Miami vs Pitts Notes

[RedEyE]

1) Pittsburgh's defense looked really, really good. They did a great job of disguising their blitzing scheme and getting in Culpeppers face. With playmakers like Farrior, Polamalu, and Porter there isn't a team in the NFL right now with a more rounded defense, nor is there a team in the NFL that blitrzes as well as they do.

2) Culpepper started off looking refreshed and up to the task that lay ahead, but right from the start Pittsburgh robbed the Dolphins of their running game. Pepp was doing a decent job (for the first 2 qrtrs) of feeding off the blitz and finding the open receiver, but the team became so one dimensional it was hardly worth the effort.

Which brings me to my next point....

3) I hate to say I told you so, Miami, but you're going to find out real soon that Culpepper is the least of your worries. The offensive play calling was absolutely atrocious. The Dolphins gave up on the run about half way through the 2nd qrtr. Brown is the type of back that needs 25+ carries a game to bruise a defense. He might not start right out the gates with 4-5yds a carry, but by the time the 4th qrtr rolls around a tired defense will hate seeing this guy and his ypc % will then start climbing considerably.

The Dolphins went into panic mode and never stepped out. And if you have to get pass happy, Miami, please explain to me how you fail to get your two biggest receivers involved in the game? Both McMichael and Chambers were virtually ineffective with the type of plays that Mularkey was calling. Get your playmakers involved!

BTW, Mularkey, the flea-flicker is only effective if you set the play up with the run in previous plays.

4) Wes Welker.. as big a Bills fan that I am, I still find myself cheering for this guy. He has an amazing ability to find the seam and goes from 0-60 in 2 seconds. He's an insperation to white return men everywhere. I guarantee that Tim Dwight was even given the Arsenio double fist pump in front of the tube tonight.

5) Randle El and Jerome Bettis. It's obvious that the Steelers offense loses some flash and dash without their big play maker Randle El. And as peppy as Parker may be, there will be days this year when the Steelers will find themselves 3rd and short or on the goalline, and I bet Cowher may just make a quick attempt take a look over his shoulder to see if Bettis is suited up and waiting on the bench.

6) Marty Booker. I can't think of a man that better deserves to be ***** slapped then this guy. I'll lay money on the table that Booker sustains a season ending injury before week 6. He's as big a drama queen as my 5 year old niece and twice as fragile.

7) Charlie Batch, now 3-0 in Rothlisberger's absence. While it's obvious that he is no Ben Rothlisberger (damn you Tom Donahoe!!) there isn't another analyzer out there that can say the Steelers are in a weakened state with Batch behind center.

8) Heath Miller: Fantasy Football's lates wet dream. In Randle El's absence, this kid will put up Antonio Gates like numbers this year.

9) NBC: Game footage / Bob Costas and company

[THE END OF ALL DAYS]

is there any suprise that with Moolarkey at the Offensive helm that the fish gave up on the run early?

Fish fans, welcome to our 2005 Horror!

[The King]

I thought Batch played very well. He was really delivering the ball where no one else could get to it. Considering how many people were bad mouthing the Steelers yesterday I think they came out and played well.

WOW I cant believe I am typing about football already.

[!Papacrunk!]

1) Pittsburgh's defense looked really, really good. They did a great job of disguising their blitzing scheme and getting in Culpeppers face. With playmakers like Farrior, Polamalu, and Porter there isn't a team in the NFL right now with a more rounded defense, nor is there a team in the NFL that blitrzes as well as they do.

2) Culpepper started off looking refreshed and up to the task that lay ahead, but right from the start Pittsburgh robbed the Dolphins of their running game. Pepp was doing a decent job (for the first 2 qrtrs) of feeding off the blitz and finding the open receiver, but the team became so one dimensional it was hardly worth the effort.

Which brings me to my next point....

3) I hate to say I told you so, Miami, but you're going to find out real soon that Culpepper is the least of your worries. The offensive play calling was absolutely atrocious. The Dolphins gave up on the run about half way through the 2nd qrtr. Brown is the type of back that needs 25+ carries a game to bruise a defense. He might not start right out the gates with 4-5yds a carry, but by the time the 4th qrtr rolls around a tired defense will hate seeing this guy and his ypc % will then start climbing considerably.

The Dolphins went into panic mode and never stepped out. And if you have to get pass happy, Miami, please explain to me how you fail to get your two biggest receivers involved in the game? Both McMichael and Chambers were virtually ineffective with the type of plays that Mularkey was calling. Get your playmakers involved!

BTW, Mularkey, the flea-flicker is only effective if you set the play up with the run in previous plays.

4) Wes Welker.. as big a Bills fan that I am, I still find myself cheering for this guy. He has an amazing ability to find the seam and goes from 0-60 in 2 seconds. He's an insperation to white return men everywhere. I guarantee that Tim Dwight was even given the Arsenio double fist pump in front of the tube tonight.

5) Randle El and Jerome Bettis. It's obvious that the Steelers offense loses some flash and dash without their big play maker Randle El. And as peppy as Parker may be, there will be days this year when the Steelers will find themselves 3rd and short or on the goalline, and I bet Cowher may just make a quick attempt take a look over his shoulder to see if Bettis is suited up and waiting on the bench.

6) Marty Booker. I can't think of a man that better deserves to be ***** slapped then this guy. I'll lay money on the table that Booker sustains a season ending injury before week 6. He's as big a drama queen as my 5 year old niece and twice as fragile.

7) Charlie Batch, now 3-0 in Rothlisberger's absence. While it's obvious that he is no Ben Rothlisberger (damn you Tom Donahoe!!) there isn't another analyzer out there that can say the Steelers are in a weakened state with Batch behind center.

8) Heath Miller: Fantasy Football's lates wet dream. In Randle El's absence, this kid will put up Antonio Gates like numbers this year.

9) NBC: Game footage / Bob Costas and company

Great points, even the negative ones. Bills fans, take notes from RedEye's post. Wes Welker has a lot of fans, an undrafted free agent that was cut by the Chargers has been golden for us.

[OpIv37]

1) Pittsburgh's defense looked really, really good. They did a great job of disguising their blitzing scheme and getting in Culpeppers face. With playmakers like Farrior, Polamalu, and Porter there isn't a team in the NFL right now with a more rounded defense, nor is there a team in the NFL that blitrzes as well as they do.

2) Culpepper started off looking refreshed and up to the task that lay ahead, but right from the start Pittsburgh robbed the Dolphins of their running game. Pepp was doing a decent job (for the first 2 qrtrs) of feeding off the blitz and finding the open receiver, but the team became so one dimensional it was hardly worth the effort.

Which brings me to my next point....

3) I hate to say I told you so, Miami, but you're going to find out real soon that Culpepper is the least of your worries. The offensive play calling was absolutely atrocious. The Dolphins gave up on the run about half way through the 2nd qrtr. Brown is the type of back that needs 25+ carries a game to bruise a defense. He might not start right out the gates with 4-5yds a carry, but by the time the 4th qrtr rolls around a tired defense will hate seeing this guy and his ypc % will then start climbing considerably.

The Dolphins went into panic mode and never stepped out. And if you have to get pass happy, Miami, please explain to me how you fail to get your two biggest receivers involved in the game? Both McMichael and Chambers were virtually ineffective with the type of plays that Mularkey was calling. Get your playmakers involved!

BTW, Mularkey, the flea-flicker is only effective if you set the play up with the run in previous plays.

4) Wes Welker.. as big a Bills fan that I am, I still find myself cheering for this guy. He has an amazing ability to find the seam and goes from 0-60 in 2 seconds. He's an insperation to white return men everywhere. I guarantee that Tim Dwight was even given the Arsenio double fist pump in front of the tube tonight.

5) Randle El and Jerome Bettis. It's obvious that the Steelers offense loses some flash and dash without their big play maker Randle El. And as peppy as Parker may be, there will be days this year when the Steelers will find themselves 3rd and short or on the goalline, and I bet Cowher may just make a quick attempt take a look over his shoulder to see if Bettis is suited up and waiting on the bench.

6) Marty Booker. I can't think of a man that better deserves to be ***** slapped then this guy. I'll lay money on the table that Booker sustains a season ending injury before week 6. He's as big a drama queen as my 5 year old niece and twice as fragile.

7) Charlie Batch, now 3-0 in Rothlisberger's absence. While it's obvious that he is no Ben Rothlisberger (damn you Tom Donahoe!!) there isn't another analyzer out there that can say the Steelers are in a weakened state with Batch behind center.

8) Heath Miller: Fantasy Football's lates wet dream. In Randle El's absence, this kid will put up Antonio Gates like numbers this year.

9) NBC: Game footage / Bob Costas and company

LMAO at the Tim Dwight comment

As far as your first point, I miss Dick LeBeau. The pressure on Culpepper was constant and unpredictable. Porter's interception was due to the way the coverage scheme was designed. I wish we still had him in Buffalo.

[Ickybaluky]

Great comments.

Pittsburgh does have a very good defense. They have been together a while and really play good team defense. As tough as they are to run on, they force teams into giving up on the run, and if they get a lead it plays right into their hands.

That said, I was surprised how many missed tackles they had in the open field. Miami got a lot of yards-after-catch because of missed tackles on short passes.

Miami did a good job picking up Pittsburgh's blitzes in the first half, and Culpepper was able to identify where the free man was coming from and get rid of the ball. In the second half Pittsburgh did a better job getting pressure with their blitz package, and once Miami became one-dimensional it played right into what they were trying to do.

I can see why you guys have criticized Mularkey, expecially in the Red Zone. Miami definitely gave up on the run too easily, they should have tried some draws and screens to slow down the rush. The worst offenses:

- Miami had the lead and drove into Pittsburgh territory (around the 45) and was faced with a 3rd-and-2 in the 4th quarter. They were on the brink of increasing their lead when they call a pitch play to Ronnie Brown that lost 2 yards. Miami ends up punting and Pittsburgh's first offensive play was the long TD pass to Heath Miller. Brutal, Brutal call.

- I thought the series right before the half was also critical. Miami was able to move down the field and had 1st-and-Goal from the 8 with a little less than a minute in the half and called three straight passes. There was time there to mix in at least one run (the three passes used a total of 11 seconds of clock). Miami ends up kicking the FG and goes into the half down 4 instead of tied.

I'm going to give Culpepper a mulligan on this game, since it was his first game back since the injury and he could still be getting his game conditioning back, but Dolphin fans should be a little worried. Culpepper has had 2 or more interceptions in 5 of his last 8 games. You just can't do that.

[HHURRICANE]

1) 3) I hate to say I told you so, Miami, but you're going to find out real soon that Culpepper is the least of your worries. The offensive play calling was absolutely atrocious. The Dolphins gave up on the run about half way through the 2nd qrtr. Brown is the type of back that needs 25+ carries a game to bruise a defense. He might not start right out the gates with 4-5yds a carry, but by the time the 4th qrtr rolls around a tired defense will hate seeing this guy and his ypc % will then start climbing considerably.

The Dolphins went into panic mode and never stepped out. And if you have to get pass happy, Miami, please explain to me how you fail to get your two biggest receivers involved in the game? Both McMichael and Chambers were virtually ineffective with the type of plays that Mularkey was calling. Get your playmakers involved!

BTW, Mularkey, the flea-flicker is only effective if you set the play up with the run in previous plays.

Yep!! MM is the "Silent Killer".

[Michael82]

Yep!! MM is the "Silent Killer".

We tried to warn 'em.

[RedEyE]

Great comments.

Pittsburgh does have a very good defense. They have been together a while and really play good team defense. As tough as they are to run on, they force teams into giving up on the run, and if they get a lead it plays right into their hands.

That said, I was surprised how many missed tackles they had in the open field. Miami got a lot of yards-after-catch because of missed tackles on short passes.

Miami did a good job picking up Pittsburgh's blitzes in the first half, and Culpepper was able to identify where the free man was coming from and get rid of the ball. In the second half Pittsburgh did a better job getting pressure with their blitz package, and once Miami became one-dimensional it played right into what they were trying to do.

I can see why you guys have criticized Mularkey, expecially in the Red Zone. Miami definitely gave up on the run too easily, they should have tried some draws and screens to slow down the rush. The worst offenses:

- Miami had the lead and drove into Pittsburgh territory (around the 45) and was faced with a 3rd-and-2 in the 4th quarter. They were on the brink of increasing their lead when they call a pitch play to Ronnie Brown that lost 2 yards. Miami ends up punting and Pittsburgh's first offensive play was the long TD pass to Heath Miller. Brutal, Brutal call.

- I thought the series right before the half was also critical. Miami was able to move down the field and had 1st-and-Goal from the 8 with a little less than a minute in the half and called three straight passes. There was time there to mix in at least one run (the three passes used a total of 11 seconds of clock). Miami ends up kicking the FG and goes into the half down 4 instead of tied.

I'm going to give Culpepper a mulligan on this game, since it was his first game back since the injury and he could still be getting his game conditioning back, but Dolphin fans should be a little worried. Culpepper has had 2 or more interceptions in 5 of his last 8 games. You just can't do that.

Great post!

I agree 100% with your Culppeper assesment.

[billsburgh]

We tried to warn 'em.

as I was warned by steeler fans right after the Bills hired him.

[HHURRICANE]

as I was warned by steeler fans right after the Bills hired him.

Yep, and don't forget Bennie Anderson. Ravens fans were telling us he sucked.

[!Papacrunk!]

Yep, and don't forget Bennie Anderson. Ravens fans were telling us he sucked.

Well it seems like OG Kendyl Jacox is already moving up on the depth chart, passing Wade Smith, so I'm wondering if it's only time until he gets more of the schemes down before he takes Bennie's job.

[John Doe]

Pittsburgh does have a very good defense. They have been together a while and really play good team defense. As tough as they are to run on, they force teams into giving up on the run, and if they get a lead it plays right into their hands.

That said, I was surprised how many missed tackles they had in the open field. Miami got a lot of yards-after-catch because of missed tackles on short passes.

Good call - I am surprised that no one else mentioned it.

If Pittsburgh would have tackled better they would have completely shut down Miami.

[dolphan117]

Great thread, and I agree with Culpepper being the least of our worries. I'm trying to give it a little time because this is the first year in this offense for Mularkey but so far most of the play-calling hasn't impressed me at all. He did have a couple of nicely designed plays, particularly the two TD runs for Brown, but the rest didn't impress me and hasn't in preseason either.

Right now our O-line just isn't a good at run blocking and we were playing a very good run D so that may have been part of why we went so pass happy. My guess is that we aren't going to be all that effective this year as a line up and run it down your throat kind of an offense but I think we can use the pass to try and set up the run. Run some draws or at least some designed plays to get Ronnie involved in the passing game.

I'm just hoping that the dinking and dunking was because MM was afraid the line couldn't protect long enough to throw it deep, I mean heck, if your going to throw it that much at least throw it down the field and give yourself the chance for some big plays. With Culpeppers arm and Chambers deep speed why dink and dunk? It lets the safeties play up in the passing game which means they are also in great position for run support. At least if you are throwing it down the field you can keep the D off the LOS and be in a good position to run some draws or screens.

I have been kind of lukewarm on Mularkey since the start and he hasn't really done anything to make me change my mind. Hopefully the play-calling changes, my guess is that it will. Saban is a big believer in BIG PLAYS offensively and he thought enough of Ronnie to draft him number 2 overall. From different PC's that he has given over the last while its pretty clear he believes in throwing it deep. You noticed what Andrea Kramer said Saban said to her when he was leaving the field after the first half? "We need to open it up offensively" and "We have to get Chambers involved" Those aren't player critics, that's play-calling. I remember him having pretty much the same thing to say after a pre-season game. It will be interesting to see how this works out, Mike may be the OC but this is Saban's team. I'm not saying Mularkey would be fired or outed in public but there may well be some forceful discussion behind closed doors.

[HHURRICANE]

Great thread, and I agree with Culpepper being the least of our worries. I'm trying to give it a little time because this is the first year in this offense for Mularkey but so far most of the play-calling hasn't impressed me at all. I'm just hoping that the dinking and dunking was because MM was afraid the line couldn't protect long enough to throw it deep, I mean heck, if your going to throw it that much at least throw it down the field and give yourself the chance for some big plays.

I honestly feel bad that you have MM. "Dink and dunk" was our offense last year. MM will be gone after this year.

[feelthepain]

Is their any surprise that a Bill fan would conclude it's over for Miami from the results of the first game of the year??? Nope!!!

[feelthepain]

Great comments.

Pittsburgh does have a very good defense. They have been together a while and really play good team defense. As tough as they are to run on, they force teams into giving up on the run, and if they get a lead it plays right into their hands.

That said, I was surprised how many missed tackles they had in the open field. Miami got a lot of yards-after-catch because of missed tackles on short passes.

Miami did a good job picking up Pittsburgh's blitzes in the first half, and Culpepper was able to identify where the free man was coming from and get rid of the ball. In the second half Pittsburgh did a better job getting pressure with their blitz package, and once Miami became one-dimensional it played right into what they were trying to do.

I can see why you guys have criticized Mularkey, expecially in the Red Zone. Miami definitely gave up on the run too easily, they should have tried some draws and screens to slow down the rush. The worst offenses:

- Miami had the lead and drove into Pittsburgh territory (around the 45) and was faced with a 3rd-and-2 in the 4th quarter. They were on the brink of increasing their lead when they call a pitch play to Ronnie Brown that lost 2 yards. Miami ends up punting and Pittsburgh's first offensive play was the long TD pass to Heath Miller. Brutal, Brutal call.

- I thought the series right before the half was also critical. Miami was able to move down the field and had 1st-and-Goal from the 8 with a little less than a minute in the half and called three straight passes. There was time there to mix in at least one run (the three passes used a total of 11 seconds of clock). Miami ends up kicking the FG and goes into the half down 4 instead of tied.

I'm going to give Culpepper a mulligan on this game, since it was his first game back since the injury and he could still be getting his game conditioning back, but Dolphin fans should be a little worried. Culpepper has had 2 or more interceptions in 5 of his last 8 games. You just can't do that.

It'll be ineresting to see the doom and gloom threads that will be on the Pats site if they lose to the Bills and the same here if the Bills lose to the Pats. I somehow doubt though the either set of fans will be thinking their season is over or blaming their OC for everything that happend in the game. But for some reason you "genius" rival fans have the fins all figuired out from the first game of the season!! Someone is gonna lose this game and all the crap Dolphin fans have heard from rival fans on both sides will be returned 10 fold.

I'm looking forward to trahsing both teams over this season because neither the Bills or Pats will go undefeated and one will lose their first game of the season as well, so as per the Dolphins, one of the other teams season will be over too after Sunday!!!!!!!! Looking forward to pointing out every mistake made by the loser "as facts" that your team suck....and I told you so!!! BTW, neither the Bills or Pats face the defending SB champs in their house for first game, so which ever team loses it's really going to prove they suck and won't win anything the rest of the year, yep you lose this one and it's over!!!!

[HHURRICANE]

Is their any surprise that a Bill fan would conclude it's over for Miami from the results of the first game of the year??? Nope!!!

I think your season is far from over. But as I said weeks ago your OL and running game are weak. MM is in over his head as a coordinator. Your secondary is very suspect. Not to be concerned would be silly but this team will win games this year and should finish ahead of Buffalo.

[feelthepain]

I think your season is far from over. But as I said weeks ago your OL and running game are weak. MM is in over his head as a coordinator. Your secondary is very suspect. Not to be concerned would be silly but this team will win games this year and should finish ahead of Buffalo.

Just stop it, it's the first game of the season and we were playing a very good D thats know for shutting down the run. I'll be sure to be just as harsh on JP Sunday, but somehow I doubt you'll agree what he does Sunday is what he will be for the rest of the year. Funny how that works!!! BTW, Shaun Alexander ran for 1800 yrds last year, but couldn't get a 100 yrds against the Steelers in the SB!! Pittsburgh shuts down the run, it's what they do.

[!Papacrunk!]

Well with the number of offensive coordinators we go through lately, I wouldn't be surprised if MM is gone next year, lol.