So much for the Brandon Marshall fireworks show scheduled after his first big play in a Miami Dolphins uniform. Don’t fret Dolfans, Miami is only two weeks into the 2010 NFL season with only one preseason game, against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, under their belt so there’s no real reason to have emotions swaying heavily one way or the other. Marshall dropped two passes early and it didn’t get better from there but there is no reason to worry. It was a televised practice and like all practices, an opportunity to work on getting better for the games that count.
Our new #19 is not going to drop every pass thrown his way like our old #19 and our new undetermined starting free safety isn’t going to get beat like a tetherball like our old starting free safety. At least I hope not because if they do we’ll be lucky to win 6 games this year.
Preseason football is a necessary evil for the players and coaches and nothing more than a platform for the fans and media to shout, “The sky is falling!” or to break into song with “(Insert team here) is going to the Superrr Bowl!” Both are laughable commentary at this point, if not any point, in an NFL season. All we can do after the first preseason game is report what we see. Unfortunately for Miami there isn’t a lot of positives to report and the only certainty that came out of the game is there are still many questions to be answered and a lot more work to be done.
Miami (1-0) defeated Tampa (0-1), 10-7, in a game sloppier than the field conditions, which were as bad as any NFL game could possibly be. That’s what happens when torrential down pour meets the Dolphins Stadium, I mean LandShark, er wait Sun Life Stadium’s playing surface thanks to the Florida Marlins and that ridiculous infield that inevitably hampers the first month of every Dolphins season, thank god the Marlins are out of the playoff race this year and Phinatics lives forever next year.
The Dolphins played awful and they will be the first to admit that but let’s not lose sight of the fact that the preseason is simply to fill out the back of your roster and shake off the rust for the veterans and do it all injury free. If that’s the ultimate goal, Miami had a successful start to their season.
What I learned watching the Dolphins beat the Buccaneers Saturday night:
- Paul Solai showed his inner beast in dominating at the point of attack and even recovered a fumble.
- Rookie Nolan Carroll lived up to all the hype a 5th round draft pick can receive by flying all over the field forcing a fumble and breaking up a pass. He is challenging for the nickel corner slot expected to be Will Allen’s, who is still hampered by that knee injury. Carroll also showed the kick return duties are likely his to lose.
- Pat White is history. Tyler Thigpen was clearly showcased for possible suitors as Pat White will be this week but the Dolphins see a lot of Tony Romo in Thigpen and just won’t give him away.
- The offensive line is talented on paper but the shuffling of positions throughout camp was clear by their sub par performance including a drive killer on a Vernon Carey holding call on a 3rd and 1 and seemingly a first down picked up on a Ronnie Brown run.
- Chad Henne played the first four series without getting past his own 40-yard line. Carey’s penalty, the awful field conditions and several dropped passes certainly didn’t help.
- Marlon Moore and Patrick Turner showed glimpses of their potential and will be duking it out for that 5th receiver roster spot. (Note: Apparently Greg Camarillo is a roster lock, which I disagree with especially considering his injury history.) I would not be shocked in the slightest to see Camarillo the odd man out.
- Nate Ness was clearly the Dolphins star with 4 tackles, 3 pass defenses and a fumble recovery. Opening the door for a real battle for the starting free safety position with Chris Clemons.
- Rookies Koa Misi and Jared Odrick contributed in a big way with 3 tackles and a fumble recovery respectively. For their first game action in the league they quickly erased any doubt Dolphins Nation had going in. They still have work to do for sure but they were not deer in the headlights, they were young aggressive NFL ready football players.
- Vontae Davis and Sean Smith are potential NFL stars and for every great play they make, they get toasted or make a mental mistake costing the team. They didn’t play horribly but they certainly will have to play better when it counts or it will be a long season. They will continue to get picked on by opposing quarterbacks until they make them pay for it.
- Channing Crowder looked like the man that will reap the benefits the most of Mike Nolan’s defensive schemes. The addition of Karlos Dansby certainly didn’t hurt but it was evident that the Crowder of last season is behind us.
Next up: Miami Dolphins at Jacksonville Jaguars – Saturday, August 21st at 7:30 EST
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