Andre Johnson recently stated that the Dolphins were his first choice of teams to sign with, but Miami never reached out to him. As many of our regular readers know, we’re not real big on spending big money on free agent receivers.
You need to look no further than New England, who are perennial winners no matter who Tom Brady throws to. Name me one WR that New England drafted in the last 10 years? I can’t think of one. Name me one big name WR that the Pats signed as a free agent? Not a one….unless you count Danny Amendola.
Could Andre Johnson have been a difference maker? In this case, it might have been worth the risk. For a few million more than aging Greg Jennings, we coulda had a stud playmaker to make up for the loss of Mike Wallace. So we’re 50-50 on this missed opportunity.
On one hand, we don’t like signing WRs, but on the other, Johnson is a special talent and certainly worth a shot, especially for a man who really wanted to come play here.
We are curious about what other Dolfans think of Reshad Jones. More often than not, other Dolphin publications list him up there with Brent Grimes as a star of the defense. After those two guys, everyone else in the secondary is generally considered so-so.
Unfortunately, we feel that Grimes stands alone, and Jones should be considered in with the so-so group.
Can you name me one impactful play that Jones contributed the last few years? Other than his drug suspension, I can’t think of anything he did last year. Or the year before. I don’t know why he gets grouped in with Grimes as a potential Pro Bowler. Jones has 10 interceptions in 5 years as a Dolphin. I realize that safeties don’t get as many INT chances as CBs do, but still. I just don’t see Jones as having his breakout season yet. Hope it comes soon.
If you follow our comment boards, you know the debate rages on about Ryan Tannehill, his toughness, and his accuracy. Can we all at least agree on one thing…can we agree that his wife is hot?
Some commenters brought up Dan Marino’s poor performance in playoff games. We cannot argue with the end results of those games. But those of us old enough to remember some of those games see things a bit differently.
Marino had some poor games, but his teammates were abysmal.
Take the San Francisco Super Bowl for example. Number One, it was a home game for the 49ers, the only time in Super Bowl history where a team got to play in its own back yard. Dolphins were doomed from the start.
Number two, All-Pro punter Reggie Roby shanked his punts all day long. Am I seriously blaming a punter for a Super Bowl loss? YES!
Really, read the box scores and the writeups on this game. Read Roby’s own admission about how he blew the game. Worst game of his life on the biggest stage.
San Fran had field position the entire game thanks to Roby. Among the worst chokes in Super Bowl history, right up there with Pete Carroll.
Then there was the 1985 Dolphins, who would have beaten the Bears in the Super Bowl. But they never made it past the AFC title game thanks to all the Dolphin RBs fumbling all day long. Joe Carter, Tony Nathan, and Lorenzo Hampton–among others–decided to give the Pats the ball all day long. Seriously, three different running backs…and all three fumbled. SIX turnovers that day. Not all Marino’s fault.
All Marino’s playoff games vs. the Bills? Blame our shoddy defense in that era, not Marino.
Wow…. Lots of different angles here….So I’ll hit each one going down the list.
If we could have gotten Andre Johnson on the cheap it would have been a great move. The thing is that he’d be walking into a very crowded receiver group all trying to establish chemistry….Landry, Stills, Parker, Cameron, Jennings. He might have gotten 30-40 receptions… He made a good move going to Luck & the Colts.
I like Reshad Jones but that drug suspension really took away his MOJO. Remember that over the top INT vs the Pats? He’s a hitter and has good ball skills. I think what he needs is a true general calling the shots at the FS position to captain him better.
Lauren Tannehill is HOT!!!!!
Marino NEVER had a halfway decent defense when it really mattered. Sure, Jimmy Johnson drafted well on D but it was too late. I can understand never having a mediocre running game because he was a slinger but the D always sucked….especially the secondary.
I was only 11 during the San Fran Super Bowl and all I can remember was that Joe Montana DID have a defense and Roger Craig caught a million passes out of the backfield. No one could stop him.
I would have LOVED to have seen a Dolphins/Bears rematch in the Super Bowl. I can’t say for sure if we would have won because we just ruined their perfect season just weeks before. It definitely would not have been like that Monday night game in the Orange Bowl. That Bears D might have been out to pummel Danny Boy.
The worst thing about that Super Bowl was knowing how the Dolphins beat themselves in that AFC championship game. NO defense or running game as usual. Wet field conditions, fumbles, Craig James looking like John Riggins. New England had no business even being in that game.
“All Marino’s playoff games vs. the Bills? Blame our shoddy defense in that era, not Marino.”????
Well, in 1992 playoffs vs Buffalo Marino put up a whopping 10 pts and a paltry 56 QB rating with 2 ints!!
in 1995 vs Buffalo a 63 QB rating with 3 ints!!!!
In 1999 playoffs vs Jax a 34.6 QB rating with 2 ints,
in 1998 vs Denver a 65 QB rating with 2 ints,
in 1997 vs Pats a 29 QB rating with 2 ints,
in 1985 vs NE a 54 QB rating and 2 ints.
and in 1984 vs SF a 66 QB rating and 2 ints.
So lots of pathetic playoff performances by Marino INCLUDING against Buffalo.
And when you throw 2+ ints, naturally the opponents score more points and the D is on the field longer.
I agree with admin about Marino in SB XIX (and the ’85 game); you can’t win a game by yourself!
But a correction: SB XIX was held at Stanford Stadium, not in San Francisco. So although it was held in California, the 49ers didn’t have home field advantage.
To my knowledge, no team has ever had home field advantage in the Super Bowl.
I beg to differ…I was at that game and barely got out of Frisco with my life. Not a very pleasant place to be as a Dolphin fan to say the least. Thank goodness for a broken leg in a cast, otherwise I would have been eaten alive. This was a home game for the Niners and the Dolphins had no chance from the beginning. What a waste of 500 bucks, I should have stayed home to watch the game.
Wow that’s crazy! Well far be it from me to refute the evidence of someone who was there.
I just checked Google Maps to see how close San Fran is to Stanford; it’s about 40 miles. That distance is about the same amount of miles as if a Dolphins’ game were to be held in Delray Beach. And yes, obviously that would be a “home” game for the Dolphins.
I guess the NFL doesn’t count it as a home game because it didn’t take place in their home stadium. But clearly they had home field advantage – I stand corrected!
Mint, Stanford is basically a suburb of San Francisco, 10 minutes from the outskirts of Frisco, or maybe a half hour from the actual downtown. Trust me, although the game wasn’t played in San Fran’s actual stadium, it was a home game. And FREEZING that day. San Fran in the winter is no picnic. Very very different from sunny L.A.
It was 53 degrees during the game not freezing. I just looked it up.
I looked up the same thing and found it was 49 degrees at kickoff and hit a low of 42 degrees in the 4th quarter. There were colder Super Bowls, but when you combine the chilly weather with San Fran’s home field advantage, combined with Reggie Roby’s shank after shank after shank, I found it hard to blame this loss on Marino.
You replied before I did…but I couldn’t find the 49 degree temp. Doesn’t matter though, as you answered the other question I was wondering about – wind chill; which I couldn’t find data on.
Here’s what I was mentioning:
https://www.sercc.com/SuperBowlClimate.pdf
Ok
I couldn’t find a 49 degree temp either. Every sight said 53 degrees.
It seems the kickoff temperature was indeed 53 degrees. However, that’s one of the coldest game-time temperatures for a Super Bowl. Only 4 Super Bowls were colder on the field.
http://www.profootballhof.com/history/release.aspx?release_id=587
(On the weblink, there are a few more temperatures colder; but those are the outside temps for a game that was held inside. An example is SB XLVI held at Lucas Oil Stadium; I guarantee you the indoor temperature was not 44 degrees.)
The Dolphins beat Minnesota 24-7 in colder temperatures in SB Vlll .
Yeah, that is certainly interesting. As I was saying, it’s funny how the media and NFL make a huge deal every year about how no team has ever enjoyed home field advantage for the Super Bowl. Wonder they they overlook this one? Certainly a high-profile game, what with the build-up to Marino vs. Montana.
Well, since Griese beat the cold weather Vikings on a colder SB, and Marino being from cold weather Pittsburgh, the weather that day is not an excuse. You can’t throw 2 ints with a 66 QB rating and expect to win.
I think we should have reached out to Andre Johnson. Why wouldn’t they bother to contact him, just to see what kind of a $$ figure he was thinking about? Gimme a break!
By saying that he wanted to play here, I imagine he would have taken a pay cut of some kind…
So who is going to be the new HC when Philbin is finally fired? Coyle? Lazor? Gruden? Mike Shanahan?
I was just reading an article that was (sort of) pondering that. They put more emphasis on the fact that Philbin needs to deliver early in the season. Here it is: http://www.hngn.com/articles/109661/20150715/miami-dolphins-rumors-joe-philbin-being-replaced-after-2015.htm
Good article, but the writer (and you guys) are overlooking the facts. Common sense would dictate that if Philbin gets off to a slow start, he is fired. It certainly makes sense to think that way, BUT…
You have to look at who our owner is. For some reason, he will not fire Philbin. Philbin has given Mr. Ross absolutely nothing. He deserved to get fired plenty of times, but instead he is rewarded with more money and job security. You guys are talking about does Philbin DESERVE to be fired if he starts off 0-4. Yes. But WILL HE be fired? That is a much different question.
This is the 4th preseason under Philbin, and EVERY SINGLE TIME all us fans excitedly said “it will be different this year.” We have some great new players. We have a few new coaches who will bring something new to the table. Patriots are another year older and Philbin can overtake them this year. Blah blah blah. Philbin proves us wrong each year, and still Ross praises him.
Exactly. However Philbin is such a poor coach it has to end sometime. Doesn’t it? Steve Ross DO SOMETHING!
Ross treated Sparano like dirt (Harbaugh visit, firing him mid-season, etc.)…so we know Ross has that side of him. We need more of that ! It’s a mystery why he doesn’t show that side toward Philbin.
Sparano turned a 1-15 team into a 11-5 playoff team in one year. Then he lost both Chad Pennington and Chad Henne. Suddenly we were using QBs like Pat White and Tyler Thigpen and Ross blamed Sparano for that and fired him.
I credit Parcells with that turnaround not Sparano. After Parcells left Sparano’s biggest mistake was leaving Matt Moore on the bench and starting Henne.
I cannot argue with that.
Preachin’ to the choir on that one.
Sporano was garbage, nice guy, but a garbage coach. Even the players complained about him, bad decision maker and was unprepared in crunch time situations from time to time – just flat out garbage. I liked Sporano as a person, but as a coach he just wasn’t any good, extremely conservative too.
Was flirting with Harbaugh cool, absolutely not! But had Ross gotten him and Miami goes on to become a perennial Playoff team and maybe make a SB, then everyone calls Ross a shrewd genius and says it was the right thing to do because the writing was basically on the wall for Sporano anyway. At best he is an assistant coach, not head coaching material.
I don’t know where you got the info that Ross blamed Sporano for White and Thigpen, wouldn’t make sense if he did as those were Bill Parcells moves, drafting White and wanting to trade to get Thigpen… maybe if that is true he was resentful towards Parcells for committing highway robbery against Miami, which he has every right to think that because Parcells is a class A D-bag who is EXTREMELY highly overrated.
Do y’all know about this multi-million $$ system the Phins have installed to track players’ sleep time, energy intake and use, exertion, etc.?
I just read this article in the SunSentinel by Omar Kelly: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/miami-dolphins/dolphins-blog/sfl-why-are-the-dolphins-melting-in-december-20150713-story.html
I like Kelly because unlike 99.99% of local reporters, he is critical of the team; especially Philbin. This article is no different, and it’s about the team’s December wins (or lack thereof).
Anyway, near the end of the article he mentioned that expensive tracking system/department. I vaguely remember hearing something about that a while back, but for some reason it didn’t fully register in my mind.
Now, I’m thinking, “Huh???” If that kind of system works at all, it probably only works on a team that is coached well, and that is moderately successful. I can’t imagine it would work well for a team with HORRIBLE coaching. In other words I don’t think there is ANY WAY adjusting biological variables could possibly overcome coaches who make in-game decisions that LOSE GAMES.
Maybe this is why Ross has kept Philbin? Because they’re “gathering data” and want this system to work out? I shudder to think….
By the way, I also don’t think it could work with players who basically give up near in the 2nd half of games near the end of the season. No names mentioned…
Interesting. One of Omar’s theories is that teams catch onto the Dolphins’ tendencies later in the year, and that adds to the December losses. I agree with that one. On offense, we have exciting playmakers, but the plays themselves are predictably vanilla. The Dolphins have not run a trick play under Joe Philbin. Not one! (We tried a fake punt one time but we were penalized, so no play). A December opponent NEVER has to worry about Miami changing things up to fool them. It makes studying the Dolphins so much easier.
On defense, I feel the guys are overcoached. So many times, the players have stated their disagreement with coaches. The players are in the trenches seeing the developments up close, but they have no say in how to play because Philbin and Coyle overmanage. Each week we hear the expert TV analysts talk about how the D uses too many stunts instead of just going straight at the ball carrier. Jared Odrick was furious with Philbin for a reason. And no one took Philbin’s side because they knew Odrick was right. By the time December comes around, the opponent has seen every stunt the Dolphins will use…and Philbin won’t change it.
It’s a pretty ridiculous state of affairs. Philbin’s had (and still has) damn good players on this team. If he would just let them “play” rather than simply using them as pawns to play out what he (and/or others) have drawn up, then we’d see a truly energized team.
I can’t agree that Philbins had many good players. The talent that Ireland brought in was non existent and the team got rid of all their playmakers Reggie Bush, Brandon Marshall, Mike Wallace, etc.
You mean PHILBIN got rid of Bush, Marshall, Wallace, Jake Long and other Pro Bowlers.
Don’t forget Philbin got rid of Pro Bowler Vontae Davis because of a meaningless, after-whistle penalty in a preseason scrimmage game.
We dont know who made ALL those decisions. I think it was Ireland that got rid of Brandon Marshall one day after he was in an alleged incident that he was later cleared of. I think it was Ireland or Ross that didnt want to pay Jake Long enough to keep him. That wasnt Philbin because they did make him a somewhat reasonable offer. Philbin desperately wanted Matt Flynn and Vonta Leach(sp) and he didnt get them so I question if he had any say in all of the personnel decisions. He wanted to get rid of Incognito and was told no. I’m not a Philbin fan, I think he’s a bad HC but he hasnt had total control over personnel. There’s more to blame then just Philbin.
They are over coached, but heaven forbid they speak out against a coach who isn’t attacking or defending where he should, they get benched just like Wallace did… but then again, that is when halfwit fans defend the questionable coaching staff to the death.
I think the players wear down over the course of a season due to the extreme heat. I have experienced global warming and it gets worse every year. It’s an advantage early in the season for the team but becomes a disadvantage at the end of the season. Just a theory.
And thats been a huge problem for this franchise. Who is making the decisions? Sparano, Ireland, Philbin, Steve Ross, Dawn Aponte, Dennis Hickey, and Mike Tannebaum have all been involved in recent personnel decisions . Too many cooks in the kitchen. And Ross is to blame for that.
True…you never really knows who is making the decisions, and that it why here at Dolphins Truth, we sometimes defend Jeff Ireland…because we sometimes just don’t know definitely with certainty. But you can use common sense to figure things out within the structure of most NFL teams. Reggie Bush comes to mind. I just don’t see Jeff Ireland going in to Philbin and saying “Reggie is washed up and I refuse to re-sign him. You have no say in this matter. Period.” Instead, we would think it was more the other way around…where Philbin would say something like, “I think Reggie doesn’t fit the type of player I want. He just rushed for 1,000 yards last season, but I don’t want him on my team.” THAT sounds like Philbin!
Brandon Marshall is another one. He was our best WR and coming off an MVP performance in the Pro Bowl. He got involved with some family drama that made national news, and next you know, he was traded. I honestly don’t think Ireland cared about a domestic squabble. Instead, the jettison of Marshall has Joe Philbin written all over it. We ended up getting three useless players for Marshal: BJ Cunningham, Will Davis and Michael Egnew. Even Ireland wasn’t stupid enough to do this. It HAD to be Philbin. Not a fact, of course, but just an educated guess.
Getting rid of Marshall was necessary, he was a bust in Miami and knowing that we were going to draft Tannehill, Marshall would have been what Shockey was to Eli, just a pain in the ass who would stunt his development.
You talk about Reshad Jones not making any big plays or anything, what signature move did Marshall have while he was in Miami outside of dropping TD passes, falling down on routes, and having trouble beating the press?
Marshall was force fed the ball a lot of times, never making anything happen after the catch like he would in Denver. He would start fights with teammates, he could be single covered and was a lot of times, wasn’t fast, threw his teammates under the bus, and he never really dominated a game. Shit, at least Ted Ginn had positive plays that he is remembered for like the 2 consecutive kickoff return TDs and blowing up Revis Island and the Jet secondary. What signature moment did Marshall ever have in Miami? he even dropped more passes than Ginn, lol.
Getting rid of Marshall was a necessity, just like getting rid of Wheeler. both were grossly over paid and did not live up to their contracts.
Nah, Marshall was the best player on the team. Can’t blame he that he wasn’t thrilled with Chad Henne as his QB. Getting rid of guys like him, Wallace, and Reggie Bush has kept us from winning.
Yes, when Moore came in relief of Henne Marshall praised Moore but completely threw him under the bus at the Pro Bowl – great teammate!. Marshall was far from the best player, like I said, this was a guy that was force fed the ball to shut his mouth and keep him from crying and to make his numbers look good when in reality they were very pedestrian by his and other elite WR standards. Bush was the best player on the team.
But yes, getting rid of Wallace was a huge mistake. And Wallace was far better than Marshall ever was. Wallace may not have the catches (or drops) to match Marshall but he does have the it factor ad he made everyone else around him look a lot better than they actually are…. Marshall never could.
I liked Bush, but it was time to go, he became injury prone his last 2 years and he began to lose a step, and for the money he wanted, it didn’t make any sense not to move on, it just had to be done.
Miami didn’t lose much when they traded Marshall, but that they don’t look as scary without Wallace. It is a shame they never came close to using Wallace the way they should have.
For Rod: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3ZZuaFFoXs
Please tell me your kidding… Ted Ginn made an over the shoulder catch in triple coverage against the Seahawks. Marshall was a bust in Miami, plain and simple. He was traded for poor conduct, constantly getting into legal trouble and being hurt every off-season since arriving in Miami and the fact that he just didn’t play up to his standards while in Miami, it was a no brainer to get rid of him.
For Admin .. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dRz9WCgXRU
Something Marshall could never do EVER do, beat Revis, bot only that, Ginn beat a cover 4 defense on that play. For as much as fans hate on Ginn, he actually did more than Marshall did as a Dolphin.
What decisions has Aponte made? She is just the capologist. Mr T has made a huge chunk of the moves and they have all been very solid and smart moves. Best move has done in the last year or maybe since he arrived was bring Mr T on board.
We never really know what decisions Dawn Aponte makes. But her name is ALWAYS in the mix. She is not powerless, according to every source we’ve checked over the last few years. I always ask fans of other teams if they can name the person in charge of the financial aspects of their team’s salary cap, and not a single fan, ever, has been able to name theirs. Us Dolfans know Aponte’s name because she’s always in the news for some reason.
She has power, you don’t work that long at a job and be powerless. And no one knew who she even was until the media found out who she was 2 years ago and turned her into a household name. She is a great capologist, but that doesn’t necessarily make someone an expert in in scouting or recognizing raw or untapped potential.
Most of the moves this off-season, including the draft have Mr T’s signature all over them, he was the same way in NY. Yes, of course Philbin has input, but Mr T is calling the shots… Hickey is just there for decoration.
You don’t know that. Hickey ,Phiilbin, Aponte, and Ross are likely all involved in personnel decisions.
I’m pretty sure she has been involved in at least some personnel decisions maybe from a money standpoint. Heck, she was at the draft combine. But we dont know for sure who decided what in this circus act.
So Ross just collected 226 million from the leagues tv rights before selling one ticket, parking space, food or beer or jerseys.
Yes…. and when Jerry Jones and the Cowboys sell out every week and also earn Billion$ in Cowboys merchandise sales worldwide, then Ross and the other owners get the same amount of that revenue as Jones. Welcome to revenue sharing!!!