Author: Bill

Martin won’t turn over text messages, investigator cancels further interviews

Dec. 11 News and Notes

The Miami Dolphins are in the midst of a playoff race, so this is really the last thing I want to be writing about.  If you’ve noticed, we haven’t written much about the Jonathan Martin, Richie Incognito saga over the past few weeks.  Why? Well, because the NFL’s investigation is still ongoing AND I’ve had enough of the story.  Let’s just get to the results of the investigation already!

Photo Courtesy of Dolphins.com

Photo Courtesy of Dolphins.com

Anyway, on Tuesday we learned that NFL Investigator, Ted Wells canceled his second round of interviews with Incognito and eleven other Dolphins players.  According to ESPN, Wells met last week with Jonathan Martin, but at that meeting Martin refused to turn over the alleged text messages that helped to make this a national story.

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Analyzing the Dolphins playoff hopes entering week 15

Dec. 10 News and Notes

On Sunday, the Miami Dolphins took a big step towards earning their first postseason berth since 2008.  The Dolphins will still need some help, but if they take care of their own business, things should fall into place for them.  If Ryan Tannehill continues to play well and be the offensive leader we all hoped he would be, they should be able to do just that.

Photo Courtesy of Dolphins.com

Photo Courtesy of Dolphins.com

Entering week 15, the Dolphins are 7-6 and tied with the Baltimore Ravens for the 6th seed in the AFC.  They still have an outside shot at catching the Patriots for the division lead….a very outside shot, so the wild card is the only realistic option.  The Dolphins would need to win out and hope the Patriots lose to the Ravens and Bills in the last 2 weeks of the season.  That’s probably not going to happen people. The most realistic shot for the Dolphins is for them to claim the 6th seed.

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Stayin Alive: Dolphins’ comeback in the snow to beat the Steelers

Dec. 09 News and Notes

The Miami Dolphins entered Sunday’s game in Pittsburgh with their playoff lives on the line.  The Dolphins were welcomed in by a snowstorm and a Steelers team that had been playing better than than their 5-7 record.  The Dolphins fell behind 7-0 early, but would rebound to take a 10-7 lead into halftime.  Ryan Tannehill was playing his first game in the snow and it showed in the first half.  He missed badly on a few passes and the offense looked out of sync.  However, the Dolphins came out of halftime strong and would take a 17-7 lead early in the 3rd quarter.

Photo Courtesy of Dolphins.com

Photo Courtesy of Dolphins.com

And then, things got ugly.  The Steelers drove down the field and capped off by a 43 yard touchdown pass to Antonio Brown.  On the very next series, with the game 17-14, Ryan Tannehill threw a pick-6 to Troy Polamalu.  That gave the Steelers a 21-17 lead and it looked like this game was going in the direction of so many games this season.  But the Dolphins responded immediately.  They drove the field and with some big catches by Charles Clay and solid runs by Daniel Thomas (yes, Daniel Thomas), the Dolphins capped off their TD drive with a beautiful catch by Brian Hartline, tip-toeing in the end zone.

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Pitiful Picks: Can the Dolphins win their playoff hopes alive?

Dec. 08 Pitiful Picks

The Miami Dolphins picked up a big win last week and essentially knocked out one of their contenders for the 6th playoff spot in the AFC.  Today, they have a chance to do it again, while keeping pace with the Ravens.  The Dolphins will be in Pittsburgh to play the 5-7 Steelers in what essentially amounts to an elimination game.

Photo Courtesy of Dolphins.com

Photo Courtesy of Dolphins.com

With the push for the playoffs going on in the NFL, our Pitiful Picks have been making a late season surge too!  Last week we went 3-0 and pushed on the Eagles/Cardinals game.  So our season record stands at 30-26.  Let’s see if we can keep the momentum going (just like the Dolphins will!)

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Dolphins can take a huge step towards making playoffs with win today

Dec. 08 Opinion

By Matthew C (Follow me on Twitter @PhinManiacs)

Believe it or not, the Dolphins are in very good shape to get the sixth spot in the AFC. If my projections are correct, they would most likely play the Bengals or Colts in the first round. The Dolphins have beaten them both this season.

Photo Courtesy of Dolphins.com

Photo Courtesy of Dolphins.com

The Dolphins need to win on Sunday against the Steelers and I think they will. Although they are playing in Pittsburgh, the Steelers aren’t what they used to be in years past. They will have a tough matchup taking Roethlisberger down but Grimes will be able to shut down Antonio Brown and their passing game will then become a bit limited. With that said, let’s take a look at the other games.

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Dolphins Gameplan: Quick passing attack a key to victory

Dec. 08 Dolphins Gameplan

By Matthew C (Follow me on Twitter @PhinManiacs)

The Miami Dolphins head to Pittsburgh today in a must-win game in order to have a good chance of making the playoffs. The Steelers remind me a lot like the Carolina Panthers. They have a quarterback that is hard to take down and can keep plays alive, a quarterback that can throw the ball deep with accuracy, and a receiving and tight end group that is one of the best in the league. Fortunately, the Steelers defense isn’t nearly as good as the Panthers. If the Dolphins can contain the Steelers on offense, they should be able to walk away from this game with a win.

Photo Courtesy of Dolphins.com

Photo Courtesy of Dolphins.com

When the Dolphins are on defense…

Antonio Brown is one of the most dangerous receivers in the NFL as he leads the NFL with 85 receptions. The good news for the Dolphins is that they have a legitimate shutdown corner in Brent Grimes who I assume will shadow him throughout the game, much like he’s done against other number one receivers such as Steve Smith, Vincent Jackson, and so forth. Grimes should have no problems handling Brown throughout the entire game.

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Dolphins passing attack heating up, using multiple WR sets with success

Dec. 05 News and Notes

By Matthew C. (@PhinManiacs on Twitter)

The Dolphins employed 13 different personnel groups throughout the game on Sunday and ran a total of 81 plays. In the first half, they ran 52 plays and had 34 passing plays and 18 running plays. In the second half, they ran 29 plays and had 13 passing plays and 16 running plays. As you can see, it was much more balanced in the last half of the game. For the game total, there were 47 passing plays and 34 running plays. Obviously, the Dolphins would like more overall balance throughout the entire game.

Photo Courtesy of Dolphins.com

Photo Courtesy of Dolphins.com

Their two favorite formations were 4WR, 0TE, 1RB along with 3WR, 1TE, 1RB. Both formations were used 19 times each throughout the game. Their third favorite formation was 2WR, 2TE, 1RB, which was used 16 times throughout the game.

They ran the ball 15 times to the left, 12 times to the right, and 7 times up the middle. This shows balance between the left and right side, but seems that they don’t like to run it up the middle a whole lot.

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Dolphins can shed the mediocre label with a win on Sunday

Dec. 04 Opinion

By Cyrus (@cyruslassus)

The Miami Dolphins are 6-6 and tied for the last playoff berth in the AFC.  With four weeks to go in the season, it is an excellent position to be in.  It is understandable that a lot of fans are afraid to get excited because they have been let down before, but there is legitimate Super Bowl hope in 2013.

Photo Courtesy of Dolphins.com

Photo Courtesy of Dolphins.com

Yes, I said it.

The team must continue to take it one game at a time, but do you have any idea what happens if they win in Pittsburgh?

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Breaking down the Dolphins playoff chances and possibilities

Dec. 03 News and Notes

The Miami Dolphins took their first step towards making a late season push for a playoff berth in the AFC.  The Dolphins win on Sunday over the Jets was good for a number of reasons.  First, it was a win over the Jets, whom we all hate, which is always good.  Second, it was the Dolphins first win in the AFC East making them 1-2, and also gave them the head to head edge over the Jets.  Third, it was a win against an AFC team, making them 5-3 in such games.  That last point is important and we’ll get to why later on in this post.

Photo Courtesy of Dolphins.com

Photo Courtesy of Dolphins.com

So now that all of the games in week 13 are completed, the Dolphins and Ravens are tied for the 6th and final playoff spot at 6-6.  The Ravens hold the tie breaker over the Dolphins, so the Dolphins will need to either finish a game better than the Ravens if just the 2 of them are in contention for the last spot OR they need a 3rd team (other than the Jets) to get involved in tie-breaking proceedings.

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Dolphins very much alive in playoff race after dominating Jets 23-3

Dec. 02 News and Notes

The Miami Dolphins were facing what was essentially a playoff game on Sunday when they headed to the Meadowlands to take on the reeling Jets.  The Dolphins responded and completely dominated the Jets from start to finish.  Yes, the Dolphins bumbled their way through a frustrating first half, but still took a 6-0 lead into the half.

Photo Courtesy of Dolphins.com

Photo Courtesy of Dolphins.com

At the half, the Dolphins had outgained the Jets 265 to 39, in terms of yardage.  They also had 16 first downs in the first half, compared to 2 first downs by the Jets.  They were dominating the game in every way, except for the scoreboard.  After the half, the Dolphins came out and took control on the scoreboard, where it matters most.  The Dolphins moved the ball all day against the Jets defense, through the air and on the ground.

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