NFL
By: Rick
Hold onto your hats, folks. The Miami Dolphins are in the win column. With all the talk of tanking and a winless season, the Dolphins went out and beat the New York Jets. Cue up Ice Cube’s “It Was A Good Day” because any time the Dolphins can beat a division rival (especially the Jets) fans can sleep well at night. So how did they walk away victorious?
Incremental Improvement
No one asked Malik Willis to come out of the bye week and be Peyton Manning. The Dolphins don’t need a gunslinger. They just needed him to do enough to take care of the football and make plays. Check that off the list. While it wasn’t exactly pretty it was a much improved Willis. With no interceptions or fumbles, he’d go on to throw for 14/21 (.67%) and two TDs as well as run 8 times for 37 yards and a TD. There’s still a bit to clean up about his game, but the progress is promising with it arguably being his best game yet.
Reinforcements Arrive
Miami was starved for receivers in the offseason. Fast forward to week 7 and it’s the first time that Caleb Douglas and Chris Bell were on the field together and healthy. Getting Douglas back was key. Having to account for another WR of that caliber opened up the passing game and allowed Miami to get their tight end involved, leading the team with 5 catches for 86 yards. Douglas had a day scoring his first and second touchdown of his young career scoring on both his receptions. Malik Washington continues to build his chemistry with Willis put up 3 catches for 27 yards. Chris Bell had 3 for 25 yards. This offense isn’t even into a rhythm yet and they’re spreading it around and making plays. How much can they build off this?
Attack The Run
Dolphins fans quickly felt deflated when De’Von Achane went down with an injury, ruling him out for the rest of the season. Yet, in today’s NFL, the good teams will always have their next-man-up and Ollie Gordon II got his number called and is carrying the baton just fine. He’s now rushed for 100+ yards in back-to-back weeks and is running with those same hard runs that push for a few extra yards. Coach Jeff Hafley has said that he envisions Miami being a “run first” team and at this point, why not? They’re clearly succeeding at it. At this point it can only open up the passing game and help establish the play action. Keep feeding whoever has the fresh legs and let Ollie do his thing.
It feels good to finally be in the win column right? That excitement may not last long as the Miami Dolphins take on the surging New England Patriots, luckily it will be at home at Hard Rock Stadium. Can the Dolphins knock off two division rivals in back to back games and start clawing out of the basement?
