Win Slows The Roll Of Dolphins Critics
Critics had little to cheer for last night, except if they were Dolphins fans.
Many of the critics negative points were put on hold last night, not all, but many.
The Miami Dolphins victory, and more importantly their play, is giving Dolphins critics some down time and even some begrudging compliments.
Did they look like Superbowl champion last night? No! But, they did look like a team that made great strides from their debacle against the Cowboy.
That means they are growing.
Unlike teams in the past that fell apart, this 2016 Dolphins appears to have a coaching staff that is able to teach and build players up as the season progresses.
The context of this win is this: Atlanta doesn’t have a great defensive front – athletic and fast, but small, they have both a good Offensive Line and Offensive skill players, and they were 8-8 in 2015. They are a decent team.
A vague barometer would put Miami in the area of 7-10 wins. This is a far cry better than last weeks prognostication of 3-6 wins. But, to make a cute twist on a Mike Tyson quote, “Everyone has a prognostication till they get punched in the face by game-time”. So, only time will tell what 2016 holds for Miami – but, this was a feel good moment, none-the-less.
So, Miami’s defense showed a lot last night, according to the best pay per head, even though the Falcons lost Julio Jones early. This defensive boon though was offset by Suh going down with an ankle injury. While the secondary got a reprieve, the Defensive Line had to bear a burden…and Chris Jones stepped in and had his best game of the Preseason, especially in his run support. This was a very big deal as it gives further justification to let Earl Mitchell and his bloated contract go, free up some money and possibly keep rising talent Julius Warmsley.
While Miami was stout against the run and made big plays in the secondary, the downside is play of CB Tony Lippett who is now the biggest continuing issue on defense. He just doesn’t seem ready for a starters role.
On Offense, Ryan Tannehill again showed he is a much better QB when he has a competent protection and running game. No duh, right?!
Miami had it’s most consistent running game with the 1st string – but, the context is they did this against a small D-front. This along with some very big plays in the passing game made for a solid showing. They looked very sharp in Adam Gase‘s “up-tempo” offense and it appears to more than just a catch-phrase. RB Arain Foster demonstrated that given a little space, he is still a very good back and his extra wiggle and agility in traffic puts him a step ahead of Jay Ajayi. Now, Ajayi looked good as well, but he isn’t able to work through traffic behind the LOS like Foster. It’s more of a knock on the O-Line than on him.
Offensively, it was the Tight Ends that presented the greatest concern.
Jordan Cameron just doesn’t seem right. He drops passes, misses blocks. He isn’t ready for the season. And this, along with his 5$ million dollar contract, must be a bit of a nightmare for the coaching staff.
Again, the Offensive Line had a solid showing against a sub-par Atlanta front. But, they kept Tannehill clean and opened some running lanes. Although, Brandon Albert also seems off. While his Pass blocking is superb, he keeps missing run-blocking assignments and is getting beat by defenders. His play in the run game has been the worst of any linemen not named Mike Pouncey.
Center Anthony Steen who stepped in for Pouncey had a mixed bag of results, but for the most part showed that his ability to run a block without the help of a double team, almost offsets the loss of Mike Pouncey at this point. With some growth, he might actually be an upgrade over Pouncey due to his strength and ability to support the run game.
In the end, this win doesn’t mean pop the champagne for a Superbowl win in 2016, but it does offer hope and makes critics have to work harder. At this point, fans should like what they are seeing. Adam Gase and Co, so far, are proving to be a competent staff – it’s been a long time since the Miami Dolphins and the fans have had that. Go Fins!!!
I was at the game last night visiting my home Orlando.Tannehill had another up beat game. We have so many if’s as a team. It’s like the team warning gas light is on and we don’t know how far we can travel on the reserves? On the positive the coaches are competent.This team has to learn how to Win and not settle for less. The pieces are already on the team.
Lucky guy Steve being at the game…good for you. That’s my main thing, do we have teachers and are the players learning. If yes to both it’s better than we’ve had in a long time, heck if he had even one of them that’s better than the last 4 yrs!!! I still worry about the run game…Albert is playing terrible in support the run….not sure why? Steen did a better job than Pouncey in the run game, alittle less in the pass game – but, I’ll take a help in the run game with a small deficit in the pas protect. Seattle will likely be a loss, but if they can be competitive that would be honey on the wound.
…0-2 to start
…if that makes me a critic, so be it …I think it makes me a realist
…Dallas demolished our first string last week …this week Seattle demolished theirs …we play Seattle first game, in their stadium …then NE in theirs …0-2 …then we’ll find out what kind of coach Gase is
…there were some good aspects last night but they were matched by the not so good ones …CB is a concern as you noted, Lippet has not shown well as yet …but then neither has Maxwell …he was routed last week and barely held his own this week …could be the players, the coaches, or the scheme …we just don’t know …but whatever the problem(s), we need to fix it or the first two games will go south in a hurry …Lippet showed well against NE last year but he was off against Atlanta last night
…Foster is the RB we needed …if he doesn’t do a Moreno …Ajayi just doesn’t get through the holes like he does …Pead remains a possibility but was hamstringed last night …literally …hope they run him against the first string next week …see what he has …Drake and Williams are his competition …think it will be him or Williams …just don’t see them cutting the draft pick
…I know you’re trying to see the bright side but so far all I see is a flashlight …one low on batteries at that 🙂
There is a difference between critiquing and criticizer…the first person I thought of was Omar Kelly, who cross the line at times of critique to critic — he’s a Raiders fan from what I hear. Again, 0-2, 1-1, 2-0…none of it matters if the foundation is built wrong as it will eventually collapse. If Gase is a good HC or even better than that – life for Fans will eventually get much better. The move from Dallas to Atlanta was a big transition as far as “trying” to be successful. There was alot less tinkering and trying last night than a week earlier. Also, you could see players getting better at the scheme. So, I still think 1-1 is possible. Albert’s run blocking and the center’s run blocking will be a huge element in the win or loss. But, last night showed Miami is trending up and the players look happy and the coaching seems competent. Last week it was the end of the world…this week not so much.
Foster is a big addition for a porous line in the run game…Ajayi might be better if he could start working at the line of scrimmage or beyond.
Liked what I saw last night. Foster may open up some interesting offensive plays. I like the starting O without Dallas Thomas. I agree CB is a need. Lippett could be good if he turns the corner in knowing the game and not fouling. I wonder if McCain’s tackle to stop the touchdown was on purpose or just happened to run into his guy (either way it helped). Some interesting new players, hope the old ones pick up a bit too.
There are still issues Gary, I don’t know if I see playoffs yet. BUT, I just see a big difference in this team for priors. It always starts with the coaches and these, so far, seem to have a baseline of competency. Not sure if they are good, but at the very least they are competent. For quite some time Dolphins coaches were either A) Social idiots B) Incompetent or C) both A and B. The Stache incompetent, Saban was a social idiot, Cameron incompetent, Sparano incompetent, and Philbin both A and B. Gase at this point has very good social skills (minus the wild eye thing) and the players really like him and seem to respond. He seems okay as a coach at the very least, so he might actually be a new answer…D) None of the above!! I’ll take that. If Miami can win most of the ones they should, be in most of their games and win a couple they shouldn’t, then I am good for this year as a platform for 2017 – especially if T-Hill demonstrates he is the QB of the future. So far I think this is a possibility…of course, we shall see.