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.
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-
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.