Every Miami Dolphins loss these days seems to come with Joe Philbin-related drama. Sunday's excruciating last-second loss to Green Bay is no exception.
Philbin is getting filleted in Miami by the media, and his own players had some telling quotes after the game. Linebacker Philip Wheeler was asked about the final defensive play of the loss, in which Packers tight end Andrew Quarless beat Wheeler for a touchdown.
"I felt like it was 50 percent bad coverage and 50 percent bad call," Wheeler said via Fox Sports Florida. "Rodgers is a really good quarterback, and he figured it out."
Philbin was asked Monday about Wheeler's comments, which indicated the Dolphins weren't fully prepared for the game's final sequence.
"You'd have to ask him," Philin said tersely. "I do not know what he meant. You should ask him what he meant."
Philbin has taken some heat in Miami for being too aggressive on offense Sunday, which is silly. The Dolphins went for a touchdown on fourth-and-goal from the one-yard line in the first quarter and got stuffed. They also threw the ball once with just over three minutes to go, stopping the clock.
In short, the Dolphins were playing to win. That's what you want your coach to do. Philbin would have been criticized for the opposite approach. We see Philbin's two primary problems Sunday differently:
He didn't stick with his beliefs: After playing to win by throwing the ball on second down with 3:05 to play, Philbin lost his nerve. He admitted Monday that he got "antsy" and told offensive coordinator Bill Lazor to run the ball on third down because he got "queasy." Essentially, Philbin took a half measure. He had a plan to be aggressive and couldn't stomach it. That's not what you want out of your leader. It's reminiscent of his muddled approach publicly to the team's quarterback situation after the loss to Kansas City.
His use of timeouts: Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald has a good piece breaking down everything that went wrong for the Dolphins in the last three minutes of the game. The Packers faced a fourth-and-10 with just over a minute to go. The game was on the line, and the Miami defensive line was winning the battle up front.
Philbin chose to take a timeout, saving Green Bay at least five to seven seconds and giving the Packers' offense time to regroup after three failed plays.
"That decision is beyond comprehension," a Dolphins source told Salguero. "You could see the relief on Rodgers' face when he saw the time out."
After the timeout, Rodgers made an incredible throw in the face of pressure to pick up the first down. Philbin later made another odd timeout in the drive ... right before Rodgers' game-winner.
Perhaps Rodgers' throw should truly be the focus because few quarterbacks pull that off. On Rodgers' now-famous fake spike play, Coyle pointed out that the Dolphins should have been able to tackle Packers receiver Davante Adams and end the game. Dolphins cornerback Cortland Finnegan had a chance to make a game-ending play. He instead played passively and let Adams get out of bounds.
Ultimately, it's up to the players to step up in the biggest moments. The Packers' stars did just that, with an assist from their old offensive coordinator.
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