Dolphins invoke visions of former selves in home loss to Ravens

By Hugo Guzman  |   Monday, October 20, 2008  |  Comments( 5 )

Miami Dolphins
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Leading up to Sunday's matchup with the Baltimore Ravens, some media pundits began asserting that Bill Parcells’ influence had become clearly evident on the Miami Dolphins franchise. Unfortunately, Sunday's 27-13 loss proved that the Dolphins are still prone to the bumbling and stumbling ways that had become their hallmark in the pre-Parcells era.

Chad Pennington, who had been the picture of efficiently solid play, committed a cardinal sin by forcing a pass while under heavy pressure; the throw resulted in a costly interception that was returned for a touchdown. Miami's offense, which had become lethal in red-zone situations, settled for two field goals after driving deep into Ravens territory early in the game. The Dolphins' run defense, which had been one of the most stout in the NFL heading into Week 7, was gashed for 140 rushing yards and allowed Willis McGahee to surpass the 100-yard plateau on just 19 carries (in fairness, a lot of his yardage was gained after nose tackle Jason Ferguson went down with a rib injury). The entire team, which had been doing a good job of playing clean football and avoiding penalties, was flagged on six separate occasions.

In the end, though, it was the same old story for the 2-4 Dolphins -- another tough-to-swallow loss for the upstart group.

Incidentally, there was one particular aspect of this game that was all too familiar for Parcells and his brain trust. Miami’s much-maligned defensive secondary continued to underperform, allowing rookie Joe Flacco to complete 17 of 23 pass attempts for 232 yards and a touchdown. Perhaps more importantly, for the second straight week and umpteenth time this season, a Miami cornerback dropped an easy interception that ended up costing the team dearly. Will Allen had a Flacco pass hit him right in the numbers in the end zone. An interception would have ended a late first-half drive, but Allen, as usual, was unable to hold on to the ball. Flacco would connect with Derrick Mason for a touchdown on the very next play, giving the Ravens a 17-6 lead going into halftime.

If you’re into narrowing games down to just a couple key moments, that was definitely one of them. Between Allen’s dropped interception and Pennington’s pick-six, the Dolphins gave up the margin of defeat – 14 points – on two unforced errors. If that isn’t typical of Miami’s losing ways in recent years, nothing is.

On the other side of the ball, the Dolphins’ newest wrinkle – the "Wildcat" offense – was stopped dead for the first time since being introduced in Week 3. Miami ran the play 11 times for just 30 yards and Ronnie Brown was stopped for a loss twice, after gaining positive yardage on every other attempt of the season. Brown had what was arguably the worst outing of his career, gaining just 27 yards on 13 carries. Brown's teammate Ricky Williams fared a bit better, amassing 16 yards on four carries, but as a team, Miami was never able to get much going on the ground against Baltimore.

Now for the positives:

- Joey Porter continues his pursuit of the single-season NFL sack record; he took Flacco down twice and upped his season total to 8 1/2.

- Despite a rough start, Pennington recovered to post a fairly solid performance in which he completed 24 of 35 attempts for 295 yards, a TD and a pick.

- Third-string running back Patrick Cobbs continued to impress as a pass catcher, snagging five receptions for 64 yards.

-Ted Ginn Jr. bounced back after being nonexistent against Houston. He grabbed four passes for 48 yards and had several impressive kick returns.

-Greg Camarillo posted another nice outing (six receptions, 74 yards).

- Tight end David Martin hauled in four throws for 71 yards.

- Davone Bess found the end zone for the first time in his short career.
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About Hugo Guzman

Trying to bring an objective approach to NFL analysis.
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