Dolphins Preseason Reveals Questions, not Answers

By Ronn Burner • on August 29, 2010

Hopefully Dolphins Head Coach Tony Sparano has never heard the expression “If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, it’s probably a duck” because if he has than he’s probably not getting much sleep these days. Let’s not sugar coat this and pawn it all off on the preseason though I would hope to god that has a lot to do with it. Nevertheless, significant strides towards ironing out the obvious wrinkles and finding answers for the same questions we had heading into the preseason is the ultimate goal..

There’s no real reason for full on panic but it is undeniable that we need to get a lot better before we head to Buffalo. Without overtly disrespecting the Bills I think it speaks volumes that Las Vegas has set the line for that game at Miami -3. That speaks less to the Bills tenacity than it does to the Dolphins expectations. Vegas also set the Dolphins season win total at 8.5. Another alarming number that is Las Vegas flat our DARING you to take Miami -3 in Week 1 and BEGGING you to bet the over on the win total.

Vegas is one of the most visually spectacular man made places on the planet and guess how they got that money? Yup, because you and every person reading this article is flat out flabbergasted at those lines. It’s easy money! Miami beating the stinking Bills by a measly field goal is a bonafide Stone Cold Guaranteed Lead Pipe Can’t Lose Lock! Eight and a half total wins? So let me get this straight, that’s one win right there and only 8 of the next 15 with Buffalo still scheduled one more time. So all we have to do is go 7-7 the rest of the way? That’s more of certainty than Dan Marino being inducted into Canton 5 years from the moment he retired.

And now to steal a coined phrase from the couldn’t possibly be more annoying Chris Berman, “That’s why they play the game.”

Vegas begging you to do something usually means the other side is the bet. In this case, Buffalo +3 and the Dolphins finishing at 8-8 is what they actually believe will, in fact, happen. I bring all of this up to make the point that despite all of the off season acquisitions that have to be considered huge up grades including Defensive Coordinator Mike Nolan, Brandon Marshall, Karlos Dansby and Jared Odrick the Dolphins still may not be very good yet. Now of course I don’t believe that for a second, or at least I didn’t until the sub par if I’m being kind performances we have displayed thus far in the preseason.

What were, say ten, of our most pressing questions heading into the preseason?

1. Will Chris Clemons, Tyrone Culver or rookie Reshad Jones step up and play free safety at the level required to realistically compete for the division title?
2. Who will be the starting guards and center alongside RT Vernon Carey and Pro Bowl LT Jake Long?
3. Can Paul Soliai and Randy Starks effectively man the nose tackle position?
4. Can Cameron Wake earn his way onto the field as an every down player?
5. Can rookies Jared Odrick and Koa Misi step in immediately and help this team win?
6. Is Chad Henne ready to turn the corner and become a top 10 NFL quarterback?
7. Will the presence of Brandon Marshall open up the passing offense for Brian Hartline, Davone Bess and especially the invisible Anthony Fasano?
8. Are 2nd year corners Vontae Davis and Sean Smith ready to evolve into shut down players?
9. Will Mike Nolan‘s defensive scheme resurrect Channing Crowder and lead to a dominating return to the Pro Bowl for Karlos Dansby?
10. Will a healthy Will Allen, rookie Nolan Carroll or the lethargic Jason Allen earn the nickel back position role without allowing it to be the weak link?

After reading those questions and three preseason games not only have they not been answered but more questions have arose? If you take the rose colored glasses off there isn’t a whole lot to be dancing on Don Shula Expressway over. Maybe Vegas has a crystal ball after all. I can not definitively say that even one of the above questions has been answered by what we’ve seen thus far in three preseason games. The offense has been stale and the defense has been gouged, sounds a lot like 2009 doesn’t it? We were 7-9. Oh, and Buffalo kicked our ass once after we imploded in the 4th quarter.

Instead of answering the above questions the preseason has me scratching my head with a whole new slough of questions in addition to those original ten.

1. Will the trade of Greg Camarillo to Minnesota for Benny Sapp solve our nickel back troubles or will the loss of Camarillo destroy our depth at receiver? Sun-Sentinel Times Reporter and Dolphins Blogger Omar Kelly tweeted an excellent point in regards to the inexperience at receiver now should one of the big three go down with injury. Say Hartline’s injury against Atlanta Friday was serious leaving us with Marshall, Bess, Turner and Moore. Frightening thought. (It should also be noted that Omar Kelly does a top notch job of reporting Dolphins news and you can follow him on twitter at @omarkelly.)
2. Why can’t we run the ball? Another tweet from Kelly relayed some disturbing information about the three games so far: 2.6 yards per carry, 100 pass plays and 68 running plays. That’s not Dolphins football.
3. Why has Brandon Fields had a punt blocked in consecutive games?
4. Why has our special teams been awful in both the return game and kick coverage?
5. Are the shocking number of dropped passes just a fluke? Everyone’s guilty.

Are these valid questions and concerns? Absolutely. Is it any reason to think Vegas may be right. You bet. Does it mean we’re in for a long season? Maybe. What do I really think about all this preseason lackluster play and blah blah blah?

Well, I jumped all over Miami -3 and the over 8.5 faster than Paris Hilton yelled “That’s not mine!”