MIAMI GARDENS — Chop Robinson was so desperate to celebrate in a season where such moments have been rare, he got off the ground and started mimicking chopping wood as Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow lay there late in the fourth quarter wondering how the Miami Dolphins edge rusher arrived so quickly.
And much like the season has gone, that feel-good moment ended in an instant, the tell being the yellow flag on the ground. Robinson then learned because of his excitement to get to the quarterback the infraction was on him for being offside.
But it was to his, and the Dolphins, credit the play was still important. Because the way this game started, and the way quarterback Malik Willis was giving away the football as if the Dolphins were having a fire
sale, Miami could have folded so much sooner.
"That's a step forward," receiver Kevin Coleman said. "First half didn't go as planned, but second half … you got to be a four-quarter team."
So goes the Miami Dolphins season.
The Dolphins slipped to 0-5 after a 31-24 loss to Burrow and the Bengals at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday. The game sends Miami into a bye week that many teams would not welcome coming so early, but probably is good for one this young and one that is facing adversity every week.
Refocus and reset.
And if ever there was a sign this is the time, it occurred on the sideline in the second half when running back Ollie Gordon II was seen screaming at a coach and emphatically gesturing before teammates gently steered him away.
Gordon would only say he was frustrated he had to exit the game for a concussion test. But it appeared to be much more.
"I just got to keep my composure more," said Gordon, who spearheaded a productive running game with 88 yards on 18 carries.
"It's just one of those things where, you know, it can't be out there exerting energy like that."
Good time for Miami Dolphins to head into bye week
Frustration. Yes. Perhaps even an issue with a call or just wanting more. And even a sign it's a good time for a break.
But a competitor briefly losing his cool on the sideline of a game in which the Dolphins could not finish when it came to one play, one series and, once again, one game, is not cause for alarm.
To a man, this team remains connected and knows everything about this off week — the Dolphins return for an Oct. 25 game at the Jets — will be related to the process. Everything from rest, rehabilitation and preparation.
"It would be a good time for us to look hard and evaluate the players, evaluate the scheme, evaluate how we're coaching, evaluate what certain guys can do, and take a hard look and then come back and go back to work," coach Jeff Hafley said. "That's just … going to be who we are. We're going to roll up our sleeves and this group's going to work. And I know that they're going to.
"This is not going to be a group that starts going backward and pointing fingers."
Sure, the frustration of another semi-close loss permeated the locker room. It could be said for the first time in three weeks Miami did not take a step forward as it did at home against the Kansas City Chiefs (although the margin was two touchdowns) and a five-point loss at Minnesota.
Although this will be recorded as a one-score game, Miami trailed by 18 points entering the fourth quarter. The Dolphins scored with 45 seconds to play to narrow the margin.
Still, the faint silver lining is it wasn't a blowout, and this team is very much connected and serious about the work ahead.
"We've lost five in a row," linebacker Jordyn Brooks said. "So I think this bye week will be good for us if we treat it the right way. Use that time to self reflect. Everybody look at what you can do better individually. And use that time to rest and recover and kind of reset and try to come back and put on a better result."
Losing is hard on someone who played for Alabama
Many of these players are not used to losing. Certainly not those who came from powerhouse college programs, like rookie guard Kadyn Proctor, who in three years at Alabama never lost five games in a season.
Proctor said being 0-5 is a "big eye opener." But you have to look at the journey without ever considering where it will end.
"All I'm focused on is just doing my part," he said. "That's really all it's about. We have the guys out there to win games. Just like this one was close. We played to the end. We just need to put it together from the start to finish."
Robinson will use a few days to take his mind off football but still continue building trust with his teammates.
"I don't want to be 0-5, but I'm here," he said. "I'm fighting for these guys. I'm going to keep playing hard for these guys and these coaches and we're going to get it right. I believe we're going to turn it around."
As for Hafley, he will re-evaluate all that's happened in the first five games of his professional head coaching career. That will answer some questions about the details.
But for the bigger picture, he already knows what he wants to see when his team arrives in the Meadowlands in two weeks.
"I want to see more consistency," he said. "I want to see better execution. I want to see the same fight. I want to see the same energy. I want to see the same connection. We need to execute better, and that's all of us. That's not me just talking about the players. That's everybody."
Tom D'Angelo is a senior sports columnist and reporter for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at tdangelo@pbpost.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: This is a good time for Miami Dolphins to take a break | D'Angelo
