By BLAKE BEDDINGFIELD, special correspondent
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Coaches and front office people get fired after a dismal performance like the Dolphins had on Monday Night. I’m not sure if Mike McDaniel should have ever been a head coach, but my guess is his days are numbered in Miami.
He is an unorganized poor game manager and he looks as if he has lost his team. The Dolphins were extremely undisciplined and got zero production from an offense that the front office spent heavy resources on.
The positive for the Titans is they took advantage of this opportunity and got their first win of the season.
They lost their Will Levis to injury and that proved to be a positive for the team, especially after Levis threw another head-scratching interception on the team's opening drive. Backup Mason Rudolph came into the game and did what backups are paid to do, manage a game and not create negative plays.
He wasn’t efficient or productive, going only nine for 17 passing for just 85 yards. But he didn’t make mistakes and against an opponent that struggles to score that is all he had to do to be a success.
Tyler Huntley is not a viable starting NFL signal caller. The Dolphins have mismanaged their backup QB position, and it will ultimately cost them their jobs.
In the preview, I asked if the Dolphins had enough fight in them. The answer is clearly no.
Best things I saw:
*L’Jarius Snead put Tyreek Hill on lockdown, granted the QB of the Dolphins was bad, but Snead was matching Hill all night long. Hill was only able to separate on one deep route and Snead was closing. Hill became frustrated during the game and ultimately took himself out multiple times.
*Tony Pollard and the Titans' run game. Pollard and Tyjae Spears' success running after contact and getting positive yards was a big plus for the Titans’ offense. Pollard and Spears' ability to break tackles despite their lack of size is a major plus for this offense. Pollard’s ability to fall forward and drag an extra defender into positive yardage territory for the Titans is more impressive than just breaking an arm tackle. That creates shorter and more manageable conversions.
Worst things I saw:
*Will Levis’ interception. Emmanuel Ogbah is a 6’5, 280 defensive end who dropped in a zone and was standing in front of DeAndre Hopkins, but somehow Levis didn’t see him and predetermined his throw regardless of the defender in the way. It was an inexcusable interception from any quarterback.
*Lazy play by Tyrek Hill on the fumbled lateral pass. He didn’t attempt to go for it allowing the Titans to recover easily. On the recovery, Arden Key didn’t attempt to run it to the endzone, so the play was blown dead only when he stopped running. Bad play on both ends. Officiating is very confusing these days regarding fumbles, but the rule is to play it out and force the officials to make a call.
*The punted onside kick by the Dolphins had everyone including the officials confused. The Titans called a fair catch but forgot to catch it. These new rules must be taught by the coaching staffs.
*Thirty-nine-year-old Calais Campbell tipped a punt from Ryan Stonehouse. Yet another special team’s breakdown. The Titans must clean up their special teams.
Keep an eye on:
*Titans reserve defensive tackle James Lynch made an impact on run plays. With his good, high-energy play style he was in on four tackles. Sebastian Joseph-Day, T’Vondre Sweat and Lynch had an impact on the game with pressure and in taking away the run game. The loss of Jeffrey Simmons who was inactive was not noticeable with the play of the backups.
*Rookie punt returner Jha’Quan Jackson looked comfortable and aggressive, averaging over 13 yards on his three returns.
*The run game helped set up some open passes to Tyler Boyd and Hopkins. The Titans must continue to lean on Pollard and Spears and their strong run-blocking offensive line as they move forward in the season.
I feel good about:
*Kenneth Murray Jr tracking down Hill on a fourth-down jet sweep, stopping the drive. Murray is playing fast and aggressively and becoming an impact player with high production on the defense.
*Nick Folk’s accuracy is amazing. He has a very simple approach to the ball, with little effort but excellent accuracy.
*Pollard did a good job of avoiding the first defender. Multiple times a Dolphin was in the backfield for a TFL and he was able to avoid and get positive yards.
*Quandre Diggs was flying around. Knowing the passing game wasn’t going to challenge downfield, he sat on short passes and played around the line of scrimmage in the run game.
I don’t feel good about:
*The Titans’ offense was only two for twelve on third-down conversions.
*The Titans held the ball for over 34 minutes but only had 244 total yards of offense.
*Rudolph only threw three passes in the second half. That could be looked at as a positive, but this won’t be successful versus most NFL teams.
Scouting Report: Mason Rudolph
Good size and frame, quick ear level delivery, most comfortable throwing from the pocket. Displays good patience to allow receivers to separate on routes. Doesn’t panic but is stationary in the pocket and when the pocket does break down he will struggle to avoid or escape pressure. Was not on time on routes other than check downs and screens. He was late on two throws in a row to Hopkins, one he threw late into double coverage for an incompletion and the other he was late to Hopkins on an out route that Hopkins dropped on a low throw.
Rudolph’s two best throws were a deep out route to Hopkins on the sideline for a sliding catch and a deep post to Tyler Boyd right before half that set up a field goal. Both on time and anticipating the break. Rudolph’s quick release does allow him to get the ball past defenders who haven’t turned their heads when mirroring the receiver. The best part of his game was zero turnovers. Rudolph took a sack from a blitzing linebacker, but the positive was taking the sack, no receiver was open, and defenders were in zone staring at him to make the throw. Rudolph also had three successful throwaways instead of taking a hit or sack. All positives when you are playing against an offense that can’t score or move the football.
Scouting Report: James Lynch
Lynch was a fourth-round pick of the Vikings out of Baylor. He has a pedigree and it showed up on Monday night. He was involved in 22 plays and had good production with one pressure and four total tackles.
He is a high-energy player who is at his best on the move slanting or pinching, winning one-on-one blocks, getting upfield and being a gap penetrator. He will get hung up on double teams and get reached if he slants the wrong gap, but that happens with a disrupter. Lynch will only be effective on a limited rotational basis but should be a help moving forward. I like his play style and his production in that limited role. He should be active in all games. Lynch looks to be a good replacement for Marlon Davidson who was lost for the season to injury.
Looking ahead:
It was not a pretty win despite what the final score would indicate. The Titans have quarterback issues and will need to figure out a better plan for Levis moving forward. If Levis continues his turnovers and inconsistencies, then the Titans will have no choice but to turn to Rudolph.
Rudolph is not the Titans’ long-term answer, but to ultimately have success the team needs to put a consistent game manager behind center to utilize the surrounding talent.
Stock:
Positives: Nick Folk, L’Jarius Snead, Tony Pollard, Kenneth Murray, Tyjae Spears, Quandre Diggs, James Lynch
Negatives: Titans special teams beyond Nick Folk
Final thought:
Miami is a poorly coached team.
Hill did not participate in the first series coming out of halftime because he was getting his wrist tapped. What was he doing during the 12 minutes of halftime? No accountability. The important three-play drive resulted in a punt.
Not having a viable number two QB will end the Dolphins season.
Allowing Hill to take himself out on a crucial fourth down while he yelled in the head coach’s direction is the sign the head coach doesn’t have control of the team.