Game Thoughts: Week 13: Eagles at Dolphins

In front of a “home” crowd that seemed to be dominated by Eagles fans, the Dolphins unleashed an offensive explosion and walked away with a 37-31 victory.

The Dolphins erased a 14-point 3rd quarter deficit on the arm of Ryan Fitzpatrick, who had a monster game with 27 completions, 365 yards, 3 TDs and a QB rating of over 115. The game didn’t start out well for Fitz, as his very first pass was intercepted. But with almost no running game to speak of, the Dolphins’ coaches put the game on Fitzpatrick’s shoulders and he responded in a big way. He was nearly unstoppable, particularly in the second half. This man has so much heart and drive, and it is an absolute pleasure to watch him.

Fitzpatrick spent much of the day throwing jump balls to DeVante Parker and Mike Gesicki, both of whom had outstanding games. Parker was on fire, going up and making plays all day. The Eagles simply could not stop him, and he finished the day with 7 catches for 159 yards and 2 TDs. Parker has gone from bust to beast and is getting better every game. He is going to be a major piece of the Dolphins’ rebuild. Gesicki will join him, as he too is improving in leaps and bounds right before our eyes. Gesicki had several clutch catches and caught a huge TD late in the 3rd quarter to get the Phins within 2 points. The TE finished the day with 5 catches for 79 yards and a TD. Parker and Gesicki, who both looked like non-factors when Adam Gase was in Miami, are quickly becoming stars, and right now both players are loaded with confidence.

Another player that appears to be a key piece moving forward is Patrick Laird. The rookie RB scored the go-ahead TD (his first NFL score) and ensuing 2-point conversion, and caught 4 passes for almost 11 yards a catch. Laird is starting to look very much like a Patriots’ running back in this offense.

The Dolphins’ second TD of the game will likely end up being the most memorable play of the season. On a 4th and goal from the 1-yard line, the Phins brought out the FG unit. But instead of lining up for a FG attempt, they put punter/holder Matt Haack at QB, with 5 receivers to the left of the formation and 4 to the right. One of the receivers on the left was kicker Jason Sanders, who managed to sneak passed the Eagles’ defense and found himself all alone in the back of the end zone. Haack started to run left, and then flipped the ball to the wide-open Sanders for the TD. It was one of the coolest plays I’ve ever seen, and it was drawn up and executed perfectly. Great job by the coaching staff on that one.

The defense played poorly for much of the game, but they came up big when it mattered, holding the Eagles to just 3 points on their final 4 drives. Sam Eguavoen had a big game, with 3 tackles for loss and a sack. Taco Charlton had a sack and a forced fumble. Eric Rowe played well and knocked a ball out of Zach Ertz’s hands in the end zone late in the game.

But again – this game was all about the offense. Averaging just 15 points a game before today, the Miami offense was a juggernaut and the Eagles just could not slow them down.

One final note:
For the past several years, going back to the Joe Philbin era, I have hated the Dolphins. It’s been painful to watch them, and I took no joy even when they won. The team seemed lifeless and worthless, and I often questioned my fandom. But since Brian Flores took over, I have once again become a true Miami Dolphins fan. I don’t care what the record is…I LOVE this team! The players are energized and playing hard, and the coaching has shown tons of creativity and actually know how to develop players. The team never gives up – they just keep fighting regardless of the fact that they are outmatched every single game. It’s actually fun to watch the Dolphins play again, win or lose. Screw the record – this team is heading the right direction and it’s going to be a great ride!

Hero of the Game: 3-way tie – Ryan Fitzpatrick, DeVante Parker and Mike Gesicki. I just can’t say enough about how amazing these 3 players were today. Just fantastic.

Goat of the Game: none. Sure, I could point out some OL or defenders that didn’t have great games, but why bother? This was a team victory and I’m not counting any of the negatives!

Beer of the Game: Heineken

JMP wrote:One final note:
For the past several years, going back to the Joe Philbin era, I have hated the Dolphins.  It’s been painful to watch them, and I took no joy even when they won.  The team seemed lifeless and worthless, and I often questioned my fandom.  But since Brian Flores took over, I have once again become a true Miami Dolphins fan.  I don’t care what the record is…I LOVE this team!  The players are energized and playing hard, and the coaching has shown tons of creativity and actually know how to develop players.  The team never gives up – they just keep fighting regardless of the fact that they are outmatched every single game.  It’s actually fun to watch the Dolphins play again, win or lose.  Screw the record – this team is heading the right direction and it’s going to be a great ride!

The way I see it is, if Flores can drag 3 wins (and likely more) out of possibly the most untalented roster since the '76 Bucs, imagine how many he'd win with even an average roster. It truly blows the mind...

That more than makes up for this team possibly not even having a top 5 pick now. I've given up on the Burrow dream and am now throwing all my support behind...Hurts. He's literally the only other QB in the draft worth taking who won't suck.

(BTW not to be a Negative Nelly, but in complete seriousness any of us geezers could literally run the ball as well as Ballage. It's a fucking joke.)

We still have the Giants, Bengals and Jets again. Even six wins isn't out of the question.

If Flores manages that with this roster....

HalCHorn wrote:We still have the Giants, Bengals and Jets again.  Even six wins isn't out of the question.  

If Flores manages that with this roster....

Then the media will still be accusing the Fins of being the only team this season to tank on purpose, sadly.

But seriously, after the last two games I had written off the possibility of any more wins at all and now Hal is right, 6 wins is legitimately back on the table

Then again, who the hell can figure out the NFL this season? Not me. It really does seem as if 95% of the league can beat the other 95% at any time.

Flores and the staff have gotten this group to buy in, and that's his biggest accomplishment as a coach. That said, there's also creativity and intelligence behind what they do, AND THEY LEARN FROM THEIR MISTAKES.

We're finally in good hands.

Degarmo wrote:Flores and the staff have gotten this group to buy in, and that's his biggest accomplishment as a coach.  That said, there's also creativity and intelligence behind what they do, AND THEY LEARN FROM THEIR MISTAKES.

We're finally in good hands.

Coaching-wise, it appears so.

GM-wise, still very much leery about that. There's a reason the roster was in such dire shape to begin with. If Grier has a bad draft, he needs to be fired before the week is out.

Gesicki and Parker are finally showing why they were drafted. It was good to see some fire from Parker as well.

Let’s see what Flores can do with Harris

Not thinking that Harris is going to show much, or be here very long, but it looks like Charlton is making the most of his second chance.

Charlton > Harris all day every day. Harris seems like he'll be out of football altogether after he's cut before next season. I have no hate for him whatsoever and genuinely wish him the best in all future endeavors, but he's just not good at this football thing. Very telling that these other reclamation prospects are showing something under Flores and he...isn't.

I find it a coaching miracle that DeVante Parker hasn’t been a distraction this season

CarsonChris wrote:I find it a coaching miracle that DeVante Parker hasn’t been a distraction this season

Parker was always good it just that Gase didn't know how to use him. Brian Flores has players on his team that he knows how to make things happen.

DolFan 316 wrote:Charlton > Harris all day every day. Harris seems like he'll be out of football altogether after he's cut before next season. I have no hate for him whatsoever and genuinely wish him the best in all future endeavors, but he's just not good at this football thing. Very telling that these other reclamation prospects are showing something under Flores and he...isn't.

Missouri players have never been good. Most of the players that have been drafted from Missouri either don't play or are 2nd string players. These guys are not starters at all.

Hey Harris, had another QB pressure yesterday! He's good for one a game now. That's actually major progress for him!

A lot of people judge teams by quarters of the season.  We have now finished three quarters...here are the Dolphins' records per quarter:
Quarter 1: 0-4
Quarter 2: 1-3
Quarter 3: 2-2

This team is getting better.  And the final quarter of the season has us facing the Jets, Giants, Bengals and Patriots.  3-1 (and maybe even 4-0) is not out of the question for this last quarter.  The fact that I can even say that with a straight face is nothing short of a miracle.  

But whatever the final record, all I can say is: Coach Flo is THE MOTHERFUCKING MAN.  Now, like 316 keeps reminding us, it is up to Grier and his staff to add talent to this roster.

Supposedly Miami hasn't score this many points in four years. now that tells you a lot about a team that needed a coaching change.

A lot of people judge teams by quarters of the season. We have now finished three quarters...here are the Dolphins' records per quarter:
Quarter 1: 0-4
Quarter 2: 1-3
Quarter 3: 2-2

This team is getting better. And the final quarter of the season has us facing the Jets, Giants, Bengals and Patriots. 3-1 (and maybe even 4-0) is not out of the question for this last quarter. The fact that I can even say that with a straight face is nothing short of a miracle.

But whatever the final record, all I can say is: Coach Flo is THE MOTHERFUCKING MAN. Now, like 316 keeps reminding us, it is up to Grier and his staff to add talent to this roster.

Oh don't worry. Omar is watching and he's not impressed. He is calling the team "poorly coached" and "they can't fix problems".

Omar Kelly
@OmarKelly
Bingo!
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Replying to @OmarKelly
Glad you’re one of the few who gets it. If the tank was the plan Flores has failed to execute. If the plan was a competitive team Flores has failed to execute. Pick a metric because judging him like the coach of the scrappy little underdogs in a kids movie is ridiculous.
4:54 AM · Dec 2, 2019·Twitter for iPhone

It is a laughable take. Compares to the job Mike Tomlin is doing in Pittsburgh.

While I respect the Steelers, their org is night and day from the Fins. While I believe we have the correct structure, this structure was put into place about 11 months ago. We're just getting started.

Additionally, the Steelers roster is more talented top to bottom and where it matters the most: in the trenches and on defense. You can survive losing Roethlisberger, Brown and Bell when your line is physical and your defense is good bordering on great - and at times dominates.

In any case, I'm glad OK is not running this team. He'd probably be a Cleveland type owner firing the head coach every 1 - 2 years, giving no one time to establish anything resembling continuity.

Year 3 is the time to evaluate Flores - AFTER that season is played out. This year is the time to watch for signs of leadership and progress - and I'm seeing both. Player development looks better than it ever has. Our coaches are creative and aggressive. The players play hard with good effort. We gutted this roster and I refuse to accept the take "you can't give him a pass". YES WE CAN! In fact Ross already DID give him a pass - in the form of a 5 year contract.

I'm sorry I'm so tired of the local media. Laughing about "tank tank tank" and then we win 3, now the "tank" (IT NEVER WAS A TANK) failed. Now, if we don't win 3 of the next 4 Flores sucks and won't ever be Tomlin. And wtf has Tomlin done other than underachieve with a talented roster - with all that star power how many rings does he have? Exactly.

To continue my rant, another *laughable* take was dead panning this win over a "banged up Eagles team".

LOLOLOOLLL!   If the Eagles are "banged up" then what the hell are we? Anyone care to count up the salary on IR or off the team in the form of "dead money"? It's something like $120 million dollars! Look at our secondary:  Fitzpatrick (trade), McCain (IR), Howard (IR), Jones (IR) - that's a whole starting secondary GONE! We have nothing but bailing twine and duct tape holding the entire secondary together, a mixture of street free agents, waiver wire scrounging and undrafted rookies.

Anyone wonder why we are near dead last in the league on defense? Oh, but we still held the Eagles for 1-9 on 3rd down conversions in the second half.  That sounds like TERRIBLE COACHING! Clearly they weren't able to make any adjustments at half time.  

LOL! It really is funny reading these terrible "takes" on the team.  Everyone is just SO disappointed their precious "tank" theory was bullshit (I knew it the whole time) now they aren't satisfied because we don't have a winning record.

Omar has always been a miserable pile of shit masquerading as a "journalist" and if it weren't for this clickbaity bull generation of news/sports, he would be working as a bar back in a seedy 5th rate strip club.

Fuck him, the horse he rode in on, and the horseshoes it was wearing.

Omar Kelly is ridiculous. Can't take his rants sometimes.

The media has no market if they don't say stupid shit!!! its that simple. no one will buy news if it aint biased one way or another.

Eye test is all you need to believe. Even the worst rosters will get you a win. How many teams have gone winless in the modern NFL?

I am even keeled right now. IMHO, don't know what Flores is yet! The best thing they did was lower expectations. If he wins great, if they lose, that's what was expected. He plays to win sure but what does he want to win? That part is evident. He wants the locker room first and foremost! As he should. He's headed in the right direction.

DolFan 316 wrote:

(BTW not to be a Negative Nelly, but in complete seriousness any of us geezers could literally run the ball as well as Ballage. It's a fucking joke.)

You're not wrong. And to add injury to insult, Ballage has been placed on IR with a torn Achilles.

Umix10 wrote:IMHO, don't know what Flores is yet!  The best thing they did was lower expectations.  If he wins great, if they lose, that's what was expected.  He plays to win sure but what does he want to win?  That part is evident.  He wants the locker room first and foremost!  As he should.  He's headed in the right direction.

Yep. This season was always going to be about establishing a culture, installing offensive and defensive systems, developing young players, and hopefully finding a 'hidden gem' or two. I'd say "mission accomplished" on all fronts.

It will be interesting to see how Flores does when he has actual talent to work with. This defense is pretty much a joke without a pass rush, but I can't wait to see what the finished product looks like. I have a feeling we're all going to be very happy once Flores gets the pieces he needs.

This ignorance takes the cake. this question was on bleacherreport

Which is more ridiculous? The sports media or the political media? It's a pretty close race IMO.

Revisiting one example from a few weeks ago: when Kenyan Drake was traded and had a great game against the 49ers, well, Flores was deemed a failure for not getting results out of this "great talent" that we had here all along.

Since that game? Drake has 39 carries for 133 yards, a 3.4 YPC. He's also caught 14 passes for a whopping 39 yards, or 2.8 per catch.

Yeah, that just screams "great talent" that we should never, ever trade. Perhaps we should wait until more than one game has been played to fairly judge the decision?

JMP wrote:

DolFan 316 wrote:

(BTW not to be a Negative Nelly, but in complete seriousness any of us geezers could literally run the ball as well as Ballage. It's a fucking joke.)

You're not wrong.  And to add injury to insult, Ballage has been placed on IR with a torn Achilles.

I've been thinking the past couple of days, and I've decided that I was a dick to pile on Ballage after a win knowing he got hurt. he's still a human being, and I should be better than that.

Also, I think it's time to bring up who Omar reminds me of again. I know I've told this story before but it's been awhile. (Takes deep breath.)

In college, there was this one girl who was basically allowed to have a race-baiting column for the school paper. (I think because of today's insanity people tend to forget that the '90s were pretty PC too.) Anyway, nobody really took her columns seriously until she stepped over the proverbial line. She wrote about how her and three of her friends were strolling along one of the many sidewalks on campus and saw someone coming towards them, who stepped off the sidewalk because there wasn't enough room for him to get past. Somehow, some way, this *really* triggered her, and she interpreted it as the most heinously racist act ever, going on a rant about "sidewalk jumpers". I wish I was making this up. For the next week or so, everybody I saw was talking about her and that column, and not in a complimentary way. Nobody could believe even she would be THAT absurd.

And then it happened. I actually had her in a class. I expected a fire-breathing dragon lady who would bite my head off. I just KNEW she would single me out and go off on me in front of who knows how many people, because this was the sport of thing that happened to me on a sadly regular basis at the time. (My so-called student counselor deliberately screwed me over because she became convinced I was talking about her weight, I kid you not. I literally had to spend an extra semester in school just because of that.) But instead what I got was...this mild-mannered, almost meek person who got along just fine with me You never would've suspected she was spewing all that anger and hate in the school paper. My point is, Omar is the EXACT SAME WAY. Every time I see one of his videos he's just some regular chill dude, the complete opposite of who he is when he gets to writing. So I don't take him as seriously as some of you seem to. Obviously he's got some issues but that's all it is, I don't think he even believes half the stuff he writes. Knowing how media works I'd even bet that he's ordered to write most of that stuff as a condition of employment.