Oct
19
These are the best grades I’ve given the Dolphins since around November of last season.
Miami’s performance was a complete one, and it all started with the running game. As a team, Miami ran for 180 yards and two touchdowns on 32 attempts for an average of 5.6 yards per carry. This set the table early, and it wasn’t all Lamar Miller, even though his 113 yards and one touchdown on 19 carries was phenomenal.
Miller was able to run due to the blocking up front. A lot of this had to do with the insertion of Billy Turner into the lineup at right guard, in relief of embattled rookie Jamil Douglas. Turner’s play was good enough to make anyone wonder why it took so long for the Dolphins to insert him into the lineup, and why Douglas wound up winning the job in training camp.
The simple answer to that is the fact that Miami seems to be leaving their former finesse ways in the past, moving to a more physical style of blocking up front. Mike Pouncey seemed to be effective this way as well, playing one of his best games in a long time. The only lineman that I didn’t see much of an improvement out of was Dallas Thomas, who continued to be a sieve at left guard.
The good news with Thomas and his issues is with Branden Albert next to him as well as Pouncey’s great performance, it didn’t matter much, although one of Ryan Tannehill’s two sacks was squarely on a missed block by Thomas.
As for Tannehill, his performance was too up and down for my liking this week, and his B- came from how well he played in the fourth quarter on Miami’s final two scoring drives. Prior to said drives, Tannehill had thrown two interceptions. While one of those interceptions was the result of bad luck, I have no idea what happened with his interception at the end of the first half.
On defense, the defensive line set the tone with eight tackles for a loss and six sacks. Two of those sacks led to Titans fumbles, both by quarterback Marcus Mariota. The pressure also led to Mariota’s two interceptions, one of them by Reshad Jones that was returned for a touchdown.
The linebackers played their best in a long while, with Koa Misi and Jelani Jenkins active all over the field. The secondary played even better, with Bobby McCain really impressing me as the slot cornerback filling in for Brice McCain, who got hurt early and wouldn’t return (per Alain Poupart of MiamiDolphins.com).
As for the coaching, at times it looked like the offensive game plan regressed in the third quarter, which led to two three-and-outs that gave Tennessee some hope. Once they returned to what had worked, the rout was officially on.
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