Thoughts on game 7 - Phins at Patriots

Beer: Molson Canadian

Hero of the Day: none

Goat of the Day: Ryan Tannehill


The Dan Campbell era began with two dominant wins over the hapless Titans and Texans. OK, Dan, we see that you can get this squad to beat up crappy teams…but what will happen when you face the best of the best? That question was answered tonight, as Campbell’s Dolphins were absolutely obliterated by the undefeated Patriots, 36-7.

There’s no shame in losing to the Patriots, who are the best this league has to offer (regardless of how the haters try to discredit them). But there is shame in failing to show up and not even competing against them. Coach Campbell wants a tough, physical team that competes on every single play. His team let him down tonight, as they pulled a page from the Joe Philbin “Book of Losers” and showed up completely unprepared, looking lost and lifeless from the start.

To be fair, asking this Dolphins team to compete with the Patriots is a bit like bringing a butter knife to a gun fight. The distance between these two teams can be measured in lightyears…they’re not even in the same galaxy.

And it all starts with the QB. Tom Brady is going to go down as one of the best QBs to ever play this game, maybe THE best, and at age 38 he is on pace for maybe the best season a QB has had in NFL history, with 20 TDs and 1 INT after 7 games. Brady was a machine tonight, essentially doing whatever he wanted and toying with the overmatched Dolphin defense. In contrast, Ryan Tannehill is nothing more than a compiler who puts up decent numbers against bad teams and chokes like a little fucking bitch in big games. I’m done making excuses for this guy. Every single time he’s in a big spot, he sucks. Tonight was a HUGE game for the Dolphins, a chance to show the world that they could rise from the ashes like the mythical phoenix and become a legit contender. But as usual when they find themselves in this position, the Dolphins shit themselves and played like the losers they are. And again, it all starts at QB. Tannehill looked out of sorts from the minute he stepped on the field, and on the night he threw a couple of awful picks, didn’t see wide open receivers, took several bad sacks, and generally sucked. He is not a leader, and he is not the answer to this team’s problems. He has no ability to see blitzes pre-snap, and he has no feel for pressure whatsoever. You can’t show up to a prime time game against the first place team in your division and throw 0 TDs, not if you want to be considered a good NFL QB.

It’s also abundantly clear that the coaching staff has no faith in Tannehill, as evidenced by their attempting an absurd 63 yard field goal rather than letting Tannehill try a Hail Mary. (Franks’ FG attempt, by the way, was one of the worst I’ve ever seen.)

In fairness, Tannehill received absolutely no help from his offensive coordinator Bill Lazor, who loves nothing more than passes thrown less than 5 yards from the line of scrimmage, and his offensive line, which is simply awful. But none of that changes the fact that Tannehill is just not a winner. And if you’re not a winner…you’re a LOSER.

And then we come to the defense. Things are a bit different when you go up against Brady as compared to Brian Fucking Hoyer, huh? This Dolphin defense is the equivalent of a schoolyard bully who beats up on little kids – and in turn gets his ass kicked by the bigger bullies. I could talk about Suh being a non-factor, Vernon doing nothing when the game was still on the line, or Aikens looking completely lost. Instead, I will just say that I have never seen a worse linebacking corps, at any level of football, in my life – and that includes Pee Wee leagues. Koa Misi has been stealing money from the Dolphins for far too long…I can’t even believe the guy is still in the league, let alone starting. He only makes tackles 5 yards past the line, and he is useless in coverage. Kelvin Sheppard is even worse. Jelani Jenkins is the best of the bunch, and that’s sad because he’s mediocre. But mediocre looks like superstar-level in this group.

So, there you have it. I can’t say anything else about the game, because it would make me puke. Just another disgusting performance from the 2015 Miami Dolphins.

This team needs a complete overhaul in the offseason. I’m still on board with Campbell as the head coach (because really, who else is out there?), but the Phins desperately need two new coordinators, and more importantly a GM that can tell the difference between his ass and his elbow. The roster as it currently stands is garbage. There are colossal holes at several starting positions, and the depth is non-existent across the board. Priority numbers 1a and 1b in the coming offseason are assembling a legit coaching staff, and bringing in a GM that can dominate the draft – or at the very least have the ability to draft OL after round 1 and to find talented LBs. I’m SICK of hearing Dolphin fans praise Dennis Hickey…he’s a fraud, just like Bill ‘Slick Willy’ Lazor. This Dolphin organization has been garbage for so long, that many of us fans have forgotten what competence looks like. It’s sad.

And that’s that. Its 12:24am…time for me to put head to bed and dream of a time when the Dolphins weren’t a joke…if I can remember that far back…

Signing Suh instead of fixing any one of the myriad of roster issues on this team was moronic, and it was Tannenbaum that did it. Let that sink in as he gets ready to start picking out more groceries.

As much of a Tannehill defender as I've been, the kid has to prove it on the field. He has to start playing well when the chips are down against teams in important games. He hasn't done that so far. This really was a pivotal game, and we'll see how Campbell gets the team to respond. Like I said elsewhere, I expect Campbell to run them until someone dies.

Was that a record for quickest Game Thoughts ever?

So what Jmp is saying is that the league's worst O-line and LB corps played like it? Gotcha.

That'll teach me to feel positive about anything Fins-related. This team has a way of making even their wins seem utterly and completely worthless. Might as well have just kept Philbin if they were going to lay down like this. At least they'd have had the top pick. Then again, they still might be picking top 5.

And to any folks from The Other Site who are reading this (and I know they lurk here), moments like this is why I was never positive enough for your liking. Those guys don't get it, never did, and probably never will. Just like the team itself.

This game was like watching (not that I would know) someone finally stand up to the school bully...and get knocked out with one punch, resulting in the bully somehow getting even more complete control over everybody else. Or like the climactic fight scene of every 80s action flick where the hero gets pretty much beaten into a coma...and then instead of making a Dramatic Comeback, that's how the movie ends. (Which would make it more like a pre-Star wars 70s flick actually.)

DolFan 316 wrote:
And to any folks from The Other Site who are reading this (and I know they lurk here), moments like this is why I was never positive enough for your liking. Those guys don't get it, never did, and probably never will. Just like the team itself.

Fuck them. Well, you know the specific ones I'm talking about.

They're not positive people, they're bullshit fakers.

But tell us how you really feel, Deg.

Hey, at least I TRY to be positive every so often. Too bad life's problems can't be solved by smiling and clapping and displaying "positive body language". I'm sick of that mantra being drilled into everyone's heads. Not only does it not work, it actually makes things worse because now nobody even TRIES to solve problems anymore. That would require admitting there are problems, see, and if you do that then you're just a "negative nellie" who deserves to be treated like shit by all the "positive" people, never mind that TRULY happy people never feel the need to treat anyone badly.

Now typing THAT felt good

DolFan 316 wrote:Was that a record for quickest Game Thoughts ever?

I had a belly full of beer, and anger running through my veins. I needed to rant!

And it's not about losing...I expected a loss. I thought they'd at least stay in the same zip code as the Pats, but instead they didn't show up and got completely blown out. UGLY.

To be fair, being a bully who beats up the little kids over the last 3 weeks is an improvement. With Failbin those little kids were still getting the better of us too! (Jacksonville, the Bills and Jets last year, etc.)

This team needs a complete overhaul in the offseason. I’m still on board with Campbell as the head coach (because really, who else is out there?), but the Phins desperately need two new coordinators, and more importantly a GM that can tell the difference between his ass and his elbow. The roster as it currently stands is garbage. There are colossal holes at several starting positions, and the depth is non-existent across the board. Priority numbers 1a and 1b in the coming offseason are assembling a legit coaching staff, and bringing in a GM that can dominate the draft – or at the very least have the ability to draft OL after round 1 and to find talented LBs. I’m SICK of hearing Dolphin fans praise Dennis Hickey…he’s a fraud, just like Bill ‘Slick Willy’ Lazor. This Dolphin organization has been garbage for so long, that many of us fans have forgotten what competence looks like. It’s sad.

This.

The worse thing we can do right now is decide we're better off without Campbell, who will likely go on to be a successful NFL head coach elsewhere, and win multiple Superbowls. Meanwhile, we'll hire the next Joe Philbin and suffer through 3 or 4 years of more floundering around with a totally outmatched coaching staff.

I'm more convinced than ever he has "it".

His problem, like many coaches in the NFL, is his QB.

Let's face the brutal fact. Tannehill HAS NOT taken "the next step". The problems we've all called out over the years were on full display last night. Lack of pocket presence. Can't read coverages fast enough. No "killer instinct". Misses open receivers deep, making the shorter throw. Holds the ball too long and takes sacks.

My opinion is this. We now have a head coach who is a leader of men. He has leaders on defense. The fact we only fell behind 19-0 in the first half is a goddamn miracle. Our offense did nothing - NOTHING - for thirty minutes yet our defense did not fold.

His QB is not a leader of men. His QB is not good enough. It will be a miracle if he can win enough games to convince Tannebaum he's the right guy for the job.

And yes, we need a GM who knows how to freaking draft and use free agency to fill roster holes.

I credit the team because for the eye-popping contract numbers we spent on Tannehill, we are not married to him. We have an out. I expect us to use that out. Games like last night happen far too often. I'm moving to the dark side on Tannehill. He doesn't have "it" and never will. Sure, he'll play games where he looks lights-out. That's called "potential". He's a coach killer guys. A coach killer.

This loss wasn't all on Tannehill. There was no running game last night. Tannehill is not Tom Brady. He needs a running game for play action to work. Tannehill is a game manager not a game changer. Managers can win but need all the parts around them to work at a high level.

The loss is certainly not "all on" Tannehill.

My concern is, he's putting way too many games like this in his record book. Will he ever be better than totally average? I think right now he ranks 17th overall. Not good enough. Enough potential to kill coaches.

It's the players. These days team carry on about all the psychological/character evaluating they do of players before each draft, but the Fins clearly suck at it because almost every player on this team is the same--no heart and quitting when the going gets mildly inconvenient. When they do manage to draft someone not like that (Landry) it's obviously by accident. I hear 19 players will be FAs next season. All of them can't be gotten rid of because this team already has too many holes as it is but I'd keep maybe 5 of them at the most. Then again I'd have replaced the entire scouting department by now so that this team would start drafting players who actually give a damn about winning as opposed to just being happy getting paid. Too many overgrown children and not nearly enough professionals on the roster, and it's been this way for years. Maybe it's a GenY "millennial" thing.