Miami Dolphins lose to Buffalo, 31-14

ORCHARD PARK, N.J. -- This was a first.

The Dolphins had lost games before, no doubt about it. But lose to a team they should have beaten? Lose to a team overmatched and undermanned? Not under Bill Parcells, Tony Sparano and Jeff Ireland.

Until today.

Bills 31. Dolphins 14.

The offense is at fault. There were dropped passes, the blocking was spotty, and both Ricky Williams and Chad Henne threw interceptions. Henne threw three in the final two minutes.

The coaching is at fault. That Williams interceptions came on first-and-goal from the 2 yard line. And they threw, can you believe it? There were also the usual reverse when the running game is doing well and the one-on-one coverage in the secondary ... against Terrell Owens, who delivered a 51-yard game-clinching TD catch.

And the defense is at fault. This unit seemed slow, seemed mostly unable to apply a choke hold on a struggling opponent. They just stunk.

Now the Dolphins are 5-6.

It was an upset.

It was upsetting.

Comments

[toussaint33]

Can someone at the Miami Herald find out why this defense sucks in the fourth quarter? 17 points! Are you serious?!?!?

[phinfan from birth73]

we need linbackers bad,we need linebackers bad not to mention a stud veteran wide-out help(trade or free agency),but we definitely need linebackers. outside the flashes from the second string lb's, our starters bring absolutely nothing to the table as far as sacks,tackles,int and coverage,which in return puts the whole defense in a bind. its sad our linebackers have not had one game where they just took over. never draft a (gator) channing is all mouth, and ran from matt Lite of the pats(that was the sign there),akin is garbage,porter is washed up (cant beat rookie and second year players,no run support what so ever),and JT i give him credit with effort but he's not a LB,plus he's to old to play all these snaps(pass rusher only and mostly with hand on the ground). We need LINEBACKERS BAD. This has to rate out to be the worst starting LB's in the nfl.

[Despacio]

Playcaller has to change this offseason. Bring in Weiss and let him guide another Michigan QB to stardom!

[Mac]

The Dolphins weren't looking toward next week. They're not good enough to do that and I'm pretty sure that Sparano made sure that wasn't the case. They simply got whipped in the 4th quarter again. They were second rate today and the Bills hammered them and deservedly so with a performance like that.

[test]

1. ricky pass
2. ginn reverse
3. fb screen

all three drive killers

then 3:30 left in game, 2 TO
1. ginn on field
2. go into pass only mode.
3. only need three god damn points...

fire henning
fire paul
fire morono

[PhinsFan]

Bad fourth quarter to a even worse team. Upsetting, but maybe we can put in second/third string now to get the young boys some experience. Should be working on next year now...

[Po White Trash]

We lost because coaching got in the way.

AKA

Play calling

[BatDad]

BobD should be beaten with a sock full of quarters.

You're really Corky from LIFE GOES ON, aren't you Bob? just admit it.

[phinfan from birth73]

damn blog super slow

[Despacio]

Look, we've lost our starting QB, RB, CB, Special Teams Ace/3rd RB, and Nose Tackle. We have a first year starter who didn't get all the reps in preseason. We have two rookie CB's going through growing pains. Our starting RB is 32 years old. And we play in the same division as the Patsies.

Despite all this we were relevant until now and may still be with an upset next week against NE.

Next year this team will take a real stride, it will be the most exciting offseason yet knowing all the potential this team has.

[Bill Bellidick]

Now watch how we do it on Monday night...

I cheat and you can't stop me...

Snitches

[Andrew H]

I was all over the tiebreaker scenarios before this weekend. Now it's pretty hopeless. It's not like this team we witnessed today will finish 10-6. I'd start playing Patrick Turner and other iffy players to see where we are for next season. Also see if White or Thigpen can do anything for us ever.

[Chewyphins]

I usually try and find a silver lining and I try to b positive but NO not this time that was a horrible display, and no heart whatsoever

[test]

ah the excuse machines are out in force defending the coaches

i love it

many of you dont realize that the bills complete offensive line was freaking injured...

its okay though

be super morono homers

[heartburn]

This team has more holes than the Bismark. Our playcalling is terrible. Have Ricky throw his what, 3rd career pass down on the 2 yard line? Hey, let's call a play action when we're down by 2 scores or any other obvious passing down, that'll fool them. Ginn is useless and Henne is not the answer.

And the defense... 4th quarter play can make most college programs look good. The coaches refuse to play Wake to get any QB pressure.

Pathetic. I'm done. I'll Tivo the games from here on out and if they win, I'll watch. No more of this, I want to enjoy my Sundays and, unfortunately, that seems to happen mostly from January through August.

[Chris]

Did u jokers watch the game? Henne is no better than career back-up Fitzpatrick - less accurate and less mobile. He missed a wide open Bess and Hartline in the 4th Q. Bad feet. Pats the ball like Losman. A year from now when the morons wake and realize he's mediocre (and probably on the bench) -- I'll be back to say where you when the die was cast 11/29/09. Same jokers that defended Feeley and Beck to the bitter end.

[phinfan from birth73]

WE NEED LINEBACKERS BAD. We have to be the only team that has QB run on them from different situtions.Goaline qb draws have killed us for three years now, scrambling qb's kill us and now journeyman QB's kill us. Why do it seem like players have career games against us?

[bobbyd12]

Chris, ur the biggest idiot ever to blog...Henne is a real good QB who suffered a rookie game..I bet you would have said that about Peyton Manning in his first year too!!! This kid has the arm and the smarts and is going to be real good and a real leader...There is a blog that's called, "Im a complete idiot" that's where u need to go

[Rxx007]

What excuse do the fins have today ? They had a 10 day rest? They just have to reach reality! THEY JUST SUCK !

[JBfishman]

4th quarter is what this game is all about, and we did 3&outs and give up picks!!! never will win without a fourth quarter drive!!

[BatDad]

It's worth repeating that Buffalo is a graveyard for many a Dolphin season over the 25 years. Every team has that one place that is an almost yearly Amityville Horror. Again, I was born and raised there. Lived there for 35 years before moving to Illinois.

I am completely unshocked.

Good, championship teams overcome these sort of things. They will. But not yet.

Remember, we played them in Toronto last year.

Toronto, which will be the home of the Bills before too long. So enjoy it while you can Buffalonians. You'll have naught but the Sabres soon.

Suckers.

[Mark in Toronto]

I thought a horrible period was right after Miami had a 9 minute drive to score in the 3rd quarter and what did the Dolphins do? They let that pathetic offense go right down the field on them. While they were fresh. Poor display.

[Po White Trash]

Yeah, a rook QB Should play like Brady.

1st year and he should play like an all pro.

Get a grip.

Coaching and play calling are the issues.

[tar]

We let a bad Buffalo team with a backup QB and a depleted o-line put up 31 points on us? Now NE comes to town, this season could get ugly in a hurry.

[Mark in Toronto]

ButDad, please don't wish the atrocious Bills on my beautiful city. I live right down the street from the stadium, I would have to run into those lardos on a regular basis.

[finfan23]

No way is Henne a bad qb. He is actually an excellent qb. He play extremely well first half 147 rating per wqam. In the second half, he tried to hard granted. He overthrew some . The 2 picks that were tipped weren't his fault. That's always the offensive line's fault. We had to try to make some plays and thats what he did. Henne already has some amazing come from behind drives in just 8 games that he has played! hardly the problem in Miami. Weird, uninspired and down right dumb play calling cost us three games this year. Stopping the running plays in the second half when we have over 5 yards per carry average in NO, Colts and this game says it all. The coaching has cost us three games this year. That can be fixed. Addressing the wr and def needs will go a long way to make us a championship team next year.

[DK]

Ayy, chill out everyone. As upset as anyone, I know that we almost needed this to see what kind of team we are. NE loses tomorrow and we can still win next week to be one game behind. Dilusional, maybe, but we need to see how we bounce back and I much rather take a win next week than a win today and an ass whopping next week.

[d]

go ravens, go niners. thats all we need now then we got somethin to play for still.

[BatDad]

Chris shat out:

"Did u jokers watch the game? Henne is no better than career back-up Fitzpatrick - less accurate and less mobile. He missed a wide open Bess and Hartline in the 4th Q. Bad feet. Pats the ball like Losman. A year from now when the morons wake and realize he's mediocre (and probably on the bench) -- I'll be back to say where you when the die was cast 11/29/09. Same jokers that defended Feeley and Beck to the bitter end."

Again: HOW MANY GAMES HAS THE KID PLAYED IN???

By your standards manning, favre, and many others are failures.

I am not saying Henne will be Peyton Manning, but you are letting your emotions dictate your thinking. Judging him now is flat-out WRONG, STUPID and frankly unfair.

[Despacio]

Henne is 5-2 as a starte and always put up 17 points at least to give this team a chance. When we build a D that can hold a team to 17 points or less, call me and well see the status of Henne.

[bobbyd12]

Tar, how many times have u seen a team lose a game they shoulda won and come back and play a great game the next week??? Happens all the time, next Sunday will be a real good effort out of these Dolphins!!!

[mike]

tired of these jeckyll and hyde coordinators. time for them to go. henning has flashes of genius followed by longer spurts of senility. pasqualoni just flat out sucks. what a huge disappointment today. worst loss of the season by far!

[robertevans]

go ahead retard chris henne will be fine as soon as the coaches play real football to blame chad is stupid we ran the ball then forgot what parcell football is all a about it's on bill now straighten this crap out henne is our qb now and in the future go root for vikings like every other lemming

[BatDad]

I'm not making excuses, Test.

I'm thinking with my brain and not my d**k.

You guys need to crack open the Xanax.

[superPHIN]

chris, ur an absolute idiot, and u know nothing. If u even watcthed the game u would see that those picks were tipped at the line, it was buffalos pressure that caused those ints. Why we didn't run more then we did is something u could actually fuss about.

[robertevans]

anyway stop looking at this year it;s next year then you can whine when we lose I don;t expect us to win only get better

[armondafan]

Personally I think all the issues like with Henning and Tony. Stupid stupid play calling on offense when the team is moving well.

All game they dont have 3 WR set then only when losing late in game. Would be nice to let Henne get some experience in that formation.

Playing lot to lose will cost you,,, this is getting to smell alot like wannstedt

[Tom]

Yeah thats what we need, the trolls making Feeley Beck comparisons

[Jim in St. Pete]

So we had almost 2 weeks to prepare for a "reeling" team, with a novice head coach, 2nd string QB and we still lost. There's no doubt a lack of talent and injuries in key positions are hurting us, but to loose by 17? In the 4th quarter?

I've been looking on the field up until this point but it's becoming clear that we have serious coaching and adjustment issues. The team wasn't up for the game?...coaching. Another defensive collapse in the second half and inability to adjust?....coaching. The most 4th quarter points allowed by any team this season? conditioning?...coaching.

[BatDad]

"

ButDad, please don't wish the atrocious Bills on my beautiful city. I live right down the street from the stadium, I would have to run into those lardos on a regular basis.

Posted by: Mark in Toronto | November 29, 2009 at 04:43 PM"

LOLOL

I'm sorry. may bad. I don't even want to see my fellow Western New Yorkers lose thier team. It would devastate that area. My home.

And your city IS beautiful. I love Toronto. Miss being able to go there on a yearly basis. Sensational shopping district and downtown. The anti- NYC (like Chicago is). Saw many U2 concerts up there.

Peace.

[Po White Trash]

These folks that are on Hennes @ss are nutz.

There are so many reasons we lost; Henne being the least of them.

He really needs a WR he can trust.

[phinfan from birth73]

i think some of the wrs are serviceable but they need more reps with henne and vice-versa. with a legit #1 wide-out we will see a major difference in the way guy get open and run routes. i think last year we dropped fewest passes,probably had to do with pennington soft throws,but i keep bess,hartline,camarillo,and ted b/c i have faith the kid can be what he was at OHIO ST. but he's not a #1 wr and would be a nightmare as 2nd or 3rd wr in any good offense and has value as kick returner and needs to return punts too.

[Btay41]

Play calling terrible, did Coach S. agree with that stupid Williams pass attempt? Not giving White much game time early but then trying him when the games on the line? Ginn with constant 18 and 19 yard kickoff returns, thats worth all the millions he's paid. And letting a backup QB from Harvard run wild for a 31 yard TD. WOW

[bill connors]

take it for what it is, this team isnt good. least our draft slot moves up. had no chance at playoffs anyways. pathetic offense and horrible coaching.

[bobbyd12]

Peyton Manning was 3-13 in his rookie year...According to Chris he should have been benched and probaly cut...Idiots like Chris need to watch Tennis, because he knows NOTHING about football

[Mark in Toronto]

Thanks for the props, ButDad.

Never been to Chicago but heard many great things, look forward to visiting it one day.

[JaxPhinfan]

Here is one name every Dolphin fan should learn.

-Carl Peterson-

Lets face it, Tuna will ride the million dollar expressway out of town after this year, and in steps Carl Peterson. This will be the new head guy no question about it. One, he is close to Stephen Ross the owner, second he has work with Jeff Ireland in Kansas City. Now he was responsible for KC good teams several years back but lets take a look at a couple of important things over his 20 years with the Chiefs.

-176-143-1 (.552) record
-9 playoff appearances
-4 AFC West Titles
-AFC Championship Game in ‘93(Lost)
-Chiefs never won nor have been to a single Super Bowl.
-Left the Chiefs in huge mess when he left 2 years ago.

Don't know about you, but those are a couple very scary thoughts. Nothing about him shouts Super Bowl bound in my opinion. Lets hope I am really wrong.

[tar]

bobbyd12 - I hope you are right, but we had 10 days to get ready for the bills and laid a turd. We are running out of "next weeks."

[Fazan13]

Hey guys another TD for Chambers. He has more for the Chiefs than any of our recievers for the year

[winowarrior]

I'm with shanahan here, every year, I have this pathetic hope, and then come along the Dolphins to poo all over that hope. I can't even call them a football team anymore. They are miserable and the offensive play-calling is the worst bag of garbage that I have ever seen. Now I get to go watch us loose out, rather than win out. Wow, thanks Sparano, this will be great fun. Pathetic.

[bill connors]

and please get rid of ginn, guy is awful at returning kicks and everything else.

[Ms.Taylor Payne]

I am sick.We had a shot to be 4-1 today and win next week and finish 5-1 in the division.Now we are tied with the Jets,even though I think we are still in 2nd place.I live in Upstate NY,so I have to hear about the Bills win all week & the sports anchors will act like Buffalo won the Super Bowl.I can't believe we lost to Buffalo.I know you can't overlook teams, but we lost to a team known for fourth quarter meltdowns and a quarterback that throws to everyone but his own recievers.I don't know how realistic our playoff chances are or were but needless to say this loss didn't help.Anyway go Fins.

[robertevans]

to chris batretard and rxxxwhatever the last time I looked the only two really great rookie qbs where Dan and then Tom not peyton not Aikman not Montana not Bradshaw who are they you tell me he;s got less than a season with idiot coordinaters and one of you said he had a weak arm no weak recievers that want the ball floated to them so go learn some footbal and stop writing on this blog until you do

[el guru]

BP needs to wake up and start cleaning house!

[Po White Trash]

phinfan from birth73

You are right about Penningtons soft passes.

Ask to see some of Marino's WR's fingers after playing with him for a while.

I'll take the New Chad over the Old.

[eriatl]

wheres my gun im just gonna end it all.. 6-10. i said it 3 or 4 weeks ago

[jaksin]

yea keep editing me mando real cool, know it all know nothing!

[Eddy007]

Ok Ricky had 115 yards today, of that 90 was in the first half, is there something wrong with that, does Dan Henning have a clue with play calling

[Jose]

I think Dan Henning is drinking his own Kool-Aid. He gets so much credit for installing the Wildcat that it must go to his head or something. It's not enough for Dan Henning to see his offense score a touchdown the old-fashioned way. He has to see a 32-year old running back who has publicly stated he does not like throwing the football complete a jump pass to an average tight end for a touchdown. What the hell did you think was gonna happen Mr. Henning?! I'm sure even the players in the huddle were at a loss for words when that awful call came down from the booth. Another thing, please stop calling all these shoot-ourselves-in-the-foot reverses and double screens that end up costing the Dolphins yards and downs. Just play straight-up football! Don't be cute, be physical!

Finally, Ted Ginn, Jr. I only have one thing to say to you. If you've ever seen the movie Major League II then you'll get this one, "TED GINN, YOU HAVE NO MARBLES!!!"

[Chris]

"Yeah, a rook QB Should play like Brady.

1st year and he should play like an all pro."

Uh...no, just better than Ryan Fitzpatrick. He overthrew open receivers all day. Takes too many sacks. Can't move in the pocket. Poor man's Flacco. About where he was drafted.

You can blame the coaches (yawn) but they will probably outlast Henne. Certainly, Sparano will get 4 years. I'm sure Henne will get the rest of the year to prove those of us who think he's a stone-footed, inaccurate, mediocre QB wrong. But, I don't think the Trifecta is sold on him. Hence, 2nd on White and another pick on Thigpen.