Dolphins Must Give Up The Art Of Beating Themselves
Dolphins Must Give Up The Art Of Beating Themselves
Beating the enemy within is key to being a good team
Beating yourself is a tell-tale sign of a bad team
It’s not deja vu, but instead another Prime Time loss for the Miami Dolphins.
This week, the primary culprit for the defeat wasn’t a dominating opponent, instead it was the Dolphins beating the Dolphins.
Miami had been committing 49 yards in penalties per game through Week 8, but against the Raiders they stepped up their game to the tune of a whopping 11 penalties for a total of 107 yards… and most of these penalties were major ones that ended up killing numerous positive offensive drives.
5 of them came in 4th!
The Fins managed two turnovers and to recovery a sneak onsides kick.
How many of you thought ‘okay here we go, the light has come one’? I did. Then the fumble gutted me like a fish.
As with the kick off recovery, Miami squandered their opportunities by shooting themselves in the foot.. again, and again, and again.
Miami made many plays, but couldn’t do the simple job of not committing penalties and wounding themselves.
And in this league, you just don’t win football games with those types of mistakes and mental errors.
The sad part is Miami was #1 the NFL in least amount of Holding calls called against them… up until Sunday night. They know when to turn it on, don’t they?!
Dolphins beating themselves is beating their fan base into the ground
To the Fins defense, here was a Zebra beauty that cost Miami a big conversion for a big gain. How many of these can you call per game if you wanted? I guess it’s when they feel like it.
Okay, if it’s going to be called ticky-tack, then how the hell isn’t this play below an ejection? Seriously, aren’t NFL refs the most biased / inept / inconsistent “refs” in all sports. If this had been a Dolphins player, or committed against the Pats, he would have been tarred and feather and ESPN would have run it 24 / 7. Come one, NFL has so much work to do, on so many levels, to get this sport right. Maybe Ross needs to be a bit more generous to get those kind of calls?
Just kidding…
But in no way can you blame it all on the refs. Jarvis Landry had a huge screw up that killed a 31 yard play that had taken the Dolphins near the EndZone in the 2nd half, and could have given them a good head run. They were 3 out of 3 in the Red Zone that night. The most painful part that there was zero need for this penalty as Damien Williams was not getting stopped. Yes, it was a bit of acting, but Landry has to be much smarter than this.
And while this wasn’t a penalty, with 2 & 5 in the 4th and driving for a score, this dozy was a masterpiece:
As was Reshad Jones‘ decision on this 3rd Down:
Why was he biting up and disregarding the TE one-on-one when the down and distance was 3rd & 9? A play maker and force in the box for sure, but I’m not as certain he fully gets his role as SAFETY on passing plays, yet.
You can add in Jesse Davis‘ back-to-back penalties, Parkey’s missed Field Goal, Adam Gase not giving Sam Young help against Mack on his first snap in replacement for James, in this masterpiece of the Art of beating yourself.
The Dolphins are at the half way mark and are sitting at 4-4, with many pay per head sites giving the Dolphins virtually zero chance to make the playoffs. However, the reality is most of the AFC Teams have been similarly mediocre, so if the Dolphins can correct their beating themselves and continue to trend up on offense, then we might still make a push on the second half of the season. Time for fingers crossed and lucky charms bought in triplicate. Go Fins!!!
…not going to defend Gase but your comment is spurious at best …the entire team did not, in fact, play poorly …the offense played well with the exception of the OL …Parker and Thomas topped the PFF NFL wide grades this week for their positions …Cutler had a pretty good QBR as well …Gase called a solid, albeit conservative, game
…they came off a bad loss and the wrenching trade of their star player …the penalties are not normal for these Gase coached phins but its been a rough season and the cumulative effects showed
…they get Larsen and McDonald back this week …the S will definitely help, Larsen can’t possibly do worse than Davis did at LG …so its still possible to get to the playoffs if things start to go their way …I don’t really believe that will happen because the OL still has too many problems even if Larsen plays as Gase seems to think he will …and his record says he won’t …but the fat lady hasn’t sang yet …and the entire team did not play poorly
…the facts are that the core of a pretty damn good team is there for ’18 if they can fix the OL and the TE …the defense is solid with some very good IRs returning …and assuming Tannehill’s knee is ok, he is more than good enough to take this team to the top …not by himself, but with a solid cast around him, certainly
…my questions with Gase are not about his game skills but re his personnel evaluations …and most certainly, whether he has the cojones …he didn’t show any this week in giving in to the kneelers …you do have to give him credit for Burke who has been much better as DC than I initially thought he would …if he continues to build his staff that way, good things are in the pipeline
…I know that doesn’t fit your agenda but I think its a fair eval without any rah rah thrown in …we manage to do 7-9 or better with the remaining schedule and the abnormal events we’ve seen to date, I think it portends quite well for ’18 to be the year we take the division back …imnsho of course
You can frame all the excuses for failure you want…in the end well coached teams play well in general and poorly coached teams have consistent breakdowns taking turns across the board.
To point to a player or two and say because they had a good game (statistically) does not make the case for a well coached team.
Individual production is not an indicator of a well coached team, overall play consistency and wins do.
Cutler had a great game – does this make the case Gase is a great coach? No. The team lost and thats what makes the case that Gase is failing.
…Don Shula, Jimmy Johnson, Nick Saban, even Pete Carol and Bill Belichick are all failures by your definition …they didn’t win every year, after all …and that makes them pure de failures as coaches …who knew? …ah yes, you knew!
…and the saga continues …James hamstring may require surgery and Larsen may not be ready
…at this point I’m actually beginning to hope they tank …if they somehow won half their remaining games, it would put them in the middle of the draft pack again …just where it would be relatively inexpensive to move up in front of them to grab the OL that everyone and their brother know the phins are going to take
I was out all day and read your post before checking the news… devastating. James lose is almost as big as Tanny’s… almost. I like Davis, but not sure of him in space. I haven’t heard that Larsen isn’t ready… saw him on a video say he was. IF he isn’t Miami is in BIG trouble. It adds a second problem of what to do with James next year. This is bad… I try to stay level (although you might disagree) but I’m in the dumps on this one. Also, don’t fee the trolls, nothing good ever comes from it. Trolls are hypocrites and logic is wasted. As an example, when the Dolphins win some trolls have a billion excuses why they don’t matter, but when you list the astronomical amount of issues that have been piled on this season, they are then labeled excuses. Here are some facts to edify you, Lemmus. “Seattle did nothing to change its status as the most penalized team in the NFL. The Seahawks were penalized 12 times for 108 yards and have 28 penalties in their last two games.” And Pats were around the tops in drops and penalties until a few weeks ago… they aren’t ranked #13 now. Belichick and Carrol sucks it would seem… DON’T FEED TROLLS. They have one goal and it isn’t anything good…
duuude…give it up, go back to your day job cuz you just cant read.
…Shula, Johnson, Saban, Carol, Belichick…failures….Doh!
Here, here’s another for ya for free, Panthers 23, Fins 9
What do they call it when the entire team plays poorly?
….bad coaching.
…not going to defend Gase but your comment is spurious at best …the entire team did not, in fact, play poorly …the offense played well with the exception of the OL …Parker and Thomas topped the PFF NFL wide grades this week for their positions …Cutler had a pretty good QBR as well …Gase called a solid, albeit conservative, game
…they came off a bad loss and the wrenching trade of their star player …the penalties are not normal for these Gase coached phins but its been a rough season and the cumulative effects showed
…they get Larsen and McDonald back this week …the S will definitely help, Larsen can’t possibly do worse than Davis did at LG …so its still possible to get to the playoffs if things start to go their way …I don’t really believe that will happen because the OL still has too many problems even if Larsen plays as Gase seems to think he will …and his record says he won’t …but the fat lady hasn’t sang yet …and the entire team did not play poorly
…the facts are that the core of a pretty damn good team is there for ’18 if they can fix the OL and the TE …the defense is solid with some very good IRs returning …and assuming Tannehill’s knee is ok, he is more than good enough to take this team to the top …not by himself, but with a solid cast around him, certainly
…my questions with Gase are not about his game skills but re his personnel evaluations …and most certainly, whether he has the cojones …he didn’t show any this week in giving in to the kneelers …you do have to give him credit for Burke who has been much better as DC than I initially thought he would …if he continues to build his staff that way, good things are in the pipeline
…I know that doesn’t fit your agenda but I think its a fair eval without any rah rah thrown in …we manage to do 7-9 or better with the remaining schedule and the abnormal events we’ve seen to date, I think it portends quite well for ’18 to be the year we take the division back …imnsho of course
You can frame all the excuses for failure you want…in the end well coached teams play well in general and poorly coached teams have consistent breakdowns taking turns across the board.
To point to a player or two and say because they had a good game (statistically) does not make the case for a well coached team.
Individual production is not an indicator of a well coached team, overall play consistency and wins do.
Cutler had a great game – does this make the case Gase is a great coach? No. The team lost and thats what makes the case that Gase is failing.
This one is free matey.
…well I guess you’ve made your point “matey”
…Don Shula, Jimmy Johnson, Nick Saban, even Pete Carol and Bill Belichick are all failures by your definition …they didn’t win every year, after all …and that makes them pure de failures as coaches …who knew? …ah yes, you knew!
…sigh
…and the saga continues …James hamstring may require surgery and Larsen may not be ready
…at this point I’m actually beginning to hope they tank …if they somehow won half their remaining games, it would put them in the middle of the draft pack again …just where it would be relatively inexpensive to move up in front of them to grab the OL that everyone and their brother know the phins are going to take
I was out all day and read your post before checking the news… devastating. James lose is almost as big as Tanny’s… almost. I like Davis, but not sure of him in space. I haven’t heard that Larsen isn’t ready… saw him on a video say he was. IF he isn’t Miami is in BIG trouble. It adds a second problem of what to do with James next year. This is bad… I try to stay level (although you might disagree) but I’m in the dumps on this one. Also, don’t fee the trolls, nothing good ever comes from it. Trolls are hypocrites and logic is wasted. As an example, when the Dolphins win some trolls have a billion excuses why they don’t matter, but when you list the astronomical amount of issues that have been piled on this season, they are then labeled excuses. Here are some facts to edify you, Lemmus. “Seattle did nothing to change its status as the most penalized team in the NFL. The Seahawks were penalized 12 times for 108 yards and have 28 penalties in their last two games.” And Pats were around the tops in drops and penalties until a few weeks ago… they aren’t ranked #13 now. Belichick and Carrol sucks it would seem… DON’T FEED TROLLS. They have one goal and it isn’t anything good…