Week Four: Please, No More

Watching yesterday’s game was like a bad flashback. It was like seeing the worst of the Jimmy Johnson and Dave Wannstedt era. An ineffective offense let down an aging defense. For every bright spot – Will Allen asserting himself as our best corner – there were dozens of ulcer inducing moments.

During the first quarter after repeated third down misses that seemed entirely Culpepper’s fault I was expecting to see Harrington. Then during more mis-steps in the second quarter I was sure Saban would slip Harrington in to get some reps before the second half. Then when the second half opened I was sure I’d see Joey starting.

There was no Harrington. Instead we get an offense that gave Mario Williams his first sack.

Don’t get too excited Mario, we lead the league in sacks allowed. Your sack was just a matter of time. This week we also got to bask in the glow of former Dolphins back-up Damon Huard looking like an all-star for KC. Now, they were playing San Francisco, but we were playing Houston! If a perennial back-up makes Culpepper look washed up, that’s a simple illustration of how terrible he is playing. Don’t give me that last 10 minutes of the game/almost comeback either. That was garbage. He had one good pass all day, the touchdown and we’re stuck with this for the rest of the year?

If there was any week Saban could have tried Harrington and seen what he could do in a game that was winnable no matter how bad the QB was, this was it. He didn’t. He had three opportunities that Culpepper himself handed Saban to replace him and Saban did nothing.

OK, good news. Will Allen is a stud. He was flying all over the field and his strip of Andre Johnson was one of the most spectacular defensive plays of the year. His name was being called all day, although he did get beaten on one deep pass to Johnson.

Same goes for Jason Taylor’s strip and recovery of David Carr. JT knew he had to hit the end zone or otherwise his team wouldn’t score, you could tell in his run that he wanted end zone. Not for his own glory but so his team would get 7 points. Alas he ONLY got to the opponents 30 yard line. Ball on the 30 yard line and the offense can’t get 7? Pathetic.

Sorry, I guess those were supposed to be good parts of the game. It’s hard to get too excited for those few positive moments in a sea of crap. Teams worse than us in the league seem to be Oakland and Tennessee, both starting rookie QBs. We needed a spark Sunday, I'm not saying I'm sure Harrington would have won the game but we needed to see if he could. It seemed like the best time to do it. Instead, we're 1-3 with Buffalo, New York and New England looking darn good. It's going to be a long season.

Comments

[Allison Solow]

I'm ready to throw in the towel. I'm so disappointed in Saban that I think last season was a mirage. This team has regressed. The defense consistently holds the opposition for 3 quarters to 10 points or less, but the offense is nowhere to be found. They don't run Ronnie Brown enough to set up the pass. They never run play action. They don't throw the ball down the field -- all the wide receivers see are slants and out patterns. The offensive line isn't good, but neither is Culpepper in avoiding the sack. What about moving the pocket? What about 3-step drops with timing patterns? What about a scripted opening drive that actually leads to a TD? By opening the game with a trick play, Mularkey instantly put the offense in a hole. Who does that? And the trick play for a two-play conversion -- are you kidding me? What's the percentage of Ronnie Brown completing a pass in the end zone when Culpepper is struggling to do the same thing? This is madness! Mularkey is a disaster and Saban is a stubborn fool for not demanding a change. Last season when Linehan had problems calling plays, Saban had him get out of the booth and onto the field. It made a difference. Maybe Mularkey needs to be on the sidelines -- or maybe Jason Garrett should be calling the plays. The bottom line is that this offense is a not a work in progress; it's gone backwards. It's not innovative or dynamic. If they can't be creative, they better play smash-mouth and let the offensive line try to bulldoze for Ronnie Brown. It seems clear they're not great pass-protectors.

If I was on the defense right now, I'd be hating the offense. This is what happened under the worst of Jimmy and Wanny. It's a sad, sad thing to watch. For the first time in my life, I can honestly say that watching the Fins is making me cry. Where is the winning tradition of Don Shula? Where's the pride? What's happened to this franchise.

Maybe it's the curse of Huzienga -- karmic payback for destroying the Florida Marlins in 1997 after they won the World Series. Don't laugh -- in all the time Wayne's owned the team, the Dolphins have been on the decline.

[Dave T.]

Amen, Allison, amen.

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