Five Takeaways: Week 4 vs Raiders

[Brian Fein]

I wish we could play the Raiders every week. 

1) As goes Ryan Tannehill, so go the Dolphins
Tannehill played lights out yesterday, and the scoreboard reflected it.  The Dolphins seem to depend on momentum, and looking at a 7-3 early lead for the Raiders, the momentum shifted after the offense's first TD.  Tannehill's performance elevated the team as a whole.  Very few drops from receivers.  And Tannehill's involvement in the running game added a new dimension to the offense we haven't seen before.  There is no quarterback controversy in Miami.

2) The Raiders are really really bad
I am trying not to get overly excited about this win because the Raiders looked just awful.  I saw many times when the Dolphins lined up a bunch of WR's to one side and the Raiders had a single corner covering all three of them.  Their running game never really got off the ground.  I wonder if they have a real shot at 0-16.

3) The defense was improved
More blitz packages led to increased pressure on the QB.  I don't recall seeing so many corner and safety blitzes in one game from this team. 

4) Versatility on offense
The Dolphins spread the ball around, using 6 different rushers and 9 different receivers.  Everyone got involved and it showed. Working the entire field helps prevent the defense from keying on one guy.  I'd like to see this trend continue.

5) Injuries and comebacks
The Dolphins lost several players by the end of the game, including Satele, Landry, Albert, and Wilson.  The good news is that the next game should feature the return of Mike Pouncey, Rashad Jones, Knowshon Moreno, and Koa Misi.  The Dolphins will be at full strength for the first time all season.  Just hope the Brandon Albert injury isn't serious - he has been a stud at left tackle.

[Dave Gray]

Love this thread.

1) Tannehill is capable of being a great player, given time to make read progressions.

2) The Raiders are really, really bad.  Really.

3) Frying fish makes your entire house stink.  Since we were in London, I made homemade fish and chips.  ...made my own batter.  Delicious, but the fryer stunk up the whole house all day.

4) Just when you think you have the NFL figured out....  I was pretty good at picking winners at the beginning of the year.  In the last two weeks, I just can't get a feel for the league.  I'm way off -- teams that I think are great totally fall off, and bad teams play well.

5) The BYE is coming at a good time.  Lots of nagging injuries that can heal in 2 weeks.  This was an important win for us.  I still see an 8 win season, but if you're going to turn the corner, you have to do it with a win against Green Bay.

[Pappy13]

Here's the thing. The biggest difference between Tannehill this week and last is that there were no dropped passes, no passes batted down at the line of scrimmage and very little pressure on Tannehill whatsoever. You can attribute most of that to either the WR's or the offensive line. This whole notion that Tannehill has been so much worse in the 2 losses then he was in the 2 wins is nonsense. Yeah, he's had some bad passes, but he's had that in all the games, yesterday he overthrew an open Hartline that caused him to go out of bounds that should have been a completion. I don't think he had any passes batted down at the line of scrimmage (because the offensive line did their job and kept the raiders out of his face) and not only did the WR's, TE's and RB's not drop any passes, but Simms in particular made a great catch on a ball that was not particularly well thrown but still catchable. That's the difference. It wasn't that Tannehill was that much better it's that the offense as a whole was that much better. I'm not saying Tannehill didn't play great yesterday, he absolutely did, but he didn't play that badly in the 2 losses, just not great.

[fyo]

When Albert came out the o-line absolutely collapsed and Tannehill was pressured on every single play. I have to assume that's part of why they pulled him and let Moore get some garbage time snaps.

[Spider-Dan]

That's the difference. It wasn't that Tannehill was that much better it's that the offense as a whole was that much better. I'm not saying Tannehill didn't play great yesterday, he absolutely did, but he didn't play that badly in the 2 losses, just not great.

I think Tannehill played significantly better against OAK than he did against NE.  Of course, OAK is terrible, so that's a partial explanation.

(Although at this point, can we really say NE is a "quality win"?  They looked just as bad vs. OAK and they got stomped even worse than we did by KC.)

[MikeO]

I think Tannehill played significantly better against OAK than he did against NE.  Of course, OAK is terrible, so that's a partial explanation.

(Although at this point, can we really say NE is a "quality win"?  They looked just as bad vs. OAK and they got stomped even worse than we did by KC.)

Brady has gotten old and their skill position players are ordinary.

[CF DolFan]

This isn't a takeaway from the game but it is from the weekend.  We can win this division. We have the talent to do it and it looks like no one else wants it. I just hope the team can pull their head and agendas out of their arses and do it on the field!!

[fyo]

Brady has gotten old and their skill position players are ordinary.

The Patriots have no offensive line. It may improve, but right now it's horrible. The left side is particularly atrocious. I've never been a fan of Brady, but one thing he does better than anyone is hit a perfect quick slant, particularly on the right side. When your only trick in the book "short play to the right", opposing defenses have an easy time of it.

I fully expect the line play to improve as the season progresses. The big question mark is the receiving corps (resisting the temptation to add an e). Edelman can only line up in one spot. With Brandon LaFell catching less than a third of the balls thrown his way, that leaves Gronk and dump-offs to Shane Vereen. Gronk doesn't seem 100% yet, but it seems reasonable to assume that he'll improve. If Belichick can wring out just a half-assed performance out of LaFell and Thompkins, the Patriots could have a decent offense later in the season.

[JGreenMachine]

1.  Tannehill played like a man possessed.  I don't know if a light switch suddenly turned on in his head, Lazor was calling the types of plays suited to his strength, or if the Joe Philbin interview lit a fire under his ass, but he played his best football of the season. 

2.  Lamar Miller has the capability to be a special back in this league.  If he gets past that first wave of tacklers, he's got a burst of speed that can gain some big yards.  The line just needs to hold their blocks.

3.  Dion Sims does not look like the answer at tight end.  Chalk up another draft bust for Jeff Ireland.

4.  Branden Albert needs to stay healthy in order for the line to have any success.  I hope his injury is not serious because the wheels came off completely once he left the game.

5.  The Dolphins are still the best NFL team in the state of Florida. 

[MikeO]

^^^^^Sims is a beast of a blocker and a perfectly fine #2 TE on any team in the league.  For where he was drafted he is not a bust

[Pappy13]

I think Tannehill played significantly better against OAK than he did against NE. 

I'm not so sure.  Go watch this.

- He started off the game 6 for 6 with a TD.
- Then he threw that horrible pick trying to hit Wallace deep. Horrible pass.
- He then completed 4 of the next 5 with the 1 incompletion being a break up by the defensive back. At that point he was 10 of 12 with a TD and an INT.
- The next pass was the ball in the endzone to Wallace down the sideline where he had his man beat and caught the pass but didn't keep his feet in bounds. Not a bad pass, could have been better, but Wallace could have done better to keep his feet in bounds too and it would have been a TD. If that would have happened he would have been 11 of 13 with 2 TD's and 1 INT at that point. In my opinion up to that point he was playing as well as he played against Oakland to start the game.
- He then had a bad streak where he went 3 for 9, but he threw away 3 of those passes and 1 was broke up by the CB and 1 was dropped. He also threw a TD in there.
- He finished 5 of 12 but 2 more were dropped including another possible TD to Sims on a beautiful pass and 2 more pass break-ups on the defense so only 3 that you can really put on him not completing the pass and the players were not really open.

Out of 34 passes he completed 18 for 2 TD's and 1 INT. There were 9 passes that were either thrown away, good defense or drops none of which I'd put on Tannehill. That leaves 7 that could have been completed but weren't. He was only credited with throwing 32 passes, so I guess a couple of those incompletions were negated by penalty, not sure which ones those were. 2 could have been TD's if the receiver does a better job. Hartline actually had his hands on another potential TD pass but it would have been a great catch as there was tight coverage and he was running out of room in the corner of the endzone. There was really only 1 horrible pass, the interception.

Maybe he played a little better against Oakland, but he was pretty damn good in week 1 as well. The stats didn't look that great because of 3 drops and several more that were defensed well. Remember it was after week 2 that PFF had Tannehill ranked as one of the best QB's in their rankings, largely due to his week 1 performance and they defended it by saying that stats can be deceiving. As a matter of fact, I've been happy with Tannehill's decision making in throwing away some passes. He could have forced a couple of passes and risked getting them picked, but he played it smart and didn't take a lot of chances. I think he's gotten better about that and it's showing because his interceptions are down.