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by Doug Thews.
Original Post: Dolphins/Texans Post-Game Analysis
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In what turned out to be the 2nd most embarrasing defeat in franchise history (a 62-7 defeat to Jacksonville in the playoffs being #1), the Dolphins were completely out-played, out-coached, and out-classed by the Houston Texans, falling 21-20 in their season opener.
Very little went right in this game. Chris Chambers turned in the only strong performance, pulling in 2 TDs and 118 yards receiving - generally making Jay Fiedler look better than he really was. His 1st TD was a wide open out pattern, where he juked a DB and ran the final 40+ yards to the end zone himself. The 2nd TD was SportsCenter material. On a play in which Jay Fiedler himself said he was just throwing the ball away out of the back of the endzone, Chambers went up and snagged the ball one-handed, and tapped both feet in bounds for a TD with 1:09 left in the half.
Everything else went wrong for the Dolphins. The defense had no sacks, no INTs, and no fumble recoveries. David Carr was not sacked, pressured, or even touched in passing for 266 yards. The Dolphins defense allowed the Texans to rack up a franchise high 400 yards of total offense. Not good for a unit that added veterans like Junior Seau, Sammy Knight, Jeff Zgonina, and Terrell Buckley to improve on last year's stout home defense, but suspect away defense. As it stands, this defense actually looks WORSE than last year's crew. Texans receivers abused the DBs all day, and the defense adopted soft zone coverages for a lot of the game.
Special teams was anything but as Mark Royals shanked at least 3 punts awarding prime field position to the Texans. If a challenger for his starting position is not brought in for the Jets game, the coaching staff should be flogged. Charlie Rogers was caught behind the 20 yard line on several kickoffs and the return game was never a factor.
Coach Wannestedt seems like he has a team that really can't be coached. His laid back personality doesn't fit what needs to be done right now (which is a kick in the ass and some well-placed benchings). I think the owner needs to come out publicly and tell the media that if the Dolphins don't reach the playoffs, Coach Wannestedt and a whole lot of the core players on this team will not be here next year. It's time to light a fire under some of these guys right now before the season is lost in September. You can't win the championshim in September (just ask the Dolphins of the past few years), but you can sure eliminate yourselves in September.
For those who didn't see the debacle, here are some samples which epitomized the entire game:
#1: With 3:00 left in the game and the Texans facing 3rd and 6 on the Dolphins 30 (after a Jay Fiedler floating interception), the Texans run an off-tackle play with Stacey Mack. A Texans blocker takes on Zach Thomas with a stiff-arm block. Not only is Zach Thomas completely neutralized by this lame block, but Seau catches himself in the wash trying to get from his side to the action, and inexplicably, Morlon Greenwood stays inside instead of sealing outside (to his side) and gets tripped up in the wash as well. So, all 3 linebackers are completely wiped out by a single arm block and the play goes for 11 yards. The Texans are able to run 2:00 off the clock, kick a field goal, and the Dolphins get the ball with only );25 in the game.
#2: With the Dolphins punting on 4th down, the long snapper snaps the ball way over the head of Royals, but fortunately for the Dolphins, instead of a TD or safety, the Dolphins were called for a false start and were allowed to re-kick.
In the post-game press conference, no player or coach seemed truly upset about the loss. They all gave the same "it's early in the season" speech. I'm no fan of Ray Lucas, but at least he publicly went out and admitted he stunk up the joint after his losses last year. I wish the Dolphins would have held themselves more accountable. Memo to the Dolphins: I think each of you owe your weekly game check to refund anyone who attended this debacle, and send the rest of the money to charity.
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