Detailed Game Review – PHI 26, MIA 10

The Eagles went into Sunday’s game at Miami on a 2-game losing streak. The team had suffered its two worst losses in those games. It was important to see the team come out and play better football. The Eagles did that and won the game as well. It wasn’t a great showing, but at this point in the season – a win is a win. Thanks to the Dallas meltdown/choke job, the Eagles are 2 games out in the NFC East race. There are only 3 games left, making the playoffs a real long shot, but hope is alive (she’s just buried under the rubble of bad losses).

The offense looked terrible early on, then came alive in the 2nd Qtr. The Eagles scored 24 points. Things clicked and life looked pretty good. Then the offense went back into hibernation in the 2nd half. No points.

The defense played a terrific game. It was good live, but even better on the re-watching. Juan Castillo made a point to say the sacks were good by the front seven, but they’d never have happened if not for coverage. He was dead on. We might have covered better in this game than any other. That’s true for CBs, Safeties, and even LBs. We mixed man and zone. There were very few blown assignments. Tackling was good overall. Bush gave us some fits, but that’s because he’s so unique. He is so fast that guys weren’t always in good position. Against a normal RB, they’d have been fine, but not Bush. I was really impressed with Reggie. He was fast, but also slippery in traffic. He now is willing to run between the tackles and run hard on those plays. Good game by him.

The coaches had a solid game. Juan did a terrific job with the defense. They improved on some basic things. The lineup change of Casey at MLB in the Nickel worked pretty well. The defense also had some good blitzes and was a bit more creative.

Marty started the game wanting to throw the ball to DJax and Mac. Vick took time to settle down. Marty adjusted the gameplan and mixed in more plays under Center. He also focused the passing attack on Celek. That helped Vick get in a rhythm and the offense clicked from the late 1st Qtr through the early 3rd. Vick was picked off on the opening drive (we were on the move) and the offense came to a screeching halt after that moment. We had 197 yards and 24 points. We only had 42 yards the rest of the way. No points.

I was looking for some reason that we struggled. Playcalling. Vick. Lack of Maclin. Really, the Miami defense was the main factor. Those guys really came alive. They dominated the LOS in the 2nd half. McCoy had 14 carries for 8 yards. When Vick went to pass, there were guys around him. Our one big pass play in the 2nd half was when Vick eluded a rusher and found Riley Cooper open in the middle of the field. Marty tried to mix in short throws. We ran a quick hitch to DeSean and Vontae Davis almost picked it off. We ran a WR screen and that got us 5 yds. Celek blocked on several pass plays.

I think Marty was at fault in 2 areas. First, he should have run Ronnie Brown more. Shady wasn’t working. He tried to turn too many runs into big plays. That just wasn’t working. Shady needed to adjust his game and just go N-S. One way to help him is by running Ronnie, who is a N-S guy. Mix in runs to him and maybe Shady is able to get a cutback run to work. When a defense faces the same guy doing the same thing, they get in a rhythm. We needed a change of pace. Heck, go with Dion Lewis. I also think we should have forced the ball to Celek (by design) a couple of times in the 2nd half. We did that in the 1st half with success.

That said, Miami just whipped our butts up front. That’s the best defense we’ve faced all year. I knew they were good, but didn’t realize how good. Cameron Wake is the big name, but guys like Randy Starks, Jared Odrick, Paul Soliai, Kevin Burnett, Koa Misi, and Tony McDaniel all got the job done. I watched Karlos Dansby early in the season and wasn’t impressed. Boy, has he turned it around. He was all over the place. Dansby was the anti-Shady. He led the Fish with 9 tackles and 2 TFLs. Wherever Shady tried to go, Dansby seemed to be there, either to tackle him or to drive him toward another defender. I was really impressed with that front seven.

Reid made a good challenge to get a 4th/1 play overturned. I didn’t like the trick PR that he called or OK’d. Dumb. We had DeSean catch the punt on the left side and then turn and throw across the field to Curtis Marsh. Marsh bobbled the ball and Miami recovered it. We’ve now run 2 trick plays on STs. Both involved rookies. Both failed. DeSean should have never made the throw since defenders were near Marsh, but I don’t like the call period. STs tricks are good, but using rookies seems highly questionable at best.

OFFENSE

* One play really got us going. We lined up in I-form and faked run to right. Vick rolled left, stopped, and threw back to McCoy on far right. Hit him in stride 10 yds upfield. Turned into gain of 26. We ran a similar play last week. Shady made poor read by cutting back to middle of field. Could have had a few extra yards by sticking on sideline.

* Tried mis-direction run on first GL play and that was stuffed. All other GL runs were power type runs. That was a good adjustment. 2nd TD run was interesting. I-form. FB went right. RG pulled left and Shady went left. The FB action fooled one LB. TD.

* Batted passes: 1, 1, 1, 1 (1st half) … none in 3rd Q … 1 in the 4th.

* 4 of 15 on 3rd downs.

* 2 of 3 in the Red Zone

VICK — Strange game. Final numbers were okay, 15-30-208. 1 TD, 1 INT. Started slow, so to speak. Was actually playing too fast. Looked anxious in his first game back after missing 3 weeks due to a rib injury. Slipped a few times and did change his cleats. I think it was nerves more than anything. Mike settled down and played well in the 2nd Qtr. He struggled in the 2nd half, as did the whole offense.

Threw dart to Mac on 3rd/10 to move the chains in mid-1st. That was his best throw of the day. Made a terrible decision on 2nd/long and forced the ball to Harbor over the middle. He was double covered and the pass almost picked off. Harbor had a chance to make the catch as well, but that’s a throw you shouldn’t try. Drifted to his left on 2nd Q pass play. Had no one open initially. As he moved, saw Avant come open and hit him. Jason got upfield for 28 yds. Made terrible decision on 3rd Q pass play. Rolled left and was under some pressure. Should have thrown the ball away or tried to get it to wide open Riley Cooper. There was traffic between them so no guarantee Mike gets ball there easily. Instead, he forced ball to Celek downfield and it was picked off. Poor decision, bad throw. We were in Miami territory so that was a costly mistake. Had one Houdini play. Rusher came free and should have had him for a sack, but Vick was strong enough to not go down. Got free and moved up. Found Cooper open near midfield for a gain of 29. Bounced 4th Q pass to WR. Didn’t have clean pocket and couldn’t step into throw.

Tough game back for Vick since he had to face such a good defense. He was definitely rusty. My main concern was poor decision-making. The INT to Celek was dumb. The forced pass to Harbor was dumb and could have led to TD. When you have a lead, there’s no need to force things. That’s when you play smart.

SCHMITT — Had very good block on Shady’s first TD run. We ran from the I late in the game and he had a good block or two.

MCCOY — Tough day. Shady started the game 3-22 and things looked pretty good. After that he was 24-16. Uh yes, that is 24 carries for 16 yards. Miami had the DL to control the LOS and they had the LBs to chase down McCoy. They also weren’t afraid to play 8 man fronts and dare us to throw deep.

I was happy that the coaches kept giving the ball to Shady. He is our best offensive player and I want him to get touches. I think this is a rare case where he had too many touches. Shady’s deadly cutback runs weren’t working. He was tackled for a loss several times in the game. Miami just had his number. Shady should have adjusted his game and run more N-S. Went for big plays too often and none were there to be had.

He did catch 3 passes, including a 26-yd’er that sparked the offense on a TD drive. And Shady came up big in the Red Zone. He ran for 2 TDs against a defense that hadn’t allowed a rushing TD in 7 games. Both TDs were tough, physical runs.

Good cut block of DE on 3rd down pass play. Kept Vick clean and helped us get 1st.

BROWN — Had 3 carries for 4 yards. Poor blitz pickup of corner blitz by Vontae Davis flushed Vick and led to scramble for no gain.

DJAX — 4-59-1. Solid game. Caught pass on opening drive. Had room up the middle, but tried to cut outside and CB was able to get him by the feet. Caught WR screen inside the 10 and worked his way down to the 1. Almost scored on the play. Hustle by Dansby kept him out. Caught post corner TD that really broke the game open. Ran a good route and was able to get wide of S and behind the CB. That was 34-yd TD.

MACLIN — Quiet game in his return. In and out of lineup in 1st half. Out for 2nd. Good block of DB on early run helped clear way for nice gain. Caught 13-yd pass on 3rd/10 in mid-1st. Lined up in slot on that. Beat CB Smith deep late in the half, but Vick overthrew him by a yard or two. Only had the one grab.

COOPER — Got mixed in throughout the game. Only catch came in 3rd Q on broken play. Got loose in middle of field and Vick hit him for gain of 29.

AVANT — 28-yd catch on broken play. Was working the middle. Saw Vick going left and mirrored him. Caught ball near sideline and turned upfield. Good RAC yds on the play. Caught short 3rd down pass over the middle in 3rd Q to move the chains. Finished 2-35 as receiver.

HALL — Had one pass intended for him, but it was deflected at the line.

CELEK — Blocked a lot in 1st Q. We did get creative in late 1st. Lined up in pro set with Brent and Clay as RBs. Brent went to flat and Vick hit him with short throw. Brent got upfield for gain of 12. Had to fight for last few yards. Next play was also a pass to Brent. Just posted up over middle and got 9 yds. Caught TE delay screen for gain of 11 after FF/FR by Asante. That put us in FG range. Lined up at left WR to open drive in mid-2nd. Caught slant for 9 yds. Got LB turned around on the play. Did take big shot from S. Finished 4-39 as receiver. 2nd half he was a target just once. Blocked on several pass plays as well.

HARBOR — Good block of DB on opening run let Shady get upfield. Vick forced ball to him while tightly covered. Pass got by defender’s hand and Clay should have caught it, but I think he was shocked it got to him. Good diving block of Wake gave Shady the edge on run play to open the 3rd Q. Solid day as a blocker. Sealed the edge on a few runs.

PETERS — Up and down game. Great block of DE on 3rd/1 run early on cleared room for Shady to get upfield for nice gain. Jason Taylor “beat him” for sack on opening drive. Taylor had good initial block. He thought Vick was deep. Mike had stumbled and moved up in the pocket. Taylor got free to Vick because Peters didn’t know he’d moved up. Not a good block, but also not totally Peters’ fault. Had false start late in the 1st Q. Good block on Shady’s first TD run. Good block on 2nd TD run. Got under his guy and stood him up. Able to move him enough for Shady to get into endzone. Got confused by blitz and blocked same rusher as Mathis. That left guy running free to sack Vick on 3rd down. Had another pass play where he was confused about who to block and a rusher came free. No sack, but heavy pressure on Vick. Made too many mental mistakes.

MATHIS — Lost control of DE who took inside slant on pass play. Guy got in Vick’s face as he threw. Good blocks on both TD runs, even though Shady went wide of LG on both. Sloppy block on run play led to TFL of Ronnie in the early 3rd.

KELCE — Not a good game. Got beaten by NT on pass play, but at least rode the guy wide of Vick. Struggled on multiple plays in 2nd half. Starks gave him fits. Big, quick guy. Was able to get by Jason or bull rush him.

WATKINS — Not a good game. Let DL get by him and hit Vick on pass play in the late 1st. Guy ripped Vick’s helmet off and drew a penalty. Danny tried to hold him on the play, but couldn’t slow him down. Had false start late in 1st Q. Pulled left on 2nd TD run and was able to seal Dansby, clearing way for Shady to go off LT for TD. Also got a piece of DL on the play and kept him from getting any penetration. Was supposed to pull left and pass block on 3rd Q play. Dansby rushed off edge and Danny had no chance vs him. Dansby pressured Vick into INT.

HERREMANS — Up and down. Had some issues in pass protection. Was beaten to inside by DE on opening drive and that forced Vick to scramble. Got manhandled by Wake on 3rd down on opening drive. Wake hit Vick and forced poor throw. Todd tried to hold him, but even that didn’t work. Lined up at TE on left side on Shady’s first TD run. Hit DE and then let Peters take him on. Todd went up and got LB. Slowed him enough that Schmitt could get clean block of him. 2 half blocks were very helpful on the play. Lined up as TE on left side on 2nd TD run. Kept control of DE on play and Shady cut to Todd’s inside for TD.

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DEFENSE

* Nice touch on early 3rd down. Jake Long had just left the game. We lined up a DT on the C, a DT on the LG, and then Trent on the LT. That guaranteed him single blocking. The RB tried to chip, but did a lousy job. Trent got held by the LT, but still flushed Moore.

* We mixed in a new thing. Had multiple guys stand up and move around on 3rd/long situations so offense wouldn’t know which guy was rushing and if so, where he was rushing. Casey’s sack came on such a play.

Had CuJo and Patt line up as DEs. Clayton blitzed off RDE. Trent, Babin as ILB. Trent went up middle. Babin looped around RE. Casey lined up several yards back and then fired up middle. Timed it well and was unblocked on his way to QB. Nice design, execution. Patt seemed more excited than anyone else.

* 9 sacks

* Held Miami to 1 of 3 in RZ. That boosted us to 30th in NFL!!!

* Great short yardage D:

2nd/2 – held to 1 yd.
3rd/1 – stuffed
4th/1 – stuffed

3rd/1 – stuffed (Landri)

3rd/GL from 2 – stuffed (Landri)

3rd/2 – DRC tackled WR short of sticks on pass play
4th/inches – stuffed (QB fumbled snap, was tackled)

COLE — Terrific game. Got pressure on 3rd down pass in early 2nd. Helped to stuff RB on 3rd/1 late in the half. Crashed hard inside on 4th/1 and got RB over the top to stuff him. Good tackle of Bush on run play at end of the half. Hustled down the LOS to tackle Bush for just 2 yd gain on 3rd Q run. Lost contain on run play by Bush and let him get wide. Turned into nice gain. Did a great job of firing inside and getting a hand on Losman while his knee was on the ground (after regaining control of the ball). Beat the LT to get violent sack of Losman in the early 4th. Looked like the QB was shot and just went down. Beat the LT and RB to pressure QB on 3rd/long from Miami’s endzone in early 4th. Sacked Losman in mid-4th, but drew flag for hitting him too low. Got sack of Losman on first play of final drive.

BABIN — Very good game. Had 3 sacks. I was also very impressed with his hustle in pursuing the ball on run plays and completed passes. Flew all over the field. Got pressure on 1st Q pass play where he stood up on 3rd down. Looped inside and fought his way through traffic to get in QBs face. Used a really good inside move to get by RT and come up with strip-sack in mid-2nd Q. That came on heels of turnover on PR so it was huge play. Dolphins had chance to cut lead to 17-10 or 17-14, but instead we got the ball right back. Took hard inside move late in the half and was able to get a sack when pressure forced Moore to step up. Came down LOS and was ready to stuff RB on 3rd/GL if Landri hadn’t beat him to it. Sacked Losman on 4th/20 pass play late in the game.

PATTERSON — Didn’t make the sexy plays, but did plenty of grunt work. Was credited with a TFL, but I’m not sure about that. Beat Landri to ball on Babin’s strip-sack. Took on double team on 4th/1 and held his ground, enabling others to make the stop. Got penetration on pass play late in the half and helped Babin come up with sack.

JENKINS — Strong game. Disruptive. Lined up at RDE on TD pass. Drove the LT backward and got hit on QB just after he released the pass. The Dolphins stupidly tried to block him with an H-back on inside run. CuJo tossed that guy aside and engulfed the RB. Should have been TFL, but they said no gain. Made great play on 3rd/1. RT tried to down block. CuJo pushed him down. Then he pushed pulling OG away and engulfed the RB. Helped Jordan make tackle on 3rd/1 run where Landri blew up play. Just missed sack in mid-4th. Got penetration, but couldn’t get hold of Losman.

D TAPP — Showed great hustle to chase down Bush after pass play and hit him by the far sideline. Poor job on outside run in early 2nd Q. Saw OL pulling his way. Tapp engaged him, but ducked his head and leaned inside. Got sealed and Bush ran wide. Only got short gain, but Tapp should have forced him inside for no gain. Drove the LT back on INT play. OG knocked Tapp aside, but the LT was in Moore’s face and affected his follow-through, leading to the overthrow. Used inside move to get by the TE and upfield. Then got Bush down for TFL. Batted down pass to open the 4th Q. Broke rib on cheap shot by LT. That was on Hunt’s safety. And LT had grabbed his facemask on the play as well. Ugh. 3 tackles, TFL.

LANDRI — Terrific game. Chased Bush down on short pass play and frightened him out of bounds. Took hard inside slant on pass play. Created accidental stunt/loop situation. Laws tried to use spin move to go behind him, but got held. Derek’s penetration created the space that left Laws open. Got a hit on Moore after he let go of pass that Coleman picked off. Late pressure, but still helpful. Exploded upfield on 4th/1. Got to RBs feet and slowed him on the play. Fired off the ball and moved OL back on 3rd/1 play in 3rd Q. That gave the RB nowhere to go and he was stuffed for no gain. Used rip move to outside and got by OL on 3rd/GL. Nailed RB for loss of a couple. Violent hit. RB had momentum, but came to a sudden stop. Used penetration to draw holding penalty on Pouncey in late 3rd. On next snap he crossed LG’s face to the inside and got held again, but no call. Had a chance for safety if Hunt hadn’t gotten to Losman first. Blew up Pouncey and tackled RB for loss in the mid-4th.

LAWS — Drew holding call on pass play when he used a spin move to get off block. Hustled to tackle RB after short catch. Kept him from getting 1st down.

HUNT — Good game. Was able to get pressure off the edge. Played on 2nd series and was regular throughout the game. Beat the RT on 2nd down and forced Moore to dump ball off short (and incomplete). Used real good inside move to get by RT cleanly and right in Moore’s face. Forced quick throw on that play. Used good rip move, leverage to get by RT and sack Losman for safety. Drew holding call when rushing from RDE late in the game. We finally got to see the potential the Eagles thought he had. Very encouraging game from Hunt.

CHANEY — Only played in the base defense. Had 4 tackles. Missed tackle of Bush on outside run due to good cutback. I can actually forgive Jamar for that. Best play would have been TFL of Bush, but Tapp beat him to the tackle. Tackled Bess after short catch on deflected pass. With better awareness, could have broken up the pass. Helped to stuff RB late in the half on 3rd/1.

JORDAN — Watching live, Akeem didn’t stand out. Looked good on 2nd viewing. 3 tackles. Active player. Made good read on 1st Q run and helped CuJo stuff the RB. Played outside run to his side okay. Got sucked up inside at first, then got wide and tackled Bush. Only gave up short gain. Blitzed off the edge and was able to tip ball and make the pass wobble. It was still caught, but no RAC yds. Opened 3rd Qtr with nice play. Hit TE as he tried to release upfield. Akeem then went to flat w/ RB. Akeem knocked him to the ground. Legal since inside 5 yds. Hidden stuff, but good. TE was slowed enough that DBs were able to break up pass to him. Tackled RB after 2 yd catch. Made tackle on 3rd/1 after Landri gave RB nowhere to go.

ROLLE — Got his first ever NFL sack on opening drive. The QB tried to roll out and Rolle flew upfield to bring him down (the play came to his side). Brian had to fight off the block of a TE on his way to the QB. Hustled to get over to Bush on short pass play, but wasn’t able to bring him down. Flowed left and got RB on inside run. Gave up short gain. Had good hit of RB in flat after short catch, but RB spun out of tackle. Got stuck on block on good run by Bush vs our Nickel. Hit Moore from behind on blitz in the late 3rd and knocked him from game. Forced an incompletion on the play. Moore’s head bounced off OL and he suffered concussion symptoms. Clean. Accident like when Vick hit his head on Todd’s helmet in ATL game. Showed good hustle in chasing down Bush on run play. Did give up 12 yds, but that wasn’t Rolle’s fault.

MATTHEWS — MLB in Nickel. Covered pretty well, especially on TE. Blitzed well. Run D still needs work. Had 3 tackles, sack. Had tight coverage of TE on early pass play. Got away with illegal contact on TE on pass play where Kurt picked off pass. Ball wasn’t going to the TE so it didn’t affect the play. Just had his hands on the guy 7 or 8 yds upfield instead of 5. Did have tight coverage on the play. Needs to work on his blocking. A better block by Casey and Kurt might have scored on the INT. Had an outside blitz that got some pressure on 3rd down in 2nd Q. Might have missed coverage on TE in mid-2nd. He and Hanson both went for flat and let TE go upfield clean. Normally in zone the LB had middle, but Hanson looked awkward and Casey confident on the play so that’s my only reason for hesitating. That play gained 20 yds. Missed tackle of Bush on draw play at the end of the half. Made a good read, but just didn’t get wide enough for Bush’s speed. Made diving attempt at Bush on 3rd Q draw. Got a foot, but Reggie ran through the attempt. Tackled Bush on 1st/GL run. Did give up 6 yds. Came from other side of the formation to make the stop. Jumped inside on run play by Bush and got burned by cutback. Had chance to get Bush for safety in the early 4th, but Reggie got by him. Got off block and tackled Bush on 4th Q run. Got beat by TE up seam late in game, but ball was overthrown and incomplete.

K CLAYTON — Played in Nickel and short yardage. Got in on a couple of tackles on 3rd/1, 4th/1. Had tight coverage of Bess on 2nd Q pass play where Moore took a sack. Picked off pass intended for TE in the endzone, but Keenan was a yard out of bounds. Had the TE covered the whole play. Tackled Losman after short scramble in 4th. Gave up long completion to TE in 4th, but had pretty good coverage.

COLEMAN — Good game. Had 5 tackles and INT. Came up and made good tackle of Thomas on run play in late 1st Q. Had tight coverage on TE on 2nd Q play where Moore couldn’t find anyone open and ran. Came up on run and helped Jordan put Bush down for short gain. Picked off pass in early 2nd Q. Dropped into zone. Got good depth and saw the overthrow. Broke on the ball, made a good catch, and ran it back to the 1. Came up to tackle Bush on 3rd down after he got by DRC. Stopped him short of the marker. Made clean tackle of Bush on run play up the middle to end the 3rd Q. Had good hit on Bush on final play of game.

ALLEN — Somewhat quiet game. Played deep a lot and Miami didn’t have time to throw downfield much. Had good coverage of Marshall on the play where Rolle got his sack. Helped break up a downfield pass to Marshall. Brandon got behind DRC and Nate got over right as the ball was coming down. Marshall reached for it, but never came close to making the catch. Got turned around by Bush on draw play where Reggie got into the secondary. Broke up pass to Marshall in the endzone late in the game.

ASOMUGHA — Beaten for TD by Marshall on opening drive. Had tight coverage initially, but for some reason looked back at QB too early and then wasn’t able to play the ball when it came in. Sloppy mistake for a guy of Nnamdi’s talent, experience. Tackled Bush at the 2 after crazy screen pass in the early 4th. That kept Miami pinned deep. Beaten in 4th by Hartline on underthrown fade. Great pass, catch.

SAMUEL — Good game. Seeing Asante play like this is what really frustrates me when he plays so awkwardly in other games. Made a huge play in early 2nd. Had Bess on 3rd down. Bess ran drag route. Asante trailed him. Bess caught the pass. Asante grabbed him and used hand to knock ball loose. Asante then slung Bess to ground and the ball was completely free. There were a few Eagles in the area, but Asante was the first to the ball. Broke up pass to TE when he was lined up at S. Made good break on the ball. Hit the TE’s arms as both guys went for the ball and was able to knock it loose. Hit Bush in the backfield on sloppy screen and made reasonably good tackle attempt. Hit Reggie at the 5 and Reggie didn’t shake him free until Asante had driven him back to the GL.

RODGERS-CROMARTIE — Didn’t play a ton of snaps, but looked good in limited action. Came up and got shot on Moore on pass play where he rolled out. Showed good closing speed on that. Let Marshall get by him on pass play at end of the 1st Qtr. Looked like DRC had a hitch in his step a few yards up the field, as if he thought Marshall might cut in or out. Was a go route. Nate was playing centerfield and helped on the play. Had tight coverage of Marshall on 3rd down play in early 2nd and forced ball to go elsewhere. Missed tackle of Bush on short pass play. Got hands on him, but could only slow him a bit. Got decent hit on TE after guy caught pass in his zone. Made a fantastic play on 3rd/2. Was covering slot when he saw short pass to Marshall. DRC had great closing speed to hit Marshall just after ball got there. Tackled him for minimal gain. Wasn’t an ideal form tackle. More like a somersault where he held on to Marshall and dragged him down. Key is that DRC did it full speed and made the stop. Made solid tackle of Bush on pass play in the early 4th. 3 tackles.

HANSON — Showed good awareness on short pass. Joselio was on slot guy. Saw ball go to outside receiver coming in on crossing route. Jumped in and helped Asante make the tackle. Tackled Bush on draw play at end of half. Got run over by Bush in late 3rd, but did make the tackle. MmmBop the enforcer? Got penalty in 4th when he blitzed and hit QB in the head. Finished with 5 tackles.

SPECIAL TEAMS

CHAS HENRY — Rough day. Had 9 punts. Averaged 46.6 per kick. Long was 58. Unfortunately, had 1 blocked and another one where Miami hit him just after ball was out. Punters aren’t used to that kind of pressure. 2 touchbacks, 4 downed inside the 20. Just missed having 5th downed, but ball barely got into the endzone.

ALEX HENERY — Seemed to get real good depth on his KOs. Not sure if wind was helping him or what. 1 of 1 on FGs. Did have some wind to deal with, but aimed well and nailed it. Looked like more of a crosswind on that kick.

PR — DeSean fielded a punt at the 4. Ran sideways, then back before getting up around the 10. That was worrisome for a second. In case anyone is confused, that’s our 4-yd line and not theirs.

KOR — All 3 kickoffs were touchbacks. DeSean did get to return free kick after safety for 7 yds.

MISC —

* On the punt block…not sure who missed their assignment. Avant is wingman, but blocked someone. No one got edge rusher. They may have fooled us with alignment. Whatever. Good for them, bad for us. Henry had no chance. Nate Allen did go jump on the ball to prevent TD at that moment. Miami scored TD a couple of plays later.

* Henry was hit in the endzone on late 1st Q punt. Miami once again attacked our right side and was able to get someone free. The guy ran into Henry after the ball was away. They called holding on us, but nothing on Miami for running into Henry. Wouldn’t have helped much, but I don’t know how you ignore that.

* Newly signed Tom Nelson played a lot. Had 1 tackle. Just missed downing punt near GL.

GAMEBOOK