ckparrothead
Premium Member
Keep in mind if/when reading this, that this is something I originally wrote today for people that are not Dolphins fans and do not necessarily already know every tiny bit of what has happened with the Dolphins over the last 7 months.
Here is a break down of the roster. I’m pretty much listing only the guys worth watching, which happen to be the 53 I think should make the team…
QB: 10 Chad Pennington, 7 Chad Henne, 6 Pat White
RB: 23 Ronnie Brown, 34 Ricky Williams, 38 Patrick Cobbs, 26 Lex Hilliard
FB: 36 Lousaka Polite
WR: 19 Ted Ginn, 82 Brian Hartline, 15 Davone Bess, 83 Greg Camarillo, 84 Patrick Turner
TE: 80 Anthony Fasano, 88 David Martin, 86 John Nalbone
LT: 77 Jake Long, 63 Andrew Gardner
LG: 65 Justin Smiley
OC: 64 Jake Grove, 67 Joe Berger
RG: 66 Donald Thomas, 61 Shawn Murphy
RT: 72 Vernon Carey
RE: 94 Randy Starks, 97 Phil Merling, 90 Rodrique Wright
NT: 95 Jason Ferguson, 96 Paul Soliai
LE: 70 Kendall Langford, 78 Tony McDaniel, 71 Lionel Dotson
WLB: 55 Joey Porter, 91 Cameron Wake, 56 Charlie Anderson
ILB: 51 Akin Ayodele
MLB: 52 Channing Crowder 53 Reggie Torbor
SLB: 99 Jason Taylor, 74 Quentin Moses, 98 Matt Roth (will not play)
RCB: 31 Sean Smith, 24 Vontae Davis
LCB: 25 Will Allen, 33 Nate Jones (N), 32 Jason Allen
FS: 28 Gibril Wilson, 30 Chris Clemons
SS: 37 Yeremiah Bell, 29 Tyrone Culver (N/D)
PK: 5 Dan Carpenter
P: 2 Brandon Fields
LS: 92 John Denney
If I had to condense it into very specific things I will watch for, and why...
Lex Hilliard on Coverage Units
Why: One more good showing on special teams for Lex, and he makes the final roster. If he takes a step backward on these units, he could be in for another year on the practice squad. He might still make it through the waiver process. I am hearing there is no shortage of available talent at RB.
Return Game Effectiveness
Why: If the Dolphins can be effective returning the ball with a combination of Cobbs, Ginn, Bess, maybe Hartline and/or Hilliard, then they won't feel the need to try and grab a more dynamic return guy like Stefon Johnson, Roscoe Parrish, Mark Jones, or if the Buccaneers are stupid enough to cut him, Clifton Smith. This has direct bearing on a guy like Rodrique Wright. You never want to lose effective players that can play the position Wright plays, and so you'd love to find a way to keep him, but if they need to devote a roster spot specifically to a return man, then Wright is probably gone.
Sean Smith vs. Vontae Davis
Why: What we thought was already pretty much set, became a battle last week as Vontae fought back awful hard and did the things he does best, which happen to be things that Sean Smith does not do best. Namely, aggressive tackling. The Dolphins held Sean Smith out of the game with the sniffles. I sense that all things being equal, they want the more experienced, physical player to play more. But Sean Smith keeps defying them by playing extremely well, while Vontae still fights those occasional brain farts. Smith will have to keep it up. A slip-up tonight could have major consequences in this battle.
Brandon London as a Receiver
Why: London is on the ropes. Quarterbacks have only thrown his direction twice this preseason. He caught both balls for 22 yards. But the fact of the matter is, special teams will not keep him hanging around anymore. The coaches like Brian Hartline's special teams ability, Lex Hilliard is now winning special teams battles, and Patrick Turner is being tried there as well. London needs to step up and show that the reason he needs to be kept is because he is the most physical receiver on the roster, as Omar Kelly believes, and he can catch a whole lot of passes given half a chance. I have a suspicion that the Dolphins may give him that half-chance tonight.
Byron Leftwich Throwing the Deep Middle
Why: We all have seen the safeties get challenged in man coverage. Going against Byron Leftwich will be a challenge. He throws a very nice ball up the middle of the field, one of the strongest out there. What I want to see is if Byron can victimize the Miami safeties when the pass rush doesn't get to him, or will Yeremiah Bell, Gibril Wilson and Tyrone Culver step up their game. Antonio Bryant and Michael Clayton will not be in the game, but between Jerramy Stevens, Kellen Winslow (who as far as I know should play), Maurice Stovall, Mario Urrutia, I believe Leftwich should be able to give the safeties a little trouble over the middle.
Bonus: I will personally send a gift basket to any Dolphins player that lays out Jerramy Stevens so bad that he spits up blood.
Other Notes
Here is a break down of the roster. I’m pretty much listing only the guys worth watching, which happen to be the 53 I think should make the team…
QB: 10 Chad Pennington, 7 Chad Henne, 6 Pat White
RB: 23 Ronnie Brown, 34 Ricky Williams, 38 Patrick Cobbs, 26 Lex Hilliard
FB: 36 Lousaka Polite
WR: 19 Ted Ginn, 82 Brian Hartline, 15 Davone Bess, 83 Greg Camarillo, 84 Patrick Turner
TE: 80 Anthony Fasano, 88 David Martin, 86 John Nalbone
LT: 77 Jake Long, 63 Andrew Gardner
LG: 65 Justin Smiley
OC: 64 Jake Grove, 67 Joe Berger
RG: 66 Donald Thomas, 61 Shawn Murphy
RT: 72 Vernon Carey
RE: 94 Randy Starks, 97 Phil Merling, 90 Rodrique Wright
NT: 95 Jason Ferguson, 96 Paul Soliai
LE: 70 Kendall Langford, 78 Tony McDaniel, 71 Lionel Dotson
WLB: 55 Joey Porter, 91 Cameron Wake, 56 Charlie Anderson
ILB: 51 Akin Ayodele
MLB: 52 Channing Crowder 53 Reggie Torbor
SLB: 99 Jason Taylor, 74 Quentin Moses, 98 Matt Roth (will not play)
RCB: 31 Sean Smith, 24 Vontae Davis
LCB: 25 Will Allen, 33 Nate Jones (N), 32 Jason Allen
FS: 28 Gibril Wilson, 30 Chris Clemons
SS: 37 Yeremiah Bell, 29 Tyrone Culver (N/D)
PK: 5 Dan Carpenter
P: 2 Brandon Fields
LS: 92 John Denney
If I had to condense it into very specific things I will watch for, and why...
Lex Hilliard on Coverage Units
Why: One more good showing on special teams for Lex, and he makes the final roster. If he takes a step backward on these units, he could be in for another year on the practice squad. He might still make it through the waiver process. I am hearing there is no shortage of available talent at RB.
Return Game Effectiveness
Why: If the Dolphins can be effective returning the ball with a combination of Cobbs, Ginn, Bess, maybe Hartline and/or Hilliard, then they won't feel the need to try and grab a more dynamic return guy like Stefon Johnson, Roscoe Parrish, Mark Jones, or if the Buccaneers are stupid enough to cut him, Clifton Smith. This has direct bearing on a guy like Rodrique Wright. You never want to lose effective players that can play the position Wright plays, and so you'd love to find a way to keep him, but if they need to devote a roster spot specifically to a return man, then Wright is probably gone.
Sean Smith vs. Vontae Davis
Why: What we thought was already pretty much set, became a battle last week as Vontae fought back awful hard and did the things he does best, which happen to be things that Sean Smith does not do best. Namely, aggressive tackling. The Dolphins held Sean Smith out of the game with the sniffles. I sense that all things being equal, they want the more experienced, physical player to play more. But Sean Smith keeps defying them by playing extremely well, while Vontae still fights those occasional brain farts. Smith will have to keep it up. A slip-up tonight could have major consequences in this battle.
Brandon London as a Receiver
Why: London is on the ropes. Quarterbacks have only thrown his direction twice this preseason. He caught both balls for 22 yards. But the fact of the matter is, special teams will not keep him hanging around anymore. The coaches like Brian Hartline's special teams ability, Lex Hilliard is now winning special teams battles, and Patrick Turner is being tried there as well. London needs to step up and show that the reason he needs to be kept is because he is the most physical receiver on the roster, as Omar Kelly believes, and he can catch a whole lot of passes given half a chance. I have a suspicion that the Dolphins may give him that half-chance tonight.
Byron Leftwich Throwing the Deep Middle
Why: We all have seen the safeties get challenged in man coverage. Going against Byron Leftwich will be a challenge. He throws a very nice ball up the middle of the field, one of the strongest out there. What I want to see is if Byron can victimize the Miami safeties when the pass rush doesn't get to him, or will Yeremiah Bell, Gibril Wilson and Tyrone Culver step up their game. Antonio Bryant and Michael Clayton will not be in the game, but between Jerramy Stevens, Kellen Winslow (who as far as I know should play), Maurice Stovall, Mario Urrutia, I believe Leftwich should be able to give the safeties a little trouble over the middle.
Bonus: I will personally send a gift basket to any Dolphins player that lays out Jerramy Stevens so bad that he spits up blood.
Other Notes
- Starters will play through three quarters. Chad Pennington will leave the game somewhere in the middle of the third quarter which should give Chad Henne some time with the 1’s. I doubt Pat White plays at all.
- On a play for play basis, the Dolphins have outplayed both the Jaguars and Panthers this preseason. The defense has been stout (ranked top 5 this preseason). The offense has turned the ball over twice, one of which was when a Pat White pass went careening off now-unemployed RB Anthony Kimble’s hands and into a defender’s. Otherwise, the only pass that was served up openly for the defense to pick off was a Chad Henne pass in the first game. No offensive player has lost a fumble. The Dolphins had 7 penalties for 72 yards in the first game, too much for their liking, and cleaned it up by the second game with only 3 for 25 yards. I would look for the Dolphins to again have the upper hand on a play for play basis on offense, defense, and hopefully special teams though I don’t know for sure. I would look for them to protect the ball and keep penalty mistakes pretty low. Nothing new there.
- Take a good look at Jason Taylor. This is a 259 lbs version of JT, the biggest and strongest I’ve ever seen him. He usually runs around 240 or even below that.
- I also like watching Cameron Wake, particularly when he puts his hand on the ground and gives his speed rush. Quickest first step I’ve seen in Miami in a long while. Monster speed rush, watch for him to start using the spin more as a counter to the speed.
- Channing Crowder and Akin Ayodele are playing more aggressively this preseason than I remember them playing in 2008. Crowder in particular is being sent on a lot of blitzes alongside Jason Taylor, taking advantage of the extra attention Taylor draws.
- Nate Jones is the nickel CB, and the one thing that guy can do really well is blitz the QB. I don’t know how but that little guy does a great job hiding among the big bodies and slipping right through unseen and untouched. He can be beaten in underneath coverage, though. Watch for the Dolphins to play him at safety some like they did in the first preseason game against the Jaguars. I have still yet to see any Miami media acknowledge that Nate Jones played safety in place of Yeremiah Bell during the first quarter of the Jaguars game.
- Any time Sean Smith steps onto the field, he’s a threat to intercept the ball. That’s what 6’4” with his movement and recognition skills does for you. He didn’t play against the Panthers, but it would have been interesting to see if he could have gotten his hands on a ball or two in that game.
- Vontae Davis bounced back nicely against the Panthers after a mistake-ridden performance against the Jaguars, so he could rotate with Sean Smith for some first string action. His strength, the thing that should immediately jump out at you, is his ability to cast aside would-be WR blockers and stick his nose right into the ball carrier for big hits. Nobody is an Antoine Winfield in that regard, but it’s almost Winfield-like.
- The best pass rushers will probably be Joey Porter, Jason Taylor, Randy Starks, Cameron Wake and Quentin Moses.
- Quentin Moses in particular has really surprised me this preseason. He is a guy I loved to pick on in 2007 and 2008 because everyone was always so hyped up about him for literally no reason, because he showed about as much in those years as Vernon Gholston. But I watch him this preseason and I have to check the guide because it doesn’t look like the same player. He’s really thriving as a SOLB. He looks big, strong, he has pass rush moves, and he looks pretty smooth back pedaling out into coverage. Heading into his final year at Georgia, many draftniks regarded him as perhaps the top outside pass rushing prospect of his class. After a disappointing year, he was drafted in the third round. He sank even further when he was a surprise cut. The Dolphins snapped him up in 2007 under Cam Cameron, and there were rumors that Bill Parcells really liked him in 2008, though Moses didn't do anything worthy of note. Could the light finally be turning back on? Some things just baffle me.
- Backup FS Chris Clemons has 4.35 speed and he established a pattern this offseason. In mini camps, he got his feet wet a little and was around the ball some, not always making the play but around it, and then he busted out with a huge practice where he intercepted a bunch of balls and was everywhere as he just “got it”. He did literally the exact same thing in training camp when the pads came on, plodding around a bit, getting his feet wet, being around the ball, and then exploding in a practice where he intercepted two balls, was everywhere and nearly intercepted at least one more. So far in these two preseason games he’s plodded around a bit, been around the ball a lot but not necessarily making the plays…could he keep up the trend by exploding in this game or perhaps against New Orleans in the fourth preseason game? Who knows?
- The OL that everyone loves to watch is RG Donald Thomas. He’s got that raw power that catches your attention at times, but he’s also got some good mobility for pulling plays. If he’s healthy, he’s a gem.
- One guy that intrigues me some is TE John Nalbone. I watched him against the Jaguars get split out wide and he got off the line like a WR, very quick. I like that. He is a passable blocker, for now. The Dolphins may finally try and get him some action in the passing game to see what he’s got.
- The guy that I really want to see step up at WR? Patrick Turner. He’s been targeted an astounding 12 times this preseason, having caught 6 of those passes for 58 yards (all three are team highs). That targeted figure represents 35% (12 of 34) of all balls thrown to the 8 different WRs. He’s been getting open for most of those passes, too. The problem? He’s dropped a fair number of them as well. I would estimate that about 3 or 4 of those balls hit his hands and were dropped. I’d like to see him settle in and get comfortable.
- Lex Hilliard is the guy that fans are all giddy about. He caught my eye about four months ago in practice footage because he looked a lot faster and more decisive than a year ago, plus he showed soft hands in practice. We always knew he was physical, at 230-240 pounds he required multiple tacklers to bring him down on 55% of his non-touchdown runs at Montana. A year ago the only way he caught my eye was on some pass protection plays. If he’s faster, more decisive, has soft hands, and can still pass protect, then he might be a gem. He’s over 100 yards on the preseason rushing, with a very good average and a TD on a long 39 yard run. He’s caught a few balls and looked good doing it, as well. The thing that surprised even me though, was his work on special teams as a cover guy. He was very good on STs against the Jaguars, then let up off the gas a little against the Panthers. If he has another good day on STs against the Buccaneers, his roster spot will be secure.
- In the return game, look for Bess, Hartline and Ginn to get action on punt returns, and Cobbs, Ginn and Hilliard to get action on kick returns. The blocking has been pretty good this preseason (for a change), so if they try Ginn out some…watch out. He doesn’t do well with bad blocking (much to our lament) but when he gets good blocking, he’s a touchdown threat. The Dolphins would like to pick up a better return man. If the Steelers cut Stefon Logan…woof. Being able to snag him would be nice.
- Chad Henne should continue his good work in this game, though he won’t have much of an opportunity with about 20 minutes of playing time. I would pay particular attention to how he can make a 30 yard (as the crow flies) throw look like a 20 yard throw. So far he is 17 of 27 for 199 yards, 2 TDs and 1 INT. He has been sacked twice, but neither was an instance of him holding the ball too long. On one, LT Brandon Frye allowed a 300 lbs DT to swim in to Henne untouched and he was able to belly flop Chad before he could even finish his drop. On another, LT Jake Long allowed DE Everette Brown to beat him on a speed rush, and he blind sided Chad, causing a fumble that Miami recovered. He has had the charge of 9 meaningful drives, and led the team to three touchdowns and two field goals. It would have been four touchdowns and one field goal, but Ricky Williams screwed up an easy catch off a nice looking pass in the end zone on 3rd & Goal from the 9 yard line.
- Pat Kirwan has been raving about Chad Henne ever since he saw him practice on Pat's trip to Miami. He has brought Henne up specifically, unbidden, on at least two other occasions. He loves the 3 second buzzer Miami has been using for two years to get the ball out of their QBs’ hands before they get sacked. He recently said that on his training camp tour, he didn’t see any other team using the buzzer. The result of working with that buzzer has been to take a strong-armed guy that was a little too aggressive looking down the field in college, to where he took sacks and didn’t check down enough, and turned him into a rhythm passer that operates within the system yet still has the deep arm and ability to challenge all areas of the field.
- The secondary should be using a lot of Quarters or Cover 4. That could mean a lot of trickery between Yeremiah Bell and Gibril Wilson pre-snap, trying to confuse the QB as to which guy has what responsibility, moving forward and back, switching off, etc. However, and this is important to note, these two have shown weakness in man to man coverage, both on tight ends and receivers. Keep an eye out for that.
- While we’re on the subject of negative things to keep an eye out for, try tackling. Last week it seems like half the players on the defense had a clean shot at RB DeAngelo Williams on his 25 yard TD run, and they all just fell off him. He’s not that powerful, but they were that sloppy. That ought not be something that persists.
- And the final piece of sloppiness to keep an eye out for are the dreaded dropsies. A year ago, Miami had some of the cleanest hands in the league as Ted Ginn, Greg Camarillo and Davone Bess all caught the ball without offering up those maddening drops. The dropsies showed up in the first preseason game against the Jaguars, and disturbingly they persisted a little against the Panthers. Even Davone Bess got into the action, dropping what should have been a very nice over-the-shoulder grab for a good gain.
