sbh1602
Playoffs? Playoffs?!
I didn't watch the game live yesterday. So I dedicated today to watching it, and I'm actually pretty pleased with how it went. Yeah, the injuries suck, but it was a great game for the Dolphins. I have some thoughts to share...
The offense, for the standards that we've seen lately, was absolutely amazing. Yeah, there's still some of the "can't score in the redzone" vibe, but seriously, 29 points! I was glad to see the return of the deep ball, and the execution was pretty good. No huge drops, nice rushing, passes on target (mostly)... just a good offensive outing. And I have to admit, Henning called a good game. I still don't trust him, given his history, but there were some great calls yesterday. About the worst I could find about the offense was Polite whiffing on two blocks, which is really just nitpicking.
About the "chewing" that Fasano gave on Henne... Guys, I watched the game with a cool head, and I just didn't see it. Yeah, he was emotional, and obviously said *something* to him. But I didn't see a "God dammit you're awful get the hell out" thing. He played a great game and had plenty of targets, so it's clear the coaches don't feel that whatever was said between them merited anything. And Marshall? He was frustated, for sure. But most of it probably has to do with the fact he had few targets, and fewer catches. I saw him smiling, giving full effort, and (this is important) celebrating with his teammates after the Cobbs TD in the endzone. Is that a sulking player? Hell no. He wants the ball, and he hates bad plays. But he loves winning. And for me, that's exactly what I want from my players. Intensity, and hard play. Many of you seem to forget Marino chewed out a lot of his teammates after a bad play, and nobody gave him crap for it.
Defensively, these guys stepped up. It's not easy to stop a team with so many weapons, but the got consistent pressure on the QB, and everything else followed. And did you see the emphasis on blocking balls at the line? The Titans were ready to exploit screens and short dumpoffs, but few were successful. This DL earned their paychecks this week, definitely. Dansby had a great game (did you see him chase Johnson from behind after Johnson cut away from him in the LOS? 3Q I think, just a fantastic effort on that play), and the secondary played well enough. A few breakdowns or mental errors, but good enough. I like watching the kids grow into quality players.
As for the hot topics:
- The fake punt. Yeah, didn't work, but I actually like that kind of coaching. Not afraid to miss, because you know your defense can hold. And challenging your team to take one away from the opponent. People tend to judge by results, not process. And I think it was a good process. You're more than welcome to disagree, but I like the aggressiveness, something that permeated throughout the entire team yesterday.
- The dissent of Fasano/Marshall. As I said above, I just didn't see it. I saw a couple of competitive, passionate guys.
- The injuries. Yeah, losing Long hurts, badly. Henne hurts, too. But we knew Pennington wasn't exactly durable, and the defensive injuries are nothing extraordinary. So it's "just" about losing the QB and LT. Awful, for sure, but not a death knell. The Bears can be had on offense. Their OL has played well lately, but they can be moved around, and when under pressure, Cutler folds. So it's all about getting pressure on him, and the injuries (even with Wake's problems) don't change much of that. Afterwards... it's all about the OL. If Long returns (or we can find a suitable alignment without him), we have a decent shot.
Well... if you made it this far down, thanks and congratulations. But seriously, feel good about this win. We (finally) beat a great AFC team. We showed heart. And we have an honest shot to make something out of this season.
The offense, for the standards that we've seen lately, was absolutely amazing. Yeah, there's still some of the "can't score in the redzone" vibe, but seriously, 29 points! I was glad to see the return of the deep ball, and the execution was pretty good. No huge drops, nice rushing, passes on target (mostly)... just a good offensive outing. And I have to admit, Henning called a good game. I still don't trust him, given his history, but there were some great calls yesterday. About the worst I could find about the offense was Polite whiffing on two blocks, which is really just nitpicking.
About the "chewing" that Fasano gave on Henne... Guys, I watched the game with a cool head, and I just didn't see it. Yeah, he was emotional, and obviously said *something* to him. But I didn't see a "God dammit you're awful get the hell out" thing. He played a great game and had plenty of targets, so it's clear the coaches don't feel that whatever was said between them merited anything. And Marshall? He was frustated, for sure. But most of it probably has to do with the fact he had few targets, and fewer catches. I saw him smiling, giving full effort, and (this is important) celebrating with his teammates after the Cobbs TD in the endzone. Is that a sulking player? Hell no. He wants the ball, and he hates bad plays. But he loves winning. And for me, that's exactly what I want from my players. Intensity, and hard play. Many of you seem to forget Marino chewed out a lot of his teammates after a bad play, and nobody gave him crap for it.
Defensively, these guys stepped up. It's not easy to stop a team with so many weapons, but the got consistent pressure on the QB, and everything else followed. And did you see the emphasis on blocking balls at the line? The Titans were ready to exploit screens and short dumpoffs, but few were successful. This DL earned their paychecks this week, definitely. Dansby had a great game (did you see him chase Johnson from behind after Johnson cut away from him in the LOS? 3Q I think, just a fantastic effort on that play), and the secondary played well enough. A few breakdowns or mental errors, but good enough. I like watching the kids grow into quality players.
As for the hot topics:
- The fake punt. Yeah, didn't work, but I actually like that kind of coaching. Not afraid to miss, because you know your defense can hold. And challenging your team to take one away from the opponent. People tend to judge by results, not process. And I think it was a good process. You're more than welcome to disagree, but I like the aggressiveness, something that permeated throughout the entire team yesterday.
- The dissent of Fasano/Marshall. As I said above, I just didn't see it. I saw a couple of competitive, passionate guys.
- The injuries. Yeah, losing Long hurts, badly. Henne hurts, too. But we knew Pennington wasn't exactly durable, and the defensive injuries are nothing extraordinary. So it's "just" about losing the QB and LT. Awful, for sure, but not a death knell. The Bears can be had on offense. Their OL has played well lately, but they can be moved around, and when under pressure, Cutler folds. So it's all about getting pressure on him, and the injuries (even with Wake's problems) don't change much of that. Afterwards... it's all about the OL. If Long returns (or we can find a suitable alignment without him), we have a decent shot.
Well... if you made it this far down, thanks and congratulations. But seriously, feel good about this win. We (finally) beat a great AFC team. We showed heart. And we have an honest shot to make something out of this season.
Just a couple of thoughts.