Dolphins vs. Redskins: Miami Grades, Notes and Quotes
"Embarrassing" is the only word I can use to describe the Miami Dolphins' performance on Sunday.
The Dolphins covered the spread, beating Washington 17-10 and moving to 1-0 on the season. You could call it "winning ugly," but from what I saw there's too much to be concerned about with the Dolphins.
Ryan Tannehill looked like the Tannehill his biggest critics see every time he's on the field, not the franchise savior his biggest supporters see him to be. The defensive line looked overmatched, something that no one expected.
The linebackers looked bad, the defensive backs showed flashes but were mediocre (save for Reshad Jones), and the play-calling was questionable at times.
Against most other NFL teams, the Dolphins lose, but they were playing Washington, a team that has become the laughingstock of the NFL, and had it not been for 17 unanswered points and the fact that Kirk Cousins was the quarterback, the Dolphins could have very well become that too.
They escaped from D.C., nothing more. Here's a look at the grades, notes and quotes from Sunday afternoon.
Position Grades for the Dolphins
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| Position | Grade |
| Quarterback | D |
| Running Backs | B |
| Wide Receivers | B+ |
| Tight Ends | A+ |
| Offensive Line | D- |
| Defensive Line | C+ |
| Linebackers | C |
| Defensive Backs | B |
| Special Teams | B |
| Coaching | F |
The score, stats and results of this game say I'm being too hard on the Dolphins in terms of my grades.
Watching how Miami got to this point will show you that the grades are spot on.
You look at Tannehill, who completed 22 of 34 passes for 226 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions, and you'll think, "Decent game, could've been better," but no. Tannehill was not very good on Sunday, playing more like the guy we saw at the end of the 2013 season against Buffalo and Washington than the Tannehill we expected to see.
Running the football was an idea so foreign to Bill Lazor that Donald Trump would deport it if he could. Despite the aversion to the run game, Lamar Miller played well, averaging 4.1 yards per carry. If only he had more than his usual 13 carries.
Miami's receivers played well, as did tight end Jordan Cameron. Jarvis Landry was the team's MVP with eight catches for 53 yards to go along with his punt return for a touchdown.
The offensive line allowed three sacks, but in fairness to them one of those was due to Tannehill's lack of awareness of the open field in front of him (which would've gained him at least 10 yards) and open receivers (including Landry, who evaded a double-team on the play).
On defense, the vaunted defensive line didn't get cooking until the second half, but one reason it looked so bad was defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle's decision to drop some of the defensive linemen back into coverage. Why would you do that?
The reason: bad linebacker play. Only Jelani Jenkins played a game you could consider decent, as the rest of the linebackers missed tackles with great regularity.
Miami's secondary got some help with DeSean Jackson going out early in the game, but they played well as a unit. Reshad Jones was the defense's MVP thanks to the tone he set with his tackling.
Dion Sims Carted off the Field with Concussion
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The Dolphins suffered through a scary moment in the second quarter, as Dion Sims had to be carted off the field after suffering a concussion.
Sims got hurt on an overthrown pass from Tannehill, as he dove for the pass then landed awkwardly on the side of his head. He still had the ball on his fingertips, but had he pulled down the catch, he would've been ruled out of bounds.
Per Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald, Sims didn't go to the hospital after suffering the concussion. That seems like a good sign; however, Andrew Abramson of the Palm Beach Post reports that Sims was walking around but not talking much.
We all hope that Dion Sims winds up OK, but the Dolphins will have to sign another tight end this week. The only other tight end on the roster is Jordan Cameron, and Lazor's offensive scheme at times uses two tight ends on the field.
Reshad Jones Knocked Out Late with Hamstring Injury
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Jones was Miami's best player on defense, but he was curiously absent for the final defensive series of the game.
No explanation was given until after the drive was over, when Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald reported that Jones had suffered a hamstring injury.
Per Abramson, Jones expects the injury to be "day-to-day," as it's too early to judge the severity.
If Jones is out for a long time, Miami's defense becomes even weaker. Already the Dolphins have holes at linebacker, and while their corners and safety Walt Aikens showed some flashes on Sunday, they also showed that a lot of improvement is necessary.
Jones, Miami's leading tackler on Sunday, would likely be replaced by Michael Thomas, but the difference would be like replacing a steak dinner with fast-food dollar menu fare regardless of who replaces Jones.
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Say Goodbye to LaMike James
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Miami's going to have to sign a tight end (see slide three), but in order to do that the team will likely have to release someone.
Why not LaMike James?
James made the team based off of his kickoff return abilities, which were on full display as he very nearly gave Washington the ball with a fumble.
This led to James being benched with Jarvis Landry taking his place returning kicks and punts.
Landry would score the game-winning touchdown on a punt return and will likely knock James out of his return job and off the team.
Ironically, Landry and James got into a fight during a special teams meeting last week, per Fox Sports' Mike Garafolo, and the fight ended after coaches were able to keep them apart and the two promised to be better teammates.
After James' performance on Sunday, they might not have to worry about being teammates at all.
The saving grace for James is that, per Salguero, he is dealing with a shoulder injury. This could keep James on the roster, but his play doesn't come off as play worthy of staying around.
"I Was So Excited"
5 of 7Sunday's game might have been ugly, but it wasn't without its highlights.
One such highlight was the interception by Brice McCain, posted above for your enjoyment.
How did McCain feel about this pick? Per Abramson, McCain noted: "I looked down and I saw my feet were still inbounds. So I just got up and started running, I was so excited."
After a play like this, I'd be excited too. Washington was threatening prior to the play, as it had run an excellent drive during which Miami's defensive front looked gassed. The pick helped seal the victory, but it was a shame that the Dolphins offense couldn't capitalize.
"I Just Got My Bell Rung. I Was Scared, but I Bounced Back."
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The Dolphins and their fans had another scary moment in a game that was scary to watch, as Branden Albert was knocked down during a drive in the second quarter.
Albert was taken out for one play (which turned out to be a sack) before coming back into the game.
Albert was just as scared when he got hurt as Dolphins fans were, and said so to Abramson.
"I just got my bell rung. I was scared. But I bounced back," said Albert, who was checked for a concussion on the sideline but allowed to return.
"It Was a Great Way to Start Our 50th Season"
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I wasn't happy with this quote from Joe Philbin, per Hal Habib of the Palm Beach Post, but I understand that a win is a win, 1-0 is 1-0.
But this was not a good way to kick off the season.
Yes, it's tough to win on the road, but it's worth noting that Washington is a franchise in a state of flux, with a weak offensive line and bad quarterback play.
Despite that, Washington dominated in the trenches.
Miami plays Jacksonville next, a team with a much better front seven than Washington that will make for a true test for Miami's offensive line.
After that comes Buffalo, who made a statement against Indianapolis.
Miami will be home underdogs against the Bills based off of each team's Week 1 performance.
This game wasn't a great way to kick off the 50th season, but rather a warning that the team might not be as good as we expected it to be.
Hopefully it's first-game jitters, but based off of how the Dolphins closed the 2014 campaign, I highly doubt that.
Stats courtesy of NFL.com.
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