This is a moderated phorum for the CIVILIZED discussion of the Miami Dolphins. In this phorum, there are rules and moderators to make sure you abide by the rules. The moderators for this phorum are JC and Colonel.
besides pouncey we just don't have the athleticism from our oline to run screens. they don't move well enough in space to pick up linebackers and safeties
The turning point was the failed 3rd and 6 that Moore threw deep into double coverage instead of a single covered receiver (Bess/Hartline/Fasano) for 7 yds. That missed conversion changed the whole game. Missed 55 yd FG (should have punted and played field pos), gave them the ball at their 45, bing-bam-boom it's 7-7.
More bad coaching, play calls and QB play, and we're getting blown out.
Peace out Sparano.
jake long and matt moore getting hurt decided this game. you guys are overplaying the coaching side of it. players did not execute those plays you are questioning anyways. carpenter has made fields goals that long before. we have, in the last few seasons, been very good in 3rd and short or 4th and short. oline did not execute on those plays. you would be complaining that sporano has no balls if he didn't go for it. don't say you wouldn't because everyone loves to complain about how conservative sporano is.
chrisnnavarre Wrote:
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> That's just it. Everyone's seen enough of the bad
> coaching. Time to move on.
But what about giving him another chance they are playing so good the last few weeks right guys come on wheres all my Sparano backers that have been on here the last couple weeks talking him up.
dolphin1423 Wrote:
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> jake long and matt moore getting hurt decided this
> game. you guys are overplaying the coaching side
> of it. players did not execute those plays you
> are questioning anyways. carpenter has made
> fields goals that long before. we have, in the
> last few seasons, been very good in 3rd and short
> or 4th and short. oline did not execute on those
> plays. you would be complaining that sporano has
> no balls if he didn't go for it. don't say you
> wouldn't because everyone loves to complain about
> how conservative sporano is.
But dolphin1423, stupid people are not just stupid in one way. What makes them stupid is that they are stupid in opposite ways sometimes.
Tony Sparano gets criticized for being too conservative. He lightens up and starts to win.
However, being stupid, instead of taking the lesson to be "you can't be conservative to a fault," he takes the lesson to be "always take chances because we were losing being conservative and we started winning by taking chances."
That's wrong! Just because you went off the map on the left side doesn't mean you have to go off the map on the right side and only a stupid person would take that lesson.
Sparano is stupid. What costs us this game TO ME is not what socalphin said but the critical point was going for it on 4th and 1 at the start of the 4th quarter.
Up until then, we had been forcing them in poor field condition. Losing that play, (even though on replay by the officials) cost us that field position and had us basically "playing defense" the rest of the game trying to climb out of our own endzone.
Even so we got the ball down in scoring position late in the game.
Just think how the game would have turned had we punted on that 4th and 1.
Now, I know the FPBs will come out and condemn me for being a "second guesser" and a "Monday morning quarterback" but if a fat old man like me can see it so clearly AHEAD OF TIME, why can't he?
A WHOLE QUARTER TO PLAY AND BEING BEHIND ONLY 14 POINTS DOES NOT MEAN PANIC TIME AND GOING FOR IT ON FOURTH DOWN FROM MID-FIELD.
Now I can see it if it were the same amount of time BUT WE WERE IN THEIR REDZONE. The argument would be that a field goal would do no good and we need a touchdown and failure would not change field position.
I COULD ALSO SEE IT if we were AT MID-FIELD BUT THERE WERE ONLY 4 MINUTES LEFT IN THE GAME. The clock and being behind 14 points would have meant we would have been desperate.
You Sparano defenders (not talking about you dolphin1423, this is an ole battle) don't seem to get it through their thick-heads that Sparano is totally clueless when it comes to thinking.
As the guy who parks cars in Seinfeld said to George, "Anyone who knows how to dress himself knows that! The question I have is 'Who puts on your pants each morning?'"
ChyrenB Wrote:
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> Field Goal was the RIGHT choice. Glad Sparano
> didn't give in to the faulty logic that we need a
> big score right now.
Not a 55 yarder when your up by 7. That changed the mindset of the whole game after that blown try. It was down hill all the way. See ya Tony!!
It's all academic, any chance (slight that it was) of Sparano being retained just went out the window with today's loss. The better question is who does Ross hire to replace him. There are going to be lots of other teams competing for the pool of possible replacements (S.D., Tampa, Jacks, S.L. and maybe even Phil. to name just a few). Whatever anyone thinks of Sparano, change is coming to Miami-- and that's probably not a bad thing.
The moment this game was over was when Long got hurt...we ended up with 9 sacks because the O-line couldn't stop anyone today...Garner needs to be the first player released in the off season. Columbo needs to be #2. Moore had zero time to set up and throw. The only option we had due to Philly's pass rush and our inability to slow them down was two or three step drops...even shotgun formations were not effective today due to how quickly Philly players were in our backfield. Late in the game there were a couple of plays where Losman was rolling out and he still got sacked before he could take two steps. The inability of our O-Line to block spelled doom for the Phins today...
Our defense did everything today except score points for the offense...a few defensive TD's would have been nice today.
Attempting the 55 yard FG was the right choice, as was running Hilliard on 4th and 1, as was the QB sneak call that Losman muffed.
Philly forced us to be conservative today after we suffered very key injuries. They did it with their pass rush because we couldn't block them enough to allow recievers to run any routes. Injuries caused this loss, way more than any coaching decisions did.
Sparano is going to get crucified for this loss but there isn't a single coach in the league that could have won this game given the circumstances we faced today...not one.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/11/2011 12:13PM by Ken.
Too, too many problems today. Not making the long field goal that would have given us 10 points hurt but was not critical except it gave good field position to the Eagles. What was more damaging, IMO was the dropped ball by Bess, followed by the loss of Jake Long that ushered in the "turnstile" at LT. We already know about Colombo's inability to stop rushers on the right side so, in comes the pressure. Moore getting knocked silly ushered in 3rd string Losman. It was like an avalanche. Once it starts it keeps moving until it ends. Had we had Drew Brees, Brady, Peyton Manning, etc...we would have lost this game. O-line was out played big time.
There's clearly a need for better starters on the O-line and better 2nd string players. Gardner was clearly outmatched at Long's sub.
I hope Long's injury is not going to sideline him.
this game clearly shows that the defense is continuing to play very well and the offensive line is the weakest part of the team and must be upgraded next off season
chyren, we went for it and the oline did not execute the play. the line did not get push and we did not convert. so even with your limited and prejudiced eyes, you did see the oline fail on the, in your opinion, most crucial play of the game.
ChyrenB Wrote:
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> To Ken, I missed a substantial part of the game
> including what everyone is talking about in
> regards to a long field goal.
>
> However, with my limited and prejudiced eyes, I
> beg to differ. When I came upon the game it was
> 24-7 against us. I think the most crucial mistake
> was going for it on 4 and 1 with 14:43 seconds
> left in the game. It was not worth the risk. IT
> WAS THAT CHANGE IN FIELD POSITION THAT OCCURRED AT
> A TIME WHEN ONE COULD SEE THE END OF THE GAME that
> was more important than any prior change in field
> position.
RE: I never said what the most critical mistake was...because there was no single one. I do stand behind my opinion that going for it on 4th and 1 was the right call. We needed a break badly and for someone to make a play. Picking up that first down COULD have provided a spark for the team and at that point we really had nothing to lose, but everything to potentially gain. That said, injuries were the deciding factor for us. Once Long and Carey were out, it was over for us...when Moore was gone so was ANY AND ALL hope of winning or even being competitive.
ChyrenB Wrote:
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> To both Ken and dophin1423, you can either play
> the percentages or the odds. Smart people play
> the percentages and not so smart people play the
> odds.
>
> The odds were that we would make the 4th and 1 we
> went for. In fact, but for a great camera angle,
> we would have gotten away with it despite the fact
> that the ball was fumbled and as soon as it was
> recovered, the defense touched our QB while he was
> on the ground. You can blame our 0line
> Dolphin1423 like you can blame a receiver for not
> making a catch or a running back for not seeing a
> hole or a olineman for missing a block or a
> defensive back for NOT making an interception.
>
> But you're still playing "What if?"
>
> Smart people don't have to play "what if" because
> they play the percentages and not the odds.
>
>
> For those of you who don't know, the percentages
> looks at risks versus gain in the context of the
> odds.
>
> Thus if you risk a great deal then that risk is
> only justified by a high probability of a gain
> great enough to make it worth your while.
>
> Thus playing the percentages takes into account
> what Tom Hagen said to Michael Corleone in that
> "Are they worth it?"
>
> What did we have to gain by going for that 4th and
> 1? A first down at midfield. It would have kept
> a drive alive but certainly did not GUARANTEE that
> we would have scored a touchdown and at that point
> we needed 2 touchdowns.
RE: What we had to gain was momentum by picking up the first down, having a positive play, and not turning the ball over at the 50. No it would not have guranteed a TD or a FG but without picking up that first down you have zero shot at one anyway.
>
> What did we risk? We risked that if the 4th down
> conversion was unsuccessful, on the other hand, we
> were putting the Eagles only 15 yards away from a
> field goal scoring position. Even a field goal
> would have put us 17 points behind in the fourth
> quarter. That in and of itself could have meant
> "lights out" on our chances, let alone the fact
> that Philly starting from the 50 might have
> resulted in a touchdown.
RE: However our running game was working and we had a FB that was 100% effective at converting that particular play. We also had a defense that was extremely effective at stopping them during the game..it was worth the risk. Because the game was in effect over before that play. All that a conversion could have provided was the continued chance to pull out a win...again worth the risk.
>
> But the least of the bad consequences happened AND
> STILL SERVED TO PUT US OUT OF THE GAME. They
> didn't score a touchdown or even a field goal.
> They didn't even make a first down. BUT WHAT THEY
> DID DO IS TO PUNT US BACK INTO OBLIVION AND
> CHANGED THE FIELD POSITION.
RE: And our offense HAS to make plays, even in bad situations...its simple.
>
> WE NEVER recovered and that's why we lost.
RE: NO, injuries and the resulting inability to pass block are why we lost.
>
> But why take the chance!
>
> It wasn't WORTH IT.
RE: It was entirely worth it...
>
> We didn't NEED to take that chance because what we
> were risking was too great given the fact that a
> 4th and 1 WHETHER RUN BY REGGIE BUSH OR LEX
> HILLIARD OR A QUARTERBACK SNEAK AS WAS DONE just
> to get another series of downs wherein TIME WAS
> NOT A FACTOR was not worth the risk of giving good
> field position to the Eagles.
RE: Given our team circumstances...time was a factor. A big one because scoring would take time since running the ball was all we had that was working on offense.
>
> You youngsters will always end up losers in life
> if you just focus on the odds and don't play the
> percentages.
>
> The wisdom of a choice is always dictated by the
> percentages and not the odds.
>
> Say for a gross example, what if someone said to
> you pick one of these twelve doors to open.
>
> If you any one of eleven of the doors, you'll get
> a million dollars.
>
> However, if you select this one special door, your
> child will die.
>
> Hey, I play the percentages, not the odds, and I
> walk away because the life of my child simply
> isn't worth it no matter what the odds.
>
> Now that's a gross analogy but I'm trying to get
> through to you how a smart coach would not have
> gone for that 4th and 1 on the 50 yard line. It
> was the wrong call.
RE: Given the circumstances of the game and our offensive situation...I disagree. It was one play, but one we had to have work, then it would have been the next play, then the next, and the next, and the next, etc, etc, etc. Thats how you gain confidence, momentum, field position, time of possession, points, and untimately wins...especially in adverse conditions.
It was the right call at the time...its now the wrong one to some simply because it didn't work.
samsam3738 Wrote:
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> Im afraid for his life though.....He is going to
> get pounded pretty good with this here OL he gots
> in front of him.....
>
> Poor lossman.
>
The guy should be used to it having played behind Buffalo's swiss-cheese line for several years. Of course, he'll be even more mush-for-brains when the season is finally over.