There are things to take away from the Dolphins' loss to the Jets Sunday night.
Problem is, a win isn't one of them, and the Dolphins are talented enough right now that for the first time in years, that's really going to matter. This is a team that can -- and should -- make the the playoffs. And next time, they'll face the Jets at home in New Jersey. Sunday night was a blown opportunity, no doubt about it, and the Dolphins have only themselves to thank.
Here's a look at what went wrong, what went right.
Should we start with the Wildcat? We should probably start with the Wildcat. KILL IT. Seriously. The Wildcat needs to die. The Dolphins ran it seven times for 3 yards, at some of the most inexplicable times. Like the red zone, leading in part to the Dolphins having had the ball inside the 7 twice and only coming away with three points.
Look, Dan Henning called an otherwise good game. He's been absolutely brilliant many times. But Henning developed the formation to compensate for the lack of a passing game, and the Dolphins have one now. They had one the whole game. And the Wildcat's no longer a surprise or effective. It's a drive-killer.
With Chad Henne in a rhythm, there is never a good reason to have Ronnie Brown chucking it downfield in the third quarter while down just one point.
Speaking of ineffective: until the Dolphins have a guy who runs, say, sub-4.3 -- and Patrick Cobbs does not -- the reverse can die, too.
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The following are excused: Chad Henne, who threw for 363 yards against a secondary that held Tom Brady to 69 in a half.
Brandon Marshall, who is every bit electric and marvelous.
Brian Hartline, who seemed to prove his no-catch game against Buffalo was indeed an anomaly, and who also has the best Twitter profile pic ever, if only because it's somehow so unbelievably Ohio.
The following are not excused: Jason Allen, who was who we thought he was. No one came crashing back down to earth than Allen, who missed a tackle that allowed Braylon Edwards a 67-yard touchdown, dropped a catchable interception, and played awful defense on the pass interference call that gave the Jets first and ten.
The coaching staff, who inexplicably tasked Allen with Edwards instead of putting the Dolphins' unquestionable best corner, Vontae Davis, on the Jets' best receiver. And who let the pass rush disappeare entirely, leaving Mark Sanchez with more room than a Duggar's uterus.
Ricky Williams, who clearly has a fumbling problem. Those snaps belong to Ronnie Brown now.
So where are the Dolphins? In a position in which next week's Monday Night Football game hosting the Patriots is pretty much a must-win. Otherwise, facing the Jets and Pats again up north in the dead of winter to define the Dolphins' conference chances is a pretty tough proposition.
Janie Campbell is a Florida native who believes in the pro-set and ballpark hot dogs. Her work has appeared in irreverent sports sites around the internet.
