Dolphins choke their way into the offseason with 20-7 loss
What I liked
– Lamar Miller – Not going to lie, there isn’t much that I liked about this game. How could any Dolphins fan like anything about this game? I liked the way Lamar Miller ran the ball. He finished the day with 17 carries for 73 yards (4.3 avg). He didn’t get much help from his blockers, but he seemed to keep moving his legs and fighting for yardage.
– O-Line Pass Protection – The Dolphins did not give up a sack in this game. It was a Christmas miracle!!!
– Scoreboard Watching – I know the day didn’t end the way we all wanted it to. But it was fun to have a game that meant something. It was fun and dramatic watching what was going on in the Bengals/Ravens game at the same time the Dolphins were limping to the finish line.
– Fireball Whiskey – What can I say, Fireball and Landshark Lager got me through this game. I liked both.
What I didn’t like
– Ryan Tannehill – In the biggest game of the year, Ryan Tannehill came up short. He completed only half of his passes and threw 3 interceptions in the 2nd half. That is not what a franchise QB does in a big game. I still have hope for him, which is more than I can say than the coaching staff/front office. I would like to see how Tannehill does when given a real offensive coordinator and a real quarterbacks coach. He wasn’t helped by his receivers who had at least 4 drops on the day. But he also still fails to connect with Mike Wallace on deep routes. While up 7-0, he missed an open Wallace for what would have been an 80 yard touchdown. He overthrew him by about a yard or two. This area must be a major focus this offseason.
– Brian Hartline’s injury – It’s still not clear exactly what the problem was with his knee and we hope he’s okay. His absence clearly hurt the offense. BUT, he played last week and the Dolphins lost to the Bills, so please do not use his absence as an excuse for this loss. It hurt, but that’s why it’s important for teams’ to have depth.
– Rush Defense – The Dolphins allowed the Jets to gain over 150 yards on the ground and 2 TDs. The rush defense has been a problem all year long (see: giving up over 200 yards versus the Bills last week). In fact, the run defense has gotten progressively worse since Joe Philbin arrived. They ranked 3rd in the NFL the season before he took over. In 2012, the Dolphins ranked 13th in rush defense. In 2013, they finished 25th in the league. This is not improvement.
– Pass Defense – The Dolphins allowed Geno Smith to complete 17 of 27 passes for 190 yards. Those aren’t great numbers, but what I really didn’t like was the fact that the Dolphins generated NO pressure. They had no sacks of Smith, who continually had time to sit back and pick out his target of choice. (continued on page 3, CLICK HERE)