Dolphins vs. Patriots - Defense/Special Teams

Defense:

-Great three and out by the D to start the game and set the tempo. Ayodele, who I am already growing to love, had a great tackle, and Michael Lehan, back from injury (though he would hurt himself again in this one) also had a nice stop.

-The neutral zone infraction call on Joey Porter was absolute bullshit. It was horrible acting by the Patriots lineman, moving what seemed like eight seconds after Porter, and should have been an offensive penalty, which coupled with the other one would have led to 1st and 20.

-On one sequence, Porter had a first down sack, proving once again that he cannot be blocked by a tight end. Then, Merling got in there for another one, and on third down there was nice pressure and Starks came up with a well deserved pick in the red zone. Great work, and also credit Renaldo Hill's secondary for not giving Cassel anywhere to throw the football. There were no huge breakdowns on this day.

-On the Patriots drive at the end of the 1st quarter, they could only move the ball through trickery and meaningless penalties. The Dolphins really looked like the better team after one period, and Ayodele, Bell and the D looked great.

-As early as the second quarter I was already pleased with the way the defense was hitting and tackling, playing very physically. Will Allen and Yeremiah Bell had two more great tackles to force a field goal.

-Midway through the 2nd, Hill made a great break on a ball, but dropped the interception. The good news for the Dolphins was that even though Welker came up with it, he was tackled and the Patriots were held to a field goal, so the Dolphins actually got a relative break in terms of how things usually go for this team recently.

-Though I can take when a DB has great coverage and drops the pick, that wasn't the case when Goodman had bad coverage and dropped a ball that was nevertheless thrown right at him. I have not been happy with his play this year, and he needs to pick it up or else a healthy Lehan will challenge him for his role.

-The blitz packages the Dolphins used all day were a good design and very effective. It appears that the Dolphins are starting to really grasp this defense.

-The Dolphins beat the hell out of Cassel and Welker all day, really making them feel every hit. Also, I can't say enough about how Randy Starks has really been a great role players this year.

-The Pats got their touchdown, but it was really a special teams score. Cassel made a nice throw on 4th down and Welker had a trademark clever play running around the official to get open, but I would really like to direct Jabar Gaffney to the scoreboard after his little celebration.

-Our dime package has a really nice design with Porter, Merling, Starks, and Anderson all down on the line. It gives us enough beef, but some really athletic guys to go after the quarterback. Also, it is another package towards getting the right personnel mix up front to keep everybody fresh throughout the game and season.

-Joey Porter was an absolute terror, backing up his mouth with three huge sacks and a forced fumble. It's amazing how misused he was last year and how good he is at the Will.

-Renaldo Hill deserved when he actually did pick the ball off late in the game, but Holliday got screwed over on an iffy roughing call. It seems like he always has the penalty that doesn't look like much, and Hill's second should-have-been pick shows you the type of position he was in all day long.

The Dolphins had a great defensive day against the Patriots, frustrating them all over the field. Up front, the rotation was sound, but the guys you have to be really excited about are Merling and Langford, who will be holding those positions down for years. Akin Ayodele has likewise been excellent, but he and Crowder will be tested against LT, Gates, and the Chargers. On the outside, you've got to be so impressed with Matt Roth's development as an outside linebacker, and Joey Porter is really something to behold when he is on.

Still, the big improvement was in the secondary. All of the sudden, with Hill and Bell healthy back there, the safeties look pretty darn good. I hope Lehan can get healthy to help Allen and Goodman out at corner, but the other added piece of good news from Hill stepping in at safety is that Crocker and Jason Allen can focus on their cornerbacking skills a bit more over the bye week to add some more depth.
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Special Teams:

Our glaring weakness against the Patriots, and probably the only phase of the game where we really got beat was our kick coverage. It has been bad all year, and it was especially bad this week. A lot of work needs to be done there, as it is our glaring weakness heading into the bye.

Besides that, Fields and Carpenter are kicking the ball pretty well. Bess hasn't done much of anything with the return game, though, and I'd really like to see Teddy Ginn get a shot back there. Ginn has shown that he can be an explosive returner, even at the NFL level. There is really no reason that he shouldn't be given the opportunity to be a difference maker for us.