Game 2 thoughts: Dolphins at Jets

The Dolphins went to New Jersey today and walked out with a 20-12 victory over the hated Jets. It wasn’t always pretty, but a road win against a division opponent is always a huge win.

One of the biggest problems with the Dolphins under Adam Gase is that they rarely play complementary football. When the offense is good, the defense stinks – and vice versa. Last week we saw the return team score a TD, and then the coverage team give up a TD. It’s difficult to win when all phases of the team are not working in sync. Well, today the Phins played perfect complementary football early on, jumping out to a commanding 20-0 halftime lead. The defense forced a couple of turnovers early, and the offense was able to take advantage of short fields and score TDs – and the special teams, led by punter Matt Haack, were able to pin the Jets deep at every opportunity.

The offense was not great today – far from it – but it didn’t need to be. Tannehill was efficient if unspectacular, and may have done a better job running than throwing today with several key runs. The WRs were mostly quiet, aside from a beautifully-designed Albert Wilson 29-yard TD that saw him take a short pass and streak down the sideline with no Jets in sight till the very end. The running game was also quiet, though Drake did average almost 5 yards a run due to a 20-yard scamper. I hated the wildcat attempt in the red zone (Gase trying to be cute again), but otherwise the ultra-conservative game plan seemed to work well enough today.

But it wasn’t all good today. The offensive line was absolutely atrocious, allowing 4 sacks and numerous pressures. Tannehill was hit way too many times, and fumbled twice. New starting LG Ted Larsen was disgustingly awful in both pass protection and run blocking, and center Daniel Kilgore wasn’t much better. It is clear that without Josh Sitton, the OL is once again the Achilles heel of the offense. Also bad today: the offense managed just 257 total yards and was completely shutout in the second half. Fortunately the defense did its job, because the offense was really not good at all after halftime.

The defense allowed just 12 points and did a good job of getting pressure on rookie QB Sam Darnold. Darnold did shred the defense for 334 yards, but he threw two INTs – one a great catch and run by TJ McDonald and the other one a nice INT in the endzone by Xavien Howard. The run defense was outstanding, holding Jet RBs to just 41 yards. The pass defense was often very suspect, with the LBs giving up a lot of big plays to Quincy Enunwa, Terrelle Pryor and Bilal Powell. LBs Kiko Alonso and Raekwon McMillan were both stout against the run, but both looked lost in coverage. DE Robert Quinn had a very strong game, recording his first sack as a Dolphin.

So, no real complaints today despite the non-existent second half offense, awful OL and terrible LB coverage. Division road wins are key to a season’s success, and however you get the W it’s all good.

Next week the Phins host the Raiders, who look like a pretty bad team under Jon Gruden. The Phins should absolutely be 3-0 by this time next Sunday.


Beer of the Day: none. I had a very busy day today, and had to watch the game late on DVR – so no real opportunity to drink!

Hero of the Day: I thought about giving it to the defense as a whole, but instead I’m going to give it to an unsung hero: punter Matt Haack. He was simply outstanding today, pinning the Jets inside the 20 on 5 separate occasions. The poor field position for the Jets was a key to today’s Dolphin victory.

Goat of the Day: Ted Larsen. Larsen was brutal today, and unless he miraculously improves, he could single-handedly derail the Dolphins season.

Forgot to mention...

The offense was much improved on third down today: 6-13. Very nice.

And the team had just two penalties today - excellent! We need that to continue...

YESSS!!! WOOHOO!!! MY WEEKEND AND LIFE ARE NOW COMPLETE!!!

Now to actually read it

I should have mentioned Godchaux...beast against the run today.

JMP wrote:Next week the Phins host the Raiders, who look like a pretty bad team under Jon Gruden.  The Phins should absolutely be 3-0 by this time next Sunday.

Don't be so sure about that, the Raiders actually didn't suck today and only lost via choking. Winning the way the Fins are doing (score 20 on offense and pray the opponent scores less) is just not sustainable in the modern NFL.

My one hope is that somehow, some way this year's team can recreate whatever mojo caused the late 90s/early 00s Fins to always beat Gruden in the regular season.

Despite an excellent statistical game from Carr and leading 19-7 at one point, the Raiders scored just 7 points in the 3rd and 0 in the 4th today, and their defense really isn't that good. I expect the Phins to beat them in Miami.

I do agree that the Phins' recipe for victory so far is not sustainable. This offense needs to wake up before I get excited about the season.

this is a must win for miami for the simple fact that they play the Pats after and miami has to show that they can get passed 20 points. Jags had to s ore twice in the fourth to keep the Pats at bay.

The offensive line was poor to begin with, and they are a downright liability now.

They'd better get the rollouts, two TE sets, extra blocking backs, and gimmicks ready, because they've got some downright garbage to hide out there.

I should have mentioned Godchaux...beast against the run today.

YES! GODCHAUX!!!!

Gase said guard Ted Larsen “did a really good job” replacing injured Josh Sitton: “He plays physical. Brings good energy to the sideline.”

https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/barry-jackson/article218325085.html

was he even watching the same game we were??

Tight end Mike Gesicki didn’t catch a pass Sunday and Gase said opponents are trying to take him away.

“We had couple opportunities in the passing game to get him the ball and it didn’t work out,” Gase said. “They cheated out on him a little bit. We weren’t only ones who watched him in college. They are taking him away"

are you kidding me? of course they are trying to take him away. that is the defense's job - to take the offense's ability to move the ball away. and you know what your job is? to figure out how to get the ball in the hands of a pass catching TE. don't you think teams try to take away Gronk, Kelce, Ertz...and guess what, their coaches figure out how to get them the ball anyways.

mercury22nathan wrote:

Gase said guard Ted Larsen “did a really good job” replacing injured Josh Sitton: “He plays physical. Brings good energy to the sideline.”

https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/barry-jackson/article218325085.html

was he even watching the same game we were??

Tight end Mike Gesicki didn’t catch a pass Sunday and Gase said opponents are trying to take him away.

“We had couple opportunities in the passing game to get him the ball and it didn’t work out,” Gase said. “They cheated out on him a little bit. We weren’t only ones who watched him in college. They are taking him away"

are you kidding me?  of course they are trying to take him away.  that is the defense's job - to take the offense's ability to move the ball away.  and you know what your job is?  to figure out how to get the ball in the hands of a pass catching TE.  don't you think teams try to take away Gronk, Kelce, Ertz...and guess what, their coaches figure out how to get them the ball anyways.

LOL Gase should be a comedian. Larsen was total trash on Sunday...it's absurd to see the head coach praising him after that performance.

As for TE...right now it's a huge, gaping hole on offense. Sure, Derby had a TD Sunday, but beyond that we've gotten nothing from the position in the passing game. Gase is afraid to throw Gesicki the ball, yet he has no problem asking him to block a DE - which he clearly can't do, and almost got Tannehill killed on Sunday. I saw Gronk make a catch last week with FOUR defenders around him...you think the Patriots are afraid to throw to him because other teams try to take him away? Gase would rather throw 2-yard passes to the smurfs than try to open up the offense with his (allegedly) stud TE.

"We weren't the only ones who watched him in college." What the hell does that even mean? So, are you never going to throw him the ball because opposing teams are actually going to cover him???

you have too almost see it to believe it when Gase talks

Sent from Topic'it App