Wednesday, December 9, 2009

RE-CAP: New England vs Miami - Sort Of (with roster move)

Well, NFL.com certainly didn't make it easy for me to re-watch the Dolphins narrow victory over the creme de la creme of the AFC East.  First I was locked out of NFL Rewind thanks to Monday Night Football, then last night I had to deal with really poor quality and stop and start streaming.  I will not be paying for that next year, that's for sure.

Anyway, I decided to watch Manchester United instead, so I go into this re-cap without any real evidence of what I'm talking about, but since most of my readers have stopped reading by now (this IS the second paragraph after all), I don't suppose it matters that much. Not much to say on the game itself other than that's why they show up to the games right?  The bigger news was that we entered the playoff race officially, and that Tom Brady dissed his fellow team-mates on the radio, and today he and Giselle Bundchen had a baby boy today.  Here is a photo of the happy father and son:

I had a little back and forth between both Omar Kelly (Sun-Sentinel) and Armando Salguero (Miami Herald) this past week as they both brought up the fact that only 1 New England draftee from 2007 was still on their roster whereas Miami had a handful.  Seemed a pointless argument since New England traded away half their draft in 2007 to get Randy Moss and Wes Welker, both of whom are impact players the like of which Miami doesn't have now, nor did they pick up in 2007.  In fact, we lost Welker in 2007, so doing the simplest math there, they topped us twice in that regard.  Add the fact they got Meriweather, by far their defensive MVP this year, along with their now 3rd year punter, and three other players who have started games this year, including Sammy Morris, Adalius Thomas (whom Salguero called a 'bust'), and one of their O-linesmen, who was a backup but is currently starting (forget his name).  Anyway, obviously if you have 6 or 7 starters from a draft 3 years prior, you can't act like they bombed in the draft.  They both disagreed with me, but Salguero was the only one who thought I was nuts. 

But I bring this up because it makes one wonder again about how we will be thinking of the drafts/free agent moves of the current regime in 2 or 3 years' time.  And it made me take a step back from all the praise of several players lately including Chad Henne, Randy Starks, etc.  Because there's no way to tell how a player will be from year to year.  At this time last year, Matt Roth was cementing his status as a long-term fixture for the Dolphins.  Philip Merling was starting to get his second wind and looked like a steal in the draft.  Don't get me started on Shawn Murphy (first he was a project, then he was a bust, then he was potential starter, then he was a bust - there was no real sliding up and down there, he was either starting or not good enough to be on the team).  I definitely am not going to heap praise on Davone Bess after one great game.  He's been subpar to awful all year long and started the Patriots game with an easy drop.  Even Ted Ginn made more impressive catches than him in the game.  And all the talk of Bess being the next Welker...I thought it particularly funny when Phil Simms got excited on the play where Bess caught a short out on a Patriots blitz and rookie CB Darius Butler found himself on an island with him and made a fingertip tackle.  Simms pro-nounced that it 'was a close one', insinuating that had Butler not held on to make the tackle, that Bess would sprint free and untouched for a 60 yard TD.  Let's not kid ourselves, Bess has not shown the ability to get any YAC, and it would've shocked me had he gained more than 4 or 5 extra yards before the safety caught up to him.

Most of us fans know that players/teams/management cannot be judged on one game alone, and that often a season can only be fully understood once it is over and significant time has passed.  And I think most of us would rather have 11 consistently 'good' players than 11 up and down ones on the field at any time.  

Who do you folks think has been consistent in the last two years?  Other than Jason Allen on special teams and Randy Starks on Defense, I can't name anybody.  I do think Tony McDaniel and Cameron Wake have been consistent THIS year, but I prefer to take a larger sample game-wise for my analysis.  For example, Jake Long was very consistent LAST year, but has been a bit off this year at times.

Let me know what you think, and then ponder this - the Dolphins took TE David Martin off of injured reserve and then released him yesterday.  That means he is free to play for any team immediately as long as he passes a physical.  Do you think the resurgence of Anthony Fasano had anything to do with it?  Keep in mind, Martin was going to be a free agent at the end of the year anyway, but he could have been resigned for low-end money.

54 comments:

  1. It's about damn time.... ;)

    I think the NFL prefers to not think about Brady and the Pats losing, hence your trouble being able to re-watch the game.

    The one player that comes to my mind when you talk playing consistently, in a good way, is Ricky Williams.  Always good IMO.

    And I finally located my recipe....

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  2. "Ricky Williams. Always good IMO.
    And I finally located my recipe...."
    Are the two related somehow? You giving Ricky props because he shared his
    'recipe' with you?

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  3. No, I don't associate Ricky with 'the recipe'. Something else.

    BTW, you are the closest thing I know to a mixologist, or whatever they are.  I have a question.  What is the difference between bonded bourbon and the regular kind?

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  4. consistent huh, well pat white, henning, the second half def coaching, does that count? lol

    What is the purpose of releasing Martin now?  it seems it only benefits him and doesnt help the fins out at all?  what is to stop a team like the jags or someone we are competing with in the playoff picture picking him up?

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  5. Wow, getting technical here....'bonded' bourbon goes back to the old days
    before I was born when the had things called "Acts' and 'Laws'. Basically
    it was started as a way of regulating standards. It used to be that the
    whiskey would have to be produced under these standards (one distillery, one
    season, and one distiller, ie not a mixture of batches) then aged in a
    federally bonded warehouse for at least 4 years hence the term 'bonded'.
    There are several brands out there with a bonded whiskeys - generally, all
    'Bonded' Whiskeys will be 100 proof or more and be at least 4 years old.
    And yes, I can talk about whiskey for days....

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  6. Very good question - thought the same thing myself. The only thing I could
    come up with is that they were being nice? Either that or they've been
    trying to all along and couldn't reach a settlement, or, like I mentioned
    above, they really just were keeping him around in case the 3 we have now
    failed miserably. You have to believe if Fasano didn't have two good weeks
    they might have hung on to Martin.

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  7. I sure hope it isnt cause fasano had two good games.  what about to other 10 he sucked in?  the only other thing I thought of is he maybe still be unable to pass a teams physical and even if signed unable to play this year

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  8. BTW, got to say in that picture, brady's son looks just like him. 

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  9. They can't sign him if he can't pass the physical - NFL rules.

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  10. The resemblance is striking, but I do see SOME of the mother in there...

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  11. So what exactly did Brady say about his teammates?  You don't expect me to go out and look for this stuff myself, do ya?

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  12. He said that sometimes they don't try very hard

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  13. Thanks Herd!
    You weren't kidding when you said it was on an industrial scale! It seems so strange seeing all those fractions and old units as we've been metric for so long now.
    I think I might start with Fang's recipe first before I tackle "the thundering Herd!"

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  14. Tin, I agree that this season has been marred by less consistency than last year. In 08, players seemed to be at their limit every week and it was as if the whole was greater than the sum of it's parts - in other words a true team. Remember though that apart from "churning" at the bottom end of the roster, we played relativley injury free at the skill positions (not the line) whereas this year, we've had injuries all over the park. Sometimes, that upsets team chemsitry and performances. Just a different perspective and not an excuse for what I think everyone would agree have been a fair number of sub-par performances.

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  15. Btw, did you finish the Utd game last night?

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  16. I dont know, i find it hard to think of Gisele as a goat.  But the idea of tommy boy doing a goat is passable.

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  17. The Knight who says Ni!December 9, 2009 at 1:45 PM

    Good stuff. I found a lot of what you said funny.

    One thing about Jake Long, I haven't heard much about him in many weeks which is a good thing. It means he's doing his job. LOL

    I'm also glad that I'm not the only one jumping into Bess' jock to praise him.

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  18. The Knight who says Ni!December 9, 2009 at 1:48 PM

    "One thing about Jake Long, I haven't heard much about him in many weeks which is a good thing. It means he's doing his job. LOL"

    I'm not really sure why I put an LOL at the end of that statement. It's as if you can put an LOL anywhere. Hey, did you hear about the guy who was impaled by a bull and tossed off the side of a cliff? LOL

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  19. I think I did....I was struggling to stay awake but as far as I think I
    know, we won 2-1 with 2 coming from Owen?
    That whole game was a mess. Everyone was playing out of position, but they
    seemed more chaotic than they should have. I'm shocked Carrick was still in
    at CH. Fletcher didn't play as well as he did the previous game at RB. And
    to be honest, even though he scored 2 goals, I thought Owen played
    horribly. In fact, only Scholes looked sharp IMO. Evra was decent too.
    Nani had 2 good crosses but was completely shut down otherwise, and Gibson
    was back to his vanilla self. Park plays hard but he's always moving at a
    different pace from the rest of the team. When they're playing ball
    control, he's running around like a chicken with its head cut off. When
    they're attacking he's completely absent from the surge.
    I miss having Rooney and Berbatov in together. They were really starting to
    gel and then Rooney had a baby, and then Berbatov got hurt...it's like a
    break-up where you just stop seeing each other as often until eventually you
    don't call anymore.
    Oh, and I guess I was wrong about Nani being injured - he was just in the
    doghouse according to the commentary?

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  20. "I'm also glad that I'm not the only one jumping into Bess' jock to praise
    him."
    I think you mean that the other way around....

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  21. The Knight who says Ni!December 9, 2009 at 1:57 PM

    I heard he called them poopy heads.

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  22. "Hey, did you hear about the guy who was impaled by a bull and tossed off
    the side of a cliff? LOL"
    Actually I *have* heard that one, and it was fookin' hilarious!!

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  23. The Knight who says Ni!December 9, 2009 at 2:09 PM

    It's funny how leaving out a word like 'not' a second time can make a big difference.

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  24. The Knight who says Ni!December 9, 2009 at 2:17 PM

    So you have a sick sense of humor too. Nice!

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  25. I fell asleep watching it too, but it finished 3-1 ..... Owen got a hat-trick. I taped it and caught up on what I missed this morning. Can't fault your synopsis - injuries are killing us at the minute, but Fergie said Vidic would be back on Saturday. I heard 1500 fans travelled to Germany to watch that game. We had 4 shots on target and scored from 3. The best thing to say bout it is we won and leave it there.
    I think we'll see a much stronger side against Villa and I suspect Nani may be back in the doghouse. Did you see Obertan's cross for Owen's second goal - he could be really special and another Giggs from what I've seen so far.

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  26. It's an old recipe...hence the measurements.
    This reminds me of another question...What is the diff 'tween a fifth and a litre?
    I think the litre is larger, correct? But by how much?
    All this math takes the fun out of it. ;)

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  27. maybe i saw the third goal now that you mention it. I literally remember
    waking up and the game file had reached the end, but I don't recall the
    final whistle or any post-match stuff. I do have a vague memory of Fergie
    wearing a rather feminine looking bubble coat....
    "Did you see Obertan's cross for Owen's second goal - he could be really
    special and another Giggs from what I've seen so far. "
    You must mean 3rd goal...don't recall Obertan being in till very late? Then
    again I did start dozing off around 62 minutes...the last CLEAR memory I had
    was Krusczak getting booed and warned for time wasting because he had the
    ball for about 4 seconds, and there was still 36 minutes to go and they were
    down 1-0.
    Anyway, Obertan has a ways to go, he's not tight enough with his footwork,
    but he's quite bow-legged so I can't blame him.

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  28. lol, you should get a job at a liquor store...you'd learn something new and
    exciting every day...a litre is 1000ml....a fifth is 750ml.
    you can also call a litre a THREE and THREE QUARTERS if you want to be
    different.

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  29. Trust me...I get enough 'new and exciting' with my current job! 8-)

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  30. woman: "these are new..."
    man: "I'm excited..."

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  31. UK....  Herdfans redipe is very much the same as mine,  Other than we use one type of booze and the recipe is quite simple, as are the measurements.  If need be I can convert the measurement into metric if needed, but I suppose you can do that also.  Keep in mind one thing if the Dolphins start losing one can always add more Brandy to ease the pain.

    That's what my wife does when I'm screaming at the tv.

    Thanks Herd.

    Now for Tin ask yourself this.  Breakdown each unit of the team, and if you come to the same conclusion as I did, that this team is not as good as last years team.  I'd like to know why ?

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  32. good question, Fang. Ultimately it probably comes down to
    health/chemistry/gameplans, but there are several other reasons. I'll keep
    the topic in mind...

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  33. I thought the "KID" resembled  GAZELLE...

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  34. Howbout YBELL,that gyz CONSISTENTLY running-down players from behind!!

    Mannn,he's fast when healthy!!
    He's given(others initial responsibilities) DeAngelo Williams,and WWelker among others 
    3+yrd headstarts @FULL speed and caught them w'in 10yrds,and NOT by the shoestrings!!
    He's made-up the 3+yrds and jumped-on their heads,
    after passing-up other FIN persuers like they were standing still!!

    Mannn,IF only he'd of been 100% healthy all these yrs,we coulda won 2 games in 07...

    I think @24 DBESS is every bit what Welker(28) was @ the same age,
    and after 4 yrs w'Henne/system/regime the TWO will be every bit the unstoppable force
    that currently resides in the NEast...
    Welker was nothing but a good return guy until he found BaaaaaaBrady and Co,
    WW has so much space b/c of all those other weapons that D's have to consider,
    and DB has already been more productive than WW was as a FIN WR,
    (w'minimal other options preoccupying the defenders)!!

    I think WW's awesome,and in 4yrs or less we'll be speaking simularly of DBESS!!

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  35. Actually,I think once we acquire a FEARED #1 WR(in o10),DB will be a simular threat as WW,(by o11)..
    WW became a feared name league-wide @26 or so , IMHO DB will match that feat..
    Less than 3 yrs,(I said 4 yrs or less above)!!

    Meanwhile,and until then (in my KEEPER league),I'm currently trying to trade 5 gyz for WW,
    while DB is on the wire!!!  But I LUV the guy!! 

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  36. NFLN's replaying the game 2nght in 10 mins(9:30 est), 212 Directv...

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  37. DBess has already matched his rookie stats,(w'primarily the WildFIN)until RBs injury..

    Though TG's #s aren't likely to reach last yrs,w'4 games left...

    A healthy Ricky gets to 11,1200 this yr,(yippie)!!

    YBELLs lead the team in tackles 3 of the last 4 yrs,(Crowder x2 in the last 5 yrs)!!

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  38. Tin, I for one always read every word.  I skip past a lot of the blog entries because they start being about recipies and futbol (soccer) but I ALWAYS read your posts to the end.  Some of appreciate you for more than just providing a spot to talk about drinks and lesbian cheerleaders! LOL :-D

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  39. terrible but funny lol

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  40. Polite has been money all year and he was the same last year. Every now and then he may miss a block but he helps open up those holes that R&R run through.

    Ronnie and Ferguson both have been consistent over the last 2 year prior to the injuries.

    Will Billingsley's ability to stay on the PS has been consistent.

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  41. The difference for Welker post-Miami is that Miami never ran the damn
    screens that the Pats do. He still played special teams up there until he
    got hurt.
    Welker was very solid once we started using him offensively - remember he
    didn't have a single catch in his first two years in the league, then had 96
    for 1121 yards (11.68 avg) in years 3 and 4. There's no reason to believe
    he wouldn't have had a huge year in year 5 had we re-signed him. It was
    simply put, one of the top 5 blunders of all time by the Dolphins.
    So, Bess and Welker did not start their NFL careers the same way - remember,
    Bess has been target # 1 for 2 years already - and this year he's been awful
    after a good but not great rookie season. He's actually regressing, whereas
    Welker has improved every year. And Welker is not much faster in the 40
    than Bess, but he plays much bigger than his 5'9" frame and runs forward,
    constantly churning out YAC, whereas Bess tries to shuffle past defenders,
    and with his short stocky frame, he's not going to escape many long reaches.
    I'm not saying that Bess can't have a successful NFL career and be an
    important facet of the team, but I don't think he's very similar to Welker
    in playing style or ability.

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  42. Oh, and I don't know how you can say Bell has been consistent....he's one of
    the most INconsistent players on the team...

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  43. Good call - Polite is probably THE most consistent player on the offensive
    side.
    LOL on the Billingsley remark, but I would argue the fact he keeps getting
    cut then brought back as a form of inconsistency, lol

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  44. WHOLLY COW, i never even saw the article above.  Damn Rockphin, thanks for pointing that out.  I had no idea tin actually wrote an article to go with our 'drinks and lesbian cheerleaders'.  LOL

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  45. Rockphin:
    blah, blah, blah!  At least I had something to say about the topic I read.

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  46. I saw this and found it funny for some reason. 

    http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/Excitable-Saints-fans-shoot-up-a-man-s-televisio?urn=nfl,207834

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  47. Tell us the truth herd, that isnt something you found, that is a weekend at the herd household isnt it. 

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  48. Not only that, I just wrote a novel today -
    http://tinsfins.blogspot.com/2009/12/id-jag-myself-off-but-ive-got-game-to.html

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  49. So WW had ZERO receptions/yrds each of his 1st 2 yrs(not improving from 1 yr to the next),

    DB has 50+ receptions/500+ yrds each of his 1st 2 seasons(not improving MUCH from 1 yr to the next),

    AND you don't think that DB can have a SIMULAR to WW BREAK-OUT 3rd or 4th yr??

    I NEVER SAID he's WW,
    I said he can be just as feared a slot receiver once we have a dangerous in all aspects of the game #1 WR,
    and he along w'DB/HENNE/COACHES/REGIME develope telekenetic powers(exg) through repitition,(o11)...

    WW has become a beefcake,I don't remember him having that chiseled jaw/physique as a FIN,
    MAYBE after a few yrs of NFL conditioning DB becomes stronger/faster/quicker,we have the technology!!

    Is WW the football guy on that desinex commercial,or whatever the other foot bacteria powder is called??
    Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh,I stumped'ya, LOL ;) !!

    GO CLEVELAND!!!!!!!!!!!

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  50. ""Welker was very solid once we started using him offensively"" ??
    (NO more solid than DB)in what his 1st 3 yrs of stats will be,other than average ypc wise in yr 2...
    Put DB(after a few yrs in the league)in the same situation WW was given,and his #s aren't farr behind,IMHO!!


    WW
    04       0/0       FINS
    05     29/434    FINS
    06     67/687  (NO BETTER than what DB will likely end-up with THIS yr)!!
    07     newengland/TBRADY/RMoss/Belichick 

    Wasn't DB the undrafted FA that ne threw-in to get WW???  That's a JOKE,GIGGITTY,GIGGITTY!!
    Your not one of those gyz that refuses to get over the departure of WW,are you??
    He'd of never become what he has,w'the cast he was beside in Miami,IMHO!!
    THANKFULLY,that cast has changed for DBESS!!

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  51. DB has what you call "regressed"this yr(even though his numbers are better),
    for the most part due to the QB change,the staff stalling the unleashing of CHENNE,
    and the WildFIN playin a larger part of the O early-on in the season than last yr..

    WW DID REGRESS by 1 catch,and 10 yrds from 07 to 08,
    (so he's NOT improving every yr), psssst,that's just another joke,
    CUZ he's bound to pass 08s stats in fewer games(due to inj)...

    HE IS A BADDDD MO FO,believe me I KNOWWWWW!!
    IMHO,someday soon the same will be said league-wide of DB!!!

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  52. That was supposed to be funny tooo!! I was only meaning to emphasize his speed when 100% healthy!!

    ""CONSISTENTLY running down gyz from behind""(I thought it was funny)...

    But he has been a CONSISTENT leading tackler,(for what thats worth IYO)!!

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  53. I'd say that answer is definative enough in itself!!

    HOWEVER,due to the OBVIOUS answer I don't believe the team is worse than 08!!
    Even the "EXPERT" preseason prognosticators,
    as well as ourselves suggested that the team would be better,
    but that our 09 record (due to schedule) wouldn't likely reflect such,(even IF HEALTHY)!!

    In comparison to 08,OUR 09 HEALTH issues(CP/RB/etc,etc,etc,etc,etc,etc)
    have FORCED us to change our GAMEPLANS/CHEMISTRY EVERY forth or so of this season!!
    How the heck can momentum be expected to sno-ball w'that kind of turnover??

    AND YET,WE ARE A MAJOR PLAYER IN THE PLAYOFF CHASE,inspite of it all!!
    That suggest to me that our 09 TEAM is farrr better than 08!!  JMHO!! 
    PATIENCE GRASSHOPPERS,it'll pay-off b/4 you die!! 

    FANS ONE AND ALL, ""OUR TEAM"" DESERVES A POSITIVE INFLUENCE FROM AFAR,
    P   L   E   A   S   E,  GIVE US/me ALL YOU GOT UNTIL THE CLOCK STRIKES ZERO ON SUNDAY,and beyond!!

    GOFINS ALL 53+ !!!!!

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