Riding the Train: the 2013 Miami Dolphins

sodenj5 · Nov 17, 2013

I don't want to jinx it, but they actually look they have someone who has a clue calling the plays. Great individual effort by Clay on that play!

dwainw · Nov 17, 2013

SMU_Sox said:
You guys are the most depressed fans on the board.

My advice? Smoke em if you got em. Drink.

Look the Chargers are an all offense team. You have a better chance against them than say TB who were a 3 amd 6 or 4 and 5 team trapped in an at the time 0 and 8 record. Typed on mobile.

Very happy to be wrong. Thanks to a sucky San Diego D and some really sturdy duct tape, the O-line held up just enough. Never would have thought Daniel Thomas would have been the "primary" back, averaging 5.7 yds. Good to see them FINALLY letting Tannehill use his legs by design with some regularity.

On that note, after what I thought was a pretty well-called game by Sherman/Philbin, that sequence by the offense leading up to the 2-minute warning at the end was disconcerting. Once again, over-reliance on the passing game, and some pretty risky-ass throws (although granted, Hartline missed an easy one which would have extended the drive). Especially in light of the aforementioned 5.7 yds/carry (4+ by Miller on very limited carries). Geez.

sodenj5 · Nov 17, 2013

Well, in games that really, really matter, Miami has come up big. They now own wins against Cincy, Indy, San Diego, and still have 2 games against the Jets and one against the Pats.

That's a big W as far as their hopes for a wild card go.

Clears Cleaver · Nov 17, 2013

If I was GM and ross said to me "look at my roster, who are the guys we can build around? Who are the elite players?"

Outside of Wake and Grimes, there isn't anyone on the defense who has distinguished themselves. Soliai and Starks have been good at times, as has Odrick. Vernon has not improved, especially versus the run. The LBs are awful. AWFUL. Jordan makes plays on occasion, but is a specialist at this point. And the safeties have been big disappointments, especially Jones. On offense, I'd say their best player is Hartline and second best...Clay? Tannehill is a middle of the road starter at this point. I am not ready to give up on him because he has played with no running game, a terrible o-line and a coaching staff who refuses to use play action or rollouts. The backs are mediocre. the o-line is pouncey and his guns smuggling and the rest are bad to awful. Wallace? i have no idea if he sucks or not.

OK...but they won and really should be 7-3 at this point in the season. they are 5-5 despite all the crap off the field and their terrible GM....how is that even possible? I mean they control their own destiny to make the playoffs. LOLOL

Sadly, they will have huge cap issues next year and probably have to find four or five offensive linemen. they may have to cut Wallace ($17M in 2014) and Starks/soliai. They got almost nothing out of this draft...and we still don't know if Tannehill is the guy going into a great draft for QBs. The new GM has his hands full, that's for sure.

sodenj5 · Nov 17, 2013

Another week, another instance of Wallace roasting a DB and Tannehill not being able to hit him. You could see at the end of the play, Wallace looked visiably frustrated. He had his guy beat by at least 3 steps, Tannehill under threw him, and gave the DB time to recover and make a play on the ball.

Not sure if he's just under estimating Wallace's speed, or if he can't get it out there far enough, but Wallace seems to be getting behind coverage at least once a week, and they can't take advantage of it.

rymflaherty · Nov 18, 2013

sodenj5 said:
Another week, another instance of Wallace roasting a DB and Tannehill not being able to hit him. You could see at the end of the play, Wallace looked visiably frustrated. He had his guy beat by at least 3 steps, Tannehill under threw him, and gave the DB time to recover and make a play on the ball.

Not sure if he's just under estimating Wallace's speed, or if he can't get it out there far enough, but Wallace seems to be getting behind coverage at least once a week, and they can't take advantage of it.

I wish I had something to go back to and double-check this, but wasn't that throw around 30 yards. Maybe 40 max?
So I'm not sure what that was about, because in no way should it have been an arm strength issue. It wasn't like a 50-60 yard bomb. Wallace was even and by his guy at 15 yards.

Sherman has been taking a lot of crap (much of it warranted) but he did a great job yesterday.
That could not have been an easy situation this week, and the adjustments they made to allow that patchwork line to be in position to succeed and put up 343 yards and 20 points was impressive.
I think my only gripe would be - Any play where the success hinges on Clabo getting out ahead of the play and putting a block on a DB should be removed from the playbook immediately.

Super Nomario · Nov 19, 2013

I just looked it up and the Dolphins have scored between 17 and 27 points in every game this year. That's crazy consistent. Not very good, but consistent.

Clears Cleaver · Nov 19, 2013

pdaj said:
Couldn't have asked for a better result tonight. The Pats lose, and the Panthers win a tough, emotional game. They'll be riding high on their way to Miami, with one less day to recover. Perhaps they're due for a let-down.

I totally agree with this. This game is not critical for miami's chances given its a non-conf game and they have two left with NYJ and one with Pittsburgh. A win helps more than a loss hurts them, me thinks. but the set up is as good as one could hope for given everything else.

that all being said, Carolina's front four is going to have a field day versus the dolphins' oline

dwainw · Nov 19, 2013

Clears Cleaver said:
I totally agree with this. This game is not critical for miami's chances given its a non-conf game and they have two left with NYJ and one with Pittsburgh. A win helps more than a loss hurts them, me thinks. but the set up is as good as one could hope for given everything else.

that all being said, Carolina's front four is going to have a field day versus the dolphins' oline

Yeah, I thought of this often last night. You've gotta think Tannehill will be given more chances to operate out of the pocket--especially based on their willingness to try a few things last week.

I'm also hoping Charles Johnson won't be 100% (if I'm thinking of the right defensive end who went down in heap of agony mid-game, only to come back and play out the game).

SMU_Sox · Nov 19, 2013

Look guys, I think I've been pretty objective about the Fins. I expected a win over SD or at least a competitive close game. Same for the game against TB. Those are teams, like the Fins, which are in the 12th to 24th best range. Yes, I believe TB is considerably better than their record. But you're talking about Carolina. I said this in the Pats thread in week 11 before I voted Car would win by 3+, Carolina is a really good team. Think top 5 or 10. On paper they win by 7+. Their defense is stout and pass rush is frenetic. Unless they have some sort of let down game I can't see how they lose. Now from your post I see you are arguing that. Hoping it happens is fine, but expecting it to happen is another thing. If I'm wrong I'll gladly admit it. I just don't think you guys stand a chance against them mostly because Tannehill will spend more time in the sack than (insert inappropriate analogy here).

rymflaherty · Nov 19, 2013

Would I be shocked if Miami won? No.
But watching that game last night I was thinking what a horrible matchup they are for Miami. For them to have any chance they are going to have to solidify the run Defense. Then again, if Miami is guaranteed to score at least 17 points....

Not sure I can buy into any of that other stuff though...
Not to be a downer, but if we're working off the notion Carolina is set for a let-down you could have said the same thing after they beat the 49ers two weeks ago.
As for Miami having more time to rest and prepare than their opponent - The Dolphins had a rest advantage against both Buffalo and Tamp Bay.

dwainw · Nov 20, 2013

I fully acknowledge that I let emotions seep into much of my "analysis" of these things and I could never hope to match others within this thread and throughout the larger SOSH community in providing more consistently rational or empirically-backed arguments. And, of course, when it comes to the Dolphins, we've all had our hopes raised and dashed so many damn times in our relationship with this team, rationality almost becomes a moot point (sorry statheads). Nonetheless, let me put a few thoughts out there about this week and about this season in general.

rymflaherty said:
....watching that game last night I was thinking what a horrible matchup they are for Miami. For them to have any chance they are going to have to solidify the run Defense. Then again, if Miami is guaranteed to score at least 17 points....

Exactly how I felt throughout the entire game, and what I think the Dolphins are facing this week--throwing in the obvious challenge facing the O-line against a very strong Carolina D-line. San Diego is one thing, but as mentioned, that Carolina front is on another level. Yikes. I hope Pouncey returns (and by the way, his sudden illness last week is a strange coincidence in itself). Garner played admirably in his absence but again, it was San Diego.

As for the Miami run D, I'm not sure what to make of it at all. As others have mentioned, very inconsistent almost across the board. Clears, you talked about the poor linebacker play, which I don't disagree with. And yet, Wheeler graded pretty well this past week (+1.5) and Ellerbee is leading the team in tackles. The sum of all that equals a whole lot of crappy team rankings and a 5 -5 record. Anyway, I'm not convinced the Dolphins will contain Cam Newton this week, either on the ground or in the air. I think the Dolphins chances of winning are around 25%.

Regarding the longer-term prospects of this team, it's tough to get too excited. Let's say they eek their way into the playoffs--then what? Does anyone in their right mind think they can win? With this coaching staff and their overall level of talent? A playoff appearance by the Dolphins would be a much greater sign of league-wide mediocrity than any impressive feat by Miami.

We all know the Dolphins are a lame duck organization right now. I talked about "blowing it up" a little while ago and while I was being partially facetious, the fuse has already been lit. Heads are gonna roll at the management level, and heads will have to roll among players. Even if most of the team is absolved of wrongdoing once these investigations run their course, how long will the cloud linger and how many years will it take to recover from this chaos? And don't get me started on an already diminishing and shaky fan base.

As I assume are all of the fans in this thread, I'm a die hard fan. It's all about the laundry, we're in this for the long haul, yada yada yada. But the fact remains, my emotions are conflicted. This is a hard team to root for right now. I won't stop watching and I'll keep rooting because that's how I'm programmed, but at least at the moment I can't shake a certain sense of emptiness that accompanies it. It's a weird, weird feeling.

When do pitchers and catchers report?

sodenj5 · Nov 24, 2013

Another heart breaker. They clearly outplayed Carolina in the first half, played well enough to win, and just couldn't do enough to hold on.

sodenj5 · Dec 1, 2013

Again, another big game, and another Miami win. The offense was sloppy early on and Sturgis missed the early FG, but the D dominated the way you would expect them to dominate a team with Geno Smith and Matt Simms at the helm. Tannehill did a good job spreading the ball around, and maybe more importantly, in a game where you would expect the Jet defense to feast on the Miami offensive line, Miami line played well and actually had respectable rushing numbers against a very stout Jets run D.

They need to stay focused and take care of business against Pittsburgh next week.

Clears Cleaver · Dec 1, 2013

I was so disgusted after the Carolina game and the first half today I gave up. Good too see Wallace and Hartline make plays. Defense dominated. Blah blah.

Beat Pittsburgh. Ravens are their comp right now. They will win next week. That keeps hope alive. They can beat buffalo and jets. If they beat Pitts that's 9 wins. Baltimore lose twice?

dwainw · Dec 1, 2013

It's a good thing I don't mind being wrong, especially considering how often I am. In this case, I'm amazed at how the offensive line has responded under the most ridiculously adverse conditions imaginable. For the moment this has tempered my gradually increasing concern about Tannehill's decision-making and accuracy.

The rest of this season should be fascinating. I'm expecting 8 - 8, of course, but I wouldn't be all that surprised by 6 - 10 or by 10 - 6. And of all the "shoulda won that ones," it's a crying shame we couldn't have taken that Baltimore game.

I'll try to keep my hyperbolic rants to a minimum from this point on. The bottom line is, I'll watch and hope for the best.

sodenj5 · Dec 3, 2013

Herm Edwards thinks Miami sneaks into the playoffs.

http://m.espn.go.com/nfl/story?storyId=10072047

tims4wins · Dec 3, 2013

Damn, you're screwed

dwainw · Dec 8, 2013

Just a stunning, stunning half hour of football with direct playoff implications for Miami. I'm not sure I've ever seen anything like it. At least the one that counted most went for the Phins. Great, great win for Miami, all things considered.

About the only commentary I can come up with at the moment is if Tannehill could ever learn how to finish the damn deep ball, he could elevate his game substantially.

CouchsideSteve · Dec 8, 2013

What an incredible win! I honestly can't remember going on the road and coming back to win a game with those type of playoff implications since the days Marino. Huge game for Tannehill, in light of the conditions.

Also, Charles Clay emerging as an indispensable offensive weapon.

dwainw · Dec 8, 2013

Good point on the Clay catch, pdaj. It's almost as if Tanny has a mental block when trying to air it out to Wallace. But Charles Clay. So great to see him show so much improvement this year. His second and third effort on that last touchdown was tremendous.

Did you guys watch any replays of that last play? I was losing my mind as it unfolded so I didn't notice, but I've seen a lot of blog talk about Big Ben's lateral going forward. And some possible illegal blocks. Too many Dolphins kind of gave up, though.

Next week will be big (and I agree, winnable), but it could have been so much bigger.

sodenj5 · Dec 8, 2013

I immediately thought Big Ben's lateral was a forward pass as well and I think it would have been blown dead had the play been replayed.

HUGE win in a game that felt every bit like a playoff game. Clay's play can't be understated. He came up big and made two big plays when we needed them the most. The TD, but the big 3rd down catch and broken tackle from Polamalu.

smastroyin · Dec 8, 2013

The worst thing is that Clemons didn't get to the sideline to force Antonio Brown to at least have to change his angle and come back to the center of the field where there was at least one more Dolphin.

The Roethlisburger lateral would have been reviewed if not for Brown stepping out of bounds, it looked forward. Maybe only a foot or so, but still forward. He was in stride though, so who knows what they could have called.

dwainw · Dec 8, 2013

pdaj said:
Clay's second TD play was interesting, because he initially caught the ball just shy of the first down and got pushed back. I was yelling for the whistle/forward progress (setting Miami up for a 3rd and short), but the whistle never came. It probably should have, but Clay never gave up and ended up making a phenomenal play.

I've re-watched the play several times now; Big Ben's toss was clearly a forward pass.

That actually makes me feel better. I mean, the Dolphins have to play 'til the whistle, but it would have been a shame for the game to end on such a wild, flukey play. Vaguely reminiscent of the bullshit loss vs. the Steelers a few years ago when Ben fumbled at the goal line.

sodenj5 · Dec 8, 2013

dwainw said:
Just a stunning, stunning half hour of football with direct playoff implications for Miami. I'm not sure I've ever seen anything like it. At least the one that counted most went for the Phins. Great, great win for Miami, all things considered.

About the only commentary I can come up with at the moment is if Tannehill could ever learn how to finish the damn deep ball, he could elevate his game substantially.

Keep in mind that this game was setup for Miami to lose. Going into Pittsburgh in what was essentially a playoff game in the snow. The deck was stacked against them.

All things considered, I think Tannehill played very well. His dime to Hartline was huge. He also didn't get rattled after throwing the pick six. I agree he has things to improve on, but give him some credit too.

dwainw · Dec 8, 2013

sodenj5 said:
All things considered, I think Tannehill played very well. His dime to Hartline was huge. He also didn't get rattled after throwing the pick six. I agree he has things to improve on, but give him some credit too.

Oh, for sure. Actually, I meant that as at least somewhat of a compliment. I feel like it's a very correctable problem and it could raise Tannehill's status to one of the better quarterbacks in the league.

By the way, I LOVE that he's finally running the ball. That 50-yard scamper early in the game seemed to open things up for him and shifted the momentum of the game.

Clears Cleaver · Dec 8, 2013

The Pats are due a beat down. And I know the team that can do it. The Ravens absurd win hurt Miami' playoff chances. I think Miami has to win out to make it. They certainly can though

Red PR · Dec 8, 2013

So glad a topsy turvy game as this which Fins usually lose went their way. Big ben's lateral I also saw as forward, a very important win.

CaptainLaddie · Dec 9, 2013

Clears Cleaver said:
The Pats are due a beat down. And I know the team that can do it. The Ravens absurd win hurt Miami' playoff chances. I think Miami has to win out to make it. They certainly can though

Go ahead and explain how the Pats are "due for a beat down", please? Are you suggesting that there's such a thing as "due to lose big" in the real world? Because that's just dumb.

SMU_Sox · Dec 9, 2013

Flip a coin ten times and get heads each time you must be due for tails. Jesus, CC. They've had 3 wins in 3 weeks by a combined 7 points. How are they more due for a beat down than a comfortable win? Statistically, logically, commom sense, your statement doesn't hold water any which way. Now the Fins may win but if they do it isn't because anyone was due a beat down. It will be because their offense shreds the Pats porous D and their dline has a field day with the Pats shit of an OLine.

Edit: my point about the coin flip scenario was sarcasm for those groggy SoShers.

Clears Cleaver · Dec 9, 2013

I love when Pays fans come into this thread. Guys, it's a figure of speech. Don't get your gronkless panties in a twist. Dolphins owe them one (or 10). But cmon, Miami doesn't beat down anyone ever (except the Jets).

sodenj5 · Dec 9, 2013

I suppose we should thank Philly. Detroit still has everything to play for at this point and they're going to play hard against Baltimore.

Miami can't focus on that. They need to handle their own business otherwise what happens with Baltimore is irrelevant. This is a huge game this week. Miami has a very legit shot at taking down NE at home. I'm in agreement that they need to be focused on running the table. Yesterday's game felt every bit like a playoff game. Hopefully they can transfer that focus and energy to the game this week.

Mystic Merlin · Dec 9, 2013

They weren't 'punished' in the Carolina game?

Sorry, but they're not a likely candidate to be blown out in a game. I believe you would have to go back to Cleveland in 2010 for the last true example. Every other loss since has been by one possession (PIT by 8 points in 2011 is the biggest deficit).

Super Nomario · Dec 9, 2013

Mystic Merlin said:
They weren't 'punished' in the Carolina game?

Sorry, but they're not a likely candidate to be blown out in a game. I believe you would have to go back to Cleveland in 2010 for the last true example. Every other loss since has been by one possession (PIT by 8 points in 2011 is the biggest deficit).

*cough* playoffs last year *cough*

Mystic Merlin · Dec 9, 2013

THE PLAYOFFS DON'T COUNT.

After all, I think the home winning streak is still alive!!1111

dwainw · Dec 15, 2013

pdaj said:
I'm really fired up for this game -- something I try hard not to do, because I've been set up for a letdown so often the last few years. That said, I love how the team's played the last couple weeks and am curious/excited to see how they step up at home in the biggest game of the year.

Something we haven't talked about much in this thread -- how big has the McKinnie addition been? One could argue that this team was one solid LT away from being a playoff team. Since his arrival, Tannehill's health insurance premiums have been dramatically reduced. That said, Clabo's improved play has contributed significantly as well. From PFF:

You and me both, brother (r.e. the highlighted). But yeah, I'm excited. As close to a legit playoff game as they've had in Sun Life in a while. Should be interesting to see how Tom Brady manages this game.

As for the O-line, I've had to eat a lot of crow and I hope I continue to do so. Throw in the emergence of a consistent running game in recent weeks due to the improvements up front as yet another happy surprise. Anyway, I'll just buckle up and leave the non-emotional analysis to the rest of you. Hopefully I'll have the strength to check back in in about 4 hours.

sodenj5 · Dec 15, 2013

Ho. Lee. Shit!!!

The call to go for it in fourth. Clay working magic again. Tannehill coming up huge on the final drive. The D holding with Grimes and Caroll missing. Wow. Wow. Wow. This isn't the Dolphins I'm used to seeing.

dwainw · Dec 15, 2013

Gutty, gutty win. Now, go Detroit.

Riding the Train: the 2013 Miami Dolphins

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