- Joined
- Jan 5, 2009
- Messages
- 30,987
- Reaction score
- 1,249
Positives
* 1-0 with Turnover Differential.
* The offense got points on the opening drive.
* Ryan Tannehill was steady today in a game that he was under duress. He was 23 for 33 for 227 yards and 1 TD. His QB Rating was 98.9. Tannehill threw a seed to Brian Hartilne for Miami's TD.
* Early in the game, RT used hard counts to draw the Ravens offsides.
* Lamar Miller had an outstanding 1st half. He had 53 yards on 12 carries for 4.4 a rush. He made some yards after contact and even made hay when hit behind the line of scrimmage.
* Charles Clay's effort on a 4th quarter catch and run that got the ball inside the Raven's 5 yard line.
* Dion Sims showing a physical style by catching a pass and lowering his shoulder and popping the helmet off of C.J. Mosley.
* Ja'wuan James held up well at LT especially considering he was facing Terrell Suggs.
* The defense's early start in which they set a physical tone and forced three, three and outs.
* Olivier Vernon's sack of Joe Flacco near the Ravens goal line.
* R.J. Stanford's interception.
* Caleb Sturgis touchbacks.
Negatives
* Miami's offense was 4-12 on 3rd down.
* The offense could only muster 249 yards.
* Pass Protection. The line yielded six sacks. There are times in the past that blame would be placed on the QB for holding on to the ball or with a RB not picking up the blitzer. That was not the case today. The line was beat down by the physical Ravens.
* The Dolphins ran for only 63 yards against the Haloti Ngataless Ravens defense.
* in the fourth quarter, Miami had first and goal. The first play, a run, the interior of the line got blown up and it was a negative play. Then Shelley Smith got called for a false start. The next play went to Mike Wallace. The ball was not throw well, but Wallace made lame attempt on a ball. The 3rd down play was killed by a sack.
* Dallas Thomas was awful.
* Brandon Gibson's drop on a crucial 3rd down. The ball was high, but was very catchable. He dropped it and seemed to stunt Miami's momentum.
* All Ravens TD drives were over 75 yards each. One of them went 97 yards before the end of the 1st half.
* The defense yielded 447 yards to the Ravens.
* The defense gave up 183 yards rushing for an average of 5.9 per carry.
* Red Zone defense. Baltimore scored 4 of 5 TD's in the money area.
* The Ravens converted 5-12 on 3rd down.
* The defense got little pass rush today on Joe Flacco.
* Phillip Wheeler missed tackle that ended up going for 20 yards.
* Lost Time of Possession 30:18 to 29:42.
* The team came out sloppy in the 2nd half. There were penalties coupled negative plays and an eventual punt.
* John Harbaugh's staff totally out coaching Joe Philbin and his staff.
* Joe Philbin over coaching by calling a timeout in the 1st quarter to make the Ravens punt into the wind.
* Bill Lazor running the ball all of three times in the 2nd half.
* With the Ravens backed up at their own two, Kevin Coyle had 2nd string defensive linemen in the game.
* The defensive alignment on the Ravens first TD. R.J. Stanford followed Steve Smith across the entire formation on a goal to go situation.
* Three straight weeks of confusion with defensive personnel. Two weeks in a row that a TO had to be used to stop the upcoming play. Last week, the Jets scored with 10 Miami defenders on the field. That is simply on coaching staff's organization.
* Illegal man down field penalties on Miami's offense. One negated a 30 plus yard game. Miami was also carrying a ton of momentum at the time, but killed it. There was another of the same penalty in 2nd half that took back a positive pass play. Calls like these have not been called all year, but today's officiating crew decided to call it twice.
* The reversal of the Flacco fumble/incompletion took the wind away from Miami and the Ravens never gave it back.
* Ravens fans taking over Sun Life Stadium for the second straight year.
Overall Assessment
* Two straight years with the playoffs on the line at home, Joe Philbin's team has come up woefully short. It is the same story each year. No energy. No big plays. No leadership. No gumption to come through in the big spot. Where is the killer instinct to seize this precious opportunity at hand?
* Under Joe Philbin, this team is mentally weak. A dropped pass, a tough call or just a little adversity derails anything they are attempting to do. This is a reflection of the culture Joe Philbin has cultivated.
* This team just does not make plays at the end of the game to have a chance of winning.
* If there is a motivation to fill Sun Life Stadium on a consistent basis, it would help to start playing well in these big games.
* This team just cannot get explosive plays. Whether or not it is Tannehill's ability to connect deep or the line's inability to protect, Miami gets no chunk plays. The offense will never be able to compete enough until more explosive plays come about. That is not just the "deep ball", but it is that 20-30 yard throw and catch range. Somehow this needs to be improved for Miami to be able to take additional steps.
* It is simply terrible coaching that Dallas Thomas is still at RT. That Jason Fox has not been given a chance is ludicrous. Fox held his own in the Denver game at LT. Fox was signed to be the swing OT, but has never been given that chance. Thomas was someone I questioned whether he should have made the 53 man roster out of training camp. Yet, here we are in December and he is playing crucial snaps.
* The logic of Dennis Hickey going into this game with R.J Stanford at CB and the arrogance of Philbin and Coyle that think they can get by with what they have a CB is galling. Understandably, there are not great CB's hanging around. However, there are veterans available. Plus, the roster itself does not enough CB's to being with. Terrible roster management.
* Bill Lazor running it three times in the 2nd half was inexcusable. They had some success in the first half and with Ngata a better commitment needed to happen. Plus, keeping the Ravens offense off the field would have helped the team's effort on the other side of the ball. I understand the Ravens had major CB issues. However, run the ball, slow down the Ravens pass rush, allow the Oline to surge forward and attack, set up play action and play with more balance. With that said, three runs in the 2nd half is simply terrible play calling.
* The defense has given up 650 yards rushing the last three weeks.
* I am not going to buy the "if Joe Philbin fires Kevin Coyle, Philbin can stay" routine. Coyle has been awful lately and is over his head. However, at what point is Joe Philbin responsible for the staff he has assembled.
* The Ravens are shady with their injury reports. Nothing will come of it, but the idea that Torrey Smith was "probable" and barely played is simply unethical.
* With that said, what a coaching job by John Harbaugh. After a week of choking a home win away to the Chargers, he had his team ready today. Add to the fact, that he was without his best defender in Ngata, Baltimore showed resolve. He demonstrated faith in his team by going for it 4th and 1 in his own end. His players have faith in him and play hard for Harbaugh.
* Next week will be the 2014 Dolphins "funeral" in Foxboro. I believe we will see the team that will play listless. Between being out of it mentally and the injuries that are cropping up, New England will look for revenge from Week One. Next week will be ugly.
* It will be interesting to see if this team quits on Joe Philbin. Jared Odrick's yelling at Philbin could be a precursor. I have predicted that if and when the Fins fall out of the playoff hunt, they will quit on a coach that they ultimately do not respect. We shall see what happens over the next three weeks.
* 1-0 with Turnover Differential.
* The offense got points on the opening drive.
* Ryan Tannehill was steady today in a game that he was under duress. He was 23 for 33 for 227 yards and 1 TD. His QB Rating was 98.9. Tannehill threw a seed to Brian Hartilne for Miami's TD.
* Early in the game, RT used hard counts to draw the Ravens offsides.
* Lamar Miller had an outstanding 1st half. He had 53 yards on 12 carries for 4.4 a rush. He made some yards after contact and even made hay when hit behind the line of scrimmage.
* Charles Clay's effort on a 4th quarter catch and run that got the ball inside the Raven's 5 yard line.
* Dion Sims showing a physical style by catching a pass and lowering his shoulder and popping the helmet off of C.J. Mosley.
* Ja'wuan James held up well at LT especially considering he was facing Terrell Suggs.
* The defense's early start in which they set a physical tone and forced three, three and outs.
* Olivier Vernon's sack of Joe Flacco near the Ravens goal line.
* R.J. Stanford's interception.
* Caleb Sturgis touchbacks.
Negatives
* Miami's offense was 4-12 on 3rd down.
* The offense could only muster 249 yards.
* Pass Protection. The line yielded six sacks. There are times in the past that blame would be placed on the QB for holding on to the ball or with a RB not picking up the blitzer. That was not the case today. The line was beat down by the physical Ravens.
* The Dolphins ran for only 63 yards against the Haloti Ngataless Ravens defense.
* in the fourth quarter, Miami had first and goal. The first play, a run, the interior of the line got blown up and it was a negative play. Then Shelley Smith got called for a false start. The next play went to Mike Wallace. The ball was not throw well, but Wallace made lame attempt on a ball. The 3rd down play was killed by a sack.
* Dallas Thomas was awful.
* Brandon Gibson's drop on a crucial 3rd down. The ball was high, but was very catchable. He dropped it and seemed to stunt Miami's momentum.
* All Ravens TD drives were over 75 yards each. One of them went 97 yards before the end of the 1st half.
* The defense yielded 447 yards to the Ravens.
* The defense gave up 183 yards rushing for an average of 5.9 per carry.
* Red Zone defense. Baltimore scored 4 of 5 TD's in the money area.
* The Ravens converted 5-12 on 3rd down.
* The defense got little pass rush today on Joe Flacco.
* Phillip Wheeler missed tackle that ended up going for 20 yards.
* Lost Time of Possession 30:18 to 29:42.
* The team came out sloppy in the 2nd half. There were penalties coupled negative plays and an eventual punt.
* John Harbaugh's staff totally out coaching Joe Philbin and his staff.
* Joe Philbin over coaching by calling a timeout in the 1st quarter to make the Ravens punt into the wind.
* Bill Lazor running the ball all of three times in the 2nd half.
* With the Ravens backed up at their own two, Kevin Coyle had 2nd string defensive linemen in the game.
* The defensive alignment on the Ravens first TD. R.J. Stanford followed Steve Smith across the entire formation on a goal to go situation.
* Three straight weeks of confusion with defensive personnel. Two weeks in a row that a TO had to be used to stop the upcoming play. Last week, the Jets scored with 10 Miami defenders on the field. That is simply on coaching staff's organization.
* Illegal man down field penalties on Miami's offense. One negated a 30 plus yard game. Miami was also carrying a ton of momentum at the time, but killed it. There was another of the same penalty in 2nd half that took back a positive pass play. Calls like these have not been called all year, but today's officiating crew decided to call it twice.
* The reversal of the Flacco fumble/incompletion took the wind away from Miami and the Ravens never gave it back.
* Ravens fans taking over Sun Life Stadium for the second straight year.
Overall Assessment
* Two straight years with the playoffs on the line at home, Joe Philbin's team has come up woefully short. It is the same story each year. No energy. No big plays. No leadership. No gumption to come through in the big spot. Where is the killer instinct to seize this precious opportunity at hand?
* Under Joe Philbin, this team is mentally weak. A dropped pass, a tough call or just a little adversity derails anything they are attempting to do. This is a reflection of the culture Joe Philbin has cultivated.
* This team just does not make plays at the end of the game to have a chance of winning.
* If there is a motivation to fill Sun Life Stadium on a consistent basis, it would help to start playing well in these big games.
* This team just cannot get explosive plays. Whether or not it is Tannehill's ability to connect deep or the line's inability to protect, Miami gets no chunk plays. The offense will never be able to compete enough until more explosive plays come about. That is not just the "deep ball", but it is that 20-30 yard throw and catch range. Somehow this needs to be improved for Miami to be able to take additional steps.
* It is simply terrible coaching that Dallas Thomas is still at RT. That Jason Fox has not been given a chance is ludicrous. Fox held his own in the Denver game at LT. Fox was signed to be the swing OT, but has never been given that chance. Thomas was someone I questioned whether he should have made the 53 man roster out of training camp. Yet, here we are in December and he is playing crucial snaps.
* The logic of Dennis Hickey going into this game with R.J Stanford at CB and the arrogance of Philbin and Coyle that think they can get by with what they have a CB is galling. Understandably, there are not great CB's hanging around. However, there are veterans available. Plus, the roster itself does not enough CB's to being with. Terrible roster management.
* Bill Lazor running it three times in the 2nd half was inexcusable. They had some success in the first half and with Ngata a better commitment needed to happen. Plus, keeping the Ravens offense off the field would have helped the team's effort on the other side of the ball. I understand the Ravens had major CB issues. However, run the ball, slow down the Ravens pass rush, allow the Oline to surge forward and attack, set up play action and play with more balance. With that said, three runs in the 2nd half is simply terrible play calling.
* The defense has given up 650 yards rushing the last three weeks.
* I am not going to buy the "if Joe Philbin fires Kevin Coyle, Philbin can stay" routine. Coyle has been awful lately and is over his head. However, at what point is Joe Philbin responsible for the staff he has assembled.
* The Ravens are shady with their injury reports. Nothing will come of it, but the idea that Torrey Smith was "probable" and barely played is simply unethical.
* With that said, what a coaching job by John Harbaugh. After a week of choking a home win away to the Chargers, he had his team ready today. Add to the fact, that he was without his best defender in Ngata, Baltimore showed resolve. He demonstrated faith in his team by going for it 4th and 1 in his own end. His players have faith in him and play hard for Harbaugh.
* Next week will be the 2014 Dolphins "funeral" in Foxboro. I believe we will see the team that will play listless. Between being out of it mentally and the injuries that are cropping up, New England will look for revenge from Week One. Next week will be ugly.
* It will be interesting to see if this team quits on Joe Philbin. Jared Odrick's yelling at Philbin could be a precursor. I have predicted that if and when the Fins fall out of the playoff hunt, they will quit on a coach that they ultimately do not respect. We shall see what happens over the next three weeks.
