Miami Dolphins Season Review: December
By Brian Miller
December 28th
Nov 9, 2014; Detroit, MI, USA; Miami Dolphins wide receiver Mike Wallace (11) on the sidelines during the third quarter against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports
With the season wrapping up with a final home stand against the New York Jets the Dolphins opted to lay down and sleep rather than show owner Stephen Ross that he had made the right decision to keep Joe Philbin. The Dolphins started out with a back and forth game but quickly fell behind as the Jets rallied for soon to be fired head coach Rex Ryan winning 37-24 in an embarrassing finale. Jets much criticized quarterback Geno Smith threw three touchdowns and 358 yards and become the only quarterback of the 2014 season to post a perfect passer rating.
Lamar Miller rushed for 178 yards and a touchdown while on his way to his first professional 1,000 yard rushing season. Miller added a 97 yard touchdown run to his resume and in the process made Miami Dolphins history with the longest touchdown run in franchise history. While Miller was rushing for 1,000 yards Ryan Tannehill entered the game needing 214 passing yards to become only the 2nd quarterback in team history to pass for 4,000 yards. He would throw for just over 250 yards and joined Dan Marino in the 4k club.
While the loss to the Jets was embarrassing and the records by Miller and Tannehill seemed to be overshadowed by the loss everything was overshadowed by the play and subsequent benching of top wide-receiver Mike Wallace. Rumors would continue into the new year of whether Wallace quit and told his coach he didn’t want to play in the game anymore or if his play on the field, seen as being half-speed at best resulted in the coaching decision to sit Wallace in the 2nd half. Wallace entered the game needing 138 yards to reach 1,000 and was not targeted in the first half.
Making matters worse was the post-game media Q&A that saw Mike Wallace make facial expressions to questions while Brandon Gibson answered for Wallace. The interview started with Gibson speaking on behalf of Wallace but as the questions continued Gibson began speaking in the first person as though he were Wallace. All the while Wallace stood beside him nodding his head in agreement. It was a fitting end to a derailed season.
The Dolphins would secure the 14th selection in round one of the upcoming NFL Draft and will rotate with the only other 8-8 team in the NFL, San Francisco. With the conclusion of the NFL regular season, the NFL announces the 2015 opponents for all teams.
December 30th
Head Coach Joe Philbin tells reporters that he has not made his mind up regarding any of his coaching staff saying that he “needs more time to evaluate”. Many questions remain regarding the future of defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle.
December 31st
Nov 9, 2014; Detroit, MI, USA; Miami Dolphins running back Lamar Miller (26) against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports
As the new year was set to break it was announced that Lamar Miller would finish the season as the Fed-Ex Ground Player of the week following his 177 yard effort against the New York Jets.