The Miami Dolphins lost their second straight game of the 2011 NFL season tonight, having the Houston Texans outscore them 23-13. For the first time in the six game series between these two teams, the Texans defeated the Dolphins by more than 7 points - the problem, of course, is the Dolphins have lost the other five matchups as well.
The team actually looked better this week than they did last week. I know, it's hard to hear, and most of you will probably argue the point, but they really did.
Chad Henne only threw for 170 yards, but he didn't make any bad choices with the ball. The only interception came when Mario Williams abused Miami guard Marc Colombo, hitting Henne's arm as he threw.
Daniel Thomas looks for real. After a preseason where he seemed timid, and the coaching staff asked about his ability to hit the hole hard, Thomas did just that tonight. In his NFL debut, Thomas ran the ball 18 times for 107 yards.
The defense responded somewhat from last week. While not playing like the top 5 defense everyone expected to see in Miami this year, they were no where near as bad as last week. Jason Taylor, Cameron Wake, and Reshad Jones each tallied a sack, and pressure was getting to Matt Schaub a lot easier than it was last year against Tom Brady.
Now, with the Dolphins starting 0-2 again, the calls for the heads of Henne, coach Tony Sparano, and general manager Jeff Ireland will all be loud all week. Somehow, people think firing your entire staff in season somehow will make the team a better team. Don't bet on it. Tony Sparano and company give this team the best chance to win.
If you all remember way back in the lockout, when the schedule was announced, a 2-2 start was considered reasonable, with the majority of those losses being the Patriots and the Texans. Well, that's exactly where we are.
The next game is against Cleveland. If the Dolphins can't do better against the Browns, maybe it will be time to start panicking. But for now, absorb the loss and realize, we are only 1/8 of the way through the season. It could go really, really bad from here - but it doesn't have to. This Dolphins team hasn't shown us exactly what they are this year. Let's see what they bring next week.
Look for the full reaction tomorrow from Leftcoastfinfan.