From the reaction in Miami you'd think that they just won the Super Bowl. They haven't. In case you didn't know, the Super Bowl is in February and, well, the Dolphins suck. But after somehow making it to overtime, and Raven's kicker Matt Stover missed a 44 yard game winning field goal, the Dolphins QB Cleo Lemon hit Greg Camarillo, who broke free for the 64 yard touchdown.
Don't get me wrong, as a Pittsburgh fan I thoroughly enjoy every since Baltimore loss. And good on the Dolphins for picking up a victory. But it's still a little sad to see the chances at a 0-16 season go down the drain.
Showing posts with label miami dolphins. Show all posts
Showing posts with label miami dolphins. Show all posts
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Tuesday Morning Headlines: 12/04/07
- Yankees self imposed deadline on Johan Santana deal passes. Something tells me Hank Steinbrenner is a pain to play fantasy sports with.
- It came down to the wire, but the Patriots remain perfect, defeating the Ravens on a last minute touchdown drive.
- Baseball Hall of Fame announced this years inductees from the executives/pioneers category. Barney Dreyfuss Pittsburgh Pirates owner from 1900-1932 and creator of the World Series finally got in.
- You have to respect the good people of Brooklyn that can hold a grudge for over 50 years.
- Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Phoenix Coyotes 3-1
- 76ers are firing GM Billy King and pillaging NJ Nets GM Ed Stefanski.
- Riley Cote becomes the 5th Philadelphia Flyers player suspended this season. Gary Bettman sits them down and explains that they can't act like this, Santa is watching after all.
- The Dolphins lost again. Sure it's yesterday's news, but the Sun Sentinel has the greatest headline of the day "Dolphins Start to Question Team's Effort". And in the World News section "Pakistanis Begin To Suspect Perez Musharraf Is Not Really All That Nice".
- It came down to the wire, but the Patriots remain perfect, defeating the Ravens on a last minute touchdown drive.
- Baseball Hall of Fame announced this years inductees from the executives/pioneers category. Barney Dreyfuss Pittsburgh Pirates owner from 1900-1932 and creator of the World Series finally got in.
- You have to respect the good people of Brooklyn that can hold a grudge for over 50 years.
- Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Phoenix Coyotes 3-1
- 76ers are firing GM Billy King and pillaging NJ Nets GM Ed Stefanski.
- Riley Cote becomes the 5th Philadelphia Flyers player suspended this season. Gary Bettman sits them down and explains that they can't act like this, Santa is watching after all.
- The Dolphins lost again. Sure it's yesterday's news, but the Sun Sentinel has the greatest headline of the day "Dolphins Start to Question Team's Effort". And in the World News section "Pakistanis Begin To Suspect Perez Musharraf Is Not Really All That Nice".
Monday, December 3, 2007
Morning Headlines: 12/3/07
- The lowly New York Jets thrashed the Miami Dolphins 40-13, putting the Dolphins perfect season (0-16) only 4 games out of reach. Somewhere out there the '76 Bucs are getting nervous.
- The BCS Bowl game match-ups were released and Ohio State will face LSU in the championship game. Let's all get really excited and pretend that the BCS Rankings mean anything more than a Teen Choice Award.
- MLB winter meetings kick-off this morning, and if like me you are a subscriber to MLB.tv then you'll be able to follow the whole thing in streaming video. I'm making some popcorn.
- Having completely won over the American markets the NHL will be expanding television coverage to China. Also the new schedule will fix everything that's wrong with hockey. I mean, everything that Sidney Crosby hasn't already fixed.
- Just when it appeared as if nothing else could possibly go wrong for the New York Knicks and Stephon Marbury, Don, Stephon's father, suffers a fatal heart attack while in attendance at MSG.
- The BCS Bowl game match-ups were released and Ohio State will face LSU in the championship game. Let's all get really excited and pretend that the BCS Rankings mean anything more than a Teen Choice Award.
- MLB winter meetings kick-off this morning, and if like me you are a subscriber to MLB.tv then you'll be able to follow the whole thing in streaming video. I'm making some popcorn.
- Having completely won over the American markets the NHL will be expanding television coverage to China. Also the new schedule will fix everything that's wrong with hockey. I mean, everything that Sidney Crosby hasn't already fixed.
- Just when it appeared as if nothing else could possibly go wrong for the New York Knicks and Stephon Marbury, Don, Stephon's father, suffers a fatal heart attack while in attendance at MSG.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
It Was An Ugly One Monday Night
The Heinz Field was worn from half an NFL season and high school and college games. Sunday night new sod was put down over the turf for Monday Night Football's national audience. But then the rain came. The field was drenched, and over-top the previous turf it had little drainage.They walked around with pitchforks piercing the field hoping to improve drainage. Field crew members covered it with tarps, but the seams leaked puddles onto the field.
The big game between the 0-10 Miami Dolphins and the Pittsburgh Steelers was delayed 25 minutes. But eventually they kicked off. The field was like a sponge. Players cleats sunk inches into the ground. Everyone moved in slow motion, kicking up splashes of water. In no time the playing surfaces was littered with more divots than Charles Barkley's home golf course. Numbering and lines became unreadable and then disappeared altogether. All you could see were the out of bounds lines, the goal line, and what faintly resembled a Steelers logo in the center of the field.
Ricky Williams was making his second return to the NFL following his reinstatement by commissioner Roger Goodell, but he only made it through 6 carries. 15 yards, one fumbled, and he left with a pectoral injury. Later in the second half the Dolphins would lose back-up running back Jesse Chapman, and be left dependent on 3rd-string back Patrick Cobbs, who only has 11 career carries in 2 seasons.
At half time the score was still 0-0. Neither team had made an appearance in the red zone. Only 5 plays went over 10 yards. The Dolphins had 71 total yards, the Steelers 112. Together they were 2-11 on 3rd Downs.
Frantically the field crew worked to improve the field during half time. The local marching band was held off the field as the crew laid down new lines. But it was in vain.
The second half was much of the same. Stuck in the 0-0 deadlock it became apparent that his was the type of game that would be one by as little as one score. Jeff Reeds 44 yard field goal attempt near the end of the 3rd quarter didn't even come close, tumbling wildly off course and short. Punts were knocked down from the swirling winds and rain, hitting the ground and dying immediately were they land. Twice the Dolphins went for it on 4th down rather than taking their chances with a medium range field goal.
It stayed scoreless far longer than any game since the merger of the leagues. The Dolphins were winless in the previous 11 weeks and it they remained one big play away from upsetting the 7-3 Steelers. The Steelers found themselves tied with the worst team in the lead, and this only a week after falling to the equally disappointingly 1-8 New York Jets.
Heading into overtime locked at 0-0 appeared completely possible.
With 4:13 left in the 4th quarter the Steelers took over on their own 42. With the help of 3 completions to Hines Ward for 38 yards, the Steelers slowly they worked down the field into the Dolphins territory. The first snap in the red zone did not come into the game until the Steelers were on the 19 yard line with 3:08 left in the game.
On 4th and Goal from the 6 yard line Jeff Reed and the Steelers lined up for what was anything but a give-me 24 yard attempt. With 20 seconds remaining Reed lifted the ball off the sloppy mud-ridden field and through the uprights to win the game for the Steelers 3-0.
To say it was an ugly game would be a vast understatement. It probably shouldn't have been played. Had it not been a Monday Night game on national television, it probably would not of. For the Dolphins it was another lose in a close game, and they fell to 0-11. For the Steelers they picked up a narrow victory, but were embarrassed by field issues that rendered the playing surface into almost unplayable terrain.
Surely this game will find its way into highlight reels of the future, but for none of the right reasons.
The big game between the 0-10 Miami Dolphins and the Pittsburgh Steelers was delayed 25 minutes. But eventually they kicked off. The field was like a sponge. Players cleats sunk inches into the ground. Everyone moved in slow motion, kicking up splashes of water. In no time the playing surfaces was littered with more divots than Charles Barkley's home golf course. Numbering and lines became unreadable and then disappeared altogether. All you could see were the out of bounds lines, the goal line, and what faintly resembled a Steelers logo in the center of the field.
Ricky Williams was making his second return to the NFL following his reinstatement by commissioner Roger Goodell, but he only made it through 6 carries. 15 yards, one fumbled, and he left with a pectoral injury. Later in the second half the Dolphins would lose back-up running back Jesse Chapman, and be left dependent on 3rd-string back Patrick Cobbs, who only has 11 career carries in 2 seasons.
At half time the score was still 0-0. Neither team had made an appearance in the red zone. Only 5 plays went over 10 yards. The Dolphins had 71 total yards, the Steelers 112. Together they were 2-11 on 3rd Downs.
Frantically the field crew worked to improve the field during half time. The local marching band was held off the field as the crew laid down new lines. But it was in vain.
The second half was much of the same. Stuck in the 0-0 deadlock it became apparent that his was the type of game that would be one by as little as one score. Jeff Reeds 44 yard field goal attempt near the end of the 3rd quarter didn't even come close, tumbling wildly off course and short. Punts were knocked down from the swirling winds and rain, hitting the ground and dying immediately were they land. Twice the Dolphins went for it on 4th down rather than taking their chances with a medium range field goal.
It stayed scoreless far longer than any game since the merger of the leagues. The Dolphins were winless in the previous 11 weeks and it they remained one big play away from upsetting the 7-3 Steelers. The Steelers found themselves tied with the worst team in the lead, and this only a week after falling to the equally disappointingly 1-8 New York Jets.
Heading into overtime locked at 0-0 appeared completely possible.
With 4:13 left in the 4th quarter the Steelers took over on their own 42. With the help of 3 completions to Hines Ward for 38 yards, the Steelers slowly they worked down the field into the Dolphins territory. The first snap in the red zone did not come into the game until the Steelers were on the 19 yard line with 3:08 left in the game.
On 4th and Goal from the 6 yard line Jeff Reed and the Steelers lined up for what was anything but a give-me 24 yard attempt. With 20 seconds remaining Reed lifted the ball off the sloppy mud-ridden field and through the uprights to win the game for the Steelers 3-0.
To say it was an ugly game would be a vast understatement. It probably shouldn't have been played. Had it not been a Monday Night game on national television, it probably would not of. For the Dolphins it was another lose in a close game, and they fell to 0-11. For the Steelers they picked up a narrow victory, but were embarrassed by field issues that rendered the playing surface into almost unplayable terrain.
Surely this game will find its way into highlight reels of the future, but for none of the right reasons.
Monday, November 5, 2007
Perfection: 16-0 or 0-16
Let's face it, if you were watching football at 4 o'clock (EST) yesterday then you really didn't have an option to watch anything but the New England Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts meet in what was the battle of the remaining undefeated teams. In fact, somehow the term Super Bowl 41.5 showed it's ugly face again. Even though it makes even less sense this time as it did the last, mostly because both the Patriots and Colts are AFC teams.
But we watched. Or at least I did, and you probably did too.
When the then undefeated Cowboys met up with the Colts in Week 6 the game averaged 29.1 million viewers. The highest regular season game in ten years, and CBS's highest rated game in almost twenty years. As of now the numbers are still being tabulated, but early expectations are the Colts vs. Patriots may top it.
And now here we sit today with only one undefeated team now. And, spoiler alert, it's the Patriots. Are they going to finish undefeated? I don't think so, but I'll leave that up to CBS, FOX, and ESPN, because really it's all they want to talk about. More and more they abandon the reporting aspect, leaving us ambushed with Sports Prognosticators. Whatever sells.
But something big is happening. Something that hasn't happened in over thirty years. And something that has never happened since the regular season expanded from fourteen games to sixteen.
In case you haven't been indoctrinated by years of NFL Film tapes, the 1972 Miami Dolphins were a perfect 14-0 and went on to win Super Bowl VII. Including the playoffs they went 17-0. The 2007 Patriots could perhaps go down as the greatest team ever, if they can match the feat in the modern era, going 19-0.
Impressive? Certainly. But right now I'm much more interested in what's going on in Miami and St. Louis these days. The Miami Dolphins and St. Louis Rams have their own untarnished seasons going. Both teams sit at 0-8, a mere 8 losses away from setting NFL history with it's first 16 loss season.
In their inaugural season the 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers went 0-14. On average they were defeated by 20 points a week. 5 times they were shut out. They did not just lose, they were decimated. They sit atop all other teams as the only team in modern NFL history to go perfectly defeated.
Others have toyed with it. The 1982 Baltimore Colts went 0-8-1 in a strike shortened season. 7 teams have gone 15-1. In 2001 the Detroit Lions started 0-13 before picking up their first victory, and eventually finishing the season 2-14. But with the Rams and Dolphins sitting at 0-8, it looks feasible. Could this be the year? Is it even possible in this, the age of parity.
I'm sitting on the edge of my seat fingers crossed. Though, unfortunately for the television ratings the Rams and Dolphins paths don't cross this season, as I'm sure the Neilsen Ratings would be off the scale. Going undefeated, that's one thing, but everyone slows down to see the car wrecks.
But we watched. Or at least I did, and you probably did too.
When the then undefeated Cowboys met up with the Colts in Week 6 the game averaged 29.1 million viewers. The highest regular season game in ten years, and CBS's highest rated game in almost twenty years. As of now the numbers are still being tabulated, but early expectations are the Colts vs. Patriots may top it.
And now here we sit today with only one undefeated team now. And, spoiler alert, it's the Patriots. Are they going to finish undefeated? I don't think so, but I'll leave that up to CBS, FOX, and ESPN, because really it's all they want to talk about. More and more they abandon the reporting aspect, leaving us ambushed with Sports Prognosticators. Whatever sells.
But something big is happening. Something that hasn't happened in over thirty years. And something that has never happened since the regular season expanded from fourteen games to sixteen.
In case you haven't been indoctrinated by years of NFL Film tapes, the 1972 Miami Dolphins were a perfect 14-0 and went on to win Super Bowl VII. Including the playoffs they went 17-0. The 2007 Patriots could perhaps go down as the greatest team ever, if they can match the feat in the modern era, going 19-0.
Impressive? Certainly. But right now I'm much more interested in what's going on in Miami and St. Louis these days. The Miami Dolphins and St. Louis Rams have their own untarnished seasons going. Both teams sit at 0-8, a mere 8 losses away from setting NFL history with it's first 16 loss season.
In their inaugural season the 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers went 0-14. On average they were defeated by 20 points a week. 5 times they were shut out. They did not just lose, they were decimated. They sit atop all other teams as the only team in modern NFL history to go perfectly defeated.
Others have toyed with it. The 1982 Baltimore Colts went 0-8-1 in a strike shortened season. 7 teams have gone 15-1. In 2001 the Detroit Lions started 0-13 before picking up their first victory, and eventually finishing the season 2-14. But with the Rams and Dolphins sitting at 0-8, it looks feasible. Could this be the year? Is it even possible in this, the age of parity.
I'm sitting on the edge of my seat fingers crossed. Though, unfortunately for the television ratings the Rams and Dolphins paths don't cross this season, as I'm sure the Neilsen Ratings would be off the scale. Going undefeated, that's one thing, but everyone slows down to see the car wrecks.
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