Ladies and Gentlemen, you just witnessed the culmination of one of the biggest choke jobs in Miami Dolphins history. A 3 game lead in the division has now evaporated and the Bills are AFC East champs. There is no doubt that Mike McDaniel is guilty as charged for Yesterday’s loss and ultimately for us losing the division. Is it all his fault? No. But he has a huge chunk of the blame here. On to the grades:
QB — F : A complete disaster again. Tua’s second “F” grade in a row and I don’t think the word “disappointing” covers it here. 17 of 27 for 173 isn’t good. The 2 Picks were awful throws. In another big game….Actually the biggest game of the year…Tua comes up small. The problem now becomes this: Tua is going to want to be paid Top 5 QB money. I think this season he’s proven he’s not a top 5 QB in this league. So…Do we pay it? That’s a question for another day…But Yesterday’s performance was abysmal. Period.
RB — C + : Achane had some very good runs yesterday. I really think he’s a star in the making. I’m looking for at least 1200 yards on the ground out of him next year. Jeff Wilson also ran hard. Both RB’s were over the magic 5.0 YPC mark. They were a definite bright spot in an offense that did little else.
TE’s — D + : Smythe with 3 catches and J. hill with 1 yesterday. Not great but not horrible either. A very pedestrian day for this group when we needed more out of them in the blocking and receiving games.
WR’s — F : Sean McDermott took Tyreek out of the game the entire 2nd half. The safety on his side was consistently over the top of every route Hill ran. Did anyone else step up in single coverage? Spoiler Alert: Not even close. Pathetic. Another group that failed miserably. I will note here that Tua’s play didn’t help these guys out in any way.
OL — D +: 1 sack allowed. That’s it. Tua had time most of the day. However, there were some jailbreaks that forced Tua off of his spot. Regardless, this unit played a game I would consider barely passable. The blocking in general wasn’t what we needed to win against a good defense.
DL — B - : These guys allowed 128 yards rushing total. That’s not bad against the Bills. Wilkins with the strip sack and recovery was nice to see out of a guy that wants to get paid. Sieler had a half a sack to add in. In general the defense played more than well enough to win.The problem was they couldn’t get off the field when we needed to.
LB’s — C - : Yes, this unit is beyond depleted. Except for the fact that none of them can cover a tight end…. They played a decent game. Ingram with a sack and a half was nice. Baker was active. Again, a decent game….Except for the damage that TE’s continue to do to us.
DB’s — B - : Apple and Elliot with picks in the end zone. That should be good enough to win right there. This unit definitely did enough to win this game. Unfortunately, the offense didn’t cooperate.
ST’s — F : Bailey out kicked the coverage and we give up an incredibly costly punt return for a TD. Awful. Nothing more to say here.
Coaching — F : In actuality, Fangio gets a passing grade here. His defense played more than well enough for the W. But….Fangio couldn’t overcome the ST’s disaster and the inept offense that was put on the field yesterday. McDaniel still has no answer for Hill being covered nor the 2 high shell coverage. Is some of this Tua’s fault? Absolutely. But our Genius HC has to come up with something or our playoff run will be 1 game.
Conclusion : A horrible night last night and more questions are arising. Is McDaniel the right coach? Is Tua the right QB? Is Grier the right GM? Well….Those answers are yet to be com…But I can say this….All of them were wrong yesterday. I’m only grading on yesterday’s game…But to choke away a 3 game lead in your division is leaving a horrible taste in my mouth. It’s inexcusable. Do I have all the answers? Nope. And I don’t ever claim to. But there needs to be some deep thought put into this off season.
QB — F : A complete disaster again. Tua’s second “F” grade in a row and I don’t think the word “disappointing” covers it here. 17 of 27 for 173 isn’t good. The 2 Picks were awful throws. In another big game….Actually the biggest game of the year…Tua comes up small. The problem now becomes this: Tua is going to want to be paid Top 5 QB money. I think this season he’s proven he’s not a top 5 QB in this league. So…Do we pay it? That’s a question for another day…But Yesterday’s performance was abysmal. Period.
RB — C + : Achane had some very good runs yesterday. I really think he’s a star in the making. I’m looking for at least 1200 yards on the ground out of him next year. Jeff Wilson also ran hard. Both RB’s were over the magic 5.0 YPC mark. They were a definite bright spot in an offense that did little else.
TE’s — D + : Smythe with 3 catches and J. hill with 1 yesterday. Not great but not horrible either. A very pedestrian day for this group when we needed more out of them in the blocking and receiving games.
WR’s — F : Sean McDermott took Tyreek out of the game the entire 2nd half. The safety on his side was consistently over the top of every route Hill ran. Did anyone else step up in single coverage? Spoiler Alert: Not even close. Pathetic. Another group that failed miserably. I will note here that Tua’s play didn’t help these guys out in any way.
OL — D +: 1 sack allowed. That’s it. Tua had time most of the day. However, there were some jailbreaks that forced Tua off of his spot. Regardless, this unit played a game I would consider barely passable. The blocking in general wasn’t what we needed to win against a good defense.
DL — B - : These guys allowed 128 yards rushing total. That’s not bad against the Bills. Wilkins with the strip sack and recovery was nice to see out of a guy that wants to get paid. Sieler had a half a sack to add in. In general the defense played more than well enough to win.The problem was they couldn’t get off the field when we needed to.
LB’s — C - : Yes, this unit is beyond depleted. Except for the fact that none of them can cover a tight end…. They played a decent game. Ingram with a sack and a half was nice. Baker was active. Again, a decent game….Except for the damage that TE’s continue to do to us.
DB’s — B - : Apple and Elliot with picks in the end zone. That should be good enough to win right there. This unit definitely did enough to win this game. Unfortunately, the offense didn’t cooperate.
ST’s — F : Bailey out kicked the coverage and we give up an incredibly costly punt return for a TD. Awful. Nothing more to say here.
Coaching — F : In actuality, Fangio gets a passing grade here. His defense played more than well enough for the W. But….Fangio couldn’t overcome the ST’s disaster and the inept offense that was put on the field yesterday. McDaniel still has no answer for Hill being covered nor the 2 high shell coverage. Is some of this Tua’s fault? Absolutely. But our Genius HC has to come up with something or our playoff run will be 1 game.
Conclusion : A horrible night last night and more questions are arising. Is McDaniel the right coach? Is Tua the right QB? Is Grier the right GM? Well….Those answers are yet to be com…But I can say this….All of them were wrong yesterday. I’m only grading on yesterday’s game…But to choke away a 3 game lead in your division is leaving a horrible taste in my mouth. It’s inexcusable. Do I have all the answers? Nope. And I don’t ever claim to. But there needs to be some deep thought put into this off season.