Game 7 thoughts: Bills at Dolphins

The Dolphins shocked the Bills today with a dramatic come-from-behind victory, relying on the running of Jay Ajayi and a stout defense. Ajayi had his second consecutive 200-yard game and looked fantastic all game. The defense completely shut down the Bills’ top-ranked rushing attack and got good pressure on the QB, particularly in the 4th quarter.

Speaking of the 4th quarter, that’s where this game was won. The Dolphin offense, despite dominating time of possession and Ajayi’s monster game, really didn’t do much of anything for the first three quarters. But in the 4th, Tannehill came alive with some big throws and the Phins were able to score two TDs. The first was a big-time power run by Damien Williams, where he kept his legs churning and dragged defenders with him into the endzone. Kenny Stills was active and had a huge 66-yard TD in the 4th to essentially seal the win with a minute left in the game.

But this game was all about Ajayi. 214 yards and a TD…just an amazing effort. He’s running with a ton of confidence right now, and it appears that he has turned around his career. Simply awesome.

The D gave up a long TD reception, but other than that really held the Bills in check all game. Mario Williams was quiet for three quarters but made his presence known in the 4th with some good pressure and a huge tackle for loss. Suh had his best game of the season, looking completely unblockable and harassing Bills’ QB Tyrod Taylor all game. Holding the Bills to 67 yards on the ground was really phenomenal. Hopefully this D can continue to play at a high level, because the last two weeks they’ve been lights out.

Really an outstanding win…but despite the win, this was a very undisciplined effort by the Dolphins. 13 penalties is simply unacceptable. The penalties included numerous holding calls against the OL, taunting penalties on Landry and Maxwell, a personal foul on Jason Jones for pushing Taylor late out of bounds, an illegal block by Landry, and two offsides penalties by Jordan Phillips. Penalties kept the Bills’ final drive alive, enabling them to score a late TD to get within 3 points. This is a major area of concern, and one which MUST be addressed by Adam Gase during the bye week.

After 7 games, the Phins head into their bye week at 3-4 and are still very much alive in the AFC playoff picture. I honestly never thought I’d be typing those words, but I’m glad I am. Huge victories over the Steelers and Bills have this team flying high right now, and hopefully they can ride that momentum after the bye.

I only started looking at the game half way through I will re-watch the game again from the beginning on sunday ticket. Love to see Miami win somewhat big game. IMO, Miami toughness is becoming addictive and hopefully win come out big after the bye week and win strong again.

I see you got this one up rather quickly

JMP wrote:After 7 games, the Phins head into their bye week at 3-4 and are still very much alive in the AFC playoff picture.  I honestly never thought I’d be typing those words, but I’m glad I am.  Huge victories over the Steelers and Bills have this team flying high right now, and hopefully they can ride that momentum after the bye.

That seems dangerously close to optimism to me We must all be vigilant and guard against such thoughts. All of us know how this movie will end--with a Jets loss and Ajayi being lost for the season. DON'T FALL INTO THE TRAP, PEOPLE!!!

Ajayi is out for the season!!!!!!!!!! I have not seen that yet from no where.

Defense trying their hardest to keep the Bills on the field for their last drive was kind of disconcerting, but if it ends up helping in the future, i.e. Bills not out-physical-ing us in our own house, then it'll be worth it.

Degarmo wrote:Defense trying their hardest to keep the Bills on the field for their last drive was kind of disconcerting, but if it ends up helping in the future, i.e. Bills not out-physical-ing us in our own house, then it'll be worth it.

I get the strange feeling Birdmond didn't mind a bit

DolFan 316 wrote:I see you got this one up rather quickly    

JMP wrote:After 7 games, the Phins head into their bye week at 3-4 and are still very much alive in the AFC playoff picture.  I honestly never thought I’d be typing those words, but I’m glad I am.  Huge victories over the Steelers and Bills have this team flying high right now, and hopefully they can ride that momentum after the bye.

That seems dangerously close to optimism to me   We must all be vigilant and guard against such thoughts. All of us know how this movie will end--with a Jets loss and Ajayi being lost for the season. DON'T FALL INTO THE TRAP, PEOPLE!!!

Nah, I'm not really optimistic about this team at all. I'm just taking it a game at a time. It's great to see the Phins look like a legit NFL team for two games, but we've seen this happen too many times - they could just as easily lose the next few games as win them. Hell, the Phins looked great in Campbell's first two games last season and then tanked - so I don't put any faith in them sustaining this long-term.

JMP wrote:Nah, I'm not really optimistic about this team at all.  I'm just taking it a game at a time.  It's great to see the Phins look like a legit NFL team for two games, but we've seen this happen too many times - they could just as easily lose the next few games as win them.  Hell, the Phins looked great in Campbell's first two games last season and then tanked - so I don't put any faith in them sustaining this long-term.

WHEW!!! I was worried about you for a minute but now I see you're back on the right track

But seriously, who are these guys and what have they done with the real Fins?

I am emotionally drained and physically exhausted.

Great to see a power running game in Miami once again, along with a defense that can rise to the occasion when called on to help win a game. Simply shocked at the late game TD - so uncharacteristic of past Dolphins teams. I was literally waiting for the defensive stand trying desperately to protect the 4 point lead, of course which would have been unsuccessful.

The penalties must be addressed. At the same time, these refs can go EFF themselves. Spinning the ball is taunting? Gee, I wonder why ratings are dropping. Eff you too Goodell.

Ajayi for President!

I'm not sure what is more surprising these last 2 games: how well the defense has played, or how well Ajayi has played. Both are just mind-boggling.

white1 wrote:Spinning the ball is taunting?

That's been a rule for quite a few years now.  You can't spin the ball in front of an opposing player/team - it is a taunting penalty and is almost always called.  

If Landry had conducted himself with some class instead of acting like an idiot after getting a first down, he wouldn't have gotten penalized.  Landry, like a lot of players on this team, lacks self-discipline.

Just reading about how the Fins won and finally stood up to the bully Bills is making me feel all macho and stuff, even though I slept through the actual game    





FYI the Fins annihilated the Titans and Texans at this exact same time last year. They proceeded to lose 7 of the next 9--and were damn lucky not to lose them all. So yeah.

There's always room for Motorhead.

The last 2 wins showed we have a few pieces of the puzzle but I hope it doesn't mean Tanny is the QB of the future. He had a few good throws but his overall performance was pathetic. Love going into the half the staff does not even have faith to try to let him move the ball to get in FG range.

Very interesting that the offense has started playing better since Gase took control away from Tannehill.  The first 5 games, Gase tried to turn Tannehill into a playmaker.  Now, after realizing that Tannehill just isn't that type of player, he's trying to turn him into a game manager.  I'm glad Gase finally made the adjustment, but it sucks that it took him so long to realize what he actually has in Tannehill.

JMP wrote:Very interesting that the offense has started playing better since Gase took control away from Tannehill.  The first 5 games, Gase tried to turn Tannehill into a playmaker.  Now, after realizing that Tannehill just isn't that type of player, he's trying to turn him into a game manager.  I'm glad Gase finally made the adjustment, but it sucks that it took him so long to realize what he actually has in Tannehill.

So basically at best Tanny's just a younger Alex Smith? Gotcha.

No way I'm paying a younger Alex Smith whatever Tanny will get next season. But that might be just me.

So basically at best Tanny's just a younger Alex Smith? Gotcha.

No way I'm paying a younger Alex Smith whatever Tanny will get next season. But that might be just me.

He's at a QBR of 87.5, with four games over 90 this season so far.

If we can get him over 90 and keep him there, I'm fine with any offensive game plan that makes it happen. Paired with a solid defense, that can be a winning combination.

It's foolish to chase the next Tom Brady by dumping Tannehill if there is no better alternative. Aim for having a top 12 QB. With that said, keep drafting one every year to develop a bench and find the prospect that might turn out to be special. Too important a position to neglect with guys like Matt Moore, that's been a mistake for several years now.

Now, if Tannehill can't even crack the top 12? Might be time to move on. Right now, he looks to be on a good trajectory for 2016.

JMP wrote:I'm glad Gase finally made the adjustment, but it sucks that it took him so long to realize what he actually has in Tannehill.

and speaking of taking so long to realize things... if we now see how well Ajayi can indeed perform, why was Gase so hell bent on sticking him behind Foster to begin with? was Gase not able to see what he had in Ajayi while others did?

Ajayi looked like a force when we visited Dolphins camp this offseason, but now we are finally seeing that in action on the field.

https://www.profootballfocus.com/pro-top-10-players-from-week-7s-nfl-action/

i see a lot of the credit being given to finally having the originally anticipated starting 5 offensive linemen for the last two games. i get that Thomas and Turner went a long way in sabotaging the Phins against the Titans, but this also seems to place the blame for a lackluster offense against the Seahawks and Patriots on Steen being the center in Pouncey's absence.

in the end, i was very happy and surprised not only by the fact the Phins won, but how they won. although, Maxwell tried his best to keep the Bills in the game - the 67 yard TD pass to Goodwin and 2 costly penalties on the final TD drive.

Maxwell gave up 106 receiving yards and a touchdown, allowing 26.5 yards per catch and a passer rating of 141.4 when targeted.

https://www.profootballfocus.com/pro-10-worst-performances-from-sundays-week-7-nfl-action/

hopefully Howard and Culliver will get healthy over the bye week. not that either will be great, but just about anything should be an improvement over Maxwell at this point.

white1 wrote:

So basically at best Tanny's just a younger Alex Smith? Gotcha.

No way I'm paying a younger Alex Smith whatever Tanny will get next season. But that might be just me.

He's at a QBR of 87.5, with four games over 90 this season so far.

If we can get him over 90 and keep him there, I'm fine with any offensive game plan that makes it happen.  Paired with a solid defense, that can be a winning combination.

It's foolish to chase the next Tom Brady by dumping Tannehill if there is no better alternative.  Aim for having a top 12 QB.  With that said, keep drafting one every year to develop a bench and find the prospect that might turn out to be special.  Too important a position to neglect with guys like Matt Moore, that's been a mistake for several years now.

Now, if Tannehill can't even crack the top 12? Might be time to move on.  Right now, he looks to be on a good trajectory for 2016.

The average team passer rating for this season so far is 88.5 (and only because the 49ers and Jets are dragging it down). The Fins are just below that, and 22nd in the league.

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/2016/

So with that info, are you still sure keeping Tannehill around if he barely cracks 90 is a good idea?

mercury22nathan wrote:and speaking of taking so long to realize things...  if we now see how well Ajayi can indeed perform, why was Gase so hell bent on sticking him behind Foster to begin with?  was Gase not able to see what he had in Ajayi while others did?

I'm guessing it's the same reason Gase actually had Dallas Thomas starting half the preseason. It clearly takes him a while to figure out a player's true talent (or lack thereof). Not exactly a good sign, but then again he's showing that he does figure it out eventually. Philbin either never did or just denied what he saw when he did.

(Also, this kinda sorta demonstrates that maybe Ajayi was actually...justified in being unhappy when he lost the job, hmmm )

Gase wanted Ajayi to earn the starting job, and he didn't, but it appears the light bulb came on after the deactivation against Seattle.  

Having the intended starting O-line available the last two games helped too.

I don't think we are going anywhere this year, but I am encouraged by a number of things I have seen.  The biggest reason I am encouraged:

3rd and 7, 21-17 lead, 2:35 left and we're on our own 34.  Very similar to the situation against Green Bay that made Queasy Joe call a run, and punt in that infamous game that, for me, epitomized the Philbin Error.

Gase makes a statement, going for the jugular and allowing Tanny to try and seal the deal.  Might not have been a great pass, but he got it done.  

That one play call (along with all the adjustments made the past two weeks) gives me some hope for the Gase Era.  Let's hope that we continue to see aggressive, physical play and aggressive coaching.  If we do, there's hope for the future, regardless of this year's record.

316 wrote:So basically at best Tanny's just a younger Alex Smith? Gotcha.

No way I'm paying a younger Alex Smith whatever Tanny will get next season. But that might be just me.

I've been saying for awhile now that Tannehill's ceiling is Alex Smith, and this season has confirmed that.  You just can't ask either of those guys to do too much, because they're just not good enough.  But if you limit their impact and give them a strong running game and stout defense, they can win some games.  Of course, Tannehill has not accomplished what Smith has...Smith has winning seasons and playoff appearances under his belt, and Tannehill has never even had a winning season.  But with the formula the Phins won with yesterday, Tannehill can maybe get there.

Again, you can win games with that formula - but I don't think you can get to a Super Bowl with it.  Once you're in the postseason, you NEED to rely on your QB - because you can't count on your RB getting 200 yards a game.  I don't think Smith or Tannehill can get to a Super Bowl - they're just not good enough to carry a team when they need to.

So with that info, are you still sure keeping Tannehill around if he barely cracks 90 is a good idea?

His last two games he came in at 97 and 99.

I'm not so much targeting a number as I'm thinking "top 12". That should net out to a few points above the league average.

We'll really have to see at the end of the season.

We know coming in that Gase has been recognized for his intelligence and energy. He is not going to stop working on how to maximize Tannehill's skills. We've seen it with moving him out of the pocket, and yesterday he had a couple designed runs. I believe the day 1 approach of trying to make him the Field General of the offense has been scrapped (at least for now).

I'm fine with whatever approach it takes to score 28 points (or more). I could care less about player rankings if we are winning games.

3rd and 7, 21-17 lead, 2:35 left and we're on our own 34. Very similar to the situation against Green Bay that made Queasy Joe call a run, and punt in that infamous game that, for me, epitomized the Philbin Error.

Gase makes a statement, going for the jugular and allowing Tanny to try and seal the deal. Might not have been a great pass, but he got it done.

That one play call (along with all the adjustments made the past two weeks) gives me some hope for the Gase Era. Let's hope that we continue to see aggressive, physical play and aggressive coaching. If we do, there's hope for the future, regardless of this year's record.

Great point and I agree with this.

I wrote in another thread that I could feel the punt coming, with the inevitable defensive stand trying to protect a 4 point margin of victory. To see a game-sealing (virtually) touchdown instead? I was in shock.

Aggressive coaching, physical play, accountability - those are all good things and are absolutely critical to building a winning team. We are seeing signs of those things under Gase.

I admit to thinking early on that Ajayi was not the slug JMP seemed to think he was ...., but even I did not see him in the company of Ricky Williams, Earl Campbell and O J Simpson!!!

The problem as I see it, once teams realize they can stuff the run and force Tannehill to beat them, I don't know if Tannehill can do it??

I was very surprised by this win also.

And I agree with Hal completely. As I have said before, as long as I can SEE what the coaching staff is doing...why they are doing what they are doing....and where they are trying to get the team headed towards....I will give them a break.

Is this what Gase has been building towards? Or is it an aberration?

Time will tell. but I would dearly love for the Phins to put a monstrous BEAT DOWN on the Jets!!

Go Phins!

Thanks for the game review JMP. Even if you did think JMP was a sluggardly RB???