[ Overall Summary |
Grades |
Good Stuff |
Stuff that Needs Work ]
[ Individual Performances |
Injuries |
Comments |
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OVERALL SUMMARY:
The Dolphins broke the Oakland jinx on Sunday when they went
beat the Raiders 34-16 in Oakland. This was the first time that the
Dolphins have beaten the Raiders in Oakland and this was a pretty
complete victory for the team. The Dolphins won this game with
offense, defense and special teams and propelled themselves back into
a tie for first place in the AFC East with the Jets and the Patriots.
GRADES:
The team deserves and overall grade of A- for their
performance against the Raiders on Sunday. There were a few areas
where they could have played better, but overall the team was solid in
most areas of their game.
RUSHING: The Dolphins' running game gained 137 yards against one of
the poorer defensive teams in the league. The run blocking was
inconsistent, but Karim Abdul-Jabbar made up for that by some nifty
cutback running. He also upped his touchdown total with a 2 yard TD
run. Bernie Parmalee looked good in relief of KAJ and actually had a
better average than Abdul-Jabbar. If only Abdul-Jabbar hadn't
fumbled....
GRADE: B
PASSING: Dan was back to his old form on Sunday, but the big surprise
was the game that Charles Jordan had. He caught 5 passes for 106
yards and had 2 touchdowns. He showed speed, poise and the ability to
get open. Overall, the Dolphins had 241 passing yards and were
consistent. Marino wasn't sacked and the only interception was a
fluke.
GRADE: A
RUN DEFENSE: The run defense, while not rock solid, did a pretty good
job containing Napoleon Kaufman after the first quarter. Of course,
they were helped by the offense, who piled up score after score and
took the Raiders out of their running game, but Kaufman was not able
to take control of the game and the middle was solid again.
GRADE: B
PASS DEFENSE: It's very hard to shut down one of the best passing
attacks in the game, but the Dolphins were able to put serious
pressure on Jeff George for most of the game. It was certainly the
best pass rushing effort that the Dolphins have had this season, with
6 sacks and numerous pressures that were due more to the defensive
scheme than to the play of any one individual. Each of the Dolphins'
sacks was from a different player. Unfortunately, the secondary was
roasted on several plays and the Raiders did gain a lot of yards
through the air.
GRADE: B
KICKING GAME: Except for two miscues, the kicking game was superb.
Mare' hit 3 kickoffs for touchbacks and 3 others were returned for a
total of 48 yards. Mare' also hit his longest field goal of the year
and John Kidd did a decent job punting. Unfortunately, the bad snap
that resulted in a blocked kick and the kickoff that went out of
bounds cast a shadow on an otherwise excellent performance.
GRADE: B+
KICK RETURN GAME: While neither of the returners broke any long ones,
both Jordan and McPhail looked steady returning punts and kickoffs.
Each had decent averages and the Dolphins won the field-position
battle because of their efforts.
GRADE: A-
GOOD STUFF:
The most impressive aspect of the Dolphins play on Sunday was
the pass rush. After being dormant for a number of weeks, it woke up
against the Raiders and flattened Jeff George 6 times, resulting in a
touchdown after a fumble on one sack and stopping a number of other
drives. I think the coaches can claim credit for developing a very
effective blitzing scheme that the Raiders never countered well and
for using it consistently. Also, individual effort by any number of
defensive players contributed to the outcome.
The pass offense really benefited from having a genuine speed
receiver available. Charles Jordan really made his presence felt for
the first time this past Sunday and that opened up the field for Dan
and the offense.
Despite the quality of the Raiders' defensive line, the
offensive line of the Dolphins did a good job of protecting Dan. He
was not sacked Sunday and was rarely pressured.
THINGS TO WORK ON:
The secondary was roasted several times by James Jett late in
the game when the safeties weren't deep enough to contain him. JJ has
already mentioned this problem in his press conference after the game,
but it may not be adequately addressed this year. The Dolphins need
additional help at safety in the nickel package.
INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES:
Dan Marino recovered well from his problems in New England,
completing 19 of 34 for 241 yards and connecting with Charles Jordan
for 2 touchdowns. He did throw one interception, but that was not his
fault as the ball went through Troy Drayton's hands and then Karim
Abdul-Jabbar couldn't hold on to it.
Abdul-Jabbar ran well, getting 85 yards on 23 carries for a
3.7 yard per carry average and a touchdown. Much of the yardage was
due to his cutback ability and was done without the help of his
blockers. However, he also fumbled late in the game and while that
turned out OK, it was a potentially serious mistake.
Bernie Parmalee backed up KAJ and also ran well, especially
late in the game, getting 11 carries for 46 yards in relief. He also
caught 1 crucial pass on 4th down for 12 yards and a first down. It
looks like he will be the main backup for KAJ from now on and Irving
Spikes may be history.
Jerris McPhail ran one draw for 8 yards and caught 2 passes
for 12 yards. He also returned all the kickoffs and averaged about 22
yards per return.
Stanley Pritchett made his return to the lineup, getting one
carry for minus one yard and catching no passes. He and Roosevelt
Potts split the blocking duties for most of the game.
Charles Jordan had an awesome game, catching 5 passes for 106
yards and 2 touchdowns. Most of his catches were excellent efforts
and he did a good job getting open and running after he caught the
ball. He showed great concentration in catching a pass that went
through Jerris McPhail's hands. He also did a good job returning
punts, averaging about 10 yards per return.
OJ McDuffie caught 4 passes for 34 yards and blocked well, but
was otherwise unspectacular.
Troy Drayton caught 3 passes for 22 yards, but let a ball get
through his hands that was intercepted. On that pass, it appeared the
ball was not even intended for him.
Brett Perriman only caught 2 passes for 24 yards, but one was
an excellent effort in concentration as he had to turn completely
around to get it and fell backwards while making the catch.
The offensive line played pretty well, but Richmond Webb did
make a crucial mistake early in the game, getting a holding penalty on
a play that would have been a touchdown. He is apparently having
trouble with his knee and that is slowing him down some. The Dolphins
also rotated Keith Sims, Everett McIver, Jeff Buckey and John Bock
at guard.
On defense, Jason Taylor only had one tackle and knocked down
a pass, but was in Jeff George's face for much of the game.
Next to him, Tim Bowens had 4 tackles and a sack and recovered
a Jeff George fumble for a touchdown. It's was Bowens' first
touchdown in the NFL. Bowens also knocked down a Jeff George pass
with his head.
Darryl Gardener had 3 tackles and he and Bowens continued to
play well in the middle of the defensive line, allowing the
linebackers to make the plays.
Trace Armstrong played well, getting 3 tackles and an
important sack on 4th down to stop a Raider drive in Dolphin
territory.
Shane Burton had a sack and 2 tackles in this game.
Derrick Rodgers did have 4 tackles and knocked a pass away,
but was not playing much in pass rushing situations due to his
recovering ankle problems.
Zach Thomas, on the other hand, had a terrific game, leading
the team with 8 solo tackles and getting a sack on Jeff George that
resulted in the fumble that Bowens recovered for a touchdown. Thomas
was all over the field and was very effective on blitzes.
Anthony Harris split playing time with Dwight Hollier and had
3 tackles, while Hollier ended up with one. Both were effective, but
neither made any big plays.
Terrell Buckley played a decent game, getting two tackles, but
was beaten by James Jett on one deep play.
Sam Madison was beaten early for a touchdown, but recovered
well and at the end of the game he had knocked one pass away from Tim
Brown and intercepted another. He had 2 tackles in the game.
Calvin Jackson was all over the field on Sunday, covering
well, getting 3 tackles, knocking a deep pass away at the last minute
and getting a sack on a safety blitz.
Shawn Wooden and George Teague each had 2 tackles, but both
were out of position on Jett's touchdown and Teague was in position to
give Buckley help on Jett's deep reception. JJ has said that the
Dolphins need some help in nickel coverage at the safety position.
Jerry Wilson had another sack on a corner blitz in this game,
bringing his total to 2 for the year.
Olindo Mare' put 3 kickoffs in the endzone and another 3 deep,
but shanked one out of bounds. He also made 2 field goals, including
the season's longest for him of 42 yards. He had one blocked, but
that was not his fault as the snap was terrible.
John Kidd punted 3 times for a 38 yard average, but looked
better than he had in recent weeks.
INJURIES:
Reserve safety Bracey Walker broke his leg late in the
game. This is important because he was playing well on special
teams. He will most likely be out for the year.
My Comments:
This was a pretty complete game by the Dolphins and after the
first quarter, a totally dominating effort. There are still some
weaknesses on the team, but they compensated well for them did a good
job of playing hard throughout the game.
One of the most telling stats in this game was that the 6
sacks were made by six different players. That is a credit to the
effort of the defense as a whole against a very explosive offense. It
also shows that the defense is playing well as a unit.
Hopefully, the emergence of Charles Jordan as a speed receiver
will continue. If he keeps working as well as he did last Sunday, he
could be the man to stretch the field for the Dolphins in a way that
they haven't been able to stretch it since the Marks brothers left.
At the very least, he will give opposing defensive coordinators more
things to think about when they prepare for the Dolphins.
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