Last week was ugly. Last week was a loss. Last week the Game Balls still rolled on.
This week...well, there has to be something positive from last night's debacle, right? I will admit, this is the first time in the two years I have been doing these, that I don't want to.
No summation. No talking about the game today. Let's just get to the Game Balls.
Week 3 Fan Game Ball. Wow. You guys were all over the place last week. Not really surprising given the loss, I guess. But, only one person truly received multiple votes. So, with his 8 tackles, 1 behind Yermiah Bell for the team- and game-high, Karlos Dansby receives this week's extra yard.
1-Yard Game Ball. Chad Henne. Yes, he threw 3 interceptions, and made some questionable decisions on those throws, but we should have all expected some growing pains from Henne this season. Hopefully, that's all this is. It's a horrible time, against two straight division opponents in Miami, to have those problems, but maybe the bye week will give him a chance to learn from them. Otherwise, Henne was 29 for 39 for 302 yards and two touchdowns. This team has really started to put the game on Henne's arm - from a team that still tries to be a power run team. Really, if he can stop making some of the poor decisions, Henne will quickly become one of the game's great QBs.
2-Yard Game Ball. Chad Pennington. Okay, I'm going cheap here, giving a game ball to a player who didn't play. But, did you watch that game? Pennington gets this game ball as the only QB to not throw an interception last night.
[2-Yard Game Ball (a). Ricky Williams. Okay, since a lot of you didn't seem to like my above comment on CP10 getting 2-yards for holding a clip board, I will add this 2(a) game ball and give it to Ricky. He ran for 56 yards on 7 carries (7.0 ypc average), and had an additional 45 yards receiving on 4 catches - on 4 targets. He also found the endzone once on a pass from Chad Henne.]
3-Yard Game Ball. Davone Bess. Bess played like a monster last night. He caught 9 balls for 93 yards on 12 targets. He was again the 1st down machine that we all know he is. He opened the scoring in the game with a dive into the endzone, capping off a 19-yard reception, and giving the Dolphins the 7 points that they would carry into the half.
4-Yard Game Ball. Cameron Wake. Wake really was an "Earthwake" last night. He was the excitement for the Dolphins most of the night. He finished the night with 5 tackles, 2 for a loss, and a sack. Additionally, he hit Tom Brady 3 more times. Wake showed the reason the team signed him from the CFL, and why that #99 guy in New York isn't in Miami.
5-Yard Game Ball. Vontae Davis. Once again, a team showed Vontae the respect the media doesn't. In 52-games with the Patriots, Randy Moss had never been held to 0 receptions, until last night. Brett Favre stated a couple of weeks ago that VD is the best CB in the league that no one has heard of. That should have changed last night. The talk of the game should have been VD and his ability to shut down Moss. But, instead, it's about how bad the Dolphins were last night. Too bad. It should have been Davis' coming out party.
Sack. This may be the easiest sack I have ever awarded. Overall, it was a depressing performance from a team that should be competing for the AFC East Championship or, at a minimum, a playoff berth. Well, they didn't play like a playoff team last night. However, one are of the team was far worse than any other. A kickoff return for a touchdown. A blocked punt. A field goal block for a touchdown. Wow, special teams were awful last night. Just dreadful. If one of those things happen, maybe a player gets this sack. But, instead, all three happened - a week after Brandon Fields had his first ever punt blocked, it happened again. DC$ gets a field goal blocked. It was just flat out ugly. As such, this week's sack goes to John Bonamego, Special Team Coordinator, and Darren Rizzi, Assistant Special Team Coach. I'm not one to call for a coach to be fired (although, Bonamego was fired about an hour before this published), but something has to be done here. For being the first coaches getting a sack this year, and for an horrendous performance by the special teams, I am going to award the largest sack ever given - a 15 yard sack for both.