“One if by land, two if by sea, and if by air it shall be three” most of us have only ever heard the first stanza of the Patriot Paul Revere’s midnight ride. When the Greatest Surf on Turf comes, we know “they’re in the air, they’re on the ground, they’re always in control, and when you say Miami, you’re talking Super Bowl!” These Patriots were not prepared for an air assault. Miami continued to dispatch the lesser ranks of the NFL hierarchy on Sunday pushing their record to a perfect 6-0 against teams .500 and below. We have officially reached the previous mid point of the season and I will therefore include in this weeks game grades (in parenthesis), my half season grades [in brackets]; and where I believe Miami stands and where they need to improve in the phases I grade each week. Germany will not be easy. Kansas City is coming off a bad loss and will be looking to rebound, coupled with the Dolphins historic ineptitude overseas and it could lead to more discussion of “they can’t beat good teams.” This would be a marquee win, and propel them heading into their week 10 bye. Currently the Fins are 1-4 in games across the pond, as marine mammals, they apparently aren’t distance swimmers.
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Coaching: (A); If you go back and read any of my previous posts it won’t take long for you to find out how much I detest kicking, especially field goals. I believe going for it is almost always the better and smarter decision. Coach McDaniel went for it three times in the first half Sunday, converting all three. Two on the go-ahead-for-good scoring drive. The most “daring” of these was the fourth and four from the forty two yard line. But it was the correct call, not because they converted, but the alternatives stunk. Attempt a fifty nine yard field goal? Or punt which more likely than not would’ve been a touch back as happened earlier in the game for a net gain of only seventeen yards. I’ll risk my number one offense averaging over seven yards per play to keep me on the field. The defense also played well creating turnovers and limiting New England to just over two hundred total yards. Great game all around.
[B] Miami’s offense has been spectacular most of the season, not just in it’s explosiveness, but inventiveness as well. Coach Mike has kept defenses guessing and helped his QB to grow. I would like him to be a bit more aggressive at times with trying to keep his number one asset, the offense, on the field, but all in all it’s been an outstanding first half. The grade comes down a bit because of the defense. Fangio it seems is still figuring out how best to use his personnel. Blaming injuries is too easy. The offense is dealing with just as many and yet, still thriving. If Miami can work out the few remaining kinks on defense they will be top Super Bowl contenders, not just in the AFC, but in the NFL.
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Running Backs: (B-); It wasn’t a stellar game for this unit. They never got much going on the ground. Yes, the offensive line injuries has played a significant role in slowing the ground game the last two weeks, but the backs themselves have not been efficient either. Mostert did find the end zone and continues to lead the league in TDs for a running back and Wilson had a few nice carries and led the group in average. Not sure why Ahmed continues to get snaps in the run game. He did have a nice twenty yard gain on third and long deep in Miami’s own territory that was at first called back for ineligible man down field, but the refs miraculously picked up the flag. Going to need more from this group in Deutschland.
[A] Three weeks of Achane is enough to give the running backs an A for the season and the promise of what is to come when he returns. Mostert is on pace for an eleven hundred yard season twenty one TDs. Hard not to give this group high marks at the mid mark. Keep it up.
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Receivers: (A+); Waddle finally made his presence known. I X’ed during the game that he had his best catch thus far, and I’m not sure it’s close. He passed one hundred yards, led the team yards, was second in receptions, and found the end zone for the coffin nailing score. When you get that from your second option, it is going to be a great grade. Ten different targets had a reception, six players had multiple, and three had a touch down catch. Well done.
[A+] Hill highlights this group in his quest for two thousand yards, which, he is still on pace to destroy. He is the first player ever with over one thousand yards through the first eight games, he has already tied his TD total from last year and he has at least one reception of over twenty five yards in six of the eight games and at least one forty yard catch in five games. With the additions through trade and health of C. Wilson and Claypool, this group may even get better.
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Defense: (A-); When you hold an NFL team to under two hundred and twenty total yards, that is a passing grade. When you start adding in the bonus points of sacks (three), turnovers (one), and third down efficiency of 10% that is pretty stellar work. Ramsey also forced a fumble that went out of bounds. They stuffed the run and pressured Jones on many drop backs. It was a solid effort and needs to continue.
[C+] It is difficult to assess, because against the “should win” teams, the defense has looked great. Holding opponents to eighteen points per game in those wins. Against the better teams they’ve played (Chargers, Bills, and Eagles) the defense has allowed thirty eight points and the offense, as vaunted as they seem, has not been able to keep up. Miami needs their defense to compete in order to win. They will not score at will against everyone. So this unit needs to improve much. Lets hope with Ramsey back and X returning soon the secondary can start contributing more.
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Special Teams: (A); Sanders made all of his point afters (PATs) and his lone field goal. Bailey had a sixty three yard punt when the Dolphins desperately needed to flip the field. My grade reflects a solid performance from the group I appreciate the most when they’re used the least.
[B] It has been a decent season. I feel Sanders has bounced back from last year when he was wildly inconsistent, though he did miss some kicks early that could have been costly, but thankfully weren’t. Let’s hope his lack of use bodes well come December and January when games will tighten and last second kicks will be required for victories.
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Quarterback: (A-); It was a bad interception. No reason to sugar coat that. It was also an excellent game all around. Tua is a very good NFL QB. Earlier this year I labeled him a “quality QB” and I believe he continues to improve. The quality was not a jab and I defined it clearly. He is solid and along with Hill a key reason for the Miami Dolphins’ success thus far. His play will need to continue to improve as Miami plays tougher opponents down the stretch and his health is vital to the Fins’ hopes this year.
[A+] When your QB is the top spot of any sane person’s MVP ballot midway through a season, anything less than an A+ seems, well, wrong. So Tua, there you go. Please, for the love of Fins Nation, keep it up, and slide! No one liked that hit you took on Sunday. We did love that fourth down scramble though. So don’t be afraid to use your legs, just don’t use your noggin when you do, or do use it and get down.
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Officials: (B); Picking up that ineligible man downfield was a shock. Only three penalties is nice. But they missed some calls Miami’s way. They always do, not as egregious as last week verse the NFL darling Eagles, but still, not a perfect outing on their part.
[D] There have been many missed calls. The Eagles-Dolphins game is just one horrid example. At the end of the Jets-Giants game they missed an obvious hold on the final pass and then allowed the New York Jets to spot their own ball, something I know Dak Prescott wishes he was able to do. NFL needs to figure out a way to grade and relegate if need be their officials. Too many head scratching calls.
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Overall: (A); It was a nice home win over a division rival that for twenty years owned the Dolphins. That always helps juice up the grade. A few miscues on offense that need to be worked out and could play a bit tighter on defense, all in all a solid bounce back win. The knock against Miami is they’ve only beaten the bad teams, but they have also ONLY beaten the bad teams. Kansas City, Buffalo, Philadelphia, Baltimore, San Francisco, Dallas, you name a one or two loss team, and they have an L against a bad team. Miami does not. So yes, a marquee win would look very nice on the resume, but looking at the schedule if they only beat the “bad” teams, that will be eleven wins.
[A] I thought about giving the midway grade a plus, but I really had hoped they would’ve beaten either the Bills or Eagles. Would be nice to know definitively where this team stacks up. Miami played those games severely crippled on the offensive line and missing key pieces of the defense. The line appears a few weeks away from getting back to form, the defense however; is getting healthier. This Dolphins group with a lower of the top defense, somewhere from ninth to twelfth ranked, would be menacing. You’d have the Greatest Surf on Turf paired with the Triple M defense (Menacing Marine Mammal). Am I trying too hard? Maybe… Let’s see how they look in Frankfurt. Auf Wiedersehen.
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POLITASPORTS 