Game thoughts - Dolphins vs. Jaguars

Not much has changed from weekly thoughts other than we are now the worst team in the NFL. No suck for Luck, no tank for Tua. We are just flat out bad.

The offensive line stinks. They get manhandled up front on running plays 70% of the time. On passing plays they don't give Tua much time to throw which looks like a good thing when Tua does have time to throw.
Play calling, the short game seems to work on the opening drive of each half then the defense adjusts to it and we are done.
Tua doesn't suck but can't make all the throws an NFL QB needs to make. He struggles with deep throws period!
Play calling. The middle of the field looked open on so many plays but Miami runs almost all pass plays to the outside.

Defensive unit gave up big runs. The passing defense looked okay but Lawrence was on target.

Another Sunday, another loss, as the Dolphins traveled to London and lost 23-20 to a team that many considered the worst in football.  Those people were wrong – the worst team is football is indisputably the Miami Dolphins.
 
Tua Tagovailoa returned after his stint on IR, and despite throwing for over 300 yards he was unable to put points on the board and threw a horrible INT.  It was an uneven performance by the 2^nd year QB, and in the end he just didn’t do enough to get a win.
 
The OL gave arguably it’s best effort of the season, but still gave up key pressures, committed a bunch of penalties and did absolutely nothing in the run game.  Austin Jackson, unsurprisingly, was particularly awful.
 
The WR corps was decimated by injury, and was led today by Jaylen Waddle.  Waddle had 10 catches and 2 TDs, but managed just 70 yards as the Dolphins continued using him almost exclusively on short plays.  Mack Hollins stepped up and had a nice day, with 4 catches.  The TEs combined for 15 catches, highlighted by Mike Gesicki’s monster game with 8 catches for 115 yards.
 
The running game was a non-factor.
 
The defense played better, but was completely gashed by the passing game and couldn’t stop James Robinson on the ground.  The Dolphins were lucky that Trevor Lawrence missed a lot of open receivers, and Robinson had just 17 carries.  This game could have been a Jaguars blowout.
 
The coaching was awful, with terrible 3^rd down play-calling on offense, two asinine challenges by Coach Flores, and poor decisions throughout.
 
The Dolphins have an offense that can’t score points and a defense that can’t get key stops, and an entire team that is poorly coached and just plays sloppy, losing football.  They are clearly the worst team in the NFL, and a record of 1-6 awaits as the team travels to Buffalo next week in a game that will likely see the Bills score 50+ points.
 
Hero of the Game: Great effort by Mike Gesicki.
 
Goat of the Game: It’s a tie between an offense that couldn’t pick up a first down, followed by  a defense that allowed the Jaguars to easily get into FG range on the ensuing game-winning drive.  Just pathetic all around.

OK, seeing Brown get stuffed on that 4th and 1 on the last offensive drive was as bad as any of Queasy Joe's calls. Tua was inconsistent today, but he was still completing 70% of his passes against this D, while the running game was averaging less than 4 pc and getting stuffed on short yardage repeatedly. Why would you take the ball out of Tua's hands and put the game on the backs of THIS offensive line?

The challenges, as JMP stated, were ridiculous.

One correction though, we don't play Buffalo until Halloween, which will be an appropriate day for that horror show. Next week we have the Falcons at home, which would normally look like a winnable game, but with this bunch....I kinda doubt it.

Stuff you cannot make up: before this game the Jags had missed all four FGs they'd attempted this season, three of them from 50-plus.

Also there's this. https://www.espn.com/nfl/recap?gameId=401326325

The Jags lost yards on a penalty and a sack, but then Shenault caught a 12-yard pass to the Miami 44 with 5 seconds left. The Jags had planned to just heave it into the end zone but Miami called a timeout, and so they changed plans.

"We checked it after they called the timeout and got into something else," Lawrence said of the slant pass to get to the Miami 35 for a 9-yard gain on a fourth-and-8 to set up Wright's clincher.

Yup. Only a Dolphins coach could call a timeout that helped the other team win.

JMP wrote:Tua Tagovailoa returned after his stint on IR, and despite throwing for over 300 yards he was unable to put points on the board and threw a horrible INT.  It was an uneven performance by the 2^nd year QB, and in the end he just didn’t do enough to get a win.

Does this mean you're...turning on Tua?!?!

I heard Iggy gave up a TD pass. He should just go back to being inactive no matter how many DBs are hurt. I said it before and I'll say it again: Trill Williams is better. Seriously, he is.

JMP wrote:The Dolphins have an offense that can’t score points and a defense that can’t get key stops, and an entire team that is poorly coached and just plays sloppy, losing football.  They are clearly the worst team in the NFL, and a record of 1-6 awaits as the team travels to Buffalo next week in a game that will likely see the Bills score 50+ points.

I really don't think it's fair to give the Bills three byes this season when every other team only has one.

I watched the game at work but could not post. My Take
Tua looked good. The INT was bad and he should've ran for 1st down instead of inc pass but playing with cracked ribs and a weak line nice game.
I'm done with Flores. Out coached. Poor use of timeouts. Stupid challenges when even the 96 year old Queen could've told bey the reply they were correct on the field.
ALL RBs are CRAP.
Iggy is crap and should just be cut.
Gesicki should be resigned or I am done.
This was a battle of two horrible teams with major injuries and we lost.

Ultimately it turned out Flores was only good for winning just enough to not have the top pick in 2020 (although knowing Grier he'd have just taken Tua anyway) and losing just enough to barely miss the playoffs--in a season with an expanded playoff field.

And now, after failing miserably at tanking on their last two tries at it, this team is actually going to succeed at getting the top pick in a draft now that another team has theirs, which would be the most Dolphins thing to do ever.

BTW what happened to this Merritt guy everybody was raving about like he was some secret superstar in the making? Did he even play? Not according to the box score. Not even one target, let alone a catch

Nah, Detroit and Houston are both actually worse. We will hand Philly the third pick.

Iggy gave up a TD but had great position. It was as perfect a pass as you can get. Chalk that up to Lawrence throwing a perfect pass to the only spot his receiver could get the ball. Iggy had a decent game actually.

CarsonChris wrote:Iggy gave up a TD but had great position. It was as perfect a pass as you can get. Chalk that up to Lawrence throwing a perfect pass to the only spot his receiver could get the ball.  Iggy had a decent game actually.

This is a "decent game" now?!?!

https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-week-6-game-recap-jacksonville-jaguars-23-miami-dolphins-20

Lawrence and the Jaguars picked on Noah Igbinoghene all morning. Missing their top two corners in Byron Jones and Xavien Howard, Igbinoghene was thrust into a starting role, playing 44 coverage snaps. The former Auburn Tiger allowed seven receptions on nine targets for 104 yards and a touchdown on his way to a 43.3 coverage grade.

SMH.

There is a reason Iggy has been inactive all season. Dude SUCKS. Poor coverage and horrible tackle. 1st round bust.

JEGnj wrote:There is a reason Iggy has been inactive all season. Dude SUCKS. Poor coverage and horrible tackle. 1st round bust.

It really does take a special kind of stupid to have three first round picks and draft three busts. Or even two out of three.

I swear to all of you though, Flores bullied Grier into taking Iggy. I saw it happen live. Grier wanted someone else who was snatched up before that pick (probably Isaiah Wilson who of course was a bust himself) and had no idea who to take at that spot. It was so obvious.

Play Trill Williams. He literally could not do any worse.

I've really don't care as much about football since I've gotten into hockey. Can't even enjoy games because there are flags on almost every play.

I have been trying to be not so negative and just see how things play out but when is enough?

We have been in rebuild and bust mode for far to long. My frustration level for now being one of the worst franchises in the NFL can only take so much.

Literally the only reason I even post here anymore is because of you guys. I've reached a point in my life where rooting for a sports team is pointless. I've learned that can't be unlearned, and once that happens a person just can't really participate in the normal everyday humdrum sheeplike way of thinking and living anymore.

HalCHorn wrote:Nah, Detroit and Houston are both actually worse.  We will hand Philly the third pick.

Still can't believe some people here actually thought Dan Campbell should've been kept on as head coach and would've turned things around. The macho hardass act is even less effective now than it was 6 years ago when Campbell got this team to play hard for a whole game and a half before reverting right back to crap.

And the Lions would still beat the Fins this season IMO. I cannot see how this team will win even one more game when they're incapable of scoring more than 20 and allowing less than that.

DolFan 316 wrote:

HalCHorn wrote:Nah, Detroit and Houston are both actually worse.  We will hand Philly the third pick.

Still can't believe some people here actually thought Dan Campbell should've been kept on as head coach and would've turned things around. The macho hardass act is even less effective now than it was 6 years ago when Campbell got this team to play hard for a whole game and a half before reverting right back to crap.

And the Lions would still beat the Fins this season IMO. I cannot see how this team will win even one more game when they're incapable of scoring more than 20 and allowing less than that.

Well, Campbell looked like Vince Lombardi compared to Joe Philbin. Then again just about anyone would---Adam Gase is one exception.

HalCHorn wrote:
One correction though, we don't play Buffalo until Halloween, which will be an appropriate day for that horror show.  Next week we have the Falcons at home, which would normally look like a winnable game, but with this bunch....I kinda doubt it.  

Totally messed up on the dates!  But yes, that Falcons game is going to be tough.  They have a high-powered offense and should score 30, if not 40, points against the awful Miami D.

DolFan 316 wrote:

JMP wrote:Tua Tagovailoa returned after his stint on IR, and despite throwing for over 300 yards he was unable to put points on the board and threw a horrible INT.  It was an uneven performance by the 2^nd year QB, and in the end he just didn’t do enough to get a win.

Does this mean you're...turning on Tua?!?!

Huh?  Of course not.  But he's got to put more than 2 TDs on the board against a bad team.  The playcalling and OL sure weren't doing Tua any favors, but at the end of the day the name of the game is scoring points - and Tua did not do that.

Tua looked great at times today - other times, not so much.  He needs to be more consistent - but again, that's not an easy task when having to deal with this crappy playcalling and OL.

JMP wrote:Totally messed up on the dates!  But yes, that Falcons game is going to be tough.  They have a high-powered offense and should score 30, if not 40, points against the awful Miami D.

Falcons got a bye after their London game but the Fins don't after theirs. And do you know why? Because someone (Ross? Grier?) decided to hold off their bye until December. I cannot make this stuff up.

The defense plays like they're on a bye every week.

I'd like to know what Tua would have done with that 4th and 1 play in his hands instead of a stupid play call that had little chance of working. Jeez, these are the times you want the ball in the hands of your best offensive player to try and win the game, right?

HalCHorn wrote:I'd like to know what Tua would have done with that 4th and 1 play in his hands instead of a stupid play call that had little chance of working.  Jeez, these are the times you want the ball in the hands of your best offensive player to try and win the game, right?

I mean, he could've just as easily thrown a one yard pass to Waddle. Just sayin'.

Remember when Gerrid Doaks was supposed to be the power back this offense needed for situations just like that one? Pepperidge Farm remembers...

This offense is ruining as well as the ports in California