redclamcrowder
Cure for the Common Person
First I just want to give credit where it's due: Congrads Miami fans, Landshark Stadium was ROCKING Monday night. Regardless of outcome, I thought the Dolphans showed a ton of heart supporting their team (even though they got letdown by the Phins) and I could tell just sitting at home in front of the TV that the stadium was loud like it was supposed to be. Earlier Monday I made a comment in another thread how I felt that Miami was really lacking a homefield advantage the last few years (mainly due to the lacklaster crowds and crowd noise) but the fans came out and proved me wrong, so again kudos Finfans. Alright, now to some of my thoughts with this game.
The Good
Phew, where do I begin here? Despite many improvements this week, Miami still found a way to shoot themselves in the foot. Some miscues include:
Miami really let down its fans Monday night. They played a brilliant game (at least on one side of the ball) and by all means SHOULD have won. In the end the Colts pulled out a win and Miami was left to pick up the pieces. There are a lot of encouraging signs for the Phins and Miami should try to build on this win. The defense needs to rebound, the offense must continue running the ball, Pennington has to make the big throws when they are available to him, Ginn needs to find a better pair of hands (though Miami should still look to send the ball his way), and Henning needs to avoid trying to be too cute in his playcalling. These are a lot of "ifs" and "should do's", but Miami showed enough improvement to make me think they can still turn this season around. Hopefully next week we'll be writing about a big win instead of a heartbreaking loss. Go Dolphins:buds:
The Good
- The team showed a lot of intensity on both sides of the ball: After a very poor opening day performance against Atlanta the Dolphins rebounded well for the most part. Despite losing a game they should have won, the Dolphins (like their fans) showed a lot of heart.
- The running game found a pulse! : Whether by Wildcat or conventional offense, Miami's offense finally went to the run early, found success in it, and CONTINUED to pound the rock. They controlled the clock brilliantly (minus of course the end of the game, but look for that in the "Bad"). Ricky and Ronnie had a great game overall. Cobbs even got in on the action a few times. Running backs get an A+.
- Improved play from the offensive line : This unit finally resembled a line the Dolphins expected with their 150 million dollar investment. While not perfect, the offensive line played much more like a unit and was far improved from the group we saw in Atlanta. Props to Jake Long who (despite occaisonally receiving help) did an excellent job in both the run AND passing game. It was nice to see the Dolphins convert on short yardage situations, often doing so with adequate surge up the middle (courtesy of Smiley, Grove, and Thomas). Speaking of converting...
- 3rd down success : 3rd down conversion success was an issue that plagued the Dolphins last season. Miami did a good job managing themselves on 1st and 2nd down, making sure to avoid as many "3rd and longs" as possible. Hopefully Miami continues this trend of manageable 3rd downs. It'll go a long way to helping their offensive success this season and beyond.
Phew, where do I begin here? Despite many improvements this week, Miami still found a way to shoot themselves in the foot. Some miscues include:
- Where is the defense? : After an excellent opening performance against Atlanta, Miami's defense laid an egg. Porter made a good play getting to Peyton, and on occaison the defense got decent pressure on Manning. Other than a few bright moments, I give the Dolphins defense a big "F". Truthfully, Miami is lucky Manning and the Colts weren't sharper (i.e. Manning missing a few open looks he normally makes), otherwise they may have scored more points earlier in the game. The Dolphins offense did just about everything necessary to keep our defense fresh (and Manning off the field) but when push came to shove it was the defense who let Miami down this week (as opposed to last week's putrid offensive performance). Sloppy tackling and too many big plays given-up doomed the Dolphins.
- Offensive miscues: Not a huge issue here, but something to be corrected regardless. (1) Ginn needs to make that catch toward the end of the game. With Miami needing a big play, Ginn had the chance to really step up and he didn't answer the call. I was happy with Ginn's performance for the whole night UNTIL that moment. Yes it was a hard catch BUT it should still have been made. Get focused Teddy! (2) Pennington, notorious for his accuracy, missed two crucial throws that both should have gone for a touchdown. The first came on a play where he had Fasano open down the middle of the field. If Chad places the ball better, Fasano has what should become an easy touchdown. The second play was also a slight overthrow by Pennington. Chad had Ginn behind a few steps behind the defense and simply needed to make a good throw and it would be six points Miami. True, there is no guarantee Ginn would have caught the ball, but it is a still a throw Pennington HAS to make. I will say though in Penny's defense, if nothing else, Ginn did HAVE a shot at the pass (my arguement was only that a better pass makes for an easier catch). Other than these three plays I don't really have much else to complain about on offense for the Fins.
- Time management: This is probably my biggest complaint of the game. How does a team own the ball for over 3 quarters worth of time and still yield so many points (AND lose the game to boot). Sparano AND Pennington need to both be aware of the time remaining in the game, making adjustments accordingly. Pennington cannot be so carefree during the two minute offense, and as the QB, must rally the troops accordingly. Sparano is responsible for making sure he and Pennington are on the same page (and if Chad is being wasteful of time, Tony needs to give him a "friendly" reminder of what is at stake).
- C'mon Chad... : I'm not going to crucify Pennington because we all know the defense was the unit most responsible for this loss. However, given the passes he had to make when it counted (the missed TD passes to Fasano and Ginn) Chad didn't step up when it counted. I still blame the second missed TD chance on Ginn (he def. should have caught that ball, Pennington couldn't have placed it much better than that). Chad did not pass much, and when he did he was generally effective. However, he still missed the big plays when they were available to him. In addtion, as much as Sparano is responsible for preparing his guys for situations like the 2 minute offense, Chad is still the "coach" on the field and needs to be aware that HIS offense needs to hurry the heck up. The missed passes are Chad's fault. The time management issue is a 50/50 problem between Pennington and Sparano.
- Henning? WTF man? : Prior to the last three minutes of the game, Dan Henning had a very solid game called for the Dolphins. Then, in certain critical situations he got too cute. Seriously, who the hell calls two runs in a row in what is essentially a 2 minute offense? Normally I agree that an offense should stick to what's been working. However on the previous drive Indy responded well to Miami's running game, leading me to wonder if Henning was just trying to outsmart the Colts or if he was really that stubborn.
Miami really let down its fans Monday night. They played a brilliant game (at least on one side of the ball) and by all means SHOULD have won. In the end the Colts pulled out a win and Miami was left to pick up the pieces. There are a lot of encouraging signs for the Phins and Miami should try to build on this win. The defense needs to rebound, the offense must continue running the ball, Pennington has to make the big throws when they are available to him, Ginn needs to find a better pair of hands (though Miami should still look to send the ball his way), and Henning needs to avoid trying to be too cute in his playcalling. These are a lot of "ifs" and "should do's", but Miami showed enough improvement to make me think they can still turn this season around. Hopefully next week we'll be writing about a big win instead of a heartbreaking loss. Go Dolphins:buds: