September 2018

The Dlphins (there is absolutely no “O” in this team) got their annual Massachusetts Massacre out of the way today to close out September at 3-1. While the defense played poorly, this loss is not their fault.  As I wrote all week, the defense will yield points to Tom Brady.   All defenses do.   We simply had to match them on offense, and Adam Gase made certain we didn’t do that. As bad as the defense was, consider this:  What if I told you that our D would have 2 interceptions, numerous batted balls, several hurries and pressures, forced punts, and stopped 3 different wildcat/trick playsRead More →

Join our live chat at http://dolphinstruth.com/chat/ DeVante Parker is out again with a sore leg.  That’s the only good news.  Reshad Jones is out.   That is the horrible news.   I’m all for protecting players, but man, come on.   Sometimes–especially for huge division games–you have to suck it up and get out there.  Jones got hurt in the 2nd Q of the Jets game two weeks ago.   He finished the game.  He played hurt immediately after the injury. Like I said during the week, the offense just needs to focus and score score score.   Our defense is getting banged up week after week, but it won’t matterRead More →

They may not be the same old New England Patriots, but this is still the same old rivalry.   And the same old Foxboro.  And the same old Brady and Bellichick. In other words, the Patriots might be a lesser team than in years past, but they’re still a team that’s hard to beat.  Last week, the Pats dressed only 3 WRs.  I expect them to play Josh Gordon this time.  So that will be 4 WRs plus the ever-present Gronk to deal with.  The good news for Dolphans is that Brady doesn’t seem to have rapport with his WRs.   His O-line is not as strongRead More →

DE Jonathan Woodard, who did some good things in the pre-season and who probably would have made the team if we didn’t have a strong D Line already, was promoted from the practice squad.  He’ll take the place of Andre Branch, who is out for a month or so.   That leaves us still down a D lineman, because William Hayes was placed on IR. Here’s my take on this stupid rule that got Hayes hurt.  I feel it is very easy for a ref to tell if a defender intentionally and forcefully throws his entire body weight onto a QB.  If it’s on purpose, thenRead More →

There are 7 teams ahead of us in ESPN’s latest power polls.  2 of them are undefeated, so I have no problem there.   But 5 of them have a worse record than us.  That makes me scratch my head. But I see their point.  Never mind the win-loss records, you have to say that Pittsburgh and New England are probably stronger teams than us…but only going by their history.   This will all work itself out as the season progresses.  Our offense needs to start getting into the 30-point range and not settle for the 20s, where we always have to nervously await an onside kick.Read More →

Right out of the gate, we have to start with Jordy Nelson on the first series.  It’s not too bad if a receiver gets open.  It happens.  But look how quickly he gets open.   And I mean WIDE open. The ball has barely been snapped.   On the far right, you see Derek Carr is still fading back.  Nelson, circled, is running a simple slant.   The black arrow shows his route.  Look how open he is!   The play has just started and he’s in full stride already.  It was obviously a breakdown.  It didn’t help that Minkah Fitpatrick (Off screen on the far left at thisRead More →

We’ll take it.   The Oakland Raiders gifted us a nice win today, and I for one am proud to accept it.  Jon Gruden saw that we could not stop Jordy Nelson, and for some baffling but enjoyable reason, he stopped calling on Jordy. A thousand thank yous to Gruden. Thank you also for calling a long fade route when you had a first down and were about to take the lead very late in the game.  A ridiculous play call made worse by David Carr throwing a Cutler-like pass there deep. In 2013, we opened up 3-0 as well.   We beat some quality teams tooRead More →

I was hoping for 95 sweltering degrees and 99% unbearable humidity for the game today, which should give the Dolphins a somewhat advantage over Oakland, who is not accustomed to this weather, but it seems the rain will cool things down. A sloppy field causes mistakes and slips all around, and that does not bode well.   Two home games, two rainy days.  Mother Nature must be a Parriot fan. Please join us for the game day live chat beginning just before kickoff.  Talk to you then…Read More →

I see the Raiders as one of those tough 0-2 teams, who drew a tough schedule to begin the season.   And let’s all admit, the Dolphins drew a pretty easy 2-game stretch.   Sorry, but the Titans are simply overhyped.    Yes, they were a playoff team last year, but only because there is a huge gap between New England and the rest of the AFC. That being said, these Dolphins seem to have a new makeup.   I’ve noticed momentum changes.   Our offense pounces on the opponent after our defense grabs a turnover.   And our Defense plays stout and tough after the offense has just blownRead More →

Let’s hope we never have another 2nd half of a game where we get zero points.   Although we held on to beat the Jets, it is a recipe for failure to only score in the first half. Let’s also hope that we score on our first possession.   A touchdown even.   It seems like ages since that happened. Let’s also hold the opponent and NOT let them score on their first possession after halftime.   Seems like the D always comes out flat and gives up 7 points.   Gotta stop that. And finally, lets hope that Gase and Tannehill mix up the snap counts.   Both of theseRead More →

Forgive the low-rez pictures, but I think they work for our purposes.   I studied the game a few times to analyze certain plays and certain mistakes, and these are what I’d like to share with you here.    In each case, a little practice and a little experience will be very beneficial, and I think these mistakes can be overcome. First, let’s start with our second-round draft pick, Mike Gisecki, who’s been all but invisible this season so far after hearing about such lofty expectations. Early in the first quarter, the Dolphins set up a screen pass.  Here is the base of the play asRead More →

Last week, Ryan Tannehill said the ball slipped out of his hand when he threw that terrible endzone interception to the Titans’ Malcolm Butler.   Yesterday, the ball slipped from his hand and the Jets recovered.   I don’t know how you correct sweaty hands, but it needs to be addressed.   These were both big turnovers near the goal lines, and the ball slipped while Tannehill wasn’t even hit.  Have you ever seen another QB with such slippery hands two weeks in a row? The fumble yesterday was caused by Tannehill’s panic on a broken play.   That is something else to be addressed immediately.  We’ve run thoseRead More →

1  Game MVP: A.  Ryan Tannehill B. Reshad Jones C.  Matt Haack   2  Best Play: A. Xavien’s endzone interception B.  Gore’s first down catch on 3rd and 20 C.  Tannehill’s first down bootleg to win the game   3  Most embarrassing play: A.  Tannehill’s air fumble with no one near him B.  Kilgore’s phantom air snap fumble with no one near him C.  Tannehill overthrowing a wide open Albert Wilson when no one was near him   4   Which missing Dolphin needs to stay missing: A.  DeVante Parker B.  DeVante Parker C.  DeVante Parker?Read More →

The Dolphins’ leading pass dropper and wrong-route runner and interception-causing player will sit out today again.   This means the successful 4 WR combo from last week will be at it again, without DeVante Parker out there to mess things up.   The Dolphins will act like it’s a loss to not have Parker, but this is a much better scenario. Please join us for our LIVE GAME-DAY chat here:  http://dolphinstruth.com/chat/, and that link is on the top right of our web pages.Read More →

First, I’ll start off with how close it was when Kenny Stills caught the long, 75-yard bomb.   It looked clean and perfect at first glance, but here you see how the ball bounced around his hands for a second, combined with Malcolm Butler getting his arm in there.   A+ to Stills for his excellent concentration.     Now here’s a play early in the game.   It’s a frustrating part of Ryan Tannehill’s development that I wish he could correct.  He doesn’t have a killer instinct when it comes to noticing things.   The Titan defense is in disarray.  They were literally–and I mean literally– jumping upRead More →

A few highs and lows to begin our season, and let’s start with the lows so we can end on a high note… The lowest of the lows goes to the NFL itself. It is utterly ridiculous to suspend a game for rain. This is not MLB, and football players are not afraid of getting wet and dirty. Your excuse about lightning strikes is just that…an excuse. During 4 hours of delays, do you know how many lightning strikes occurred inside Hard Rock Stadium? The Over/Under was 1, and the under won. It was insane and unnecessary to suspend the game. The NFL is notRead More →

Please join us for a live, uncensored chat.   http://dolphinstruth.com/chat/ Link is also on the top-right of each page on this site.  Let’s see if we can’t get a few more guys in this year.  Would love to see some Titan fans chatting with us tomorrow, but Nashville is a fair-weather city, and I doubt anyone will show up !Read More →