Three stars of the game in Dolphins’ 16-12 victory over Colts

Who were the three biggest performers in Miami’s 16-12 road upset over the Indianapolis Colts? Here are our three stars of the game.

The Miami Dolphins’ defense was the star of yesterday’s win over the Brian Hoyer-led Indianapolis Colts. Is that in impressive feat? Maybe not for some teams in the NFL — but the Dolphins aren’t your average football team. The Dolphins’ roster is depleted by trades, injuries and financial decisions and the argument could be made that the Dolphins are the least physically talented football team in the NFL.

But they’ve now won two in a row — last week against the Jets courtesy of an explosive second quarter offensive show and now against the Colts after a stout defensive stand in the final seconds to force Indianapolis to turn the ball over on downs.

The momentum is real. The players are playing committed football and the Dolphins will still have their treasure trove of picks at the end of the day. This is a fun time to watch the Dolphins’ plan for player development come alive. Some of those developed players were the biggest contributors in Miami’s win — here are our three stars of yesterday’s win over Indianapolis.

3rd star – WR DeVante Parker

Parker let a ball slip through his fingertips in the end zone early in the game — a catch that could have pushed the Dolphins to an insurmountable early lead with the Colts’ back-up quarterback in. He couldn’t finish the play but more than made up for the missed opportunity with some clutch plays in the second half to help revive Miami’s offense.

Parker made several chunk gains, including catches to extend drives on third down. Parker finished the game with 5 receptions for 69 yards with a long of 21 yards — a very nice showing.

2nd star – LB Jerome Baker

Baker was everywhere against the Colts, shaking off an injury to return to the game and continue to impact the game within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage with his range. Baker finished the game with 7 solo tackles, a sack, a tackle for loss and a forced fumble, continuing his strong stretch of play as Miami’s biggest impact defender.

Baker is thriving in his role as Miami’s emotional and verbal leader on defense — we’re now seeing the version of Baker that this coaching staff envisioned when he was receiving rave reviews over the summer.

1st star – CB Nik Needham

What a turnaround for Nik Needham. Needham had a pretty rough start to the season, but the staff seemed to see something in the youngster. They’ve stuck with him, even after a disheartening showing against the Pittsburgh Steelers in primetime just a few weeks ago.

Fast forward to yesterday and the Dolphins’ rookie cornerback made several critical plays, including a diving interception and the tackle on Colts TE Eric Ebron on Miami’s 8-yard line on Indianapolis’ final play, a 4th and 10 pass that came up a yard short.

Needham stepping up was critical to Miami’s defensive effort — now can he string some winning weeks together?

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Chiefs snap counts, Week 10: Return of the MVP

What can we learn from the Chiefs’ Week 10 snap counts?

The Kansas City Chiefs were unable to beat the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.

The team went with some unique roster choices to start the game. Damien Williams saw the start at running back. Jordan Lucas saw some early snaps at safety. The best news is that Patrick Mahomes returned to action and didn’t miss a single snap.

Here’s how the snaps came down in Week 10:

*Snap counts via NFL Game Statistics and Information System

Observations

  • QB Patrick Mahomes returned from injury in Week 10 and didn’t miss a single snap. He had an impressive day throwing for 446 yards and three touchdowns while completing over 70% of his passes.
  • RT Mitchell Schwartz saw his snap streak come to an end at 2,895 consecutive snaps. He only missed three plays before coming back into the game and finishing it. A testament to just how much of an ironman he is.
  • LG Martinas Rankin made it just over 50% of the way through the offensive snaps before suffering a right knee injury. He was carted off the field.
  • Stefen Wisniewski saw his most action as a member of the Chiefs. He got exactly 50% of the offensive snaps and played at left guard in place of Rankin.
  • After playing every snap just a week ago, Tyreek Hill was unable to do the same in Week 10. He landed hard on a play and it looked like the worst-case scenario for him. Luckily, he was able to avoid injury and come back into the game.
  • TE Blake Bell was questionable to return with an injury early in the game. He eventually did make his return with a heavily taped ankle.
  • With no LeSean McCoy, Damien Williams saw the start and received all but five of the Chiefs’ carries. Even after fumbling the ball he remained the lead back for most of the game.
  • Mecole Hardman has seen a steady increase in snaps over the past three weeks with 18 against the Titans. He had yet another explosive play after connecting with Patrick Mahomes on a 63-yard touchdown.
  • Jordan Lucas saw some early snaps at safety in the Chiefs’ nickel package. He was quickly relieved after a few misfires on his part.
  • Reggie Ragland saw just 17 snaps on the day. He’s been part of the reason for the Chiefs’ defensive resurgence, but he didn’t help on Sunday. It seems that the Titans forced the Chiefs into sub-packages more often than other teams had in recent weeks, which led to the lower snap total.
  • Khalen Saunders also saw a low snap total of 13. He’s been integral to the run defense finding success over the past several weeks.
  • Emmanuel Ogbah only played 23 snaps before going down with a torn pec. Those could be the last snaps we see from him as a member of the Chiefs as he’s scheduled to become a free agent following the season.
  • Morris Claiborne played in just seven snaps against the Titans. I think it’s safe to say the Chiefs won’t be replacing any of their starters with Claiborne any time soon.
  • Dorian O’Daniel, Darron Lee and Armani Watts were the only three players that played only special teams snaps during the game.
  • Anthony Sherman led all players in special teams snaps against the Titans with 24.

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Knicks targeting Masai Ujiri?

According to several people familiar with the Knicks thinking, Dolan is plotting to take another run at Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri. It would take Phil Jackson-type money to lure Ujiri to New York but spending the big bucks is never an issue for Dolan. The issue is always hiring the right person, but in Ujiri, unlike Jackson, Mills and Perry, the Knicks would be bringing in an executive who has built a championship team.

Ujiri is under contract through the …

Ujiri is under contract through the 2021 season and the Raptors ownership group will do anything and everything to keep him. However, Ujiri is an ambitious guy with powerful friends in high places, and we’re not just talking about Barack Obama. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is a close friend who remains forever frustrated with the train wreck in his own backyard that is the Knicks. Ujiri’s possible arrival in New York could potentially put the Knicks in play for Giannis Antetokounmpo as well. Ujiri is well connected to some of today’s top stars. Mills claimed to be but couldn’t even get a sit down with Irving and/or Durant. That’s another plan he sold to Dolan that fell flat.

Jerry West: So at the end of the day, …

Jerry West: So at the end of the day, we gave up three of our draft picks and a terrific young player in Shai, who I think we all feel horrible about. And Gallo (Gallinari), who is a very good player himself. Those are the difficult things, letting players go who you really like. I think Shai is going to be an All-Star player in this league for a long time, and he’ll keep getting better. But we have two finished products right in the prime of their careers (in Leonard and George) – or just getting in the prime of their careers. Two of them who have the same DNA – great offensive players, but more importantly really great defensive players. And I’m not talking about good defensive players, I’m talking about great defensive players. Those players decide games on both ends of the floor.

Everything looks pretty smooth so far. …

Everything looks pretty smooth so far. Westbrook is generating 17.1 potential assists (fourth in the league) and Harden is at 16.0 (sixth). And out of the 79 players with at least 50 assist opportunities this season, Harden’s passes are generating the second-best shot quality with a 61.9 expected eFG%. Westbrook ranks No. 19, according to Second Spectrum data. That’s encouraging stuff. So, both are still creating a bunch of looks for their teammates, but Westbrook has become the leading shot creator. In a vacuum, this is a stunning development. But it also serves as a reminder that those seeking to reduce Westbrook’s entire game to high-usage, low-efficiency chucking are doing it wrong. The passing numbers don’t lie; he’s a great catalyst.

In each of the three previous seasons, …

In each of the three previous seasons, the team paired a great offense with a decent defense and ended up in the top five of net rating. So far this season, the defense is poor enough that Houston is struggling to outscore opponents. Therefore Westbrook optimists must lean on the hope that this team will get better with time, and to be fair, that’s distinctly possible. Just look at last year’s team for precedent. In 2018-19, the Rockets ranked 25th in defensive efficiency before the All-Star break. Then they flipped the switch, ranking second in that category after the break. This year’s group has the talent and the time to make the defensive improvements necessary to become legitimate contenders. But will they?

Through nine games, the Spurs are 29th …

Through nine games, the Spurs are 29th in the portion of their shots that come from beyond the 3-point line, with just 28.8 percent of them being 3s compared to the league rate of 37.3 percent. Conversely, they’re first in the portion that comes from between 10 feet and the 3-point line, and takes these shots nearly twice as often as the average team. Whereas Houston takes more than seven 3-pointers for every long 2, the Spurs are the league’s only team that prefers long 2s to 3s. (see chart below)