Dolphins vs. Jaguars: Miami Grades, Notes and Quotes
Just when you thought the Miami Dolphins couldn't embarrass themselves worse than they did in Week 1 against Washington, they manage to play a sloppy game against the Jacksonville Jaguars leading to a 23-20 loss to knock their record down to 1-1.
The Dolphins managed to lose the game despite the Jaguars' best efforts to give it up. While the Jaguars offense was on fire to start the game, toward the end of the game it managed to self-destruct, only scoring three points in the second half after holding a 20-13 lead at halftime.
The problems for Miami were its inability to run the ball at all and how undisciplined the team was, amassing 13 penalties, three of them coming after huge third-down stops and one on Olivier Vernon that put the Jags in great position to kick the game-winning field goal.
The Dolphins' schedule does not get any easier after this, with meetings against the Buffalo Bills and the New York Jets coming up before the bye week.
Here's a look at today's atrocious, fetid excuse for a football game from a team that should play better but, for Lord knows what reason, can't.
Positional Grades for the Dolphins
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| Position | Grade |
| Quarterback | B+ |
| Running Back | F |
| Wide Receivers | A- |
| Tight Ends | A |
| Offensive Line | F |
| Defensive Line | C- |
| Linebackers | C- |
| Defensive Backs | F |
| Special Teams | F |
| Coaching | F |
You will see the peanut gallery blame this loss on Ryan Tannehill due to Miami's last two drives.
Block those people on Twitter, unfriend them on Facebook, stop listening to their "Big Show" on the radio and in general stop taking these people seriously.
It's sad to note that it was Tannehill who had the Dolphins in a position to win the game, going 30-of-43 for 359 yards and two touchdowns with no turnovers.
Tannehill did this despite having no running game (he was their leading rusher with 17 yards), and he was missing Branden Albert for most of the second half. Jason Fox was terrible filling in for Albert, and his missed block on former Dolphin Jared Odrick swung the game toward the Jaguars.
Tannehill's main targets were Rishard Matthews (six catches, 115 yards) and Jarvis Landry (eight catches for 110 yards). The tight ends were excellent, too, as Jordan Cameron had three catches for 62 yards and Jake Stoneburner had two catches for 18 yards and a touchdown reception early in the third quarter.
As for the defense, they were horrid in the first half, getting no pressure on Blake Bortles while the secondary allowed Allen Robinson to have a brilliant afternoon catching six passes for 155 yards and two touchdowns.
The defense also had a bad habit with penalties, as three penalties wiped out third-down stops and Olivier Vernon's dumb unnecessary roughness penalty at the end of the game put Jacksonville in range to make an easy field goal.
This all goes down on the coaching staff, who had this team woefully underprepared for a team that it should've defeated quite handily. Instead, the Dolphins suffered perhaps the most embarrassing loss in the NFL so far in this young season.
Branden Albert Knocked out of Game with Hamstring Injury
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In the second quarter of Sunday's embarrassment, Branden Albert hurt his hamstring and was pulled out of the game, per ESPN's James Walker.
Jason Fox, who played horribly throughout the game but started out decently, took his place.
As the game wore on, you can see how this affected Miami, as the Dolphins couldn't get their running game going and saw their pass protection break down throughout the afternoon.
How long will Albert be out? Right now we don't know. The hope is he'll be back for Week 3 against Buffalo (where he'll be sorely needed), but considering his injury history, that's far from a guarantee.
Dolphins Pass Rush Nonexistent
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Blake Bortles is a less-than-effective quarterback when you get a consistent pass rush on him. Unfortunately, the Dolphins couldn't do that, as he was officially sacked not once, not twice, not three times, just not at all.
Whatever happened to the defensive line that looked dominant on paper and looked better during the preseason?
Nonexistent, all of them. Olivier Vernon was the worst, as he actually committed a penalty that put Jacksonville in field-goal position.
Miami's defensive line needs help, something you shouldn't say when you have Cameron Wake and Ndamukong Suh.
More Jordan Phillips? That might help, as he has Miami's only sack of the season.
Ryan Tannehill Tweaks Ankle
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Ryan Tannehill was masterful on Sunday, but he seemed to break down toward the end.
One reason for that was he seemed to tweak his ankle in the fourth quarter. Per Omar Kelly of the Sun Sentinel, Tannehill had it retaped and went back in, but he did look less mobile.
He needed his mobility to get away from the suffocating Jaguars pass rush.
Following the game, Andrew Abramson of the Palm Beach Post reported Tannehill had his ankle taped up.
He's likely alright, but one has to wonder how much of an impact the ankle injury had on Tannehill's performance.
"Frustration" Is a Good Way to Explain the Mood of the Team
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This is something that fans, players and coaches should agree on.
Cameron Wake believes this, telling ESPN's James Walker that "frustration" is a good way to describe the team's mood.
It might go beyond frustration for the Dolphins. This game, along with last week's victory, exposed a lot of holes in the team's play.
They're undisciplined, as noticed by the 13 penalties committed and the timing of said penalties. The secondary, which looked so good against Washington, was burnt to a crisp against a Jacksonville offense that could only muster nine points the week before.
The defensive line couldn't sack a pound of potatoes against the Jaguars either, despite the fact that the previous week, Blake Bortles was sacked five times.
Wake is frustrated, and the Dolphins are frustrated. But they should be beyond frustrated; they should be angry.
"We Didn't Set the Tone, They Set the Tone"
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Based off of the Twitter responses, I know I'm about to get a lot of heat for this.
Ndamukong Suh did not play badly; he was let down by the rest of his defensive line.
Suh only recorded one tackle, but look up his numbers in Detroit, where he had a lot of games with either one tackle or no tackles.
Instead, he occupied blockers left and right, only to see his linemates and linebackers fail him.
Being the consummate professional that he is, Suh will take the heat, but he'll be taking more heat than he should.
He also adds this nugget, telling Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald: "We didn't set the tone. They set the tone."
That's the ball game in a nutshell. Can it change? It has to against Buffalo in Week 3, but I have my doubts when you consider how good the Bills defensive line is, how bad Miami's offensive line is and how poorly Miami's defensive line has played.
Joe Philbin "Surprised" by Team's Lack of Urgency
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Per Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald, Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin said this about Miami's lack of urgency: "I was surprised."
I made a promise that I would take a flamethrower to that statement. Here it comes.
In four years of coaching this team, a big problem has been the lack of urgency.
The players in four years have changed a lot. The only constants on the roster have been Ryan Tannehill, Cameron Wake, Reshad Jones, Mike Pouncey, Rishard Matthews, Olivier Vernon, Lamar Miller and Koa Misi.
Those are the only players who were here for Philbin's first season in Miami who are still in Miami.
Despite the ongoing turnover, nothing about this team's performance has changed. Sure, you could blame it on the remaining players, but with the exception of Wake and Misi, each of them has improved.
It's time for Philbin to stop being so surprised, stop being so passive. He should be lucky he lasted into this season, and if the horrid performance of this team continues between now and the Thursday Night game against the New England Patriots in Week 8, then that might be his final game as head coach of the Miami Dolphins.
Statistics courtesy of NFL.com.
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