Dolphins 25 - Bills 16: A Tale of Two Halves

The Dolphins desperately needed a home divisional win against the 5-1 Bills to get back into the AFC East hunt, and they took care of business and got a great win at home. Down 16-7 shortly into the 3rd quarter only to score 18 unanswered points, this game was a tale of two very different halves, but the simplicity of what the Dolphins did differently is what really stands out.

First Half Breakdown:

-Ferguson was in the starting lineup today, which was huge for the Dolphins (as I pointed out last week, largely because it enables Randy Starks to play end). However, Michael Lehan was put on injured reserve earlier in the week (you get the feeling that he won't be around next year...), so Jason Allen took his spot in the nickel, and Tyrone Culver became the dime safety. Big tests for these two young players. Also, Ike and Mathis split time at right guard once again.

-From the first play of the game, Ted Ginn was an absolute monster. He had a lot of room in the man cover 1 that the Bills were playing, and Pennington actually under threw him on the first play. No worries: Ginn went up and made a terrific catch for a huge gain.

-The opening drive was well-called and well-executed. I say the game was a tale of two halves, but the weird thing is that if you exchange the first drive of each half, each team would have posted 30 minute shutouts in this one. Regardless, you have to love the classic Chad play-fake on the touchdown. Fasano was wide open for the score.

-All day, the Bills were playing to stop the run, and there were huge openings in the passing game. I noted during the first quarter that the Dolphins had to use the opportunity to take a big lead into the half.

-The special teams battle was an interesting one. From the opening kick, I thought if the Dolphins could merely break even with the Bills always special teams, they would have a chance to win. 0-0...let the games begin.

-The Bills moved the ball and got close a few times in the first half, but the Dolphins stayed in the game by virtue of their red zone defense forcing three field goals. The goal line defense has been especially impressive so far this year.

-Part of the reason for Ginn's success today was that the line was protecting well, giving him time to run deep routes and deep comebacks, routes that are very difficult to defend for somebody with his speed.

-It was great to see London use his body and catch a slant pass. He is developing into a solid role player.

-Great kick by Fields to down the ball at the Bills two. Special teams: Fins 1- Bills 0.

-Unfortunately, this is where the mistakes really started piling up for the Dolphins. With the lead and the Bills backed up to their goal line, Ferguson decided to go offsides, granting them breathing room. Credit the smart hard count by Edwards. Then, Hill and Will Allen both miss tackles to force a punt, and once again, number 25 missed an opportunity for a pick. As awful as his hands are, we would've been really screwed if he had actually been injured on that play. Our depth in the secondary is dwindling.

-On 3rd down, the Dolphins dropped eight for the first time that I saw this year. Excellent call, especially with the pass rushing of Joey Porter closing down and finishing the coverage sack. Who else?

-The amazing Bills special teams followed with a bad snap on the punt. Credit Moorman, who is as big a difference maker as you can have at punter, for getting it off, but with the ball on the Bills 37, the Miami special teams goes up 2-0.

-Offsides and the Dolphins have 1st and five from the Bills 32. Ruining the collective chop-licking of everybody in the greater Miami area, Ricky decided to fumble for the fourth time this year. (There was no outcry because it was only the first that he lost. However, statisticians will tell you that fumble recoveries are completely random.) It was a terrible mistake and one of the many blown opportunities to take a huge lead into the half.

-On the other side of the ball, it was penalties that were killer. Merling had two straight offsides on a Bills 3rd down, and Charlie Anderson offered 15 yards with a facemask on the same play! Again, uncharacteristic mistakes killed the Dolphins.

-By the end of that drive, Pennington was 7-8 and Edwards was 6-11, yet the score was only 7-6. As I said, the passing game was there for us but we couldn't capitalize and the only thing moving the Bills were our mistakes. We should have been up big.

-I noted towards the end of the first half that a definite bright spot was Jason Allen. He played pretty well, especially considering that he spent much of the half matched up with noted Dolphin-killer Lee Evans.

-Ginn and Camarillo blocked well down the field and Ricky Williams looked fast on a screen pass. The Ginn actually made a guy miss on a quick hitch. It seems that he plays much better as his involvement and confidence go up. When he returns kicks, he actually starts catching passes; when he starts catching passes, he develops the ability to make people miss in the open field...

-Pennington is great and was great all day. He is absolutely the best we've had since Marino by a long shot, but a big reason for our improved quarterback play not to be overlooked is our offensive line.

-Special teams gets a reality check as the Bills block a field goal. Penetration combined with a low kick by Carpenter caused this one. It's a big play, so award two points to the Bills special teams: 2-2.

-Bills get the ball back, and we continue falling apart on defense. The mistakes keep piling up, with Goodman's questionable pass interference call of the game putting the Bills in field goal range. Also, despite matching up very well and being in the right position to make plays, we are having trouble breaking down and tackling on defense. Very poor.

As I wrote during halftime, "Bad news is that we are down 7-9 in a game where we should have 21 points. We've really outplayed them, but have killed ourselves with mistakes. Two choices in the 2nd half: keep it up and dominate to victory, or let them make you pay for your sins and win a game they shouldn't even be in."

It was really true. Offensively, the Dolphins had all kinds of room to throw the ball wherever they wanted. The Bills had severely underestimated our passing game, and Ted Ginn was unstoppable. However, mistakes left us with only seven points. On the other side of the ball, the Bills really couldn't do anything. However, we made enough mistakes to keep their drives going and weren't playing as aggressively as we do when at our best, and as a result they had the lead. Special teams played them even, which was all we could ask for.

Halftime adjustments really didn't have to be anything crazy. The point was that we were outplaying them, but were beating ourselves. We didn't have to do anything different in the second half, except change our attitude. The offense had to come out expecting to score every time they had the ball and the defense had to come out ready to start really hitting people in the mouth. As I noted in the 3rd quarter, if our defense simply hits people the way they are capable of and makes the offense work to move the ball, they would be rewarded.
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Second Half Breakdown:

-The kickoff game all day was not in our favor. Carpenter's kicks were alarmingly short, and it was not by design. Special teams: Bills 3- Fins 2.

-The defense had the worst possible drive imaginable to start the 2nd half. The Bills did whatever they wanted, pushed us around, and we didn't tackle anybody. Luckily, this type of play was an isolated incident in the 2nd half.

-The Dolphins offense certainly got the halftime memo and Ted Ginn raced down the field with the football. The drive stalled because of a penalty that gave us a 1st and 15, but at least we got points.

-The defense turned it up, too (albeit a drive later than I would've liked). Blitzing worked well all day, and it was nice to see Yeremiah making a play in the backfield.

-One guy that never got going all day was Ronnie Brown. I was disappointed because even with Buffalo focusing on stopping the running game, I think we need to get the ball in the hands of the number one play maker. Whether that means Ricky can't get as many touches on days when our running backs will have less involvement, or we need to find more ways to get Ronnie the ball out of the backfield, we can't afford for him to be taken out of the game. Luckily, Ted Ginn stepped up and was our play maker today, but imagine if we got both of those guys going.

-We really got moving on offense when we got Camarillo and the tight ends involved. They are our bread and butter, our glue guys, and need to always be utilized. I especially love when Camarillo puts defenders on his back and moves the pile...it is mind-boggling.

-Excellent play calling on the goal line. What a fabulous job Henning has done all year. I love the wildcat call on first down. I have said numerous times that it is an excellent goal line play, especially if you consider that teams now have to spend time preparing for it in their base defense AND their goal line defense. Then, the toss left, which has been the closest thing we have to a favorite running play this year, hits for the touchdown. At this point the offense was working its tail off to score every time, and the defense was knocking the snot out of Buffalo. It was only a matter of time before the rewards started coming.

-And in the 4th quarter, rewarded we were. Randy Starks made a great play to cause a pick. It is an absolute crime that he is not starting because he is our best defensive end at defending the run, and this was the second interception he was responsible for this year. Meanwhile, it took a ball that a child could've caught, but Will Allen came up with a pick. Hate to nitpick, but I thought he should've taken it to the house. Follow #55!

-Offense didn't convert a touchdown out of it, but points every drive is the M.O. and we got a field goal out of it.

-The issue with offenses moving a tight end over Porter was less of an issue today. It looked like the Dolphins tried to move Joey around so that the offense couldn't dictate where he was going to be. I would rather find a way to always keep him on the weak side, but moving him around and alternating Charlie Anderson in to play the Will from time to time was a solid strategy.

-Speaking of him, how about Porter taking the ball out of Edwards' hands on that sneak. Stupid play by the Stanford grad, but once again Joey makes it happen.

-Another punt downed deep inside Bills territory by Fields. Special teams: 3-3.

-Great job again by the defense. Jason Allen and Andre Goodman had nice coverages on first and second down, and then who else but Joey Porter with a sack, forced fumble, and safety.

-More Ted Ginn and tight end involvement to get the Dolphins in field goal range to put the game away. Great football.

-Carpenter had me a bit worried after the first field goal was blocked, but he made three more, from decent distances out, too, to put the game away. Special teams: 4-3.

-As I had said, the Dolphins just had to come out, hit, and make things difficult for Buffalo on offense and they would be rewarded. After witnessing this 4th quarter we can all agree that it's amazing what some violent hitting can do for you.

-Finally, Jason Allen recovered the punt off of Parish, the dangerous return man who we corralled today, completing the special teams victory for the Dolphins, 5-3.

As I said, it was a tale of two halves, but the difference between the two halves wasn't a big personnel move or defensive adjustment. It was simply a matter of the Dolphins taking what was rightfully theirs. They were better than this Bills team today, and simply smacking them in the mouth and putting points on the board was the difference. Especially if you took the first drive from each half and switched them around (I considered doing just that to make a point in my analysis), you can see what kind of destruction this Dolphins team is capable of. In any given game, it doesn't matter so much who the Dolphins are playing...it matters whether or not the Dolphins show up to play.