Yesterday was a hot and sunny day in Miami and the New England Patriots were greated by the Dolphins with all the warmth and generosity that Miami would normally reserve for a supporter of Fidel Castro. But after about 3 and a half hours of this reception on the field at Hoe Robbie stadium, the Patriots had had enough of this Miami hospitality and decided to return to New England, still winless and hurting after Miami beat them by the score of 10-3.
It was, as one reporter put it, about what you'd expect after the first 3 weeks of this NFL season. Miami played stifling defense, but struggled on offense, scoring only 10 points and committing 3 turnovers. The guys in the other uniforms played just well enough to still be able to win the game at the end, but when given their opportunity, they were unable to score the points they need.
It was, in that sense, a microcosm of the 2000 season for both teams.
It was an early game, starting at 1:00 PM EDT (1500 GMT/UTC) at Joe Robbie Stadium in Miami. The temperature was 88 degrees Fahrenheit with the humidity up over 60%. On the field, the temperature was well over 100 and the sun was very hot. Inactive for the Dolphins were Tony Martin, Autry Denson, Ray Hill, Daryl Gardener, Richmond Webb, Earnest Grant, and Arturo Freeman. Mike Quinn was the emergency quarterback.
The Dolphins started the game by receiving the opening kickoff and running a drive that would be typical of the drives by both teams for the entire game. Starting at their 20, they attempted to run the ball, but couldn't get anything going and ended up completing a short pass for the first down. However, one first down was all they could accomplish and they ended up punting from their 40.
If you repeat this sequence about 20 times for each team, you have a pretty good summary of the game.
There were a few (very few) big plays in the first half that set up the only scoring of the game. On the Dolphins' second possession, Jay Fiedler scrambled from the pocket to his left and hit Oronde Gadsden on a seam route down the left side for 44 yards.
This gave Miami the ball at the New England 17. However, on 2nd and 10, Fiedler dropped back to pass but was grabbed by the Patriots' defensive end on his arm. As he was being hauled down, Fiedler attempted to flip the ball over the line to Lamar Smith. It was such a poor throw, however, that the ball came down to New England's Henry Thomas, who took it and rumbled out to the 35 before Rob Konrad took him down with a picture-book tackle.
This was a bad mistake by Fiedler who should have held on to the ball and taken the sack. It ended Miami's first scoring opportunity.
The Patriots responded by mounting a short drive into Miami territory that ended in a field goal and gave New England a 3-0 lead.
On Miami's next possession, they drove from their 30 to their 47, where Miami pulled off the offensive play of the game. On a 3rd and 4, Miami used Thurman Thomas as a decoy, rolling him out to the left and faking a pass to him.
In the meantime, Bert Emmanuel was isolated one-on-one with Patriots' defensive back Kero Serwanga. Emmanuel got a step on Serwanga on a deep post pattern and Fiedler placed the ball perfectly over the top to Emmanuel, who made a leaping catch and then fell as he caught the ball, rolling into the endzone for a touchdown.
This play covered 53 yards and was easily the Dolphins' longest completion and biggest offensive play of the year. It was just the right use of Thurman Thomas to freeze the safeties and get Emmanuel clear.
That made the score 7-3 in favor of Miami and turned out to be all the scoring they would need.
New England went 3 and out on their next series and Miami took over at their 9. On 2nd and 7 at the 12, it appeared that Lamar Smith had broken open through the right side for 44 yards, but the long run was called back by a holding penalty on Kevin Donnalley. However, Thurman Thomas ran a draw on the very next play that netted 26 yards and moved Miami out of the hole.
However, when Jay Fiedler attempted to throw to Ed Perry on the next play, Perry stumbled and fell on the dirt infield and the ball ended up in the hands of Ty Law of the Patriots, who returned it to the Miami 21.
At this point, it looked like the Patriots might score and go back into the lead, but on 2nd and goal from the Miami 6, the Patriots ran Kevin Faulk up the middle on a draw. At the Miami 2, safety Brian Walker flew out of the endzone and put his shoulder into Kevin Faulk's chest. This hit knocked Faulk straight backwards, but more importantly, knocked the ball out, which was immediately recovered by Zach Thomas to end the Patriots' scoring threat.
In next year's training camp, the Dolphins' coaches will be using the film of this hit as a training aid to show younger players how to tackle. Yes, the hit was that good.
After two short drives, Miami got the ball back with 1:06 remaining in the first half. Aided by a late hit penalty on Chris Slade, who dove on Jay Fiedler as Fiedler was sliding down the field, the Dolphins managed to get to the New England 26, where Olindo Mare' hit a 43 yard field goal to put the final points on the board and give Miami a 10-3 lead, which would last for the rest of the game.
Following the half, both teams conducted a series of futile attempts at offensive drives which ended with punts, or in one case, a Miami turnover when Bert Emmanuel fumbled a short pass from Jay Fiedler. The deepest penetration by either team until the final 4 minutes of the game was to Miami's 36 and that ended in a missed 53 yard field goal by the Patriots.
However, with less than 4 minutes to go in the game, the Patriots got the ball back at the 50 after they had pinned Miami back at the 2 and forced a punt.
From there, the Patriots managed to hold on to the ball on 4th and 1 with a daring 28 yard pass to Terry Glenn on a fake sneak. However, when they got down inside the 10, Bledsoe first overthrew an open Terry Glenn in the endzone and then, on 4th down, Patrick Surtain hit Patriots' tight end Eric Bjornson good enough at the line of scrimmage to throw him off his route. Bledsoe was trying to go to Bjornson on a timing route, but with the timing off, the ball fell to the turf and the game was over.
It was an exciting end to an otherwise unexciting game - unless you really like defense. Both teams' defenses played very well and really shut down their opponents. Miami did have over 90 rushing yards, but most of that was on 3 Thurman Thomas carries. Lamar Smith ran 20 times for 42 yards and Kevin Faulk's numbers were almost identical for the Patriots.
And the quarterbacks had nearly identical numbers, as well. Each completed about 50% of his passes for around 150 to 160 yards.
And while the total number of sacks was low (3 total), both quarterbacks were constantly pressured and hurried by good pass rushes.
It was Miami's first division game of the year, and therefore an important win, but even though the Dolphins won, the results did not do a lot to instill confidence in Miami's ability to win against teams with better offenses down the road.
The defense.
On offense, there wasn't much that was good, but the bomb to Emmanuel was a good combination of game planning, play-calling and execution at the right moment.
And, as much as I hate to say it, Thurman Thomas is one of the Dolphins' best offensive weapons right now. His skill, experience and talent are invaluable to this team.
The special teams coverage on kicks was excellent and they didn't allow any big plays, or even any big thrills from the Patriots.
The offensive line took a step back this week when confronted with the Patriots' defensive line. They allowed too much pressure on Jay Fiedler and weren't opening consistent holes for the running game. Also, even though Fiedler was only sacked once, their pass protection was weak. If Fiedler doesn't roll out frequently, he doesn't complete as many passes as he did - which wasn't that many.
The wide receivers had another mixed performance, but overall were not sharp.
Jay Fiedler also took a step back - or at least sideways. His lame duck pass (actually, calling it "lame" would be generous. I think it was completely legless) deep in Patriots' territory was a pitiful decision. And while his deep passes are OK, he doesn't seem to be improving in his ability to throw those dump balls to the backs. An NFL quarterback should have no problem completing a 5 yard dump pass to a fullback.
And while I'm on the subject, turnovers became an issue in this game for the first time this year. Miami turned the ball over 3 times, doubling their previous total for the year. That is unacceptable.
On special teams, the return team kept shooting themselves in the foot with penalties. Those penalties must be eliminated if Miami wants to keep winning these close games. They don't have the offensive firepower to make up for bad field position.
As I've already pointed out, Fiedler took a step back this week. His first interception was inexcusable. He completed 12 of 24 passes (50% completion rate) for 153 yards with 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions. That's a quarterback rating of 49.3. Worst of all, however, were his poor throws on those short dump passes.
Jay Fiedler should be getting better - not worse.
But he did have that one priceless throw to Bert Emmanuel. Passes don't get thrown much better than that one by Jay Fiedler.
Lamar Smith had a poor day overall, but most of that was not his fault. He ended the game with 20 carries for 42 yards, but he was pounded in the backfield for the entire game. If not for his individual effort, he could have ended the game with 20 carries for minus 20 yards. And his one 44 yard carry was called back for a penalty.
Nevertheless, Lamar ran hard and made a couple of key runs, picking up some first downs. He also turned a couple of potential losses into short gains.
Thurman Thomas is rapidly becoming the most dangerous threat the Dolphins have out of the backfield. He carried 4 times for 37 yards and caught 1 pass for 1 yard. He also decoyed the Patriots on Bert Emmanuel's touchdown catch.
Rob Konrad caught 2 passes for 11 yards, but didn't help out as much with the blocking as we've come to expect. Of course, it's becoming increasingly obvious that Fiedler is having trouble getting the ball to him.
Bert Emmanuel caught the only touchdown pass of the game on that 53 yard bomb from Fiedler. He ran that route well and made a nice catch. However, he fumbled on his one run that stopped a Miami drive in the second half. And his only other catch was a 5 yard reception. So he had one good play - and that was about it.
Oronde Gadsden led all receivers with 4 catches for 60 yards, including his 44 yard catch and run in the first quarter. He was very inconsistent.
Leslie Shepherd was about like he always is - pretty ineffective as a receiver. He caught 3 passes for 23 yards, but he did do some nice things as a punt returner, returning one punt for 32 yards and almost returning another over 40 - if only it hadn't been called back by a penalty.
The offensive line didn't have a very good day, having problems with the Patriot's 3-4 scheme and not sustaining their blocks. Todd Wade continues to do well in run blocking, but does need some seasoning before he can consistently pass block. Kevin Donnalley had the holding penalty that negated Lamar Smiths' longest run. But the biggest problems were right up the middle. The tight ends vanished in this game, providing little support in either blocking or pass catching. None of the tight ends caught a pass.
On defense, the defensive line continues to rotate all their healthy players in and out of the lineup and is playing as well as any group on the field.
Jason Taylor led all defensive linemen with 7 tackles, a pass knocked down and a terrific tackle for a 5 yard loss on a reverse that didn't fool him for a minute. JT is looking more and more like the player we all hoped he'd become after his rookie season.
Trace Armstrong had 4 tackles, 2 sacks, a batted pass and a forced fumble. As of this week, Trace is first in the AFC and second in the NFL in sacks.
Rich Owens had 3 tackles and a batted pass. It's difficult to say where he'll be next year, but he's providing an outstanding backup this year.
Tim Bowens "only" had 3 tackles - one of which was for a 3 yard loss on 4th down at the end of the first half. He was an immovable object in the center of the line, even without Gardener playing next to him.
Lorenzo Bromell had 2 solo tackles. He's getting extra playing time as they rotate the defensive linemen to keep them fresh. However, he also had an offsides penalty late in the game at the Miami 7 yard line.
Kenny Mixon also had 2 solo tackles and is doing a fine job filling in for Daryl Gardener.
Jermaine Haley also had 2 tackles and had good penetration on a couple of plays that I noticed. He is another one of JJ's defensive players.
Behind the linemen, Zach Thomas had 11 tackles and a fumble recovery. I almost lost my lunch when they took Zach off the field on the cart, but when he came back, that was a great moment. Zach Thomas is the closest thing that Miami has to a truly great player now that Dan is gone. Yes, even more than Thurman.
Robert Jones also had a good game with 7 tackles. He didn't have any plays that really stood out for me, but he was active and very important to stopping the Patriots' running game.
Derrick Rodgers is only credited with 2 tackles, but I think that he's playing much better than he did last year. However, he did have one of the special teams penalties that pushed Miami back late in the game.
In the secondary, Brian Walker earned his title as the STRONG safety on Sunday, with his crushing tackle of Kevin Faulk at Miami's 2 yard line. He ended the day with 4 regular tackles, 1 forced fumble and a special teams tackle.
Brock Marion had 6 tackles altogether and was a constant presence around the ball.
Sam Madison had 3 tackles and did his usual blanket job in coverage.
On the other side, Patrick Surtain may have prevented a tying touchdown when he jammed Bjornson at the line of scrimmage in the 4th quarter. He also had some fine coverage and is credited with 1 tackle.
Jerry Wilson continues to play strong at the nickel position, getting two tackles this weekend.
Greg Jeffries played as an extra safety and had 2 tackles and the only interception by Miami in the game.
Olindo Mare' kicked one long field goal and did a fine job on kickoffs this week.
And Matt Turk continues to impress as Miami's punter, averaging 44 yards per punt this week, with a 54 yarder as the longest.
Also on special teams, Twan Russell had 2 solo tackles in coverage.
Ben Kelly had 2 punt returns for 18 yards before being injured and Leslie Shepherd had 2 for 32 yards, not including the 44 yard return called back for a penalty.
Brock Marion only returned one kickoff for 25 yards this week.
Zach Thomas sprained his ankle this week, but returned to the game at the end. However, while it's not a long term injury, it may keep him out of the lineup this week against the Bengals.
Ben Kelly tore the ACL in his knee this week and will be out for the rest of the year.
Thurman Thomas suffered a strained groin towards the end of the game, but it's too soon to tell if this will keep him out this week.
This was not what you would call a "pretty" game of football, with lots of offense on both sides.
Still, too often those compliments are limited to great offensive games, when the defense may be just as deserving of compliments.
And that's certainly the case in Miami.
Personally, I took away a couple of things from the game. First of all, my perch on the Jay Fiedler bandwagon is becoming very shaky. As my buddy Chris points out, an NFL quarterback should be able to complete short dump passes to running backs. Fiedler has not shown the ability to do that routinely in any game this year.
And this is not about experience - it's about judging his throws. He seems to lack touch on the ball. It's all or nothing with him and when it's "all", as in the TD pass to Emmanuel, he's fine. But when it should be just a little, he makes it nothing. That's not so good.
I figure that Fiedler's got until the Buffalo game to get his act together. If he doesn't start performing better by the bye week, he could find himself as the backup again.
The other thing I felt after the game was that the offensive line still needs some work. They didn't do a good job against the Patriots' front 7 this week and while the Patriots get some credit for going to a 3-4 and bringing up their safeties, the Dolphin offensive line has to handle 3-4 alignments as well as 4-3 sets.
The wide receivers have been disappointing as well, but without OJ McDuffie and Tony Martin, it's hard to judge them too much. Until the receivers are at full strength, we won't really know what we've got.
All in all, a win is still a win and a division win is the best kind of win to get, but Miami is going to need to play better in the weeks to come if they are to have a chance at making the playoffs.