Miami Dolphins News I Missed
By Brian Miller
Sept 23, 2012; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Dolphins running back Daniel Thomas (33) is tackled by New York Jets inside linebacker David Harris (52) during the second half at Sun Life Stadium. THe Jets won 23-20 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE
Been under the weather the last few days. Still am but feeling better. I know, you don’t care. I really don’t either. I did however miss a few bits of information so let’s play a little catch-up and round up the latest Dolphins news you may have missed while you sat on pins and needles waiting for the NFL and the NFLRA to hash out a new agreement. Pretty intense stuff if you ask me.
Reggie Bush said the Jets got what they deserved with Darrell Revis’ injury after trying to put the “hot-sauce” on him last Sunday. Bush is questionable for this Sunday against a very tough front seven at Arizona.
Daniel Thomas has to shake the habit of fumbling the football. Especially on the first play following a Dolphins turnover. Two times this year, once against the Texans and once last week against the Jets, Thomas put the ball on the ground on the first play from scrimmage following a Ryan Tannehill INT. Maybe he is trying to deflect attention away from his QB. Team player!
The Dolphins released their on again off again lineman Rey Feinga as well as safety Troy Nolan. They signed safety Jonathon Amaya and LB Mike Rivera. The signing of Amaya is interesting as he was part of the trade for Reggie Bush. Jeff Ireland sent the New Orleans Saints Amaya and a swap of 6th round picks.
Yesterday, the Dolphins released free agent guard Artis Hicks. Hicks suffered an injury at the end of camp and would have missed the season.
There are actually quite a few fans calling for Matt Moore three weeks into the season and some of those fans firmly believe that had Moore started the season (despite his exceptionally poor pre-season) that the Dolphins would be 3-0. Fans are also already criticizing OC Mike Sherman’s play calling. Everyone shoulders blame and it’s easy to point fingers but no fan wants to point the finger at the man in the mirror regarding the empty seats last week against the Jets.
Sticking to QB Ryan Tannehill’s low QB rating. It’s so low that he is sitting on the bottom of the NFL statistically in that category. He currently is at 58.3. While it’s no surprising for a rookie, one other statistic tells why. The Dolphins are 2nd in the NFL in dropped passes. Yep, his teammates are doing him no favors three weeks in.
Speaking of QB ratings. How is your QB on your fantasy team working out for you? If you are like most, myself included you may have opted for an Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Drew Brees first round option in your league. You know instead of waiting until, round 10 or later to get a guy like Eli Manning or Andy Dalton. After three weeks of football, the top 10 in the NFL in QB rating are Matt Ryan, Ben Roethelisberger, Kevin Kolb, Andy Dalton, Christian Ponder, RGIII, Alex Smith, Matt Schaub, Joe Flacco, and Eli Manning. Tom Brady is 11, Aaron Rodgers is 16, and Drew Brees is 25.
With the first month of the NFL season almost in the books the Dolphins are not eliminated from the playoff chase. Like they were last year…at least figuratively. Despite the low passer rating, the almost league leading dropped passes, the Dolphins have manhandled the Raiders who beat Pittsburgh, had a six minute meltdown against the Texans that provided the only competitive points for the Texans, and had a pick 6 and two critically missed field goals against the Jets.
Sorry to those of you thinking Matt Moore would have made a difference but if you want to play the “what-if” game, we can do that with Tannehill as well.
The Dolphins will square off against the undefeated Arizona Cardinals in Arizona on Sunday.