Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Omar Kelly hands the Dolphins another failing report card.
The Miami Dolphins’ season is spiraling out of control.
Sunday’s 30-20 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers has Adam Gase’s team on a four-game losing streak heading into next Sunday’s road game against a hot New England Patriots team that has won six consecutive games.
It’ll be a matchup of two teams headed in opposite directions, and another loss for the Dolphins would make it likely that Miami won’t end 2017 with a winning record unless they finish the season 5-0.
At this point, Gase’s focus has to be to stop the bleeding — penalties, lackluster offensive line play, stagnant running game, limited pass rushing and a Swiss cheese secondary — if a winning season is going to be saved.
Here is the South Florida Sun Sentinel's report card, evaluating how the Dolphins performed against the Buccaneers:
Passing Game: C
Jay Cutler struggled against the Buccaneers, completing just 6-of-12 passes for 83 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions before suffering a concussion just before the half. Matt Moore played the entire second half, completing 17-of-28 passes for 282 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions (106.5 passer rating). But Moore couldn’t turn two red-zone opportunities into touchdowns, which could have changed the flow of the game.
Running Game: C
It’s been a four-year wait, but Damien Williams finally produced a big run, gaining 69 yards on his first carry Sunday. The problem is Williams gained 9 yards on nine carries the rest of the game running behind an injury-depleted offensive line, which could be forced to play without Jermon Bushrod this Sunday. Kenyan Drake wasn’t any better, gaining 4 yards on seven carries. At some point the Dolphins will eventually conclude that the lackluster offensive line is the problem holding this offense down.
Defending the pass: D
The Dolphins’ defense made Ryan Fitzpatrick look like a solid NFL starter. The career journeyman, who replaced an injured Jameis Winston, completed 22-of-37 passes for 275 yards with two touchdowns (100.6 passer rating). Miami’s cornerbacks got carved up by Mike Evans (5 receptions for 92 yards) and the linebackers failed to contain Tampa Bay’s tight ends and tailbacks in the passing game.
Defending the run: A
Miami’s run defense has struggled lately, but defensive coordinator Matt Burke found a way to patch up his unit against Tampa Bay. Doug Martin, the Buccaneers’ leading back, averaged 2.0 yards on his 19 carries, and Tampa Bay only produced 53 yards on 24 attempts, which is drastically below the team average of 3.4 yards per carry. Tampa Bay tried to pound it on a number of red-zone plays and the Dolphins’ defense created a brick wall.
Special teams: D
The return game has been nonexistent all season, and nothing changed Sunday despite Jarvis Landry’s 13-yard return of a punt, and Jakeem Grant’s three kickoff returns, which produced 81 yards. Grant was brought down easily on each return. Cody Parkey made both of his field-goal attempts, improving to 11 of 12 on the season. Miami’s razzle, dazzle end-of-game pitch play cost the team seven points when Grant tossed the ball into the end zone trying to pitch it backwards and a Tampa Bay player recovered it for a touchdown.
Coaching: F
It’s never acceptable when a team commits 17 penalties for 123 yards because that means they are undisciplined. Making matters worse is the fact the Dolphins have been working to address the team’s penalty issues for the past two weeks, and there hasn’t been much improvement. Miami’s offense continues to be erratic and start games slowly, and the defense is allowing opposing quarterbacks to complete 67.6 percent of passes, throwing for 7.5 yards per attempt. Miami has intercepted a pass every 122 throws, and recorded a sack every 21.6 attempts.
Stock up: Damien Williams
Williams’ big run, and physicality helps to justify why he’s still playing ahead of Kenyan Drake, who possess a 5.5 yards per carry average. Williams, who averages 3.8 yards per attempt, has earned the respect of his teammates and coaching staff. But he needs to show why he’s held in such high regard on the field in games. Williams needs to contribute more than he has to justify being Miami’s starter.
Stock down: Kiko Alonso
Miami’s opponents picked on Alonso for the third consecutive week, working to get tight ends behind him in zone, and tailbacks isolated on him in open space. Alonso, who has produced 69 tackles, one sack and forced two fumbles this season, has played much better than he’s shown in November, and needs to get back to playing a disciplined brand of football. However, getting comfortable with a new inside linebacker likely won’t be easy.