Sorry Dolphin Fans, But Rex Ryan Did It To Us Again!

A season finale Dolphins versus Jets Post Game Courtesy of Tony Nicoletti.


It seems Coach Ryan had to offer a parting gift to his team in their 37 to 24 defeat of the Miami Dolphins. Old Ryan sure made Geno Smith look like the best kept, "big play" secret of the season. He had career stats with his 20 of 25 completions, 358 passing yards and 3 touch down effort. His primary receiver, Eric Decker had 10 receptions for 221 yards. (The most ever allowed by a Dolphin's defense to any receiver in a game).

Ryan most assuredly will not be back with the Jets in 2015 but he sure made a statement for Geno Smith to be seriously considered for another season. Mr Ryan will be pursuing his options with another NFL Franchise. Thank God he will not be in our division anymore. (I hope).

This victory did not happen the way some might have thought, though. Miami held New York's high powered running game to a net of 104 yards on 34 carries and a 3.1 yard average. The Dolphins actually stopped 7 of their runs for minus 12 yards in the process. But who could have known that the Jets 32nd ranked passing offense would have such success against Miami's 4th ranked pass defense. (Any more than the Dolphins 14th ranked running game would shred the 5th best run defense in the NFL for 178 yards on 20 carries for a 9.0 yard average).

Yes, we wanted to finish the season with a 9 and 7 record,but as the saying goes, "two out of three, ain't bad". We were all hoping that Ryan Tannehill would reach the 4,000 plateau in passing yards and for Lamar Miller to eclipse 1,000 rushing yards on the season. Both marks were achieved. Tannehill just barely got his goal and Miller almost finished with 1,100 rushing yards. Ryan Tannehill also surpassed Dan Marino's single season completion record. This was the first time in team history that the Dolphins had a 4,000 yard quarterback and a 1,000 yard running back in the same season.

The only thing that would have made these accomplishments even sweeter is if Mike Wallace could have gotten 130+ receiving yards to wind up with a 1,000 yards for the season as well, while contributing toward a potential Dolphin final game victory. He did not catch a pass all game long and for some reason, wound up sitting on the sidelines the entire second half.

Both teams started out with a 3 and out, but not before sacking each others quarterback once during their first possessions. The only difference being that Miami would not sack Geno Smith for the remainder of the game. The Jets however, added 6 more sacks, (particularly, late in the game) which ruined Ryan Tannehill's completion percentage. (And any chance of him leading a comeback). Tannehill was sacked 7 times for a staggering 51 yards of lost real estate. He was hurried and hit often too. It's a wonder he did not throw an interception, though he did get a strip sack late in the game which resulted in a Jets recovered fumble.

Miami started the scoring first on their second possession with a 37 yard field goal, after the Jets missed a 45 yard attempt that bounced off the goal post.

Score: Dolphins 3, the Jets 0.

The Jets rolled down the field for their first touchdown. It took all of 6 plays. Geno Smith highlighted C. Owusu's multiple talents with a 36 yard deep pass, followed by Owusu's 23 yard run for the score.

Score: Dolphins 3, the Jets 7.

Miami went 6 and out. (L. Miller had a nice 20 yard run and was setting the stage for better things to come).

A couple of minutes into the second quarter,Miami would get the game's first turn over as Reshad Jones tackles Geno Smith after a 2 yard scramble and forces the fumble which was recovered by Jason Trunsik on the Jets 21 yard line. Tannehill hits Charles Clay for 16 yards and on a 3rd and 1, Daniel Thomas goes in for the touch down.

Score: Dolphins 10, Jets 7.

The Jets start their next drive on their 21 yard line. Smith connects on passes of 17, 40 and 8 yards to take the lead on 7 plays.

Score: Dolphins 10, Jets 14.

Miami squanders it's next opportunity as Mike Wallace gets a false start penalty on 1st down, Daryn Colledge has a offensive holding penalty on 2nd down and Miami commits an illegal shift penalty on 3rd down. The Jets decline the last penalty since the Dolphins came up short of the 1st down, anyway.

Now New York starts on their own 31 yard line, but on 2nd and 7 Cameron Wake gets a questionable roughing the passer penalty. Ultimately, their drive stalls and they punt it, pinning Miami deep on their own 7 yard line.

At the 2 minute warning, Tannehill gets sack on the 50 yard line, but gets back up and hits Brian Hartline deep for 16 yards.Several good pass plays later he throws a 23 yard touch down strike to Charles Clay.

Score: Dolphins 17, Jets 14 at the half.

The Jets get the ball first in the 3rd quarter and runs the kick off from their 1 yard line, 87 yards to the Dolphin 12 yard line. Miami holds them on 3rd and 4th down needing 1 yard to score and get the ball back on their 3 yard line. It was a nice defensive stop.

Miami returns the big play favor on 1st down with a Lamar Miller 97 yard running play for the score. The 3rd longest running play from scrimmage in NFL history and the longest in Dolphin franchise history.

Score: Dolphins 24, Jets 14.

But wait! The big plays aren't over yet. On 3rd down with 4 yards to go on their own 26 yard line, Geno Smith heaves a 74 yard scoring pass to a (wide open) Eric Decker

Score: Dolphins 24, Jets 21.

On Miami's next possession Tannehill connects with a 33 yard pass to Brian Hartline, driving down to the Jets 41 yard line. On 3rd and 10 Ryan throws an incomplete pass to Brandon Gibson who is called for offensive pass interference which the Jets of course, decline. However, on the ensuing punt the Jets are caught with 12 men on the field which advances the ball down to their 36 yard line. Now Miami faces a 4th and 5 situation. They decide to go for it, but the pass attempt to Jarvis Landry is incomplete and the Jets take over on downs. A gutsy call.

On a 3rd and 9 play Geno completes a 50 yard reception to Eric Decker. Brent Grimes jumps between the receiver and the ball for the interception but Decker jumps for it too, bumping Grimes out of the away in mid air, to haul in the reception. Miami manages to hold them to a field goal.

Score: Dolphins 24, Jets 24.

With the score tied Miami goes 4 and out.

The Jets get the ball back but must start from their 17 yard line due to a offensive holding penalty. On 1st down Smiths throws to J. Kerley for 33 yards. After several more completions, the Jets drive stalls on Miami's 5 yard line and they settle for a field goal just as the 4th quarter gets under way. During the drive, both Koa Misi and Eric Decker would sustain injuries that would take them out for the remainder of the contest.

Score: Dolphins 24, Jets 27.

Miami drives down into field goal range, helped by a 17 yard pass play to Jarvis Landry. Caleb Sturgis misses the 53 yard attempt.

The Jets however, go 3 and out.

On the Dolphins subsequent drive Tannehill gets sacked on 2nd and 4 on their own 26. But on 3rd and 12 he finds Hartline for 14 yards to keep the drive alive. Tannehill gets sacked once again on 2nd and 10. They are also penalized for an illegal formation which the Jets decline so they can get the ball back.

With 5:46 left in the 4th quarter the Jets have the ball on their own 26 yard line. On 4th and 12 they line up in punt formation. However, R. Quigley fakes the punt and throw to an (uncovered) Z. Sudifeld for 39 yards to continue the drive. Jarvis Landry saves the touch down by getting an open field tackle of Sudifeld on Miami's 23 yard line. Even one of the announcers stated that we should watch out for the fake since it has been in the Jets arsenal for many years, but...

I believe the damage was done at this point as the successful fake punt for the first down swayed the momentum in New York's favor. On the very next play Geno tosses a 23 yard touch down pass to a (wide open) J. Cumberland. Olivier Vernon gets a neutral zone infraction which is enforced between downs.

Score: Dolphins 24, Jets 34.

Miami gets the ball back with 3:22 to play on their 25 yard line. (After Jarvis Landry runs it out from -9 yards in the end zone for 34 yards). Tannehill promptly gets sacked on 1st and 2nd down. On 4th and 16 Tannehill's pass to Brandon Gibson falls short but the Jets are called for roughing the passer. (With Miami being 10 points behind this late in the game, the Jets can afford to bring the house against Ryan Tannehill and he is taking a pounding in the process).

On 2nd and 10, New York sacks Tannehill and forces a fumble which they recover on Miami's 22 yard line. The Jets run 3 meaningless plays and kick a 37 yard field goal to seal the victory.

Score: Dolphins 24, Jets 37.

With 31 seconds left in regulation Tannehill completes one last play to Jarvis Landry but it's, "game over".

Most of the statistics were unremarkable in this game for the Dolphins. There where some points in the game where they played well and others where they seemed to be over matched and confused. The Miami Dolphins are a mediocre, 8 and 8 ball club that wound up splitting their games within the division this year. There is a lot of room for improvement. Having their staff intact for next season, will hopefully address the issues that need correcting. But that will be a blog for another time.

The good thing in all of this, (besides Tannehill and Miller achieving their milestones and setting team records) is that we will not have Rex Ryan opposing us on the sidelines twice a year anymore. As a matter of fact, I would just assume he gets a gig on the NFC side the NFL for a while.

Miami Dolphins vs Jets Week 17 Game Chat

A loss here would benefit Miami more than a win, but you didn't hear that from me.

Will This Be a Repeat of Last Season's Final Show Down Versus the Jets?

A Dolphins Versus Jets Pre-Game Piece via Tony Nicoletti.

Here we go again. The Miami Dolphins have one last chance to close out at home with a win to finish the season at 9 and 7. This time against our bitter rivals, the New York Jets. Unlike the final game of the 2013 season where they denied us a chance to make the playoffs, this time the stage is set completely different. We won't be playing in January. The only stakes riding on this contest are pride and bragging rights to a season sweep.

The Dolphins were 7 point favorites in their week 13 trip to New Jersey. Strangely enough, the current odds makers have them at -5.5 in Miami. Not much has changed in the last four weeks except that the Dolphin defense has slipped from 5th overall to 8th
while the Jets have moved up from 7th to 6th in the league.

The Jets gave the New England Patriots a tough battle last week at MetLife Stadium but lost in the end by a score of 17 to 16. They still have a top five defense against the run, (though we seemed to have had good results on the ground in our earlier meeting). Offensively, New York has the 3rd best running attack in the league yet remain the worst team in the NFL at passing the ball.

Defensively, Miami has made some marginal improvements versus the run in the last couple of weeks. They didn't get gashed for 200+ yards by New England or Minnesota. I hope it doesn't take DC Kevin Coyle two full quarters to stack the box if New York tries their ground and pound philosophy again. As before, forcing Geno Smith, (or Michael Vick) to pass is going to be the best recipe Miami has to win this test of wills. In the end, it proved to be the Jets undoing a month ago, as the Dolphins won, and remain 4th in pass defense to this day.

Ryan Tannehill should finish this game on a high note. He had his best game of the season against a decent Minnesota Vikings defense who was ranked considerably higher against the pass, (6th as opposed to the Jets 15th position) entering the game. If the Dolphins can score 36 points they will reach 400 points for the season. (An average of 25 points per game). Tannehill only needs 214 yards to reach a first of 4,000 passing yards, and if Lamar Miller gets 82 more rushing yards he will have his first 1,000 yard season also. I feel these last two milestones are attainable in this game, and here is why.

The mystery is over in Miami. For better or worse, Philbin will be back in 2015. It appears a majority of the players are happy with this oddly timed, Christmas announcement by Steven Ross. I think there will be a show of solidarity by this team. They will want to play their hearts out, now that they know Joe Philbin will be at the helm another year. They have to be relieved that they won't be auditioning for a chance to play for someone else, or somewhere else next season, if at all. The worry that there will be sweeping changes to this staff and roster, no longer exists. I believe having the weight alleviated from their shoulders will give them that extra incentive to win this one.

Remember? How the players came together during that emotional week Joe Philbin had to take a couple of days off to go see his ailing father, (whom unfortunately, passed away shortly after that visit). The Dolphins went out and literally destroyed the San Diego Chargers that Sunday in Miami and gave Joe Philbin the game ball with their condolences.

This is a jubilant Miami Dolphins football team, right now. A franchise that knows they have been given a reprieve of sorts. If the Jets have any ideas about beating the Dolphins like they did in last seasons finale while ruining the home teams high? They may have picked the wrong time to come to South Florida, and New York won't have Jet Lag to blame when they are leaving Miami with a loss.

Go Dolphins!