Nov
23
Positional Grades
Quarterback: D
Ryan Tannehill had some nice moments on the field, but it wasn’t enough to get his grade above a D.
He had three tremendous throws, with two of them going for touchdowns (and the other setting up the first touchdown). Other than that he was off, especially at the start of the game where he completed one pass in his first nine attempts.
His pick-six thrown to Rolando McClain ranks up there among the worst passes he has thrown in his NFL career. He locked eyes with his receiver despite having zero pressure in the pocket, and McClain read it with ease.
It didn’t help him out much that the coaching staff called some horrifically bad pass plays in the worst situation possible. With that said, it’s not like his offensive line (aside from Jason Fox and Dallas Thomas) was bad, and his running backs, when used, were productive.
Bad day for Tannehill, despite the good moments.
Running Backs: A
How can I grade a unit that only had 15 touches (and only 11 rushing attempts)?
The Dolphins running backs, Jay Ajayi and Lamar Miller, combined for 11 rushing attempts for 57 yards. That’s an average of 5.2 yards per carry.
In my game plan piece I said they would need to combine for 30 carries for the Dolphins to be able to win the game. The fact that they couldn’t even get to 15 carries is downright negligent of the coaching staff.
Wide Receiver: C-
I won’t let the wide receivers off the hook for this horrendous passing performance.
There were plenty of plays that weren’t made due to drops. Some of those drops were on the wet weather early, but explain how they fell apart late once the sun started shining?
The biggest drop came from Jarvis Landry in the first quarter on a pass that would’ve been a long third-down conversion. Yes, part of that was on Tannehill not leading Landry as well as he should’ve (which would’ve led to a touchdown), but bringing the ball in would’ve at least led to the drive continuing.
Tight Ends: F
Miami’s tight ends can’t seem to block without holding, and have been extremely unreliable as receivers. Jordan Cameron did get his hands on a bad Tannehill throw early, but as bad as the throw was, he still should’ve held onto it.
I’m not even bumping up the grade for Cameron’s touchdown at the end of the first half. That was all Ryan Tannehill, Cameron just did his job and didn’t drop it.
Offensive Line: C+
Save for Mike Pouncey having a snap issue, as well as Jason Fox and Dallas Thomas being Jason Fox and Dallas Thomas, I can’t complain too much about the offensive line.
The few times Miami ran the ball (again, 14 total rushing attempts with Ryan Tannehill getting three of them), they opened up holes that were well exploited by the running backs. They also for the most part did a good job in pass-protection, with most of Tannehill’s sacks coming from either his own lack of decision making or coverage sacks.
Miami’s offensive line is better than you think, and will get better when Ja’Wuan James comes back.
Defensive Line: A-
Tony Romo came away the winner, but his pocket was far from pristine.
Ndamukong Suh continued his dominance, locking up Zack Martin and drawing plenty of holding penalties from him (with the officials actually calling a few of them) while recording seven tackles. Olivier Vernon had one sack, but it should’ve been two (bad penalty against Jamar Taylor wiped a big third down sack off the board in the second quarter). It was arguably Vernon’s best game of the season.
Derrick Shelby also had himself a good game with a key fourth quarter sack, while as a group, they managed to hold the Cowboys run game until the end of the game.
Brent Grimes and Neville Hewitt were credited with an interception each, but thank the defensive line and their constant pressure for making those picks possible.
Linebackers: C
I don’t fault the linebackers too much for their performance. They simply didn’t have the horses, and were put in horrible positions at times (why is a linebacker covering Dez Bryant?).
Despite that, they weren’t bad. Neville Hewitt did get an interception, and they were able to rack up tackles. The Cowboys tight ends Jason Witten and Gavin Escobar combined for four catches for 47 yards and no touchdowns, which you’ll take any day of the week.
Defensive Backs: F
The defense was pretty good up front, but in the back it was a disaster.
Brent Grimes did get an interception, but that was only because Tony Romo threw it up for grabs after having Miami’s defensive line collapse the pocket. It was a punt-type throw, and Grimes should’ve been able to run that back for a touchdown.
Jamar Taylor was atrocious: When he wasn’t getting burnt, he simply wasn’t trying. Not a good look for him.
I could discuss how well Reshad Jones played, but he’s the only player in the secondary that seems to get anything done. It’s a shame that the talent around him can’t even be adequate.
Special Teams: C-
It was a bad special teams play that shifted the momentum in Dallas’ favor for good, as Jarvis Landry allowed the ball to bounce in front of him in the end zone and onto the one yard line before picking it up.
That could’ve been a disaster as the Cowboys came close to recovering the kickoff. Had they done that, it’s Cowboys ball inside the Miami five.
Too many long returns for the Cowboys as well, which has been a problem all season long.
Coaching: F
Miami had to run the ball to win the game. They ran the ball 14 times, with three coming from Tannehill. The Dolphins’ defense needed their defensive backs to come up big. They couldn’t, and it doesn’t help when a linebacker is matched up with Dez Bryant.
The Dolphins also can’t afford to punt the ball when down 10 with six minutes to play, yet punt they did.
Horrendous coaching effort from the Dolphins. A coaching staff cleanup will be necessary, no matter how many Oklahoma drills Dan Campbell makes the Dolphins do.
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