PBP: Five instant takeaways: Miami Dolphins 34, N.Y. Jets 13

[Perfect72]

1. Matt Moore was fire. He hadn’t started a game in five years. Whatever. Matt Moore was straight fire. Ryan Tannehill hadn’t passed for four touchdowns in a game this season. And Moore did it before the third quarter was over. Moore caught fire in the second quarter, hitting DeVante Parker, Jarvis Landry, MarQuies Gray and Dion Sims in sequence on a touchdown drive. Moore played with fearlessness, composure and accuracy. What a week for Moore, whose week began with the birth of son Wyatt and concluded with a career-high in touchdown passes. Moore, 32, is in the best position of his career. He has a chance to lead a team with plenty of skill at wide receiver and running back, into the playoffs.
   
   
2. Cameron Wake is a rocket. In the first half, Wake forced a fumble when he exploded into Jets quarterback Bryce Petty. Wake is playing some of the best football of his career. And it is fair to ask if ramping him up in his return from an Achilles injury was actually a stroke of genius. Here the Dolphins are, late in a playoff push, and Wake seems fresh and explosive. At 34. Impossible to explain. Wake dropped back and intercepted Petty. It was the first interception of Wake’s career. Only Wake and Jason Taylor have forced a fumble and intercepted a pass as a Dolphins defensive lineman.
   
4. Miami has cornerback… depth?!? When Byron Maxwell left the game with an ankle injury, Xavien Howard stepped in and did an excellent job, at times on Brandon Marshall. And Tony Lippett made a really athletic interception. In the fourth quarter, he had a second interception. It was his second game with two interceptions. Howard really didn’t show many signs of his two knee injuries this season. Lippett continued to show how he has gained confidence and improved his view of the field. If Maxwell’s injury is not serious, defensive coordinator Vance Joseph has a tremendous luxury. Before the season, cornerback was viewed as a potentially crippling weakness. Now Joseph can rotate three cornerbacks who are all capable of playing at an above-average level or better.

More at LINK: http://dailydolphin.blog.palmbeachp...stant-takeaways-miami-dolphins-34-ny-jets-13/

Your thoughts?

 

[BenchFiedler]

The biggest issue right now is Bobby McCain... We need to find a way to replace him. We tried Michael Thomas, Rambo in the slot and it still didn't work. But the stats might be a little deceiving if that QB had more experience.

Anderson and Enunwa combined for more than 150 receiving yds. This is not acceptable considering we shut down Brandon Marshall and McCain got killed in the slot.

 

[Pitbull13]

McCain got hurt

 

[LANGER72]

We need some quality LB'ers, and a head hunter safety and this defense will be very good.

 

[The Bopkin]

Thank the powers that be that our CB position is suddenly and unexpectedly in the shape it's in. This off-season, with looming free agents and LB holes to fill, not having to fret about the CB spot is a blessing. And I say extend Wake another two years. That dude ain't human and it doesn't look like he's slowing down for anything.

 

[tazthenomad]

I think the article is written as an "instant" response and his "takeaways" are not really on point. First, I am thrilled with how the team played and especially some of the specific team members he highlighted. In no way should my comments to his points be taken as being negative about the players or the effort yesterday unless I state otherwise.

Matt Moore was fire. He hadn’t started a game in five years. Whatever. Matt Moore was straight fire. Ryan Tannehill hadn’t passed for four touchdowns in a game this season. And Moore did it before the third quarter was over. Moore caught fire in the second quarter, hitting DeVante Parker, Jarvis Landry, MarQuies Gray and Dion Sims in sequence on a touchdown drive. Moore played with fearlessness, composure and accuracy. What a week for Moore, whose week began with the birth of son Wyatt and concluded with a career-high in touchdown passes. Moore, 32, is in the best position of his career. He has a chance to lead a team with plenty of skill at wide receiver and running back, into the playoffs.

Matt did a GREAT job considering the time off between starts. Having said that his throws weren't all that accurate and some of the big plays were lob throws that were adjusted to by the receivers. I am not saying that he wasn't smart or didn't do a good job at taking advantage of what the defense gave him but IMO accuracy will need to be a little better for Buffalo and NE. I don't think we get away with some of these throws against Buffalo or NE. Of course, they may play a more balanced defense and maybe we get the run game going.

Miami has cornerback… depth?!? When Byron Maxwell left the game with an ankle injury, Xavien Howard stepped in and did an excellent job, at times on Brandon Marshall. And Tony Lippett made a really athletic interception. In the fourth quarter, he had a second interception. It was his second game with two interceptions. Howard really didn’t show many signs of his two knee injuries this season. Lippett continued to show how he has gained confidence and improved his view of the field. If Maxwell’s injury is not serious, defensive coordinator Vance Joseph has a tremendous luxury. Before the season, cornerback was viewed as a potentially crippling weakness. Now Joseph can rotate three cornerbacks who are all capable of playing at an above-average level or better.

Except at slot CB. We still do not have a good slot cornerback, much less depth there. The PBP itself already published an article talking about how it might be complicated getting Howard back in the lineup. I was thrilled with Howard's performance yesterday but it doesn't fix our slot problem.

Darren Rizzi’s special teams crew strikes again. Last week, safety Walt Aikens had a two-point score. This week, Aikens blocked a punt and scooped and scored. Miami has had an advantage on special teams many weeks. They’ve been strong at punt return, kick return, punting and coverage teams. The one area of concern from Saturday’s game is kicker Andrew Franks, who missed an extra point. Franks had been perfect on extra points this season, but missed three in 2015.

Credit Rizzi's special teams - absolutely. We still have a PK problem. I won't belabor the point.

Jay Ajayi and Jarvis Landry are legitimate #1 running back/wide receiver. Each player topped 1,000 yards on Saturday night. It’s only the second time in franchise history the team has had a running back and wide receiver accomplish the feat in the same season. Before the season, some wondered if Arian Foster would be Miami’s workhorse back. Nope. Before the season, some wondered if DeVante Parker would surpass Landry as Miami’s go-to wide receiver. Nope. It is entirely possible that in Ajayi, Miami has a Top 10 running back. And entirely possible that in Landry, Miami has a Top 10 wide receiver. And for coach and playcaller Adam Gase, those are two outstanding weapons to build an offense around.

As long as the line gives time for our QB to take advantage of the stacked defense and we do take advantage of it - we are good. We still don't have a running game and that appears to be a combination of the our OL and the other team selling out to stop Ajayi.

Not having a reliable PK and not having a running game in December and hopefully beyond are issues we have to deal with.

 

[royalshank]

How many times is the writer going to say the word "fire" in the Matt Moore part?

 

[Rick Cartman]

We need some quality LB'ers, and a head hunter safety and this defense will be very good.

We have one, he is hurt unfortunately.

---------- Post added at 01:48 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:46 PM ----------

The CB situation is extremely encouraging. If Howard and Lippett continue to progress under Vance Joseph, this team has the potential to do super things down the line.

 

[CalDolFan10x14]

Get Reshad back next year, shore up the linebacker spots, add a pass rusher and this defense can be very solid at the least next year.