Dolphins survive scare, beat Bucs, 25-23

It wasn't pretty. It wasn't a dominant performance. But it counts.

And so the Dolphins delivered a 25-23 victory Sunday in what reminds of victories over Seattle and Buffalo and St. Louis and San Francisco a year ago.

These are not masterpieces. But they are also not Ls.

The Dolphins had to drive 77 yards in five plays that took 1:04 to take the final two-point lead. The only reason those heroics were necessary is because quarterback Chad Henne threw an interception that set the Bucs off on a 26-yard drive that gave them a 23-22 lead.

Regardless, it is a victory.

And that's important because the Dolphins find themselves with a 4-5 record and in second place in the AFC East. The Dolphins and Jets both have 4-5 records but Miami beat New York twice this year.

Comments

[j dizzle]

OK

The play calling is ?????? But I LOVE C.Henne , he is the future!!!! The guy gave the game away and took it right back within minutes!!!!! Hats off to D.Bess despite his lack of speed he still gets the job done in clutch moments!!! BUT we have to REMOVE him from punt return duties!!

Overall we're still not there yet, but again this win is a move in the right direction no matter how sloppy!!

[cuban menace]

Below average comparied to what??

[singforfood]

2 time managment questions-- in the first half didn't we kick a FG with 14 seconds left on less thatn 4th? Should have taken a shot at the end zone... Second question -- why call TO with 10 seconds left to kick a FG? Then you have to kick off again and give them a last shot? Seems !@#$!$ ridiculous to me. I'm just sayin'...

[el guru]

We are 4 and 5 and have a long ways to go but At least we aint the sorry jets who traded away all ther draft picks and signed a fat loud mouth idiot as their HC...

[robert evans]

who you gonna play they won't sign the best reciver out there so you play with what you got oh except Turner. At least let him run down on kick offs and what's up with a two yard return when we need fifteen good thing that QB nobody likes came through.

[odinseye]

Ginn was embarassing again today. He looks absolutely terrified of contact whether going up for a pass or returning a kick.
He couldn't get his second foot down on that pass because he was diving for the sideline the mili-second first foot touched down.
RIDICULOUS.

Cuban Menace,

You said it. Henne and Carpenter saved me some bail money.
I see a "re-supply" run in my very near future!

[eldolfinocubano]

Come on group we beat the mighty Bucs! thats
it I am taking the mistress out tonight to somewhere special.

[shaggy]

Test, I agree, sparano and Henning made some bad calls again... Its becoming a disturbing pattern.

[cuban menace]

Guys if something would have happenend on the F.G try(e.g bad snap) they could have tried again... Know your football before you post cr@p

[bama fin fan]

What you want in a player is that when he makes a mistake, he's able to put it behind him and move forward. That's what Henne did today. He made a stupid throw that nearly cost us the game. But he put it behind him and made the throws at the end when it counted.

The same cannot be said of Mr. Ginn. He consistently doesn't make plays when he needs to. Wouldn't anyone on this blog take Chris Chambers over Ted Ginn any day of the week? Chambers was never Nat Moore or Mark Duper, but the guy made clutch catches.

[Phinsfan619]

Hennings STAYS stop getting rid of OC it just makes it harder on our QB and our offensive rhythem. I like our coaches and our team is coached well we are just alittle short in athleticism. Ayodele is always a step behind and our WR are getting better but not there yet we need a good TE and Cobbs injury hurts this team period. If Will Allen was healthy our secondary would be very good. Not taking anything away from Nate Jones but W. Allen is much better. A WIN IS A WIN IN THE NFL!

[tampafin]

FINS just dodged a bullet!

The "fumble" call at the end of 1st half saved their *ss.

FINS can't let teams the're supposed to beat hang around.

[j dizzle]

cuban menace you are CORRECT. Know what you're talking about boys and girls!!!

[Po White Trash]

Ronnie? WHATS UP? MANDO?

[datbutta]

Henne is not a the answer at qb! Stupid playcall on the pass but man, he still bird dogs his wrs and accuracy only alittle better than white.

[boulderfinfan]

play calling was terrible. They need to blitz more in second half. The roookie had all day. And on 3 and 4 from on their 34 yard line he calls a run? 4 th and 4 and we kicked a field goal up by 6. That was a terrible call. Try and get the first down dude.

[morphin]

I don't like calling plays to set up FGs in the first 3 quarters. Both QBs show a lot of promise. Sperry looks like he could be a playmaker at TE , hope they get him more involved in the passing game. Those Fins just can't make it easy can they ?

[shaggy]

I will close with this..We have lots of questions. I will say this. Nobody will chalk us up as a W on the scoreboard. It could be worse.

[robert evans]

coached well maybey for peewee football. no imagination with the talent in the back field sorry Wildcat doesn;t get just think what Denver would do with Ricky and Ronnie

[RR]

Armando - one quick question why call timeout on the finla play of the game with 14 sec. left . Why not run it down to 3-4 sec. Why even give them a chance? Sparano needs some better game mgmnt skills.

[boulderfinfan]

the defensinve play calling in the second half has to change. They are waaaaay to conservative. Blitz more!!!! he had all day. Pasqualano is too conservative.

[j dizzle]

RR and everyone else

The timeout was called because had we missed the field goal we could've tried Again!!!!ITs was first down. Know your football this isn't madden!!!1

[bobbyd12]

Debutta...go suk on Sanchez...Henne was put in tough situations all day and came thru..he IS the QB of the future!!! Kid is really good

[KillerDolphin]

Pasqualano is a spine less poor excuse for a coach!

[Finsfan1989]

Stupid play call to pass at the end drain the clock but a win is a wi. Hennepin got a good arm with time can be better he need a number one recover to help him cuase he cant count on ginny when the other team knows that he is who we are going to and plus our whole recover Corp is all number 3 recover besides camrillo

[KillerDolphin]

But we Won!!!

[Omar at Sun Sent]

Ronnie Brown suffered what appears to be a serious right ankle injury

[Rob in MLB]

Coaching staff is just suspect. Still making rookie mistakes. All the "football knowledge" in the world doesn't mean anything if you are forest gump stupid. You still have to make good decisions.

[j dizzle]

And how much can we continue to blame on the coaches???????

[Po White Trash]

Henne did what he had to. Cool customer, But what will we take for Ginn 1st or 2nd Rnd pick?

[robert evans]

as far as Henne starring down his recievers that is something you progress on most Qbs in the nfl still do it you only have 2.5 seconds if your lucky to make a play now if your Tom Brady and you play the Dolphins you 6.5 and look really good otherwise it' something Chad will learn but who do you want Sanchez or Chad
'

[j dizzle]

PO WHITE

I second the motion!!!

[Po White Trash]

serious right ankle injury? What does that mean?

In weeks?

[KillerDolphin]

J Drizzle When your the capt. Of the ship the buck stop with you

[robert evans]

I think we will be offered a eleventh from 1971 for Ginn

[odinseye]

They called the time out at 14 seconds in case there was a bad snap or hold. After having an extra point blocked the coaching staff was playing it conservatively.

Give this one a rest, it's football 101.

[Spillmar]

The henning experiment is over. To me all of this "creative" playmaking is an exercise of hennings narcissism not motivated for Winning. It's like the offensive coaches want to pose as geniuses. I have seen this in all type of organizations where what works is sidelined by personal and selfish attitudes. What today showed is if you let Henne and the play action guide this team they will invariably out perform pistol pat, wild ass and what ever else is drawn up by the geniuses. The future is henne and brown ( get better please ) and two reliable receivers. Ness and the new TE looked sharp. Ginn again looked like a sporadic contributor and haynos looked slow and substandard. The o-line looked great-200 rushing yards!! The secondary played adequately but smith needs to dial it up a notch. against carolina Davis needs to be put on steve smith.

[cuban menace]

I Say the fins give up there 1st round pick to ANYONE who takes Ted(Side line)Ginn off our hands..

[Steve]

Wow, The Fins are going to give me a heart attack with games like these! Still, like others are saying, a win is a win.

[j dizzle]

KKKillerDolphan

You're right but seems like no coach is good enough for the beloved Dolphins!!

[Po White Trash]

Ginn is done!

The man can’t make a clutch catch to save his life. Sick of it week after week.

Trade bait…

[scalzo]

How is Ronnie's ankle?

[Po White Trash]

Cuban...

You said it brother!

Tired of this Sh*t.

[cuban menace]

J Dizzle, maybe we can dig up the great Vince Lombardi, Nah, we'd find something to complain about...

[MsCuba]

People! A win is a win! Lets stop for one second pointing fingers at whose to blame for everything the team does wrong and concentrare on the positive. Does anyone have info on Brown? How serious is it?

[JBfishman]

Lame offense!! Is it that no one is open or Henne isn't finding them?

[odinseye]

I still see a few DOLTS trying to cut on Henne.

He came through big time. Not just by winning the game. He showed he has the potential to become a true gunslinger.

It was the ultimate learning experience. With the game on the line he tries to force a throw and commits the big blunder.
He shakes it off like a seasoned vet and promptly leads his team down the field for a win.

Anybody cutting on Henne needs to simply STF!
For Real!

[seuss333]

j dizzle, know your football before you accuse others. If a field goal is missed, you don't get to re-try - it's a change of possession no matter what down it is.

Now the reason some coaches do this is in case the snap is muffed or some other miscue prior to kicking the ball. I've understood that point for years, however now I'm starting to question it. If the snap is muffed, with 14 seconds left and no timeouts, how would they get off another kick? I guess the holder could try to get outside the pocket and throw the ball away. Seems very unlikely to me though. Seems like a much better play to just run it down to 3-4 sec and then kick it.

[j dizzle]

Cuban Menace

You know we would!!

[cuban menace]

Somebody contact NJ Phin fan, the movie Dodge-ball is on, its his autobiography you know..

[robert evans]

anyone see Pittburgh Big Ben four straight incompletions to lose and we worry about Chad no he is the next great Qb in the NFL

[Po White Trash]

Kory Sperry? We pick this kid up and he is our best(can catch a damn ball) TE?

Whats up?

[Adventuretom]

I know Ted Ginn isn't the only problem, but dang he drives me nuts.

Here's my "tribute" to Ted:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/40264963@N08/4107087448/

[JBfishman]

Running game is good, but lame pass play keeps games close...

[j dizzle]

333

I'm sorry but this isn't John Madden!!! If you miss a field goal on first down you don't automatically lose the ball!!!1

[cuban menace]

Dr. Suess, if there were no time outs then you could add that to the litany of blunders the coaches make.

[Dofinsphan]

I repeat:
Jason Taylor was robbed of a touchdown. In that play, the receiver did not have control of the ball, and had the ball hit the ground, the play would have been ruled incomplete; however, the ball bounced off the receivers body and landed in JT's hands, and he ran it in for the TD. The bucs shouldn't have been upset, JT should gave the 6 points.

[odinseye]

seuss333

Good points. The thing is the holder or kicker can spike it and your kicking teams already on the field.

Conservative for sure.

[Dofinsphan]

Have not gave I mean

[Po White Trash]

Henne is not the issue! It's all these brick hand Receivers. Henne would have a mountain of confidence if he could trust his receivers to catch the damn ball!