After a Great Week of upward trends against the Panthers, the stocks came crashing down against the Bucs.
Stock Up
Chad Henne - He was accurate, he showed touch, he looks like he is showing much better command when at the line of scrimmage and he is chillin on the sidelines with Fasano and Marshall. What Chad Henne is this? The pass to Marshall was a thing of beauty. Started off slow on that first play, but he dusted himself off and led the troops. The OLine was terrible, and Henne still performed well . . . good to see. To quote someone in the chat last night "If the OLine is this bad, Chad Henne may have to carry us this year". The Henne haters are still making noises, although they are smaller noises, but the attention maybe focused on the OLine going forward. As for Henne, gotta get that ball in the endzone a little more . . . but the improvements are visible, very visible.
Kevin Burnett - I was a Crowder guy, but man Burnett is a major upgrade. He tackles well, he pressures the QB, he sticks to his man in coverage, he can play all 3 downs. The guy was all over the field last night. Miami really hit a homerun with this pickup.
Brandon Marshall - Yea he fumbled . . . but we saw the BEAST last night. Dude was breaking tackles, stiff arming, YAC, etc. They may have been forcing the passes to Brandon early on, but that communication seems clear. In Henning's offense, Henne's guy was Davone Bess . . . in Daboll's offense, his guy is Brandon Marshall. That is a great thing.
Vontae Davis - Vontae took alot of heat for his comments, but he came to play last night. Solid in coverage, picked off a Freeman pass early while blanketing Mike Williams though it was called back. He had another chance at a pickoff on a deflection but dropped it. Solid tackler, glad he showed up last night . . . he definitely had some spring in his step.
Jason Trusnick - After landing in my "Stock Down" category last week . . . Mr. Trusnick showed up big time. He was a clear force on special teams. I believe he had atleast 3 tackles on special teams. He came in on defense and was applying pressure and making sure tackles as well. I honestly think he probably made the team last night. Offers that position versatility and is clearly a solid special teamer.
Stock Down
The Offensive Line - Absolutely DREADFUL. They lost every battle on every snap. Murtha/Colombo were TERRIBLE on the ends. Vernon Carey was getting beat and at times looked a little lost. 17 carries and 22 yards says it all. Take away Pouncey, we are just too unathletic on this line w/o big Jake . . . who for the LOVE OF GOD make it back in time for New England. Once again we provided no push on goalline situations, Polite was stuffed on a 3rd and 1, Henne was feeling pressure the entire game. It was bad and I didn't even talk about the penalties, smh.
Sean Smith - You starting this **** again bro? Dropping picks, half azz tackles and what was up with the "pop up" attempt when you got beat? Dude got like an extra 20 yards because of it. Vontae backed his talk up, but you played awful last night. Get it together man, because Jimmy Wilson ain't playin.
Phillip Livas - 2nd week in a row he makes it on the stock down list, and Miami is probably going to start looking for replacements. He doesn't break tackles, he isn't a burner, he doesn't play WR and when teams get a hold of him, they throw him back. PS guy if he clears waivers . . . don't see him making it unless he has an unbelieveable 4th game.
Roberto Wallace - I like Wallace, but he has been AWOL the last two weeks and there was even some miscommunication between him and the QB tonight. Looks like Sparano was giving him an earful as well after one play. Plus he hasn't been as noticeable on special teams either. Not good. I still think he makes it, but he isn't nearly as much of alock as he was after the first game. Still has tremendous upside.
Lou Polite - His time may be up in Miami. The line was bad, but he was well short on a 3rd and 1 opportunity and he is usually money there. Haven't really seen much of him this preseason, but he isn't a standout blocker and he is very mehhh as an offensive weapon. I dunno, I think he could end up being one of those "surprise cuts" when its all said and done . . . though I know it won't be a surprise to a few people.
Honorable Mentions
Jimmy Wilson - Jimmy is a BALLER and a 7th round steal. He can hit, he can break up passes and he has been consistent. He is an offical LOCK, no doubt in my mind. He is gonna light some people up on special teams this year.
Marloon Moore - I saw you . . . what a catch man. I like to see that, and another catch and run similar to that Raiders play last season. Way to stick in there and improve off the drop seen around the world last week. With Livas dropping off and Wallace AWOL the last 2 weeks, you may have a shot afterall. Keep it up.
Brandon Fields - We know you're a beast, you killed again sir.
Negative Honorable Mention
The refs - Made the game unbearable to watch. I couldn't even focus on alot of the 2nd half and I refuse to rewatch it . . . it was bad living through once, I won't do it again. They called everything. I think they were around 26 or 27 penalties. At times I got mad at them throwing flags on Tampa. Brutal.
Overall
Being optimistic, you take away the OLine play, the Fins didn't play bad. Henne for the most part was sharp, Marshall played big, the defense let some middle of the field stuff go but they didn't break. The OLine is a HUGE question mark going into the final week and into the first game. Jake Long can't get better soon enough, but we are gonna need more than his health to have a solid unit. I'm expecting some moves to be made this week. Enough is enough.
