Game thoughts: Week 1, Patriots at Dolphins

I have watched Tua's first pass of the game a bunch of times, and it is definitely "the one that got away". Most people seem to think he short-hopped it and are using it as an excuse to trash Tua, but in reality the pass was actually tipped by Matthew Judon.

It looked like Hill was running a simple curl (or equivalent), but he wisely noticed that the defender was peeking back at the QB, so he instead cut off the route and just set up deep. Tua clearly recognized it and tried to get the ball there - but Judon got a piece of it and it landed harmlessly on the ground a couple of feet in front of Hill. That would have been an easy 72 yard TD if Judon didn't make that play. DAMN!!!

Even though the play ultimately failed, it is REALLY cool to see Tua and Hill developing chemistry so early in the season. Tua recognizing the smart change-of-direction from Hill makes me think these guys are already on the same page and are going to have a HUGE season together!

i think you're right. it appears the ball gains a slight wobble and changes velocity after passing Judon's swiping hand.

mercury22nathan wrote:i think you're right.  it appears the ball gains a slight wobble and changes velocity after passing Judon's swiping hand.

Tua made a couple of bad decisions and had a couple of bad throws (as every QB does every week), but that pass wasn't one of them - just a good play by the defender. Looking back now, I feel like Tua actually played a better game than I initially gave him credit for. He made some really, really good throws and saw the field well for the most part. Definitely some things to clean up with pre-snap ID of blitzes, setting his feet and being more decisive, but overall not a bad showing for his first game in a new offense with new players around him. Bottom line is, we MUST score more points - but I think that will come.

Another observation: I love the way McDaniel continually called plays with Hill in motion pre-snap. He's such a weapon, and you can see how he draws so much coverage. That will open things up for Waddle, Gesicki, Wilson and the running backs moving forward.

In McDaniel's press conference, he said that he thought the OL played pretty well overall, but the problems we saw were mostly a matter of one or two linemen just being just a little off...if the whole line isn't in total sync, the play won't work. I assume things like that are correctable/coachable, so hopefully they'll get on track soon enough.

It may take a couple of games to really get rolling, but once everything clicks this could be a scary-good offense.

Bellichick has all year to scheme his defense to stop us. His defenses are typically well prepared. We didn't play great offensively but was that our offense or his defense. Need more time to decide!

CarsonChris wrote:Bellichick has all year to scheme his defense to stop us. His defenses are typically well prepared. We didn't play great offensively but was that our offense or his defense. Need more time to decide!

Yep, very fair. But the good news is, Belichick had all that time to prepare - and he still got beat by big plays in the Miami passing game. The catch and run by Edmonds, the laser TD from Tua to Waddle, multiple plays by Hill, that key run by Mostert...when we needed a play, we got it. It wasn't pretty, and in reality we didn't need a lot of offense in this one, but we led the entire game and the outcome was really never in question. Chalk it up as a defensive win for sure, but the offense did make plays - which is encouraging.

Perfectville
@PerfectvillePod

With his next victory, Mike McDaniel will surpass Cam Cameron in wins as Miami Dolphins Head Coach.

8:54 PM · Sep 13, 2022

JMP wrote:

Perfectville
@PerfectvillePod

With his next victory, Mike McDaniel will surpass Cam Cameron in wins as Miami Dolphins Head Coach.

8:54 PM · Sep 13, 2022

Heeelarious!

I am not getting a warm and fuzzy about this Ravens game! I suspect the Ravens are going to come out and look to
DISRUPT the Phins O. And I bet Lamar remembers what the Phins D did to him last season! He will be fired up and Boyer will start that
chicken-shyte drop and play zone D otherwise known as "The Phins lose!"

finfanatic wrote:

I am not getting a warm and fuzzy about this Ravens game!  I suspect the Ravens are going to come out and look to
DISRUPT the Phins O. And I bet Lamar remembers what the Phins D did to him last season!  He will be fired up and Boyer will start that
chicken-shyte drop and play zone D otherwise known as "The Phins lose!"

I'm actually feeling good about this game. After last time, I think we're in their heads. Having Byron Jones out is a big loss, but I think our D still matches up well and we'll blitz the hell out of them! The Ravens offense, and Lamar in particular, didn't look good against the Jets and I think we'll contain them for 60 minutes. I expect our offense to exploit their mediocre secondary and put up some points. Look for a big day from Waddle and Hill! Of course, a lot hinges on the Miami OL...but let's see what this coaching staff can do to get them ready.