Miami played two games against the Bengals yesterday. In the first game, Miami came out as flat as South Florida and got pounded mercilessly by a revived Bengals team under the direction of new head coach Dick LeBeau. The Bengals ran for over 100 yards and passed for over 110, scoring one touchdown and two field goals.
When Miami had the ball during this game, they managed only one field goal and two turnovers. At the end of this game, they were struggling to do anything good on either side of the ball and were down 13-3.
Fortunately, they got to play a second game against the Bengals, immediately after the first. Kicked off by Jason Taylor's sack and fumble recovery for a touchdown, the Dolphins scored 31 unanswered points, declawed the Bengals offense and dominated the game.
Now, it's technically true that both these games were, in fact, the same game, but they certainly looked like two different games played between two different teams in two different places during two different seasons. That's how disparate the two "games" were.
Of course, I'm talking about the first half and the second half of yesterday's game between Miami and Cincinnati in Cincinnati yesterday. Miami got the worst possible start, but managed to hang in and rally so that they took over control of the game in the second half to eventually beat the Bengals 31-16.
The day was a beautiful day for football in Cincinnati at their new stadium, with sunshine and a temperature of 76 degrees. Miami started Scott Galyon at middle linebacker in place of Zach Thomas and used Autry Denson as a substitute for Therman Thomas, but otherwise the lineup was the same as last week's.
Inactive for this game for Miami were Thurman Thomas, Zach Thomas, Ray Hill, Tony Martin, Daryl Gardener, Ed Perry, and Earnest Grant while Mike Quinn was the emergency quarterback.
Richmond Webb dressed, but did not play in this game.
The first half of this game was all Cincinnati - at least, the first 29:30 of it. On their first possession, the Bengals drove the ball right down the field on Miami, running and passing very well to the Miami 9, where Akili Smith hit Peter Warrick in the back of the endzone for a touchdown. Warrick made an amazing one-handed grab on a deep crossing route and the Bengals were up 7-0.
On their next two possessions, the Bengals drove down the field on Miami and added two field goals. Finally, the Dolphins stopped them on their 4th possession of the first half, but not until they'd added more yards to their growing total.
The Dolphins went 3 and out on their first possession, gaining -13 yards. On their second possession, they ran 2 plays before fumbling the ball away to the Bengals. On their third possesion, they drove down to the Bengals' 5 yard line before Jay Fiedler threw a horrible pass that was intercepted in the endzone.
Finally, at the end of the first half, the Dolphins put together a 44 yard drive that ended with a 39 yard Olindo Mare' field goal that put the Dolphins on the board, even though they were behind 13-3.
In other words, it was all Bengals for the first half until....
The Bengals started at their 32 after receiving Miami's kickoff with 56 seconds remaining in the half. After running Corey Dillon up the middle for 5 yards, the Bengals had 17 seconds remaining until halftime. They had a comfortable 13-3 lead and all the momentum they could want, but they got greedy.
So their team called a pass play to try and get one more score before the half. Akili Smith took the snap and dropped straight back in the pocket, with his back to Jason Taylor....
Taylor had lined up a little wide and made a pure speed rush around left tackle Rod Jones. He ran right by Jones, and rather than hit Smith, he reached out and swatted the ball right out of Smith's hand. The ball bounced back towards the goal as Taylor chased it and scooped it up, then raced towards the endzone. Akili Smith chased Taylor, but #99 stayed ahead of Smith and crossed the goal line at the corner.
With that dramatic end to the first half, Miami was suddenly right back in the game at 13-10, and Mo (motivation) had suddenly switched sides.
Miami took the opening kickoff of the second half and drove down the field 70 yards, culminating the drive with a touchdown by Lamar Smith. On their second possesion, they passed their way from their 46 to the Cincinnati 7, where Oronde Gadsden outjumped coverage for his first touchdown of the day.
And on their third possession of the 2nd half, Miami drove 73 yards both running and passing and ended that drive with a 21 yard touchdown pass, again to Oronde Gadsden.
In other words, Miami drove down the field on their first 3 possessions of the 2nd half and scored touchdowns on each one, taking a 31-13 lead into the middle of the 4th quarter. The Bengals did manage to drive down to Miami's 17 at one point in the 4th quarter and added a field goal, but the other 4 Bengals' possesions of the 2nd half ended in punts or on downs.
Like I said, it was two entirely different games. In the first half, Lamar Smith gained 14 yards on 6 carries for 2.3 yards per carry and Jay Fiedler threw for 69 yards, no touchdowns and one interception. That's a quarterback rating of 41.2.
The Miami defense was no better, allowing Corey Dillon to gain 71 yards on 14 carries for a 5.1 ypc average, while letting Akili Smith complete 10 of 16 for 116 yards and a touchdown. Smith's QB rating in the first half was 105.2.
After Jason Taylor's touchdown, Lamar Smith gained 52 yards on 6 carries, averaging 8.7 yards per carry, while Jay Fiedler completed 8 of 11 for 86 yards and 2 touchdowns. His QB rating for the 2nd half was 134.8.
On the other side of the ball, Corey Dillon rushed 8 times for 35 yards and Akili Smith completed 10 of 22 for 62 yards without a touchdown. His QB rating dropped to 52.5 in the 2nd half.
In the end, Miami won this game on guts, determination and Jason Taylor's big play at the end of the first half. They did it without 4 starters (5 if you count Thurman Thomas) and they did it against a fired up team on the road.
While the legacy of this game has yet to be written, this could be the game that will eventually be identified as the turning point of the 2000 season for Miami - for better or worse.
Given the poor play of nearly everyone on the team for the first two quarters of this game, it's very difficult to cut anything out and say "this was good". So you can consider most of my comments in this section to be about the second half.
However, let's start someplace unusual - with the punting game. Matt Turk only had to punt 3 times yesterday, but when he did he averaged 60.3 yards per punt. No, that's not a typo - Turk averaged 60.3 yards each time he kicked the ball and his longest punt was 70 yards. Of those punts, only one was returned and that went for 0 yards.
That ought to boost Turk's net punting average a little, don't you think?
The running game was very inconsistent throughout the game, but the Dolphins overall did do a fairly good job running the football, especially in the second half. It's hard to argue with 159 total rushing yards at 5.5 yards per carry.
The passing game is still anemic, but is improving. Even in the first half, Fiedler completed 60% of his passes and by the end of the game, he had thrown for 155 yards and 2 touchdowns. The blitz pickup for most of the game was excellent and the timing between Fiedler and his receivers is improving.
On defense, the pass defense was pretty good for much of the game, especially after the first Bengals' drive woke up the defense. Once that happened, the pass defense put pressure on Smith and covered his receivers well, for the most part.
In the stats department, one stat in particular stood out - Miami was 6 of 11 (55%) in 3rd down conversions. That is a terrific improvement for a team that has been struggling in that area.
The most glaring problem on a day full of problems was the run defense. A lot of that has to do with the missing Zach Thomas and Daryl Gardener. The Bengals had success running to their left inside the tackle, at the spot where Gardener and Thomas would normally be.
They also got Scott Galyon to overpursue on several plays and cut back at his vacant spot, picking up some big yards. That was to be expected, but it still hurt.
Turnovers favored the Bengals, which is unusual for this team and both Miami turnovers were just mistakes on the part of Lamar Smith and Jay Fiedler. The Dolphins can't afford to make those mistakes and win most games.
Also, the Dolphins picked up 8 penalties including a couple of personal fouls that could easily have been avoided if some players had kept their cool.
Jay Fiedler looked horrible in the first half and nearly terrific in the 2nd. Hopefully, the second half was enough to turn a corner for the Dolphins offensively and get them going in the right direction.
The biggest improvement I noticed about Fiedler was the touch he had on his passes. He threw a number of "touch" passes, including the 2 touchdowns and most of them were on the mark. He got a little lucky when his underthrown pass to Bert Emmanuel resulted in a pass interference penalty instead of an interception when the cornerback misplayed the ball, but he was about due for a little luck.
Overall, Fiedler had a very good game as he completed 14 of 21 for 155 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception. His final QB rating was 100.3, which is well above average. He also ran 4 times for 45 yards, picking up a couple of important first downs.
Lamar Smith ended the day with 12 carries for 66 yards at 5.5 yards per carry and had a touchdown on an 18 yard run. On this touchdown, he ran around the left side of the Miami line, bounced off 2 or 3 Bengal defenders at the line of scrimmage and cut it outside for the score.
In other words, the touchdown was a solo effort, because Smith was initially hit at the line of scrimmage. He also caught 2 passes for 17 yards. However, he did have the fumble in the first quarter that happened because he ran into the line carrying the ball wide in one arm. That was an easily avoidable mistake.
Rob Konrad did nothing before being injured in the 2nd quarter. It turns out he has a sprained (or strained) knee and ankle, but his prognosis for next week is unknown.
As a replacement, Deon Dyer didn't touch the football, but he did block and blocked well. The Dolphins' running game improved noticeably after Dyer came in. He doesn't get all the credit, but he gets some.
Speaking of replacements, Autry Denson replaced Thurman Thomas as the third down back and did a good, if unspectacular job. He ended the game with 8 carries for 32 yards (4.0 ypc) and caught 1 pass for 5 yards. I was particularly impressed with his blitz pickups and blocking on pass plays.
JJ Johnson got some playing time, but did little to distinguish himself, carrying 5 times for 16 yards at 3.2 ypc.
Oronde Gadsden was Gadzilla again on Sunday, catching 6 passes for 73 yards and 2 touchdowns. Both TD passes were well placed by Fiedler, but neither was an easy catch as Gadsden made good plays on both balls.
Leslie Shepherd had his usual day, making one or two nice catches, but ending the day with just 3 receptions for 39 yards. He didn't get a chance to return any punts, because the Bengals' kicker put 3 out of bounds and had one downed.
Jeff Ogden caught a single pass for 12 yards, but it was a good catch and he made the most of his limited opportunities.
Bert Emmanuel caught only one pass for 9 yards, but he did draw a big pass interference penalty by slowing up and letting the defensive back run over him. That play set up Miami's second touchdown.
None of the tight ends caught a pass, but Jed Weaver did return a short kickoff for 15 yards and both tight ends got a lot of work as blockers.
The offensive line did a very good job picking up the blitz for most of the game, only allowing Fiedler to be sacked 2 times. And, in the second half, they did a better job opening up the running lanes.
On one play in particular, Tim Ruddy came out of his center spot to pick up a blitzing cornerback from his right. Ruddy flattened the corner, allowing Fiedler to pass. He does seem to have picked up his play this year.
Without Zach Thomas on defense, Brian Walker led the team in tackles with 10. He had some good hits in the secondary, also, but didn't jar any balls loose this week. He continues to play well.
Brock Marion was second on the team in tackles with 9 and had a pretty decent game after first quarter. He also returned 3 kickoffs for a total of 63 yards, but didn't make any big returns in this game.
Scott Galyon was 3rd on the tackle list with 6, but he missed some cutbacks, had trouble with overpursuing and missed a couple of coverage assignments. Galyon gave a valient effort, but Larry Izzo might have been a better choice.
Rich Owens had 6 tackles and played a good, steady game, but was unspectacular.
Tim Bowens had 5 solo tackles and two sacks, with one of those tackles being for a 5 yard loss. He seemed to be in the backfield on nearly every play and it looks to me like he's getting better each week. He was clearly the strength of the defensive line yesterday.
Derrick Rodgers had 5 tackles, while Robert Jones had 4. Neither player did much to step up in the absense of Zach Thomas, unfortunately. Rodgers almost had an interception, but "almost" doesn't count.
Jason Taylor had 4 solo tackles, one sack, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery for a touchdown. But if all he had done was that fumble recovery and touchdown, he would still have been an invaluable part of the defense.
Like Tim Bowens, Taylor seems to have rediscovered his motivation this year. He's looking much better than he did last year.
Sam Madison had 3 solo tackles, but came up empty in the interception and passes defensed categories. He also drew an unnecessary roughness penalty when he got into a shoving match with Akili Smith - which was, well.... unnecessary.
Kenny Mixon had 3 solo tackles and batted down a ball at the line of scrimmage, but was overpowered a couple of times on the line in running plays.
Patrick Surtain had 3 solo tackles and is credited with knocking down a pass, although I don't remember which pass it was. He seemed to be having a little more trouble than usual on Sunday.
Terrence Shaw returned to action, making 2 tackles and knocking down a pass. When he came in, the Dolphins moved Surtain to the slot in many cases, which is a formation we saw a lot of in the pre-season before Shaw injured his leg.
Jerry Wilson moved to the dime back position this week, collecting a tackle and knocking down a pass.
Jermaine Haley rotated in and out of the defensive line, but didn't get a sack or any tackles this week. He did, however, knock down a pass and put some pressure on Akili Smith.
Matt Turk had an amazing day, punting 3 times for an average of 60.3 yards per punt. Only one of his punts was returned for no yards.
Olindo Mare' made the only field goal he attempted and put one of his 5 kickoffs into the endzone.
Rob Konrad came off the field in the 2nd quarter with a knee and ankle sprain. Right now, there is no news on when he will be expected back, but if there is no damage requiring surgery, he should be back in time for the Jets game.
To be honest, I don't know whether to laugh or cry about this game.
The more I think about it, the more inclined I am to laugh. After Pittsburgh beat Jacksonville, the Patriots bumped off the Broncos and the Bears beat the Packers, it was beginning to look as if yesterday should have been subtitled "The Revenge of the Winless".
The Dolphins didn't fold as they might have in the past and while the big play they got from Jason Taylor turned the tide, it was the offense that stepped up and performed in the third quarter to bury the troublesome Bengals.
So this win was truly a team effort - not a one-sided victory given to the offense by the defense. Hopefully, the offense turned a corner yesterday and will start to become a real force to be reckoned with.
Does that mean that the Dolphins are on the road to the SuperBowl? No, not hardly.
In fact, it doesn't necessarily mean that the Dolphins are even on the road to the playoffs. They have one of the toughest final series of games in the NFL and if they do make the playoffs, they will definitely have earned it.
Still, yesterday's game was an important test for the team and I would have to say that they passed.
Upcoming is an even bigger test, however. The Bills are coming to Miami next weekend and are hurting and desperate. They are beatable - but Miami will have to play their best football to beat them.