Game thoughts: Week 1, Patriots at Dolphins

The 2022 Miami Dolphins season began the way the 2021 season ended – with a victory over the New England Patriots.  Today’s 20 – 7 win was highlighted by a stellar defensive effort, and an offense that did just enough.

The Dolphin defense completely stifled the Patriot offense, holding them to under 300 total yards and just one score.  Defensive coordinator Josh Boyer has become the master of the “bend but don’t break” defense.  While they bent a little more than I’d like to see, they never did break.  The D needs to get better on 3rd downs – particularly 3rd and longs – but it is hard to argue with the end result today.  

The defense made a statement right from the start.  On the opening possession of the game, the Patriots marched down the field and looked unstoppable, getting all the way to the Miami 22.  But on a first down play, Pats’ QB Mac Jones foolishly decided to test Xavien Howard with an end zone pass.  Howard tipped the pass to Jevon Holland for the INT, leading to a Dolphins’ FG and 3-0 lead.

The play of the game occurred on the Patriots’ second possession.  On second down, safety Brandon Jones came on a perfectly-timed blitz and got the sack-and-strip on Mac Jones.  Melvin Ingram scooped up the ball and took it in for a TD, giving the Dolphins an early 10-0 lead.

A stout run defense was led by strong efforts from Ingram, Emmanuel Ogbah, Raekwon Davis and Christian Wilkins.  The secondary was excellent, with Brandon Jones having a stellar 11-tackle game, Howard shutting down the New England receivers and rookie Kader Kohou getting a forced fumble, a pass defensed and a tackle for loss.  The pass rush was inconsistent and Jaelen Phillips was invisible, but overall this was an excellent defensive effort.

The offense scored just 13 points, but made plays when it had to and did not turn the ball over.  Tua Tagovailoa played the role of game manager today, completing 70% of his passes for 270 yards and a TD.  It was not a great game for Tua, as his ball placement wasn’t up to par and he made a couple of poor decisions, but I’m not going to complain about a QB that finished the day with a 104 rating and a win.  Tua is now 4-0 against the Patriots, tying John Elway for the best record against Bill Belichick in a QB’s first 4 games against the coach.

Miami’s electrifying WR duo of Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle combined for 12 catches, 163 yards and a TD.  The TD was a 42-yard catch and run that saw Waddle split three defenders, taking a gorgeous pass from Tua to the house - on a 4th and 7 play.   Hill’s speed was on display all day, but even more impressive was a contested catch that he wrestled away from a Patriot DB. RBs Chase Edmonds and Raheem Mostert were active and made some key plays, but rushing yards were hard to come by today thanks to a poor effort from the offensive line.

Ah, the offensive line. Another game, another garbage performance from the line.  Pass protection was terrible, as Tua was constantly running for his life.  The run blocking was non-existent, with RBs constantly getting hit immediately.  Austin Jackson left the game with an injury and was replaced by Greg Little.  Coach McDaniel needs to do something about this OL, and fast.

Congratulations to Coach McDaniel for his first NFL win.  The Phins led the game from start to finish, and played smart and efficient football.  While it wasn’t the offensive fireworks show that myself and many other Dolfans hoped for, it was a convincing win against a division opponent, and I’ll take it.  There is a lot of room for improvement moving forward, but that is to be expected with a new coaching staff.  It’s great to start the season on a positive note, and now it’s on to a tough matchup against the 1-0 Ravens.


Hero of the Game: Brandon Jones. This guy was everywhere making play after play.  Outstanding game. Honorable mention to Kader Kohou who made a bunch of big plays in his first NFL game.

Goat of the game: the Offensive Line, for another crappy performance.

BTW, I loved McDaniel's aggressive attitude today. He coached to win, unlike his predecessor who consistently coached not to lose.

This was so nice, Jmp posted it twice

I just keep thinking back to the Waddle TD. It was at the end of the first half, I think there were 25 seconds left, and we had the ball just inside Patriots territory. Flores would have punted there, without a doubt. But not Mike McDaniel. He showed that he trusted his QB, and Tua responded with a perfectly-thrown pass to Waddle - who made not one, not two, but THREE Patriot defenders look absolutely foolish en route to a 42-yard TD. That play is something we haven't seen from the Dolphins in decades. Let's hope it is a sign of things to come!

JMP - a fair and balanced summary.

i agree with everything you said. while this certainly wasn't a lights-out dominating performance, it was more than enough to stay on top of a division rival the entire contest. while there are plenty of areas that need to be cleaned up (o-line), one thing that stood out was the confidence this team exudes. the 4th down TD to Waddle was just as important as a statement as it was for points on the board. this team is not gonna sit back and take the easy, "safe" route that has led to so many narrowly missed opportunities in the past.

a few things...

it will be interesting what (if anything) the Phins do this week in light of Jackson's ankle injury.

Iggy not active. his 1st round salary hit is the only thing keeping him on the team at this point.

Phins 0-2 in the redzone. that's gotta improve (and i think it will).

38 snaps for Smythe and only 25 for Gesicki - and only 3 TE targets between them. i don't think that will be indictive of the season.

mercury22nathan wrote:Iggy not active.  his 1st round salary hit is the only thing keeping him on the team at this point.

Jones still being hurt is the only thing keeping Iggy on this team. When Jones gets back in, Iggy will be out.

Phins 0-2 in the redzone.  that's gotta improve (and i think it will).

It blows my mind that a team can pull that off without any turnovers or missed FGs The definition of a fluke.

38 snaps for Smythe and only 25 for Gesicki - and only 3 TE targets between them.  i don't think that will be indictive of the season.

Gesicki will be traded within a month guaranteed. Maybe even this week, for all we know Grier is working on a package deal to send him and Bridgewater to the Cowboys.

JMP wrote:The 2022 Miami Dolphins season began the way the 2021 season ended – with a victory over the New England Patriots.  Today’s 20 – 7 win was highlighted by a stellar defensive effort, and an offense that did just enough.

And man, are DolFans pissed because they expected a 30-point thrashing and got a Flores win instead. And I thought millennials were spoiled!

The offense scored just 13 points, but made plays when it had to and did not turn the ball over.  Tua Tagovailoa played the role of game manager today, completing 70% of his passes for 270 yards and a TD.  It was not a great game for Tua, as his ball placement wasn’t up to par and he made a couple of poor decisions, but I’m not going to complain about a QB that finished the day with a 104 rating and a win.  Tua is now 4-0 against the Patriots, tying John Elway for the best record against Bill Belichick in a QB’s first 4 games against the coach.

Even I, the peerless purveyor of PFR, didn't know that

Ah, the offensive line. Another game, another garbage performance from the line.  Pass protection was terrible, as Tua was constantly running for his life.  The run blocking was non-existent, with RBs constantly getting hit immediately.  Austin Jackson left the game with an injury and was replaced by Greg Little.  Coach McDaniel needs to do something about this OL, and fast.

To be fair, McDaniel wasn't given a lot to work with. I do think Hunt and Jackson need to be switched, though.

Congratulations to Coach McDaniel for his first NFL win.  The Phins led the game from start to finish, and played smart and efficient football.  While it wasn’t the offensive fireworks show that myself and many other Dolfans hoped for, it was a convincing win against a division opponent, and I’ll take it.  There is a lot of room for improvement moving forward, but that is to be expected with a new coaching staff.  It’s great to start the season on a positive note, and now it’s on to a tough matchup against the 1-0 Ravens.

This team is in the exact same position they were at this exact time last season. Hopefully, they won't go on a 7-game losing streak this time. As I've said elsewhere on the internet the Shula era Fins had lots of wins like this. Jump out to a 3-score lead and then spend the second half just kind of cruising. Nobody then had any problem with that.

I also want to acknowledge special teams. The coverage teams were awesome. Morstead downed 3 of his 4 punts inside the 20. Sanders was perfect on kickoffs and nailed two 40+ yard field goals. Great job all around.

mercury22nathan wrote:JMP - a fair and balanced summary.

i agree with everything you said.  while this certainly wasn't a lights-out dominating performance, it was more than enough to stay on top of a division rival the entire contest.  while there are plenty of areas that need to be cleaned up (o-line), one thing that stood out was the confidence this team exudes.  the 4th down TD to Waddle was just as important as a statement as it was for points on the board.  this team is not gonna sit back and take the easy, "safe" route that has led to so many narrowly missed opportunities in the past.

a few things...

it will be interesting what (if anything) the Phins do this week in light of Jackson's ankle injury.

Iggy not active.  his 1st round salary hit is the only thing keeping him on the team at this point.

Phins 0-2 in the redzone.  that's gotta improve (and i think it will).

38 snaps for Smythe and only 25 for Gesicki - and only 3 TE targets between them.  i don't think that will be indictive of the season.

It was difficult to tell who the main culprits are with OL, but it seemed to me that Williams was the worst of the bunch. Seemed like he was getting beat constantly. The Dolphins also didn't seem to have an answer for the Patriots blitzes.

The TEs will get more play going forward. I think each game is going to have a different flavor when it comes to offensive playcalling, and there will be times when the TEs get lots of targets. I did think the middle of the field was there for the taking yesterday, and the Dolphins didn't exploit it. That's an area where the TEs can play a big role.

rookie Kader Kohou getting a forced fumble, a pass defensed and a tackle for loss.

He looked great out there yesterday, and the fact he contributed so much in his first live action makes me believe we have found another gem in the secondary. Not to "hate" on Iggy.... but this should actually make him totally expendable...

BTW - I watched the game with my brother, and at the end of the game I said "Let's see what Belichick does with McDaniel." Sure enough, Belichick barely acknowledged him and turned his back and walked away almost immediately. We got a good laugh out of that! He's such a sore loser asshole. Sorry, Billy, you got spanked by a rookie head coach in his first game...suck it!!!

Maybe next year Bill will have the team in Miami all summer to get used to the heat. Perhaps they will only lose 21-14

Also, I can't wait for our running game to get on track. This offense with a power running game will be scary - and it's only a matter of time. McDaniel will not allow his running game to falter all year.

Additionally: Mostert will start sooner rather than later. He just looks more dynamic than Edmonds, and his speed is next-level.

white1 wrote:

rookie Kader Kohou getting a forced fumble, a pass defensed and a tackle for loss.

He looked great out there yesterday, and the fact he contributed so much in his first live action makes me believe we have found another gem in the secondary.  Not to "hate" on Iggy.... but this should actually make him totally expendable...

Yeah, what a great find by the Dolphins! Supposedly Boyer was really high on him and communicated with him during the draft, and that interest was a big reason Kohou signed with the Dolphins instead of another team. I can't recall ever seeing an undrafted rookie corner having that type of impact in his first game.

white1 wrote:Also, I can't wait for our running game to get on track.  This offense with a power running game will be scary - and it's only a matter of time.  McDaniel will not allow his running game to falter all year.  

Additionally:  Mostert will start sooner rather than later.  He just looks more dynamic than Edmonds, and his speed is next-level.

The run game is the key to this offense, and the coaches need to get it going. They can do a lot to scheme the run and open things up with the pass, but until the OL learns to block it's going to be ugly. The Pats played 6 DBs a lot yesterday, basically daring the Phins to run...and we couldn't. That's got to change.

I thought Edmonds looked really good, considering that he got no blocking. I love him as a receiver. I think he's going to end up with 70 catches - just keep feeding him.

Mostert just has a different level of speed and quickness...he looks like he's running while everyone else on the field is walking. He's a big play waiting to happen - he almost broke one yesterday, but a defender just got his foot as he ran by.

Both backs are huge upgrades over what we've had the last few years. I don't necessarily care which back starts - I think they'll both play a ton. The Phins used a couple of formations yesterday that had both guys on the field at the same time, and I think we'll see more of that.

on teh 6 yard Ty Montgomery TD pass where he rolled into the endzone, it looked like a severely missed coverage assignment. it appears that Phillips was the culprit. if true, is that really the best use of his pass rushing skills? do the Phins D get too cute there?

Speaking of backs, it was good to see FB Alec Ingold get involved. He picked up a first down on a short-yardage run, and also had a catch. I think he'll see a lot more action moving forward. Interestingly, it seemed like most of the runs were out of a one-back set...I'd like to see Ingold on the field more to open holes for the run game.

mercury22nathan wrote:on teh 6 yard Ty Montgomery TD pass where he rolled into the endzone, it looked like a severely missed coverage assignment.  it appears that Phillips was the culprit.  if true, is that really the best use of his pass rushing skills?  do the Phins D get too cute there?

Yeah, Phillips did not have a good game at all IMO, aside from the fumble recovery on Kohou's forced fumble. I know all teams drop DL into coverage from time to time, but it's really like playing with fire: there's a good chance you'll get burned!

Speaking of coverage, X absolutely DESTROYED DeVante Parker. X covered him most of the day, and he ended up with 1 catch on 2 targets, for just 9 yards. Outstanding!!

Belicheat will get a chance at for revenge on January 1st, so I won't pick on him too much just yet. But hopefully we will be a lot further along by then too.

I Loved going for it on 4th and 7 and the Pass was a Beauty . Think Hunt has to Stay at Guard due to Him being More Physical and Stronger Than Jackson. I hope we get away from the Jet Sweep Play just not a Fan of it because the Blocking has to Perfect in order to get a Homerun Play out of it. Don’t want Wr’s getting crunched by Lb’s or Maybe even Lineman and getting Hurt.

Nice write up, JMP.

The Phins D just like always is very good when they rush the passer, and not so good when they rush 3 or 4 and drop the rest into that frackin' zone Boyer loves!

The Pats went to quick hitters to negate the pass rush in the 2nd half and Boyer scaled back on the blitzes and mixed and mingled zone and man to man. It worked cause the Pats WRs suck dirty arsewater it looks like. Or they did in the 1st game.

Why in heck didn't the Pats challenge Needham? That would seem like Offensive Football Gameplan 101 to me.

Still, a good effort by the Phins D. It's going to be very interesting to see how the Phins D performs against the Ravens Oline and Lamar. Mac Jones couldn't run against a high school defense I am thinking!

Kader Kohou looked good, as did Jones. Wilkins ate up a double team on every play it looked like. The Phins need him to stay, but I suspect Grier and Co will move on and plug in some lowly paid backup (or maybe sign a washed up free agent) who doesn't amount to a pimple on Wilkin's butt!

I not only saw Phillips dropping into coverage, but Melvin Ingram too!! I know this is the D Scheme, Boyer, but WTH?!?!?

Again, I suspect when the fecal matter hits the spinning air movement impellers, Boyer is gonna panic and start dialing up that drop into zone and get beaten like a rented mule Defense he seems to love.

Phins Oline. - Different year, different starters mostly, same results it looked like. Very few holes, and when the Oline tries to run block, the Defenders easily slide off the block and make a play. But it did look like the Pats D had been well-schooled on the mis-direction plays McDaniel brought from San Fran. They maintained a defender on the weak side for most of the game and that really screwed up what I think may have normally been some long runs.

Tua - I am not going to call for a new QB...yet, but geez! This is his 3rd year, and he made a few decisions that should have gotten him benched they were so stupid IMHO. Fortunately, none of them led to turnovers, but they easily could have. I know it is his first year in this system, but you cannot have the QB making dumb mistakes. If you are about to get sacked, cover up and protect the ball. If you are trying to run the time off the clock, slide down and don't throw a pass into the ground.

The CBS Game Coverage was it's usual, craptastic close up viewing, but it looked like Tua MISSED some wide open deep throws when he had time to make the throw, but chose to go for the dump down instead. Maybe this will improve with more time in the system, and McDaniel can coach him up some, but we have seen this way too many times from Tua.

All the hoopla for the new offense, Ty Hill, and what not, and the Phins managed 13 points! I am gonna hope to see improvement down the road, but I was expecting MORE I will readily admit. Especially from the Oline. And had hoped Tua was gong to show a few sparks of the deep pass. Maybe that will reveal it self in the next few games. I think the Phins are going to desperately need it.

The Phins have 16 more games to improve on a game they won 20-7. All in all, while I want to see improvement, I will take as many of these "lackluster" wins as I can get.

We've come a long way when half the fanbase is calling for the QB's head on the day after he had a 104 rating and zero turnovers and won the game!

By no means am I saying Tua is above criticism - far from it. As I said, he didn't play great and made some poor decisions. But overall, Tua did what he had to do and the Dolphins won - as they usually do when he starts. Once the running game opens up (hopefully...), this offense is going to look much, much different. I thought the OL would be further along by now, but apparently it's still a work in progress.

The biggest takeaway on offense is that the WRs are what we thought they were (apologies to Dennis Green...) - and once the offense as a whole hits it's stride, we're going to score points in bunches.

Barry Jackson
@flasportsbuzz

Austin Jackson ankle injury is serious enough that we're giving some more eyes on it, McDaniel said.
4:31 PM · Sep 12, 2022

Sounds like Greg Little will get the start this weekend. Jackson was a lone bright spot on the OL before his injury IMO, but Little played well as his replacement too. Seems to me that the center and guards were the biggest problems Sunday.

McDaniel said Jackson felt well enough to go back in the game if he had been needed.

https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/barry-jackson/article264665034.html

if he had been needed - sounds like he wasn't needed. i'm not sure there is much of a downgrade from Jackson to Little.

i know we don't all buy into PFF - and i take them with a grain of salt, but generally they are an indication of who is playing well and who is not.

In evaluating the Dolphins game, Pro Football Focus gave its best pass blocking grade to left tackle Terron Armstead and its best run blocking grade to center Connor Williams.

PFF graded left guard Liam Eichenberg as Miami’s worst lineman Sunday in both pass blocking and run blocking. Eichenberg allowed two hits and four pressures in pass blocking.

https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/barry-jackson/article264817644.html

sounds like Eichenberg was the problem. Williams was the second highest graded Phin overall behind Kohou - and while i think it is arguable that he was 2nd best among all, i think it is clear he wasn't the problem on the OL.

Greg Little permitted a sack and three pressures in 45 snaps after replacing Austin Jackson, who left with an ankle injury. Right guard Robert Hunt permitted Miami’s other sack.

in general though, the whole OL needs to improve - a lot!

Interesting. I could have sworn I saw Williams get beat several times. Maybe the good outweighed the bad, though?

I thought I saw Armstead give up a sack, but maybe it was just a pressure?

Anyway, I thought all 3 interior positions played poorly. Too much pressure up the middle. The Pats sent too many defenders and the Phins had no answers. I saw a couple of times where the guard and center were combo-blocking one guy, while another defender ran through the gap that was created and no one was there to stop him. A lot of work to do with this OL, but as of now I am confident that the coaches can figure it out.