Sorry about the lack of updates since the first half of yesterday's game. My phone died during halftime and that was pretty much all she wrote.
Speaking of halftime, man, what we'd give to go back to that, huh?
Up 17-3. Dominating on offense. Dominating on defense. Running the ball whenever we wanted to. Converting third downs. Sacking Brady. Keeping Tannehill unusually clean.
As I said, Miami could not have asked for a better first half.
And then, with one Tannehill sack, one Caleb Sturgis missed FG, and another Tannehill sack/fumble, it was all gone. Just like that, a seemingly cake walk of a game was knotted at 17, and the momentum that was on the Dolphins sideline for the first 30 minutes had suddenly relocated 50 yards across the field.
New England would never look back.
The Fins have now dropped four in a row, fell under .500 for the first time this season, and now have to host a Bengals team coming off a 49-9 drubbing of the Jets. Oh yeah, all of that on a short week too, as Miami gets the Thursday night game this week.
A must win game for the Fins will no doubt be their toughest test of the season.
Gulp.
Other thoughts:
- Again, I question the play call here. Mike Sherman ran the ball 22 times in the first half, and the duo of Miller and Thomas were gaining 5 yards a carry. But in the second half, Sherman only ran NINE times.
Now, I know the game dictates the playcalling, and the Patriots were coming with a vengeance. However, this has become a troubling trend with Sherman, as he continuously abandons the run in the second half. I just don't get it.
- Mike Wallace was AWFUL yesterday. He dropped AT LEAST three passes, including a probable TD pass. He's not getting open, he's dropping passes, he's not being used correctly, and right now, he's wasting a lot of money for these Miami Dolphins.
- Ryan Tannehill was okay yesterday. Could have been worse, definitely could have been better. He had an efficient first half, throwing two TD's, but when the Fins abandoned the run in the second half, and put more on his shoulders, the flaws started to come out. The worst pass of the day was his first INT, where he went long to Wallace, was eyeing him the entire time, and floated the ball, leading to a tip drill INT.
The pressure also got to Tannehill in the second half, as he was sacked SIX times after being taken down ZERO times in the first half. He also had three more turnovers (2 INT's and the fumble). Thats 14 on the season. That's a huge problem.
- Dimitri Patterson was extremely solid. He picked off Brady's first pass of the day, had a huge deflection on third down, and, when he came out briefly, his replacement, Nolan Carroll, gave up a TD pass to Aaron Dobson.
- Highly, highly, HIGHLY questionable officiating this week. That pass interference call on Jimmy Wilson was absolutely terrible, and it led to a New England FG. The call that really irked me, however, was the illegal batting call on Olivier Vernon. This was the play that changed the game for the Miami Dolphins. With their backs against the wall, trailing by 3, Jimmy Wilson sacked Brady on second down, jarring the ball loose.
Vernon went for the ball, and intentionally or unintentionally, knocked it about 15 yards back, near midfield. New England would recover and face a third and a mile, but a flag was thrown for batting. This gave the Patriots a FIRST DOWN, and, a few plays later, the clinching TD. Highly questionable calls all day.
- Caleb Sturgis started the season 10-10. He's since missed 3 of his last 4. And yes, he definitely deserves a part of the blame in the loss yesterday.
GIBSON OUT FOR YEAR
What we feared yesterday has become a reality today. WR Brandon Gibson suffered a season ending Patella tendon tear in the first quarter of yesterday's game, ending his very solid season. Gibson had 3 TD's, all in the last four quarters, before suffering the injury. He finished with 30 catches on the season. Expect to see a lot of Rishard Matthews for the remainder of the season.
That's it for now. This is a short week, so expect the Fins to turn the page very quickly. This game against Cincinnati is winnable, but things need to change, and they need to change quickly.
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