Game thoughts: Week 9 Texans at Dolphins

According to Andrew Siciliano on the Red Zone, today’s game between the Texans and Dolphins was the worst matchup in the AFC in the past 27 years, based on the teams’ records.  And the game lived up to its billing, with the 2 teams combining for 9 turnovers and just 26 points, as the Dolphins held on to win 17-9.
 
Jacoby Brissett got the start for Miami, with Tua Tagovailoa out with a fractured finger.  Brissett was mostly awful, throwing 2 INTs and losing a fumble, and leading his team to 0 second half points.  Brissett was aided by Mike Gesicki, who made two spectacular one-handed catches in the first half to bail out the QB.  Brissett’s passes were off-target much of the day, but a lot of that was due to the horrific OL, who gave up tons of pressures.  Jesse Davis had a particularly tough day, getting beaten over and over.  Jaylen Waddell made some key plays, totaling 8 catches for 83 yards.  Myles Gaskin scored a TD on a direct snap in the red zone, but other than that the run game was completely non-existent.  The OL exhibited some of the worst run blocking ever seen, as the backs were constantly hit at the line and there was literally no second-level blocking. 
 
Fortunately for the Dolphins, their defense came to play.  It was a dominant effort by the D, allowing just 11 points and forcing 4 turnovers and getting 5 sacks.  Emmanuel Ogbah led the way with 2.5 sacks, as the Dolphins used a creative pass rush scheme to keep Tyrod Taylor and the Texans under constant pressure.  Jae Phillips and Christian Wilkins were all over the place, making life difficult for the Texans all day.  Eric Rowe sealed the victory with a forced fumble late in the game, recovered by Brandon Jones.  Javon Holland and Jerome Baker had strong games as well.
 
Overall, it was a sloppy, poorly-played game by both teams, but the Dolphins prevailed to end their 7-game losing streak.  We did see some rare complementary football from the Phins in the first half, as 2 defensive INTs led to 14 points by the offense.  That was great to see, but in the end this was just a terrible effort from the Miami offense.
 
Here of the Game: The entire defense.  It wasn’t always pretty, but they made plays when they needed to and kept Houston out of the endzone.
 
Goat of the Game: The offensive line, for another terrible performance.  The line’s play was summed up on one of the 2 sacks they allowed, where Austin Jackson and Jesse Davis were both beat at the snap and the guys they were supposed to be covering met at the QB for an easy sack.  Brissett was running for his life all day.

I just hope and pray that Jmp can make it to an optometrist tomorrow to get his eyes checked without wrecking. Maybe his wife can drive him. Because there's no way the Dolphins actually won a game, let alone the Jags beating the Bills. I'd just like to know how the media's managing to hypnotize people into believing outright lies like this.

LOL It was such a poorly played game all around that it didn't feel like a win or a loss...it was just like a scrimmage or something.  NFL Films should destroy every copy of this game.

The funny thing about the Bills game is that Josh Allen (Jags DE) absolutely destroyed Josh Allen (Bills QB).  Any chance the Dolphins can rent Jacksonville Josh Allen the next time they play Buffalo Josh Allen? 

JMP wrote:LOL It was such a poorly played game all around that it didn't feel like a win or a loss...it was just like a scrimmage or something.  NFL Films should destroy every copy of this game.

The funny thing about the Bills game is that Josh Allen (Jags DE) absolutely destroyed Josh Allen (Bills QB).  Any chance the Dolphins can rent Jacksonville Josh Allen the next time they play Buffalo Josh Allen? 

I heard next time we play the Bills we're renting massage therapists for Watson's after game celebration. I think it's on PFF

JMP wrote:Jacoby Brissett got the start for Miami, with Tua Tagovailoa out with a fractured finger.

and as i know you know, Tua wasn't actually "out" but just wasn't well enough to start but was oddly made the backup. Flores addressed the situation after the game...

“He was limited all week, but he’s tough. He tried to go,” Flores said. “It really just became about how far could he throw? Would he be able to make all the throws we needed him to make? We thought it was enough to put him in the backup role and we felt like that was the best thing for the team. We would’ve had to change some things offensively if he had to go in.”

https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/nfl/miami-dolphins/article255621651.html

they were concerned he couldn't make all the throws... and as it turns out, apparently Brissett can't make all the throws either.

CarsonChris wrote:

I heard next time we play the Bills we're renting massage therapists for Watson's after game celebration.  I think it's on PFF

Ha! Priceless!

mercury22nathan wrote:

JMP wrote:Jacoby Brissett got the start for Miami, with Tua Tagovailoa out with a fractured finger.

and as i know you know, Tua wasn't actually "out" but just wasn't well enough to start but was oddly made the backup.  Flores addressed the situation after the game...

“He was limited all week, but he’s tough. He tried to go,” Flores said. “It really just became about how far could he throw? Would he be able to make all the throws we needed him to make? We thought it was enough to put him in the backup role and we felt like that was the best thing for the team. We would’ve had to change some things offensively if he had to go in.”

https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/nfl/miami-dolphins/article255621651.html

they were concerned he couldn't make all the throws...  and as it turns out, apparently Brissett can't make all the throws either.

Such a weird thing to say...he can't make all the throws, yet he can play if Brissett gets injured. So which is it...is he able to play or not??? Ultimately, it doesn't matter because we won and Jacoby didn't get hurt - but that's real odd logic.

Dolfan talk has a snippet where a player is telling Tua it's the coaches. Mind you this is lip reading. It looked like it. Looked like he was saying they don't like Tua.

Only this team would draft a QB 5th overall and decide immediately afterwards they didn't really want him, only to see the QB taken with the next pick become a star

Why hasn't Grier been fired already?

That.... was one of the ugliest games I've seen in a long, long time.  IMHO both teams should have been handed a big "L" for their part in it. 

I'm not looking forward to Thursday, of course I said that before Buffalo and we actually hung with them for 3 quarters but I'm not too hopeful.  Especially seeing Buffalo lose to JAX yesterday!  Oh no, not the dreaded "peak too early?" Possible. 

Meanwhile, New England is sneaking into position to make a run at the division. And Mac Jones is starting to look quite good, and it pains me to admit it. 

God, I hate this game.

I don't know if this was done purposefully by the team, but whether by accident or design the Dolphins have done a fantastic job of deflecting blame away from the real problems and putting it all on Tua. It is mind-boggling that so many fans are bitching and moaning about Tua, when the reality is that he is the very least of this team's problems. That should have been evident yesterday.

The real problems on this team are dumpster-level coaching - complete trash. No QB would be good in this offense - not one. Not Marino, Montana or Elway, not Herbert or Burrow or Rodgers or Brady - none. This inexperienced coaching staff has no clue what they're doing, and it's so bad that the talent level of the players doesn't even matter. NO players would succeed in this dumpster fire - none.

The narrative that it's all Tua's fault is sickening to me - this guy gets shit on left and right by his team and his fans, and he's done nothing but conduct himself with professionalism and continue to work his ass off and dedicate himself to a team and fanbase that hates him. Meanwhile, all I hear about is how great Deshaun Watson is. It's disgusting, and it pisses me off.

Tua is one of the nicest, most grounded and humble people I've ever seen in professional sports, but in my entire life I've never seen a sports figure hated so much for absolutely no reason.

Jmp, it's because we are literally living in the end times, which mans everything has become inverted. Good is bad, bad is good, the vast majority of humanity is now undergoing a mass psychosis that has rendered them literally insane.

But even in that context, it's absolutely mind-blowing that any team would draft any player 5th overall when their every action regarding said player indicates they never actually wanted him at all! Did Grier really go rogue and take Tua against he wishes of Flores AND Ross? Is Flores going out of his way to "punish" Tua for not being the QB he wanted? And if so, is Ross just waiting to fire both of them because he doesn't want the Eagles to have the top overall pick and thinks this team can win 2-4 more games?

And yes, the Cards got rid of Rosen after one season but at least they gave him a chance to prove he sucked. A season and a half into Tua's career and I don't know anything more about his true ability than I did before the draft.

I don't know if this was done purposefully by the team, but whether by accident or design the Dolphins have done a fantastic job of deflecting blame away from the real problems and putting it all on Tua. It is mind-boggling that so many fans are bitching and moaning about Tua, when the reality is that he is the very least of this team's problems. That should have been evident yesterday.

The real problems on this team are dumpster-level coaching - complete trash. No QB would be good in this offense - not one. Not Marino, Montana or Elway, not Herbert or Burrow or Rodgers or Brady - none. This inexperienced coaching staff has no clue what they're doing, and it's so bad that the talent level of the players doesn't even matter. NO players would succeed in this dumpster fire - none.

The narrative that it's all Tua's fault is sickening to me - this guy gets shit on left and right by his team and his fans, and he's done nothing but conduct himself with professionalism and continue to work his ass off and dedicate himself to a team and fanbase that hates him. Meanwhile, all I hear about is how great Deshaun Watson is. It's disgusting, and it pisses me off.

Tua is one of the nicest, most grounded and humble people I've ever seen in professional sports, but in my entire life I've never seen a sports figure hated so much for absolutely no reason.

Outstanding post, JMP and I honestly think you are on to something.

When people (especially Grier, who has proven to be quite the corporate climber) go into survival mode for their jobs this is the kind of behavior you can expect.  "Oh it's not me and my terrible roster, nor is it my hand picked head coach who is changing offenses every season and has now landed on his worse one yet.  IT'S TUA - and YOU WANTED HIM TOO, Mr Ross.  Just let me bring in a real QB and we're a contender." 

It's not a coincidence that our offense looked passable against the top defense in the league against Buffalo, no we didn't score in bunches but we actually moved the ball and Tua made some crisp passes.  The dropoff from Tua to Brissett is HUGE, and his slower release totally exposes how bad our line can be in pass protection.  Also, since we can't credibly pass the ball Houston felt free to just obliterate our running game.  So, one of the worse defenses in the league forced five turnovers and had us on the ropes - all due to a different QB behind center. 

I'm becoming more and more passionate and at the risk of repeating myself, maybe Flores gets another shot due to overachieving in his first two seasons with weak rosters.  But Grier.  MUST.  GO.  I don't want him making one more single draft pick, or a single FA transaction.  None.  The roster he has assembled is just dreadful.  

If... and boy is this a BIG IF... Ross happens to hire the right GM, this roster can be turned over in a little more than a single offseason.  With all the contracts expiring, cap room, and an experienced QB still on his rookie contract a lot can be done very quickly.  Bring in the RIGHT 3 offensive linemen, a beast at RB, and two veteran receivers that can stay on the field (read, NOT the next Julio Jones, Parker, or anyone with that kind of injury history), and this team becomes respectable almost overnight.  One more pass rusher makes it even better.

CarsonChris wrote:Dolfan talk has a snippet where a player is telling Tua it's the coaches. Mind you this is lip reading. It looked like it. Looked like he was saying they don't like Tua.

Here is the clip CC was talking about.

Wow.  This team is spiraling, and it looks like the coaches are losing the locker room - if not lost it already.

I guess it's an interesting video, but personally, I can't tell at all what Roberts is saying. He could be talking about the weather, for all I know.

Regardless, the players aren't stupid. They see what is happening, and they see how Tua is being treated. Gesicki has been going out of his way to praise Tua recently. Tua is a likeable guy and he works hard at his craft, and I think his teammates genuinely like and respect him - probably even moreso when they compare him to Brissett!

So yeah, whether or not Roberts is actually telling Tua that the coaches don't respect him and are setting him up to fail, I think they all know it.

at the end of the day, its the results that matter. Ross will have to decide if he believes Grier and Flores are the men to salvage this team heading into next season. if Ross fires Grier, then the new GM must be allowed to pick his own HC. but do any of you trust Ross to make the right decision and then potentially hire the correct GM? right now both Grier and Flores report directly to Ross. this team will never again be relevant until Ross realizes he doesn't know what he is doing and hires a legitimate NFL executive to right the ship. no, not Tannenbaum, not Garfinkel, not Beal... https://www.miamidolphins.com/team/front-office-roster/

DolFan 316 wrote:A season and a half into Tua's career and I don't know anything more about his true ability than I did before the draft.

And that is the real travesty of this season. Even I, Tua's biggest supporter, don't know what we have in him - because he is surrounded by incompetence.

Someone on Finheaven started a thread about the experience level of the offensive coaching staff. What he found is that nearly every offensive coach on the Miami Dolphins is in their current role for the first time in their careers. Think about that for a second: nearly every offensive coach we have is inexperienced and is learning on the job. You can see it in the playcalling, you can see it in the routes the receivers run, you can see it in the OL not knowing how to run block or pass protect - and, ultimately, you can see it in the way Tua plays.

To his credit, Tua is doing the best he can with the crappy hand he's been dealt. From that perspective, I've seen enough to want to continue with him - but the fact is, even I don't know if he is "the answer". It's impossible to know, because he has been put in a position to fail - not succeed. The fact that Tua has a very respectable total TD-turnover ratio is pretty astounding when you really consider what he has to work with. I'd love to see what he can do if he was put in a better situation. Sadly, we may never see that for him in Miami.

Clown show:

Joe Schad

@schadjoe

Dolphins co-OC George Godsey says there could have been a few better play calls in the run game on Sunday.

Joe Schad

@schadjoe

Dolphins co-OC George Godsey says there could have been a few better play calls in the passing game

Barry Jackson

@flasportsbuzz

Godsey declined to specifically answer @OmarKelly query about how much of Dolphins playbook has been thrown out (or put in a musty cabinet) because OL can't be trusted to block for very long. It's the thing Fins coaches never want to admit publicly.