The Dolphins Make Me Cry.com - Forums

I said this at this time last year and will say it again.  Despite it being a passing league, defense STILL wins championships.  Both Harbaugh brothers built stifling defenses that took on high powered offenses today.  Both brothers' units shut down those high powered offenses in the second half.

Again, defense wins championships.  The Harbaugh brothers know that all too well, which is why their teams are still playing at this point in the season.

The Ravens defense is ranked 17th. 20th against the run. 17th against the pass. 12th in points against! They are very mediocre on that side of the ball. Nothing special at all really.

That defense that was "nothing special" allowed Tom Brady to get in the end zone ONLY ONCE today.  Tom Brady, of all people.  Last week, they held Peyton Manning to only three scores in the thin air.  Their regular season numbers are one thing.  This is the playoffs.

A defense having "one good game" or a couple good games, doesn't make them a good defense!!!  They are an average defense!  You don't get into the playoffs without the regular season numbers! Those games count!

P.S....SF hasn't been all that hot on defense in these playoffs They gave up 31 to GB and 24 to Atlanta. SF is winning because of their offense let's not kid ourselves. They have a dynamic QB and running game. They are winning  in the playoffs because they are outscoring people. Not because they are stopping people.

Actually, stepping up your game in the playoffs matters a lot.  Take for example the Chicago Bulls in the mid 90's.  They would have a good but not great regular season.  Then when the playoffs rolled around, they would take their game to a whole new level.

In the "mid '90s," the Chicago Bulls set the record for best regular-season NBA record of all time.  During their 6 title runs, they were a #1 seed every year but once (#2 seed in '93 playoffs) , and had the best record in the league 4 of those 6 years.

I can't think of a single WORSE example to cite.

You can talk about the Bulls all you want, bottom line is the Ravens defense this year is very average!

That was for one year.  95-96 if I'm not mistaken.  The two years after that where they won titles, they might've earned the top seed but looked vulnerable while doing it.  Same goes for the 99 and 00 Yankees.  But when the playoffs rolled around, they proved why they were champs.

And I'm still sticking by my argument that defense wins championships.  As average as the stats for the Ravens defense tell us they are, they shut down both Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.

Average doesn't win on the road in back to back weeks. And they definitely don't hold The Golden Boy to one TD at home. Average during the regular season while dealing with injuries. Dominant during the post season with everyone playing hurt.

Then why didn't the 49ers and Ravens go to the Super Bowl LAST year? The teams with the 2 lesser defenses NE and the Giants went instead and won on championship weekend.

Offense wins! SF's defense has been medicore to bad in the playoffs (after being good in the regular season). They have been outscoring people the past 2 weeks. That's why they are winning.

Yes, they "only" set the record for most wins in a season ONCE.

As far as the following two years, I suppose they looked as "vulnerable" as is possible while having the best record in the league.

Like MikeO said, why didn't both of these teams win last year?  Both of those teams had better defenses last year than this year.  And why did SEA lose to ATL this year, if defense wins championships?  SEA had the best D in the league.

"Defense wins championships"... except when it doesn't.

Denver's team defense ranking was #2 and #4 in points allowed in the entire league....yet they LOST AT HOME to the Ravens (ranked 20th in team defense and 12th in points allowed). Shouldn't Denver have beaten the Ravens IN DENVER if "DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS"? One defense was tops in the league the other was average at best.

And Houston had a better defense than New England....but the Pats beat them!

Defense wins championships....when? Where? How?

IN the playoffs and "stepping up".....SF gives up 31pts at home....needs to score 45 to win! Yeah, it's the defense that won that playoff game! SF gets down 17-0 yesterday...needs to outscore Atlanta to win the last 3 quarters! SF is in the Super Bowl because of their offense. Their defense has let them down in this playoffs

Baltimore's sure hasn't.  They've held three of the best quarterbacks in the AFC to 9, 21, and 13 points respectively. 

Interesting tidbit in the SFGate today...

"Special delivery: Kaepernick knows how to score points for the 49ers.

And with the media.

San Francisco's quarterback (and his agency, XAM Sports) had 15 pizzas delivered Thursday afternoon to an overcrowded media trailer. Just nine starts into his career, Kaepernick can read both defenses and many reporters: The quickest way to their hearts is through their stomachs.

The veterans in the media trailer were straining to think of the last time an athlete - or coach - made a similar gesture."

... I'd bet that this was straight out of his agency, rather than an idea that Kaep had himself, but it is still a pretty cool gesture.

So far, the Harbaugh team in purple has owned this game

Jacoby Jones just set a Super Bowl record that will never be broken!!

Talk about the Ravens playing "lights out" football

Almost as embarrassing as the sprinklers going off during a game! ;) :D

Everything is going their way at the moment. The defense has stuffed Gore, kept Kaepernick in the pocket and snagged a couple of turnovers, Flacco has been flawless, and now special teams has come through big time.

Will be interesting to see how things resume after the blackout - 49ers have to get a touchdown with the next drive to get some positive momentum. Will expect top see a lot more Ray Rice from now on, then again Caldwell has been nearly perfect with his play calling, why mess it up now?

Wow. Momentum has really changed since that delay, 49ers are well on their way to bridging the gap. Ravens now have to make a sustained drive on offense to stop it from slipping further - wouldn't have thought that was possible after the kick return.

NFL after review have adjusted it back to 108 yards.

^^^^^

Surprised no one else is blogging this game.  What looked like a blowout is now a good game

Turning into a cracker of a game - that delay seemed to have given the 49ers the chance to clear their heads and start putting it together. Rice coughing up the ball, Ngata being off injured, it's all swinging back their way, but that missed 2 point conversion could be huge. With a 2 point margin Akers may have to kick a FG to win the game for them, which is anything but a certainty - and that was before his injury!

IF the Ravens hold onto win Boldin won't win the MVP for this game....but he should!

Big catch after big catch after big catch!

Jim Harbaugh MIGHT be and actually PROBABLY IS  the best head coach in the NFL today. But he has a lot to learn about class and sideline demeanor. He and the entire 49ers organization should be embarrassed by his antics tonight.

When Tom Coughlin learned to settle down with his sideline antics he won 2 Super Bowls. Jim could learn a thing or two from Tom.

Hard to argue against Flacco winning though - the guy really couldn't play much better on the biggest stage. A bit like the Rice vs Montana calls back in the 80s, but I think this one was right.

Agree. I may have picked the 49ers to win, but I was barracking for the Ravens, and this was a major reason why.

Great to see the tribute to OJ Brigance by John Harbaugh on the victory podium too.

What a way to end a season. Great game all the way around. Loved how the refs let the players play.  Both teams showed what it takes to win a championship.....HEART. Congrats to the Ravens.

NOW ITS OUR TURN!

Belichick has him beat by miles, and I don't see how you can even make an argument for Jim Harbaugh over Coughlin, or even his own brother.

He's like that all the time.  When you're winning, it's just "being passionate."  When you lose, it wears thin... quick.  Ask Rex Ryan.

He's one of the most unprofessional coaches in the league and that's why (among other reasons) I was glad to see him lose to his far more poised and professional older brother.

Watching these two teams play tonight only emphasizes the fact that the Dolphins have a long way to go to be a contender.

100% disagree. The Fins defense is better than the Ravens. And its probably on par with SF's. Miami's offense is clearly behind both teams, but its not like that can't be fixed overnight. Which it can!

The Dolphins aren't as far away as you think. In 2010 SF was 6-10. It doesn't take that long to "build it up" in this league. Miami's halfway there really

Belichick hasn't won since "spygate." I'm not knocking him, Belichick might go down as the greatest coach of all time or in the Top 3 at worst, but I do think Belichick's best days are behind him and today in 2013 I would rather have Jim Harbaugh.

Winning or losing Jim Harbuagh acts like a jerk on the sideline!

I agree. The Dolphins are still learning how to win. With the Reggie talk, they're trying to subtract playmakers again. Both these teams showed how to fight when the going gets easy. And when the going gets tough.

Baltimore was going for the jugular after halftime. San Francisco never said die. You need the ability to do both. The Dolphins aren't there yet. But at least they're going in the right direction.

One thing I just realized.  Look how much better Joe Flacco suddenly became once Cam Cameron was fired as offensive coordinator. 

....and Jim Caldwell started calling the plays. The same guy Peyton swears by. The same guy who didn't get an interview for a head coach position this year.

The offensive line got better because they switched everyone around.

"Marshal Yanda returned from injury and returned to right guard, and former Pro Bowler Bryant McKinnie inserted at left tackle. Michael Oher was moved from the blind side, where he struggled all season, to right tackle. Rookie Kelechi Osemele, who got worked over mercilessly at right tackle in the Dec. 16 game, has been moved to left guard."

All of this pretty much clicked and immediately improved both the run and passing game.

I think this is another reason. They said he gets the plays in very quickly which allows the QBS to read. Aparrently that's his specialty because I've heard that before.

^^^^^ Great observation. Be it Harbaugh or Caldwell who made that decision to switch up the offensive line. That was a great move.

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^^^^^^ What not to do in a court of law?

The skill sets needed to be a OC and HC are different. 

Caldwell may be great at quickly determining what is the best offensive call to make given the game situation and organizing the offense to be affective, while also horrible at rallying a team thru adversity.  The first skill is needed for an OC, the second skill is needed to be a HC.   

This is emblematic of my recent Bay Area experience:

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Lots of crisp, brand new 49er flags attached to car windows and shiny, unworn jerseys have been making their appearances.  I'll say one thing for the Raider fans: they still represent, even when their team sucks.

Spidey... I'm not sure if this will get categorized as "name-calling" under current moderator guidelines, but your posts above are just a small part of what makes you a completely annoying fucking tool.

Just sayin'...


Which they do, on an epic scale... Come back and talk shit when they don't suck.

Stay classy, Sunstroke.

If I didn't deal with 49er fans on a daily basis, I might have been surprised by your response.

Very valid points. However, who's to say his teams haven't faced adversity. The man only got to a super bowl in his 2nd season. Took over offensive coordinator during this season
 Which again, got to and now won a super bowl. Yet, somehow doesn't even get an interview. I'm not saying that he have a mandated head coach position. I'm saying, the man doesn't even get an interview. When he lost his head coaching job at Indy, he was originally picked up as a position coach. Hell, Tony Sparano got a coordinator job after getting fired. Three seasons as head coach, two playoff appearances, one super bowl appearance, with one losing season. How is that not interview material?

They did.  Same thing happened to the Colts in 2011 as happened to the Pats in 2008.  One team's coach rallied his team to remain competitive.  (missed the playoffs but they were competitive all season long) the other completely folded at it was obvious to even the most casual observer that the players weren't even making an honest effort.  Not saying a better coach would have gotten the Colts a winning record, but the players would have at least tried to win. 

Too funny!!!!

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