Miami Dolphins Not Winning Over Fans With Loss

When you are a team trying to win over your fans it’s always a good idea to impress them when you play at home. Today the Miami Dolphins tried to impress their fans with a pre-game induction ceremony into their  “Walk of Fame” and then again with a free t-shirt giveaway for their “Aqua-Out” campaign. The induction was impressive but the t-shirts didn’t make a huge impression in the stands. The Dolphins themselves made no impression on the field.

Kansas City entered the game missing seven starters including running back Jamaal Charles but it was Kniles Davis, his replacement, who put up over 130 yards on 20 plus carries. It was the defensive front of the Chiefs that continually put pressure on Tannehill. It was the Dolphins who came up way short in a game they needed to win.

Since they opened with an impressive win against the New England Patriots, the Dolphins have looked anemic on offense and while they have showed solid defensive play the lack offensive production simply leaves the defense worn and battered. Such was the case again today.

The Dolphins closed to within six at the turn into quarter four before surrendering a long drive that ended with a touchdown.

Ryan Tannehill was sharper than he was last week but he found himself cuffed by drops once again. Tannehill couldn’t ignite the team and wasn’t able to make the right plays when they needed him too. Truthfully Tannehill is only showing his lack of leadership as any true consistency.

This game wasn’t all Tannehill’s fault though. Joe Philbin was out coached from start to finish and the team could not solve a three tight end stack that took their edge pass rushers out of the game and opened up huge running lanes for Kniles Davis. Philbin showed a lack of drive and ingenuity and once again appeared to be dictating the offenses pace and perhaps even play calling. If Philbin wasn’t on the hot seat radar prior to  today he should be now.

The Dolphins best performance came on the legs of Lamar Miller who ran for over 100 yards and was convincing in his efforts. He was quick and decisive and made good decisions.

Miami is lacking an identity and what’s more concerning is that they have a lot of talent on this team. Charles Clay was only used in the last four minutes of the game during mop up and was essentially a non-factor in the game, again. Why Miami is not using their tight-ends is a question that many are asking. They didn’t use them much last week in Buffalo either. Simply put there is a lot of questions regarding the Dolphins offensive play calling and decision making and whether it’s Bill Lazor’s shoulders or Joe Philbin’s someone needs to actually be responsible instead of simply saying they are.

On an upside, the teams special teams unit played well. Brandon Fields consistently pinned the Chiefs inside their own five yard line, Jarvis Landry ran much better in the kick-return game and almost broke one returning a kick 73 yards. Unfortunately Miami couldn’t turn the good field position into more than three points.

The Dolphins will need to regroup from last weeks embarrassing loss and today’s 34 to 15 drubbing as they head to London, England next week for a Raiders showdown. The Raiders almost upset the Patriots in Foxboro today. It’s back to the drawing board for a Dolphins team who is performing far under expectations but plaint with a tremendous amount of inconsistency. Miami will not return home until they play the Green Bay Packers. They play Oakland next week and then have their bye week the following weekend. They will have a long flight to and from London to get their heads together.