GREG COTE'S RANDOM EVIDENCE BLOG: MIAMI. SPORTS. AND BEYOND.
1) It is MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 28. In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Anti-Golden flyovers poll, rarity of Big 3 all 3-0, Collball Week 4 & more. 2) Follow us on Twitter @gregcote. Also on Facebook, Instagram, Vine and Periscope.
Philbin puts himself in peril: Coaches already on the hot seat cannot afford embarrassing performances like the Dolphins had Sunday in their home opener. Click on Philbin In Peril for my column off the game. Our live gamepost is directly below the latest DSM poll.
DOLFAN SATISFACTION METER: G3: 18.0%: Results are certified in the latest Dolfan Satisfaction Meter postgame poll, and they show 18.0 percent overall satisfaction (a combination of "very" and "somewhat" satisfied votes) in the wake of Sunday's 41-14 loss to the visiting Buffalo Bills putting Miami's season record at 1-2. The DSM, in its eighth year, is a continuous weekly gauge of how fans are feeling about the Dolphins and their direction. Right after each game I invite you to share your overall degree of satisfaction. Criteria for voting is your own, but I suggest fans consider the most recent game's performance and caliber of opponent, season as a whole, direction the club is heading and your overall degree of optimism -- all in the context of reasonable expectations. Results are certified official the morning after one full day of voting. In this case that was around 6:30 a.m. today/Tuesday.
2015 DSM Results
Game 1: 31.0% (following 17-10 victory at Washington)
Game 2: 1.7% (following 23-20 loss at Jacksonville)
Game 3: 18.0% (following 41-14 loss vs. Buffalo)
Next poll: Oct. 4 (following game vs. N.Y Jets in London)
Interpreting the latest vote: Of course a spike from a previous 1.7 percent to this week's 18.0% makes little sense after a loss as bad as Sunday's. Pleased Bills fans weighing in? More likely pissant anarchists simply trying to throw a wrench in our gears. Whatever. No matter. Free country! The majority spoke (loudly) with 81.4% "very dissatisfied."
G3: BUFFALO 41, DOLPHINS 14: FINAL: Home opener. Division opponent. Coming off a bad loss. So many reasons Miami needed to show up big today. What a monumental failure all the way around. ..... Fourth quarter: MIA 2nd and goal. NO score. Of course. BUF now up 41-14 on 41-yard TD run by Karlos Williams. Do the details even matter at this point? ... Fins within 34-14 on 46-yard Tanny pass to Matthews and then a missed kick. ... Miami 1st and goal at Bills 2, four straight complete passes. Way to trust that running game! Unbelievable. Seriously. ... Bills defensive hold wipes out a Tannehill sack and fumble loss. ... BUF 34-8 now on 38-yard TD pass Taylor to Chris Hogan. Just plain embarrassing. ... Wanted/needed: Miracle of Biblical proportions. ..... Third quarter: Dolphins finally do something, score, pull within 27-8 on Tanny's 21-yard TD throw to Rishard Matthews plus a 2-point conversion pass. ... Bills miss a 54-yard FG try. Hey something went right for Miami! ..... Halftime report: Awfulness times infinity equals Miami's first half performance. ..... Second quarter: Tannehill's third interception sets up 51-yard FG and 27-0 game. ... Bills 24-0 on Preston Brown 44-yard INT return. ... BUF 26-yard FG for 17-0 lead. Miami doing nothing right so far. ..... First quarter: Miami drive starts promisingly at BUF 38, then Tannehill intercepted off Landry's hands. ... Buffs 14-0 on 10-yard Shady McCoy scoring play on slant. MIA defense gouged for 158 yards on 2 TD drives totaling 13 plays. ... Nightmare start! After a 3-and-out by Dolphins, defense gives up 5-play, 77-yard Bills TD drive capped by ex-Fin Charles Clay's 25-yard romp through myriad missed tackles. Oy. ... Is there a nobler aim known to mankind than making Rex Ryan sad? ..... Pregame: Anthem by Darius "Hootie" Rucker. The Dolphins make him cry. Uh oh. ... Warren Buffett, worth 10 times more than Stephen Ross, was on home sideline in a Ndamukong Suh jersey. Buffett has only three fewer tackles than Suh this year. ... LT Branden Albert inactive today as expected. Uh oh. ... Flyover banner referencing "Sardine Can Stadium." Surprised Stephen Ross hasn't ordered his air force to shoot it down. ..... Original post: Dolphins stage their 50th franchise regular-season home opener late this afternoon vs. Buffalo and once again Dolfans have no real idea how good their team is because its maddening inconsistency defies knowing. Click on Land of No Idea for today's latest column for our full preview. The 4:25 p.m. kickoff has all the elements of a delicious matchup. It is Miami’s home opener, it’s vs. an AFC East rival, and it is coming off a bad Dolphins loss at Jacksonville to ratchet up the pressure on Joe Philbin’s guys. Want more? How about blustery Rex Ryan in Bills clothes now, and former Fins bully Richie Incognito back in town tasked with blocking Ndamukong Suh. This could be damned entertaining, folks! It also could be a tough one for Miami to win. Don’t read too much into Tom Brady putting up 466 yards last week; the Buffs’ pass-D and defense in general is pretty good against everybody not named Brady. And that defensive line has the potential to dominate MIA’s blocking front and spend way too much time today in Ryan Tannehill’s pocket — especially if LT Branden Albert (hamstring) doesn’t play, as expected. The homies haven’t shown enough consistent running game (or commitment to it), or enough balance to take much heat off Tannehill. On the other side, a Dolphins run defense gouged for 284 yards the first two games will face its toughest challenge yet in LeSean McCoy. Miami is bound to get some help from Buffs’ proneness to penalties; still, I doubt the home stadium will be a happy place as dusk settles. Hey, don't shoot the messenger, people! My pick: Bills, 23-20. (Click on Week 3 Gems for all our latest NFL predictions).
HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (UPDATED): WHAT SOUTH FLORIDA SPORTS FANS ARE TALKING ABOUT: Our blog-exclusive Sunday feature is part week-in-review, part look-ahead. Hot Button means what's on our minds, locally and nationally, from a Miami perspective, as the sports week just past pivots to the week ahead. (Click Hot Button Top 5 for our abbreviated, print-only cousin):
1. DOLPHINS: Miami fails huge test to Buffalo in 50th home opener Sunday: We are now in our seventh consecutive year of not knowing whether Miami will be good this time or S.O.D. (Same Ol’ Dolphins), doubts festering anew with last week's disheartening loss in Jacksonville and now Sunday's 41-14 spanking by Buffalo. We know Buffalo presented a big challenge ... and sadly found out if the Fins were up to that challenge.
2. MARLINS: Teams wraps up home schedule on disappointing season: Only six road games now remain after Sunday's home finale. Not much has gone right this year beyond Dee Gordon chasing NL batting title and Jose Fernandez improving to 17-0 in his career at home. Meanwhile club has interviewed Manny Acta as their potential next manager -- Acta, who last managed in 2012 and has career record of 372-519 (.418). Reach for the stars, Marlins!
3. HEAT: Bosh healthy as Miami opens training camp: Chris Bosh is back after missing much of last season with blood clots as training camp opens Tuesday at FAU after Media Day today/Monday at the bayside arena. The Heat expects to be much better after missing last season’s playoffs. My interpretation of much better: Anything short of a conference finals against LeBron’s Cavs will be a disappointment.
4. HURRICANES: UM braces for pass-happy Cincy: The Canes, 3-0 but unranked and with restless fans, follow a bye week with a Thursday night game on ESPN at Cincinnati. The Bearcats aren’t very good (2-2) but they average 413 passing yards per game. Hope the off week provided plenty of rest for UM’s defensive backs.
5. PANTHERS: Jagr delivers lesson in how to thwart blackmail: As NHL preseason continues, the Cats’ ageless Jaromir Jagr, 43, recently thwarted blackmail try by a Czech model, 18, who wanted $2,000 to not publish a photo of them in bed. Jagr said he didn’t care, rightly figuring that, instead of shame, the photo would likelier bring high-fives from admiring teammates.
6. GATORS: Swamp magic: Florida miracle-rallies past Tennessee: UF is now 4-0 after beating visiting Vols 28-27 Saturday after trailing 27-14 late. That's the good news. The bad news: Gators now face four ranked opponents in a row.
7. UM BASKETBALL: Canes men ready for season of high hopes: Coach Jim Larranaga's guys are about to lift lid on season of big expectations. Practice opens this coming Friday and the season starts Nov. 13.
8. FIU: Panthers fall at Louisiana Tech: FIU beat the point spread with a decent road effort but still fell to 2-2 in search of first winning season since 2011.
9. WNBA: Playoffs down to the final four: Note to self: Look up who the four surviving WNBA teams are in order to more convincingly feign interest.
10. RANDOM EVIDENCE: Greg Cote's blog turns 10!: Yeah, I know. Nobody is talking about this week being the 10th anniversary of my MiamiHerald.com blog. But what's the good of having a blog if not for occasional shameless self-aggrandizing?
Poll result: Sharply divided views of anti-Golden flyovers at games: We asked in the previous blogpost what you thought of those anti-Al Golden flyovers at UM games (you may still vote), and 50.3 percent supported them because they think Golden must go. However, another 23.1% think the banners are tacky and rude, 21.7% are against them because they are pro-Golden, and 4.9% think it's silly to fly those banners while team is winning. (Note: What clearly seemed an organized effort between anti- and pro-Golden factions, ultimately won by the anti- crowd, caused a sharp spike in total votes. Democracy!)
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