Uncategorized (Page 52)

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 theRead More →

The last time Miami played the awful Jags team was last year. The Jaguars outscored us. Well, our offense anyway. Thanks to Blake Bortles being a jv quarterback who gave us 14 free and easy points, we came out on top.  But it was an ugly game.   Tannehill looked awful.  Our defense couldn’t stop the run (Thank God Jax kept calling for passes!!). In other words, except for a few pick-sixes, we would have gotten destroyed in this game last year. Make no mistake about how terrible the Jaguars are.  I mean, they were silly enough to think that Chad Henne was a quality starter,Read More →

One offensive touchdown and one field goal are not enough offensive production to win most games. While scoring in the NFL is never easy or anything to be taken for granted, still, there are some very basic strategies that the good teams employ. Very basic strategies such as utilizing your playmakers and making smart calls.  Joe Philbin does neither. Let’s look at one series from Sunday, for example.   Brent Grimes just made a great interception and changed all the momentum toward the Dolphins.   We started at the Washington 21, already in field goal range. On first down, Ryan Tannehill almost kills his tight endRead More →

The HIGHS: Brent Grimes had a huge game.  We saw the big early pick, but he shut down whoever he covered all day long.  That was huge.  This man earns every dime. Darr and Franks.  Neither kicker did anything extraordinary, but they played well, and that deserve praise for rookies.  Well done. Jarvis Landry.   A few great catches and a wonderful punt return.  Honorable mention to the block coverage on that punt.   The Redskins weren’t in position for a reason.   Our punt return squad all chipped in on those seven points. I will even give Joe Philbin a ‘high’ vote for goingRead More →

Welcome to the 2014 opener.  Not a typo.  2014.    Feels like the same old Dolphins. Jamar Taylor making mistakes just like last year. Dolphins stuffed on 3rd and one, just like last year. Dolphins lining up in a 4-wide passing formation and then trying a handoff on 3rd and short, just like last year. Opponent misses a field goal, and Joe Philbin thinksRead More →

1.  The Dolphin offense has to be aware of the hype surrounding its “great” preseason, especially Ryan Tannehill.   I keep reading about the 3 TD passes he threw in the pre-season.   But the writers seems to forget that those were aided by defense penalties on 3rd-and-goal.  And two of the passes were on 4th down, which won’t happen in a real game. This offense could be very overrated, and Sunday will begin to show us. 2.  The defensive backs.  Kirk Cousins is like a gift to the Dolphins.   Miami never handles fast, scrambling QBs well, so it’s very generous (and ludicrous) forRead More →

I like my colleagues over at the Phinsiders.  I really do. Despite the fact that they wrong 90% of the time, and despite the fact that they banned me from their site because I corrected them too many times.  Still, they are true Dolfans, and we have to respect that. In the latest example of how wrong they are, the Phinsiders today are defending Jamar Taylor.   The blogger Evan Silva correctly stated that Jamar Taylor was a bust, and the Phinsiders went nuts! The Phinsiders humorously said that Taylor is “developing into a solid player.”   So am I.  So are you.   We’reRead More →

Not too many outright surprises over the weekend, but a few moves that made us go “Hmmm.” The first thing that caught my attention ( and I mildly disagree with this move) was that the Dolphins kept WR Matt Hazel.  Management explained that Hazel played well in the pre-season and deserved the roster spot. I agree that he played well.  But so did Mike Hull. So did Mike Gillislee.  And Sam Brenner.  Playing well is expected.  That should not give you a roster spot, especially at a position where we were already extremely deep. We should have kept five.  Six WRs is unheard of.  Read More →

I’ll say this right off the bat:    I don’t see how Damien Williams is ranked higher on the depth chart than LaMike James and Mike Gillislee. But it’s especially baffling to see Williams ranked higher than Jay Ajayi, given how good Jay looked last night Last night, Ajayi showed why we drafted him:  he’s a bruising runner who can make the first guy miss and then run over the second guy. Williams, Gillisleee, and James have some moves, but they are not overpowering.  The next time Lamar Miller runs through a would-be tackler will be the first.  Ajayi is different. Plus, he is British,Read More →

Tom Brady whining and crying and appealing means bad news for the Dolphins. A few months after Patriot  liar owner Robert Kraft said that the Patriots would accept whatever fate the NFL handed them, Tom Brady’s whining got his suspension erased.   And that’s bad news for Miami. Well, it’s not horrible news. The Patriots were going to win the AFC East with or without Brady for those 4 games.   But now they will win it even easier. Let’s face it, the Dolphins added a star player or two this off-season, just like they do every year.  They had a good draft (on paper),Read More →

Brandon Fields, who was named to the Pro Bowl in 2013, then got a HUGE raise, and then rewarded the Dolphins by having his worst season ever, has been cut. The normally reliable Fields blew too many punts last year, making this decision a little easier. I don’t mind that the Dolphins cut him.  Let’s hope the new rookie does just as well. What bothers me is that it appears to be a cost-cutting move.  All we hear about is Mr. Ross will spend whatever it takes and…blah blah blah.   Cut the guy if you think the rookie is better, but don’tRead More →

Like a pest who just won’t go away, Jonathan Martin continues to make news. Two years after he quit on the Miami Dolphins. A year after the 49ers got rid of him. A month after he quit on the Panthers. Somehow, this serial quitter still makes news. This week, he’s been whining about how he felt suicidal.  He admitted using drugs.  He admitted how often he got drunk.  Yet, despite those obvious unproductive (and non-LEGAL) activities, he still wants us to feel he is the victim. Now, more than ever, the Dolphins should be apologizing to Richie Incognito and begging him to come back.  ButRead More →