OH! What a GLORIOUS DAY to be a Miami Dolphins’ fan!!!
The Dolphins POUNDED the Jaguars 24-3, to keep hope alive in the playoff race for the final spot and did with it many of the perfect 1972 Dolphins in attendance!!!
As always I predict, the Dolphins will win, but this will be a BIG-TIME BLOWOUT: 28-3!!! I was pretty accurate in the score!!!
It’s the 40th anniversary of the only undefeated team in NFL history. They went 17-0 including their Super Bowl victory. Roughly 30 players from that team celebrated all weekend. There was a dinner at former coach Don Shula‘s house Friday night, the premiere of the movie “More Than Perfect,” on Saturday night, and defensive coordinator Bill Arnsparger was inducted into the Honor Roll at halftime Sunday. Hall of Famers such as guard Larry Little, fullback Larry Csonka and quarterback Bob Griese were among those at the game.
The Dolphins did everything they needed to do to win and followed my keys to the game to a tee lol!!
In a matchup of the PRESENT AND FUTURE vs. the PAST in terms of quarterbacks of the Miami Dolphins, Ryan Tannehill beat Chad Henne!!!
Today, was all about Tannehill, Reggie Bush and Brian Hartline!!!
Tannehill was FANTASTIC today!!!! He was SUPER ACCURATE, despite 4 POTENTIAL dropped TD passes. He hit 8 different receivers and at one point, he completed 11 STRAIGHT COMPLETIONS.
He was 22-28, 220 yards, 2 TD’s, 0 INT’s; 8 carries, 52 yards (included a 30 yard run), fumble lost. I predicted: he would go 25-33, 300 yards, 3TD’s, 0INT’s; 6 carries, 40 yards.
Not too bad, if I don’t say so myself!!! Too bad, I didn’t start him on my fantasy team!!!
In the 2nd quarter, he connected with FB Jorvorskie Lane for a 4 yard TD pass as seen here: http://www.nfl.com/videos/auto/0ap2000000111708/Jorvorskie-Lane-TD-catch, http://www.nfl.com/videos/auto/0ap2000000111998/Week-15-Ryan-Tannehill-highlights, and http://www.nfl.com/videos/auto/0ap2000000112006/Jaguars-vs-Dolphins-highlights; after they stopped Henne on 4th and 1 from Miami’s 11 and was helped by an illegal-substitution penalty on OT Guy Whimper, that negated a Justin Blackmon 20 yard Touchdown. The Jaguars’ tried to capitalize on Tannehill’s only mistake of the day, a fumble on his own 31. You can see the illegal-substitution and fumble here: http://www.nfl.com/videos/auto/0ap2000000112006/Jaguars-vs-Dolphins-highlights.
That would have made the score 10-3 Jaguars, but Miami capitalized on the penalty and marched downfield and scored on Lane’s Touchdown to go up 10-3 Miami.
After the game, Guy Whimper and Karlos Dansby had this to say about the play, from: http://sports.yahoo.com/news/dolphins-stop-chad-henne-jaguars-211112102–nfl.html
Whimper had entered the game as a third tackle – as he had done five times earlier – without reporting as an eligible receiver.
Whimper said he did report, but the officials apparently failed to understand him.
”He reported to the offense a hundred times this year, and 400 times in practice,” Mularkey said. ”Today, for some reason, I was told he didn’t report. He said he reported, but the official has to confirm it.”
Instead of the score, the Jaguars retreated to their 25 and eventually lost possession when Henne was stopped for no gain on a fourth-and-1 sneak.
”That turned the whole game around,” Miami linebacker Karlos Dansby said.
The Dolphins went into the 2nd half up 10-3 and never let up:
Miami marched down the field with drives of 76, 60, 64 and 85 yards in the second half and limited Jacksonville to just 14 minutes possession in the final three quarters. Sherman deserves credit for that, while the players executed well too. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1447936-the-good-bad-the-ugly-recapping-miamis-win-over-chad-hennes-jaguars#/articles/1447936-the-good-bad-the-ugly-recapping-miamis-win-over-chad-hennes-jaguars/page/2
On the first play of the 2nd half, Tannehill went play-action, rolled out, and found a wide-open Brian Hartline for a 37 yard completion as seen in these highlight packages: http://www.nfl.com/videos/auto/0ap2000000111737/Brian-Hartline-37-yard-catch and http://www.nfl.com/videos/auto/0ap2000000111998/Week-15-Ryan-Tannehill-highlights
They did not score on the drive because they decided to try a fake FG from the Jaguars 5. When lining up for the FG, Punter Brandon Fields saw a wide-open Anthony Fasano, and tried to get it to him quickly before the Jaguars could react. The pass sailed out of bounds as seen here: http://www.nfl.com/videos/auto/0ap2000000111762/Miami-Dolphins-special-teams-gaffe
It didn’t hurt them, because they stopped the Jaguars on their drive and on the Dolphins’ next drive, the scoring started in the 2nd half.
After the punt, from their own 28, Reggie Bush took the handoff right and ran for 53 yards to the Jaguars 25. Dan Carpenter would kick a 30 yard FG, 4 plays later to go up 13-3. Watch Bush’s run in this highlight packages: http://www.nfl.com/videos/auto/0ap2000000111774/Reggie-Bush-53-yard-run, and http://www.nfl.com/videos/auto/0ap2000000112006/Jaguars-vs-Dolphins-highlights.
After another Jaguars’ 3 and out, the Dolphins marched downfield again from their own 23, and Carpenter kicked a 31 yard FG (3rd of the game) to go up 16-3. In this drive, Tannehill showed off his running skills with a 30 yard scramble as seen here in these highlight packages: http://www.nfl.com/videos/auto/0ap2000000111998/Week-15-Ryan-Tannehill-highlights, and http://www.nfl.com/videos/auto/0ap2000000112006/Jaguars-vs-Dolphins-highlights
On the Jaguars’ first drive of the 4th quarter, they marched downfield to the Miami’s 15, and that was it. LB Jason Trusnik, on 4th and 1, stopped RB Montell Owens as seen here: http://www.nfl.com/videos/auto/0ap2000000112006/Jaguars-vs-Dolphins-highlights
The Dolphins went on a 9:01 minute drive, that ended with a Tannehill’s 2nd TD pass of the day, this one to Anthony Fasano, on a beautiful play-action pass, rolling to his left, as seen here in these highlight packages: http://www.nfl.com/videos/auto/0ap2000000111919/Anthony-Fasano-TD-catch, http://www.nfl.com/videos/auto/0ap2000000111998/Week-15-Ryan-Tannehill-highlights, and http://www.nfl.com/videos/auto/0ap2000000112006/Jaguars-vs-Dolphins-highlights
They decided to go for a 2-point conversion and Tannehill flushed from the pocket, going backwards, throws across his body to a wide-open Fasano to get the 2 points and go up 24-3. Watch this pass in this highlight package: http://www.nfl.com/videos/auto/0ap2000000111998/Week-15-Ryan-Tannehill-highlights. Ball Game!!!
Despite the fumble, which he knew he should have tucked it away, Tannehill played flawless despite 3 dropped TD passes and the score would have been much higher.
1) Rishard Matthews = 1st quarter from the Jaguars’ 35, had the ball go off his fingertips. Had he secured it, he would have scored to go up 7-3. They settled for a Carpenter 53 yard FG.
Take the deep bomb to wide receiver Rishard Matthews, for example. On 3rd-and-5 from the Jaguars’ 36-yard line, Tannehill took the shotgun snap and threw a bullet high and over Matthews’ head.
The ball hit Matthews square in the hands, so the receiver is credited with the drop here, but with a more accurate throw, this could have easily been a touchdown. Matthews had a step on his man, and the safety did not have a good angle to stop him from getting into the end zone.
It’s not as though this was the only place Tannehill could have thrown the ball where it would be caught; a throw in between the numbers would have done just fine.
2) Brian Hartline = 3rd quarter from the Jaguars’5, had the ball knocked out of his hands as he tried to secure it. They settled for a Carpenter 30 yard FG.
3) Marcus Thigpen = 3rd quarter from the Jaguars’ 22, had the ball knocked out of his hands as he tried to secure it. They settled for a Carpenter 31 yard FG.
After the game, Tannehill had this to say: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/miami-dolphins/fl-miami-dolphins-jaguars-1217-20121216,0,3192648.story
Tannehill wasn’t sure if it was his best game of the season but said “it feels good to go out and execute the gameplan, have some fun, have some long sustained drives converting third downs.”
Last week, in the 1st half, he was 10-14, 107 yards. On Sunday, he went 10-14, 79 yards, TD; but had a much better 2nd half. 2nd half: 12-14, 113 yards, TD. He finished with a career-best passer rating of 123.2. That’s a good showing for a man who had thrown three touchdowns and six interceptions in his previous five games. http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/miami-dolphins/fl-miami-dolphins-jaguars-1217-20121216,0,3192648.story
His 123.3 rating was his highest this year – and the highest against Jacksonville’s defense all season, too. Most opposing quarterbacks post good numbers on the Jaguars‘ 31st-rated defense.
But no quarterback had an efficient day like this against them. Not Aaron Rodgers (95.7 rating). Not Andrew Luck (80.1 and 75.7). Not Jay Cutler (88.8). Not Matt Schaub (87.2 and 121.7). http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/miami-dolphins/fl-miami-dolphins-dave-hyde-1217-20121216,0,242213.column
Also from this article: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/miami-dolphins/fl-miami-dolphins-dave-hyde-1217-20121216,0,242213.column:
Everyone knows the Dolphins need a big-time playmaker at receiver. Up in Sunday’s press box, Nick Buoniconti, as great a Dolphin as there ever has been, said of this current team, “There are no illusions. This is not a good football team. And no one’s involved in building it is saying it is.”
The good news about Sunday was that you left seeing Tannehill outplay former Dolphins and now Jacksonville starter Chad Henne. If Tom Brady is a measuring stick one way, Henne is the other way.
Yet Tannehill still remains such a work in progress this rookie season, you need to see more games like Sunday. Take his comparison to Henne’s three Dolphins seasons as quarterback.
Quarterback rating? Tannehill now has a 75.9 rating. Henne’s rating was 75.7.
Touchdown-to-interception ratio? Tannehill has a .455 ratio (10 touchdowns, 12 interceptions). Henne’s ratio was .456 (31 touchdowns, 37 interceptions).
“Tannehill sees the field better and makes good decisions,” the NFL scout said. “The thing he has to work on more is accuracy. And he will, I’d bet. That can be improved.”
Tannehill brings an added element of running, as Sunday showed. He took the knee brace he’d been wearing since early October and finished Sunday with eight carries for 52 yards. He was the game’s second-leading rusher behind Reggie Bush.
He’s not perfect, not polished. But who expected that this rookie year? What he needs most is some more time, some more help around him and some more good days like Sunday.
I said in the preview blog, that someone needed to step up in the passing game because Davone Bess didn’t play because of a bad back. No Bess, Doesn’t mean a Mess!! I thought Fasano, Marlon Moore, Marcus Thigpen, Matthews would step up and they did. In this highlight package: http://www.nfl.com/videos/auto/0ap2000000111998/Week-15-Ryan-Tannehill-highlights; Tannehill found these guys.
Outside of Hartline, Fasano STEPPED UP. Besides the TD and the 2-point conversion, he also had 5 more catches for 54 yards, with a long of 22. You can see some his catches here: http://www.nfl.com/videos/auto/0ap2000000111998/Week-15-Ryan-Tannehill-highlights
It was so GREAT to see the old Tannehill return. I don’t care if was it was against the Jaguars. You still have to make the plays.
Finally, the coaching staff opened the playbook and let Tannehill have fun. I saw in the preview blogs every week: Take shots downfield. The Jaguars’ pass defense is HORRIBLE (24th in the league, 248.8 yards a game). http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/jac/jacksonville-jaguars. The play-calling has to be open to anything. Play-Action fakes, flea-flickers, roll-outs.
They opened up the offense and Tannehill took advantage. From: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1446950-jaguars-vs-dolphins-mike-sherman-shows-progress-as-offensive-play-caller
The Dolphins have been incredibly predictable on first down this year, running the ball 197 times on first down next to 148 first-down pass attempts (the third fewest in the league through 13 games), and they were stubborn about it once again on Sunday. They picked up 116 yards on 19
first-down running plays (6.1 YPA), due in large part to a 53-yard first-down scamper by Dolphins running back Reggie Bush.
Miami (6-8), ranked near the bottom of the league in points and yards, had a season-high 26 first downs and won for only the second time in the past seven games. http://sports.yahoo.com/news/dolphins-stop-chad-henne-jaguars-211112102–nfl.html
The old Tannehill returned as well, as the old Reggie Bush.
Bush was FANTASTIC: 21 carries, 104 yards (including that beautiful 53 yard run). He didn’t catch the ball today. I predicted: he goes for 20 carries, 100 yards, TD; 6 catches, 60 yards.
Not bad if I don’t say so myself!!!
I say this every week in my preview blogs and it is always the 1st thing:
The 5 R’s = RUN REGGIE, RUN REGGIE RUN!! Give him the ball, and TURN HIM LOOSE!!! Bush needs the football in his hands, so he can take the pressure off Tannehill. The Jaguars are DOWNRIGHT PATHETIC: 2nd to last in the league in rushing yards allowed at (145.7). http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/jac/jacksonville-jaguars.
What a PLEASURE to watch!!!!
He had this to say after the game from: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/miami-dolphins/fl-miami-dolphins-jaguars-1217-20121216,0,3192648.story;
“We came out and dominated a team we were supposed to beat,” said running back Reggie Bush, who rushed for 104 yards, his second 100-yard rushing game of the season.
He took the opportunity to introduce himself to Csonka before the game.
“I just wanted to introduce myself and tell him congratulations and thank him for everything he did paving the way for guys like me,” Bush said. “It was good to see those guys out there today, and I think it was even more special for us to get a win today while honoring that ’72 team.”
Besides the great day for Tannehill and Bush, Hartline accomplished 2 things today as well: He had 5 catches, 77 yards (including the beautiful 37 yard catch to start the 2nd half). That put him over 1000 yards for the 1st time in his career and into some select company with 7 other Dolphins’ receivers in history.
Mark Clayton, Mark Duper, Irving Fryar, Tony Martin, O.J. McDuffie, Chris Chambers and Brandon Marshall; that is the company Brian Hartline now keeps.
Those former Dolphins receivers are now Hartline’s peers, considering the five second-half receptions he turned into 77 yards in Sunday’s 24-3 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars makes him the eighth receiver in Dolphins history to produce a 1,000-yard receiving season. I predicted: he would get 8 catches, 90 yards, TD. Not too bad!!
“It’s important to me,” said Hartline, who has 1,002 yards and scored one touchdown on his 67 catches. “It was always a goal I wanted to reach. There are a lot of receivers that don’t get that opportunity.”
Earlier in his Dolphins career, Hartline was one of them.
The former Ohio State standout, whom the Dolphins selected in the fourth round of the 2009 draft, was typically Chad Pennington‘s, Chad Henne‘s and Matt Moore‘s third, if not fourth, option on most passing plays.
Few plays were ever designed or called for him. But Hartline has become rookie quarterback Ryan Tannehill‘s favorite target, producing the franchise’s 17th 1,000-yard receiving season. He’s got two more games to push his way up the single-season receiving yards rankings.
It is unlikely that Hartline will challenge the franchise record Clayton set in 1984, when he caught passes for 1,389 yards, but if he stick to his per-game average of 71.5 yards, Hartline should leapfrog Clayton for sixth place in team history.
That would put him right behind Marshall’s 1,214-yard performance he had in 2011, which was a Pro Bowl season.
No matter how you twist Hartline’s overall numbers and view his contributions, there is no question he’s is having a breakout season.
“There are a lot of critics that don’t give me a lot of credit, but a lot of guys enjoy the way I play,” Hartline said. “My teammates, my peers and people around the industry respect the way I play the game.”
The Offensive Line was FANTASTIC today. They allowed only that 1 sack on Tannehill. Other than that, they opened lanes for Bush to do his thing and for Tannehill, to have time to the throw the football.
Also, the Defensive was GREAT day. They made Henne’s life MISERABLE.
Henne’s day: 18-34, 221 yards, 0 TD’s, 0 Turnovers, but was sacked twice. He had 2 potential TD’s called back due to a penalty and reversal.
1) Due to Guy Whimper’s penalty, that cost the Jags a TD from Henne to Blackmon
2) Initially called a TD, the call was reversed because Cecil Shorts’ elbow hit out of bounds. That negated a 4 yd TD pass to Shorts.
The defense gave up 1 big play. It was 38 yard pass to Blackmon in the 1st play. The rest of the day, they played fine. The front-seven was dominant again: Only gave up 86 yards on 21 carries.
Like I said in the preview blog, the Jags have a SOLID 1-2 COMBO at WR in Shorts and Blackmon. Shorts (6 catches, 1o1 yards) and Blackmon (6 catches, 93 yards) combined for: 12 catches, 194 yards.
Let’s give props to Dan Carpenter!! He connected on all 3 of his FG’s (53, 30, 31).
This wasn’t the prettiest game in the 1st half, but the Dolphins (6-8) kicked things into high gear in the second half while Jacksonville (2-12) stalled. The Dolphins outscored the Jaguars, 14-0, had seven plays of 10 yards or more, and kept the ball for 21 of a possible 30 minutes. Miami ended the game with 11-minute edge – 35:38 to 24:22 – in time of possession.
Miami was also without linebacker Koa Misi (ankle). And during the game a number of players went down, including running back Daniel Thomas (knee) and cornerback Nolan Carroll(knee). Neither returned.
Regardless, it was a good day for the Dolphins.
I am so proud of the Dolphins. They came out and dominated.
Next week, they can get a chance to extract revenge on the Bills at Sun Life Stadium.
All stats provided by: http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/boxscore?gid=20121216015&page=boxscore and http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/boxscore?gid=20121216015&page=plays