FinaticalOne
DieHard FinFan 4 Life
Hey wasup Arsenal and all Dolfans, I had the chance to sit back and watch the game again more closely on TiVo and I must say that I understand why Saban was pleased with how the Dolphins played. After watching the game again and using the slow motion button a lot, I can understand. It wasn't a bad showing for the first preseason game. Now keep in mind, I'm referring only to the first, second and third stringers only. All of us have talked our heads off about how the players performed, so I'm going to only add some extra insight on things I've noticed that I don't think was discussed before. Here is what I noticed last night after watching the game more closely a second time:
AJ Feeley has been the hot topic as of lately, and I must say that I was wrong about his performance. My opinion has shifted a little, but not enough to say that he will be the QB for our team. His throws were very sharp. He only made one bonehead throw, it was an incomplete pass that fell short; it was thrown to a receiver who had three defenders around him. If the ball wasn't off the mark, it could have been an interception. Right now, the main thing that bothers me is his durability. I just wish he could take a hit better. Overall, Feeley wasn't impressive, but he did "ok" for a first preseason game and I believe he will have a better showing against the Jags. He wasn't in the game long enough to make a fair assesment, so I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do with increased playing time this Saturday. Will he do well enough to beat out Frerotte this summer? I'm not sure yet.
Lamar Gordon...boy oh boy. Where do I begin?!?!? Saban and Co. c'mon, you have to get Ronnie Brown in camp RIGHT NOW :yell:! Gordon dances way too much in the backfield. If you guys have the chance to watch the run blocking in slow motion during the first two series again, check it out. There were holes to run through, but Gordon danced to much in the backfield which gave Bears' safety Mike Brown the time to make the tackles. It was the strong safety making the tackles, not the d-linemen. The o-line did a decent job (don't get me wrong, they have a lot of room for improvement), but if Gordon didn't hesitate so much, he could've had some pretty good runs during the first two series. Now let's talk about the way this guy blocks :down: , he is a terrible blocker. I trust my nine year old to give me better protection in the backfield than this guy.
John St. Clair struggled early in the game, but he seemed to settle in as the game went on. He was the reason why Feeley had to rush his throw that Derrius Thompson dropped. The throw was rushed, but Feeley showed a lot of poise making such an accurate throw while under pressure and getting hit. I'm banking on Frank Middleton winning the starting right guard spot after he learns the blocking schemes.
Vernon Carey is going to be a very good left tackle for us. During the first two series, he dominated his guy while run blocking. He needs to work on his footwork for pass blocking, but he did fine and he will only get better with time.
Donnie Spragen will lose his job to Crowder, Moore or Pope IF he doesn't play better over the next couple of weeks. He may be a smart player, but he doesn't do well with gap assignements. He is too slow on his reaction to plug the gap. I saw Thomas Jones go through Spragen's gap assignment 5 times in the first three series, and two of the runs were for big gains. When Seau comes back, there's going to be some serious competition over there for Spragen's spot, he better rise to the occasion.
I don't even want to go there with the secondary right now, this post is long enough as it is.
IMO, not bad for the first preseason game. We have a lot to work on, but it wasn't too bad of a showing. Our second and third stringers dominated the game, which shows we will have good depth. Our secondary will be the the achilles heel of this team, at least we still have time to improve it.
AJ Feeley has been the hot topic as of lately, and I must say that I was wrong about his performance. My opinion has shifted a little, but not enough to say that he will be the QB for our team. His throws were very sharp. He only made one bonehead throw, it was an incomplete pass that fell short; it was thrown to a receiver who had three defenders around him. If the ball wasn't off the mark, it could have been an interception. Right now, the main thing that bothers me is his durability. I just wish he could take a hit better. Overall, Feeley wasn't impressive, but he did "ok" for a first preseason game and I believe he will have a better showing against the Jags. He wasn't in the game long enough to make a fair assesment, so I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do with increased playing time this Saturday. Will he do well enough to beat out Frerotte this summer? I'm not sure yet.
Lamar Gordon...boy oh boy. Where do I begin?!?!? Saban and Co. c'mon, you have to get Ronnie Brown in camp RIGHT NOW :yell:! Gordon dances way too much in the backfield. If you guys have the chance to watch the run blocking in slow motion during the first two series again, check it out. There were holes to run through, but Gordon danced to much in the backfield which gave Bears' safety Mike Brown the time to make the tackles. It was the strong safety making the tackles, not the d-linemen. The o-line did a decent job (don't get me wrong, they have a lot of room for improvement), but if Gordon didn't hesitate so much, he could've had some pretty good runs during the first two series. Now let's talk about the way this guy blocks :down: , he is a terrible blocker. I trust my nine year old to give me better protection in the backfield than this guy.
John St. Clair struggled early in the game, but he seemed to settle in as the game went on. He was the reason why Feeley had to rush his throw that Derrius Thompson dropped. The throw was rushed, but Feeley showed a lot of poise making such an accurate throw while under pressure and getting hit. I'm banking on Frank Middleton winning the starting right guard spot after he learns the blocking schemes.
Vernon Carey is going to be a very good left tackle for us. During the first two series, he dominated his guy while run blocking. He needs to work on his footwork for pass blocking, but he did fine and he will only get better with time.
Donnie Spragen will lose his job to Crowder, Moore or Pope IF he doesn't play better over the next couple of weeks. He may be a smart player, but he doesn't do well with gap assignements. He is too slow on his reaction to plug the gap. I saw Thomas Jones go through Spragen's gap assignment 5 times in the first three series, and two of the runs were for big gains. When Seau comes back, there's going to be some serious competition over there for Spragen's spot, he better rise to the occasion.
I don't even want to go there with the secondary right now, this post is long enough as it is.
IMO, not bad for the first preseason game. We have a lot to work on, but it wasn't too bad of a showing. Our second and third stringers dominated the game, which shows we will have good depth. Our secondary will be the the achilles heel of this team, at least we still have time to improve it.
