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!!!