Dolphins vs Patriots game summary
11/21/99
Miami won a very important game against New England. Miami stayed on top of the division with Indianapolis. If both teams win this week, the Dec. 5th game is going to be huge.
Grading the Dolphins
QB Huard played well, the 2 TDs to Gadsden were very good throws. He also wasn't sacked too much like he did in the previous game vs New England. He started slow but he picked it up later. Good game, he was 18 for 30 for 131 yards and 2 TDs with no INTs. B
WR Solid game. Martin was good, Drayton got involved with 4 catches. Oronde Gadsden was great, not only the 2 TDs. All of his catches were important ones. One of them in the first real drive for the first down on a third down situation was huge. B+
RB Very good game for JJJ. He carried the ball 31 times, most carries by a Dolphin rookie. JJJ was the first Dolphin to get 100 yards this season. He was 31 for 106 yards and a TD. He's average wasn't so good but it's misleading, because in the end he ran out the clock with short runs. He did it very good. B+
OL Good game but they did have some problems. They did block very good for JJJ. On the other hand, Webb was beaten again. B
DL They put pressure on Bledsoe all day long. Taylor got the INT. Owens got 1.5 sacks. As I said in my preview if you put pressure on Bledsoe he will throw the stupid pass, 5 stupid passes in this case. They did have a problem in the first quarter, but other than that, Very good game. A-
LB The LBs weren't that dominant, but they were pretty good like all of the defense. They didn't make any mistakes. Zach should have gotten the sack when Bledsoe was called for grounding the ball. B
Secondary They were huge getting 4 of the 5 Miami INTs. Bledsoe had his worst game in recent memory. Some of the hits on Bledsoe and sacks were just a result of very good coverage. T-Buck did get beaten once for a 68 yard TD. Other than that they were great. They did get 2 sacks on Bledsoe and Warren (on the trick play). T-Buck, Madison, Marion and Wilson got an INT each in Miami's INT party. A
Special teams They were called for holding on a 50 yard return by Jacquet. Jaquet only finished the game with 8 yards on 3 returns. Marion was decent and so were the coverage teams. But, that flag really hurt the team. C
Coaching They called for a FG instead of going for it on 4th and goal from inside the 1. On the other hand, they wanted to get some points on the board in order to restart the offense and it worked, the only thing that counts is the victory.
Miami was ready for this game. Especially the defense, stoping Bledsoe like that, getting 5 INTs, George Hill is huge. A
Gardener and the Dolphin defense were all over Bledsoe on sunday.
