The View From Valhalla - Dolphins vs. Jaguars

After a seven month wait, NFL football has finally returned to Miami. Last night our Dolphins beat the Jacksonville Jaguars in preseason play. It was clearly the first game of the preseason, as there were the usual mistakes - Center/QB exchanges, wrong routes, some poor throws, and of course, stupid penalties. Overall though I would classify this as a "solid effort," though we obviously have a long ways to go before the start of the regular season.

I'm suddenly very excited with what we have at the wide receiver position. Davone Bess looks like a brand new player out there, with added muscle mass and a nasty attitude to boot. I really liked how he got out in front on running plays, showing willingness in the blocking game. Ted Ginn looks like a different player too, as he displayed good route running and a confidence I hadn't seen out of him before. It was nice to see the coaching staff working to get him involved early. Both of the rookie receivers showed flashes - though the rain may have bothered Patrick Turner as he dropped a pass that he should have had. Hartline, I suspect, may be a bit up-and-down this season, and will need to work on developing consistency.

One WR who made a name for himself last night was Chris Williams, who played pretty much the entire game as a KR/PR. He started the game looking like he was a goner, muffing an early return attempt and then committing the cardinal sin of running backwards (to the 2 yard line) and getting tackled. But then Williams nearly broke a kick return, and then he nearly broke another. He's a raw player, and needs to work on his technique. I noticed that he has a tendency to let kicks eat him up - meaning that he allows the ball to bounce off his chest before securing it with his hands. This was what caused him to muff the kick, and bobble another. I like what I saw; he's the proverbial lightning in a bottle. It's going to be tough for Williams to get on the roster though. The WR position is pretty crowded - I think that Ginn, Bess, Turner, and Hartline are all pretty much solid at this point. After that, I think you've got one roster spot for either Greg Camarillo, Williams, or Brandon London. It comes down to snaps and workload, and I would suspect that the coaches would go with Camarillo over Williams. Still, if Williams continues to return kicks like this, it's going to become very difficult to cut him.

It's been stated already, but I too am concerned with the interior offensive line play. We've got so much invested in those 3 positions, with 2 big FA signings and 2 draft picks; it's disappointing when we don't just run teams over. I know that Jacksonville has a good NT in John Henderson, but we will need to run the ball better up the gut, if we want to win football games. Let's hope this was due to the unit not playing together until last night. Even without a solid push, I though Ricky Williams looked better - and fresher - than he had in years. That's a good sign for the rest of the season.

Nice catch, Ernest Wilford. Why couldn't you do that last year? I still don't see how Wilford makes the roster at a crowded TE position that includes incumbents Anthony Fasano and David Martin, along with Joey Haynos and rookie John Nalbone. But, man, that was a pretty little catch.

The pass rush is much improved. Folks, Jason Taylor looked like he has something to improve. That's a good thing for our team. Joey Porter also looks like he's still a force to be reckoned with. Even Channing Crowder got into the backfield a couple of times and forced some QB pressure. I was most interested in CFL import Cameron Wake, and he displayed that wicked first step that everyone has raved about. At this point though, Wake is a bit of a one-trick pony. He's got the speed rush off the edge and little else. I see him as a situational pass rusher at this point, unless he can develop a secondary move and show he can play in coverage.

Speaking of coverage, that Sean Smith interception was pretty darned impressive. Smith looked solid in coverage for pretty much the entire game, and put together a very solid effort. Vontae Davis had more penalties (3) than plays on the field, and displayed some immaturity. He also struggled a bit with his visor in the rain. Eric Green looked lost, as the Jags made a pretty consistent effort to target him. Wasn't impressed with his night at all. Overall I'd slot the CBs as Allen/Smith/Davis/Green. Jason Allen made plays, but I fear it's a case of too little, too late. I don't see us carrying 5 CBs on the roster, and with as bad as Green was, I'd still take him over Jason Allen at this point.

Pat White looked decent. It's clear we still have the training wheels on him, to some extent. He actually reminds me a little bit of Seneca Wallace, both in terms of size and game on the football field. Good move by the coaching staff to have him take snaps under center (something he didn't do a lot in college), but also in getting him comfortable by having him do a lot of rolling out and play action. I would suspect we're focused on making him a QB first and a playmaker second, or at least it would appear that way.

I was happy with what I saw last night, especially considering it's the first preseason game. The rain had an effect on both teams, especially in the second and third quarters, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Our WRs looked good, as did our defense. There's room for improvement in terms of our run blocking. Overall, I'm excited that the season is finally here, and I'm looking forward to the next game.