While my good friend hoops takes a requested vacation from the site, I figure I would attempt to fill in for him in his absence. Now I could never come close to giving you the insight that he does on a weekly basis, but I will give my personal take on the game last night.
First of all, doesn't it feel damn good to be guaranteed a winning record this season? Winners of 8 out of the last 9 games and a sweep of the Jets. People always think with the Patriots in our division we have no shot but our big issue has been the Jets and Bills getting the best of us throughout the years. Next week we can sweep both of them and really have our foot in the playoff door.
The Offense
Matt Moore played one hell of a game. You can tell Adam Gase came into the game with the mindset of "lets get Jay Ajayi going and mix in some Matt Moore and get this win" . . . after two drives of nothing, Gase decided to turn Matt Moore loose. 3rd down throw to Parker got the offense going and later in the drive you had a Big Boy throw to Gray down at the one. Was Matt Moore's best throw of the night. Then after the run being shut down on first and 2nd down, Matt Moore rolls right and really crafty finds Sims who makes a great catch and Miami gets on the board.
Two drives later Moore puts beautiful touch on a Stills pass, leading him away from the defender for a 53 yard TD.
Start of the 2nd half Moore has a backfoot underthrow to Parker that is picked. Easily his worse throw of the night, not enough pace with that back foot throw and Matt Moore needs to do better there with a one on one matchup with your Alpha WR. Sure it's a pass he would love to have back. Did not hurt us there being third and long and served like a punt, but still, that could of been a scoring opp there.
But what you have to love about the next offensive drive is Adam Gase's belief in Matt Moore. He puts it in his hands the first 2 plays of the drive and he finds Landry for 29 yards and Sims for 28 yards on a floater that allowed his receiver to adjust and make a play on the ball. Again after being stuffed, the ball is back in Moore's hands and he finds Sims for the TD on third down.
The Landry 66 yarder on the next drive was all Juice and the lack of effort from Pryor, but it finalized what ended up being a 4 touchdown performance from your backup QB on the road in a December Division game. Next week will be even tougher but Matt's competence in this one should give those who think "we are done without the best thing that has happened to this team" some glimmer of hope I'd think.
The Defense
We live and die by our Defensive Line, lets make that clear, but that is one special unit we have up front. Let's start with the player of the game . . . Ndamukong Suh. The defense started the game getting dashed and I feel he single handedly kept us in check early on when the Jets could of stomped on us early in that game. What a force inside. He was doubled and was still finding ways to make tackles, motor non stop and he would NOT allow a Baltimore start for this defense. Eventually we got that necessary turnover and it jumpstarted the defense the rest of the night.
What a special privilege it has been to watch Cam Wake in a Dolphins uniform and he is as good as ever. Constant pressure, improved in the run game from the past 2 years and that drop back in coverage now? Special player and responsible for 2 turnovers last night.
Rambo in the slot in man coverage just ain't gonna cut it. I know confidence in Bobby isn't very high right now but that isn't fair to Baccari in that situation.
Jelani Jenkins just isn't right, really don't want to see him on the field any more. Poor tackling, poor position and just a pure liability out there right now. Start Hewitt and live with the inexperience and mistakes . . . he is a better player right now.
Kiko playing with a soft cast . . . poor tackling but showed off great instincts tonight, especially on that 4th and 1 stuff. Good stuff from him.
But the story of the night? Our 2 young boundary cornerbacks . . . Mr. Lippett and Mr. Howard. Vance Joseph's biggest impact on this entire defense has been the work he has put in on these boundary cornerbacks. Marshall finished with 1 catch . . . Lippett had 2 catches this evening
And Howard played like an 8 year vet out there, almost like he didn't miss a beat. The future is bright Fin Fans.
Special Teams
It would be inappropriate not to give Walt Aikens and that group a shout out. Walt may not crack the safety rotation, but this kid may have a Pro Bowl in his future on Special Teams. Great block on the punt and the return for TD to really put the game out of reach.
Kicking game is struggling. Darr has not been the same since the fumbled snap earlier in the year and Franks just cannot be depended on. Long of 41 on field goals and now a missed XP. Both guys have to do better if we want to have any January success.
Overall
I'm proud of the way this team responded with it's leader going down. This is a game we have lost in recent years and to see how we came out and took over a game like this is just a sign of a well coached team with aspirations to do more than just play 16 games this season. Next week will be as difficult as any game we have played but I think all Dolfans should have the confidence that this is no longer a Joe Philbin team . . . this is an Adam Gase team and anything is possible. Let's get this 10th win next week!
First of all, doesn't it feel damn good to be guaranteed a winning record this season? Winners of 8 out of the last 9 games and a sweep of the Jets. People always think with the Patriots in our division we have no shot but our big issue has been the Jets and Bills getting the best of us throughout the years. Next week we can sweep both of them and really have our foot in the playoff door.
The Offense
Matt Moore played one hell of a game. You can tell Adam Gase came into the game with the mindset of "lets get Jay Ajayi going and mix in some Matt Moore and get this win" . . . after two drives of nothing, Gase decided to turn Matt Moore loose. 3rd down throw to Parker got the offense going and later in the drive you had a Big Boy throw to Gray down at the one. Was Matt Moore's best throw of the night. Then after the run being shut down on first and 2nd down, Matt Moore rolls right and really crafty finds Sims who makes a great catch and Miami gets on the board.
Two drives later Moore puts beautiful touch on a Stills pass, leading him away from the defender for a 53 yard TD.
Start of the 2nd half Moore has a backfoot underthrow to Parker that is picked. Easily his worse throw of the night, not enough pace with that back foot throw and Matt Moore needs to do better there with a one on one matchup with your Alpha WR. Sure it's a pass he would love to have back. Did not hurt us there being third and long and served like a punt, but still, that could of been a scoring opp there.
But what you have to love about the next offensive drive is Adam Gase's belief in Matt Moore. He puts it in his hands the first 2 plays of the drive and he finds Landry for 29 yards and Sims for 28 yards on a floater that allowed his receiver to adjust and make a play on the ball. Again after being stuffed, the ball is back in Moore's hands and he finds Sims for the TD on third down.
The Landry 66 yarder on the next drive was all Juice and the lack of effort from Pryor, but it finalized what ended up being a 4 touchdown performance from your backup QB on the road in a December Division game. Next week will be even tougher but Matt's competence in this one should give those who think "we are done without the best thing that has happened to this team" some glimmer of hope I'd think.
The Defense
We live and die by our Defensive Line, lets make that clear, but that is one special unit we have up front. Let's start with the player of the game . . . Ndamukong Suh. The defense started the game getting dashed and I feel he single handedly kept us in check early on when the Jets could of stomped on us early in that game. What a force inside. He was doubled and was still finding ways to make tackles, motor non stop and he would NOT allow a Baltimore start for this defense. Eventually we got that necessary turnover and it jumpstarted the defense the rest of the night.
What a special privilege it has been to watch Cam Wake in a Dolphins uniform and he is as good as ever. Constant pressure, improved in the run game from the past 2 years and that drop back in coverage now? Special player and responsible for 2 turnovers last night.
Rambo in the slot in man coverage just ain't gonna cut it. I know confidence in Bobby isn't very high right now but that isn't fair to Baccari in that situation.
Jelani Jenkins just isn't right, really don't want to see him on the field any more. Poor tackling, poor position and just a pure liability out there right now. Start Hewitt and live with the inexperience and mistakes . . . he is a better player right now.
Kiko playing with a soft cast . . . poor tackling but showed off great instincts tonight, especially on that 4th and 1 stuff. Good stuff from him.
But the story of the night? Our 2 young boundary cornerbacks . . . Mr. Lippett and Mr. Howard. Vance Joseph's biggest impact on this entire defense has been the work he has put in on these boundary cornerbacks. Marshall finished with 1 catch . . . Lippett had 2 catches this evening
And Howard played like an 8 year vet out there, almost like he didn't miss a beat. The future is bright Fin Fans.Special Teams
It would be inappropriate not to give Walt Aikens and that group a shout out. Walt may not crack the safety rotation, but this kid may have a Pro Bowl in his future on Special Teams. Great block on the punt and the return for TD to really put the game out of reach.
Kicking game is struggling. Darr has not been the same since the fumbled snap earlier in the year and Franks just cannot be depended on. Long of 41 on field goals and now a missed XP. Both guys have to do better if we want to have any January success.
Overall
I'm proud of the way this team responded with it's leader going down. This is a game we have lost in recent years and to see how we came out and took over a game like this is just a sign of a well coached team with aspirations to do more than just play 16 games this season. Next week will be as difficult as any game we have played but I think all Dolfans should have the confidence that this is no longer a Joe Philbin team . . . this is an Adam Gase team and anything is possible. Let's get this 10th win next week!
