wins

    1. Author

      I wouldn’t say he stinks, but the lack of pocket presence is very noticeable. That, plus for once I want to see him furious and yell at this line when they get him killed.

  6. Another peanut gallery clown with no informed opinion to offer. T
    Try watching games sometimes and you’d know it’s not always about the qb. And if you think Tanny is comparable to Henne you’ve already showed true football fans that actually watch games how little you know. Do us a favor and get out of here and go turn the Big O show back on. That’s obviously where you get your info from.

  7. And to the admin. No qb hits every open receiver every time. A lot of times the play call and the pass rush depicts who gets the ball. Is Tannehill perfect? Heck no! Holds the ball too long simetimes doesn’t always feel the pressure. But he has shown that he can win you games if given run support, time to throw, and decent weapons. Only thing holding him back is the o-line and subpar coaching. Still he makes plays with his scrambling ability other qbs can’t make.

    1. Author

      I agree with everything there. T-hill is a million times better than Chad Henneterception.

  8. I agree with most of the complaints except for those about T-hill. The lone was sack on him was when the pocket collapses almost immediately after the hike. The fumble occurs when his blind side tackle lets the defender go right by him untouched (near the end zone). That pass that to Jennings you speak of. Even to a casual fan it had to be clear that that was a miscommunication and if I have to guess I’m putting my money on the quarterback who has known the plays for several years vs the receiver who just started with us. He made some very accurate throws yesterday and in most situations when there was pressure got out of the pocket enough to dump it off or to throw it out of bounds. T-hill didn’t play perfect, no one says that, but it seems like everyone expects it. I’m with you on all the other lows though. Incredible all around poor play and tough loss to take.

    1. Author

      That sack you mentioned was the most poorly executed play I ever saw. ALL FIVE linemen forgot to block or something. It was a catastrophe. I give Tannehill credit for surviving that disaster, but I’d like to see him get furious with his linemen or Philbin.

      1. I agree. A little ferocity from Tannehill might go a long way in establishing his leadership. We all make fun of Brady for so many things but look at the fire in him when a play goes well and look at the disgust he has with imperfection. I’d like to see that from T-hill too. I think I’d settle for any emotion from Philbin.

        1. And it was I who said in my last post which was trolled here that T-Hill lacks fire. This is not the same as toughness! I know he takes monster hits time and time again and keeps getting back up . Im talking about an inner pride and asserting in your mindset that certain things are unacceptable and beware of the wrath to come if they do on my watch mentality. I know its a fine line when you berate your line and doing so could potentially backfire, but every now and then let them know they are getting him killed and costing the game and dont smooth it over and say its always ok and just do better next time. This is the NFL there are few if any 2nd chances for god’s sake! On the sack at the goal line. Dallas Thomas stood straight up the whole time looking left and right never made contact with anyone. I know Fox let Odrick by him but watch the replay Thomas was totally lost.

          From the beginning of the season we looked on paper as if we might just win the AFC East. Now after watching the Pats,Bills,and even the Jets last night. Like was once said to us in this forum by a Bills fan. We might wanna get on our sweaters and jackets cause its going to be cold in the basement of the AFC East. And as a Phins fan for 35 years I truly hate feeling that way.

          1. Author

            I was so envious last night, watching as Ryan Fitzpatrick’s beard had all the time in the world to find an open receiver. And of course, he kept finding Pro Bowler Brandon Marshall.

  9. That Jennings throw definitely looked like a miscommunication. Tanny threw one route while Jennings ran another. Tanny however took more shots down the field in the 20 to 30 yard range yesterday than he has in any other game I can remember. If I get defensive about Tanny it’s because I’ve followed his development since his first game. Kid is tough as nails and can play his ass off. He jyst inherited a team with poor management that was incorrectly built therefore his win/loss record doesn’t reflect his performance.

    1. Author

      You’re right about the miscommunication. Judging from their body language afterward, I guessed it was T-hill’s fault, because Jennings was looking mad, not apologetic. And nobody says T-hill is “tough as nails” more than me. Some days, however, it’s like he thinks his offensive line is a brick wall. He just sits there, and it never crosses his mind to peek left, in case Odrick is about to destroy him and force a fumble. I want that internal clock to tick faster for him.

  10. The Miami Dolphins –

    WHERE GOOD PLAYERS COME TO DIE !!!!

  11. Now we know why Mike Wallace hated Tannehill…..he’s terrible.

    1. This comment doesn’t even make sense. He’s a good quarterback who has the chance to turn into something better. Saying he is terrible is preposterous. Mark my words. When Wallace doesn’t get the touches or the yards or the touchdowns in Minnesota he will turn into the same person he was here; Diva.

      1. Tannehill has turned into Chad Henne. A below average loser.

    1. Phinman is the difference between a Dolphins fan who has direct TV and one who has cable.

  12. A combination of lack of proper game planning on the coach side and lack of swagger in some (most, yesterday) players got us there.
    Winning teams play a lot of formations/schemes/red herring elements to keep D’d on eggshells and build a lead (or use clock wisely), while the others are figuring out adjustments. Then they go creative again.

    I want to have faith in Bill Lazor to have much more than Shotgun and 5 wide to offer, and hiding the cards so to smudge opponents’ scouting in what is a long season. But that can work only if the two/three formations that you run on Sunday are still enough to pull the W. If you lose to JAX, well, then probably we need to start using some REAL plays that can hurt those teams where they are weaker (and the JAGS are certainly not the Packers).

    Now we need to overcome some heavyweights to ‘equalize’, and I’m talking winning at Foxboro or taking care of business in both games with Jets and Bills.

    Players can have an ‘off’ day but teams with swagger can overcome the setbacks and “set the tone”. When I get worried is when I see no big hits, no gang-tackles on a ball carrier, no defenders hitting hard and talking to the opponents, no O linemen moving like bad-sons-of-you-know-who and imposing their game on the D line. Just as instance, the Bengals lines ate San Diego alive on Sunday, all game. And they won despite TWO fumbles by Hill, benched for Bernard who ran for more than 100 yards as backup (!). Too long since I recall our Linemen playing with fire and real hard bite. D Line as well, much improvement to make but I know the talent is way there. Coyle needs to pick up the slack though and start doing some serious scouting and gameplan on other teams. Sometimes we really seem tentative in what we are trying to do on Defense (which might have gotten already to Suh). And play more Vigil, even on blitzes, that guy got hunger like a young Zack Thomas had (though not comparing the two here).

  13. Funny but overall the D isn’t allowing a lot of points and we know that they can be better. If the offense can just be decent things will change for the better…

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