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[ Individual Performances | Injuries | Comments | Web Links ] The Dolphins beat the Colts in Indianapolis this afternoon by the score of 24-15 on 2 second quarter touchdowns and an interception return by Terrell Buckley late in the game that sealed the Dolphins' victory. The team really stuck by JJ's new offensive philosophy and while there is still plenty of room for improvement, this is clearly a different (and hopefully better) team than we had at this same time last year. The Dolphins new running game totaled 137 yards and averaged 4.6 yards per carry. Offensively, the Dolphins ran 30 running plays as compared to 24 passing plays. At the same time, the defense came up with 4 turnovers, limited Marshall Faulk to 56 rushing yards and sacked Peyton Manning 4 times. It was a team effort that won the game yesterday. The game started with the Dolphins receiving the opening kickoff and, much as they had in pre-season, they marched the ball down the field from their own 20 to the Colts' 5 yard line. Unfortunately, they stalled at the 5 and had to settle for a field goal and a 3-0 lead. On the first drive, they ran the ball 7 times, passed it 8 times and used up 9:19 on the clock. Karim carried the ball 5 of those 7 carries and gained 19 yards, while John Avery carried the ball twice, but broke one of those for about 18 yards on a draw up the middle. The only really bad run was on the first play from scrimmage, where James Brown let Colts' defensive end Al Fontenot get by him and nail KAJ in the backfield for a 1 yard loss. Marino was also effective on this drive, completing 6 of his 8 passes and if it hadn't been for Troy Drayton dropping a ball in the endzone, Dan would have had a touchdown pass. To be fair, however, the pass was low and a difficult catch, but Drayton appeared to get both hands under the ball as he was diving for it. He did complete a 15 yard bullet to Lamar Thomas on a 3rd and 10 to keep the drive alive and was sharp and on target. After the kickoff (which went nine yards deep into the endzone for a touchback), the Colts started at their 20. They proceeded to move down the field well, using conservative passes and some Marshall Faulk running, although Faulk was nailed twice in the backfield on this drive for a loss. However, on 2nd and 10 from the Miami 30, Zack Crockett was hit by Zach Thomas on a run up the middle and fumbled, which was recovered by Brock Marion. The Dolphins took over at their 24 and after Karim dropped a dump off pass and Drayton gained 7 yards on 2nd and 10, the first quarter ended with the Dolphins up 3 to 0. The second quarter started with some running by Karim that moved the ball up to the 49 on 2 carries, but after Stanley Pritchett dropped a deep slant pass, Marino fumbled the ball and had to fall on it and then Avery dropped a dump pass on 3rd down, which forced the Dolphins to punt. The Colts started at their 20 after a touchback and on first down, Manning threw the deep post to Harrison. The ball was perfectly thrown and even though Buckley had good coverage on Harrison, the catch was made for a 42 yard gain to the Dolphins' 38. However, after Faulk was held in check on 2 runs, Brock Marion and Buckley sandwiched Marvin Harrison right at the catch on a 3rd down pass, knocking the ball loose and forcing the Colts to attempt a 51 yard field goal, which they made, tying the score at 3-3. On the kickoff, Avery bobbled the ball 2 yards deep into the endzone, but then picked it up and returned it 36 yards to the Dolphins' 34. From there, a couple of runs by Karim and a pass to McDuffie moved the ball to the Colts' 44, where the Dolphins got the play of the day from wide receiver Oronde Gadsden. On 1st and 10, Marino dropped back and heaved the ball deep down the left sideline. Gadsden was running a fly pattern (just a straight run down the sideline) and had a step on Colts' cornerback Tyrone Poole. However, the ball slipped a little in Marino's hand (according to Dan in the post-game interview) and the ball was underthrown. Gadsden pulled up, turned back to the ball and as Poole ran by him, he reached out and grabbed the ball out of the air at about the 11 yard line. Safety Robert Blackmon then tried to hit him, but Gadsden powered out of that arm tackle and then ran over Poole at the 6 yard line, powering his way into the endzone for a Dolphins touchdown. It was as exciting a play as I've seen out of a Dolphins' receiver in a long, long time. It put the Dolphins up 10-3 and put more pressure on the Colts' young quarterback. On the kickoff, Aaron Bailey took Mare's kick one yard deep in the endzone, but was hit by Larry Izzo at the 13 and the Colts started their next drive from there. On the first play, Manning tried to hit Harrison on a quick slant in, but Buckley read the play and cut inside of Harrison, picking off Manning's pass and returning it across the field 12 yards down to the Colt 4, where it took 2 plays for Karim to find the hole on the right side and leap over the line for a touchdown and a 17-3 Dolphin lead. The Colts returned the Dolphins' kickoff to their 17, where OJ Brigance dropped Aaron Bailey. On the next Colts series, the Colts managed only 1 first down and were smothered by the Dolphins' defense, including a sack of Manning on a safety blitz by Calvin Jackson. They kicked away to the Dolphins, but the ball took a Dolphins bounce on the punt and ended up at the Colts' 41 yard line. However, the Dolphins could only gain 7 yards on 3 plays and when Olindo Mare' shanked a 51 yard field goal attempt wide left, the Colts took over one last time in the first half. After a short gain, Trace Armstrong sacked Peyton Manning and the Colts were stopped again, punting to the Dolphins. The Dolphins did get a nice couple of runs from Karim, but with time running down in the first half, Ed Perry couldn't hang on to a couple of Marino passes and time ran out in the first half as the Colts fielded a Dolphins punt. At the half, the Dolphins were up 17-3 and looking very strong. They had only allowed the Colts one good drive and only three points, while running the ball effectively and making the most of their opportunities. To start the second half, the Colts took the ball and marched down the field from their 20, aided by a personal foul penalty on Jason Taylor, who got into a small scuffle with Colts' left tackle Tarik Glenn. Their running was ineffective, but the short passes and comeback routes (along with the 15 yard penalty), moved them down to the Dolphins' 25. However, on 3rd and 10, Manning threw the ball a little too hard and a little too much in front of Marshall Faulk on a crossing pattern and Faulk couldn't hang on to the ball. It bounced into the air into the arms of Darryl Gardener, who was covering Faulk on the zone blitz. Gardener returned the interception to the Dolphins' 22, where he was tackled. The Dolphins next series was a combination of runs and short passes, but Perry and McDuffie couldn't hang on to the last two passes at the Colts' 42 and the Dolphins punted down to the Colt's 21, where the ball went out of bounds after a bad bounce. As the third quarter was running out, the Colts put together another drive where they moved from their 21 all the way down to the Dolphins' 10 yard line. On this drive, Manning began to look like an all pro as he made some nice passes despite pressure from the Dolphins' defense. In particular, a 32 yard completion to his backup tight end on 2nd down was an excellent play by Manning. However, at the Dolphins' 10, two successive runs by Marshall Faulk were stuffed by the Dolphins' defense (namely by Tim Bowens, Zach Thomas and Jason Taylor) and the Colts decided to kick the field goal and go with a 17-6 score into the fourth quarter. Avery returned the kickoff 28 yards, but this time the Dolphins were stuffed and went 3 and out on 2 runs and a short pass. The ball was punted back to the Colts and they started from their 19. They did nothing on 2 plays, but a 39 yard completion to Harrison moved them out to the Dolphins 43. However, a penalty on the Colts, followed by two sacks - one each by Jason Taylor and Derrick Rodgers and a tackle of Faulk for a loss by Robert Jones left the Colts with a 4th and 34 at their own 33, so the Colts punted. On the punt, however, one of the Colts' players was penalized for illegal use of hands, so the Dolphins elected to have them kick again. This was a fateful decision, however, because on this punt return, Charles Jordan fumbled the ball and the Colts' recovered at the Dolphins' 41. Replay showed that Jordan really just let the ball get out of his hands - it didn't appear to be knocked out or stripped. At this point, the Colts used the short pass again and some nice draws by Faulk to move the ball down to the Dolphins' 4 yard line. However, now having 2nd and 3 from the Dolphins' 4, again the Dolphins' defense stiffened. On 2nd and 3, Faulk was stuffed in the middle by Jason Taylor. On 3rd and 2 from the Dolphins' 3, Terrell Buckley knocked the ball away from Marvin Harrison in the endzone, saving a touchdown. Now, the Colts faced 4th and 2 from the Dolphins 3 yard line with 3:56 left to go in the game and Jim Mora decided to kick the field goal instead of going for the touchdown. That made the score 17-9 and it would have taken a touchdown and a 2 point conversion to tie up the game and send it into overtime. On the kickoff, Avery returned to the Dolphins' 23. With 3:53 left in the game, the Dolphins ran Karim 5 times in a row and with the Colts expecting the run, he managed one first down and 28 yards on 5 carries. The Colts were forced to use up all their timeouts and the clock spun down to 1:50 left, but with a 3rd and 6, Karim only got 5 yards and the Dolphins were forced to punt for the last time. The punt was downed by Patrick Surtain at the Colts' 4 yard line, and with just 1:32 remaining and no timeouts, the Colts needed a touchdown and a 2 point conversion to tie the game. On the first play, Calvin Jackson knocked away a pass intended for Torrence Small on 2nd and 10 from their 4, Manning went back to Marvin Harrison down the sideline. However, Buckley again had excellent coverage on Harrison and the ball was just slightly underthrown, giving Buckley the opportunity to make the interception, which he did. With no one between him and the goalline, it was an easy touchdown for him on the return. This put the Dolphins up 24-9 with just 1:19 left to play and the Colts had no timeouts. You have to give the Colts credit at this point, they still played like it mattered and drove down the field, finally getting a touchdown on a fade pass to Harrison in the back corner of the endzone. Time then ran out as they went for a 2 point conversion, but missed it. Overall, this was a clear victory for the Dolphins and they accomplished a lot of good things in this game. They established the running game, made some nice plays, protected the football (for the most part) and were consistent. There were a few things that I would have liked to have seen them do better, but it was a good win for them. The running game was very good, more so in the first half than in the second. They ended up with 137 yards on 30 carries, for a 4.6 yard per carry average. They got 10 first down (2/3rds of the total of 15) by running the football. Towards the end of the game, they did manage to run the clock some by running the football, although not as much as I would have liked to see. The offensive line did an excellent job against essentially the same Colts' defense that beat them up so badly last year in the loss in Indianapolis. The holes were opening and Marino was not only not sacked, but for the most part, he had all day to stay in the pocket and find his receivers. Some of the receivers did some good things today, notably Lamar Thomas and Oronde Gadsden. Thomas only had two passes thrown to him, but both were for important first downs and he made nice catches. And Gadsden's only catch was a segment for the highlight films. The defense did a great job containing Marshall Faulk and keeping him from getting on track. The Dolphins stopped Faulk for a loss eight times and held him to 2 yards or less on 16 plays out of 24. And that's just counting the running plays. The pass defense had some problems, but was generally pretty good. They were alert, putting pressure on Manning and covering pretty well. The 4 sacks and 3 interceptions showed pressure on Manning and concentration by the players. And this is without Lorenzo Bromell, who should add another dimension to the pass rush and a hobbled Jason Taylor, who nevertheless had a great game. The special teams had a good day, for the most part. Mare' put all 5 kickoffs in the endzone and 3 were touchbacks. The other 2 were returned 13 and 17 yards respectively, giving the Colts an average starting yardline of the 18 following kickoffs. Punt and kickoff coverage were excellent and kickoff returns were also terrific. Avery averaged 28 yards per kickoff return. The only downside to the special teams was Mare' missing a 51 yard field goal and Charles Jordan fumbling. The Dolphins need work on their passing game, partly with timing between Marino and his receivers and partly with his receivers making the catches. There were at least 3 easy catches that were dropped, all by running backs. Avery, Pritchett and Karim all dropped one easy catch each. There were a couple of other catches that probably should have been made as well, although they were more difficult. Most notable was Drayton's drop in the endzone on the first drive that would have given the Dolphins a touchdown. Also, the Dolphins need to work on running consistently throughout the game and not just in a couple of quarters. One more first down in the fourth quarter would have ended the game at 17-9, but the Dolphins couldn't quite get there. I'm basically happy with the running game, but more consistency is needed. And the pass defense, while improved, could still use some refinement. Brock Marion, in particular, needs to get up to speed. He seems behind the others in coverage. Also, Lorenzo Bromell needs to get back on the field. Dan Marino threw 24 passes, completing 13 for 135 yards with one touchdown (courtesy of Oronde Gadsden) and no interceptions. That's a quarterback rating of 84.2, which isn't that special, but Dan looked pretty good and if you give back a couple of the drops that should have been caught, that mark improves dramatically. But he looked pretty comfortable and sharp in the pocket. Karim Abdul-Jabbar ran 23 times for 108 yards (4.7 ypc) and had a nice touchdown run. He looked very good all game long and didn't fumble or otherwise screw up - except when he dropped the pass. He did have one reception for 10 yards, though. John Avery had one especially nice 18 yard draw play on the opening drive but didn't do much else from the backfield, ending up with 5 carries for 28 yards and 1 catch for 5 yards. On kickoffs, however, he returned 3 kicks for 84 yards and looked very good. Stanley Pritchett had one carry for 1 yard and caught 2 passes for 10 yards, but dropped a deep slant pass that would have been good for about 25 yards. His blocking was pretty good for most of the game. Bernie Parmalee caught one pass for 5 yards. Troy Drayton did not have an especially good day, dropping the pass in the endzone and having trouble getting open. He only caught one pass for 9 yards, despite having at least 3 thrown his way. However, his blocking must be considered part of the success of the running game. Ed Perry also got a lot of passes but was also not as productive as he might have been. He did have one very nice catch for a first down, where he eluded the tackle at the line of scrimmage and got an additional nine yards on the play, but despite having 5 passes thrown his way, he only got 2 receptions for 9 yards. Lamar Thomas only had 2 catches for 29 yards, but they were both important and were nicely made by Thomas. OJ McDuffie was also pretty quiet, making just 2 catches for 14 yards. And then there was Oronde Gadsden. I guess I've gushed about him enough for one day, but he caught just 1 pass for 44 yards and a touchdown. Overall, the offensive line did a great job. There were one or two breakdowns that were bad for the running game, but they kept the Colts off Marino and opened the holes for Karim. On defense, Zach Thomas led all tacklers (surprise!) with 10 solo tackles and 3 assists. He is also credited with the forced fumble on Zack Crockett in the first quarter. By my count, he had 2 tackles for losses and 4 tackles to hold Faulk to 1 yard or less. Brock Marion was in on 10 tackles (7 solo and 3 assists) and had one pass knocked down and recovered a fumble. However, he was late on some pass coverage assignments. Shawn Wooden had 9 solo tackles from the strong safety position, including 2 for losses, a pass knocked down and a special teams tackle. Tim Bowens is back and got 5 solo tackles, including 2 for losses and 2 more for gains of less than one yard. He also got some pressure on Manning, but no sacks or batted passes. Robert Jones had 5 total tackles and Derrick Rodgers had 3, plus a nice sack on a blitz for a nine yard loss. All of Jones' tackles were for gains of less than 3 yards and 2 were for losses. Terrell Buckley was isolated on Marvin Harrison most of the day and came away with 4 passes defensed, including 2 interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown to end the game. He also had 3 solo tackles. Jason Taylor played some great football, although he only had 3 solo tackles by the end of the day and a sack. But he did draw a pointless personal foul penalty with some shoving against Tarik Glenn. Trace Armstrong had 2 tackles and a sack and got good pressure on Manning a number of times. Darryl Gardener had 2 solo tackles and also got some good pressure up the middle, but his biggest play was his first career interception. Kenny Mixon got 2 assists on the day, but was not a big factor in the game. Calvin Jackson and Sam Madison each had a single solo tackle, but Jackson's was on a perfectly timed (and designed) safety blitz. CJ and Madison both also knocked a pass down. Patrick Surtain got to play some and while he had only one solo tackle, he did down the ball on the Colts' 4 yard line on punt coverage. Larry Izzo, Dwight Hollier, OJ Brigance and Brian Walker all each got one special teams tackle and together made a great unit on kickoff coverage. Klaus Wilmsmeyer had a decent day punting, with a 42.6 yard average but got a couple of bad breaks off of some strange bounces off the artificial turf. However, he did put his last one in just the right place to pin the Colts deep in their end of the field. Olindo Mare' was amazing on kickoffs, putting all 5 in the endzone and 3 deep enough for touchbacks. He made a 22 yard field goal and missed a 51 yarder. There were no serious injuries, although both Sam Madison and Brock Marion suffered bumps and bruises of an unknown nature that forced them to leave the games for several plays. In some ways, the first game of the year is the hardest to watch, because you never know which team you'll see on the field. Last year, in particular, I know I expected more out of the team than I got and it became apparent in the first game - coincidentally against the Colts - that the Dolphins were not as good as I had thought they would be. Yesterday, however, I was very pleased with what I saw. It convinced me that the pre-season success was not an illusion and that this team can compete with the rest of the AFC East on - at least - an equal footing. Which is not to say that I was totally satisfied with the game yesterday. I certainly was not and I know that the Dolphins need to make some improvements. First of all, they need to start catching the ball better. And the receivers need to work harder to get open. But there were very few mistakes yesterday on either side of the ball and while they could use an infusion of talent at one or two positions, it's beginning to look like they will be consistent this year in ways that they haven't been in a long time. Certainly, the offensive line really looks like they've been upgraded several notches. I think that they will be able to go head to head with the best defensive lines in the league and play well. I am going to watch the game tape again later, but from what I saw, the addition of Donnalley and Dixon have given that line a real boost. And now that he has some running room, Karim Abdul-Jabbar is starting to look like the back that we all hoped he would be. And Avery has that potential in him to break some big plays. Sooner or later, that boy is going to make some defenses very sorry. All in all, I'd have to say that this was a good win for the team and a good way to start the season. Oh, and one other thing. If you've got problems with Terrell Buckley, please keep them to yourself. I am declaring a unilateral moratorium on listening to people who feel the need to bad mouth T-Buck. For those of you with vocabulary deficiencies, that means that I ain't listenin' to no more trash talk about number 27. In single coverage against one of the most dangerous receivers in the AFC yesterday, T-Buck batted down 2 passes, picked off 2 others and returned one for a touchdown. If that isn't good enough for you, then perhaps you should put on some pads and go out and see if you can do it. It was good enough for JJ to give him a game ball - and it's good enough for me. T-Buck was tested yesterday and he passed the test with flying colors - at least in my book. So, it's on to the Bills next week, who did not show anything particularly exciting yesterday against the Chargers except for Doug Flutie. Will Flutie play next week? I guess it depends on whether or not Rob Johnson recovers adequately from his concussion. But that's a topic for another day...
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curt@phins.com DOLFAN in New England |
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