You hear things are not as bad as they seem. This is bad. Moreover, I can not remember the last time I have seen a Miami Dolphins team with a roster of this talent look this unscrupulous.
The Dolphins opening drive had me dreaming of tea and crumpets from London then reality set in when Jay Cutler threw an interception when they were in scoring position.
Drew Brees threw for 268 yards and two touchdowns for the New Orleans Saints who scored all but three of their points in the second half as they embarrassed the Dolphins 20-0 at Wembley Stadium in London.
No need to stir the pot. Serve the soup. Miami needs to run the ball.
Jay Ajayi, who was born in the city, carried the ball 12 times for 46 yards in his hometown. Ajayi showed off his frustration on the sideline. I don’t blame him.
“We are not putting points up. It is frustrating.” Ajayi stated. “It does not make sense we have the talent. We have to figure out ways to put points on the board.”
One Dolphins running play was a wildcat formation. It only had 10 players move since quarterback Jay Cutler lined up wide in the receiver formation but stood there as if he was there so he won’t get fined. There was so much dirty laundry on the field because of penalties. Miami had 11 penalties and 11 first downs in the first half.
At the half, Dolphins were down 3-0.
In the second half, the Saints came out of the locker room. The Dolphins gave the impression they remained.
The defense played well enough on their side of the football. But there was no help by the offense. Moreover, they are the only thing positive these last three games for the Dolphins. They held the Saints to about 3 yards a carry. Very good improvement since Miami finished 30 out of 32 teams last season. The defense needed to get off the field on third down. This was evident in the preseason. The offense needed to move the ball and give the defense time to rest.
The game was still in reach for the Dolphins only down 10 at the start of the 4th quarter. Saints had a bad snap, the football slipped through many hands and the Dolphins could not jump on the fumbled snap. It just was not their day across the pond.
“Every time we get something fixed. Something else pops up” Adam Gase stated. “We have to figure out what is going on. And we have to do it quickly.”
The offensive line has not been bad but it has not been great. I cannot blame them. In the opening drive, Cutler drove 81 yards. It was a disaster from there only 104 after. A total of 185 yards of offense against one of the worst defenses in the NFL. It’s fewest since its last shutout, a 19-0 loss at Buffalo on Dec. 22, 2013.
The Dolphins were shut out after almost being shut out last week in New York by the Jets. The Last two games for Miami: 2-20 on 3rd down, 88 yards rushing and Cutler sacked 7 times. Six points in total in their last two games.
“It is orchestrated chaos out there ” Cutler stated. “We have to figure out how to do a better job.”
Cutler completed 20 of 28 passes for Miami, Miami did not commit to the running game. Only 15 carries all game long.
Cutler has not gotten the job done. No need to look at Matt Moore yet. Give Cutler two more games. If the struggles continue, give Moore the opportunity he can certainly run the offense more effectively than what we have seen.
Dolphins had a 1-4 start last year. Coincidently the last loss before their streak came against the Tennessee Titans who the Dolphins play this Sunday at their first home game of the season. Miami’s latest opener since 1987.
