This week I hope Third & Long is bumping again even though myself and the other Dolfans NYC team members will be in Miami watching the game. I am sure the die hards will hold it down for us. So come out this week and check out the photos from last week using the slideshow below. Double click on a photo if you want to save and download it.

Seriously.  The Patriots will probably play their guys most of the game because they hate losing.  They have no reason to play anyone so maybe we will get lucky, but honestly lucky has nothing to do with it.  The Dolphins play to the teams that play them. The Patriots are the best team in the NFL so if only for a Sunday I have a feeling the Dolphins will play pretty well too.  We have only lost one game on the road and we ALWAYS give the Patriots fits.  Honestly, even though we got killed by them this year, we really outplayed them on offense and defense.  Tragically our special teams had the worst game in history and then Henne threw a garbage time pick six.  Otherwise that game would have been very, very close.

So come out this Sunday, say goodbye to all the friends you have met this year and let’s root for our team like the quality Dolphins fans we are.

Our boy Solo D knows what’s up… check out his new track “Finish Strong”:

There were plenty of reasons for Miami to pass on Moss, who can be the best player on the field if he’s motivated, and a head-case who doesn’t respect his teammates or coaches and carries far more baggage than he’s worth if he’s disinterested. 

Despite playing for Bill Belichick, one of very few coaches who has earned Moss’s admiration, the wide receiver still found a ticket out of New England after questioning his role in the offense and getting into a spat about Tom Brady’s hair (I don’t actually think that last part is true, but it’s hilarious nonetheless). 

Through his career, Moss has been repeatedly chastised for his lack of effort, failure to finish routes and make blocks, and an alarming attitude in the locker room that largely contributed to his release from Minnesota.

But hate him or love him, Moss is one of the most talented WRs in NFL history, and players of his caliber are hardly ever so readily available.  He’s two and a half years removed from a season in which he recorded nearly 1,500 receiving yards and caught an NFL-record 23 touchdown passes.   For his career, he ranks second in league history in TDs (153), fourth in receiving yards per game (76.6), fifth in total receiving yards (14,778), and eight in catches (948).  Those skills didn’t suddenly diminish overnight.

Perhaps the Miami coaches didn’t think they could keep him happy in a run-first offense, or didn’t want to deal with the distractions and media circus that surrounds the outspoken and constantly unhappy Moss.  But his off-putting personality aside, the Dolphins sure could’ve used him on the field.

The team ranks 25^th in the league in passing plays of over 20 yards (17) with an anemic average of 6.7 yards per pass attempt.  Miami hasn’t had a true deep threat (at least one who can catch the ball) in years, and Moss would’ve commanded double-teams and opened the field for Brandon Marshall — who publicly lobbied for the acquisition — and slot receiver Davone Bess.

It would’ve been a relatively low-risk and low-cost gamble for the Dolphins, since Moss is owed $3.388 million for the remainder of the season, the final year of his contract.  Even he has to realize that at this point, no team would hesitate to cut him if he continues to exhibit an oversized ego and a poor attitude, and that he could find himself out of a job in the offseason if he burns yet another bridge.  

The Dolphins could’ve gotten a playmaker whose talents could’ve single-handedly brought the division title back to South Beach.  Instead, they’ll have to settle for seeing Moss catch passes only once this year, when the visiting Titans come to Miami on November 14.

Anyway, just because I am in hiding and super glad there is a bye week so I can ignore football for another week, I do have to post the pictures I took at the Third & Long meet up on Monday. We had a great crowd and we suffered together.  We had some new people out and it was good time.  I think we have got to have the cutest girls of any sports bar in the city. We also payed Michelle back for the 44 Jets/Dolphins tickets she put on her credit card and we raised a few hundred dollars for charity.  In total, along with ad revenue from the site we have raised well over $1000 dollars for charity. It’s pretty impressive guys.  Thanks.  Anyway, here is a slide show of the pictures from Monday.  As always if you want to download a photo just double click the slide show and it will take you directly to the Flickr page.

Last week was a disaster at least our offense came to play. If the Dolphins offense plays like it did last week we should be able to put 50 points on the Patriots. Unfortunately the Patriots offense has two things the Dolphins have proved they can’t stop… Tight Ends.

The Patriots have two fantastic pass catching tight ends and I have to admit I am pretty worried about how we are going to stop them. That being said we are historically pretty good at home against the Patriots and we have to come up big in prime time, especially after last week. We must win this game.

Now a few important things. We will be at Third & Long as always watching the game. For those who haven’t been yet, it’s at 35th and 3rd Ave in the city.

Come early! We have had a little bit of a line at times. Everyone get’s in but you might have to wait a little bit. If you get there 30 minutes early you won’t have a problem. Third and Long has good MNF drink specials so they have a bit of a regular crowd there, so we gotta get there early and make sure we have the whole place to ourselves.

We WILL be doing a raffle this week. I know I promised a raffle last week but Michelle was out of town and we didn’t get it together in time. We will be raffling off a Dolphins hat signed by Dolphins owner Stephen Ross as well as a really nice Dolphins jacket that he gave us. We will also probably have a bar tab do give away and a Dolfans NYC shirt.

Speaking of shirts, we ran out of L and XL shirts so fast that we haven’t really been selling them the last couple weeks, but I got new shirts printed and we should have every size available. They are 15 dollars and are aqua with the DolfansNYC logo on them.

Lastly, I just wanted to mention the tickets to the Jets game. If you have talked to Michelle about buying tickets, please bring your money on Monday. She put 36 tickets on her credit card and needs to start collecting money. We want to order more tickets as well, so if you want to go with us to the Jets/Dolphins game in NYC, email Michelle ASAP at dolfansnyc@gmail.com.

Okay! See you Monday and remember almost all the money raised from the raffle and the t-shirts goes to the Miami Dolphins Foundation charity. The only money that doesn’t go to charity goes to club expenses like printing shirts, promoting the club and prizes for the raffles. So please, be generous. And if you would like to just donate money please let us know. We are trying to raise $1500 as a group. Thanks!

Eventually we came together in our hatred of the Jets, and I led DolfansNYC in a lovely J-E-T-S Suck Suck Suck chant around the 3:25 mark in the video. In all seriousness, Fitzy, aka Nick Stevens is a pretty funny dude and this video is well worth watching. Enjoy.

Ted Ginn, Jr. catches a TD pass against New York Jets (Hector Gabino/El Nuevo Herald/MCT)

It’s easy to forget now, but after Ginn’s terrific sophomore campaign, he had “third-year breakout” written all over him.  In 2008 — when the Dolphins went 11-5 and won the AFC East — he led the team in catches (56), receiving yards (790), return yards (711), and all-purpose yards (1,574; 18th in NFL), while scoring four touchdowns (two receiving and two rushing).  Those numbers may not jump off the page, but they stacked up very favorably to several All-Pro wide receivers who blossomed after their second seasons, including Steve Smith (1.0) and Santana Moss (not to mention, Steve Smith (2.0) and Sidney Rice last season).

Of course, Ginn didn’t come close to living up to the expectations thrust upon him as the Dolphins number one WR, taking a major step backwards to the point of being benched in favor of rookie Brian Hartline.  Ginn had only 38 receptions on the year, tied for 69th among WRs, and his 11.95 yards per reception tied him for 68th with 74-year-old 32-year-old Laveranues Coles.  He dropped nine passes — Dolphins fans would argue that’s actually being generous — which tied him for fourth in the league behind Dwayne Bowe (11), Vernon Davis (11), and Santonio Holmes (10).

Despite his struggles on offense, however, Ginn was sensational on special teams.  While his critics often lamented him for avoiding contact by running to the sidelines, Ginn led the league in yards per touch (17.9), ranked fifth in kickoff return yards (1,296), fifth in yards per return (24.92), 10th in all-purpose yards (1,826), and tied for fourth in non-offensive touchdowns (2).

He single-handedly led the Dolphins to a road victory against the New York Jets on November 1, 2009, becoming the first player in NFL history to record two 100-yard return TDs in the same game (and in one quarter, no less), on a day when the Dolphins mustered just 104 total yards on offense.  I proudly wore my Ginn jersey, just as I did on every other game day, and heard his name praised for perhaps the only time that season.

The very next week, the Dolfans’ love-hate relationship with Ginn was right back on, as he was yet again getting blamed for a loss to the New England Patriots.  He managed just one catch for seven yards, dropping several passes late in the game, and wasn’t as dramatically effective in the return game.

Once the Dolphins acquired Brandon Marshall from the Denver Broncos last week, Ginn became immediately expendable.  The San Francisco 49ers acquired him for a fifth-round pick (145th overall), hoping to use him as a situational deep threat while reviving one of the league’s worst return games.  Still only 25 years old and among the fastest and most athletic players in the league, he leaves Miami with 128 catches for 1,664 yards, a modest 34.7 receiving yards per game average, and five receiving touchdowns over three seasons.

For Ginn, it’s a fresh start in a place where he doesn’t have to deal with the giant shadow of being selected ninth overall in 2007, and hearing the boos that have haunted him since draft day, when fans were hoping to land Brady Quinn (how did that one turn out?).   While he certainly didn’t produce as well as expected, he was routinely forced to play a role that wasn’t suited to his strengths and became the scapegoat for the team’s offensive struggles.

Could Ginn have been better utilized in the slot and opposite Marshall, a true number one possession receiver?  Could he have stretched the field and found himself wide open down the field when Marshall faced double teams?  At the very least, could a proven return specialist, whose role will now need to be filled by the undoubtedly slower Davone Bess, Patrick Cobbs, and Brian Hartline, have made the offense more productive and dangerous than any player the Dolphins can draft in the fifth round?

“I wouldn’t say a sense of relief, but it’s always good to have a new start,” Ginn said. “Leaving Miami, I don’t hold any grudges, no bad feelings about anything. My time was up there. I enjoyed it there, and now it’s time to move on.”

I truly hope that he does well in San Fransisco, and while I’ll always cheer for Miami, I’ll be sure sure to wear my Ginn jersey the next time he plays against the Dolphins.

Anyway, things get really exciting with that win and a few losses around the league.  With Baltimore and Pittsburgh losing things are looking pretty good for the Dolphins if they win the next four games.  All four games are against AFC teams with a shot at the playoffs so everyone is going to be huge… Assuming we keep winning.  So here’s how it works.  If we win all four games we can get in if Baltimore loses ANY game or if New England loses any (they have three) AFC game.  If we win out and New England loses to the Bills, Jags or Texans we win the AFC East.  If they lose to Carolina it goes to like the 5th tiebreaker and things get really weird. That’s not worth talking about.  Brady is hurting though, and they have two AFC games on the road where they haven’t played well.  Baltimore on the other hand has a pretty easy schedule with the Lions, Bears and Raiders left, but they do have a tough matchup against Pittsburgh in week 16.  Also, the Raiders are a dangerous team despite their record, and the Ravens have to travel to Oakland after being on the road against Pitt.  Should be exciting if the Dolphins can keep winning.  Their biggest test might be Jacksonville this Sunday.  We better see you out at Third & Long.

And since I don’t have any photos, I wanted to leave you with this, a shout out from Dolphins starting inside linebacker Akin Ayodele.

Go Dolphins!

Also we wanted to mention a few other things:

Short Michelle has been taking drum lessons and on Wednesday she is going to be performing the Monday Night Football theme decked out in Dolphins gear as part of her drum schools student showcase. Come out and support her.

Wednesday, Dec 9th
7pm – 9:30pm
Arlene’s Grocery @ 95 Stanton Street
$12 cover

Also the Miami Dolphins sent us an email asking us to plug their new web show called the 5th Quarter Show. Every week after the game they are going to be doing a live post game online featuring Bary Buetel and Nat Moore. Already they have a bunch of videos up and you should check it out. It seems like it should be pretty great.

Lastly if you have anything Dolphins related you would like to see in the weekly email or on the DolfansNYC website, please let us know. We would love to get more people involved!

Thanks a bunch! Go Dolphins!