New Dolphins Career

[Kurt l o l]

Pretty nice reads, keep it up.

[davis420]

Really like this Dynasty, it's making me think about breaking Head Coach back out! LOL

[burnum]

Thanks for the feedback, guys...


Game Summary:

Ravens 37
Dolphins 10

Scoring:
Q1:
BAL - E.Reed, 98yd INT return
Q2:
BAL - D.Mason, 13yd pass from K.Boller
BAL - M.Stover, 30yd FG
BAL - M.Stover, 47yd FG
Q3:
BAL - M.Clayton, 46yd pass from K.Boller
Q4:
MIA - R.Torain, 8yd run
MIA - D.Carpenter, 50yd FG
BAL - M.Stover, 18yd FG
BAL - R.Rice, 76yd run

Overview:
What a dissapointing loss!!! John Beck consistently made bade decisions (throwing in double coverage, throwing directly to Ed Reed, standing hours in the pocket and taking a sack on 2nd and 2), which lead us to falling way behind in the first half. After halftime (already down 27-0) I experimented a bit, using Ryan Torain as a power back and it worked pretty well (hopefully Ronnie Brown will be back next week). Apart from a long 4th quarter TD run, we shut down the run quite well but Kyle Boller looked like he was Payton Manning. He consistently completed on 3rd & long and made my secondary look really awful. I knew before the season that this would be one of our major weaknesses, so you can expect some upgrades for our DB's next offseason. Dennis Dixon can't complete any passes as a Wildcat QB. Maybe I'll try Ronnie once he's back from his injury. On a tiny sidenote, Dan Carpenter remains perfect for the season, nailing another 50 yarder.
This game was a major setback.

DE Philip Merling tore his MCL. He's out for the season. With an injury rating of 54 he just can't stay healthy an entire game.
QB Dennis Dixon will be out for 1-3 weeks.


During the Week:
Miami Dolphins placed DE Philip Merling on IR, signed DT Shaun Smith. Randy Starks will move to DE.


Game Preview: Week 8 vs Bills

Injuries:
Dolphins: Jason Ferguson (NT), Dennis Dixon (QB), Jason Allen (FS/CB)
Bills: Marcus Stroud (DT), Robert Royal (TE)

Matchup to exploit:
Bills RT Langston Walker vs Dolphins OLB Joey Porter

Matchup to contain:
Our depleted run defense vs their RB's

After last week's big loss I wont predict anything here. But it's a rivalry game and my owner set it as a season goal for me to win.

[burnum]

Game Review:

Bills 20
Dolphins 14

Scoring:

Q1:
MIA - R.Brown, 4yd run
MIA - T.Ginn, 13yd pass from J.Beck
Q2:
BUF - J.Reed, 26yd pass from T.Edwards
BUF - R.Lindell, 20yd FG
Q3:
BUF - F.Jackson, 6yd run
Q4:
BUF - R.Lindell, 23yd FG
BUF - R.Lindell, 36yd FG

John Beck had his worst game of the season (even worse than last week), throwing for just 140yds with 1 TD, 3 INT and a lost fumble. I am seriously considering giving Dennis Dixon a shot at QB when he returns from injury (Chad Henne is not a good fit for my offense). Apart from the first offensive drive, Ronnie Brown was a non factor. On defense, Reggie Torbor had a good game (2 fumble recoveries) and NT Hank Smithers had 2 sacks. We held the Bills under 100 yards rushing but our pass defense failed to stop them on 3rd down again and again. Punter Brandon Fields had a bad game, botching a a couple of kicks for just over 20 yards. He averaged only 34.6yds on 6 punts.


During the Week:
The Miami Dolphins announced that NT Hank Smithers has agreed to a new 3 year contract and OLB Angelo Craig has signed a one-year extension.
Backup OT Kirk Barton got injured in practice and will be out 3-5 weeks. Vernon Carey is expected to take his place on the active gameday roster.


Game Preview, Week 9 at Broncos:

Injuries:
Dolphins: Jason Ferguson (NT), Dennis Dixon (QB), Kirk Barton (T)
Broncos: Kory Lichtensteiger (G), Darrell Jackson (WR), Ben Hamilton (G), Ebenezer Ekuban (DE)

Matchup to exploit:
Our OT's vs their DE's - Denver has two speedy DE's in Dumervil and T.Crowder. Both are good pass rushers but also a liability against the run.

Matchup to contain:
WR Brandon Marshall vs our DB's - Marshall is the leading the league in REC and REC YARDS, he'll likely see a lot of double teams today.

[burnum]

I decided to change the style of writing a little bit. Game previews and reviews will be a bit more compact and subjective (less stats, more observation of 'the bigger picture').


Game Review, Week 9 at Denver

Dolphins 7
Broncos 27

We lost another game due to John Beck's annoying tendancy to use opposing Cornerbacks as his favorite receivers. He threw 3 picks (1 TD to Anthony Mix) and I benched him after the 3rd, which was returned for a TD by Dre Bly. Chad Henne came in in the 4th but he didn't have much time to do much. Completed a couple of nice passes but he also has shown a tendancy to hold on to the ball too long (just like in real life). I'm leaning towards giving Dennis Dixon a shot when he returns.
Ronnie Brown really got our running game started (16-88) but we couldn't run the ball as much as I liked because we were down all game.
On defense, we completely shut down the run (14-20) but Jay Cutler took our pass defense apart (288yds, 2 TD). Brandon Marshall went 4-93 and a score although he was in double coverage in all passing situations. Stokley also had a good game. Elvis Dumervil was weak against the run (as expected) but on passing plays he really dominated Jake Long (3 sacks).

Starting RT Nate Garner is out for the season.
Starting LOLB Joey Porter is out 4-6 weeks.


During the Week:
Miami Dolphins placed T Nate Garner on IR, signed T Trai Essex who will start immediately at RT.


Game Preview, Week 10 vs Seahawks:

Jason Ferguson returns to the lineup and will share snaps with Hank Smithers. This is the last chance for John Beck to keep his starting job, if he sucks again Dennis Dixon or Chad Henne will get their chance.
The Seahawks are without their starting RB and only have 1 RB on their active roster (M.Morris), so they'll likely air it out. Unfortunately we are without our best pass rusher (Joey Porter) so Tony Bake will have to step up in his absence.
We need some more wins this season for me to keep my job...

[burnum]

Game Review

Seahawks 19
Dolphins 25

Matt Hasselbeck torched my secondary but the Seahawks had no running game (34yds). Ronnie Brown scored through the air and on the ground and John Beck was not as bad as expected (19-32, 210yds, 2 TD, 2 INT). On defense, Akin Ayodele had a good game with 6 tackles, a sack and a pick. Rookie DE Lionel Dotson, who replaced Vonnie Holliday as the starter, had a good game with 2 TFL and a sack.
Unfortunately, Dan Carpenter's perfect streak came to an end after 8 consecutive FG's. He missed a 48 yarder vs the Seahawks.
Another win later in the season should do it to keep my job. Once I get an offseason to rebuild the roster we should be much improved. I'm on the Zazzali path by the way, which is very good because I only have knowledge of the very first season in that path.


During the Week:
NT Jason Ferguson just can't stay healthy. He's out for the season and on IR. I will be looking to trade him after the season...
DE Randy Starks is also out for the season (IR). A lot of injuries in the trenches. Looks like we could be looking for a new Trainer after the season...
The Miami Dolphins placed DE Randy Starks and NT Jason Ferguson on IR, signed TE Brandon Manumaleauna and NT Aubrayo Franklin.


Game Preview, Week 11 vs Oakland

While we have injuries all over both lines, the Raiders are completely injury free. They are still the worst team in the league (1 win), so I expect a win. We'll focus on containing Darren McFadden and make them beat us through the air with whoever is their QB (Andrew Walter or JaMarcus Russell). Their CB duo of Nmandi Asomugha and DeAngelo Hall is one of the best in the league, so expect a lot of targets for our slot receivers and backs.

[burnum]

Game Review:

Raiders 17
Dolphins 21

John Beck was average (14-27, 155yds, 2 TD, 1 INT) but Ronnie Brown took over the game in the second half. Although we were not able to shut down McFadden (102 yds, 2 TD) he couldn't do enough damage to compensate for Andrew Walter's bad play (177 yds, 0 TD, 2 INT). On defense Matt Roth (10 tackles) and Hank Smithers (2 sacks) impressed.


During the Week:
nothing to report...


Game Preview, Week 12 vs New England
New England is still undefeated, we are a rebuilding team - I expect a blowout loss... LB Jerod Mayo is their only notable inactive, we are missing 3 D-Liners, 2 O-Liners and our best defensive player (Porter).


Game Review:

Patriots 35
Dolphins 0

This was even uglier than I expected... Our first 2 drives ended in interceptions, their first 2 drives ended in touchdowns. John Beck threw for 88 yds and 2 picks in the first half. In the second half I played Dennis Dixon who was even worse, throwing for just 46 yds and 3 picks before being pulled for Chad Henne midway through the 4th. Henne failed to complete a pass but he wasn't picked either. Brady threw for 274 yds and 3 scores while Maroney averaged over 5 yds per carry on 17 attempts. Ronnie was ok (6-36) but I decided to rest him in the second half and Patrick Cobbs finished the game. Matt Roth continued to be our best pass rusher and Michael Lehan had 2 INT's before getting injured late in the game. At least Brandon Fields had a good day, averaging 48.0 yds on 5 punts.


During the Week:
Michael Lehan is out for 3-5 weeks.
Brandon Manumaleuna is out for the season and placed on IR. FB Mike Tolbert was signed to take his roster spot.


Game Preview, Week 13 at St.Louis
The Rams are without their starting QB Marc Bulger. Trent Green will start in his absence. If we can contain RB Steven Jackson we might have a chance, unless of course our QB throw more picks than completions again...


Game Review:

Dolphins 17
Rams 24

Yep, we couldn't contain their running game. Steven Jackson rushed for 113 yds and 2 scores and Samkon Gado added 66 yds. The Rams dominated Time of Possession 43-17. John Beck played bad as usal (16-29, 191 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT) and Ronnie Brown didn't get many chances to shine. Ernest Wilford had a good day receiving (5-92, TD). On defense, Akin Ayodele lead the team with 13 tackles while OLB Tony Bake had 3 TFL and a sack.


During the Week:
Miami Dolphins signed WR Koren Robinson, released RB Jalen Parmele. Robinson is expected to be used mainly as a second returner next to Ted Ginn on Kickoff Returns.
T Kirk Barton will be out 1-2 weeks.
RB Ronnie Brown will be out for this week. It remains to be seen how long he'll have to sit out.


Game Preview, week 14 at Buffalo
With Ronnie out my entire gameplan is destroyed. Patrick Cobbs and Ryan Torain will share carries instead (Cobbs is better suited for outside runs and as a receiver and blocker, Torain is better suited for inside runs). Defensively, we'll focus on shutting down the run and forcing Trent Edwards to beat us through the air. Buffalo is without DT Marcus Stroud (he always seems to be injured) and CB Leodis McKelvin.

[burnum]

Game Review:

Dolphins 43
Bills 26

This was a shocker (in a positive way)!!! Our offense was unstoppable. John Beck not only managed not to throw a single pick, he was outstanding (17-26, 342yds, 2 TD). In the second half (when I was up by 7-10) I had great success running the ball out of the Maryland I formation with Ryan Torain, who had a career day (17-142, 4 TD) in the absence of Ronnie Brown. Receiver Anthony Mix was Beck's favorite target (7-164, including an 85 yd TD on a quick slant). Rookie LB Jonathan Goff had 3 TFL and a sack. We had some problems with their outside runs (Lynch: 22-102, 3 TD) but they couldn't throw the ball as we played the second half mostly in Nickel or Dime packages.
Guess with 5 wins already I don't have to worry about job security anymore...


During the Week:
Ryan Torain was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week.


Game Preview, Week 15 vs San Francisco
Ronnie Brown is still out and SS Yeremiah Bell joins him (and all those linemen) on the inactives list. Joey Porter returns from injury. San Francisco is without LB Takeo Spikes and CB Walt Harris. With Mike Martz as their OC, all we'll have to do is stop the pass. As the DB's are our weakest unit we need a good pass rush to stop the Niners air attack.