Game thoughts: Week 2, Dolphins at Ravens

by **JMP** Sun Sep 18, 2022 6:41 pm

The Dolphins went to Baltimore today and got thoroughly embarrassed in every phase of the game, falling 35-14 to the Ravens. The Ravens made the so-called “great” Miami defense look like a joke, they completely shut down the Dolphins “weapons” and they scored on special teams on the game’s first play. The Dolphins were literally never in this game for the first three quarters, and the whispers of “same old Dolphins” grew to a fever pitch.

HOWEVER…

NFL games do not end after 3 quarters. In the 4th quarter, Coach Mike McDaniel and his Dolphins torched the Ravens to the tune of 28 points, led by an offense that can only be described as electric, and a defense that went from garbage to glorious.

I could talk about Tua’s 2 INTs or Waddle’s 2 or 3 drops. I could talk about how the Miami defense got completely obliterated by Lamar Jackson and the Ravens receivers. I could talk about a lot of negative things that happened in this game.

But why? The Dolphins won in the greatest comeback I’ve ever seen in my life. Somehow, Coach McDaniel convinced his team that the game was not over. The defense literally turned the entire day around with shutdown play in the 4th after being unable to sop the Ravens for the majority of the game. But this game was ALL about the creative mind of Mike McDaniel and the playmakers he has on offense. Tua threw for SIX touchdowns – four in the 4th quarter – and 469 yards. Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill combined for – no joke – 22 catches, 361 yards and FOUR TDs. It was a game the likes of which we’ve just never seen from the Dolphins, at least not since Dan Marino’s heyday and, as far as I can recall, not even then.

I literally cannot put into words what happened in this game. I’ll be honest…at 35-14, I was done…slouched on my couch, frown on my face, and body language showing a man that had been beaten down for the thousandth time. But slowly…I started sitting up a bit straighter, and I started to think maybe – just maybe – things could turn around. The defense started making plays. The offense couldn’t be stopped. And before you knew it, the clock read all zeros and the Dolphins had won in impossible fashion.

Really, I can’t even describe how I felt watching this game, and it’s still too soon for me to unpack everything. All I can really say is that this is the greatest Dolphins victory of my lifetime, and I am so proud of these players for not giving up in the face of certain loss.

Maybe we lose to the Bills next week, but after what I saw today I cannot count this team out in any game. Apologies for the short post, but I am exhausted and, honestly, too excited to even accurately talk about what I witnessed. All I can say is…I love this team!!!

Hero of the Game: The ‘90s Cowboys had their triumvirate: Aikman, Smith, Irvin. The Dolphins now have their own triumvirate: Tua, Tyreek, Waddle. Tua became a man today, and I could not be more proud of his effort. Down the stretch, he had the eye of the tiger and ice water in his veins. He simply would not be denied. And what can you say about Hill and Waddle??? These guys are MONEY…all they do is eat defenses and make plays. Trading for Hill will go down as the greatest move in Dolphins history. The guy is ABSURDLY amazing, and Waddle isn’t far behind. Today, McDaniel and Tua learned that you just keep feeding your playmakers – and the rest of the NFL has been warned. McDaniel gets a piece of this hero honor as well, for winning a game that ALL of his (post-Shula) predecessors would have lost. This guy is the real deal.

Goat of the Game: Do you REALLY think I’m going to say anything negative about this game??? Hell no! Just look at the 4th quarter: we dominated in every way and that erased all the negativity of the first 3 quarters.

by DolFan 316 Sun Sep 18, 2022 7:08 pm

Remember, you promised a longer game thoughts in the other thread, I'm holding you to that! Razz

So far the dominant theme of this NFL season is...revenge no longer works. Mayfield loses his Big Revenge Game VS the Browns (okay, that one pissed me off a bit), Russell Wilson loses his Big Revenge Game VS what was supposed to be a horrible Seahawks team, and now you have Lamar Jackson and the Ravens choking away their Big Revenge Game. Looks like teams and players will need to come up with a different and less negative motivation to win.

by **JMP** Sun Sep 18, 2022 7:09 pm

Cameron Wolfe
@CameronWolfe

Tua Tagovailoa told his teammates in the huddle before game-winning TD to Jaylen Waddle: “it’s either us or them.”

Waddle said after the game: “I felt that. It got me going.”
5:57 PM · Sep 18, 2022

by **JMP** Sun Sep 18, 2022 7:14 pm

And how about the OL? They played like crap for three quarters and then turned into an impenetrable wall in the 4th! Amazing turnaround.

The Ravens tried to go wide against Little all 4th quarter, and he consistently STONED his man over and over. And a key block on the huge Edmonds run on the play before the TD. When Austin Jackson comes back, he may be coming back as a backup if Little can keep this up.

by DolFan 316 Sun Sep 18, 2022 7:15 pm

JMP wrote:And how about the OL? They played like crap for three quarters and then turned into an impenetrable wall in the 4th! Amazing turnaround.

The Ravens tried to go wide against Little all 4th quarter, and he consistently STONED his man over and over. And a key block on the huge Edmonds run on the play before the TD. When Austin Jackson comes back, he may be coming back as a backup if Little can keep this up.

At this point I don't care if Jackson is ditched along with Iggy by the trade deadline.

At least it seems Grier got *one* of those three first round picks in 2020 right though Very Happy

by **JMP** Sun Sep 18, 2022 7:18 pm

by CarsonChris Sun Sep 18, 2022 10:37 pm

Game thoughts, I went into the shower and we were down by 14. Got out of the shower and the game was tied.

Coaching makes a difference. McDaniel and his staff are light years ahead of Flores. Defense adjusted in the 4th. Tua finally had a game worthy of his draft status. The good news with the offense is the players are still adjusting to it. I expect the team to get better as the year progresses.

This game was like an Ali fight. Rope a dope until the last round then let the onslaught begin!

by DolFan 316 Sun Sep 18, 2022 11:17 pm

CarsonChris wrote:Game thoughts, I went into the shower and we were down by 14. Got out of the shower and the game was tied.

Coaching makes a difference. McDaniel and his staff are light years ahead of Flores. Defense adjusted in the 4th. Tua finally had a game worthy of his draft status. The good news with the offense is the players are still adjusting to it. I expect the team to get better as the year progresses.

This game was like an Ali fight. Rope a dope until the last round then let the onslaught begin!

Okay, from now on you have to take a shower when the Fins fall behind in addition to Finskev working every Sunday.

by **JMP** Mon Sep 19, 2022 8:46 am

CarsonChris wrote:

Coaching makes a difference.

That, right there, is what this season has been about through 2 games. When you have horrible coaching for decades, you really do forget what good coaching looks like, and what it means. McDaniel has changed this team in a way that no other coach has been able to, and I think it starts with his relationship to the players. You can tell that he has worked to get to know the players, and it is clear that they all love him. McDaniel is a playcalling genius, but I think the intangibles he brings are just as important.

by **JMP** Mon Sep 19, 2022 9:03 am

Some interesting stats from the game:

--Phins RBs only ran the ball 16 times - but they averaged 5.25 yards a carry. Very impressive.
--The Dolphins offense had ZERO three-and-outs. When is the last time we could say that??
--It might have seemed like the Dolphins run D was awful - but in fact, it was excellent. The 79 yard run by Lamar was brutal, with a bunch of missed tackles. But other than that one run, Lamar had just 40 yards, and the rest of the Ravens combined for only 36 yards.
--The Dolphin offense ran 69 total plays, gained 547 total yards, and went 7 for 11 on third downs and 2 for 2 on 4th downs. The offense was also 4 for 4 in the red zone.
--The defense held the Ravens to just 3 of 10 on 3rd downs and 1 of 3 on 4th downs, highlighted by several stuffs on 3rd and 4th and short.

The defense gave up too many big plays - that's the bottom line. Too many missed assignments and missed tackles. Clean that stuff up, and it actually wasn't a bad defensive performance at all. The lack of pass rush is disturbing, and Jae Phillips is nowhere to be found. That must change.

I give credit to Coach Boyer for changing up the defense for this game. It wasn't always pretty, but (despite Trent Green incorrectly saying it all game) the Dolphins didn't run a lot of cover 0, instead showing the Ravens some different looks that I personally never saw before. There was one formation where they had 6 guys at the line, and then 5 DBs lined up deep in a straight line. Green again mistakenly called it a cover 0, which it clearly wasn't, but it was an odd look and seemed to confuse the Ravens. The way the D played in the 4th quarter was just amazing to see, and hopefully that is something to build on moving forward. They MUST find a way to limit the big plays against Buffalo, so coach needs to put in some overtime this week to design a plan that can slow down the Bills high-powered offense.

by **JMP** Mon Sep 19, 2022 9:09 am

Mike Gesicki proved to the world that he is still a big part of this offense. He had a key first down catch, and then his TD was unreal. Tua threw the ball super-high in the back of the end zone, putting it in a place where only his receiver could get it. Sure enough, Gesicki leaped into the air, about as high as I've ever seen anyone jump, and snatched it out of the air. That is what we call "playing above the rim". Really a super-human effort and spectacular play by Gesicki.

by **JMP** Mon Sep 19, 2022 9:20 am

Is anyone else SHOCKED at seeing a Miami Dolphins head coach handling game and clock management like an absolute boss? Running the ball on 2nd and 1 with just 44 seconds left and just 1 timeout? And then NOT calling a timeout immediately after that play, letting time run all the way down to 24 seconds? That's next-level stuff right there. Brilliant.

by mercury22nathan Mon Sep 19, 2022 9:21 am

At the beginning of the 4th quarter with the score 35-14, I began thinking about what I would say about this game.

Miami seemed content to take the safe “what the defense is giving us route” while the Ravens were hitting the jackpot on big plays. X. Howard, the normally reliable shutdown corner, was being attacked and picked apart by the Ravens speed at WR. The Dolphins pass rush was nonexistent as they seemed more concerned about sitting back to try and contain Jackson (which failed), but all the while giving him plenty of time to find his receivers. Even when blitzing (which never got through) they were overly concerned about maintaining specific lanes and not making plays. And were it not for Jackson fumbling a snap, the score would be even worse. Tyreek 10 yard dink and dunks are nice, but at some point he longer works as a decoy unless the Phins actually try to attack downfield with him. Tua was consistently inconsistent with some poorly placed throws making his receivers contort to make the grab – but would then throw a perfectly placed successful laser into triple coverage. Waddle while making some nice grabs seemed to be pressing a bit and let a few balls in his hands get away.

And while some of the above remained true, upon the expiration of the 4th quarter, I had a completely different narrative in my head.

Tyreek is worth every penny and draft pick the Phins gave up to get him and more. Yes, the Ravens secondary was injured and confused, but without the Phins actually trying to force the issue, the plays would’ve never happened. The Dolphins created those long scores with a hitherto never before seen in Miami aggressive mindset. With just about all hope fading, the defense faced with a 2nd and 4 just over mid-field stood up for 3 consecutive plays and forced the turnover on downs. The Ravens could only amass 3 points after that.

Props to… Gesicki for elevating. Waddle for keeping his head in the game. Mostert and Edmunds for finding holes. And yes, without that one long gash by Jackson, the Dolphins actually out-gained the Ravens on the ground and had nearly a full yard more per carry. And despite spotting Baltimore 7 points on the opening kickoff, the Phins did not wilt in the end. And most of all, to TUA for not listening to the media narrative. He doesn’t have to prove anything, he just needs to ball like he knows how!!

Amazing heart-attack inducing comeback that I am confident will propel this team forward this year.

by HalCHorn Mon Sep 19, 2022 10:01 am

Wasn't near the computer yesterday but watched almost the entire game.

What a comeback, Marino-level stuff, and the game that will serve notice that it is yet to be determined who came up with the best QB in the 2020 draft.

We just beat a team that absolutely will be in the playoffs in January. Jackson appears to be himself again (he was having a great year last year carrying an injury riddled team until he ran into us and then got injured himself) and unless they have another year like that they're winning their division, easily I'd wager. Bengals appear to be having Super Bowl hangover, Cleveland starts Brissett 2/3 of the season and the Steelers appear to be a .500 team post-Big Ben. If they couldn't beat this version of the Patriots at home I'm not expecting much. Baltimore will win at least 11 games.

They're a good team, and we came back and beat them on their home field from 21 down. A lot of mistakes made in the first 3 quarters but we just kept coming at them. I've seen Jackson make a lot of these comebacks in his first few years already. I expect to see Tua do this again pretty soon too.

Just a big win, the kind of confidence builder that can make believers out of everyone inside that locker room AND out of it.

Watch the media start to pretend they were on Team Tua all along now. Just watch.

by DolFan 316 Mon Sep 19, 2022 10:07 am

HalCHorn wrote:They're a good team, and we came back and beat them on their home field from 21 down.

I'm sure the vast majority of Ravens fans are now yammering on about wanting a playoff rematch. Well, I want that too! Imagine how psychologically damaged the Ravens are by this team now. First, the have their surefire playoff season wrecked by the Fins last season, with Jackson's surefire MVP award going up in flames. Then, after vowing revenge the entire offseason they come out at home, give the Fins their absolute best shot, go up by 21...and lose anyway.

What can Harbaugh possibly say or do to get them motivated if they face the Fins again in the playoffs? He's shot his wad already. If anything, I'd expect the Ravens to come out dispirited, depressed, dejected, disheartened and discombobulated, and the Fins would win a playoff rematch fairly easily.

But first things first. The Ravens don't have to deal with the Bills in their division, and now it seems like the Pats and Jets won't be complete pushovers either.

by **JMP** Mon Sep 19, 2022 10:09 am

I'll tell you what, that Jets defense is really good. If they get any sort of offense at all when Wilson comes back, they can be a real pain in the ass to the teams on their schedule.

by DolFan 316 Mon Sep 19, 2022 10:15 am

JMP wrote:I'll tell you what, that Jets defense is really good. If they get any sort of offense at all when Wilson comes back, they can be a real pain in the ass to the teams on their schedule.

The thing about the Jets and Pats is, they have to rely on gumming their opponents to death and in the 2020s NFL scoring under 20 and hoping the opponent scores less every time is not a sustainable long term path to victory. It wasn't even when JJ and Wanny were taking that same approach 20-25 years ago.

by **JMP** Mon Sep 19, 2022 10:18 am

DolFan 316 wrote:
JMP wrote:I'll tell you what, that Jets defense is really good. If they get any sort of offense at all when Wilson comes back, they can be a real pain in the ass to the teams on their schedule.

The thing about the Jets and Pats is, they have to rely on gumming their opponents to death and in the 2020s NFL scoring under 20 and hoping the opponent scores less every time is not a sustainable long term path to victory. It wasn't even when JJ and Wanny were taking that same approach 20-25 years ago.

Yep, absolutely. Teams like that are like mosquitos...they're not going to kill you when they sting you (well, unless they're carrying malaria!) but they sure are annoying.

by **JMP** Mon Sep 19, 2022 10:56 am

Lamar Jackson is a class act:

https://twitter.com/Lj_era8/status/1571625859215138819?cxt=HHwWhoCxpYzZxM8rAAAA

by **JMP** Mon Sep 19, 2022 11:04 am

OK, so Tua throwing 6 TDs is off-the-charts amazing. But just as amazing is that FOUR of those TDs came on 3rd down:

3rd quarter TD to Gesicki: 3rd and 13
3rd quarter TD to Cracraft: 3rd and goal
4th quarter TD to Hill (the first one): 3rd and 10
4th quarter TD to Hill (the second one): 3rd and 6

McDaniel's aggressive playcalling and faith in Tua make all the difference - but Tua is a damn Big Game Hunter who thrives in pressure situations.

by mercury22nathan Mon Sep 19, 2022 11:06 am

oh, and i forget to mention...

when the Phins continually seemed to be letting Justin Houston in with a free run at Tua, i was about to lose my shit. but they did something that Phins didn't do in the past. they adjusted and addressed/eliminated the issue.

by **JMP** Mon Sep 19, 2022 11:09 am

mercury22nathan wrote:oh, and i forget to mention...

when the Phins continually seemed to be letting Justin Houston in with a free run at Tua, i was about to lose my shit. but they did something that Phins didn't do in the past. they adjusted and addressed/eliminated the issue.

Yes! I was SCREAMING at the OL. And then, the coaches actually...made adjustments! Shocked

In-game adjustments from a Dolphins coaching staff??? Is this Bizarro World???

by mercury22nathan Mon Sep 19, 2022 11:14 am

DolFan 316 wrote:I'm sure the vast majority of Ravens fans are now yammering on about wanting a playoff rematch.

living in MD - in Redsk...Commanders territory - i get all the Ravens radio and TV too. the after game call-in shows were complete panic in Baltimore. people calling for Harbaugh's head. the biggest issues cited: going for it on 4th down. many fans pointed out that had he kicked FGs on both 4th down plays (goal-line and at 40 - well within Tucker's range) the Ravens win. i don't agree, but the Baltimore fans were irate. amazing how the fans can be sending Harbaugh to the HoF one week and firing him the next. they have no idea the shit us Phins' fans have been through.

by mercury22nathan Mon Sep 19, 2022 11:17 am

JMP wrote:Yes! I was SCREAMING at the OL. And then, the coaches actually...made adjustments! In-game adjustments from a Dolphins coaching staff??? Is this Bizarro World???

we can all laugh about it now, but that Smythe attempted flop block was awful.

by **JMP** Mon Sep 19, 2022 11:20 am

From Peter King, after the win over the Ravens:

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/09/19/tua-tagovailoa-dolphins-peter-king-fmia-week-2/?cid=nbcsports

Saturday night, Marriott Hotel, suburban Baltimore. Last Dolphins team meeting before facing the Ravens. “I want to see us respond when we don’t have the lead,” Miami coach Mike McDaniel said. “This is the National Football League. It happens. And believe me, fellas, there’s nothing as good as silencing a crowd on the road when the clock hits zero.”

Sunday afternoon, halftime, M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore. Ravens 28, Dolphins 7. A pall over the locker room. McDaniel told his players to forget the scoreboard and just play, and whatever happens, happens, and he had faith in them to play great in the second half. Afterward, he told me he was concerned with what he saw in his players as major adversity struck. “I thought our guys were defeated, and I understood why,” McDaniel told me. “They had high hopes for the game, and it wasn’t starting out that way.”

Then the “F-it” play happened.

This is a family website, and so McDaniel will have to leave a small bit to the imagination here. But the big play of Miami’s ridiculous comeback, honestly, was called the “F— it” play.

Midway through the fourth quarter, Miami was still down 14, and sputtering, Tua Tagovailoa going incomplete-incomplete, with the clock under eight minutes now, with a third-and-10 at the Baltimore 48-yard line.

“So we had a play ready, in case things weren’t going right, or in case there were various frustrations,” McDaniel said, an hour after the game, just outside the team bus waiting to take the team to the airport. “We installed that play with the expletives, that the quarterbacks knew as the “F— it” play. Tua loved the play. If we really needed to make something happen, that was the play we’d call.”

Well, f—. What the quarterback wants, the quarterback gets…especially when the quarterback is in the midst of the biggest hot streak of his young NFL life.

So the first TD to Hill was the "Fuck It" play! Laughing

Mike McDaniel is THE MAN. This guy really has a feel for the pulse of his team - and it's only week 2!

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