Dolphins No Longer A Punching Bag
All a punching bag does is take a beating.
A punching bag only takes abuse, it never gives it.
Ever see a Duct taped, malformed punching bag laying in the corner of a gym? That WAS a picture of the Miami Dolphins…for years upon years. Adam Gase has scrapped that image of his team on both sides of the ball with consecutive weeks of violent play.
And the faithful rise up in unison, “It’s about time!”
The Dolphins defense had its share of mistakes this season, but they always played with brutal abandon. The offense on the other hand was Kleenex and left the “D” on the field too long with an ineffective, pass happy game-plan.
This left them in near collapse at 1-4, and all eyes looking for 2017.
Enter a full compliment of starting offensive linemen powering Jay Ajayi, and the Steelers and Bills beaten into the ground on offense and defense for two “W’s”, and Miami has new life for the 2016 season going into the Bye-Week.
No, Miami won’t generate 200 yard games every week. Yes, there might be injuries in critical areas that hampers their effort.
BUT, make no mistake, the Dolphins are for real.
And it’s not because of their run game. The Dolphins are legit because they have found out who they are, and have a Head Coach strong enough and smart enough to see it and lead his team in the right direction.
This isn’t hyperbole.
Gase was killed for not kicking the field goal in Seattle.
The cries were ‘Don’t rock the boat, play it safe and get the three!’
But, he responded ‘like it or not, Miami is playing to win, so get used to it’.
How easy would it have been to play it safe and kick the extra-point? Instead, Gase held strong to his credo, played riverboat football pay per head software, and went for two.
This is a small piece to the larger puzzle: Gase is a fighter, aggressive,mentally strong, and believes in himself no matter how tough it gets…and let me tell you that before the Steelers game, it was about as tough as it can get for any coach, much-less for a rookie.
A punching bag has one fate: to take a beating.
Now, it appears the Dolphins players are emulating their coach, and neither have any intentions of being a punching bag.
It would be easy to say the source of the Dolphins success is simply the addition of the a healthy line. But, how many modifications in scheme, play calling, personnel and player tweaks did it take to get here.
If you just look at Gase’s moves involving players, they are legion: Ajayi sat home week one; Dallas and Turner were cut; Mario was benched; Maxwell was benched; Parkers’ dirty laundry was laundered in public; Damien was inactive for being late to a meeting. And that’s just what’s on the surface.
Dolphins fans need to understand that it isn’t the line or the Ajayi that makes this turnaround for real, it the leadership of Adam Gase.
I was a big supporter of Gase soon after his hire, but even I was shaking my head and wondering if I had ‘gotten it’ wrong.
Look, there will undoubtedly be more bumps in the road. And I’m not saying rings are coming anytime soon because I can’t say just how good Gase will end up. But, I know this, Gase is the best coach Miami has had in a long, long time, and for the remainder of his tenure, the Miami Dolphins won’t be a punching bag. And that is damn refreshing, wouldn’t you say?! Go Fins!!!
The evidence is right there in plain view. The culture of being a soft, finesse team is definitely changing and we are seeing a team that is turning into a hard hitting smash mouthed football team. Two weeks in a row, the other team seemed to have more players being attended to by the training staff. I am NOT in favor of players taking cheap shots but when you see the opponent taking the brunt of the physical play, that to me is evidence enough that WE as Dolphins fans have better days ahead.
Well put, Fritz. I don’t think Miami will run the table…even make the playoffs, but Gase was at a critical juncture and he and the team have responded with toughness — and are dishing out alot more than they are receiving. Likely the full positive effects won’t be witnessed till 2017…
…do it one more time, I might become a believer …we’ve all seen these streaks before …too many times they have been just that …streaks …and then back to inconsistency, injuries, poor play, and piss-poor coaching
…we had five miserable games, eh …and now we’ve had two good ones …when they balance out, then it will be time to put the bad ones aside …but not quite yet
…Gase is a jumble …he kept the turnstiles and even made them starters …and once the lightbulb came on, he fired them …good move but I’d have been a lot happier had they been gone with Fox and we’d spent those precious practice reps on their replacements …some say that was Tannenbaum, not Gase …but it wasn’t Tannebaum in front of the mike telling us all how Thomas just needed more weight room work
…I think about that every time Gase says TH is the man, he just needs fine tuning …uh huh
…Gase went five games with his hurry-up pass offense before the lightbulb came on and he shifted to Ajayi and the run game …that’s all on him …and it will all be forgotten if he keeps winning …but as of this moment, its a black hole in his record and not to be ignored
…its fairly easy to point to the OL massacre and say that’s why we’re winning now …but the OL doesn’t play defense and much has improved there as well …no obvious player shifts except for Wake getting more time …and losing Jones certainly didn’t help …the coaches are the same warm bodies …and yes, the time-of-possession has helped …but there is more there …its like both Gase and Joseph got the same wake-up call …whoever made that call, it was overdue
…we won against two teams who were heavily favored …next up, after the bye, are the Jets …and we will be favored …uh oh …not getting my hopes up
…but yes, Obi Wan, I have put the paper bag in the drawer …for now
I agree Lemmus, Now beat the teams you are supposed to beat in the coming games. Then, and only then will i believe there could be a playoff shot. However; I do believe everything involved the past 2 weeks, cuts, signings, promotion, demotion are all positive steps and good signs for this Fins organization moving forward!
M.J
Miami won’t generate 200 yard games every week. Yes or No?” We don’t know any thing.
Coach Gase has brought accountability to the Dolphins. And he has developed patience with the run game.
When Receiver’s understand they must make solid blocks on all rushing plays. The Dolphins will become unstoppable. The last two games every Dolphin players were blocking, pulling their opponents. Coach Gase must be commended for brining this cohesion.
I identify the Receivers: ( 4 to 5 receivers not blocking is leaving almost half a charging defense free to have their way.
But I see the changed and the Receivers are blocking but must get tougher and really understand to take their man out of the play.
We have a team. Winning is contagious!
better to make the run game prosper. Making Passing plays work.
https://youtu.be/dE0nXpqtv9M
https://youtu.be/Uw3ure1RdEQ