Apparently a lot of people haven't heard, but the Miami Dolphins are now undefeated in the 2010 season.
They also earned a division road game win, in very windy conditions on Sunday.
I bring this up, because if you look around, everywhere you go, all you hear about is moaning and complaining by Dolphin fans.
"The play calling was too conservative"
"Brian Hartline needs to be replaced"
"Ricky Williams looks old"
"Chad Henne is way too inaccurate"
Can we stop please?
Personally, I blame the Madden Generation. I think a lot of people are so used to looking at Madden Ratings and thinking a player is going to somehow be a stud on every single play. Here is a news flash for you...and feel free to quote me on this.
Not every player at every position is going to be a Hall of Famer, nor are they going to play like Hall of Famers on every play. Even the Hall of Famers are going to screw up, drop passes, miss a block, get sacked, lose yardage, fumble, throw an INT.... ALL OF THEM.
Its part of Football. Lets talk about some of these rants that the Chicken Littles come up with shall we?
"The play calling is too conservative"
How do you criticize the play calling when we won the game? I seriously doubt any of you question the plays that worked... but you only question the plays that didn't. Buffalo's secondary was second to only the Jets last season. Yes, they are that good.
We didn't throw a single interception, and we won the game. Take into account the heavy wind (did no one see the players towels blowing all over the place?) and it easy to understand why we played much shorter higher percentage pass plays. Not to mention, our offense had a 2 score lead. We're not the Patriots or the Saints so we don't run up the score when we have a lead. We sit on a 2 score lead and eat up the clock.
That is what we do.
"Brian Hartline is not a true #2, we should replace him"
Considering the common understanding is that it takes 3 years for a Wide Receiver to actually "get it" in this league, we should be extremely happy with the play that we've seen from Hartline. Not only were his 2009 numbers pretty damn good for a rookie who didn't start for the large majority of the season, but he's shown some flashes of physicality as well. We gave Ted Ginn three years, we'll give Hartline his.
Worried about his drops? Don't be. Marshall had 11 drops in 2009, anyone bitching and moaning about them? Nope.
Stop reading the box scores when it comes to evaluating these guys. Fact is, during the Buffalo game, Hartline was targeted 4 times, twice was he under thrown, one he caught for a 9 yard gain (negated by penalty on Fasano), and the last one he dropped. What you don't see in the box score, is the many times he had his man beat, one would've been for a LONG touchdown, but Henne either didn't see him, or was under pressure and scrambled the other direction.
Stop with the Hartline hating.... I understand Ginn's gone, and everyone needs a new target... but just stop, its unjustified.
"Ricky Williams looks old...."
News Flash: Ricky Williams IS old for a Running Back.
He's still very talent, and still producing at a high level. Get over it. He also has fumble-itis, and has throughout his career....so lets just get that out there before he fumbles a ball and you all freak out. Ricky is a bigger back who punishes teams in the fourth quarter.
"Henne takes too many check downs Henne is too inaccurate Henne needs to learn how to throw a touch pass"
Anyone that watched the Buffalo game, watched Henne actually go thru all of his reads. The offensive line gave him all the time in the world, and it was clearly visible to see him go thru his progressions.
Henne has been taught to get the ball out quick, and he does just that. Remember the article about how the Dolphins had a 4 second buzzer in training camp to help him get the ball out faster? Guess what, it works. He gets the ball out fast... he goes thru his progressions, and if nothing is perceived to be open, he goes to his check down outlet.
Now... sometimes, the Offensive line actually gives him more time than that 4 seconds, and he might be able to take some more time to find an open man, but that's not how this offense operates. If it's not there, we play the safe route, and gain a few yards.
Forcing the ball, causes turnovers. And there isn't a single person reading this that will EVER say, "Man Henne threw an INT on that play, but I'm glad he was aggressive" You know what you'll think?
You'll think..."Damn it Henne! Everyone was covered, you should have checked down, Ronnie or Ricky were wide open!"
Again, you can't have it both ways, By the way, he completed 61% of his throws against a team that had the second best secondary in the league last year.... and most were short "touch" completions.... Relax folks. Its his first real year as a starter. Take a deep breath.
Facts:
- We won the game
- We won a Road Game
- We won a Road Game against a Division Rival
- We won a Road Game against a Division Rival in windy conditions
- Its been 6 years since we won a game IN Buffalo
- Going into Monday's night games, our Defense is ranked #1 in the NFL after Sunday.
So can we stop with the whining please?
The Dolphins are 1-0.
Chad Henne is NOT going to be replaced by Chad Pennington anytime soon (who btw was 0-2 in both years he started for Miami).
Neither the Offense NOR the Defense are in mid-season form.....and they shouldn't be, cuz...its only week one. They will continue to improve, and hopefully, so will our record.
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