Strange game. So many matchups in our favor yet we get trucked. From the outset it looked obvious that their heavy looks would give us all kinds of trouble. Our defensive linemen seemed energized to rush the passer but not to do the dirtywork. The primary hope was that Andy Reid would play into our hands by refusing to run the football, his tendency so often at Philadelphia. But once the rushing attempts mounted in the first half, we were in bad shape, all the percentages against us. It was the opposite of the New England game in which their 10 point halftime lead was fragile due to Brady throwing 29 times in the first half.
We really missed Soliai today. Earl Mitchell is a perplexing player because you hate to get down on somebody who gives such a consistently high effort. But more and more I can see why the Texans let him go. Mitchell makes an occasionally nice play in the backfield when it doesn't really matter. More often than not he does nothing or runs himself out of the play. On Kansas City's pivotal 4th and short play at the outset of the second quarter Mitchell essentially blocked fellow Dolphin teammates. He slanted left for no apparent reason and left a gaping hole in the are where he was initially lined up. That's where you need Big Paul standing up two guys double teaming him, allowing perimeter guys to penetrate and crash. Mitchell never demands a double team.
On Kansas City's first touchdown, Mitchell looked like he was running a wheel route. I've yet to see that in the description of an ideal defensive tackle. He dropped back and started circling to his right. Once he saw the play was heading to the area he vacated, he stopped and turned but was easily wiped out by Kansas City's right guard. Davis roared through the area in which Mitchell initially lined up. I could give many other examples but those two stood out and are easily recognized on tape.
It's possible that Coyle's scheme is calling for all the strange movement of the defensive tackles. After watching Mitchell on every snap he's played in this uniform, I'm convinced he thinks he has special Warren Sapp type ability when actually he's a big guy with above average movement skills and loves to show them off on every play, regardless where it takes him. He'll have some nice games and be a liability in others.