*** DOLPHINS NEWS ***
Nov 02, 1997: -- Dolphins Lose to Bills 9-6 --
The Dolphins had no offense today in Buffalo as the Dolphins
lost a close one by the score of 9-6. This drops them to 5-4 and
after the Patriots lost and the Jets won in overtime and puts them
into a 3-way tie with Buffalo and the Patriots for 2nd place in the
AFC East. The Jets now hold first place in the AFC East.
The weather in Buffalo was raining and cool, and the field and
the ball were slick. This resulted in a number of fumbles and bobbled
snaps on both sides and made it difficult for players to keep their
footing or hold on to the ball. This turned the game into a pretty
ugly affair for the Dolphins with their offense not being able to get
even a single touchdown. Once again, key mistakes at critical points
in the game cost the Dolphins and they couldn't come up with enough
big plays to get past those mistakes.
In the first half, the Dolphins couldn't get anything done on
offense. They went 3 and out on 5 consecutive series to start the
game, with mistakes playing a big part in their ineffectiveness.
Dropped passes and poor throws stopped 4 of the Dolphins' 6 first half
drives. At the end of the 2nd quarter, the Dolphins finally put
together a decent drive that ended when Erickson overthrew McDuffie in
the endzone and the Dolphins were forced to settle for a field goal
that left them on the wrong end of a 6-3 score at halftime.
The Dolphin defense played well enough in the first half,
doing a good job covering the Bills' receivers, but still having
trouble getting a decent pass rush on Alex Van Pelt, despite trying
numerous blitzes. They didn't do a very good job containing the run,
but were able to keep the Bills from breaking any long runs or running
consistently.
The Dolphins did come up with one turnover in the 2nd quarter
when Antowain Smith fumbled and Shawn Wooden recovered at the Bills'
22, but the Dolphins were unable to get anything going and Olindo
Mare' then missed a 32 yard field goal.
By the end of the game, this would be the only turnover that
the Bills would commit. They would fumble 6 times in the game, but
the Dolphins would only recover 1. The Dolphins' defensive backs also
had their hands on at least 3 of Van Pelts' passes, but couldn't hold
on to any of them and ended the day with no interceptions.
In the 2nd half, the Dolphins' defense played better,
containing the Bills' running game for much of the half and holding
them to just 3 points and only 1 really good drive that gave the Bills
their final field goal. They also put some pressure on Van Pelt and
covered the receivers fairly well.
At the end of the 1st half, Marino sprained his ankle when
Bruce Smith fell on it and after playing just one series in the 2nd
half, he sat down and didn't play in the rest of the game. Thus,
Erickson lead the Dolphins in the 2nd half and even though he got more
yards than Marino did in the 1st half, he was still only marginally
effective.
He did lead the Dolphins on a drive at the end of the 3rd
quarter that ended with a Dolphin field goal to tie the score at 6-6.
But on the Dolphins' final drive of the game, the Dolphins had a
chance to get close enough to tie the game up and Erickson threw an
interception to Jeff Burris that ended the game with the score 9-6.
Overall, it was a decent performance by the Dolphins' defense
in tough circumstances, but they couldn't come up with the big play
when it was needed. The Dolphins' offense, on the other hand,
couldn't do anything well today and that spelled doom for the team.
My Comments:
This was an opportunity for the Dolphins to reassert
themselves as contenders in the AFC East. However, they did not play
very well, especially on offense, and squandered this chance up in
Buffalo.
I have two observations to make about this game. First of
all, I said in my preview that if the Dolphins lost the turnover
battle that they would lose this game. Well, despite the fact that
the Bills commited 6 fumbles and Van Pelt threw 3 passes that
Dolphins' defensive backs got their hands on, the Dolphins could only
come up with 1 turnover. That's only one opportunity in 9 that they
took advantage of and that's not the way a team wins football games.
The other observation is that the offense really lost this
game by playing poorly when it counted. Late in the game, when they
had opportunities, they commited crucial penalties and turned the ball
back over. As JJ says, you can't keep making mistakes if you want to
win.
Now, as to Marino being out, we don't know if he would have
made a difference. But we can say that he did not play well in the
first half, going 5 of 15 for just 76 yards and getting 1
interception. I have at least 4 places in my notes where I wrote "bad
pass" referring to Marino. Three of those places are on third down
where the Dolphins might have converted if Dan had been on target.
The team must not play like this any more or they will not
make it to the playoffs. They can't keep screwing up and squandering
opportunities and expect to be successful. They have to be more
disciplined.
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Curt Fennell,
curt@phins.com, DOLFAN in New Rochelle (almost)
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