Okay, in no particular order, here are my thoughts on the game, some good, some bad, some troubling.
We have to hope–very intensely hope–that Tua’s poor showing was due to some nerves and ring rust. The Dolphins cannot get by with a starting QB tossing the ball for barely 200 yards. the passes were crisp, and that part was good. But his pocket presence seems to have declined to a point where it looked worse than last year. The pre-season adjustments he made were nowhere to be found. Yes, the bad offensive line did him no favors, but an NFL quarterback needs have some escapability, and Tua showed absolutely none of that.
He continues to run backwards at poor angles when under pressure, instead of stepping UP into the pocket, I noticed this all day long on our chat. He doesn’t fluidly slide anywhere. Instead he tries to outrace guys who are already running at him full speed. He’s going to lose those races.
Some of the plays we ran worked well, but then we inexplicably stopped calling them. Hitting Parker and Waddle on short slants and letting them play ball…THAT was working. So why “adjust” the offense when it’s working? Why switch to 5 WR sets and thus leave only 5 mediocre linemen to protect? The Dolphins revolving door offensive coordinators did not help.
Speaking of DeVante Parker, he gets my game ball today for a few great catches that kept important drives alive.
Our defense blitzed a lot, all day long, and virtually no one got through. It was embarrassing. Time after time, we saw Andrew Van Ginkle race into the backfield, only to be picked up (quite easily) by an extra lineman or by an RB. We can’t blitz for the sake of blitzing. We need to blitz and make it be effective.
Jaylen Waddle dropped a ridiculously easy pass today. Cannot have that at all. When he scored his touchdown, I loved the effort. But that was our last score of the game. The offense cannot score early in the third quarter and then pack in in like they did today.
Jaelan Phillips did absolutely nothing. Two years in a row we had multiple first-round picks, and the latter pick seem to be a waste (Noah Igbinoghene and now Phillips). Too early for me to make that kind of statement? Yes. But Phillips certainly did nothing to prove me wrong. Our pass-rushing beast was easily contained all day by the Patriots’ 3rd-striong tackle.
This is a game we should have lost. If not for 2 fumbles –both of which were oh so close and could have been call the other way–we lose this game. We got several calls our way (unheard of in New England) or else we lose. I don’t expect the Pats to contend this year, so let’s just say they are not a strong beat. And we BARELY held on to beat them. It ain’t gonna get easier. Not when our star QB gets us only 17 points and 200 yards.
Obviously I was rough on some guys like Tua and Phillips. Perhaps it was undeserved.
But seriously, and objectively, this looks like the same team as last year….nail biting games occur because the offense scores once per half.
On a positive note, getting two first downs when we got the ball back with 3 minutes left at the our own 9-yard line. THAT was clutch!
Cant really disagree with what you posted. Several comments. First, Tua remains somewhat of a mystery in that we cant objectively rate him just yet with the o-line playing so poorly. You are right to note that his instincts to run away using poor angles instead of stepping up in the pocket is spot on. Second, the plan to use that many blitzes should have been scrapped as it was obvious that Belichek planned for it and it was not working. Dropping into coverage would have been a better adjustment as Mac was torching us on 3rd down all day and he is not known for his running ability so they would not have been damaged that way.
Yep. If regular fans like us see that NEP picks up our blitz every single play, then it’s time to make an adjustment. But, as always, the Dolphins are always slow to adjust. I assume Flores was opting to bend but not break. Although Jones was throwing completions easily and picking up a majority of his third down conversions, still he was carving us up for big gainers. But still, why not drop your LBs back into the middle passing lanes once in a while?
I also found it interesting that Noah Igbinoghene was benched yesterday and a healthy scratch. That tells me the beginning of the end is coming. Sorry, but when a first-round draft pick gets benched in favor of guys like Jamal Perry and Nick Needham, something is wrong. I wasn’t ready to give up on him, but obviously the coaches are toying with that idea. Although it makes sense to dress him next week because the Bills are a more pass-happy team, whereas the Pats tried to run it at us all day.
Was not thrilled with what I saw from Tua…honestly, I have not seen anything that impr
One huge positive was the halftime adjustments! To me Miami won this battle over NE as Miami came out and took it to NE. Of course this didn’t last longer than one drive and I don’t think NE necessarily adjusted after that first drive of the 3rd as much as Miami seeing something working and than deciding they can’t do that again. Again I saw nothing from Tua that suggests hes a top 10 QB. He had a few nice throws but so did Chad Henne when he started here. We won the game because time expired not because we went into Foxbough and took it. Obviously we are in first place in the AFC East all by are selfs and that is huge but Buffalos coming next week to take a win in south Florida and unlike us they have a QB who can execute that and what might have been worse yesterday than figuring out we still don’t have our QB is that our Defense is just as lost too! Unlike NE the Bills will exploit that.
I agree with everything you said
Admin: yes, a positive from the game is our last possession. In the Gase/Philbin days, we would have gone 3 and out and punted. So we did finish the game, which is a reflection of Flores, IMO
Tua: ugh! This project is going to require some patience from the fans.
maybe one of Tua’s challenges is his height. Do you think he instinctively avoids the pocket because he can’s see downfield as well when he enters the pocket? can’t see over the ‘trees’ of the linemen….
There are QB’s that are height challenged that still are very very good (aka Russell Wilson) but I do think they are somewhat exceptions to the rule. And if you don’t have the height being able to be fluid and nimble in the pocket becomes that much more critical and I just don’t see that ability with Tua.
I think the height is an issue, but it can be overcome with elusiveness, as we’ve seen from plenty of other NFL quarterbacks. I just don’t see Tua eluding anyone. I cannot think of a single play that he extended. Just the simple act of stepping forward and letting the rushers zip by you…Mac Jones did that a dozen times on Sunday. Tua did not. I do think that stuff can be taught and practiced, but it would be a lot better if the QB had that skill inately. Josh Allen coming to town will elude us all day long. It’s gonna be ugly. Tua’s arm is a cannon, but he’s not allowing himself to use that arm. Running backward at stupid angles will not win games. I mentioned during our chat that he panics way too quickly. Perhaps panic is too harsh of a word, but it’s how I see it.
I hated that we took Tua over Herbert, I hated that we took a BIG reach on a CB in the first round last year, I think everyone and their brother knew Austin Jackson was a bit of a reach at that point in the first. Waddle looks like the real deal but if Philips doesn’t pan out then we blew 4/5 of our first rounders. I think Flores is a great coach because he gets more out of mediocre overall talent than anyone. But when is it time to start questioning Grier as a GM?
Oh but one thing to add, even though I hate the contract BS…. X continues to prove he is worthy of being one of the top paid CB’s in the game. How many times has he stopped key drives with turnovers?
Thanks Mike. ADMIN went on a tirade about Xavien Howard in quite a few huff an puffing articles, but when it comes to a very important win on the road against New England, he’s eerily quiet about him and gives Devante Parker, a Dolphins player he clearly hates, the game ball after the win. I mean, ADMIN doesn’t even mention that BS roughing the passer call on Elandon Roberts when he sacked Mac Jones which turned into a touchdown for NE because it kept that drive alive. Nah, ADMIN just focused on Tua in most of his rant as if he’s some kind of expert on NFL QB playing.
I read and sometimes leave a comment on your blog site ADMIN, but in my opinion, you have a habit of tripping over your own foot.
LOL, Phil. You don’t need to be an expert on QB playing to notice the flaws in Tua’s game. The line is horrible, but he has to understand that and make his adjustments better.
If it makes you feel any better, I will state that X Howard is the best CB in the league. His forced fumble and recovery were the game-changing moments in that game. I loved how it wasn’t a big jarring hit that sent the ball loose. Rather, Howard dug in there and wrested the ball out of his arms. That is a lot of strength and a lot of determination.
But his undeniable on-field talent is a separate issue than demanding a raise and demanding a trade and causing a distraction, etc. It seems to be behind us now, and he’s playing as tough as ever.
Also, if you go by the letter of the law, the Roberts penalty was the correct call. But the ref certainly could have justified picking up that flag. Roberts wrapped his arms round Jones’s legs. He did NOT dive at the kneecaps. That is a huge difference, but the ref didn’t care. The rule itself is flawed.
At the end of the Browns game, Mayfield got tripped up from behind and threw the game-losing pick. Technically–again going by the letter of the law–the Chiefs defender hit Mayfield’s foot from behind and tripped him up. THAT is a hit below the knee, but it wasn’t called. So swiping a guy’s feet from behind is legal, but being blocked into Mac Jones and then innocently and safely wrapping him up is illegal?
Besides, the worst call of the game was early on, when Mac Jones threw the ball backwards for a 13-yard loss. It was CLEARLY a backward lateral, and the ball was in play. However, if you watch closely, the referee (same joker who penalized Elandon Roberts) was already blowing the play dead. He’s waving it off as an incomplete pass and blowing the whistle. Somehow–and I don’t know how he missed it–he didn’t notice that the pass went 13 yards BACKWARDS. You can see there was a ref huddle afterwards. The umpire had to explain to the head ref what happened.
Look ADMIN, instead of stupidly trying to patronize me, that what you just wrote is how you honestly report on the game. And that flag the umpire threw on Roberts was tech book bullshit and it almost cost the Dolphins the game.
None of the comments that anyone here has written is incorrect. I was thinking the same thing as Mike: with an unheard-of amount of first-round picks the last few years, Chris Grier’s selections have not panned out. He hasn’t gotten lucky in rounds 2-7 either. No trade has been a game changer. Rather, we are a nice 10-6 team. The question remains if we get to the 12-5 level this year, or hover around 8-9. I don’t see us at 14-3 for sure, nor 5-12 range.
People need to relax a little after all they did find a way to win a game in NE that 9/10 they would have lost in the past. Tua is a winner he’s 70% doesn’t matter how you do it. The end of the game proves it especially after that penalty he drilled it to Parker. It’s a young team there will be growing pains but to write off every draft pick is ridiculous. Holland for instance looks to be a star in the making. Eichenberg played LT and didn’t get Tua killed. Waddle looks great. Phillips was getting double teams a lot so drew attention. Let’s give these guys a chance. Plus the coaches played things safe and beat the patsies at their own game….yet we complain. Geeze be happy and let’s hope they progress more next week.
Relaxing a little bit, as you said, is probably a good course of action. I too am not ready to give up on any of these young guys. But there are flaws in Tua’s game that you have to notice and point out. Arm strength is definitely not a flaw. He drilled it in there and it was great. I’m more concerned with his pocket presence looking identical to last year. Yes, a shoddy offensive line doesn’t help him. Eichenberg had a holding penalty I think, but otherwise wasn’t getting blown away every down, so he shows some great promise.