No one said it was easy being a Dolphins fan and this Sunday was no expectation. The Dolphins lost control of a game they had win only to lose in overtime to the hated rival Jets.
Whether it was a missed field goal, a timeout freezing the kicker when the kick might have been blocked, Tannehill not hitting Hartline in stride resulting in a longer field goal attempt, poor coaching by Philbin which even he admitted might have not have been the best route that led to a Reggie Bush injury Sunday was a difficult loss to swallow.
Before we start with the dissection and the negatives of Sunday’s game, there was some positive news this Monday as Adam Schefter tweeted that there is no structural damage in Reggie’s knee and it is not believed to be a serious injury. There is a chance Bush will play this week if he can practice.
Back to Sundays game, the Dolphins played a well rounded steady first half leading 10-3. While Miami could have taken better advantages of their opportunities, the run game had been established and the defense was playing fairly well, including the Dolphins safety that had a strong first half. However with the lack of pass rush there was a sense that the Jets passing game could start producing.
The second half got underway almost the same fashion as week 1 with two back to back turnovers, the first a poor decision by Tannehill and the second another fumble by Daniel Thomas.
Tannehill played a pretty steady game leading the team down the field twice on key drives once for a game tying field goal and the other for an attempted field goal to win the game which was obviously missed. I had no issues with how Tannehill played although his pass to Hartline was a little off which could have cost the Dolphins a couple of yards and an easier attempt to win the game.
Daniel Thomas however fumbled yet again and has developed quite the case of fumbleitis. Thomas will need to get his act together if he wants to stay a factor in this offense especially with Miller running the ball well.
I personally was upset Daniel Thomas was such a focal point of the offense once Bush was out never really giving Miller an opportunity.
Down the stretch I also questioned the play calling and management from Philbin and Sherman who seemed poised on settling for a 49 yard kick and not making Carpenters life easier.
Carpenter missed two big kicks this week and it is QUITE noticeable how his play has declined since his pro bowl season. If I was Miami I would at least be brining in kickers for work outs to let Carpenter know this is unacceptable and give him a bit of a kick in the ass.
Another note from this week is that it has become obvious the Dolphins are clearly struggling with a severe lack talent at WR. Anthony Armstrong appears to be a useless piece and the Dolphins are going to struggle all year if their receivers can’t get separation.
This week was a really tough spill to swallow not to mention considering the Dolphins would have been in 1st place in the AFC East had they won. With Revis out for the season with an ACL, the Dolphins would have looked very nice compared to the rival Jets but they let the game get away and now at 1-2 perspective is a little different.
It doesn’t get any easier for the Dolphins who face the 3-0 Cardinals next week potentially without their best player on offense Reggie Bush.
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