Miami Dolphins — Week 2 C’MON MANs!
By Gene Hauze
Last Sunday, the Miami Dolphins soundly beat the Oakland Raiders 35-13 at Sun Life Stadium. The win was the first victory in a home opener since 2007. The Dolphins are now 1-1 and tied for the AFC East Division lead along with … everyone else in the Division.
The Dolphins churned out 452 yards of total offense, while holding the Raiders vaunted rushing attack to only 23 net yards on 14 attempts. Ryan Tannehill completed 18 of 30 passes (60%) for 200 yards (6.7 yards per attempt) with 1 passing TD, 1 rushing TD, 1 sack, and zero INTs — overall passer rating of 91.0. Brian Hartline caught 9 passes for 111 yards (12.3 yards per catch). And, Reggie Bush carried the ball 26 times for 172 yards (6.6 yards per attempt) and 2 TDs.
Despite the lopsided final score, the Raiders did lead at halftime 10-7. Overall, the game, and in particular the first half, still left me with some moments screaming out at the TV … yet again like last week … C’MON MAN! So, back by popular demand, here are some of those moments:
By the way, in case you were wondering, the above logo was designed and developed by my wife. Thanks Sweetheart for the special effort to help the cause!
1). Ryan Tannehill threw the ball 23 times to the left side of the Raiders’ defense. 19 of those were short passes — a good many were simple out patterns to Brian Hartline. A couple of times, I saw a Raiders’ Defensive Coach screaming at his DB to cover Hartline. Although this one is not about the Dolphins, I related to that Raiders Coach thinking he was screaming at his DB … C’MON MAN!
In a related and Dolphins matter, Devone Bess was the only other Dolphins’ WR to catch a pass in the game — he caught three passes for 43 yards. Legedu Naanee had zero receptions — in fact, he only had one pass thrown his way. This week the Dolphins play the Jets. If Revis shuts down Hartline, Naanee must step up or be shipped out. Then, maybe Rishard Marshall could be given a chance. Or, maybe the Dolphins could bring back 7-11 Hogan and give him a chance. So, Legedu Naanee … C’MON MAN!
2). Alternatively to the Raiders’ DBs inability to cover Brian Hartline, we have the Dolphins’ LBs inability to cover TEs. In Week 1, Texans’ QB Matt Schaub completed 20 passes — four of the those passes (20%) were completed to the Texans’ TE Owen Daniels. Last Sunday, Raiders’ QB Carson Palmer completed 24 passes — six of those passes (25%) were completed to the Raiders’ TE Brandon Myers for 86 yards. Daniels and Myers are not elite TEs in the NFL. They are not Hernandez or Gronkowski of the Pats. They are not Vernon Davis of the 49ers, or even Keller of the Jets (who the Dolphins face this week), Gresham of the Bengals, or Zach Miller of the Seahawks. The Dolphins have to face all of these TEs this year and need to have a LB step up in coverage. In 2010, Karlos Dansby signed a five year, $43 million contract which included a $16 million signing bonus and a 2012 salary of $8.8 million. There should have been an incentive deduction for every pass caught an opposing TE or RB. Karlos Dansby … C’MON MAN!
In a related matter, CBS Game Analyst Soloman Wilcots stated during the game that Karlos Dansby is “one of the best cover LBs in the NFL”. Wow! Has this guy looked at the tape and the stats in 2011 and 2012? What Kool-Aide is he drinking — The Karlos Kool-Aide Special? Hey Soloman … C’MON MAN!
3). Near the end of the first quarter with the Dolphins leading 7-0, Raiders’ QB Carson Palmer threw a swing pass to backup RB Mike Goodson. Goodson promptly ran it 64 yards for a TD. My fellow PhinPhanatic, Brian Miller, did a breakdown of this play in a recent article. The play and several others showed the glaring failure of the Dolphins’ Safeties to make plays. The Dolphins need their Safeties to step up and make more big tackles and more INTs — it kind of makes you long for Yeremiah Bell. Chris Clemons and Reshad Jones … C’MON MAN!
4). There is no doubt that Reggie Bush had a great game including 26 carries and 3 receptions. With less than 11 minutes left in the game, Bush had already carried the ball 20 times and had 2 pass receptions. But, at this point in the game, the Dolphins were leading 28-13 and yet Head Coach Joe Philbin sent Bush back out to carry the ball another 6 times and to catch another pass from Ryan Tannehill. What for? The game was not in doubt considering how well the Defense was playing. And, with the Jets coming to town this week, the Dolphins need every ounce of performance that Reggie Bush has to beat the Jets. In my humble opinion, there was nothing to gain by playing Reggie Bush any more in the Raiders game — Reggie should have been sent out to carry the ball one last time and then pulled to standing ovation and chants of “REGGIE”. Joe Philbin … C’MON MAN!
5). Speaking of the Jets coming to town, the Dolphins only had an announced attendance of less than 55,000 fans in Sun Life Stadium for the Raiders game. This was a game where the perfect season of 40 years ago was commemorated with free hats for fans. South Florida can do better. For this Sunday’s game against the Jets, South Florida residents should fill Sun Life Stadium to the gills with a big home field advantage and extra caffeinated energy drinks for all home towners. When Reggie racks up another 100+ yard game, the chants of “REGGIE” should be so loud that it gives Jets’ Head Coach Rex Ryan and Offensive Coordinator Tony Sparano permanent nightmares for the remainder of their lives. In a positive tone, DOLPHANS … C’MON MAN!
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What do you think? Do you have your own C’MON MAN that you would like to share?
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