So now that the dust has settled after the Dolphins were defeated pretty badly by the Ravens, it’s time to realize that the situation is not as dire as some people think.
Losing an important game in Week 14 is a LOT better than losing in Week 17, as we learned last year. So maybe Sunday’s loss was the rock bottom that we needed to hit in order to start bouncing back.
The Dolphins sit at 7-6 and are still in the playoff mix. We are only one game behind the two wildcard teams (8-5 teams Pittsburgh and San Diego). We have three weeks to make up one game. It’s not impossible. It’s not even improbable. Despite beating the Dolphins last Sunday, the Ravens are on the outside looking in. 8-5 doesn’t even get them a wildcard spot at this point.
Neither Pittsburgh, San Diego, or Baltimore will all win their final 3 games, so at least one will falter, but probably two of them. That is where we fit in. We lose one-on-one tiebreakers to Baltimore and to the Chiefs (who are also still alive), but if it’s a multi-team tie, different tiebreaking rules are used, and the Dolphins fare a little better in this regard because of our AFC record.
But the NFL does not allow a team to just sit back and watch your opponents knock each other out the race. The Dolphins need to play their own games. And they need to win.
Beating New England is the first step, and this is possible. The last two games we played up there, we raced out to a 17-point lead, only to blow it. We can compete with those guys and we can beat them. We always match up well. We are DUE for an offensive explosion and New England is due for a bad performance.
Kevin Coyle has ways of getting to Tom Brady, so the Pats might be looking to run the ball more than usual. And can you blame them? Our defense has been giving up huge rushing yards, but it’s time for that to stop.
New England is such a hard team to beat, but it’s the first step if we want to make the playoffs. After that, we have the Vikings coming up. A few weeks ago, they woulda been an easy win for us. Now all of a sudden, they are only a game behind the Dolphins at 6-7 and they are a legitimate playoff contender. This laugher of a game suddenly will be a hard contest.
And then the Jets come to town for the finale. Should be a laugher, but you know they play us tough, and we always seem to split the series. So that makes three games in a row that are winnable, but all three will be a test of Dolphin pride, skill, and fortitude…all of which has been missing at different points this season.
From where I am sitting, it looks extremely tough, no different than those other teams schedules.
Firstly, NE consider us a little more than a joke and having lost the last two tilts to us will fire them up to knock us out. Division Rivalry, let’s not forget.
Second, agree that IF and it’s a big IF we were to win in NE a third game in a row vs the Pats. we would probably get that mojo back we are so lacking at the moment.
Since we are playing it all in this game one key to me would be:
make use of the only seriously threatening rising star we have to get their hands full. That guy is Jarvis Landry.
If we can use him as the ‘Hawks used Percy Harvin in the initial drives of last Superbowl against the Broncos, then they will have to worry about him. This will create a switch in their defensive scheme and potentially open opportunities for some running big plays with Miller and some other mismatches, given all our receivers are (technically) equipped to shine in terms of talent (Hartline, Wallace, Gibson, Matthews).
Another thorn in the flesh is to fight Gronk with Gronk, that is, relying heavily on our two tight ends after the catch abilities and involve more Clay and Sims in our attack.
If all of a sudden they need to keep tabs on Juice and two play-making tight ends, things start to get complicated defensively for them.
I’m not even going to talk about OUR D. If we can move the chain (for 4 quarters, that is) and score more than 30 points chances are we can perhaps see to win this game.
But we really need to play our best game of the year, and, yeah! How I wish we have at least Knowhson Moreno!
So much I had to say,
Fins Up!
Nicola
@Nicola
You should consider coaching! Wow I really like your strategy and creativity especially matching Gronk with Gronk. Opening up Charles Clay will be huge. Hes Knowhon Mereno as a TE/Receiver and its been a while since hes had a big game. Belicheck has praised him to the point of admiration. Even saying the key to stopping the Dolphins offense starts with stopping Charles Clay.
Thanks for your post. Im going to watch this game with a totally different view!
Two keys to beating them the first time:
1) Knowshon broke their will with his determined running (which only happened because he was actually given a chance to carry the ball)
2) Wake had his way with Sebastian Vollmer
This is a game that we should shoot for 30 rushing attempts, minimum. We also need pressure from our front 4.
And please keep Jimmy Wilson off the field in coverage….
This is funny. You guys actually think Joe Philbin has a chance to win in Foxboro. Even if we play the way we played in the first half there last year, there’s still the matter of those guys in the black and white stripes. You know the refs. Those guys that haven’t officiated a single big game in our favor in the past few weeks and pulled out all the stops in Foxboro last year to ensure that we didn’t escape with a victory. Illegal batting? Really? Plus there’s the revenge factor for that beatdown we administered earlier this year coupled with the fact that N.E. is playing some of the best ball in the league in the past few weeks and that all adds up to us having a snowballs chance in hell of winning Sunday. And if we did make the play-offs somehow. Do you guys really think we deserve to be there with the likes of Dallas Thomas. Philbin, and a poor run defense. I’ve seen enough of this the past few years. I don’t need anything that’s going to derail the fire Philbin train. Hickey deserves a chance to court his on coaching prospect. It’s time to do a partial fire sale and exorcise our demons. All the “ghosts of Ireland” past must go.
I am all for Philbum to get the boot, but not at the expense of giving up a playoff spot. This team has played hard for the most part this season and those games that we did lose, for the exception of a couple, we were one defensive play away from a sure victory. New England does not scare me one iota and I am sure the guys will be fired up for this one. Not going to be a gimme game, but the Patriots are due for a trap game this season and this one could be it. Lets win out these games first then sort out the staff later, plenty of time for that in the off season.
Things are definitely not in our favor come Sunday, but the one thing I mentioned in the article above is that we have been playing REALLY poor the last month on offense, and I think we are due. One TD last week. One the week before. In Denver the offense put it all together, but before then, the offense struggled for 3 quarters against the Bills. I just think this is the week where we put up some point against a very overrated Pats defense. We might lose 39-36 again, but we’ll score.
Do you guys get ANY sense at all that the players are playing hard to win the last three games to save Philbin? I don’t. You know the Jet players love Rex Ryan and try to keep his job for him. Do you sense that urgency from the Dolphin players? I sure don’t
Nope, but they may also play for their own pride in spite of Philbum. A chance to get into the mix come playoff time should outweigh any animosity they have toward their head coach. These are professionals and I do believe their pride will outshine their anger at the staff, that is completely out of their control, they know it and know it too. The only thing they have control of is their own destiny, not the coach’s. Just my two cents.
Plenty on the line for Dolphins in divisional showdown with Patriots:
http://www.foxsports.com/florida/story/miami-dolphins-playoff-shot-slowing-new-england-patriots-121014?cmpid=tsmfb%3Afscom%3Anflonfox
This team has play-off team talent. The coach is handicapping it. No matter who we add or how good we are this team will fail to reach it’s potential under this coaching staff. They play not to lose instead of to win and are clueless. Why isn’t Dion Jordan getting snaps at Wheeler’s position? Everyone but the Dolphins coaches can see that he is not a defensive end. Why isn’t Fox or Turner getting a shot at right tackle when Dallas Thomas is downright horrible pass protecting? Keep hope alive about the play-offs but this coaching staff is incapable of delivering due to stubbornness and an inability to adapt.
I have no faith in Dion Jordan at ANY position, but I’d love to be proven wrong. One thing I like to point out is that when Cameron Wake first came to Miami, he sat the bench. Sparano had no idea how to use him. In Wake’s second year, he was a star. Some players just need a chance to play, and then they show their potential. Dion Jordan has played for two full seasons now and has done very little. Again, let’s hope I’m wrong.
Well he is pretty good at blocking punts, but that is about it. Good point Admin. 🙂
Even though Jordan hasn’t proved he can get to the quarterback he has proved that he can cover tight ends and backs out of the backfield. Wheeler can do neither and misses tons of tackles and is constantly out of position. Jordan would be an upgrade over Wheeler at the outside linebacker position in at least that area. Hell He may have stopped Quarles from scoring in that Green Bay game.
It won’t matter if we can’t protect THill or put pressure on Brady anyway. Jordan is the least of my worries in this game. Our secondary is swiss cheese and our rush defense hasn’t shown up in over three weeks of play, now that is something to worry about.
Last year in the 2nd Pats game, we lost both our starting CBs and somehow we managed to eke it out. This year in the season opener, we lost 2 of our 3 LBs, and we still managed to get the W. I don’t know if we can keep playing with fire and expect to win, but we can hope!