In the famous words of former head coach Dennis Green " they are who we thought they were ". Marc Sanchez and the New York Jets are who everyone thought they were, bullies who run their mouths but cant back it up on the football field. After a week of trash talking, the Dolphins players had the last laugh on Sunday.
In an impressive and dominating performance the Dolphins special teams and defense came to play on Sunday making several big plays on route to a 30-9 win against their bitter rivals.
Whether it was a blocked punt by Jimmy Wilson that led to an Olivier Vernon touchdown, a blocked Vernon FG a 50+ yard return from Thigpen, the Dolphins special teams unit had the best performance of the season and probably in years. Brandon Fields and Dan Carperenter also contributed with a strong performances. Darren Rizzi's unit outplayed long time Jets special teams coach Mike Westoff.
The Phins defense matched the special teams strong performance with dominant play in the secondary picking off Marc Sanchez a couple of times. The defense consistently put pressure on Sanchez and never let him get in rhythm successfully turning the New York crowd against the struggling QB.
The work Kevin Coyle has done with this secondary should not be ignored as he has got the most of his players allowing them to play at their full potential.
On the other side of the ball, Ryan Tannehill had to leave the game early with an injury however are early reports are encouraging and he should be back next week. Matt Moore the true professional he always is filled in admirably. Moore didn't have the offense firing on all cylinders however they were able to make the plays when needed.
The Dolphins run game was slightly improved however there is still work to be done, Daniel Thomas had one of his most encouraging games of the season though the numbers might show it in the box score.
Joe Philbin really had his team focused and prepared this week as his cool, confident demeanour definitely influenced his young impressionable squad.
Overall it was a great time win which puts the Dolphins at 4-3 with a winning record for the first time in 687 days.
A couple of game balls this week should be given out to coach Rizzi ( special teams coach ) Coach Philbin and Olivier Vernon and Jimmy Wilson.
Dolphins are starting to get the most out of their young players and hopefully this Sunday was more of good things to come.
Let the good times roll as the Dolphins are currently riding a 3 game winning streak.
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