Game Balls - @ NYJ

[Spider-Dan]

A lot of candidates today!  Ollie Gordon had a great game, as did Caleb Douglas.

But I'm going to give my game ball to Malik Willis.  Definitely his best game in aqua & orange so far, and the most important win (for me) of any season: the one that guarantees the Dolphins won't go winless.

[dolphins4life]

Gordon

[Dave Gray]

I'll go with Gordon as well, but I appreciate the call-out of Willis.  He wasn't stellar, but he was improved and he did what he needed to do.

[Downunder Dolphan]

From the NFL highlights package:

Isn't it great to have a win, and so many contenders for game balls?

Honorable mentions:

The biggest one to begin with - Jeff Hafley. This was one hell of a bye week. Change over key special teams players, with two weeks to adjust. Tick. Bobby Slowik seems to have taken my advice, and dumbed down the plan to suit Willis (one read, then run), and it worked. Tick. No noticeable costly penalties, mistakes that cost us the game. Coaches get full marks.

Willis - he did nothing much wrong this time. Most of the reads were right, no wild throws and costly missed targets. More of this please!

Malik Washington - a key target early, and a major contributor all season.

Dulcich was another key target early - it seems like Willis finally worked out he can be a great option, and hit him up this time.

Michael Taaffe - made another interception/turnover at a crucial time for us. It's a season of rookie good news stories, and he's one of them.

Ollie Gordon II -  He's been the heart of our offense since Achane went down. Another massive game today.

But the game ball goes to...

Caleb Douglas. If Gordon is our offensive heart, Douglas is our spear right now. Two key bookend touchdowns, the second to effectively seal the game. I said he would make an impact coming back from injury, but his small number of targets were genuinely game changing.

[Pappy13]

I'm gonna go with Douglas too, but Willis was the most improved player this week. The offense actually looked ok at times this game. Gordon continues to get everything out of every play that he can.

[Downunder Dolphan]

I'm gonna go with Douglas too, but Willis was the most improved player this week. The offense actually looked ok at times this game. Gordon continues to get everything out of every play that he can.

Another honorable mention to the O-Line. Willis looked to have a clean pocket most of the game. Which means even Jackson probably did his job.

[CF DolFan]

I'm going with Coach Haftey. He's kept them focused and has built a physical team where the young guys continue to get better. We are running the ball and stopping the run. If our pass rush continues to get better, we may see our whole defense take another step.

[Pappy13]

I'm going with Coach Haftey. He's kept them focused and has built a physical team where the young guys continue to get better. We are running the ball and stopping the run. If our pass rush continues to get better, we may see our whole defense take another step.

I have noticed that although we don't put a ton of pressure on QB's, we tend to have more disciplined pass rush lanes and not everyone is taking a wide path to the QB. This is going to be really important with guys like Allen and Maye. It's almost as important to be sure they can't step up and take off running as it is to put pressure on them. You can't have guys always taking an outside speed rush, you need to be able to bull rush and collapse the pocket and then release off your guy if the QB tries to escape to the outside.

[Dave Gray]

I saw somewhere that Willis has a great game QBR-wise.  It didn't feel like he was out of this world.  He just didn't make the big mistakes.  But I'm just going on eye test and vibes.

[Pappy13]

I saw somewhere that Willis has a great game QBR-wise.  It didn't feel like he was out of this world.  He just didn't make the big mistakes.  But I'm just going on eye test and vibes.

He did, but QBR is so subjective. It's the opposite of the QB rating which just goes on stats alone. He did make quick decisions and was accurate on throws and didn't have any bad plays. He did get helped a bunch by that last TD by Douglas, but he did get rid of the ball quickly and to the right spot so you got to give him credit. Let's see if he can repeat that next week because it's the first real high quality game he's had this year. His QBR wasn't too bad against Cincy, but a lot of that was in garbage time so I didn't give him much credit for that. He's trending in the right direction now at least.

[Fau Teixeira]

I'm gonna give the game ball to the head coach,

I see clear progress and improvement across the entire team.
Passing game looked better,
Run game looked solid
Defense looked alright
Special teams looked miles better.

No let down from the last loss, good clock management. Made big calls at the end.

[Phishfan]

He did, but QBR is so subjective. It's the opposite of the QB rating which just goes on stats alone. He did make quick decisions and was accurate on throws and didn't have any bad plays. He did get helped a bunch by that last TD by Douglas, but he did get rid of the ball quickly and to the right spot so you got to give him credit. Let's see if he can repeat that next week because it's the first real high quality game he's had this year. His QBR wasn't too bad against Cincy, but a lot of that was in garbage time so I didn't give him much credit for that. He's trending in the right direction now at least.

QBR = QB RATING.

[Pappy13]

QBR = QB RATING.

Which is different from passer rating which is what I was trying to say. QBR is an adjusted rating meaning that someone goes through the plays and determines how much the QB is responsible for on any given pass play. So it's not tied directly to stats the way passer rating is.

[Phishfan]

Which is different from passer rating which is what I was trying to say. QBR is an adjusted rating meaning that someone goes through the plays and determines how much the QB is responsible for on any given pass play. So it's not tied directly to stats the way passer rating is.

You never used the words Passer Rating so I was hoping for clarity

[masterfins]

I made it down to the game it was a great day, warm, very sunny. Lots of Dolphin's fans throughout the stadium.

  I'm going with Caleb Douglas.


PS I always wear a Dolphins hat and a Jersey to games, usually in Buffalo.  Not a single Jets fan said anything bad to me and another even congratulated me on the win as I was leaving.