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From the heights of section 643, row 31...

Discussion in 'Miami Dolphins Forum' started by Stitches, Sep 4, 2009.

  1. Stitches

    Stitches ThePhin's Biggest Killjoy Luxury Box

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    So I was up in the nosebleeds. :lol:

    It was like right at the North 40 yard line, and they weren't bad seats, it was just pretty high up. And WTF, they wouldn't let me bring in my 70-300mm lens for my camera because it could extend to be over 6inches long. That's messed up in my opinion. I wasn't even going to take pictures during the game, just warm ups. But whatever. :angry:

    Here's the notes I ended up with (pardon me if they seem fragmented, it is pretty much verbatim from what I put in my notebook):



    Pregame - t-minus 1:15
    - Saints Kicker, Punter, and LS only ones on the field that are discernible. Couple random fins stretching near the north end zone.
    - Carney struggles with kicks, barely making a 47 yarder after missing it short.
    - Carpenter and Fields appear on the field.
    - Carpenter practing FGs in like 5 yd incriments. He hits the left upright when kicking from the right hash from 47 yds off a tee. Makes it on his second try.
    - Makes all the same kicks with Fields holding.

    T-minus 1:00
    - QBs, some WRs, Hilliard, and Cobbs come out.
    - Ginn and Bess fielding punts (Hartline too)
    - Hartline, Cobbs, and Hilliard working on kick returns

    T-minus 50min
    - The secondary, London, Turner, and Robinson come out. Robinson looks way bigger than I expected. (Didn't know he was 6'3")
    - They break into groups working on catching drills.
    - Gibril drops one, but it was a bad throw.
    - Ginn is so fast, even jogging. Just a complete other speed from the rest of the WRs.
    - Polite drops a 20 yard fade (not entirely surprising)
    - Nalbone looks like a smooth runner.
    - Gibril drops another. This time it was a good pass.
    - Ronnie looks so natural catching passes.
    - Robinson drop

    T-minus 40 mins
    - Big Uglies on the field!!
    - Get together for group stretches.
    - Sara (my fiance) asks: "Who is that 52 guy with his jersey rolled up? He looks like a flamer." :lol:

    T-minus 35 mins
    - Individual group drills, more pass catching for most people. That's what I tended to focus on, as the OL and DL played patty cake in the end zone.
    - Nalbone drop
    - Hartline looks real good

    - Break up into like 6v8. 4 WR, QB, and RB vs the 4 LBs and Secondary. Passes going to all the WRs each play.
    - Defense looks like they are having a lot of fun together.

    T-minus 30mins
    - Full offense vs defense drills.
    - Some nice running plays, big holes but I am sure there is a reason for that.
    - Ronnie looks explosive through the hole.

    -Punt drills
    - Gunners: Jason Allen and Nate Jones
    - Returner: Davone Bess

    T-minus 22 mins
    - Off the field, almost game time!

    T-minus 20 mins
    - Mmmm, nachos.

    - Offensive starters announced over the loud speaker.
    - Greg C. :sad: Meh. I'd prefer Hartline.

    - Coin toss time, Captains: Greg C, Bell, Gibril, and Polite.
    - Win the toss, defer. We're kicking.

    - Kickoff, here we go! *crosses finger* No big returns, no big returns.
    - Walden with the tackle! Yes!

    1st drive-
    1st and 10 - Good coverage all around, but minimal pressure (4yd QB scramble)
    2nd and 6 - TE wide open on roll out, did D bite on play fake?
    1st and 10 - Nice job by Ayodele in the hole!
    2nd and 10 - Wide open hole. :no:
    3rd and 3 - Great play by Ayodele shooting the gap.
    4th and 2 - JT with the knockdown. FB was W-I-D-E open if he misses that ball though.

    Miami ball-
    1st and 10 @ 42- 3 wide to start, single back. Jake Long got beat by wide arcing speed rush. Incomplete pass.
    2nd and 10 - Great footwork by Cam, 16 yd catch.
    1st and 10 - Bad blocking by Grove?
    2nd and 10 - Ronnie and Polite both open out of the backfield. Complete to Polite.
    3rd and 4 - Nice diving catch by Bess. Ginn was open too behind him.
    1st and 10 @ 28 - David Martin wide open, he looked away as Chad was about to throw to him though so Chad pulled back.
    2nd and 10 - Terrible block by Ginn, if you can call it that.
    3rd and 8 - Top WR was open near the 1st down yardage (was it Ginn?), but Chad was looking the other way.
    4th and 5 - Carpenter good!

    Kickoff (8:16) - Carpenter saved a TD. Wow. Awful. What is wrong with the coverage team? Holding, that's what's wrong. Penalty brings it back.

    1st and 10 @15 - JT unabated to the RB.
    2nd and 9 - Gashed up the middle again.
    3rd and 3 - Good coverage, just short yardage needed.

    (Here Sara started asking if I'd be doing play by play all game. She didn't think I was enjoying it, though I was. She just wanted some attention. :pity: So my notes are harder to follow from here on out for a reader, though I remember.)

    - God that screen was wide open. Ayodele hustled his butt off.
    - What a pick!! One hand. Sean Smith, wow. That shut the Saints fans up.

    Dolphins ball, 1st and 10 @ 20, 4:19.
    - (Still thinking about the pick) Smith is so big, it isn't fair.
    - Good blocking, two plays in a row.
    - 2 TE sets seems to mean Hartline comes in.
    - Ginn open after Ricky 1st down, no throw though.
    - (different play) Think Penny was going deep there, but sacked.
    - Nice throw by Pennington to Bess on 3rd and 8. Ronnie motioned wide, I'd take him on a linebacker all day.
    - Aww!! Off Cam's hands. Man, he was open. That's a TD if in stride, IMO.
    (My dad notes he thinks they are picking on the rookie, referring to Jenkins)

    Start 2nd QTR. 3rd and 8 @ 39.

    - Why no FG? WTF? Carpenter can hit it from this distance.
    - 17 yd punt. Wow. I could do that.

    - All back ups in now on defense except JT, Bell, Gibril, and Sean Smith.
    - Screens are a killer.
    - Vontae never gets his head around in time. Good coverage, but could've been a better play.

    - Hooray, Henne in with the starters.
    - Oh god, hope Ronnie is ok after that (got smacked around and up-ended on the play).
    - He is. What a stiff arm. Better job blocking by Ginn this time.
    - Nice throw by Henne for the 1st,

    - Miami players with the ball are really doing a good job of making the 1st guy miss.
    - Nice throw on the roll out to Ginn.
    - Great blocking and vision by Cobbs! Polit totally cleared the hole.
    - Lots of WR rotation throughout each drive. Always Cam, Ginn, Bess, and Hartline though.

    - Oh great, kickoff again. Please better coverage. :pray:
    - 3 man wedge! Totally illegal. No flag though.
    - Vontae, nice break up!
    - McDaniels all over the place. He's making more plays than Merling this preseason.

    - Cobbs, good effort but a fumble. Why no replay on the screen?
    - Yay, challenge.
    - Meh, play stands.

    1:24 in the half:
    - Much better coverage
    - Walden with the tackle again. He better make this team.

    - McDaniels with a smart time out. Looked like 12 guys on the field.
    - Where was VD on that last drive?

    - 2nd half Kickoff -
    - Nice blocking by Turner on the return.

    - Good Nalbone block, too bad Henne got sacked.


    - McDaniels looks so good. Solai looks pretty good too.
    - Anderson is really hustling today (didn't know the penalty on the KO was on him).

    - If Hilliard hurdles that guy on the screen, he's gone.
    - Cobbs is the man.


    - Walden with an almost sack, but of course McDaniels is there to clean it up.
    - JA can tackle, might keep him on the team.


    - Henne not getting a lot of time here. Not sure where the breakdown is.
    - Gardner looks good run blocking. Had a guy 8 yards downfield at one point.


    - Punt Coverage much better tonight.

    - Pat White looks very lost in the pocket to me.
    (Stadium got loud as hell for the 1st time all game with the 1st punt at the 3)

    - Forget what I said about punt coverage. Yikes.

    - London is a tenacious blocker.
    - And he might know the offense better than White. He' directing Turner where to go, and calling attention to blitzes that White seems to not.

    - 3rd TE? I have no clue. Neither has been real impressive, but I'd take Nalbone in a coin toss.

    - Game over. How ugly. 4-0 is something though I guess.


    Player of the game:
    Brian Morestead - P - New Orleans

    He kept them in the game with his leg.

    Those that impressed:
    1. Sean Smith - What else needs to be said?
    2. Patrick Cobbs - What can't this guy do?
    3. Pennington - Looked ready for the regular season.
    4. McDaniels - All over the NO backfield.
    5. Ayodele - Keeps getting his head in there on tackles I don't expect him to make.
    6. Kershaw - All over the field. I hope he makes the team.
    7. Walden - 2 ST tackles and a near sack.
    8. Camarillo - He just kept getting open.

    Less than impressive:
    1. Grove - Maybe it's because I don't know the calls, but he seemed to miss some blocks to me.
    2. Pat White - Can you please complete a pass without rolling out or scrambling?
    3. Haynos - Just nothing stood out at all.
    4. Run D up the middle - Not sure what the issue was, but they really seemed to get their way up the middle.
    5. Screen defense - Where is the recognition?
    6. Hilliard - He runs hard, but I just don't know if that is enough. He seeks out contact too much for my liking.

    Some closing thoughts:
    - Vontae looked good before he left the field, if he could just get his head around he could have some picks or at least more deflections.
    - We may be too aggressive for our own good on defense some times. if the Saints played their starters early, it's a different game.
    - Our offense may be too conservative for our own good some times. Maybe it is just preseason though. I hope that's the case.
    - Very concerned with Pat White. I really didn't like the pick at the time. I'm trying to give him a chance, but I have just seen very little to make me think he can contribute a lot this year.
    - Starting safeties were relatively invisible outside of run support. Maybe that's a good thing. Clemons and Culver were always around the ball though. Probably good.
    - All our top 4 WRs were getting open consistently which was refreshing.
    - Surprised TEs were so quiet, not just this game but the whole preseason.
    - Polite has looked much better blocking the past two games.
    - Jason Allen looks better, but I am not sure how much. Seems to wrap up tackles more than in the past, where he may have went for a bigger hit.
    - We have too many LBs that I like. Walden and Kershaw are good enough to make the team, and Rod Wright too. Not sure if the numbers will work out for them though.
    - Billingsley, Robinson, and Baker are the easiest cuts.
     
  2. BuckeyeKing

    BuckeyeKing Wolves DYNASTY!!!!

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    Awesome post Pete thanks for sharing.
     
    Stitches likes this.
  3. BuckeyeKing

    BuckeyeKing Wolves DYNASTY!!!!

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    I'm hoping to go to the San Diego game it would be my first ever Dolphin game!
     
    dolfan7171 likes this.
  4. Stitches

    Stitches ThePhin's Biggest Killjoy Luxury Box

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    This was my 4th, but was my 1st win.
     
  5. BuckeyeKing

    BuckeyeKing Wolves DYNASTY!!!!

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    Too bad it came in preseason still would be exciting.


    How was the fan experience?
     
  6. Stitches

    Stitches ThePhin's Biggest Killjoy Luxury Box

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    It was meh for me as an away game, and NO fans didn't get into it until the 4th QTR. Plus the stadium was only like 60% full.
     
  7. azfinfanmang

    azfinfanmang Premium Member Luxury Box

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    Do whatever you can to go brother. Its an experience you won't forget.
    Be sure to coordinate with FFIC :up: I PROMISE it will greatly enhance your experience. Especially if a Cannonball contest is involved :lol:
     
    BuckeyeKing likes this.
  8. BuckeyeKing

    BuckeyeKing Wolves DYNASTY!!!!

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    I'll try but atm its small chance as of right now.
     

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