Week 2 Game Thoughts: Dolphins at Patriots

No QB has ever gone 5-0 against Bill Belichick’s Patriots. Until now. Tua Tagovailoa and the Dolphins traveled to New England and walked out with a hard-fought 24-17 victory.

The game ended in wild fashion, with Jason Sanders missing a 55 yard FG to give the Patriots the ball with great field position. Patriots’ QB Mac Jones guided a nice drive, and then got to a 4th and 4 inside the Dolphins’ 35 with about 40 seconds left and no timeouts. A short pass to former Dolphin Mike Gesicki was stopped short – but Gesicki flipped the ball back to OL Cole Strange, who rumbled forward for a first down. However – after the official review, the lineman was ruled down short of the line. Dolphins’ ball, game over! I’m sure New England fans will be bitching and moaning about the call forever, but it was the correct call.

The game-sealing tackle was made by several Dolphins, including Javon Holland, Eli Apple – and Andrew Van Ginkel. AVG was simply amazing today, totaling 6 tackles and getting a sack.

The defense as a whole was mostly great today. After allowing 34 points and 433 total yards (including almost 250 rushing yards) last week, tonight they held the Pats to under 300 total yards and just 88 yards on the ground. Bradley Chubb lined up everywhere and had a strong game, with a bunch of tackles and a sack. Xavien Howard had an outstanding INT deep in Dolphins’ territory (while covering former Dolphin Davante Parker), and Deshon Elliott forced a fumble. The D allowed more points than I'd like to see in the 4th quarter (14), but you can't really complain about 17 points allowed overall. I don’t know exactly what Coach Fangio told his defense this week, but whatever it was – it worked!

The Dolphins’ offense was really a tale of 2 halves. The first half was outstanding, as the Dolphins jumped out to a 17-3 lead with absolutely brilliant playcalling from Coach McDaniel and precision passing from Tua. As expected, the Pats worked to take Hill out of the game – but Tyreek did get a TD anyway, and the Pats’ strategy opened things up for Jaylen Waddle, River Cracraft and Braxton Berrios – and the running game. After the last drive of the half, which saw Tua lead the team to the Hill TD while going 7 for 7 in under 2 minutes, I was starting to think this just might be the greatest offense I’ve ever seen. Unfortunately, Belichick made great adjustments at the half and held the Dolphins scoreless in the third quarter. Tua was a bit shaky in the second half, and threw a bad INT on an underthrown bomb intended for Hill. But Raheem Mostert gave the Phins some breathing room with an excellent 43-yard TD run that really showcased his speed. It was a brilliant call by McDaniel, going with an unexpected inside zone run after running outside zone all night, and it caught the Pats completely off guard.

The Miami offensive line was mostly excellent tonight, paving the way for almost 150 rushing yards and allowing just 1 sack. I said “mostly excellent” because Connor Williams AGAIN had trouble snapping the ball, with (by my count) 3 bad snaps tonight – two of which led to fumbles that Tua thankfully recovered. The first one occurred on a 3rd and goal play, and forced the Dolphins to kick a FG instead of possibly getting a TD. These bad snaps cannot continue. I don’t know the answer, but something better be done.

It wasn’t always pretty, but the Dolphins led from start to finish and now stand atop the AFC East at 2-0 – with two hard-fought, gut-check road victories against AFC opponents. When the offense is on, it is the best in the NFL – and that isn’t even up for debate. Consistency is going to be the key for the offense – too many bad moments, but most of the issues can be cleaned up. The bounce-back by the defense tonight, after last week’s poor performance, was great to see, and I saw a lot of complementary football – with each side of the ball picking up the slack for the other side when needed. You can really see this group of guys coming together as a team, and the coaching has been fantastic. There’s a lot of football left to play, but so far so good!


Hero of the Game: Raheem Mostert - 121 yards and 2 TDs, and just tough running all night long. Outstanding game.

Goat of the Game: I’m so done with Connor Williams. His bad snaps are unacceptable – just can’t happen. The worst part is, he's actually playing great - really great - aside from the snapping issues. But those snaps are killers.

YESS!!! WOOHOO!!! I WAS WAITING FOR THIS!!!

Boy, it sure was a huge mistake drafting that bum Tua over the magnificent stud Herbert, wasn't it?

Williams HAS to be traded ASAP. If only Grier had done this way back when I first called for it (sighs). I'm actually willing to give Sanders another chance. Joe Nedney was awful for the '96 Fins, but somehow never actually cost them a game with his many misses and in fact had way more missed kicks in the wins than the losses.

If this offense can keep showing that it's more than just "throw to Hill and Waddle as many times as possible and ignore everyone else" then maybe, just maybe, this team can FINALLY win a playoff game again. I'd still like to see the TEs, Ezukanma and even Ingold get more involved, and for the third leading receiver to average more than 2 catches per game this season. Also, who needs Armstead? I say he should take his sweet time recovering. You know, just to make sure he's really okay...

JMP wrote:No QB has ever gone 5-0 against Bill Belichick’s Patriots. Until now.  Tua Tagovailoa and the Dolphins traveled to New England and walked out with a hard-fought 24-17 victory.

That goof who said Mac Jones was better is probably in hiding now and will pretend he never said anything at all

The defense as a whole was mostly great today. After allowing 34 points and 433 total yards (including almost 250 rushing yards) last week, tonight they held the Pats to under 300 total yards and just 88 yards on the ground. Bradley Chubb lined up everywhere and had a strong game, with a bunch of tackles and a sack.  Xavien Howard had an outstanding INT deep in Dolphins’ territory (while covering former Dolphin Davante Parker), and Deshon Elliott forced a fumble. The D allowed more points than I'd like to see in the 4th quarter (14), but you can't really complain about 17 points allowed overall.  I don’t know exactly what Coach Fangio told his defense this week, but whatever it was – it worked!

The Pats had one play over 14 yards--and that was a Mac Jones run. Jones had just 5.5 yards per pass. Last season the Cards were dead last with 6 yards per pass. In the modern NFL, that's about as good a performance as any D can ask for.

(The Fins on the other hand had six plays of 15 yards or more, averaged nearly 3 more yards per pass attempt and 1.3 more yards per run.)

Avg = Tua!!!! Humble guy who appreciates every opportunity to play the game. Doesn’t get the credit or the notoriety as Tua but just goes and does what’s asked!

Not wishing anything bad on Anthony Richardson but are they now gonna say that since he’s had a concussion…..are the colts going to do well if he can stay healthy?

Avg = Tua!!!! Humble guy who appreciates every opportunity to play the game. Doesn’t get the credit or the notoriety as Tua but just goes and does what’s asked!

The real game ball imho…..Mike McDaniel!! No question! He has without a doubt schemed the offense to a quick passing game keeping Tua out of harms way. You might say that there are players that have excelled but the fact that the scheme is designed to a quick short passing game plays to Tuas strength and protect him. If he keeps scheming things this way and defense keeps evolving it won’t be a matter of winning the Super Bowl but by how much

I can't believe I forgot to mention Chubb's tomahawk chop forced fumble. One of the key plays of the game. Real veteran savvy there, with excellent pursuit. Chubb was a beast last night.

Umix10 wrote:The real game ball imho…..Mike McDaniel!! No question!  He has without a doubt schemed the offense to a quick passing game keeping Tua out of harms way.  You might say that there are players that have excelled but the fact that the scheme is designed to a quick short passing game plays to Tuas strength and protect him.  If he keeps scheming things this way and defense keeps evolving it won’t be a matter of winning the Super Bowl but by how much

What's great is how adaptable McD has been this season. Against the Chargers, we used the intermediate/deep passing game. Against the Pats, we used the run game and short/intermediate passing game. That's what great coaches do: change things up based on opponent. McD is just on another level this season.

DolFan 316 wrote:
If this offense can keep showing that it's more than just "throw to Hill and Waddle as many times as possible and ignore everyone else" then maybe, just maybe, this team can FINALLY win a playoff game again. I'd still like to see the TEs, Ezukanma and even Ingold get more involved, and for the third leading receiver to average more than 2 catches per game this season. Also, who needs Armstead? I say he should take his sweet time recovering. You know, just to make sure he's really okay...

Yeah, it's been great to see players other than Hill and Waddle making key plays. Berrios, Cracraft and Smythe have all made important plays in both games. Berrios is just so clutch! But yes, there is more "meat on the bone" with all those players - just need to keep spreading the ball around.

JMP wrote:

DolFan 316 wrote:
If this offense can keep showing that it's more than just "throw to Hill and Waddle as many times as possible and ignore everyone else" then maybe, just maybe, this team can FINALLY win a playoff game again. I'd still like to see the TEs, Ezukanma and even Ingold get more involved, and for the third leading receiver to average more than 2 catches per game this season. Also, who needs Armstead? I say he should take his sweet time recovering. You know, just to make sure he's really okay...

Yeah, it's been great to see players other than Hill and Waddle making key plays.  Berrios, Cracraft and Smythe have all made important plays in both games.  Berrios is just so clutch!  But yes, there is more "meat on the bone" with all those players - just need to keep spreading the ball around.

Last season as I posted somewhere (can't find it now) a player not named Hill or Waddle had 3 catches in a game just 22 times. Over 17 games that's...not a lot.

After two games so far that number is already up to five I believe. I will be keeping track of this all season.

DolFan 316 wrote:

The Pats had one play over 14 yards--and that was a Mac Jones run. Jones had just 5.5 yards per pass. Last season the Cards were dead last with 6 yards per pass. In the modern NFL, that's about as good a performance as any D can ask for.

(The Fins on the other hand had six plays of 15 yards or more, averaged nearly 3 more yards per pass attempt and 1.3 more yards per run.)

I saw a stat last night that through the first 3 quarters, Jones had completed 18 of 18 passes from within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage, but was 0 for 7 on passes longer than 10 yards. Sounds to me like the Patriots went to a gun fight and only brought a toy cap gun!

Who's your daddy, Bill?  

That is both hilarious and horrifying at the same time.

The Dolphins once again hung in there and pulled out a gutsy win. The game probably shouldn’t have been that close. The offense left somewhere between 3 to 10 points on the field (4 for bad snap causing FG over TD, 3 for blocked FG and 3 for missed long FG backed up by bad snap).

Tua was mostly very good except for the underthrown interception, but it did not lead to points for the Patriots. While he didn’t put up the eye-popping numbers, his 70% completion rate and nearly 8 yards per pass attempt were more than efficient – and this includes a throw away in the redzone on the first drive because of the bad snap and a drop by Waddle at the end of 3rd quarter deep in their own territory eventually leading to a punt – against a defense designed to take away anything deep. Mostert ran well and was able to find the creases for positive yards. Even without his 43 yard (eventual game sealing) TD scamper, he would’ve put a up a respectable 4.6 yards per carry and his run, on the again bad snap, was critical. Hill was mostly a possession receiver due to the defense but contributed a nice TD. Waddle was the deep threat and made some nice catches (once particular contested catch was beautiful), but the drop hurt. The shot he took to the head was bad and hopefully the effects are not lasting. The Pats seemed mostly prepared for the WR sweeps (3 by Ez and 1 by Waddle) and limited their effectiveness. For the most part, the O-line (except for the guy snapping the ball) played well enough to win giving up only 1 sack and 2 QB hurries (although the quick passing design gets credit too). The O-line does deserve some credit for the total 145 rushing yards – although Jackson’s hold on the Achane 6 yard run eventually led to the block field goal attempt.

While perhaps not a fully dominant effort, the defense absolutely played well enough to win and in the end allowing only 17 points is most likely going to lead to a victory more often than not. Chubb and AVG were the most consistent and impactful and came up with big sacks when most needed. The X Howard interception was huge in keeping the Pats off the scoreboard. The Pats RBs were mostly bottled up. The Pats offensive gameplan seemed to be to attack Apple often and it was their most effective strategy – especially the back-to-back interference calls. If teams continue to go after Apple, we might need to see Cam Smith get more defensive playing time. The game felt much closer than it needed to be and Jones’ 74% completion rate was too efficient, however the 4.3 yards per pass just wasn’t enough and I was surprised they tried to force balls to Bourne (4 completions in 9 targets) instead of more thrown to the TE’s (11 completions in 13 targets) as those seemed to be working. In the end, as close as it was, I can not argue with 4 sacks and 17 points allowed.

The blocked FG was tough to see. The play caught the Phins off guard and I don’t pin that on Sanders. The 55 yard miss also sucked, but again, that is a tough kick made even tougher by a bad snap. I’m kind of feeling like Sanders should never have been put in that position to begin with. I was a bit miffed they didn’t go for it, but McDaniels saw a chance to put the game away and went for it – it just didn’t work out.

Mostert for me was the hero of the game with both Chubb and AVG getting high honors as well. And the goat of the game is Williams (see above for how his bad snaps cost points) with a very close dishonorable mention going to Apple for penalties and often soft coverage.

In the end, the Dolphins did enough to do what they needed to win the game – and that is whole point.

Replying kind of at random, but here are some of my thoughts:

Goat of the Game: I’m so done with Connor Williams. His bad snaps are unacceptable – just can’t happen. The worst part is, he's actually playing great - really great - aside from the snapping issues. But those snaps are killers.

Can you imagine this line if we draft a legitimate Center and bump Williams back to one of the guard spots? Even if he doesn't start, he'd be a great backup there - AND serve as our backup center.

Also, who needs Armstead? I say he should take his sweet time recovering. You know, just to make sure he's really okay...

I know this comment was made "tongue in cheek" but it's a serious situation that I'm sure the front office is already strategizing around. Fact is, Armstead is a VERY expensive left tackle. And, you know you cannot count on him to play a full season. It's literally never happened. You could trade or release Armstead, then take part of that money and extend Lamm contract. This would allow dollars to be allocated for other players that we want to keep like Phillips, Holland, Waddle, etc.

The game-sealing tackle was made by several Dolphins, including Javon Holland, Eli Apple – and Andrew Van Ginkel. AVG was simply amazing today, totaling 6 tackles and getting a sack.

We all knew AVG was good. Better than his playing time suggested. We finally have the talent on our defensive coaching staff to not only recognize that, but to find the right position for him and put him in places to make plays. One of my favorite players for sure.

white1 wrote:

You could trade or release Armstead, then take part of that money and extend Lamm contract.  This would allow dollars to be allocated for other players that we want to keep like Phillips, Holland, Waddle, etc.

Absolutely.

Armstead's contract doesn't have an easy out till after the 2024 season, but the good news is that if we can absorb the dead cap (which is made easier by the extra years on the contract) we would still get a nice chunk of cap space by cutting or trading him post-June 1 in the upcoming offseason. As bad as the contract looks now, it really was set up in a way that we can escape it without getting killed.

W1 wrote:Can you imagine this line if we draft a legitimate Center and bump Williams back to one of the guard spots? Even if he doesn't start, he'd be a great backup there - AND serve as our backup center.

You mean like Creed Humphrey instead of Eichenberg?

That still burns. Not as much as Charles Harris instead of T J Watt, but fairly close.


Alright, I am going to throw out a sea anchor on this SB Express talk. It is TWO games. Let's not start booking Hotel Reservations for Las Vegas just yet... The Phins have looked good so far, and without some of their noted players who should return soon... but it is still early. I'd rather play well and be in the race and then peak LATE right before the playoffs.

The fact that the Phins have not played anywhere NEAR a complete game and are 2-0 with both being road wins against some decent teams IS IMPRESSIVE, but let's not get carried away.

I am far more impressed by
A) the Oline - The scheme is helping for sure, but it is SUPPOSED TO, so... And all this without Armstead. I agree, I think I would try and extend Lamm during the season rather than wait until after the season...if he keeps playing like he has so far. I think the shoring up of the left side of the line by Wynn and Lamm has been the biggest positive. Followed closely by Jackson. He is getting the greatest compliment an Olineman can have: He is not even mentioned during the games. Meaning, he is playing well and not getting beat like a drum. Would it be possible that the Phins might want to re-sign Jackson?!?! THAT is blowing my mind.

B) McD's adjustments on offense. Simply amazing. The play calls against SD were inspired, but the game plan for the Pats was even better IMO. The Phins played "small ball" and used the running game to make the Pats regret that 3 deep look. Sure, it kept Waddle and Hill from gashing them deep, but it left the defensive front having to cover way too much field from side to side with the zone runs, and the play action and motion meant they couldn't tee off on Tua like they wanted.

C) The Phins are 2-0 and have played not GREAT at times during both games. There have been mistakes. The rush D versus SD looked abysmal. The offense had been unable to execute the snap near 100% like you would expect. Tua has under thrown way too many deep passes IMO. And still... The Phins have overcome those problems, mistakes, and played well enough to win the games.

D) Ramsey is out. Wilkins is out. Needham is out. Armstead is out. The Phins are not at 100% strength and may not EVER get to 100%, but can you imagine what the rushing attack can do if Wilkins is there to spell Mostert? Ramsey comes back for the stretch run? Heck, getting Needham in on the nickel and dime packages will help as well? And Armstead? A fully healthy Armstead in time of the stretch run? And the Phins went into Boston and beat the Pats at home without their best Pass Rusher in Phillips!!

A great deal to like about the Phins performances so far, but it is early and the fact that the Phins had to HANG ON to win both of these road games is a slight downer on my enthusiasm. But the fact that they DID win the games and it was the Phins Defense which has usually been the culprit in late losses that sealed the victories is enormously encouraging.

To win in the NFL is hard. To win road games in the NFL is even harder. It seems to me the old Phins teams would not have been 2-0 after these games. We may have to ADJUST our thinking to a new way of thinking about the Phins.

As JMP says "The Phins are the better team. They SHOULD win."

Great post, FF. I agree - no way am I thinking Super Bowl just yet.

These next two weeks are important. We face an 0-2 Broncos team in Miami and then travel to Buffalo. The Broncos' game looks like a classic trap game, sandwiched between two huge division road games. Even though it is against an inferior opponent, that Broncos matchup will tell us a lot about the Dolphins. And of course, facing the Bills is never easy - but that's the team we need to beat if we are going to actually make some noise this season.

JMP wrote:Great post, FF.  I agree - no way am I thinking Super Bowl just yet.

These next two weeks are important.  We face an 0-2 Broncos team in Miami and then travel to Buffalo.  The Broncos' game looks like a classic trap game, sandwiched between two huge division road games.  Even though it is against an inferior opponent, that Broncos matchup will tell us a lot about the Dolphins.  And of course, facing the Bills is never easy - but that's the team we need to beat if we are going to actually make some noise this season.

During every season I always think about the next game, and then maybe kinda sorta the game after that. It's impossible for me to look ahead any further. I couldn't even tell you right now who the Fins play in October let alone December.

BTW FF, you forgot about Zach Tom in your lamenting. He could've played center or OT but nope, we can't have anybody like THAT being drafted! Not when we have a future Hall Of Famer in Eichenberg!

I love that we're even having a conversation about it being too soon to put this team in the Super Bowl though, since it sure beats the alternative of already knowing the season's lost after just 2 games. How many times have we all been down THAT road before? On second thought, don't try to remember too hard

FYI the Fins are currently tied for 9th in pass completions, but are first in yards, which is utterly mind-blowing to me

And no, this is not going to change tomorrow, because 3 of the 4 teams playing tonight have under 200 yards passing to 710 for the Fins and Derek Carr would need to throw for at least 425 which he's done only 3 times in his career.

The game last night was fun in the first half and frustrating in the second half. It seemed we went away from what worked to try and force deep passes. We should have stuck with the first half game plan. New England had a great defensive scheme to prevent big passing chunk plays. Air yards were hard to come by but YAC was plentiful underneath. 

For the second week in a row the offense on the other side had more offensive plays than we did. This isn't good for our defense during a long season. I want to score but would also like to see longer sustained drives with more time off the clock. 

Eli Apple is a detriment to the defense and we need a replacement ASAP. 

I will take the ugly win every time but we could have had a magnificent  blow out had we marched down the field field with the first possession of the second half. A 24-3 lead and New England probably loses momentum.

Nice post, Carson.

I'm not as down on Apple as others seem to be, but he's clearly the guy you want to pick on if you are the opposing QB. I think he can hold down the fort till Cam Smith is ready for a larger role or Jalen comes back...whichever comes first.

As I said, offensively it really was a tale of two halves. That last drive of the half was as good a drive as you'll ever see, and I thought we were going to cruise to a blowout win. But starting the second half with a 3 and out seemed to change the whole complexion of the game, and whatever adjustments BB made at halftime seemed to work. That 3rd quarter was tough to watch on the offensive side. But that's been a problem for this offense since McD took over...there are stretches every game where the offense just disappears for whatever reason. When they're good, there's no one better - but they just can't do it for an entire game - yet. I do expect this entire team, including the offense, to improve as the season goes on.

I watched the first half, went to bed (sue me, I am old!) watched the highlights the next morning, then watched the 2nd half last night.

The whole game almost turned on that stupid blocked FG!! The special teams are the Phins biggest weakness right now IMO. McD needs to shiitecan his ST coach and get someone in who can energize the Phins STs.

That put life back into the moribund Pats IMO.

Going up even 20 to 3 would have been a big lead for the Pats IMO.

Also, with so little depth at DLine, if Teams start running no huddle like the Pats did, it is going to
tire the Dlinemen out.

I am happy about the two road wins to start, but let's hope the Phins are not reading all this "best team in the NFL" crap. This team has a lot of areas that need work.

On the STs running-start-kick-block: I have never seen that before, but I think it could be a potent weapon to use. Imagine doing it from both sides of the formation. One shoots for the outside lane and the other maybe curves around the tackle and goes in through the tackle-guard gap.

Or how about putting two guys on one side letting them both get a running start?

Be nice if the Phins had a Special Teams coach who was creative... or even just GOOD maybe???

2 games in and the Patriot's cracks are starting to show.

“Definitely got to play better and learn from it and be here early and leave late and do it together. I think that’s the biggest thing. If a couple guys are doing it, it’s not good enough, clearly," Jones said.

https://sports.yahoo.com/mac-jones-clarifies-not-calling-234947636.html

Jones tried to later say (not very convincingly) he wasn't calling out other guy's lack of time commitment and effort, but i think its pretty clear that is exactly what he was saying.

Jones says if you lift weights for 45 minutes just start doing 90 minutes that is a great way to get hurt by listening to coach jones, His Leadership ability seems very suspect by listening to him talk.