Overall, I must say that this team is clearly headed in the right direction, for the first time in what seems like forever. Some (myself included) have long since ignored the lines, on both sides of the ball, particularly the offensive side. I didn't want us to draft Jake Long. But after just three preseason games, he along with Donald Thomas have solidified the line and it's really paying off. The quarterback actually has time to throw the football. The running backs are not getting hit in the backfield nearly as much as they were. It really does ALL start up front. So, after watching the Chiefs' game, it's rather safe to say that we've got some spots wrapped up, not only at the starter level, but the backups too. This is my attempt at a position by position break down of the guys that I feel have made this team: Quarterbacks Chad Pennington - clearly he has brought a sense of leadership to the position that sorely lacked in credentials. He's going to start, no doubt about it. As long as he is qb'ing the Phins, we'll have a chance to win each game. So much for rooting against a Jet. Chad Henne - what can I say that hasn't already been said? Probably nothing. He doesn't seem to be rattled, ever. What happens at the third spot? Well, I've been of the opinion that we may just carry four qb's into the regular season. But it is clear to me that nobody knows what is going to happen with Beck and McCown, as much as you may be reading from the So. Florida media. Beck was able to get into the game late vs the Chiefs, although he didn't attempt a single pass (I'm sure had he been calling the plays that would have been much much different). Stay tuned. Running Backs Ricky Williams - solid, solid, solid. He's really been above what most of us had expected coming into training camp. I do worry about his durability. So it's good to know that Ronnie Brown will be waiting in the wings when he is indeed 100% healthy. Ronnie Brown - what can we expect from him this year coming off the ACL? Too early to tell. We'll know more after the first six games. Which leads me to... Patrick Cobbs and Jalen Parmele - I think both guys are going to make this team, as the RnR Express ahead of them are all but a sure thing for 16 games. Both Ricky and Ronnie are coming off season ending injuries. Both Patrick and Jalen have shown that they can make plays from the running back position. Cobbs contributes as a fine special teamer. Jalen isn't there, yet, but I think they both make the 53 man roster. I also liked what I've seen from Lex Hilliard. We would do well to stash him away on the Practice Squad. I like his burst thru the hole, and I believe he has better hands than your average street free agent back. Fullback Boomer Grigsby - one of the closest position battles has actually become one sided. Grigsby has shown better hands and is a much better special teamer. Now that he has supplanted Mauia as the starting fullback, the writing is clearly on the wall. I don't think we'll keep two fullbacks, especially if we are keeping four tailbacks. Wide Receivers Ted Ginn - is there really anymore doubt about this guy? I think the one thing that people knocked him for was his hands. He's shown some great hands, especially in the last two games. The one shoe string catch vs the Chiefs was a thing of beauty. He's clearly worked on his route running and it's paid off. Derek Hagan - his emergence along with a failing Ernest Wilford has vaulted him to the #2 spot. I can't be happier about Derek as he clearly is needed in this short to intermediate passing attack. Davone Bess - not only is he going to make this squad, but he's our #3 wide receiver (for the time being). Such great hands and body control, almost a natural slot receiver for us and we certainly need him. It's hard to say which undrafted rookie free agent has been the better addition, him or K Dan Carpenter? That's a tough one indeed. Greg Camarillo - I think Greg is going to make this squad. How can he not after saving our season last year? To add to that, how about that special teams hit against the Chiefs? I think the entire sideline gave him some kind of congratulatory greeting when he stumbled off the field. The 5th WR? We will no doubt be keeping one. But it's anyones guess as to who that is going to be. Could very well be someone not yet on our roster. Tight Ends Anthony Fasano - had his best game thus far vs the Chiefs. He showed up big and will need to continue to do so for Pennington. David Martin - I know many of us have been down on him. But he is clearly our second best tight end right now. He has shown me some blocking ability that he didn't show last year. In fact, Fasano and Martin have blocked fairly well the last two games. Justin Peelle - I am going to count him on the roster already. We saw the good and the bad from Peelle vs the Chiefs. I still maintain that he is the best receiver of the tight end group. He can also do the most with the ball after the catch. I think all three tight ends are capable of lining up in the backfield as the old H-Back. We've seen a little of that in the last couple of preseason games. Couple that with the fact that we will probably only keep one fullback, and all three of these guys are going to get plenty of work in the passing offense. Offensive Line We all know the starting five is set, and that is REALLY a relief at this point. When was the last time we saw the same starting five for all of the preseason games? Sure, we may keep some guys out next week, but if it were a regular season game, it would be the same five. So, Jake Long, Justin Smiley, Samson Satele, Donald Thomas and Vernon Carey, take a bow! Then, get some rest, because the lack of depth behind you is a cause for concern. In fact, it's so much of a concern that I am not going to list another lineman because I don't know if they'll even make the squad. Sure, Darilek, Murphy, Ndukwe, Heerspink and Spanos have all had some moments but I have to admit that for me to pencil any of these guys in as safe would be a gamble. Speaking of gambling, if I had to place odds on them, I'd list them in the same order from "favorite" to "long shot." Now, this is not to say that this group didn't play well vs the Chiefs, they certainly did. But how many of them are we going to keep, at least three right? All five? Probably not. Certainly, we may be adding one or two in the next couple of weeks, so lets just feel good about our starters for now and see how it plays out. Defensive Line Ah, perhaps the moment you've all been waiting for. This is relatively easy... Kendall Langford Phillip Merling Vonnie Holliday Paul Soliai Randy Starks Jason Ferguson With Soliai and Starks coming along and now Merling and Langford, we've got some solid young pieces to the puzzle. In fact it was nice to see Merling getting some reps at OLB. He had a couple of nice pressures from two feet vs the Chiefs. Linebackers Joey Porter Matt Roth - I think he's finding his new position suits him quite well. That has allowed Joey to switch back to his weak side spot that he is so good at. Akin Ayodele Reggie Torbor Charlie Anderson - he's been hurt, but has there been anyone threatening his roster spot behind him? Channing "Captain" Crowder Saved the best for last... Crowder showed me something vs the Chiefs. Making the big plays behind the line of scrimmage, he seems to be taking the reigns of this young defense. A shocking irony that this is the final year of his rookie contract... but that's okay. A hungry Channing is a good thing for this defense. Cornerbacks Will Allen Andre Goodman Michael Lehan Joey Thomas Well this is still the weakest spot on the team IMO. As the wide receivers have progressed, with the addition of Bess and the emergence of Ginn and Hagan, the CB's really haven't been tested yet (thanks to our pass rush). Allen, Goodman and Lehan were all here last year. Enough said really. And I like Lehan... but if this group has more than 8 INT's (not including safeties), color me surprised. Safeties Jason Allen - could he be switching back to corner? Don't look now but he was lining up at CB late in the Chiefs game. Probably just getting him some reps for what coach Sparano calls position flexibility. You do have to wonder though with Crocker perhaps taking the starting free safety spot, where does that leave Jason? Yeremiah Bell Chris Crocker Keith Davis This group of safeties has been fairly solid. I've left out Renaldo Hill for the time being but he could very well make the team as well... they can all play special teams. And of course Dan Carpenter and Brandon Fields, a very solid preseason for the kicking specialists... truth be told, I'm not sure if John Denney is still our long snapper as I haven't noticed. Had heard that they were looking at Spanos (I think it was) doing some long snaps. So I'm not going to pencil Denney in just yet. But when you have a hot kicker, the last thing you want to do is mess with his snapper or holder. For those of you keeping score... that's 41 players who I feel are on the 53 man roster already. The other 12? Well, they've still got some work to do, which doesn't bode well for them.
I know that we commit a ton of penalties. I also know that we need to be better in short yardage and goalline situations. One possesion ended with a fieldgoal after six plays inside the 5, and another that ended in an INT. Both issues, I think, can be attributed to a young offense and a young QB (Henne stared down Peelle the entire play and never should have thrown it to him with the defender where he was).
All the penalties are due to a young team and a new coacing staff. I'd rather them make the mistakes in the preseason and have them out of the way by Week 3 or 4 of the season. Growing pains, that's all.
the penalty thing is getting blown out of proportion a little. yes, there were some calls against them, but look at the other preseason games around the league and you see that they aren't really committing more penalties than most teams right now. although, this is an area to certainly improve, I don't think its a problem that will linger. in the nfl, defense wins more games than the offense. watch our defense closely, as our success will be determined with how they play. its nice to see some toughness back in the defense, they showed great character and backbone on that goal line against a premiere running back. preseason or not, that was a first rate ball carrier they stuffed on consecutive plays. so yeah, it was only a preseason game against a bad KC team. but, this is what you should do when you play a bad team at home. I would have been more worried if they would have won the game 10-7. think about this; miami was 3-13 on 3rd downs, and because of that, KC actually ended with more time of possession. that game could have become a complete blowout for miami if the offense could have continued more drives and stayed on the field. we won't have to wait long to really see what this team is made of. week 1 against the jets is going to be the biggest game miami has played in years!
This one still kills me. Infact, most of the criticisms were actually the very things he is good at. Proof positive that when you are so hopelessly in love with someone else, you can also become hopelessly irrational too. Good write up.
We still have some work to do of course but I can't remember the last time I was this excited to watch the Dolphins play. I think we are headed in the right direction and I can't wait for week one to get here.
