GREG COTE'S RANDOM EVIDENCE BLOG: MIAMI. SPORTS. AND BEYOND.
1) It is MONDAY, OCTOBER 19: Click on Week 6 Gems for our Dolphins-Titans prediction and all our NFL picks for the week. 2) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): UM-Virginia Tech and CSM poll, other state Collball, Tannehill/Spurrier poll results & more. 3) Follow us on Twitter @gregcote. Also on Facebook, Instagram, Vine and Periscope.
Latest CSM results: Find the latest Canesfan Satisfaction Meter poll results -- a season high! -- in the previous blogpost. Click on A Most Necessary Win for my column off UM's 30-20 victory over Va-Tech.
Find our Dolphins-Titans live in-game blog directly below the new DSM poll.
DOLFAN SATISFACTION METER: G5: 92.0%: Results are certified in the latest Dolfan Satisfaction Meter postgame poll, and they show 92.0 percent overall satisfaction (a combination of "very" and "somewhat" satisfied votes) in the wake of Sunday's 38-10 victory at Tennessee putting Miami's season record at 2-3. 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)
Game 4: 2.7% (following 27-14 loss vs. N.Y Jets in London)
Game 5: 92.0% (following 38-10 victory at Tennessee)
Next poll: Oct. 25 (following game vs. Houston)
G5: DOLPHINS @ TENNESSEE: NEW INTERIM COACH. NEW DEFENSIVE CHIEF. NEW ATTITUDE. NEW FINS? YES: Final: What's to love about today's 38-10 Dolphins win? Everything. Game balls to interim coach Dan Campbell in his debut, to Lamar Miller with 113 yards rushing, and to Cam Wake with four sacks. Miami had offensive balance and defensive ferocity causing four Titans turnovers. It was a front to back, end to end triumph. It was the game Dolfans dream about, and seldom see. What a terrific start for Campbell, who earned a Gatorade bath and surely will get a game ball. Our 5 Keys (see below) all came true ..... Fourth Q: Tanny to Jordan Cameron TD pass makes it 38-10. ... Tannehill short TD pass to Dion Sims makes it 31-10, Miami. A 97-yard drive, with 5-for-5 in it for 89 yards. Dolphins. Impressive. All day. ... Grimes interception near Miami goalline is huge! Fourth takeaway by Fins defense. ... Titans defense picking up its game, crowd back in it, game not in the books yet. ..... Third Q: TEN within 24-10 in last seconds of quarter on Mariota's 3-yard TD flip to Dexter McCluster. ... Ouch. Illegal block by Miami wipes out around a 50-yard punt return by Landry. ... Boom! And suddenly it's 24-3, safe and comfy, on Reshad Jones' 27-yard interception-return TD. ... NFL's weird. Tough to win. Miami dominating, but Titans one score from making it a nervous lead. ... Titans punt. Tennessee fans booing. Music to a Dolfan's ears. ..... What a Halftime: What a half for Miami! Balance: 17 runs for 132 yards (99 by Miller) and 15 passes for 149 yards. And five sacks by the defense, four by Cam Wake. Look at my 5 Keys below. I have seen four of them happen (and Tanny hasn't been that bad despite two picks, one not his fault). ..... Second Q: Tannehill intercepted just before half with Miami in FG range. ... MIA 17-3 on Lamar Miller's 7-yard scoring run. He already has 91 yards rushing. ... Wake strips ball free, Brent Grimes recovers. Big takeaway that led to TD! ... Tannehill intercepted on tipped pass. Threw into decent coverage, but ball was off Jordan Cameron's hands and perhaps catchable. ... Dan Campbell wins coaching challenge, denies Titans FG attempt and becomes Dolphins fumble recovery. Dan the Man! ... Olivier Vernon will be fined for that low hit on Marcus Mariota. ... A sack by Miami's defense. What!? Cam Wake! Wow. Miracle game! ..... First Q: Miami had 158 yards of offense in first Q. That'll work. ... Fins 10-3 in closing seconds of quarter on 30-yard FG. ... Love the early variety. An end-around TD, now a designed Tannehill run. ... Tennessee within 7-3 on 37-yard opening FG. ... Miami up 7-0 fast on Jarvis Landry's 22-yard run. Very impressive, balanced, 75-yard opening drive. All coaching! ..... Dan Campbell Era underway! Original post: A fiery new interim head coach in Dan Campbell (pictured), a change in defensive coordinators, the claim of a new attitude and spirit. How will it all translate? It needs to translate into an immediate victory Sunday
afternoon for 1-3 Miami in a winnable road game at 1-3 Tennessee. A victory would rekindle playoff hopes; a loss would all but snuff those out. Here are five things I'll be looking for today: 1. Attitude. I want to see fire, enthusiasm and aggressiveness that noticeably marks a palpable change from the Philbin Era. 2. Fast start. An early lead would be a pleasant change and a huge lift. 3. Commitment to the run. Better offensive balance is a must. Fifteen or even 20 carries for Lamar Miller would be a good sign. 4. Sacks. Will the sack drought finally end? It is time for Ndamukong Suh to start creating the "havoc" he spoke of this week. It's flatly embarrassing that Miami has one sack all season and the next fewest of any team is six. If it takes blitzing, then blitz. And 5. Ryan Tannehill. He needs the kind of in-charge, faith-restoring game that will quell his reanimated doubters -- but no more than the Dolphins need that from him. My pick: Dolphins, 23-20.
HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (OCT. 18): 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 on Hot Button for today's print-only Top 5 version:
1. DOLPHINS: New coach. New culture. New results? Yes!: Miami played at Tennessee today in its first game since interim coach Dan Campbell replaced fired Joe Philbin. Campbell has tried to light a fire and change the culture. Must have worked, based on today's 38-10 rout. Coach of the Week!
2. HURRICANES: UM tops Virginia Tech in big conference game: With last week's loss at Florida State and No. 5 Clemson visiting next week, Canes needed to beat Virginia Tech here Saturday to realistically stay alive for an ACC division title, and did, 30-20. Winning the Coastal Division is pretty much Al Golden's get-out-jail-free card in terms of keeping his job.
3. BASEBALL: Impartiality is overrated. "Let's go Cubs!": Cubs vs. Mets and Blue Jays vs. Royals gives us NL and AL league championship series in which the four finalists have not won a World Series in a combined 188 years. But one team accounts for 107 of those years. We all know whose fans lead the league, and the world, in drought. So (despite losing Game 1 last night), "Let's go Cubs!"
4. PANTHERS: Ageless Jagr sparks Cats' rare fast start: Florida was 3-1 before Saturday's loss to Dallas here, led by Jaromir Jagr's four goals. It was only the third time since 1999 and the first time since 2011 that the Cats opened an NHL season with three wins in the first four games. Can we start the playoffs now, please?
5. HEAT: Good news, bad news 10 days from season opener: The bad news as the NBA preseason continues and Hassan Whiteside is finally playing? Dwyane Wade is slotted only 46th, down 10 spots and a career low, in ESPN's latest annual NBA Rank, below both Chris Bosh and Goran Dragic. The good news? If Dwyane Wade is your third-best player, your team might be really good.
6. GATORS: UF falls in Top 10 duel of unbeatens at LSU: Gators started QB Treon Harris for suspended Will Grier last night but the bigger story was Florida's very good defense failing, 35-28, against LSU super-back Leonard Fournette and that big Tigers attack.
7. STEVE SPURRIER: The Old Ball Coach abruptly quits: He left South Carolina suddenly, at mid-season, walking away. Spurrier had a great, storied career. The story had a pretty bad ending, though.
8. LAMAR ODOM: Former NBA star recovering from scare: Odom reportedly is out of a coma and breathing on his own after being hospitalized following a night of partying at a brothel. We wish him a full recovery, partly so we can make fun of the brothel part without it seeming unseemly.
9. FIU: Panthers take a hit on the road: FIU fell to 3-4, losing a road shootout at Middle Tennessee.
10. WNBA: Minnesota Lynx win again: The Lynx won their third WNBA title in the past five years. Far more interesting: The women celebrated with victory cigars and a private three-hour concert by reclusive Minnesota pop star Prince.
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