None of these dimes mean a damn thing when they don't translate into adequate points. Sorry, but that's the bottom line right now, throughout Tannehill's career, and it overwhelms every other problem on the team.
This is the issue: He's never been great so he doesn't think greedy or great. Settling for another field goal is no big deal. He waltzes off the field in blank expression full acceptance of just another representative drive in his career.
We have to try to force him out of it, even if it means more errors and short term decline. Every time we march fluidly into first down in plus territory at about the 20 or 30 I wish we would play action and dart downfield. Accept the occasional forced pick or holding penalty. Who cares? Those drives have to end in touchdowns. Right now Tannehill doesn't understand they have to be touchdowns. And once you get him into second and third down flatfooted decision making the results have not cooperated and show no signs of ever cooperating.
Obviously we do Tannehill no favors by designing those third down routes shy of the marker. If anything symbolizes Miami Dolphins football right now, that tendency is it. I mentioned Paul Warfield slant passes as the all time signature play in franchise history. Good thing Don Shula and offensive coordinator Howard Schnellenberger didn't own the current playbook. Those slants would have turned into short parallel outs to Warfield, with Howard Twilley asked to block for him.
At least tonight the stalls enabled me to evaluate both new kickers. I slightly prefer the FAU kid, primarily due to a more consistent and fluid swing, while the New Mexico guy has some punch/force tendencies. Both have good fundamentals in terms of proper alignment, and patience to begin the run up. Some young kickers have a tendency to get overly anxious and lean forward, rushing the first step. That never seems to be a problem with Dolphins kickers. Good special teams coaching.
Other than maddening field goals, the interior offensive line stood out, and not in a good way. Those guys are not special athletes nor overly stout and it is going to influence many games during the season. Kilgore was an afterthought in San Francisco. I'm not sure why we pursued him or consider him satisfactory. He had some rapport with Garrapolo but other than that the reviews were not good. Basically they dumped him.
Asiata is similar to Stephone Anthony in that we should have figured out the truth last season.
I love many aspects of this receiving corps. Let me emphasize that. It is so awesome to watch Dolphins football without jittery little faux tough guy Jarvis Landry out there. Wilson is better than I expected. He had some issues with timing on the hitch route but that should clean up easily. Gesicki will be a huge bonus once he's targeted. I don't mind that currently he's quiet. I just hope it is not like stubborn 2016, when Grant already looked capable in preseason but remained in the regular season barn, for no good reason.
Quinn looks great and it won't be a one-time thing. No apparent health issues, correct position, and in shape. Along with Fitzpatrick he might end up being the best defender on the team. I have one buddy who is a Rams fan and he didn't like that trade at all, no matter how much he tried to rationalize it.
The team had good energy tonight, despite the defeat. It looked very much like a road team coming off a loss. That is an energized situation in preseason as well as regular season. I looked for that zest tonight and it was good to see plenty, and from the outset.
Another cupcake trivia question answer in Don McNeal. In fact, I remembered exactly where I was on the USC campus when we made that pick in 1980. It was the first year ESPN covered the draft live but I didn't skip out of classes to watch. What a fool. But I did righten matters the following two years.
