Dolphins choke away playoff birth, lose to Jets 20-7

As I wrote in my column yesterday, a loss today simply meant the Miami Dolphins just weren't very good.

20-7.

Season over. Playoffs gone. And a disastrous beginning to the offseason.

Everything that had to happen, did.

Baltimore lost. Miami had a 7-0 lead against Geno Smith, at home, in a must win game.

And then they were out scored 20-0.

With everything on the line, the Miami Dolphins had a melt down of epic proportions.

Ryan Tannehill threw 3 INT's. He wasn't good enough.

The Dolphin defense was gashed on the ground.

They weren't good enough.

The play calling was an abomination.

Mike Sherman wasn't good enough.

When they established a run game, they passed. When the pass was working, they ran.

On 4th and inches, Sherman ran Charles Clay, instead of just running a sneak.

On third and three, after a sleu of big time runs, Sherman called a screen to Mike Wallace.

It was simply horrific.

Tannehill overthrew a Mike Wallace TD.

Wallace dropped a TD.

Rishard Matthews dropped a third down pass.

Geno Smith was barely touched.

Point the finger wherever you want, the bottom line is this:

In control of their own destiny, the Miami Dolphins lost back to back games to Thad Lewis, and Geno Smith.

They were not good enough this season.

And now, it's over.

Jets lead Dolphins 14-7 after third quarter

A Ryan Tannehill INT. A failed 4th down.

Just a disaster.

The Jets have the ball inside Miami territory. Cincinnati and Baltimore are tied.

It's not looking good.

Final quarter.

Bengals doing their part, but Fins trail Jets 14-7 at halftime

Well, Cincinnati is doing their part. They currently lead the Ravens 17-6 at halftime.

The Dolphins? Not so much.

A Rishard Matthews dropped third down pass led to a Miami punt.

11 plays later, Geno Smith ran it in with 3 seconds left to put the Jets up 14-7.

Defensively, Miami just can't seem to stop Smith. There has been little to no pressure on him, and he's found wide open receivers the entire game.

Offensively, Miami is killing themselves.

Charles Clay had a key drop. Matthews had the big one. Tannehill overthrew a wide open Mike Wallace.

It's been a struggle.

The lone TD on the day was a 5 yard pass to Wallace.

Brian Hartline left the game with a knee injury. His return is questionable.

Two quarters left.

To the third.

Dolphins, Jets scoreless; Ravens trail 7-6

Not a bad first quarter despite the score.

Miami has moved the football, mostly through the air, the problem has been sustaining drives, as they've stalled twice at midfield.

Brian Hartline had a big catch and run, but limped off the field. It looks like a knee injury. 

Defensively, the Dolphins have stopped the run and put pressure on Geno Smith.

Baltimore currently trails Cincinnati 7-6.

To the second.

Dolphins, Jets nearing finale kickoff; the inactives

They are just about an hour away from kickoff in Miami.

Here are the inactives:

Pat Devlin, Mike Gillislee, Will Davis, Jalil Brown, Danny Watkins, Dave Arkin and AJ Francis.

As expected, Daniel Thomas IS active.

Nate Garner will start over Sam Brenner at LG.

The Dolphins, I assume, will be in all white.

Live blog of BOTH this game and the Baltimore game will be going on throughout the day.

See you then.

Gameday: Five Keys For A Playoff Birth PLUS prediction

(Dolphins.com)

Well, judgement day is upon us, folks.

16 games, 161 days, 8 wins, and 7 losses have all come down to today.

Win, and get a tiny bit of help, and this WON'T be our last gameday of the year (technically, it will be regardless.  But you get the picture),

Lose, and the offseason will officially begin.

That, for one, makes me sick to my stomach.

Here are the keys.  Let's hope the Dolphins follow them better than they did last week.


1.  No more slow starts.  This one is absolutely imperative.  There is NO excuse for a slow start today.  None.  They did it last week, they did it two weeks ago, heck, I can't even remember the last time this team came out of the gates firing.  With everything on the line, and the crowd behind you, go out, take the lead, pile on, and don't look back. NO MORE SLOW STARTS!

2.  Keep Matt Moore on the sidelines.  How Ryan Tannehill made it through 57 sacks without leaving the game is beyond me.  It was only a matter of time until he didn't get up, and sack number 58 was it.  Fortunately for Miami, Tannehill exudes toughness, and will be fine to play today.  FOR NOW.  Keep the man upright and give him time to throw. Another performance like last week, and this game is over before it starts.

3.  Find a ground game.  How do you do that?  You RUN THE BALL.  The yards don't have to be pretty, but they MUST be effective today.  IF this offense cannot establish some sort of run game, one that, at the very least, keeps the defense guessing, then it will be a miserably long day for this unit.  I don't care who it is, but find the hot runner, give him the ball often, and grind out tough yards on the ground.  They did it the first time around, and MUST do it today.

4.  Stay on, and get off, the field.  This was an absolute back breaker last week.  Buffalo converted 7-19 third down opportunities.  That's 36%.  Miami converted 2-14.  That's 14%.  Where was the game lost last week?  Look no further than those stats alone.  If you cannot stay on the field, you're not going to win.  Plain and simple.  If you cannot get off the field, you're not going to win.  Third down conversions will be critical today.  Bank on it.

5.  Force Geno to be Geno.  In the first go around, the Miami Dolphins defense dominated Geno Smith. So much so that the rookie was benched in the second half. Force him to make plays today.  Take away the run game, and make the rookie QB beat you.  Do not allow him time to throw, do not give him the luxury of a running game. Force his hand, and he'll play right into yours.  He did it three weeks ago, and he can certainly do it again today.


PREDICTION

I've always said that the scariest team to play is one that has nothing to play for.  Well, if last week was any indication, that's a pretty accurate theory.  The Dolphins MUST match New York's intensity today. No, I shouldn't have to even say that given the stakes, but they didn't do it last week and it got ugly real fast.  RELISH THE MOMENT.  You're the better team, you're a win away from a possible postseason birth, and you're at home.  I just can't see these Dolphins, with all they've been through, come this far only to have Geno Smith end there playoff hopes....right?

Final: Jets 14 Dolphins 23


I will have live updates of the Baltimore/Cincinnati game throughout the day, both on here and on the Facebook page, so make sure to follow the live blog all game long.

And, before kickoff, make sure to come back for any last minute news, including the inactives.

The season finale is three hours away, folks.

Buckle up.

Season Finale Will Define Miami Dolphins

Do you remember how frustrating it used to be to watch Ross and Rachel go back and forth for years on Friends?

We all knew they were meant to be together, and we knew they'd end up together, but for 10 seasons that show refused to give in.

One season she loved him, but he was with someone.  The next season they finally got together, only to have it end with the infamous "WE WERE ON A BREAK" line Ross made classic throughout the series.

They had a baby together, lived together, even got married for a couple weeks!  But for 10 seasons, the writers did what great writers do:

Pull us in, raise our hopes, get us emotionally invested, and then stomp on our hearts in the most frustrating, tantalizing of ways.

Rinse. Wash. Repeat.

It was a vicious cycle that had us on the edge of our seats for 10 years.  It made for great television, but only because of how it ended.

Had Ross and Rachel not gotten together for good in the season finale, after 10 years of build up and tear down, then the entire show would have been a catastrophic failure.

It would have gone down as one of the worst endings to a series of all-time.  I mean, think about it, folks.

For how beloved Friends was, and still is, could you imagine how different it would be had the writers tanked the finale?

You can have great build up.  Seasons 1-9 can be really entertaining, but if you screw up the ending, everybody forgets how good the beginning was.

Vince Gilligan, the creator of one of the most brilliant, critically acclaimed shows of all-time (Breaking Bad, of course), faced this same conundrum earlier this year.  For five seasons, he gave us the most entertaining, heart stopping 60 minutes of the week every Sunday night.

He gave us 61 hours of some of, if not the best, TV ever to grace our screens.

But if hour 62 failed?

So would Vince Gilligan.  So would Breaking Bad.

You can have a great TV series (Dexter), but if you put up a stinker at the end (if you saw the finale, then there's no need to elaborate), then, fair or not, it wasn't a great series after all.

It's sort of like Lost, or The Sopranos.  They were really good.

But what's separating them from being Breaking Bad great?

The finales.  The endings.  The conclusions.

Their final moments defined what they were, and how they were remembered.

Tomorrow afternoon, the Miami Dolphins season finale will be airing live from South Florida.  The build up has been spectacular.  The stakes could not be higher.  The pressure has never been greater.

And when those 60 minutes are through, then, and only then, will we be able to truly judge this wildly entertaining season.

If Ryan Tannehill and Joe Philbin give us a great finale, then you have Breaking Bad.

If they give us a repeat of last week, then you have Dexter.

Fair or not, the Miami Dolphins will be judged on their final 60 minutes.  Everything before that, good or bad, will be disregarded.

That gripping episode in Pittsburgh?  Forgotten.

The dramatic conclusion to episode 14 against New England?  Irrelevant.

The strong, 3-0, opening act?  An afterthought.

If the Miami Dolphins cannot produce tomorrow, at home, against an inferior team, with everything on the line, then this simply wasn't a very good show.

Sure, it had its moments (OT win against Cincinnati).  Some of the characters were good (the progress of Ryan Tannehill).  But if the finale doesn't deliver, then the season as a whole will be remembered as a failure.

You can't put all this money into the production (over $200 million), give us some really great episodes (three straight wins in December), and then completely tank the ending, and expect viewers to come back next season.

This team has the chance to be Breaking Bad.  In-fact, I'm confident that IF they take care of business tomorrow afternoon, they'll be in the playoffs by tomorrow night.

It's all there for the taking.

But they also have the chance to be Dexter.  Or Lost.  Or The Sopranos.  Some really good shows, that gave us some really memorable moments, only to be remembered for what they weren't.

The build up has been great.  The first 16 episodes have been nothing short of thrilling.

Now it's time for the final act.

And it promises to define the 2013 Miami Dolphins.