A Win is a Win
The Dolphins beat the Jacksonville Jaguars by 13 points in a game where they clearly did not play their best football. Against any other the team the Dolphins probably would have lost this game, however this speaks volumes about the talent of this team. In years past the Dolphins would have normally lost a game like this.
The Jaguars controlled the ball and momentum for the entire first half, however the Dolphins were able to get a pick six which helped them to take a 10-3 lead into halftime. Tannehill and the offense had no answer for the Jaguar pass rush, and could not stay on the field for longer than 3 plays at a time. On defense the Dolphins were giving up a lot of yards but they where not giving up touchdowns, which proved to be the difference maker in the first half.
The biggest key was that the Dolphin defense were causing turnovers and even scored 2 pick sixes in the game. The offense was having trouble getting into a rhythm until late in the game, however when a team’s defense is scoring, then sometimes the offense does not have to be that sharp to win the game.
The Dolphins clearly played down to the level of the Jaguars, but they were able to make the big plays when it really counted. Good teams can get away with not playing their best football against weaker opponents and still come out victorious. It shows that this team is different than past years, because they won this game by double digits against a team that some football gambling fans would say out played them for most of the game. But at the end of the day a win is still a win, and it does not matter how ugly it may have looked, because every win is critical in the Dolphins quest for a playoff appearance.
I totally disagree with the cliche that “…a win is a win..” . How you win especially in today’s NFL does indeed matter. I remain concerned that Philbin couldn’t get his team ready to play out of the gate, and it took errant passes by a rookie QB to pull this one out.
Also, the problems with the offense inconsistencies and Tanny’s accuracy linger and will bite this team in the ass very soon, like, in the next 2-3 games.
The real fins will show up again against the Chargers, Lions, etc and blogs will be right back to reality over this team.
Until Tanny can be consistent, and the offense able to run the ball consistently, this is just a .500 team, again.
phinfreak…. While I agree that playing like Miami did Sunday could get them in trouble in future games. I disagree with the premise that this game had anything at all to do with Ryan Tannehill’s accuracy. There certainly have been accuracy issues in his game… but this one is a poor example. I don’t care who you are under center, if the moment you set your feet you are hit by two defenders and find yourself staring into the Jacksonville sky…. You not going to do well passing the ball. There were also 3 dropped passes 2 by Hartline and 1 by Wallace that could not have been thrown better.
I believe that football fans often look at the schedule and believe what they see a team do against another team is what they will be able to do against your team. What I am speaking of is “match-ups”…. [Example] Indy shut out a very good Bengals team a week ago. Literally shutting them down in all three phases of the game. Then they go out against a so-so Steelers team on Sunday and get throttled. You simply can’t predetermine games based on previous games against other clubs. Miami has always given San Diego grief. Going back to the Early 70’s when I would attend Orange Bowl games up to when Miami beat them last year. Buffalo (other then the 70’s where they never beat us once the entire decade) has been Miami’s Achilles heel now for years. Bottom line is this. Miami struggles against ANY TEAM, be they Jacksonville or Seattle… Who can rush 4 defenders and get to the QB without having to blitz. And if that team can run a solid two deep zone all the better. Enjoy the win… phinfreak…. Because THEY DO COUNT… and come late December if Miami is still in the hunt that win may be a deciding factor. I’ve seen a game like that ruin an entire season… Be glad it won’t this year.
Irrational exhuberance prevails above. The fact is no team struggles against another named team. You play opponent players, coaches, schemes. Not a name or logo.
Matchups, yes, its all about matchups, but its also about timing. What your previous game was, and when/where/who you next opponent is. Remember, “on any given Sunday…”
The context I use is that over the last 10 years, and over the last 10 games.
If you go back over the last 10 games, where would that put the fins today going into this next 3 game stretch?
Yes, Ill enjoy the win, but by no means was it a “good win”. Not in the least, because it has no impact on the next several games.