What was he thinking?

This Thanksgiving instead of talking about all of the great football that was played, all anyone could talk about was Ndamukong Suh’s personal foul and subsequent ejection.  Suh has been the subject of a lot of controversy due to his bad temper on the field, which resulted in nearly $50,000 in fines this season before his latest outbreak this week.  Ndomakung even met with Commissioner Roger Goodell regarding the fines he was receiving to presumably clarify the rules. 

The latest act by Suh is completely despicable and deserves at least the two-game suspension that was handed down by the league today.  Suh was seen obviously driving Green BayPackers lineman Evan Dietrich-Smith’s head into the ground.  Then as he was being pulled away from him, Suh decided to stomp on the defenseless lineman lying on the ground.  A flag was thrown and he was immediately ejected from the game.  So far fines have not worked to deter Suh from such flagrant acts and maybe the suspension and time away from football will give Suh time to think about his anger issues.  He is not only costing himself, but his team, the Lions as well.  They are going into a crucial stretch in the season to make the playoffs and will be forced to do it without one of their best players because he lost his temper.

Keep on Rolling

The Dolphins have now won three games straight by not only beating, but demolishing a division rival.  The Bills managed to score only 8 points all game and the Dolphins put 35 points up on the board.  This offensive effort was led by Matt Moore who was very efficient passing, going 14 for 20 with 160 yards passing and 3 touchdowns.   Matt Moore has been a very key aspect to the win streak as he has been able to do what is asked of him and not turn the ball over.  This has allowed the defense to play as well as they can and leave Moore in situations where he can win the game.  The Dolphins have not put the pressure on Moore to win, but have put him in a position where if he performs well the team will win.  If Moore continues playing this well for the rest of the season he may see an increase in pass attempts and also may secure his job as the starter of the Dolphins for next season as well. 

Next week the Dolphins are in the national spotlight when they travel to Dallas to take on the Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day.  The 6-4 Cowboys currently sit atop the NFC East and the Dolphins can make a statement in front of the whole nation if they can defeat the Cowboys.  Dallas is coming of a close win over the Redskins and will be looking to bring their win streak to 4 games just like the Dolphins.  This should be an interesting game and show how the new Dolphins can play against a very solid Cowboys team. 

Moving Forward

After starting the season 0-7, the Miami Dolphins are on a two-game winning streak and seem to be enjoying themselves on the gridiron. Loosing is very tough on a team, especially when they had come so close so many times. Matt Moore became perhaps the most unlikely player to win the AFC Offensive Player of the Week Award after his performance against the Kansas City Chiefs and had a respectable showing against the Redskins this week. With all of the criticism and bashing they have received (myself included) they have stuck by their coach and dug in to win these games.

This week  they play a Bills team that started off very strong, but has struggled recently.  While a few weeks ago I would have thought they have no chance to win, I think they definitely have a chance. They need to play good defense like they are capable of and hope that Matt Moore, Reggie Bush, Brandon Marshall and co. can contribute enough offense. While the rest of the season is going to be tough, it will give a good benchmark to see what they have going into the draft, free agency and next season.  

Finally

The Dolphins won their first game in what was a rout of a Chiefs team that had won four games in a row.  This was a successful game from both the offensive and defensive standpoints, even without Vontae Davis who was held out of the game for non-injury related reasons.  Matt Moore had by far his best game completing 17 of 23 passes, with 3 touchdowns, no interceptions and a 147.5 passer rating.  He had the first three touchdown passing game for the Dolphins since Chad Pennington did it in 2008, when they won the AFC East.  Reggie Bush added 92 rushing yards on 13 attempts, including one touchdown.  He also had 3 catches for 50 receiving yards, giving him the best game as a Dolphin.  Brandon Marshall also finally contributed in a big way and had 8 catches for 102 yards and a touchdown.

With such great contributions from so many of their key components it really showed what the Dolphins can do when they are playing well together.  In addition, the defense had their best game of the season, giving up only 3 points.  The defense does have considerable room to improve considering the Chiefs time of possession was much longer than the Dolphins.  All in all this was a great win for the Dolphins who were really struggling and looking as if they may loose all of their games this season.  Only time will tell if this was a one week fluke, or if they will build on this win for the rest of the season.

What a Series

This year’s World Series was one of the most exciting in history, highlighted by Game 6 in which the Cardinals came back multiple times to win in extra innings.  For the first time in years I found myself watching every game of the World Series and enjoying it.  Usually if the Yankees are not in the series I watch maybe a couple of games and don’t really think about it, but this series kept me wanting more.  I can’t think of a World Series that has been this exciting in a long time.

 

The drama and back stories with the Cardinals going from having virtually no chance of making the playoffs and had to beat two tough opponents in the Phillies and Brewers.  Texas had a lot of hope to return to the World Series after falling to the San Francisco Giants last year.  After last year’s loss the Rangers were hoping to win the franchise’s first championship.  In dramatic fashion the Cardinals were able to come back to win the series.  To make it even more special, longtime manager Tony La Russa announced shortly after the win that he would be retiring.  This was such a fitting ending for one of the best managers ever.  What this Cardinals team was special and the whole team, especially Tony La Russa should be extremely proud of their team.