DolfanDonny
Starter
...what we perceived to have been our biggest liability in THIS PARTICULAR GAME vs. the Ravens COULD have been our biggest asset.
I, like quite a few, forecasted a loss, in a close(r) game on the road against a perenially-tough team at their place, knowing a lot would have to go in our favor.
Forgive me, but live in Colorado and could not see the game. I'm basing my post mostly on a fairly glaring and somewhat revealing statistic (that we all may have known already) that was highlighted in the midst of our winning streak, from an Armando Herald post back on November 10...
http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/armando-salguero/article113905238.html
Was the gameplan against THIS Ravens defense HONESTLY to try and beat them with Tannehill's arm? 40 passes? I've seen the couple of threads surmising that we were outcoached, and I'd tend to agree based on what I read in said threads (again - having not seen the game). I've been as high on RT as anyone due to his recent success, and hoped the TEAM could continue that in some measure, knowing it would be difficult to move the ball against the Ravens anyway. Which leads me to this...
WHY, oh WHY did Ajayi ONLY have 12 carries? :idk:
Seems to me, even down 14-0, that if you ABANDON THE RUN, and make our team one-dimensional, that doesn't always bode well for us. Again - not seeing the game, I can't make any statements on whether our OL was being manhandled or not (saw a couple of posts in other threads saying they weren't). So WHY, when your up and coming RB is averaging more than 5 yards a carry, and has been the catalyst for the approach to a more balanced offense, do you not go with it?? I know it was widely advertised and prognosticated that we would have ZERO chance of running on the Ravens, but when you throw the ball three times more than you run, was that what our coaching staff would have considered the winning formula as they prepared this week? Does anyone know whether that might have been discussed in the locker room today as a 'halftime adjustment,' even to do it for their own amusement?
All that said, it is one game (yes it was important for not only our AFC standing, but also our psyche). Let's see how this team responds now under Gase to their first REAL bit of adversity in nearly two months. Yes - they've overcome some injuries, and played some of the 'smoke and mirrors' game (saw that in a couple of other threads also) with the fesensive backfield. We've had some good stretches of football over the last 6+ weeks, and some luck, too. Let's not throw in the towel yet. The quicker we can put this game behind us, EVEN THOUGH they have to LEARN from and address their mistakes, the better off they'll be if they want to be relevent in December for the first time in a long time.
Of course, the defense will need to be addressed quickly, too, but there are plenty of threads for that after this loss. My only fear is now that our remaining opponents seemingly now have the tape they were looking for, and will be looking to exploit all they can - continuing this next week vs. a dynamic offense and offensive-oriented coach who will use David Johnson and Larry Fitzgerald to their fullest extent...
God help us...
I, like quite a few, forecasted a loss, in a close(r) game on the road against a perenially-tough team at their place, knowing a lot would have to go in our favor.
Forgive me, but live in Colorado and could not see the game. I'm basing my post mostly on a fairly glaring and somewhat revealing statistic (that we all may have known already) that was highlighted in the midst of our winning streak, from an Armando Herald post back on November 10...
http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/armando-salguero/article113905238.html
Was the gameplan against THIS Ravens defense HONESTLY to try and beat them with Tannehill's arm? 40 passes? I've seen the couple of threads surmising that we were outcoached, and I'd tend to agree based on what I read in said threads (again - having not seen the game). I've been as high on RT as anyone due to his recent success, and hoped the TEAM could continue that in some measure, knowing it would be difficult to move the ball against the Ravens anyway. Which leads me to this...
WHY, oh WHY did Ajayi ONLY have 12 carries? :idk:
Seems to me, even down 14-0, that if you ABANDON THE RUN, and make our team one-dimensional, that doesn't always bode well for us. Again - not seeing the game, I can't make any statements on whether our OL was being manhandled or not (saw a couple of posts in other threads saying they weren't). So WHY, when your up and coming RB is averaging more than 5 yards a carry, and has been the catalyst for the approach to a more balanced offense, do you not go with it?? I know it was widely advertised and prognosticated that we would have ZERO chance of running on the Ravens, but when you throw the ball three times more than you run, was that what our coaching staff would have considered the winning formula as they prepared this week? Does anyone know whether that might have been discussed in the locker room today as a 'halftime adjustment,' even to do it for their own amusement?
All that said, it is one game (yes it was important for not only our AFC standing, but also our psyche). Let's see how this team responds now under Gase to their first REAL bit of adversity in nearly two months. Yes - they've overcome some injuries, and played some of the 'smoke and mirrors' game (saw that in a couple of other threads also) with the fesensive backfield. We've had some good stretches of football over the last 6+ weeks, and some luck, too. Let's not throw in the towel yet. The quicker we can put this game behind us, EVEN THOUGH they have to LEARN from and address their mistakes, the better off they'll be if they want to be relevent in December for the first time in a long time.
Of course, the defense will need to be addressed quickly, too, but there are plenty of threads for that after this loss. My only fear is now that our remaining opponents seemingly now have the tape they were looking for, and will be looking to exploit all they can - continuing this next week vs. a dynamic offense and offensive-oriented coach who will use David Johnson and Larry Fitzgerald to their fullest extent...
God help us...
