Ryan Tannehill produced the first multi pass touchdown game of his career and Brian Hartline registered a drop and zero catches; that’s as far as I go about Sunday’s win against the Rams. As we enter the bye week I would like to recap what have been a tumultuous first six weeks of the season. Since the Dolphins are on bye, the traditional Stop and Go format will take a back seat.
The Week of Rest
It is essential that this week be one where Richard Marshall can beat out his back spasms and return to the starting lineup opposite Sean Smith, since, well, Nolan Carroll was a little more of his usual self on Sunday than he was against the Bengals. Still on the theme of recovery, a healthy Reggie Bush needs to suit up in two weeks to take on the Jets because 19 yards rushing is simply unacceptable. The short yardage game continues to be a serious issue for this team, and a healthy Reggie Bush could probably do a double front flip, instead of a single, and pick up that yard.
Take a Bowe
Rumors or not, here is my take on the Dwayne Bowe to Miami ordeal. Dwayne Bowe is a great receiver and Miami native; height-weight-speed specimen, absolute nightmare for defensive coordinators, and a genetically enhanced matchup problem. Sounds perfect, right? The “weight” proposes its own problem as once upon a time Bowe enjoyed a coupled too many doughnuts and cheeseburgers and reported to training camp overweight. Those ships have sure as hell sailed if Bowe wants any hope of suiting up for Joe “I take no BS” Philbin’s up and coming Miami Dolphins.
From a trade standpoint, I would not be willing to give up more than Matt Moore and a 3rd round draft choice as once you have a quarterback, draft picks become that much more impactful and important. Finally, I will absolutely not be willing to give up any draft choice unless Bowe can be locked up to long term reasonable money. I am not giving him a Larry Fitzgerald or even B-Marsh type contract. I am willing to wait until the draft to snag a first round wide receiver.
The Route Tree
Go: Michael Egnew
Third round pick Michael Egnew is probably the most recurring name in my weekly segment and FINALLY, he has made it into one of Coach Philbin’s pressers. “Michael Egnew is making strides”. And the Hallelujah bells are not only ringing, but blaring! Egnew needs to get GOing, learn to block and make an impact.
Drag or 0-route: The 0 production player has already been kicked off the squad and that award goes to Legedu Naanee…there was a dream that was Naanee (Gladiator reference)
Button hook: Mike Pouncey has been a human obelisk at the center of the Dolphins’ offensive, not allowing a single sack up to date. Ireland POUNCEd on the better half of the Tebow-Pouncey UF exchange…whose excited for Jets week 2.0?
Post Corner-Post Middle: Through the first 6 weeks of the season Sean Smith has arguably faced the most talented receivers of any cornerback in the NFL and he has produced! Sean Smith is the blanket that puts these receivers to sleep. If you cut to the middle of the field you’ll meet the NFL’s top ranked safety in Reshad Jones and his balling, fake-punting, dread locked partner Chris D. Clemons who his in the top 10 at his position.
Screen Pass: Heck, you’re not running a screen his way: Cameron Wake. After not registering a sack through the first three weeks of the season, Cam was still the number one ranked 4-3 defensive end in the NFL. Now he has more than doubled his PFF score lead on the second place player. Prediction: He will break his career high sack total of 14.
Stutter and Go: Jake Long started the season a little rough, but his Pro Bowl play is slowly returning. Nothing a bye week can’t fix. Coples will be eating lots of grass in a few weeks…
To end this week’s segment, there are three awards I would like to give out: the Incognito Dolphin of the 6 weeks, offensive MVP, and defensive MVP.
Incognito Dolphin of the 6 weeks: Randy Starks. Starks is quietly having a pro bowl caliber season. He has registered 3.5 sacks, an extremely athletic interception, and countless stops. He’s not flashy, but Starks plays with an incredible degree of finesse to sheds blockers like flicking dirt off his shoulders.
Offensive MVP: Ryan Tannehill. This one is a gimme. Everyone is amazing by his coolness under duress, his grasp and mastery of the offense, and most of all his ability to play the position like a franchise quarterback! The touchdowns are coming, but I have confidence in our young signal caller to be “the guy” we’ve all been waiting for. Ryan Tannehill deserves the honor of being the jersey I wear every Sunday.
Defensive MVP: This one is even more obvious: Cameron Wake. He’s our most dominant pass rusher, run stopper, and overall defensive player. His cerebral game has improved exponentially and in my opinion, the signing of Cameron Wake alone could be keeping GM Ireland his job.
At the end of this lengthy chapter, I leave you, the readers a simple message to define our 3-3 start. In the words of American basketball star John Wooden, “Don’t measure yourself by what you have accomplished, but by what you should have accomplished with your ability”. He’s right, we’re 5-1.
Until Jets week 2.0,
Cheers.
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