Five Things I want To See Tonight! | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

Five Things I want To See Tonight!

PhinKev

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Here are some things I'll look for tonight:

1. The entire team to leave the field without injury. This is the biggest thing. We are aren't so deep that we can afford to lose top players. Preseason games always make me nervous. :confused:

2. Ricky: I want to watch how he attacks the line of scrimmage and to see how well Turner has designed the running offense to take advantage of Ricky's skills. I expect to see quicker developing running plays.

3. Offensive Line Play: I'll be watching to see what kind of push the line gets on the run with a focused look on Jamie Nails. I'll also watch to see if Smith has improved on pass coverage.

4. Jamar Fletcher: I think we are all happy with Madison and Surtain. I'll take a look at Fletcher and hopefully we see him stay consistently with his man.

5. Pass Rush: We have heard a lot about an improved pass rush, I want to see this line consistently pressure Johnson and get a few sacks. Confidence is a good thing on a D-Line.
 
I would be very surprised to see Ricky play more than one series. All indications, things that I have read, have Henry and Minor pulling most of the load tonight.
As for the O-Line, tonights game for Nails could be the one that pushes Dixon to second string and moving him to the starters position. I'm a Dixon fan but a naturally a Phin fan first, if Nails is the better of the two, as of right now, you must give Nails the first string nod. I wouldn't even think about moving Brent Smith out of LT until Dixon leg is able to handle the job. Wanny then must give Smith all the opportunties to keep his job.
 
Here's what I'll be lookin at.

1. Travis Minor. At one time the kid looked so good we thought he might be our back of the future. Given the injury history of Ricky Williams that nobody wants to even acknowledge (not surprisingly) I want to know that we've got a 1-2 punch the same as New Orleans had last year with Ricky and Deuce. Travis had about the same production as Deuce, big runs included...and he REALLY impressed me during the saturday morning drills. If he's REAL good....trade bait anyone? Not this year, but keep in mind we've GOT our franchise back...

2. Brent Smith. The coaches are probably especially p!ssed about this 2 games in 4 days bullsh!t because their instinct is to use this game as a gauge to tell whether or not Smith's gonna make it, or we'll be moving Dixon over. They'll still use this game to gauge the situation, but there's pressure to let it bleed oevr to the New Orleans game. What Dixon is lacking in the ankle, is power and the way he use to fire off the ball. Pretty convenient if you're playing LT and those things don't matter so much ANYWAY...But this is part 1 of 2, of Smith's tryout for starting LT. If he gets blown away by Simeon or Marcus Jones...bye-bye Smitty.

3. Jamie Nails. Part 2 of 2 of Smith's tryout for starting LT. The coaches won't let an improving and soon-to-be-healthy Mark Dixon wither away on the bench. He did well Saturday against Sapp and Sapp actually COMPLIMENTED Mark saying that he's still the most "solid" guard he's ever faced and always has been. Sapp also said that Todd Perry should be cut...But if Nails fires off the ball and starts mauling people like mad crazy...while Brent Smith gets blown away by second stringers...look for Dixon to be moved sooner rather than later.

4. I guess I'd agree with Jamar Fletcher but I'm not gonna be lookin his way so much as hoping that I won't have to be looking his way at all, if ya catch my drift.

5. Randy McMichael. Just want to see him produce decently in real game conditions, thats all. During the morning scrimmage of Saturday, and during the Tennessee scrimmage, he did nothing to make me say that he's an offensive difference maker. He just made me think, well, he can run the right route and catch the ball when he's open. I wanna see him make a play facing adverse conditions, a la Jeremy Shockey (likely too much to ask for).

What I WON'T be looking for is, Ricky Williams, Jay Fiedler, or Chris Chambers, to do ANYTHING in this game whatsoever. I'm as p!ssed as anyone about the 2 games in 4 day thing cuz I bought tix to this game not realizing that our starters will be in there VERY sparingly, and will most likely just be decoys anyway. Ricky? I expect 3 carries for 5 yards, maybe 1 catch, to be completely honest. Hasn't even happened yet and already I'm p!ssed about it.
 
I want no injuries also #1. Seeing players like McMichael, Henry, Sevearns, the PR's and the movements and schemes in this offense.
 
The only way Levcik gets a long bomb tonight is if a QB gets injured, or he joins a terrorist group. Levcik has been scheduled for NO action in tonight's game. Kustok will take over in the 3rd quarter and finish up the game. Levcik gets to do the same in New Orleans.
 
I'm also interested..........

to see how the battle for our 3rd WR will look tonite. Personally, I hope that it will be Dedric. I think overall he's the better receiver, hands and all. The only thing that James has on Dedric is speed and possibly route running. I'm just sick of the inconsistency from James and think that Dedric is more reliable.:cool:
 
The only thing that James has on Dedric is speed and possibly route running

Please don't misconstrue this as going after you or anything, but in a WR, thats kinda like saying "the only thing that James has on Dedric is pro bowl talent" or "the only thing James has on Dedric is the ability to make plays" or something. I mean, being a WR is about speed, route running, hands, and then jukes. We KNOW that JM has the juke advantage (see his screen jukes at the line of scrimmage, very impressive), and if he's got the speed and route running advantage all he doesn't have is the hands advantage...and like I said before in Norv's offense, he deals very well with speedsters with bad hands (see Albert Connell, Alvin Harper, and Tim Dwight)
 
this Herald article - http://www.miami.com/mld/miami/sports/football/nfl/miami_dolphins/3845333.htm - also says to watch the PR and KR competitions as well:
''Just brutal,'' said wide receivers coach Robert Ford, who is trying to monitor a good battle between Robert Baker, Margin Hooks and Albert Johnson for a backup receiver role. Johnson and rookie wide receiver Sam Simmons will handle most of the punt- and kick-return duties tonight.

Other players worth watching tonight are rookie running back Leonard Henry, an impressive seventh-round pick who will get extensive action; guard Jamie Nails, who continues to impress in a four-way battle for one of two jobs; and rookie quarterback Zak Kustok, who will play most of the second half.
 
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