hairbreadth (adj) – showing little difference in the standing of the competitors
“The offensive line has been a pleasant surprise for the Fins this year.” — Real Life Announcer
That quote is not something I would have expected to hear going into the season, but it’s kind of right.
And the offensive line wasn’t the only way the Dolphins subverted expectations against the Buffalo Bills.
Miami looked like a team again
Two weeks in a row, the Fins masqueraded as a team you could watch all season and expect to win more games than they lose. Heading into 2024, that was what all of us hopeful and, if we’re being honest with ourselves, extremely gullible fans thought we’d be getting based on recent history. Obviously, according to the actual 2024 season so far, the Dolphins performing admirably has been an outlier.
This week, however, the offense showed up with downhill running, hard hitting aggression (though I winced into a coma when Tua dove head first on his 4th down conversion run), solid playcalling with a few downfield plays sprinkled in when opportunities presented themselves, and, dare I say, some pretty decent blocking all around.
They put up 27 points, Tua was 25/28 (a silly 89%) for 231 yds, 2 TDs, 0 INTs and was only sacked once.
Mike McDaniel called a balanced game (31 carries to 28 pass attempts) and 7 different receivers caught a pass, all while playing away against the division favorite.
Seems pretty good so far.
And speaking of different receivers:
Jonnu Smith is starting to become a factor
Miami’s tight end group has been lackluster, to be polite, this year. On Sunday, most recent acquisition Jonnu Smith started to emerge a bit.
He didn’t set the world on fire (5 catches on 6 targets for 46 yards), but he was involved early, served as a safety net of sorts for Tua over the middle when Hill and Waddle were erased, and contributed positively as a blocker.
Quick aside: Why Jaylen Waddle can be completely erased by a CB2, I don’t know. That’s something that probably bears more investigation, but I’m not McGruff the Crime Dog over here. Let the coaching staff do their jobs, aka ignoring it completely.
Anyway, Jonnu Smith played like a tight end that the team could make use of and, for how that position group has been lately, that’s a plus.
Too bad it’s too little too late, because:
Fumbles are becoming a recurring issue
Unanticipatedly, the Dolphins were leading 10-6 after the first half, received the 3rd quarter kickoff, and were driving around midfield. Carrying the ball on 1st and 10 from the BUF 48 was none other than veteran running back and man-who-knows-better Raheem Mostert.
Know what happened next? Think you can guess? Read the heading of this section, did you?
Unbelievably (if you haven’t watched much Fins football in your day), Mostert fumbled and the Bills recovered. Miami was riding a wave of momentum that might have moved them to the mountaintop and this misstep muted that movement.
Perfect.
Mostert wasn’t the only one having trouble handling the ball. Odell Beckham had an almost-fumble and Tua dropped another snap. I have to imagine those dropped snaps are a symptom of the offensive system being so reliant on a style of immediate read/react/throw, but that’s a basic component that needs to be fixed.
The broadcast team made a note that the Dolphins lead the NFL in fumbles over the last 3 games with 7.
That feels like it’s quickly advancing from ‘statistical quirk’ to ‘full blown problem’. Hopefully they can just put two arms around the ball in traffic and clean that up. The offense is going to have to drag the team to victory, because:
The defense is flailing
Both last week and this week the offense came to play. Yes, that’s almost exclusively due to Tua’s return, but who cares why? They got moving, put up some points, and the defense was there on the other side to hold up their end of the bargain.
Against Beefalo Bob’s, they limited explosive plays (except that one 63 yard touchdown catch), held Josh Allen in check (minus his 3 touchdown passes), and kept the Bob’s off the board when it mattered most (excluding their 27 points prior to a game-winning 61 yard field goal).
Huh.
I guess they actually weren’t interested in helping secure a win after all.
The pass rush needs some love. The four man approach isn’t generating enough real pressure on its own, so Anthony Weaver has to start looking at other ways to get home. My man Porkchop Robinson got his 1st career (half) sack and looked like a threat as a rusher (except that time he jumped wildly on 3rd and 14 on the final drive, but I’ll give him a pass since he’s an amped up rookie and the mistake made no difference because of the majesty to immediately follow).
Could he be used to spy Josh Allen? I don’t know. But, probably.
With no reason for the QB to hurry, the coverage was relied on to pick up the slack. Normally, that might be okay, but with injuries, the secondary had a smattering of journeyman and inexperienced backups that can’t be burdened to that degree yet.
The linebackers are still really poor. Brooks and Walker are not good; they’re undersized, get washed out of run defense, and miss tackles to boot.
And finally, there’s my man Porkchop Poyer.
Jordan Poyer keeps headhunting instead of just being a good player. It caught up with him in the worst way against Buffalo, giving them a drive extending gift that directly lead to the game winning field goal. I feel like I always stress that I’m no expert. I’m not a coach, I’m not a GM, I’m barely a person. But here, I will offer some friendly advice:
Knock that s*** off.
This was the year to really take a step forward
Miami now sits at 2-6. Sure, it’s possible they go on a crazy streak and sneak their way into the playoffs.
It’s also possible the police finally link me to the Zodiac Killer.
But we all know that’s not happening.
Not only is it disappointing because of the pre-season expectations, but doubly so because the rest of the league is doing just okay.
Buffalo is fine.
Buffalo is beatable. Know how I know? They have two losses and the 2-6 Fins almost gave them a third.
2024 was the year to move forward in a big way. Instead, we’re stuck looking back, embroiled in hatred, mired in mediocrity, with no tangible hope for the immediate future.
What a time to be alive.
Think there’s secretly silver linings hiding in plain sight? Think the Dolphins are going to mount history’s greatest turnaround? Think nothing because watching a full Fins game smothers all of your brain cells? Brhabgluabglhf in the comments below.
