Great write up as always by Hayden. I'll throw in a few observations I had:
* It was great to see the offensive linemen actually moving forward. Then I look up and Dallas Thomas is in the lineup on 2nd and 2. Immediately he's shoved backward. Then after sitting out a few plays during the transition to the second quarter, Thomas is out there again and gets roasted on a spin move. Tannehill threw it into the ground, barely avoiding a sack.
The stubbornness with Dallas Thomas should be over. Decide if you are going to keep him deep on the roster, on the practice squad, or not at all. We've seen enough with the starters.
* Billy Turner looked better than I've seen at any point since I started watching him in the disastrous Senior Bowl practices. Last week in a brief sample he seemed more natural on the left side and that was confirmed tonight. Against players of his own caliber he bounces quickly from initial assignment to second level. Starting to bend and understand leverage somewhat better. Granted, we help him out on virtually every play, certainly more than we've helped Thomas. Not ready to start and I'm not certain of his natural strength but could be a keeper.
* The best situational pass rush lineup is Wake at left end, with Shelby at left tackle, Odrick at right tackle and Vernon at right end. Shelby is much more impressive than a year ago, when Armstead of New Orleans made him look foolish in preseason. Shelby can burst and create a seam of his own. Earl Mitchell doesn't do that. Watch Mitchell on every play and you can see how he earned the reputation of a frustrating player among Texans fans, a guy who would dominate preseason and then flatten out in the regular season. Mitchell gives a consistent effort but doesn't really produce anything. Quick off the mark but once he's stuck he lacks strength or sufficient moves to create havoc. It's going to take a very poor offensive lineman across from him to be oft defeated. That type of weak lineman is prevalent deep in to the second half of preseason games. But now that Mitchell has moved into a spotlight role he's simply not special enough. I can see how coaches appreciate his effort level but Mitchell doesn't have a dominant trait like Soliai's raw strength and therefore the necessity of a double team. I can certainly understand why Odrick would be frustrated at Mitchell's contract.
* Tannehill once again avoided a rightful interception. Eventually the odds have to catch up with him. I posted the Football Outsiders link that detailed Tannehill with more dropped interceptions than any other quarterback in 2013.
* We seem to be blitzing more this season, specifically sending Wheeler up the middle. He's got a nice kamikaze style for that role. Also there's seemingly less chance to make a stupid error
* Gator Hoskins with some nice athletic ability and especially the athletic arrogance to finish.
* I think we're in trouble if the opponent has a true #1 receiver. IMO, Grimes is the most overrated player on the team entering 2014. He is not susceptible to falling off the map like Reshad Jones last season but I doubt his reputation among Dolphin fans will be the same a few months from now
* I've already detailed Dion Jordan and Damian Williams in other threads tonight
* Tannehill needs to study the trajectory and timing of Matt Moore's deep ball
* Fields is a better athlete than I suspected based on his sound technique while kicking soccer style
* Backup defense was considerably more boring to watch without Fede. Tripp was less effective and McCain simply doesn't have an NFL frame at this point. He really needs an offseason to get stronger and more defined. But McCain does have variety and instincts. After so many plays watching monotonous Jordan I was shocked when McCain actually dipped his shoulder on an edge rush.
* Broadcast crew was terrific tonight. IMO, Griese/Moore have had their best seasons in years. But I'm not going to let Griese slide from an anachronistic error. Actually two of them. Bob Lilly was responsible for that 29 yard sack in Super Bowl VI. Dick Stockton found the correct name. Then Griese tried to place Ed Too Tall Jones and Randy White on that 1971 Cowboys team. Not even close. Jones entered the league in 1974 and White in 1975. That was famous at the time, that a team as talented as Dallas managed to acquire high picks through astute trading and ended up with stud defensive linemen. I may not remember season specifics from the '90s or later but I'm not going to botch the 1970s.
