A few things that come to mind after yet another hard-fought, exciting win.

First, we are 3-0. We were 3-0 under Gase and missed the playoffs. We were 3-0 under Philbin and then got gashed on a primetime game to fall to 3-1, and we sort of derailed after that. We did make the playoffs that year, but had to face the Steelers in Pittsburgh, with backup Matt Moore.

So 3-0 is much much better than 0-3, but nothing has been accomplished yet.

Thursday will be a good test of the Dolphins’ ability to keep the pedal to the floor. Jimmy Johnson used to talk about the short week by saying there is no time to practice anything new. No time to develop a game plan. Whatever you did last Sunday, win or lose, you do it again on Thursday. If Mike McD holds that same philosophy, we should be okay.

We spent two weeks prepping for ferocious attacks from the Ravens and Bills. The Bengals are strong as well, but not nearly as well rounded as our other opponents so far. It is another winnable game.

Some notes on the win:
When Tua hit Waddle on that long bomb to set up our final TD, the Bills rushed only 3 men. It was 3rd and 22. Since the Bills hired Sean McDermott as head coach six years ago, the Bills had NEVER given up a third-and-20+. Never. Tua/Waddle was the first combo to beat them long. Pretty impressive.

They dropped 8 men deep to stop a long pass, and Waddle still found a groove in the defense anyway. Well done.

The luck factor favored the Dolphins for once. Josh Allen blowing the 4th and goal play toward the end. McKenzie wasting too much time trying to get out of bounds. Allen muffing the snap right at halftime. The early fumble by Allen could have been ruled an incomplete pass, as his arm was moving forward, but they called it a fumble. The refs catching Allen rip Wilkins’ helmet off. These types of plays never go the Dolphins’ way, but on Sunday they did. We can’t always expect such luck, but it was nice to have it this one Sunday anyway.

Mike McDaniel continues to impress. Although this was the first game where I questioned some of his play calls (and I’m backed up by the sheer number of times we had to punt the ball away on Sunday), still he is showing great leadership. On the Bills’ final series, on second down around our 40 yardline, there was a holding call on an incompletion. Usually you decline it and take the down. But McDaniel was smart to take the yardage instead. Give them an extra down, but move them out of FG range. Make them earn it.

The defense won this game. The offense won at Baltimore. The Week One victory was mostly the defense. They are going back and forth, so fate might allow the Dolphins to score big on Thursday night, although who knows how many Dolphins will be too banged up to play, including our QB. If we have to go with Teddy Bridgewater, the game could get out of hand. He has shown me nothing in pre-season, and did even worse in his emergency appearance on Sunday.

Let’s hope Tua gets healthy in the next 48 hours.

8 Comments

  2. Love your site admin.You make amazing analysis of the dolphins. Never can get enough. Not trying to be smart but I got to correct you. The year with Philbin we started 3-0 we didn’t make the playoffs. We finished 8-8 with back to back losses to bills and jets. I remember your brilliant analysis how Philbin got swept by a backup quarterback thad Lewis that year. When we went to the playoffs with gase in 2016 and Matt Moore played in the playoff game we finished 10-6 but actually started 1-4.

    1. Author

      I stand corrected and you are 100% correct. We beat the Bills with Matt Moore on Christmas Eve in Week 16 that year to clinch a playoff spot. In O.T. Cost Rex Ryan his job, as Jay Ajayi had 200 yards rushing in BOTH of our wins vs. Buffalo. Anyway the following week I was at the game vs. New England live in Miami, which we lost in Week 17. That was the last time we made the playoffs. 🙁

  3. I just love what we’re seeing from the Dolphins right now. These guys don’t quit, have a lot of talent and (butt punt not withstanding) really arnt making that many stupid mistakes, unforced errors! We had a few 3 and outs in this game but against one of the best defenses you would expect that and the dolphins overcame. This was a game the team had to take and they needed a little luck and they got it. They forced Buffalo to have to play fast and Buffalo made mental errors that cost them the game. Even in Mariano’s days I don’t remember seeing this kind of play. Ya, mMarino would come in and throw the ball all over the field and score more points but to have the whole team outlast in a slugfest has been a rare thing in Miami. I guess with Jimmy Johnson and that defense we had a similar thing but our offense then didn’t balance it out like what we’re seeing now. Will we lose the next seven games? Not likely I see way to much mental toughness on this team right now. Not something we’re used to seeing from the phins!

    1. Author

      The youth of the team is a good sign, not just because they are younger physically, but because many Dolphins have only been in the NFL for 5 years or less. They do not remember when the Dolphins were a disorganized mess. Very few Dolphins would even remember the Gase era. None would remember Philbin. There is no “same old Dolphins” stigma for these guys to overcome, because to many of these players, the Dolphins have been a winner. If you don’t remember the stink of the past, it can’t affect you.

  4. Although I can’t take away from anything that you said ADMIN, let me just add a couple of things that was a big factor in the Dolphins win vs Buffalo Sunday. The Fins went into halftime with a tied score. But again, Buffalo looked like world beaters in the beginning of the 3rd quarter. Then South Florida’s biggest make or break factor begin to make its appearance… the HEAT. The heat and humidity in South Florida begin to make the field in Hard Rock stadium look like a war zone with bodies laying all over it! Even when the Fins were trying to hand them the game, I knew the Bills were in trouble. True, the Fins made Buffalo’s Josh Allen look like a much slower Lamar Jackson when running the ball (and I bet a lot of broken TV screens because of it) along again with the stupid penalties the Fins were making on defense, the game was still close. I remember at least the last three years how the Fins would lose those close game by one, two, or three points. What a difference some luck and new faces can make.

    Will the magic continue? Don’t know. But dammit, after years of nothing but disappointing seasons, us Dolfans deserve it!

    1. If we get 1 of about 4 interception attempts, the game is not close. We also missed so many tackles for losses. Credit Josh Allen, I’ve never seen a QB keep plays alive like him.

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