*** DOLPHINS NEWS ***
Sep 14, 1997: -- Packers Beat Dolphins 23-18 --
SUMMARY:
The Dolphins lost to the Green Bay Packers today in Green Bay
in a game where almost everyone on the Dolphins played well enough to
win, but the Dolphins' continued troubles inside the opponents' 20
yard spelled the difference between victory and defeat.
During the first half, the Dolphins moved the ball up and down
the field almost at will, making two long drives that wound up inside
the Packer 20. Their most effective weapons were short to medium
passes and some decent running.
They also had another drive that started deep in Packer
territory when they forced a fumble on a punt that gave them the ball
at the Packer 36. However, even though all three of these drives got
inside the Packer 20 and two got down inside the Packer's 10, the
Dolphins couldn't get a touchdown and had to settle for 3 field goals.
The Packers had one long drive in the first half that resulted
in a touchdown and one drive that resulted in a field goal, but on the
their other drives, the Dolphins did a good job of shutting them down.
However, because the Dolphins were unable to make any touchdowns, they
trailed at halftime 10-9.
The second half started pretty much the way the first ended,
with the Packers going 3 and out and the Dolphins putting together a
decent drive down to the packer 17, but again the Dolphins failed to
get a touchdown and had to settle for a field goal and a 12-10 lead.
Most of the rest of the game was dominated by the Packers,
with Green Bay putting together two extended drives that resulted in a
touchdown and a field goal against a Miami defense that was trying
very hard but that was getting a littled tired. The Dolphins also
failed miserably when the tried a fake punt deep in their own end and
this gave the Packers another easy three points.
With time running out in the game, the Dolphins were down
23-12, but Dorsey Levens of the Packers fumbled and the Dolphins were
able to get a touchdown with less than 2 minutes remaining to pull
within 23-18. The 2 point conversion failed, however, and so did the
onsides kick. This gave the Packers the ball with less than 2 minutes
remaining and they were able to run out the clock.
Overall, Miami played well enough to earn themselves some
respect, but that is about all they accomplished. The offense was
still inconsistent and sluggish in the Red Zone, the receivers still
were not getting open and Marino also had a few bad passes that could
have been interceptions had the Green Bay defensive backs held on to
the ball. The failure of the Dolphins to win this game must rest with
the offense's inability to generate touchdowns when in the red zone.
My Comments:
The Dolphins really showed us two things today - they have the
horsepower to do very well this year, but they also still have a long
way to go before they are a championship team. Who knows what would
have happened if they had converted even one of those field goals into
touchdowns. But they didn't so we all have to live with a loss.
Related Info:
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Curt Fennell,
curt@phins.com, DOLFAN in New Rochelle (almost)
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