RealDriscoll
Still Perfect.. and You're Not.
Usually I talk about the Dolphins before I spin it around the league but I have a lot to say about our Miami Dolphins so let’s look around the league
*The battle of the toilet bowl between the Lions and Rams highlight that the Lions haven’t made any progress and are among the worst teams’ in this league. Steven Jackson is a great player on a terrible team as his 149 yards rushing would indicate. The Rams need a franchise Quarterback badly. I didn’t think Stafford was #1 pick worth in April and so far I am thinking I could be right. 14 for 33… Wow! Poor Calvin Johnson
*I predicted the Eagles and Ravens would face off in the Super-Bowl and I don’t think there is a team in the league that looks better than the Eagles. Donovan McNabb is playing the best football in his career and players such as Brent Celek and Jeremy Maclin are stepping up and making plays. Oh I almost forgot that DeSean Jackson is nasty. This guy is a human highlight reel. If they can get Westbrook back and healthy this team is extremely dangerous. The Giants have really fallen and Eli Manning looks very shaky at this point. The Giants didn’t even put much of a fight. This surprises as I think the Giants roster is loaded and Coughlin is a damn good coach. If the Giants aren’t careful they could fall out of the playoff picture in the NFC with the Giants and Cowboys playing extremely well.
*The 49ers really put up some fight against the Colts. Alex Smith seems to be the right guy for this franchise and a lot of us are guilty of writing this guy off way too soon. Vernon Davis has emerged to the monster we all thought he could be. He has become a touchdown machine and is slowly living up to his potential. Michael Crabtree certainly doesn’t look bad either and I see this team contending in a major way next season. Peyton Manning threw for over 300 yards but for the first time in recent memory didn’t throw any touchdowns but Joseph Addai did. You can see what a healthy Bob Sanders and Dwight Freeney can do for your defense. The Colts still haven’t lost and I am looking forward to next weeks’ matchup with the Texans.
*Wow the Browns are the worst team in this league. They need some help at Quarterback, Running Back, Tight End, Wide Receiver, Offensive Line, Defensive Line, Linebacker, and Secondary.. Did I miss anything? Why won’t they give Brady Quinn a chance? As inconsistent Ginn has been passing on Quinn seems like the RIGHT move. Derek Anderson is god awful. I don’t think the Bears are a good team but have benefited from a soft schedule. Cutler doesn’t look elite to me…
*The Bills suck. Marshawn Lynch has really decline is just a season’s time. Ryan Fitzpatrick and Trent Edwards have something in common… They aren’t not starting caliber NFL Quarterbacks. Jairus Byrd for Defensive Rookie of the Year? I think so. Two more picks for the rookie from Oregon but the Texans win but lose Tight End Owen Daniels for the season, Steve Slaton got benched, and Matt Schaub player poorly but they still managed to dominate the Bills. Ryan Moats for three touchdowns… yep that’s. The lose of Owen Daniels is huge for the Texans but keep an eye on rookie tight end James Casey… Great athlete.
*The Ravens dominated the Broncos. The Broncos benefit from being in the worst division in division and playing the Chiefs and Raiders twice. Kyle Orton is an average Quarterback at best and that showed today. Ray Rice is emerging as a young star in this league and Flacco is not looking elite but is getting the job done. Derrick Mason is most under-rated playesr in this league. Ed Reed making plays, Jarret Johnson quietly having a Pro-Bowl season, but I think this game just proved Denver isn’t as good as we all thought. The Ravens have a touch schedule playing the Bengals in Cincinnati, the Colts, The Packers, and Steelers twice. Their secondary better be ready…
*Good for Jeff Fisher and Vince Young; the monkey is off their back. Jeff Fisher for my money is the best coach in this league and any talk of firing him should end now. This game featured two of the best running-back’s in this league. Maurice Jones-Drew had 177 yards and two touchdowns and days like that rarely get upstaged but Chris Johnson for 228 yards and two touchdowns.. Vince Young didn’t play great but he got them a “W”.
*The loss against the Chargers really bothers me because we are a better team than them. Despite having two touchdowns it is clear that LaDanian Tomlinson has lost a step. He doesn’t seem like the same player at all. Shawn Merriman and Shaun Phillips each got two sacks and the Chargers better get their checkbook ready to pay Vincent Jackson because this guy will be on a lot of teams’ radar. Nothing really to say about the Raiders.. Watching Jamarcus Russell is like watching a car wreck. You know it’s bad but you still find yourself watching…
*Wow the Cardinals were starting to build some steam and they get destroyed by the Panthers. Kurt Warner was Sanchez-like with 5 interceptions and Larry Fitzgerald has surprisingly taken a step back. The Panthers aren’t a very good football team but Julius Peppers and Steve Smith made some plays and they beat a good Cardinals team. Goes to show you that any given Sunday something can happen. DeAngelo Williams is good and so is Jon Stewart as their one-two punch is lethal BUT they need a quarterback badly.
*Favre gets the last laugh so it seems. Did anyone really think this wouldn’t happen? The Vikings team is far superior than that of the Packers. The Packers Offensive Line is embarrassing. Aaron Rodgers is a very good if not great Quarterback and it’s amazing the numbers he can put up with that terrible line. I think Ryan Grant is over-rated and I think Jared Allen is among the top 5 –7 players in this league. Favre is playing at a very high level and Sidney Rice is really emerging as a big play receiver It’s safe to say that Percy Harvin is the NFL Rookie of the Year in my opinion. He makes plays on offense and on special teams. The Vikings are going to be very dangerous in late January.
*Now let’s talk about the game that truly matters to us which was the Miami Dolphins traveling to the Meadowlands to beat the Jets for the season sweep. I will start by stating that I am the biggest Ted Ginn Jr. credit in the league but kudos to him to answering the challenge. The beauty of football or even in life is when someone gets knocked down and you don’t think they can get up and they bounce back and answer the call. While it was only one week it was a huge week and truly one of the great days for an individual Dolphins player ever. I think many of us including myself are fast to count players out and label them as a bust but patience really is a virtue. Ted Ginn Jr. has defined inconsistency but he has made his fair share of big plays as well. Ginn has already matched his career high in touchdowns and the season is far from over. He is afraid of contact and he doesn’t have strong hands but when the ball is in his hands there is no questioning how dangerous he can be. Ginn has a lot to prove before he gains all of us back on the band-wagon but today we are all fans of him today as he is the reason we won this game. Let’s look at it from the other side.. Imagine if we would have taken Brady Quinn instead of Ginn in that draft. I think Ted Ginn Jr. can be a good player in this league if he is not expected to be the “guy”. I think it’s safe to say that Ginn is not a #1 Wide Receiver but to say he couldn’t b e a good #2 and a dangerous return man is unqualified because despite his inconsistencies he has proven otherwise. Today we are all Ted Ginn Jr. fans..My gameball wouldn't go to just Teddy Ginn as I would give it to the special teams in general. I see our special teams as the weakest phase of our team and boy did they come to play today. Dan Carpenter has been mney this year proving that early success he found in his rookie season was no fluke. He drilled that 48 yard field goal to tie the game 3. Brandon Fields had his best day as a Miami Dolphin and was really killing the ball. Our special teams coverage units have improved with players such as Lex Hilliard, Jason Allen, Erik Walden, and Vontae Davis really playing strong. Kudos to our special teams who won us a game for once...
Let’s look at the bad first…..
- Our secondary is still letting too many big plays which is discouraging considering Tom Brady, Wes Welker, and Randy Moss are next on the docket.
- Tight Ends continue to kill us as Dustin Keller is the latest to have a big game against us.
- Davone Bess has had a case of fumbleitus lately and it almost cost us big today.. Come on Davone. Huge drop as well
- Anthony Fasano isn’t catching the ball like he did last season at all.
- Our Wide Receivers were completely ineffective today.
- Our rush defense struggled at times today
- Ricky and Ronnie really struggled to find holes today
- Our offense was terrible today as our Special Teams/Defense scored more.
- The wild-cat is getting stale. When Ronnie doesn’t have anything open he needs to throw the ball away rather than take the sack
- Henne was sacked way too much today
There was a lot of bad today but to quote the great Chad Pennington, “A win is a win and we will take them anyway we can get them”. The good ….
- I touched on this earlier but kudos to Ted Ginn Jr. BIG PLAYS is what we need from him…
- How classless are the Jets. Rex Ryan said “ we have a better record so I’d rather be in our locker-room going forward”. Listen you fat piece of garbage we beat you’re a$$.. TWICE. We own you and it’s time for you to shut your mouth. You haven’t done squat in this league as you inherited a great defense with star power such as Ed Reed, Ray Lewis, Terrell Suggs, Chris McAlister, and Haloti Ngata. You haven’t won squat in this league and you have only proved that you can talk the talk but when it come to walking the walk you get beat.
- Randy Starks is a very good player and the bets free agent signing during the Bill Parcells regime; Justin Smiley is a close 2nd
- Chad Henne didn’t play great but no turnovers and he threw a touchdown to Joey Haynos when we needed it. He is 3-1 as a starter and that speaks louder than any statistic.
- Bart Scott sure did a lot of talking how come I didn’t see him make any plays? Ray Lewis isn’t there so you can’t ride his coat-tails? Man’s game
- Good to see Matt Roth out there playing very well against the run
- Gibril Wilson is a good blitzer despite sucking in pass coverage.
- Jason Taylor might have dotted the I and crossed the T on his path to the Hall of Fame. He is having a very good season under the radar.
- I have watched Paul Soliai extensively and I have noticed this guy is emerging as a real presence on our defense. He is good against the run and gets amazing penetration. Maybe our need for a younger Nose Tackle isn’t as prominent as well all thought. He stripped Willis McGahee in our playoff loss to Baltimore last season and made a similar big play against the Jets stripping Shonn Greene which Jason Taylor scooped up and ran for a touchdown.
- Is Reggie Torbor a better option as a starter than Channing Crowder? Seems that way to me.
- We all have to understand that either will be some growing pains with our young rookie corners in Sean Smith and Vontae Davis; we have to be patient before we anoint them as the new version of Pat Surtain and Sam Madison BUT we have something really special. Sean Smith has gotten beat a few times but he is so impressive for a rookie. I was surprised he didn’t pick that pass that Sanchez threw that led to the first points of the game for the Jets. Great break on the ball and he needs to pick that and take it to the house. I think he stripped Braylon Edwards on that TD play but I am not talking referee’s anymore. Wow does Vontae Davis impress. It all started with that interception for a touchdown against the Bills and now Davis is playing with condience. He too missed some plays but this guy really stepped up to the plate. He is not afraid to his as he really nailed some Jets’ today. That interception in the end-zone of the Sanchez’s pass to Braylon Edwards on their two-point conversion attempt was beautiful. The guy is also a monster on special teams. The two corners are certainly legit and will grow to form something special in Miami. Vontae Davis is as gifted of a corner as I have seen in a very long time.
