LOLphins: Week 5 vs New York Jets

I'm sorry for having been on a bye month rather than bye week. I won't bore you with excuses or reasons why I have been as inactive as Patrick Turner. I've never meant for this blog to perform as poorly as the real Ted Ginn (pre-Monday night) but it has turned out that way and I apologize. Look for more bad humor in the future and for now I'll leave you with animated .gif's of the winning touchdown celebrations. First, Ronnie Brown appears to be mimicking a real Dolphin. The second is of course Tony Sparano being a badass.



roflbot base images via sun-sentinel.com
.gif's via FinHeaven user TX_Dolfan

Ted Ginn Scores

I'll try to come up a full recap tomorrow but for now let's applaud Ted Ginn, who did a great job of running in the open field with no threat of tacklers all the way to the end zone. That gives Ginn two rushing touchdowns on the year to go along with another TD of the receiving variety. Click the image above to watch the play on NFL.com. Now that was a great way to start a football game. Ginn also caught four balls for a total of forty-four yards receiving.

Week Eight: Buffalo at Miami Recap

By now I'm sure you have seen or read about the Miami Dolphins big 25-16 victory over the Buffalo Bills. it was a great second half turnaround that led Miami to an upset victory and another divisional win. Here is what caught my attention.

Three Up

Of course the first shout out is going to the namesake of this blog, Ted Ginn. He had his best game as a pro with seven receptions for 175 yards. He and the offense set the tone from the first play, a play action deep route. Then the Dolphins kept picking on corner Terrence McGee, who was either not 100% healthy, or not good enough to cover Ginn. On this day we saw Ted do things that wide receivers are supposed to do. Coming out of college he was an athlete who happened to play receiver. Now he is transitioning into becoming a receiver who is also a great athlete. He was able to use his speed effectively and find the open spots in coverage. Also he took a hit when needed and held on to the ball. You just can't say enough about his performance yesterday, and hopefully it is just a sign of whats to come with him.

It feels like every week Joey Porter belongs in this section. He is having himself a season. Yesterday he had two sacks, the second of which was the huge fourth quarter game changer, where he also caused a fumble that resulted in a safety. On that play he beat pro bowler Jason Peters with a swim move inside and fought of a double team from the left guard. He was unstoppable on that play. He also made probably the second biggest play of the game when Trent Edward inexplicably extended the ball on a quarterback sneak and Porter just ripped it away for the turnover. Also in case you haven't heard, his 10.5 sacks thus far has already tied his career high and he's on pace to finish with 24, which would be an NFL record.

I don't dish out a lot of special teams love here but Brandon Fields deserves mention. He downed two of his four punts inside the five yard line, one of which resulted in the big fourth quarter safety. The other was at the end of the first quarter which switched the field position and set up the Dolphins next drive at the Bills-37 yard line. Also of note, zero of the four punts were returned by special teams ace Roscoe Parrish, who surely would've wanted to please his hometown with his return ability. If you need proof to see how much Fields has improved then here it is. Last year he finished with 10 punts inside the 20 yard line and 6 touchbacks. So far this year he has 11 punts inside the 20 and only 3 touchbacks. With our special teams coverage still needing improvement his performance was key to Miami winning this phase of the game.

Three Down

There won't be much to complain about but in the first half especially there were missed tackles. The defense had a bend but don't break in the first half as they allowed three field goals, but the Bills were able to move the ball effectively and got help from Miami on numerous missed tackles by the linebackers and secondary.

Speaking of getting help, the Dolphins had five defensive penalties in the first half. Philip Merling was offsides on consecutive plays and Jason Ferguson also gave Buffalo a free five yards. Andre Goodman was called for a pass interference but the replays showed that the play probably should have been a no-call. They were able to overcome mistakes and turn things around but you can't make a habit of that.

The Dolphins running game was actually not so hot yesterday. They finished with just 52 yards rushing on 27 attempts. The wildcat formation was able to produce a couple of nice runs and Ricky Williams came through with a great touchdown run near the goal line, but again, we can't make a habit of this. Our offense will need to be more balanced to have continued success.

Look Ahead

Next week the Dolphins will travel to Denver to face the struggling Broncos. They had a nice 3-0 start but have lost three of their last four. They are coming off a bye week and should be well rested but there are some injury concerns. The Dolphins are trying to move to 4-4 before a crucial stretch of three straight home games.

Wide Receiver Outlook

The wide receivers unit is one of the most unproven units on the team right now. Our roster is loaded with several players who are young and lack experience at the NFL level. This area may prove to be one of the more interesting battles for roster spots and playing time, not just during training camp but throughout the regular season as well. Let's take a look at the players.


Ted Ginn: We all obvioulsy know the story with Ginn. He is the focus of much of the fan base because of what happened in the 2007 draft (actually what didn't happen). He showed good flashes in his rookie season but still poses a big question mark. Can he improve his route running? Can he be a legit starting wideout in the league? Can he be the go-to guy for whoever our quarterback is? It will be an important year for him. It appears the team may limit or completely take away his kick return duties, so he must produce on the offense to show his worth.

Ernest Wilford: This is an offseason acquisition that has sort of flown under the radar. We made a lot of free agent signings and focused mainly on defense so Wilford seems to be the forgotten man. He isn't too flashy on the field but he is very productive. He doesn't get wide open or burn people on deep routes but he is big, physical and makes tough catches. His qualities seems to be a great compliment to Ginn's. He also should provide much value in the red zone because he can run fade routes. Miami didn't have anyone who can run and catch the fade route last season.

Tab Perry: He is another offseason addition that isn't talked about much. He saw very limited action in Cincinatti and is more likely to make an impact as a return man rather than a receiver. I'll admit I don't know much about him so I offer this nugget from Rotoworld. "Perry flashed in practice as a Bengal and can return kicks but never stayed healthy. If he can get his hip issues worked out, Perry could be an asset on special teams. Otherwise, he will likely struggle to make an impact."

Derek Hagan: Hearing that name probably makes Dolphins Fans cringe. He was drafted a couple years ago and was a promising prospect but hasn't made it yet. In college he broke numerous records at Arizona State and in the Pac-10, but in the NFL he hasn't proved that he can catch the ball, literally. It seems he is failing to get good separation but when he does has a knack for dropped passes. He will probably get one more year in Miami to sort things out, but like Ginn there are a lot of questions that must be answered this year.

Greg Camarillo: Hearing his name always make me sigh in relief. Thank you Greg. That was huge last year catching a rare accurate pass by Cleo Lemon and being able to score. We will never forget it. Sadly though, your biggest supporter Cam Cameron is not the coach anymore and you may not be afforded the same opportunities from now on. I hope he gets a fair shot because he can be a good slot receiver in the mold of Wes Welker. The problem is, special teams is going to play a key role in determining all the bench spots. Camarillo must show he can be an asset on the coverage teams to assure making the club.

David Kircus: Like Tab Perry, he was signed in the offseason and will fight to make the team. He hasn't produced at the NFL level and also has some character concerns. Again, I don't know too much about him either.

The rest of the players competing for roles are the players signed as undrafted free agents which I talk about here. The two names that keep getting talked about are Davone Bess and Jayson Foster. Bess was extremely productive at Hawaii and just seems to be able to catch whatever is thrown near him. What hurts his cause is that he doesn't seem to be a special teams contributor and he's not that dynamic on offense. One who is dynamic is Jayson Foster. He would most likely make the team in a Brad Davis-like role (listed as WR but really is a WR/RB/QB/just get the ball in his hands). Both of these guys and the others listed have legitimate chances to win the job but they must clearly outperform everyone else.

My Overall Assessment

Ted Ginn and Ernest Wilford are roster locks and will be the starters barring something drastic. Derek Hagan should stick but he shouldn't feel to comfortable. He is a bad training camp away from being unemployed. Tab Perry, David Kircus, Greg Camarillo, and Davone Bess are the four most likely to win the last two spots (three if you believe Hagan will be cut). If i had to speculate, I'd say Perry and Bess win out. The others listed would have to play out of there mind and also hope that everyone else underperforms. I don't see that happening. Foster is a possibility, but most likely it would be if the club chose to carry six receivers.

Giants 13, Dolphins 10

Cheers to Ted Ginn for getting his first career touchdown! But, it wasn't enough of course. Here is why we lost.

• Missed field goal on opening drive
• Cleo Lemon's fumble before the half to gift the Giants another field goal
• Dolphins had 2nd and goal from the two yard line and only get a field goal after a broken play

If you turn those few plays around it would be a ten point differential in a game we lost by three. There were just too many key mistakes to overcome. A tip of the hat to Jesse Chatman, who I've doubted, for playing tough and producing. You like to see that kind of attitude in a player when your team is struggling.

I'll do a full recap tomorrow. For now, I need to get a drink.