Dolphins coaching mistakes have lost games, playoff positioning
Loss to Buffalo 23-21 – The Dolphins were coming off of the above loss to the Ravens and had a bye week to prepare for a home game, against the Bills, and their practice squad QB. The Dolphins came out ridiculously flat and fell behind early. A good coaching staff would have had the team ready to play a divisional opponent off of a bye week. Philbin did not. A good coach can create scheme advantages, develop players, and motivate players. In this game, he failed to get his team ready.
Loss to New England 27-17 – I will give the coaching staff credit, they did a good job of game planning and used the run very effectively in the 1st half of this game. They built a 17-3 lead and rushed the ball 22 times in the first half. The problem? The Dolphins abandoned the run in the second half, rushing only 8 times with their running backs. They ultimately lost the game by 10, but when the game was close, the Dolphins coaches decided to abandon the very thing that gave them the 17-3 lead. WHY???? Also, the Dolphins failed to score a point in the second half, something that has plagued them all season.
Loss to Tampa Bay 22-19 – After a win on Halloween, the Dolphins had 11 days to prepare for a National TV game on Monday Night Football against the then-winless Buccaneers. Sadly, this is another example of the Dolphins coaches not using the extra time to their advantage. The Dolphins actually fell behind 15-0 in this game…..to the winless Bucs……after having 11 days to prepare. They mounted a comeback, but ultimately fell short. So that’s 2 losses on the season, to bad teams, after having extra time to prepare. Ugh.
Loss to Carolina 20-16 – Out of all of the unbelievable decisions, this one may take the cake with me. Keep in mind that if you follow @PhinNation on Twitter that this was not second guessing. This was first guessing, as it was happening. The Dolphins coaching staff actually put this team in position to lose the game. Trailing 16-13, the Panthers got the ball at their own 20 and were looking to drive the field for an overtime forcing field goal. Fast forward to 1:49 left in the game, right after the Panthers moved to the Dolphins 29 yard line (field goal range) and a run by Cam Newton for no gain. It’s 2nd and 10, with the Panthers coming off of a running play, showing no urgency and appearing to settle for a field goal. The Dolphins coaches inexplicably called a timeout. (continued on page 3, CLICK HERE)