Dolphins' potential, Jared Goff shows up, Steelers remains dangerous
We are now about three-quarters of the way through the NFL’s regular season. As the weather becomes colder, the divisional races are heating up in a big way.
Dolphins coming together
Yes, it was against the 49ers, but Miami looks to have a very strong young core of offensive players. Adam Gase very much looks like the right head coach for the job, especially for this young offense and the development of Miami’s quarterback. Granted, Ryan Tannehill isn’t a sure thing, but under Gase, he has shown the steady improvement that you want to see from a future franchise quarterback.
This was probably Tannehill’s best game of the season. He played far better than his stat line would indicate in a game where Miami struggled to run the ball. He excelled from within the pocket, throwing downfield and on third downs. That is great quarterbacking. Against San Francisco, the Dolphins were without their three best offensive linemen in Branden Albert, Mike Pouncey and Laremy Tunsil, who looks to be on the road to stardom as many projected when he came out of college.
Still, we can see Jay Ajayi, Jarvis Landry and DeVante Parker showing why the future of the Dolphins offense could be very encouraging. Ajayi did little in this game against a defense that has been gashed in the running game, but he is in the midst of a major breakout season nonetheless. Landry is usually as consistent and reliable as they come while Parker has emerged in a big way these past several weeks.
Parker had a touchdown narrowly called back in the first half and an excellent contorting catch on the sidelines in the third quarter that was also brought back. He was terrific, but we should monitor the extent of Parker’s back injury going forward. You throw in Kenny Stills, who had 72 receiving yards in this game and Leonte Carroo, who also could have a bright future.
There is a lot to get excited about with this Dolphins team that has now won six in a row, even if this wasn’t the prettiest of victories against a team that his now lost every game they’ve played since Week 1. San Francisco deserves some credit here too, as this is the best they have played in some time.
Nov 27, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; Los Angeles Rams quarterback Jared Goff (16) drops back to pass against the New Orleans Saints during the third quarter of a game at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The Saints defeated the Rams 49-21. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Jared Goff showcases skills
The Saints defense is better than a year ago without question and has gotten a recent boost with a now-healthy Sheldon Rankins, but it isn’t the most difficult of tests. Still, Jared Goff was clearly a more comfortable and effective player in his second start in a difficult place to play. Goff’s first-ever touchdown pass demonstrated the ball placement and touch on a difficult throw that you want to see from a first-overall pick.
Goff was impressive at the end of the first half with little time on the clock moving Los Angeles down the field and finishing the drive with another nice touchdown throw to Lance Kendricks in a composed manner. Goff was under pressure much of the day. He did lose a fumble on a sack that he held the ball too long, forced a pass into double coverage that resulted in an interception and wasn’t as effective in the second half, but targeted eight different receivers and handled the offense, particularly at the line of scrimmage, much better from a week ago.
Clearly, Goff and his undermanned offensive supporting cast (getting little from Todd Gurley) couldn’t keep up with Drew Brees at home. The rookie quarterback took a nice stride forward in this second career start and might be smart to pattern his game after New Orleans’ future Hall of Fame quarterback.
Lastly and this seems so long ago now, here are a couple quick thoughts from the Thanksgiving slate of games…
Nov 24, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown (84) celebrates his third touchdown of the game in the second half of the game against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium. The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Indianapolis Colts 28-7. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
Steelers on the rise
Pittsburgh’s offense looks ready to catch fire and it very well could. But the big wild card for this unit is finding one more potent receiver to take advantage of the one-on-one matchups that Antonio Brown’s presence presents. Having the Le’Veon Bell multi-dimensional threat doesn’t hurt either. Early in the season, we saw Ben Roethlisberger taking deep shots to Sammie Coates with quite a bit of success.
If Coates’ finger heals sooner rather than later, that should become something we see much more of down the stretch. Also, Ladarius Green is a much different type of field-stretching tight end than what the Steelers have preferred in the past. He is gradually becoming a bigger part of this passing game. If either or both of these talented players can assert himself going forward, the Steelers’ offense will be lethal. Just imagine if this group with Martavis Bryant!
Lions defense coming around
For much of the season, Detroit’s defense was among the worst in the NFL. it was dealing with injuries on that side of the ball and missed far too many tackles. As a result, the Lions began to play much slower on offense (even with very little running game) and used the clock to their advantage on that side of the ball to better protect their ailing defense.
Well, now the Lions defense is getting healthier and it shouldn’t surprise anyone if players like Ziggy Ansah really step up to finish the regular season. Detroit also showed much better tackling against the Vikings’ painfully short passing game on Thanksgiving, which is promising. Considering the division they are in, merely average defense from here on out should get Detroit into the postseason.
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