40 points down Dolphins rally falls short

There really isn’t much to say about last nights Miami Dolphins game. In fact it wasn’t a Dolphins game at all. It was a televised Ravens practice.

Miami played their worst game of the season in front of the Thursday night primetime crowd. That really says a lot considering the Dolphins lost 20 to nothing against New Orleans in London after losing 20-6 in New York the week before. That game should have been a shutout as well.

Then of course there was the 17 point rally against the Atlanta Falcons and last weeks big 4th quarter comeback against the New York Jets. This weeks miracle comeback came up a tad bit short.

Matt Moore was unable to generate much offense but did manage to throw two touchdown passes to widen the deficit. Both pick six passes came late in the game but the first one was the nail in the proverbial coffin as the Dolphins at that point were only down by three touchdowns and were driving deep in Ravens territory.

The game on Thursday was so bad that Jay Ajayi’s first rush was for 21 yards and by the time the fourth quarter rolled around he totaled a mere 6 yards at one point. The Ravens defensive front keyed on Ajayi the entire game and almost 100% of the time, Ajayi was hit in the backfield two to three yards off the line of scrimmage.

To put the offense in perspective, the Dolphins offensive line didn’t show up. I mean that almost literally. They were absolutely pathetic in every aspect of the game and major changes need to be made this off-season. Which unfortunately is still so far away.

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Miami’s highest paid guard is Jermon Bushrod at $900,000. The next highest paid guard is Sam Young, who does not start, at $615,000. The rest of the guards fall below that figure. Miami’s cheap approach to the offensive line is paying in spades.

When Matt Moore had time to throw the ball, which was almost never, he dealt with poor routes, dropped passes, and bad throws. He was out of sync the entire game and the magic he displayed last week against the Jets left fans wanting Cutler back.

Defensively the Dolphins played at their worst and fines and suspensions will likely be handed out this week. More on that later today. Baltimore came up with a perfect offense to counter Miami’s fast paced pocket collapsing defense. They simply let the defensive lineman run through the line.

By using an offset line with an extra tackle and tight-end the Ravens allowed Miami’s speed rushers into the backfield then delayed the handoff just enough that the Dolphins defenders were standing in the back-field by themselves. The Dolphins gave up over 175 yards rushing on the night.

In the 2nd quarter the Dolphins knocked out Joe Flacco who suffered a concussion on a brutal hit by Kiko Alonso who will likely face a potential suspension. Journeyman back-up Ryan Mallet came in and kept the Ravens offense moving and serviceable. Mallet didn’t beat the Dolphins but he didn’t make mistakes and the Dolphins vaunted pass rush couldn’t get to him quick enough when he did pass the ball.

Overall there is not need for a breakdown of the game. The offensive line doesn’t even warrant a grade. In fact they don’t even get a participation award. The simply get a DNP or did not play. The quarterback gets an F, the receivers get a D, the TE’s get a D. On Defense the corners get a D, the linebackers get an F, the defensive line get an F. On special teams, Matt Haack was again inconsistent, he gets a D, and Cody Parkey missed his only field goal attempt of the game. It was from 50. D.

The Dolphins have an extended break before the face the Raiders in primetime a week from Sunday. Someone should change the schedule to a 1:00 start.

NOTE: Any mispelled words or punctuation is due to lack of effort. Just like the Dolphins on Thursday.

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