Miami

Review of Dolphins Through One Quarter of Season

The Dolphins are on their bye week after going 2-2 in the first quarter of the regular season

The Miami Dolphins are resting up this week after going 2-2 in their first four games of the 2014 season.

The season began with an exciting come from behind victory over the New England Patriots in week one. After falling back early to a New England team that, the Dolphins mounted a furious and sustained comeback to pick up a huge win. At the time, it led to a lot of optimism around the Dolphins and a renewed early hope of a return to the playoffs.

It was of course, just one game though. Those hopes and that momentum came crashing down the following week in a demoralizing loss to the Buffalo Bills. Miami not only was thoroughly dominated by Buffalo but it lost its starting running back as well. Knowshon Moreno suffered a dislocated elbow and is going to miss some more time. Moreno was a huge part of the week one comeback win and his loss was immediately felt.

With Moreno out of the picture, the offense had to run through Ryan Tannehill even more. It made the third year quarterback drop back and throw too many ill-advised passes. Sacks began to mount, incompletions compiled at an alarming rate and the Dolphins failed as a unit to move the ball in a productive way.

Even with Lamar Miller stepping up, the Dolphins were still ineffective overall offensively. This ultimately was a reason they lost a second straight game in week three to the Kansas City Chiefs. That loss moved Miami to 1-2 and thoughts began to creep in of another potentially lost season.

There began to be rumblings off the field of a change at quarterback and some bad feelings between head coach Joe Philbin and Tannehill due to a lack of communication. Philbin refused to commit to Tannehill as his starter heading into a tilt with the Oakland Raiders which irked the QB. Ultimately, Tannehill did make the start in London against the Raiders and Miami came away with the much needed victory.

The win over Oakland was critical for the Dolphins especially leading into a bye week. It was not just a win but a convincing team victory. Even if the opponent was not considered strong by any stretch of the imagination, it was a win that could turn the season back around for Miami. It should renew confidence in Tannehill and put a stop to any controversy over his job for the time being.

Now the Dolphins will look ahead to the next quarter of the season with a tough stretch of four games. Miami will take on the Green Bay Packers in Miami following the bye week. After that, there are games at Chicago, and Jacksonville before returning home for a contest against the San Diego Chargers. The Jacksonville Jaguars should present the easiest challenge of the four for Miami but nothing can be taken for granted.

There remain questions about how effective Miller can continue to be. Moreno led all NFL running backs in rushing yards in the first week and there's no denying that the Dolphins are a better team with him on the field. His presence opens up the playbook more and frees up Tannehill to make less and more effective passing decisions. Moreno returning will also let Miller slide back into a depth role which will make Miami stronger throughout.

The offensive line also is a question mark for the Dolphins. After leading the NFL in sacks a year ago, Miami looked to improve its line this off-season and the results have shown an improvement but with room for more. Tannehill has already been sacked nine times in four games which puts him on pace for 36. The QB escaped without a single sack last week vs Oakland and was only sacked once in the first week. Most of the damage came during those two losses in the middle.

There are reasons for optimism in Miami as the AFC East as a whole has been sub-par. The Dolphins are currently tied for first with the Bills and Patriots. Miami has easily scored the most points in the division but has also allowed the most. The ten touchdowns thus far for the Dolphins also paces the division.

The Dolphins will take on the Packers next Sunday at 1:00 p.m at Sun Life Stadium.

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