Tag: olivier vernon

Should the Miami Dolphins draft Michael Sam?

Feb. 11 Opinion

 

By Cyrus (@Cyruslassus on Twitter)

My first thought is that the Miami Dolphins have way too many holes to fill on the roster to take a defensive end in the 2014 draft, but what Missouri Tiger Michael Sam has done since August of 2013 has changed my mind.

He came out of the closet to his teammates, had a stellar season with 10 1/2 sacks and 18 tackles for loss, claimed Co-Defensive Player of the Year honors in the SEC and then decided to become the first openly gay major professional athlete in America in the months leading to the NFL draft.

Photo Courtesy of Dolphins.com

Photo Courtesy of Dolphins.com

The Miami Dolphins have to step up and draft this young man at whichever point his talent merits, as a matter of principle.

Whether he fills an immediate need or not is less important than making a statement to the world.

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Dolphins Gameplan: Attack Tom Brady

Dec. 13 Dolphins Gameplan

 

By Cyrus (@Cyruslassus on Twitter)

This week the Miami Dolphins host the New England Patriots in another must win game.  While the possibility exists that Baltimore could lose two or three of their remaining games, Miami is already dependent on at least one loss from the defending Super Bowl champion in order to secure the 6th spot in the AFC playoffs.  Surprisingly, should Miami win this game, two more New England losses could allow the Dolphins to jump all the way into the second spot in the AFC, which is accompanied by a first round bye and at least one home play off game.

Photo Courtesy of Dolphins.com

Photo Courtesy of Dolphins.com

The point is that the stakes are high and the best thing the team can do is win out, which looks doable.

The Patriots have just lost star tight end Rob Gronkowski for the season, which drops them down a peg.  Miami has had an excellent pass defense and has given up only one touchdown to a receiver all season long if you throw out last week’s three touchdowns against Pittsburgh.  Those TDs  seemed to be very much aided by the snow and ice on the field which caused many defenders to be unsure in their running and tackling technique on both teams.

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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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Referees were worse than we thought in Sunday’s Dolphins’ loss

Oct. 31 Opinion

The Dolphins this weekend were on the short end of the stick of at least three terrible officiating decisions that undoubtedly helped cost them the game.  A game which New England had just a 4% chance of winning early in the third quarter, according to ESPN statisticians.

Photo Courtesy of Dolphins.com

Photo Courtesy of Dolphins.com

The first blown call was a third down, 21 yard pass interference that gave New England field goal range late in the first half.  Without this incomprehensible decision, New England goes into halftime scoreless without having even crossed midfield.  The Patriots converted a field goal which helped them go into the half down 17-3.

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