Phins leading Buffalo at the half!!

Brilliant game on both sides of the ball so far for the Phins. Phins are bringing pressure from everywhere on D, totally confusing the Buffalo offense. And Fitzpatrick has been masterful guiding the Dolphins offense so far.

At least for one half, the Phins coaching staff is getting an A grade!!!

Damn it so frustrating the turnovers are killing us!

Gesicki is catching everything today I think we have a keeper

Efff it! Damn

Cincinnati looks so much worse than we do. I'm relatively sure we'll win a couple this year at some point. I'd rather they didn't go 0-16. Cincinnati though, they may find a way to lose 17.

Turnovers kill. That Fitz INT put the nail in the coffin. If we had scored a TD there, I think we win the game. So frustrating.

But I was very happy overall, especially with the coaching. I'm starting to get a feel for what Flores and his staff want to do, but unfortunately we just don't have the players to make it happen.

Today game shows what Flores could do if Miami defense got some turnovers.

Mark Walton made a statement for himself today as well. Williams need to hold on to the ball if he wants to be a top WR.

Degarmo wrote:Cincinnati looks so much worse than we do.  I'm relatively sure we'll win a couple this year at some point.  I'd rather they didn't go 0-16.  Cincinnati though, they may find a way to lose 17.

I agree. I think this team wins 2 games, and one of them will be against Cincy. So we're likely looking at the # 2 pick.

Not sure why everybody thinks the Bengals will be an easy win now. They led at the half and lost by 10 just like the Fins. Also, only two of their losses have been by more than 10, and one of those was against the 49ers.

But I will go to my deathbed insisting that at some point during the bye, Flores was strongly encouraged by the league to at least start trying to coach or else it was going to be lottery time. Night and day difference between the last 2 games and the previous 4.

DolFan 316 wrote:
But I will go to my deathbed insisting that at some point during the bye, Flores was strongly encouraged by the league to at least start trying to coach or else it was going to be lottery time. Night and day difference between the last 2 games and the previous 4.

I think you give too much credit to Goodell! LOL

I think the better play is due mostly to two things: players starting to buy in, and the rookie coaches starting to learn how to run a team.

I'll also offer this.

Walton earned his way on the field and is clearly the superior runner over Drake. Better vision and squeezes through the gaps. Drake's speed is too easily neutralized when he hesitates and is brought down by arm tackles.

The game plan is a credit to the staff. They recognized Buffalo is a physical squad and decided to match that physical approach, going run heavy instead of finesse and pass-happy.

I'm definitely seeing player development. Parker has had two solid games, same with Gesicki. I couldn't believe that was him making some of those catches, he's a talented athlete for sure. By the beat writers reports, his blocking is also improving.

Parker has showed a little toughness in the center of the field, which has been great to see. I saw him lower the pads and deliver a hit as opposed to just taking it, and that's what he should do. In the long run, it'll extend his career.

Walton is a far superior every-down running back to Drake. You need a guy that has vision in traffic, and I believe Walton gets that job done. Hopefully he stays healthy.

I've felt for awhile now that what Gesicki needed was the ball passed to him regularly. He was so sparsely used, and it seems like TEs need to be in a rhythm so as the game goes along they're just harder and harder to deal with.

Gase didn't know what he had when he picked up players. I believe if Flores was there before the debacle Tannehill might have been a better player.

Degarmo wrote:Parker has showed a little toughness in the center of the field, which has been great to see.  I saw him lower the pads and deliver a hit as opposed to just taking it, and that's what he should do.  In the long run, it'll extend his career.

Supposedly the 49ers inquired about trading for Parker, before they made the trade with Denver for Emmanuel Sanders. The Phins turned down the trade.

Good move IMO...I think this coaching staff has done a great job developing Parker, and I'm definitely on board with keeping him next season. Big difference from where he was at in the past - he went from being part of the problem, to part of the solution.

JMP wrote:
Good move IMO...I think this coaching staff has done a great job developing Parker, and I'm definitely on board with keeping him next season.  Big difference from where he was at in the past - he went from being part of the problem, to part of the solution.

We'll see. Remember, he has not gotten hurt yet this year. You know it is coming. Do we really think he can be depended on for an entire season? Hasn't yet in four years.

scotgif wrote:

JMP wrote:
Good move IMO...I think this coaching staff has done a great job developing Parker, and I'm definitely on board with keeping him next season.  Big difference from where he was at in the past - he went from being part of the problem, to part of the solution.

We'll see. Remember, he has not gotten hurt yet this year. You know it is coming. Do we really think he can be depended on for an entire season? Hasn't yet in four years.

Great point, but so far so good. I don't think this new staff will put up with his paper cuts, so we'll see...

Comparing the Steelers offense and defense to the Bills, who ya'll think is better?

rightchea wrote:Comparing the Steelers offense and defense to the Bills, who ya'll think is better?

The Bills are absolutely the better overall team, because of defense. Their defense is definitely A LOT better than the Steelers...not even close. The Bills have both the 3rd best scoring defense and yards-against defense in the entire NFL, behind only the Pats and 49ers in both categories. They are elite. The Steelers are middle of the pack in both categories.

Both teams are near the bottom of the league in offense. The Steelers have more playmakers, with Juju, Connor and even the emerging Diontae Johnson, and Mason Rudolph has been a better QB than Josh Allen. So I give the edge to Pittsburgh on offense.

Overall, this is a winnable game for the Dolphins. If the game was in Miami, I might even pick the Phins to win outright. But a primetime game in Pittsburgh? I think we lose...and the final score could get ugly, though I do expect it to be a close game most of the night.

This will be a very interesting litmus test for me.

I'm under the impression that Pittsburgh shows up in prime time and plays well.

I can't even count how many "prime time" games the Phins have played where I was excited going in, and the game is literally over in the first quarter. We've been blown out, embarrassed, humiliated which follows with a full week of the national media (or ESPN aka "B"SPN - for either Boston or BS you pick) absolutely trolling us for the sorry display of football on said prime time game.

If Flores can come up with a game plan and get this team to show up on a Monday night against a perennial contender like Pitt, I will be impressed.

white1 wrote:This will be a very interesting litmus test for me.

I'm under the impression that Pittsburgh shows up in prime time and plays well.

I can't even count how many "prime time" games the Phins have played where I was excited going in, and the game is literally over in the first quarter.  We've been blown out, embarrassed, humiliated which follows with a full week of the national media (or ESPN aka "B"SPN - for either Boston or BS you pick) absolutely trolling us for the sorry display of football on said prime time game.

If Flores can come up with a game plan and get this team to show up on a Monday night against a perennial contender like Pitt, I will be impressed.

You're not too far off. Since 2010 the Fins are just 5-15 in prime time with an average margin of defeat of 16.6 points.

http://pfref.com/tiny/0HkQl

Also remember, the '07 team lost to a significantly better Steelers team than this only 3-0 on a Monday night.

It sounds like X Howard will play Monday night...so that certainly helps. But even though I don't think the Steelers are all that good, I don't see us winning this one.

This is gonna be another Bills game to me. Miami will make strides to win but will ultimately loss this one

rightchea wrote:This is gonna be another Bills game to me. Miami will make strides to win but will ultimately loss this one

Yep, I agree. I could see a close game, and then the Steelers scoring late on a turnover to make the score worse than it should be.

Their defense is probably under rated. We will need to bring that physical brand of football with some power running that we saw in Buffalo. Don't get pass happy, or I think Fitzmagic will pay the price.