Game 4 thoughts: Seahawks at Dolphins

Young teams need to learn how to win. The Dolphins are a young team, but they haven’t figured out the winning part yet.

The Dolphins offense simply could not find the endzone and lost a game they easily could have won.

The defense gave up too many big plays – none worse than a 57 yard completion at the very end of the half that led to a TD – but overall they did hold their own and kept the Dolphins in the game most of the day. But the Miami offense just couldn’t score and ultimately, this loss is on them.

The Dolphins had a chance early, holding the Seahawks to just 10 points through most of the first half. But the back-breaking TD at the end of the half proved too much to overcome.

Despite the fact that the Seahawks pass defense was historically bad through the first 3 games, Ryan Fitzpatrick and the offense never got near the endzone till the game’s outcome was decided. It’s an offense that can’t seem to make any big plays and really has nothing much going for it. On the plus side, the OL played very, very good in pass protection. One thing I can’t figure out is why the Dolphins rarely throw to Preston Williams…

On defense, Emmanuel Ogbah made some plays, including a 4th down sack and a tackle for loss. Shaq Lawson recorded his first sack as a Dolphin, and Xavien Howard saved a TD by getting an endzone INT. Despite all that, the Dolphin defense couldn’t get stops when they needed them and often got destroyed in the passing game.

Overall, yet another disappointing loss – not because they lost, but how they lost…with a weak offense and porous defense, in a very winnable game. On the plus side, as the losses keep piling up, we get closer and closer to Tua time.


Hero of the Day: Jason Sanders, who provided all of the offense (not counting the garbage-time rushing TD by Fitzpatrick) for the day with 5 FGs.

Goat of the Day: Hard to pick out just one player today, so I’ll just give it to the entire offense for being unable to score a TD against an awful defense.

Beer of the Day: Invoking the spirit of Jim Mad Dog Mandich to try to pull out a victory, it was a Heineken Red Star Sunday here at my house. The green lizards were flowing…but obviously it didn’t help the Dolphins.

Listening to the game today while in wine country. Dolphins need a consistent pass rush which it didn’t sound like they had. Not getting into the end zone is unacceptable. Team is led by a veteran QB with veteran receivers. No excuse inside the 20.

1-3 but the youth movement is improving every week. It's Tua time.

Gaskin is a nice running back, but he tends to find the tackle more than he runs away from it. He's serviceable.

Dropsies again today on plays that REQUIRED catches. Don't see a No. 1 in this bunch, regardless of how much Parker has improved. Fitz is Fitz, nothing to comment on. Not going to win anything of merit with him at QB, as much as I like him.

Defense is up and down, again when the rubber hit the road, they came up flat with a nail in them.

I say 6-10 unless Tua manages to get in and has an amazing start. Really though, I'd just wait on him in a developmental year. No reason to rush. Nothing to gain this season, nothing at all.

So are you guys down on Gailey now? Or will it take 2-3 more losses where the offense stinks it up?

Never should've hired a dinosaur that had been out of the game for years.

The turning point in the game was the 57 yard pass play by Wilson at the end of the first half. Igbigbust had coverage. 3rd round talent first round pick. Fire Grier!

CarsonChris wrote:The turning point in the game was the 57 yard pass play by Wilson at the end of the first half.  Igbigbust had coverage. 3rd round talent first round pick. Fire Grier!

He wasn't Grier's pick, but a Flores pick all the way to the point where Grier was overruled. Never forget that, we all saw it live on draft night.

Hmm, fire Flores!

Could be worse. We could have Adam Gase

Hey, to everyone that quit drinking, I’m drunk AF right now

My once a year party in wine country

DolFan 316 wrote:So are you guys down on Gailey now? Or will it take 2-3 more losses where the offense stinks it up?

Never should've hired a dinosaur that had been out of the game for years.

Not down on Gailey at all - in fact, Gailey's been the best part of the offense. A lot of creativity - different personnel, different formations - he's mixing it up and keeping the defense guessing. He's done a great job IMO. The biggest issue is that we can't make any plays downfield, and most of that is on Fitzpatrick...he just doesn't have the arm. He pushes any pass over 15 yards, and there's just no zip on the ball. The OL also needs to learn to run block - that's a big issue.

It's hard to constantly sustain 10-15 play drives...it's just not a recipe for success. We need big plays, and we're not getting them in the running game or the passing game. But that's not on Gailey - it's on an offense that is handcuffed by Fitz. I absolutely LOVE Fitz, but he is holding this team back and it was obvious today. As Degarmo said, there's no reason to rush Tua in a season that's going nowhere, but as soon as the kid is ready he needs to play.

CarsonChris wrote:The turning point in the game was the 57 yard pass play by Wilson at the end of the first half.  Igbigbust had coverage. 3rd round talent first round pick. Fire Grier!

Iggy had a good game overall, but he did get beat on that one. A back-breaking play at that point in the game. Seems like he's coming along, though. The Phins are putting a lot on his plate and giving him a lot of responsibility, and that should pay off in the long run.

I don't know why you keep calling him a "3rd round talent". Every analyst I saw had him as a 2nd round prospect, with some saying he belonged in the first round discussion and others saying he was the top man corner and best tackling corner in the class. The Phins got him at the end of the first, which is not a reach at all. CB was a definite need, and we took the best one on the board.

Has he struggled at times? Yes, just like every rookie CB on the planet. With the Jones injury, he's getting a trial by fire so there will be some ugliness...but again, hopefully it will make him better in the long run.

Degarmo wrote:Gaskin is a nice running back, but he tends to find the tackle more than he runs away from it.  He's serviceable.

Yeah, Gaskin is a good, solid all-around back. He's definitely not a home run hitter though. There's every reason to believe that he'll improve as the OL blocking improves, but for now he's the best back we have and he's doing a decent job. He protects the ball and he can do a little bit of everything.

Just not good enough yet. But we've been competitive in every game so far. Sure couldn't say that after 4 games last year; every loss was by at least 20 points.

I think a lot of steps (Iggy getting a lot of work, Tua getting to sit and learn) will pay off in the long run.

Oh, and I agree with kicking the FG to get within 2 points in the fourth on 4th and 5; I thought it was the right move. 18-17 would certainly be an ugly win, but a win is a win and one hold from the D puts you in a position to steal one without scoring a TD. Would have been pretty impressive against a sure playoff team and SB contender this year.

1-4 is probably coming, but this year is all about development. I still see 6 wins by the time the season is over.

I have to agree. Miami might not be in the right position to win right now but they are showing heart and making it happen. Hope that Byron Jones comes back so that Igbinoghene can start playing slot and work on getting better in coverage

HalCHorn wrote:

Oh, and I agree with kicking the FG to get within 2 points in the fourth on 4th and 5; I thought it was the right move.  18-17 would certainly be an ugly win, but a win is a win and one hold from the D puts you in a position to steal one without scoring a TD.  Would have been pretty impressive against a sure playoff team and SB contender this year.

Agreed - I was fine with the FG - I would have done the same thing. If it was 4th and 1, I probably would have gone for it - but not 4th and 5. Get the points.

The Niners game next week will be another tough one. Probably another close loss.

With the Phins being so competitive in all these games, it really does show two things: 1. the coaching staff is really doing a helluva job, and 2. there's just not enough talent on this roster. QB and pass rush seem to be the weakest areas, IMO.

BTW - LT Austin Jackson left the game and was replaced by Julién Davenport. Davenport played really well IMO, which was a pleasant surprise after seeing him struggle last season.

No word on Jackson's injury, as far as I've heard.

On Jackson read today he hurt his foot - was in and out of the 4th quarter, so hopefully we get an update and it's not too serious.

Hal, I disagree about maybe getting that 18-17 win. No realistic fan could think that we were going to hold Russell Wilson and that powerful Seahawks offense out of the end zone forever.

It was just a matter of time before they exploded, and they did. Doesn't matter if it was in the last few minutes of the game, or not. They exploded.

You had to think that coming into this game, we would have had to score at least 30 to have a chance. So, at some point you need to reach the end zone, not kick FG's.

I actually agree with kicking the FG based on how the offense was playing. By that I mean, we could never seem to hit that one or two plays to get us going for 6. We kept coming up short on those critical drive-continuing plays. So, in that sense, yes, it was better to get the sure 3, than to miss and come away with no point at all.

I see Fitz getting the start at SF and see how the first half goes. If he shits the bed and we are down, say 3-21, or double digits and he has thrown a couple picks, start Tua in the second half and see what happens.

The thing with Fitz is that he's playing pretty good for the most part. But what I saw on Sunday really concerned me. Others have said it, but it's the first time it really stood out for me: he just can't throw deep, and opposing defenses know this. It really limits what we can do on offense and makes us much easier to defend. Any pass over 10 yards looks like a shotput throw, the way Fitz pushes the ball. We're totally wasting the speed of Parker and especially Grant, and we can't stretch the defense.

I don't know when the coaches will feel comfortable starting Tua, but it has to be soon...we can't keep wasting opportunities to win week after week. Who knows - Tua could struggle early like most young QBs, but at least he'd add a more dynamic element to the offense that is completely absent with Fitz.

JMP wrote:Iggy had a good game overall, but he did get beat on that one.  A back-breaking play at that point in the game.  Seems like he's coming along, though.  The Phins are putting a lot on his plate and giving him a lot of responsibility, and that should pay off in the long run.

agreed. Iggy is a rookie and is going have his struggles, but he'll be fine...better than fine...in the long run. actually, TD catch (he actually had tight coverage and the WR made a great play) not withstanding, he actually played better than Howard down in and down out.

Xavien Howard and Noah Igbinoghene played all 63 defensive snaps, and the results generally weren’t good. Howard allowed six of seven passes thrown against him to be caught for 133 yards but did have a key interception in the end zone.

Igbinoghene allowed four of six for 115 yards and a touchdown.

https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/barry-jackson/article246183180.html

as a matter of fact, i could easily envision Iggy and Jones as the starting corners next year with Howard being a victim of not living up to his contract.

Who was covering Tyler Lockett most of the time on Sunday? Because Lockett only caught 2 passes and really wasn't a factor at all.

I still think Howard stays on the team next season because we have the cap space, and even though he isn't what he used to be he's the only player we have that can get a damn INT! But yes, a starting tandem of Jones and Iggy is the future.

If igbigbust is the starter we have problems. They should call him Chunk since he gives us such chunks of yards every game

CarsonChris wrote:If igbigbust is the starter we have problems. They should call him Chunk since he gives us such chunks of yards every game

He's a 20-year old rookie gaining experience and getting better. That's all you could ask for 4 weeks into a season where there was no preseason. Is he struggling? Yes. That's what being a rookie is all about - you learn from your mistakes and improve. Like I said, the Phins have thrown him into the fire and he's going to be better for it in the long run.

For all those that wanted to draft a shiny new toy RB in the first round, consider this:

Clyde Edwards-Helaire is averaging just .3 yards per carry more than Myles Gaskin, and Gaskin has more receptions.  

Jonathan Taylor is averaging .1 yards per carry less than Gaskin, and Gaskin has more receptions.