I spied with my little eyes...(My game recap)

Gameballs/Positives

Xavien Howard - I thought X played excellent last week vs Julio Jones as he was in his hip pocket the entire game when matched up on him. This week was no different as Howard was playing tight on his matchups and you didn't hear his name all day except for on a couple of nice breakups. Howard gets an A from me today.

Cam Wake - Wake was just... Wake! Constantly giving the RT fits to the tune of 2.5 sacks and putting pressure on the QB all day long.

Suh - Was his usual dominant self, made some splash plays and got push up the middle all day long.

Kenny Stills - We don't win this game today without Stills, the guy made several big plays and got into the endzone twice. He was open on some other plays also where the QB either didn't see him or the ball was thrown poorly.

Jarvis Landry - Big plays in big spots, the heart and soul of our team. Jarvis went up and made plays, found soft spots in zones, and got some critical 1st downs.

Matt Moore - He came in and well... looked like an NFL QB. Moore stood strong in the pocket, and was slinging it all over the field. He threw WR's open, put the ball in good spots for WR's to make plays when they weren't, and wasn't afraid to take chances. The entire team seemed to get a spark when Moore was in and this was no coincidence. I'm no Matt Moore fan, but the difference between him and Cutler in this game was night and day.

Parkey - Remains perfect on the season for FG's and kicked the game winner again. This was a huge move this offseason.

The defense really stepped up in the 2nd half and especially in the 4th quarter. How many times have we seen late game collapses by Miami defenses, even when they were dominant for 3+ quarters? Well the last 2 weeks the D has stepped up in a huge way late in games. Reshad Jones did his thing for the most part and I thought he was going to break a record for tackles in a game at first when the LB's were getting out of position and Jones had to clean everything up, but I also feel as though he made some bad reads in coverage and wasn't where he should have been a couple of times which is why I didn't give him a solo mention up top.

Negatives

Tankersley - Gave up 2 td's, got roasted on one although it may have been either the safeties fault or miscommunication as it looked like he was expecting inside help deep. The other TD he gave up I feel as though he mistimed his jump, but either way he got beat(barely) and it was a perfect throw by Mccown. He's a rookie though and we all expected him to give up some plays this year. Overall he's exceeded expectations so far this season and even today other than those 2 or 3 plays he did well.

The O-line - Blew assignments, whiffed on blocks, didn't pick up blitzes, etc. They actually seemed to play a little better when Moore was in the game but I think that was mainly because they started dropping defenders out of the box, and didn't bring as much pressure. I don't know if this was because they were trying to protect a lead or they just felt as though Matt Moore was more likely to test them deep(Which he is).

Cutler - Same ol BS... throwing off his back foot, playing scared, acting like he doesn't give a **** etc. The INT towards the end of the 1st half was all on him as he stared down the WR then threw a pass that barely went over a blitzing DB's head. He got bailed out with some penalties by the jets defense which inflated his stats a bit but my eyes just told me he played like crap. There was no excuse for that play as the defender was right in his sightline the entire way and he still made the bone headed pass in the worst place on the field that he could make it.

Gase/Playcalling - I thought some of the drives were just BS, especially the one where we got a penalty making it 2nd and 20 and he apparently already decided we were going to punt the ball as he ran 2 plays up the middle with Ajayi right into a stacked box. Now when I saw that I thought to myself "This is scared bs football, and something you see in youth league or on crappy HS teams", but then I sort of considered the options and thought well hell, Ajayi probably has a better chance of breaking 8 tackles and getting a first down than Cutler does throwing the ball as he will either make a bad throw, or bail early and throw it short. I've criticized Gase and his play calling all year long so far, and I don't think many would disagree with me, but when you see Matt Moore in the same situations and throw the ball downfield it kind of makes you wonder if all of the crappy calls have been in most part due to the crappy QB. Either way Gase is at fault since he's either calling the bad plays and putting the team in bad situations to succeed, or keeping a QB in the game who can't run his plays simply because he hitched his wagon to him by convincing the FO to sign him and give him a $10 million dollar check. When Cutler is healthy Do The Right Thing Gase, just do the right thing....

The Field - Just terrible, we're lucky nobody got seriously injured.

Overall -

This team has heart and plenty of it. I honestly thought that was gone a few weeks ago when I saw Landry look disinterested and make a half ***ed attempt at a pass on a comeback route which fell incomplete. Well I was wrong, but I still think that the frustration of the play calling and QB was starting to get to the team. The defense this year is good enough to keep us in games, Ajayi is a stud RB, we have playmakers at WR, and a team that will fight until the final whistle, none of which will matter with putrid play at QB. Now don't get me wrong Moore is not a great QB, hell I don't even know if he's average but he gives the offense a shot to make plays. We heard Gase, and a lot of fans say Oh, it's the OL... well yes the OL sucks but when a career backup comes in and looks light years ahead of the starter you've made excuses for all season behind the same OL it sort of just makes you look foolish.

Even with the circus attraction that has been the Miami Dolphins this season we are 4-2! We lost a game nobody expected us to lose, and won a game nobody expected us to win. I have no clue what our record is going to look like at the end of the year but I'm pretty confident we'll be in a lot of games and fight until the very end. I was actually on board with the Cutler signing, I thought he played pretty well his year under Gase and I've never been a Matt Moore fan. Oddly enough however I find myself sitting here thinking that the success of our season this year depends on the stubbornness of our HC and his willingness to swallow his pride and play a career backup QB over a guy he considered a friend and hitched his wagon to. It's ok Gase... there are 52 other players and millions of Dolphins fans who will help you unhitch that wagon in exchange for a little bit of competence.

Nice job and a good write up....thanks for putting this together.

4 - 2.....hard to believe.

Thanks for the read! Nice work. Can I add that on the interception, not only did he stare Landry down before he threw it, but he was pointing to him before the snap. I think there might have been some confusion on Lady's part, as he was pointing downfield and Jay was pointing for him to go out to the side. He pointed at him until the snap and then just stared at him before he threw it. That was terrible, so terrible that you wouldn't expect a QB in a midget league to do it. What was that all about? Ugh. Ok, got my frustration out!

Moore looked better behind the same O-line that Jay gets minus Tunsil.

Good post, gotta disagree with the Moore part though. I think he's a good starting qb, wants to win, and can carry an offense if he ever had the chance over a consistent time period and cutler is just an average qb who doesn't care. Everything else is spot on though. Nice to see somebody call it like they see it and not just by bias one way or the other, the 2nd and 20 two Ajayi runs up the middle are inexcusable, you're right, that's coaching scared. Patriots would instantly dial up two 10-20 yard passes or one and a screen and actually try to win.

It hasn't been for lack of talent here the last 20 years, its been lack of coaches who want to win, it really is sadly that simple.

Njphinsfan said:

Thanks for the read! Nice work. Can I add that on the interception, not only did he stare Landry down before he threw it, but he was pointing to him before the snap. I think there might have been some confusion on Lady's part, as he was pointing downfield and Jay was pointing for him to go out to the side. He pointed at him until the snap and then just stared at him before he threw it. That was terrible, so terrible that you wouldn't expect a QB in a midget league to do it. What was that all about? Ugh. Ok, got my frustration out!

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Like I said... it was a really bad play in a really bad spot. I'm honestly surprised at how bad Cutler has been.

dolphinlifer said:

Good post, gotta disagree with the Moore part though. I think he's a good starting qb, wants to win, and can carry an offense if he ever had the chance over a consistent time period and cutler is just an average qb who doesn't care. Everything else is spot on though. Nice to see somebody call it like they see it and not just by bias one way or the other, the 2nd and 20 two Ajayi runs up the middle are inexcusable, you're right, that's coaching scared. Patriots would instantly dial up two 10-20 yard passes or one and a screen and actually try to win.

It hasn't been for lack of talent here the last 20 years, its been lack of coaches who want to win, it really is sadly that simple.

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I don't know man. Moore has his limitations, and I just don't buy into the fact that he's been a career backup for no reason. That being said though he has a gun slinger mentality and WILL take shots. After seeing this BS for 5 games of 2 yard passes on 2nd or 3rd and long it's refreshing to see someone actually competing and trying to get the first down.

outlawd2u said:

I don't know man. Moore has his limitations, and I just don't buy into the fact that he's been a career backup for no reason. That being said though he has a gun slinger mentality and WILL take shots. After seeing this BS for 5 games of 2 yard passes on 2nd or 3rd and long it's refreshing to see someone actually competing and trying to get the first down.

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Yep, definitely has wobbly passes sometimes and maybe just an average arm. However, think about his intangibles that a lot of qbs don't have, real toughness, tries to win always and is well respected by the team. Cutler may have a big arm, but it doesn't matter if you don't give a damn. I'll take the tough guy who tries to win every time versus the talented guy who doesn't give a damn. Only need to look at the production and team play those two differences in attitude create.

Also remember how somebody mentioned Rich Gannon earlier, career backup who finally got his chance and made his team dominant for 3-4 years while he started. Plenty of backups in the history of the league that have turned out to be great starters I'm sure, though I don't know them off hand, everybody needs an opportunity.

It's pretty obvious to me, these guy's play harder for Moore. I just don't think they like JC.

As much as Moore can gunsling his way to some wins he’ll also gunsling himself out of wins. It’s fun to watch but do you seriously believe Miami can contend against Brady and Roethlisberger come the playoffs with Matt Moore?

I think Gase saw a higher ceiling with Cutlers more natural talent. But the transition has been extremely rocky. Cutler isn’t adapting fast enough. And now another setback. I hope Moore can make a miracle run but that’s what it would be, a miracle.

I also find it humorous how much criticism Gase is getting for building a winning culture in less than two seasons and instead people here whine about playcalling and allegeinces to friends. If you think Adam Gase makes decisions about who starts based on salaries then clearly you haven’t been paying attention at all.

Despacio said:

As much as Moore can gunsling his way to some wins he’ll also gunsling himself out of wins.

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I'd rather gunsling some wins away than lose games by being utterly incapable of executing an offense for two games straight.

Good read the point about Cutler staring down receivers is spot on. We knew coming in he favored WRs big time but seeing him in action that seems to be a part of his stiffness. The field seemed to open up when Moore came in, we saw Carroo get a catch because he was open. Stills got more looks. Saw cutler miss Stills open way too many times.

Despacio said:

As much as Moore can gunsling his way to some wins he’ll also gunsling himself out of wins. It’s fun to watch but do you seriously believe Miami can contend against Brady and Roethlisberger come the playoffs with Matt Moore?

I think Gase saw a higher ceiling with Cutlers more natural talent. But the transition has been extremely rocky. Cutler isn’t adapting fast enough. And now another setback. I hope Moore can make a miracle run but that’s what it would be, a miracle.

I also find it humorous how much criticism Gase is getting for building a winning culture in less than two seasons and instead people here whine about playcalling and allegeinces to friends. If you think Adam Gase makes decisions about who starts based on salaries then clearly you haven’t been paying attention at all.

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I think you're right about Moore but at least he'll make the attempt to get the job done. Cutlers transition hasn't just been rocky... it's been ****ing pathetic. Cutler has been terrible, and isn't just that he doesn't know the offense, or that he's out of game shape etc. He is straight up doesn't care, and doesn't want to do the things necessary to win. The throwing off of his back foot constantly is very telling. I want no part of a QB who refuses to stand in the pocket and make a throw under pressure.

Now about Gase. People complain about the playcalling because well... the playcalling has sucked, and guess what it's sucked in part because of the putrid play of his QB. It's obvious Gase doesn't trust Cutler to go out and make plays in less than favorable conditions. He's doing everything he can to limit mistakes and/or avoid turnovers from Cutler. So if that's true, and you'd have a very hard time convincing me that it isn't then why is he sticking with a player that is A: playing like crap, B: limiting the offense, and C: Has made our offense one of the worst in the league? Well I guess there's only 2 explainations... either he thinks that Cutler will suddenly flip a switch and all of a sudden become a competent QB, or he hitched his wagon to Cutler by recruiting him and spending most of the remaining cap space that the team had left.

I'm a fan of Gase, I still think he's a good coach but this whole Cutler thing just flat out stinks and I was all for the signing when it happened. I could understand some adjustment period, and some rust but that's not all this is....

Don't forget about Lawrence Timmoms......he had one hell of a game too.
Play calling is way to predictable.....lacks aggressiveness.
Both TEs seem to show up today......was pleasantly surprised

Thx outlawd - appreciate you stepping up and taking the time to distill the key points.
How about some love for Bobby McCain taking the game winning interception that set up the good field position for Parkey? He doesn't get much acknowledgement on here but Bobby continues to improve and he brought it today when it really counted.