Canes Concern: What’s Wrong With Jeff Thomas?

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Josh Darrow brought up a great point in the latest 5 Rings: A Canes Thing podcast when mentioning Jeff Thomas.Everyone always talks about how much talent Thomas has, but having talent and being talented is different. Having the potential and being a difference-maker or game-changer are different things and I think that’s where we are with Thomas right now.

Big Time Players Make Big Time Plays

He was once thought of as the next Santana Moss type player. While he did show flashes last year, making NFL-type catches, it was tough with a mediocre quarterback throwing you the ball. Then came the quitting. It was only days after a big win against Virginia Tech, in which Thomas ran a punt back for a touchdown, that we learned he would be leaving the program. At that time it was considered a huge blow for the Canes program. How were we going to replace a player like that? He was a game-changer. Rumors and hearsay suggest his relationship with former coaches had soured a bit and it ultimately led to him leaving the program. 

It’s Just a Slow Start…

Now, it seems like he has taken a step back and has not regained that moniker. He doesn’t look like the same guy. At this point in his career, we should be talking about the plays he is making, not the plays he was making. He hasn’t looked terrible (well except for the muffed punt against Florida), but he hasn’t looked great. Am I being too hard on the kid? Can we maybe just chalk it up to a slow start? Sure, but is that the “standard” these coaches are holding the players to?

The Guy

If Jeff Thomas wants to be “the guy”, he needs to make catches like the one in the endzone against the Gators. As tough a catch as it may have been(and it was a great throw by Williams), those are the catches he needs to make. 

What is clear to me, is that Thomas moves to the beat of his own drum. Is it possible that he lacks focus and discipline? Possibly – and maybe he isn’t who we thought he was. Teams do not fear him like they used to. That needs to change.  If Jeff Thomas is not at his best then the Canes aren’t either.

 

Follow me on Twitter at @jazzsantana for all your Canes news and more.

For all your Canes insider news and exclusive content, check out the @5Rings_Canes podcast.

Go Canes!

Tankathon has Dolphins drafting twice in top-10

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WTF, Tankathon?

After the worst loss at home in franchise history, the Dolphins would certainly be the worst team in football, right?

Wrong.

Despite having no answer for Lamar Jackson and getting routed at home 59-10, the Dolphins currently hold the 5th-pick in the 2020 draft.

That is all according to Tankathon –who will be tracking this development as the season progresses. (As will I)

Now, it’s obviously foolish to think this draft order holds any merit on September 11th. #NeverForget

But let’s look at the list.

Jacksonville is starting Gardner Minshew. The Giants are in love with Jared Leto and Indianapolis is very good at sucking for Luck.  Not to mention Winston did not look good and if Carolina is in the top-5, it’s because Cam Newton’s arm fell off.  Miami is far and away the worst team in the NFL.  Which is a great success when you think about how hard they have tried to get here.  But like we expect with our favorite football team, disappoint and letdown is sure to follow.

If this is the same top-5 draft order in January, I may be more upset than missing out on the playoffs.

Personally, I love the A.J Epenesa pick.

The verdict is still out on Herbert.  However, he does fit the three Houtz QB commandments.

  • Big arm
  • Moves well
  • Wears visor

It is Tua or bust, or so we think.

What we do know is that the Dolphins are going to be scouting all of these top QBs, as are we.

Because after all of the heartache, they have a chance to get a guy that could turn this franchise around, much like Marino did back in 1983 draft.

Or you can be like me, and hold out hope that Josh Rosen is the guy.  Either way, this story ends in heartbreak.

Would you be happy if the Dolphins drafted Oregon QB Justin Herbert @ 5 and Iowa EDGE A.J Epenesa @ 7?

Josh Houtz (@houtz) is a die-hard fan of the Miami Dolphins. 

Christian Yelich out for the season with fracture knee

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Christian Yelich will not be the Superman that took the Brewers to the NLCS in 2018 again this season.

The Milwaukee Brewers defeated the Miami Marlins 4-3 on Tuesday yet took a major hit in their playoff push.

National League MVP Christian Yellich fractured his knee on a foul ball in the fist inning and left the game. The Brewers announced that he will be out for the remainder of the season.

“We’ll fly him back to Milwaukee (Wednesday) for further testing,” Brewers general manager David Stearns said after the game. “We don’t have a definitive timeframe other than we know that he’ll be out for the remainder of the season right now. We also don’t know whether surgery is required. He’ll need further diagnostic imagining (Wednesday) in Milwaukee then meet with our doctors and we’ll plot a plan going forward.”

Yelich hit .329 with 44 home runs and 97 RBIs along with 30 stolen bases this season for a Brewers team that entered the game only two games behind the Chicago Cubs for the second NL wildcard spot. He led the majors in slugging percentage and OPS prior to the inury.

“We feel awful for Christian,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “That’s the thing that resonates with me right now. He’s a special player and it’s a joy to watch him play every day. He’s the best at what he does. Not being able to see that every day is not good.”

What makes this extra tragic is the injury occurred at his original stomping grounds. Yellich’s career began in Miami and his last two years with the Marlins were Don Mattingly’s first two as manager.

“Obviously awful, we all know Yeli and what kind of guy he is,” Mattingly said. “You hate to see a player like that get hurt down the stretch. He’s stepped into the superstar realm as a player, and MVP last year. You don’t want to see that happen to a team down the stretch.”

The injury may be the difference between whether or not Yellich wins his second consecutive MVP. Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Cody Bellinger now has 2 1/2 weeks to improve on his 44 home runs, 106 RBI, 11 stolen bases, .306 batting average and 1.049 OPS.

Tom Brady needs to feel heat from Dolphins pass rush

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The Dolphins need to bring defensive pressure to the New England Patriots in the passing game.

It’s no secret that the Miami Dolphins have a tough task this weekend with the New England Patriots coming to town. After all, New England demolished the Pittsburgh Steelers by a 33-3 score. With a stout defense and Tom Brady at the helm, they did whatever they wanted last Sunday. Oh by the way, Antonio Brown should join the team in Miami just in time for the game. It is safe to say the Dolphins will have their hands full.

This may seem like an obvious statement, but the Dolphins need to get pressure on Brady. Last weekend, Lamar Jackson was pretty much free to do whatever he wanted. He burned the Dolphins for 378 passing yards and four touchdowns. Tom Brady will do the same if the Dolphins do not get to him quickly. A receiver like Josh Gordon can beat you with pure speed, while a receiver like Julian Edelman is great at improvising routes and getting an initial first step on his defender. The running backs are huge part of the passing game as well. They can catch screens, wheel routes, and even line up as receivers. They are extremely versatile and add another wrinkle for the defense to look out for.

Sam Eguavoen  and Jonathan Ledbetter each recorded a half sack last week. With one sack in total, the Miami defensive line did not get to the quarterback enough. If the Dolphins have any chance of beating the Patriots, they need to create a consistent pass rush. If you give Tom Brady time to throw, he will make you pay. Even at 42 years old, he can still throw the football extremely well. it’s fascinating to see quite frankly. However, he always seems to struggle in Miami. Whether it be the heat or the crowd noise, a New England Patriots-Miami Dolphins game in Miami is always a good one.

New England Patriots need to feel the heat

Bringing pressure up the middle often makes Tom Brady think a little bit in the pocket. I used to see it a ton with the New York Jets defenses in the early part of this decade. They would bring pressure up the middle, and also bring a little bit of pressure off the edge. They constantly stumped Brady and rushed him into making throws he didn’t like.

Those New York Jets defenses were very good. I’m not asking for the 2019 Miami Dolphins defense to play like those just defenses. The formula of getting pressure up the middle and making Brady think is something that they can do on Sunday. I like to see a little bit more out of Christian Wilkins in this game. He can do a little bit of everything. He can clog up running lanes, but he can also rush the passer. I would love to see him be able to get pressure on Brady. Getting pressure on the quarterbacks was something he did at Clemson, and his skill set should translate well to the National Football League.

Playing Tom Brady and the New England Patriots is not going to be easy. The odds are certainly stacked against the Dolphins, but they can at least make life for Brady in the new England patriots difficult.  Getting pressure on Brady would be a nice step toward keeping this game close. keeping this game close and general would certainly be a moral victory for Miami.

Brewers took the loss in a social media battle in Miami

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The Milwaukee Brewers community manager decided to be funny on Monday before the first game of the four-game series between Milwaukee and Miami.

The Brewers official account made fun of the Marlins using Christian Yelich – of course -, and his MVP award bobblehead.

However, the joke turned back to the Brewers, when some Marlins fans reminded the account they have not won any World Series, ever…

The Brewers made fun of the Marlins, and the joke came back to them real quick. Some fans in Miami still defend their team.

For now, the Brewers are fighting to get into the playoffs, a couple of games back in the National League wildcard, and the Marlins are in the middle of a rebuilding process that might take a while.

But don’t you ever forget. They have two World Series titles…

 

We talked to outfielder Harold Ramírez before the second game of the homestand. Check it out clicking here!

Dolphins trudge off after what may be a season filled with losses. (Tony Capobianco for Five Reasons Sports)

Dolphins players deny talk of tanking

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After the Dolphins were annihilated at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens, 59-10, it became clear that winning wasn’t something that was going to happen a lot in 2019. Lack of execution. Lack of apparent talent. It’s hard to imagine 2019 being successful in any capacity after a loss like that.

Unless, of course, a team is tanking to secure the #1 overall pick in the 2020 draft.

Miami removed almost all of their premier talent in the offseason. They traded Laremy Tunsil for a slew of top draft picks. They released their top preseason pass rusher. No aspect of those moves indicate winning is even a secondary goal for this season. Additionally, coach Brian Flores decided to make the only other tackle besides Jesse Davis who had any experience in the offense inactive on Sunday. One could argue that Isaiah Prince isn’t as good as Julién Davenport or J’Marcus Webb. But when players have to introduce themselves in the huddle, that’s an indicator that it’s best to just go with what little chemistry is there.

Not only that, there are reports circulating that several players on the team want out. In light of that, it’s hard to conclude tanking isn’t the unspoken goal. However, in spite of everything that’s been seen so far, players insist they aren’t trying tanking. Linebacker Jerome Baker took to social media to express his desire to keep fighting, as did DT Davon Godchaux.

Center Daniel Kilgore also spoke of his frustration over the allegations on Monday.

“It’s a terrible thing to say, honestly.” He said. “For you guys to say that and you’re here every day, you see the amount of work that we put in and I think these fans deserve more. I know the game has always treated me well and I would never do that on a personal level, nor will I expect my teammates to do that. It’s aggravating but it’s something that we’ve got to block out. Outside of this building, we’ve got to block those things out.”

LB Raekwon McMillan echoed similar sentiments. “I’m not going out there to put my body on the line, put my future on the line just to lose games. I’m going out there to win, put my best effort out there on film and give my everything for my teammates.”

These questions are expected, and the team answered accordingly. Of course they will deny these things. Publicly admitting they feel their team isn’t trying to win would be disastrous. But it’s easy to imagine that tempers will boil over sooner rather than later if things don’t improve in a hurry. The Dolphins need to play better, and soon. Otherwise, things might get even uglier. For now though, they’re going to accept that the loss happened and try to move past it.

“We’re going to let it sink in. Let that (expletive) hurt.” safety Bobby McCain said. “Let it hurt, let it hurt, because it does. Going out, we gave up 60 points today, essentially. So just going out and coming to work tomorrow. Like I told the guys, we’ve got to come to work tomorrow, put your head down and just work on it. At some point in the game, you have to play for each other and that’s just what it is.”

Luis Sung has covered the Miami Dolphins for numerous outlets such as Dolphins Wire for six years. Follow him on Twitter: @LuisDSung

Rookie receiver Preston Williams provided the Dolphins with a small victory against Baltimore

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Preston Williams gave Miami its first victory of the year.

Nobody expected the 2019 season to be pretty for the Miami Dolphins. At the same time, nobody expected a 59-10 blowout by the Ravens in week 1.

The Dolphins, the NFL’s youngest team, was expected to have a few bright spots while tanking away the 2019 season.

Preston Williams, an undrafted rookie from Colorado State, is continuing to make a case as a diamond in the rough.

After an impressive preseason and training camp, Williams finished his first regular season game with three catches for 24 yards, including this saucy touchdown grab before halftime.

“If you’re looking for small victories, that’s about it,” quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick said of the catch.

Fitzpatrick, the 16-year NFL vet, finished his first start by going 14/29 for 185 yards including one touchdown and one interception. Look for Fitzpatrick to continue to target Williams as the Dolphins will play from behind for most of the season.

 

Follow what probably will be the worst team in Miami professional sports history with us at FiveReasonsSports.com. Let’s go through it together, as we all suffer in the 15 games that are left, until get Tua, right?

Join the discussion following us on Twitter and get the best Miami Dolphins content in the market with us here, or at DolphinsMaven.io

By the way, go ahead and buy your Tank For Tua t-shirt and tank top right now clicking here!

Also, you can go ahead and check our new YouTube channel or our video section here in FiveReasonsSports.com

According to Vegas, losing Tunsil and Stills did not hurt the Miami Dolphins

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Tunsil and Stills are gone and some Miami Dolphins fans can’t still believe it.

The Dolphins have continued to be the model of mediocrity for the last 20 years.

They’ve struggled to find success in the playoffs. Yet, have refused to bottom out.

The Dolphins are embracing the tank under first-year coach Brian Flores in 2019. As a result, Vegas had Miami winning 4.5 games in the 2019 season. BetOnline still had a line of 4.5  after trading away left tackle Laremy Tunsil and wide receiver Kenny Stills.

Robert Duff, on sportsbettingdime.com dove into how this move may impact the Dolphins here.

Duff, whom taught a course on the history of sports at Elder College, highlighted how a mutiny could develop in Miami’s locker room after trading away their cornerstone left tackle. According to Duff, what doesn’t help Miami’s situation is that Brian Flores is starting to look as “cold-hearted” as his previous boss, Bill Belichick.

Flores is quickly losing the faith of a team. Like every team, Miami put plenty of work in the offseason, just to fall to Baltimore by 49 points on opening day.

While the first-year coach has preached that his team is going to be competitive, it isn’t looking that way early in the season. Miami’s struggles are at a point in which players don’t want to suit up for a team that will be dominated on a week-by-week basis.

Per Mike Florio, of ProFootballTalk, members of the Miami Dolphins are reaching out to their agents in hopes to get traded from the team. This could potentially make an already diminished roster even weaker.

Early mutiny in Miami

Things will get worse in Miami before they get better. The Dolphins have only won four-or-less games just twice since 1970. The 2019 roster is looking as bad as the 1-15 team from 2007.

Vegas doesn’t see the Dolphins getting any worse, especially after losing Stills and Tunsil. Keep in mind, they are most certainly not getting any better.

The 4.5 line is looking like a pretty appealing line to bet the under on. Especially for a team that is clearly tanking with their sights on Tua Tagovailoa.

Jerome Baker

Jerome Baker is ready to fight through tough times

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Jerome Baker will embrace the situation and fight along all season.

Hours after the 59-10 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, ProFootballTalk reported that players wanted out of Miami.
Whispers spread that players were contacting agents with the hope of escaping the 2019 Miami Dolphins. Jerome Baker wasn’t one of them.

Shortly after, the Miami Herald reported that the Dolphins have not heard from any agents.

As a result, Jerome Baker took to Twitter to make it known that he is ready to battle through the tough times in Miami.

Baker played 71 of 76 total defensive snaps for the Dolphins in the first week of the regular season. Keep in mind, he was also named a captain for the 2019 Miami Dolphins.

Hopes are high for Baker in his sophomore season as people expect him to take a huge leap in his second year under coach Brian Flores. Despite the hollow roster surrounding him.

 

 

Join the discussion following us on Twitter and get the best Miami Dolphins content in the market with us here, or at DolphinsMaven.io

By the way, go ahead and buy your Tank For Tua t-shirt and tank top right now clicking here!

Also, you can go ahead and check our new YouTube channel or our video section here in FiveReasonsSports.com

The Miami Mutiny

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Towards the end of the 2018 season, all the talk was about the “Miami Miracle”.

Since then, we have confirmed that Gronk didn’t have the angle.  And that the play was unlike anything else in franchise history.  But truth is, it did nothing to alter the Dolphins’ season.  Except for maybe driving the the team further down the draft pecking order.  That won’t happen this year.  As the Dolphins are destined to have the top pick in 2019, come one way or another.

After all, most of the talk this offseason has been around the team tanking.  And if they are in fact doing whatever they can to land Tua Tagovailoa, it would probably upset a lot of the veterans in the locker room.  But just like we learned from Adam Beasley prior to the Dolphins trade with Houston, players were ready to ‘revolt’.

So how do you think those same players felt, after the worst home loss in franchise history?  Mike Florio, the man with more whisperers around the NFL than Lord Varys in King’s Landing, suggests a mutiny is forming.

Per a league source with knowledge of the situation, multiple Dolphins players contacted their agents after Sunday’s season-opening blowout loss and directed them to attempt to engineer trades elsewhere. The players believe that the coaching staff, despite claiming that they intend to try to win, aren’t serious about competing and winning and by all appearances have bought into the notion that the Dolphins will take their lumps now in the hopes of laying the foundation via high draft picks for building a successful team later.

Now let’s not pretend that this outcome is much different, regardless of who the Dolphins still had on the roster.  Everything about this team stinks.  And time will tell how all of this shakes up for Chris Grier,  Brian Flores, and the rest of the Dolphins’ organization.  But if reports are true, there’s a time bomb waiting to go off in the locker room.  When it does, the tank will be All Systems go.

#TankingAintEasy

 

Josh Houtz (@houtz) is a die-hard fan of the Miami Dolphins.  Buy your official 5 Reasons Sports ‘Tank For Tua’ shirt here!