The Dolphins are now 1-5 after losing 23-20 to the previously winless Jacksonville Jaguars. They are one of five teams in the NFL with only 1 win. Thankfully the 0-6 Detroit Lions keep Miami from being in the worst team in the NFL conversation. Or maybe they are in that conversation as Detroit has scored 10 more points than the Fins and given up 5 fewer points over the first 6 weeks of the season.
So, if you are Dolphins owner Stephen Ross what do you do? Many thoughts are likely running through his mind, but unlike in other sports, mid-season changes to the coaching staff and roster in the NFL are more challenging and less impactive.
It’s the offseason when major changes should be made, so for now I preach patience, as painful as that may be for Dolfans to hear. As Aaron Rodgers said a few seasons ago “R-E-L-A-X”. Unfortunately, relaxing won’t lead to a playoff run this season as it did for the Packers, but it may lead to some positive changes, growth for the Fins younger players and a few wins.
If Ross or Miami management does want to make some changes, my two suggestions would be to eliminate the two headed play calling monster and just go with either George Godsey or Eric Studesville and as the November 2nd trade deadline approaches, listen to offers for older veteran players that you don’t envision as part of the 2022 team.
Ouch! It’s tough to mention the 2022 season when we’re only 6 weeks into the 2021 season.
Getting back to Sunday’s Dolphins/Jaguars game, first, let’s not try to use injuries as an excuse. Yes, Miami was missing 3 of their top wide receivers, their 2 All-Pro cornerbacks as well as their starting center. But every team has injuries, as did Jacksonville who was missing 3 starting offensive linemen, one of their top WRs and their best pass rusher. Injuries are part of the NFL – deal with it.
Miami had many opportunities to win the game, but due to poor coaching and/or execution they came up short. As far as coaching goes, when you are 1-4 and struggling to score, you need to take some chances. You need to be aggressive. For example, in the 2nd quarter they were up 10-3 and Flores made the decision to punt from Jacksonville’s 43-yard line on 4th & 3. Later in the game he also decided to punt on a 4th & 1 from the Fins 46-yard line. The offense was playing reasonably well today, so what did Miami really have to lose by going for it under these circumstances?
Two other plays make you wonder if it was coaching or execution issues when on two different 3rd down and 6 yards to go situations, they completed 5-yard passes to Mike Gesicki. In the first instance they ended up punting from their own 12-yard line. After a 37-yard punt, Jacksonville quickly moved down the field for a touchdown. In the 2nd instance, they went for it on 4th & 1, but were stopped with less than 2 minutes to go in the game which led to the game winning field goal. If you need 6 yards for a 1st down, make sure you run at least a 6-yard route!
Another coaching issue that befuddles me is the defensive play calling. In 2020 they often put 6-8 players on the line of scrimmage to confuse the quarterback and it frequently was effective. In case you need a reminder, in 2020 Miami had the 6th ranked defense in the league and they led the league in turnovers forced. In 2021 they have done little of this, but started doing so in the 2nd half and it proved to be effective vs. the Jaguars. Let’s see more of this going forward.
Miami also had its problems in the red zone, twice settling for field goals after being in 1st and goal situations.
Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who overall had a strong game going 33-47 for 329 yards and 2 touchdown passes, had 2 extremely poor passes. One was right after Miami had forced their only turnover of the game, which could have been a momentum changer. But he threw a pass right to a Jaguars’ defender, who was no where near the 2 Dolphins receivers who were wide open. He also, after deciding not to run for an easy first down on 3rd & 2, missed a wide-open Jaylen Waddle when he just threw a dud of a pass that fell in no-man’s land. Miami ended up settling for a field goal. I realize Tua isn’t Tom Brady, but poor passes like these just can’t happen.
If just 1 or 2 of the above-mentioned plays had gone Miami’s way, it could have resulted in a Dolphins victory, but you can woulda, coulda, shoulda all day long. They didn’t and Miami lost.
Other news & notes from the game were.
- Give the Jaguars credit for a great play call at the end of the game. On a 4th & 8 with 5 seconds to go in the game, most people felt they had 2 options from the Miami 44-yard line. Try for a 62-yard field goal or throw a Hail Mary. Instead, they ran a quick slant that gained 9 yards in only 4 seconds. They quickly used a timeout, which set up the game winning 53-yard field goal.
- Miami once again relied on the pass. They threw 48 passes vs. only 20 rushing attempts. This is a week after running the ball only 9 times vs. Tampa. The Fins gained 77 yards vs. the Jaguars for a 3.9-yard average. If Miami hopes to turn things around, they need to start running the ball more often and more successfully. Utilizing Miles Gaskin more would help as he only played 25 of 70 offensive plays.
- Waddle (10 catches for 70 yards and 2 TDs) and Gesicki (8 receptions for 115) both had big games. Mack Hollins also chipped in with 4 catches for 61 yards. Obviously, the focus on the passing game and the absence of receivers DeVante Parker, Will Fuller and Preston Williams led to their big games.
- The Miami defense did a decent job in controlling James Robinson and the Jags running game holding them to 84 yards on 19 carries. It was the first game all season the Dolphins held a team under 100 yards rushing.
- If I had told you that Miami would win the time of possession 32:40 to 27:20 and would hold Jacksonville to 3 of 12 on 3rd down conversions while converting 9 of 17 of their own 3rd down opportunities, wouldn’t you have expected a Dolphins win? Especially when both teams only turned the ball over once each and penalties were basically even. I know I would have, which is why the only statistic that matters is who scores the most points.
- It was another poor punting day for Michael Palardy averaging 39.5 yards per punt on 4 punts.
- With the absence of cornerbacks Xavien Howard and Byron Jones we had a Noah Igbinoghene sighting. He got a lot of playing time and played a solid game. After being a healthy scratch in 4 of the first 5 games, one of last year’s 1st round pick deserves to be on the active roster going forward.
- For the 2nd game in a row, the offensive line played relatively well. Tua wasn’t sacked once, although he did feel pressure multiple times. The run blocking needs to improve, although it would help if Miami actually did try to run the ball.
- Flores threw the challenge flag twice. The 2nd one was when the bouncing ball on a punt came extremely close to touching the Jaguar returner. Miami argued the ball touched him, which would have resulted in a Dolphins TD as Mack Hollins recovered the ball in the endzone. It would have given Miami a 27-17 lead. Despite reviewing the replay several times, it was tough to determine if the ball touched the player’s finger. If I had to say yes or no, I would say it did touch him, but the challenge was denied. A tough break for the Fins.
Up next for Miami are the 2-3 Atlanta Falcons at Hard Rock Stadium next Sunday. If Miami hopes to win, my three suggestions are:
- Run the ball more and get Gaskin more involved in both the run and passing game.
- On defense, crowd the line of scrimmage with 6-8 defenders. Even a veteran QB like Matt Ryan will be guessing as to who will be rushing or not. And blitz more, as they need to put more pressure on the quarterback.
- When in doubt, go for it!
