The Miami Dolphins fell to 3-5 (3-1 in the division) in typical Déjà vu Dolphins form and may have let the division title and any playoff hopes for that matter slip through their fingers like the two crucial Chad Henne strikes did through the fingers of Brian Hartline then Ted Ginn on the Fins fateful final drive. As a result, Miami lost yet another gut wrenching game 27-17 to the New England Patriots who moved to 6-2 (2-1) with a strangle hold on the AFC East.
It’s amazing how every Monday it’s the exact same story as it pertains to the Dolphins and their uncanny ability to play well enough to win yet walk away with nothing but another notch in the “L” column and burnt memory of a single play that ultimately feels like the reason we lost. In reality, no one play won or lost a game for us this season but the fact remains that the only game changing big plays that happen are the ones that happen against us and every opportunity we have to make one seems to slip through our fingers whether it’s another game ending 4th down pass that squirts through both hands of a wide open receiver or an opposing ball carrier slipping a tackle for a 71 yard momentum changing touchdown. There’s the familiar 16 play 10+ minute 80 yard touchdown drive followed countered by the familiar 3 play 1:36 80 yard touchdown drive.
The Dolphins are methodical and grind it out on each and every play offensively while the defense continuously allows the opposition to gouge them in the passing game. This time it was Randy Moss on the receiving end of 147 of Tom Brady’ 332 yards passing. Granted, they are two certain Hall of Fame players but regardless, the Dolphins pass defense, as a unit, has to get better for Miami to be in position to win games. In fairness, the Dolphins were hampered by injuries and without three starters. CB Will Allen, LB Channing Crowder and probably the biggest loss being NT Jason Ferguson. Miami was also forced to start two rookies, Vontae Davis and Sean Smith, at corner against the likes of Brady and Moss. In their defense, they played as well if not better than you could hope for despite being in one-on-one coverage for the entire game. Davis made an acrobatic interception of Brady while blanketing Moss deep downfield and made a huge 3rd down tackle of Wes Welker which game Miami the ball back for one final try at a game winning drive.
Aside from the shaky, if I’m being kind, pass defense there is another painfully obvious reason the Dolphins just can’t seem to get over the hump. It’s become clearer and clearer as each week passes the importance of finding a top tier true #1 wide receiver before we can be considered even a remote threat through the air. Imagine Hakeem Nicks, Mario Manningham or Brandon Marshall in a Dolphins uniform just to name a few. The stat sheet can be a poor indicator of the outcome sometimes as Miami has learned multiple times this year. In a few key statistical categories Miami was about as solid as you could hope for. They were penalized only three times, had zero turnovers and converted 9 of 17 3rd downs for a very respectable 53% ratio. All exceeded the Patriots who had 5 penalties, 1 turnover and converted 6-13 3rd downs for a 46% ratio. Still the final score is the only number that matters.
Henne didn’t have eye popping numbers (19-34, 219 YDS, 0 TD, 0 INT) and he made a few mistakes, most notably calling a time out we didn’t have on the final drive and taking a sack that pushed Miami out of field goal range in the 2nd quarter but he showed glimpses of being the quarterback we all hoped he could be. Maybe I’m reaching here but despite some erratic play by Henne I couldn’t help but find myself impressed with his decision-making, skill set and poise. He took that big sack but avoided making the big mistake on that play. He called a time out we didn’t have resulting in a delay of game penalty that we would have gotten anyway. It’s the throw away passes to avoid sacks and busted plays that impressed me. It was his 5 for 5 on the Dolphins’ 10:09 touchdown drive that opened the second half giving them a 17-16 lead. Not to beat a dead horse but 4 more dropped balls didn’t help. In fact, if those catches were made Henne is at least 23-34 for nearly 300 yards. Just saying. Drops are part of the game but they seem to be epidemic with Miami. Hartline dropped huge perfectly thrown ball 20 yards down the field that he slid for but it still went right through his arms and Ted Ginn rebounded from his Hollywood redemption story right back to the Ginn of old. I’m not going to rip him for this one though because that ball had some serious heat on it and although it woulda coulda shoulda been caught it would have been a great clutch grab. It’s not so much that Ginn screwed up again and dropped the ball, it’s more the fact that he had a chance to do something clutch and just didn’t make the big play.
Box score link to ESPN.com:
http://espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=291108017
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