Tannehill, Dolphins Route Raiders 38-14

Maybe the Dolphins should be the team to move to London? After today's performance why would you want to see them leave?

Ryan Tannehill was excellent, completing 23-31 passes for 278 yards and 2 TD's.

He was crisp. Accurate. Smart. Everything you've been waiting for out of the third year QB. 

Maybe Joe Philbin's silly antics this week worked? Who knows.

It wasn't just Tannehill though.

Brian Hartline was terrific. Mike Wallace was, well, Mike Wallace. Lamar Miller, fumbling issue aside, had a career day, scoring two TD's.

The defense, after the first drive, was nothing short of dominant.

Brent Grimes had an INT. Walt Aikens had an INT. Cortland Finnegan returned a fumble for a touchdown.

When this group gets a lead they're fun to watch, folks.

Sure, there were problems. Mike Wallace, Jarvis Landry, and Lamar Miller all fumbled. That can't happen.

The defense was gashed the first possession.

But, for the most part, it was as close to a flawless afternoon for this team as I've seen in a long, long time.

And going into a much needed bye week, that's a HUGE accomplishment for a team that's faced it's fair share of adversity this season.

More to come.

Dolphins Dominating Raiders 38-7 after third quarter

Maybe we will see Matt Moore today after all.

Following a Lamar Miller fumble in the end zone, Brent Grimes returned a Carr INT all the way to the Oakland 3 yard line. Two plays later Miller would make amends, running untouched into the end zone to make it 31-7 Miami.

On the next Oakland drive, backup QB Matt McGloin would misread the snap, which resulted in a Cortland Finnegan 50 yard return for a touchdown.

McGloin, by the way, is playing because David Carr left the game with a knee injury.

It's a laugher in London.. And perhaps Matt Moore time after all.

To the fourth.

Dolphins Pummeling Raiders 24-7 at Halftime

Ryan Tannehill isn't ready to concede quite yet, apparently.

17-19, 204 yards, 2 TD's. 14 straight completions. 

QB controversy? No today.

He's been spectacular. Superb. Flawless. 

He's been everything these Dolphins have been waiting for.

It's not just him, though.

Brian Hartline appears to be back to his old self, catching 5 passes for 60 yards in the first half.

Charles Clay has had a couple big catches.

Lamar Miller and Daniel Thomas have gashed the defense.

Mike Wallace had a 13 yard TD catch that featured three broken tackles.

The offensive line? No sacks.

The play calling? Creative. Imaginative. Smart. 

The defense? One bad possession followed by a dominant next four.

Miami had out gained the Raiders 284-132. It hasn't even been close.

This is the type of game I expected last week. This is the team I expected this season.

24-7.

To the third.

Raiders lead Dolphins 7-3 after first quarter

Another bad start out of the gate for Miami, as Derrick Carr and the Raiders drove the length of the field for an all too easy TD.

However, Miami has responded.

A Caleb Sturgis 41 yard FG made it 7-3.

An Oakland punt has been answered by a long Miami drive that has them in the red zone.

Ryan Tannehill has been sharp. He missed one pass to Hartline but other than he's been on the money.

He needs to get his team in the end zone now.

To the second.

Dolphins, Raiders Nearing London Kickoff; full inactive list

Beautiful evening across the pond, as the Dolphins and Raiders are less than an hour away from kickoff from Wembley Stadium.

The inactives for Miami include:

28- Knowshon Moreno

51- Mike Pouncey 

55- Koa Misi

58- Chris McCain 

66- Shelley Smith

77- Billy Turner

94- Randy Starks

The inactives for Oakland include:

QB Schaub, WR Moore, LB Roach, LB Moore, G Bergstrom, T McCants & WR Streater

The Dolphins are in the white tops with aqua pants. Oakland is in the black and silver.

Kickoff is 45 minutes away. The live blog begins shortly thereafter.

See you then.

Gameday: Five Areas That MUST Improve PLUS Prediction

All right?

Apparently, that's how they say "Hello, how are you?" across the pond, so, in honor of today's London showdown, that's what I'm going with.

Anyway, a good morning to all here in America. The Dolphins and Raiders are roughly five hours away from kicking things off from Wembley Stadium, a game that may look subpar on paper but holds heavy, heavy importance.

The turmoil in Miami this week, as I've written, has been a massively unnecessary distraction to Ryan Tannehill and others within that Dolphins locker room. Joe Philbin even admitted it on Friday. Was it a wake up call? Absolutely. Should it have been handled differently? Absolutely. But that's all water under the (London) bridge, according to Tannehill, and now we get to see what effect, if any, it had on the third year QB.

A good game today and it all goes away. Everything is ham and eggs once again in South Beach.

But a loss? A bad game from Tannehill?

Gulp.

So, how do these Dolphins avoid said loss? Well, along with Tannehill, there are plenty of other areas that need to improve, as I've also written about this week.

What areas?

Glad you asked!


1. Wide Receivers: Other than Mike Wallace, this group, and I'm including Charles Clay, has been severely underwhelming this season. The drops have been back breakers. They need to end, and they need to end today.

Someone other than Wallace, I'm talking to you Brian Hartline and Charles Clay, needs to step up.

This is the highest paid group in the NFL, no more drops, please.

2. The offensive line: Nine sacks. Too many, folks. Yes, Ryan Tannehill has to be better in the pocket, but, as was the story last season, it's not all on him.

Dallas Thomas MUST step up today filling in for Shelly Smith. Branden Albert MUST be the shutdown tackle his reputation perceives him as. Ja'Wuan James MUST bounce back from a bad game.

This group has to gel today.

3. Run defense: Miami's defensive line may very well be the most complete group in the league as far as rushing the passer. But stuffing the run? Not so much.

Knile Davis torched this defense last week, and with Maurice Jones Drew expected to play today, I fear you could see more of the same. The line has to be better, the linebackers HAVE to be better, injuries or not, and the tackling HAS TO BE better.

4. Special Teams: This unit has been, unequivocally, the worst of the three so far this season. CJ Spiller had a kick return for a TD in week two. Fields has a punt blocked in that same game. Jarvis Landry has been home run or bust. Caleb Strugis missed a FG last week. It's just not good enough, not by a long shot.

Darren Rizzi's unit has to improve, it's critical to this team's success.

5. Coaching: Joe Philbin has been ultra conservative this season.

Against Buffalo it was the debacle at the end of the first half, where he chose to run out the clock with three timeouts down by nine. Last week, he chose to kick a long FG on 4th and 1. As I just said, Strugis missed. Kansas City would go on to score.

It doesn't end with Philbin, though. Bill Lazor, as I've written, is in my doghouse right now. Memo to Bill: When something is working, STICK WITH IT. Don't run consecutive pass plays when you have ONE YARD to go for a first down and the running game has been dominant all day long.

Open up the playbook, go with what's working, and take some chances. It'll do wonders, guys.

PREDICTION

I've covered this team, both officially and unofficially, for a long time now. I have NEVER started 0-3 in my picks. I don't know what it is, but I just can't get a handle on this team right now. I do know this, though: We should learn A LOT about them today, good or bad.

I'm going to take the optimist route one more time, and pick them to win. It really shouldn't be this difficult. Miami is the far superior team, from top to bottom.

Unfortunately, I said the same thing last week. Need a win today. Somehow, some way.

Final: Dolphins 23 Raiders 13


Alright, we all know the drill by now. Come back before the game to get your list of inactives and any other pre game news.

THEN, after you do that, make sure to keep checking the live, quarter-by-quarter, blog throughout the game.

Until then...

Best of British! (good luck...apparently)

Week Four in the NFL: Picks and predictions

The third round of a major is referred to as "moving day." After week three, you might as well just start calling me Rory Mcllroy. Now, it's time to build on it.


Last week's record: 12-3

Overall record: 27-18


Packers @ Bears: "Five letters here just for everybody out there in Packer-land: R-E-L-A-X. Relax. We're going to be OK." I know you will be, Aaron. I know.

Pick: Packers 27 Bears 23

Bills @ Texans: What do two average quarterbacks plus two scary defenses equal? A snoozer.

Pick: Texans 17 Bills 16

Titans @ Colts: ALERT! ALERT! ALERT! Guess who visited his friendly neighborhood MRI machine this week? That’s right, good ol’ Jake Locker. Kudos to him, though.. three weeks has to be a PR, right?

Pick: Colts 31 Titans 13

Panthers @ Ravens: Steve Smith may very well have a career game here, but one player can't do it all. I like SuperCam and the Cats to get it done.

Pick: Panthers 23 Ravens 17

Lions @ Jets: How do the Jets manage to lose in such Jets fashion week in and week out? It’s nothing short of impressive at this point. #MV1

Pick: Lions 24 Jets 14

Buccaneers @ Steelers: Offensive Coordinator Jeff Tedford is taking an indefinite leave of absence.. That offense would give me heart problems too.

Pick: Steelers 28 Buccaneers 10

Jaguars @ Chargers: My life would be so much easier if Philip Rivers was Miami’s quarterback. I guess that’s what Madden’s for, though.

Pick: Chargers 35 Jaguars 7

Falcons @ Vikings: Rookie quarterback making his first career start? Rest up, Matt Asiata. Gonna be a looooong day.

Pick: Falcons 30 Vikings 13

Eagles @ 49ers: Guess that whole “Nick Foles is a fluke” thing was kinda silly, wasn’t it? The kid’s good. But an angry 49ers team at home, coming off a loss, is probably better. Probably.

Pick: 49ers 27 Eagles 24

Saints @ Cowboys: Hope Jerry bought a couple new bulbs for the scoreboard. Not exactly a defensive struggle here. Need one. Got one. Upset city, population, Jerry’s world.

Pick: Cowboys 35 Saints 31

Patriots @ Chiefs: You know what’s better than one upset? Two upsets. Come Andy, lemme see that post game dance again!

Pick: Chiefs 24 Patriots 21 


All your pre game Dolphins coverage will be up and at em' tomorrow morning, so come back and check it out, as well as my prediction for tomorrow's game (although I'm 0-3, so I don't blame you if you don't).

And, as always, remember to follow the live blog throughout the game.

One. Day.