Three takeaways from the Miami Dolphins preseason

[DKphin]

[h=3]1. Miami’s offense will look different[/h]If there is one thing offensively we learned from the first three preseason games, it’s that Miami’s offensive philosophy has changed from the Joe Philbin and Bill Lazor era.
First-year head coach Adam Gase has shown that he will stick to a running game, something he did during his time as an offensive coordinator in Denver and Chicago. It seems like this season, he will go out of his way this season to get Miami’s tailbacks involved in the action – unlike we have seen from the Dolphins in recent history.


[h=3]2. The secondary will be tested, often[/h]Although rookie cornerback Xavien Howard is expected to make his preseason debut Thursday against Tennessee, it’s a safe bet that opposing team’s quarterbacks will pick on the rookie very often if he begins the year as a starter.
Newly acquired corner Byron Maxwell has looked fine besides a few plays against one of the best wide receivers in the league — Dez Bryant — but the position outside of Maxwell has looked shaky at best. It’s been clear in preseason games that quarterbacks were targeting the receiver that Tony Lippett was covering, so that can also be expected once regular season begins if Lippett is thrown into action.


[h=3]3. Linebackers will continue to be a weak spot[/h]Coming into the preseason, several analysts labeled Miami’s linebackers as the weakest position on the team. After three games so far, this unit has done little to prove the skeptics wrong.
With Miami’s wide-nine defensive front technique there is much asked of the linebackers. They need to shed blocks and shoot gaps that the defensive line creates. So far, this hasn’t exactly been the case.
Often times when the linebackers have been in position to make a play, they have come up empty on the tackle, putting additional pressure on Miami’s secondary that is already pre-consumed with the threat of a pass.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/three-takeaways-miami-dolphins-preseason-144840737.html

 

[DuderinoN703]

Time to score 30 points a game. Draft defense in 2017.

 

[Digital]

Thanks DKphin.

I'm looking at our team and I'm seeing it a tad differently. Yes, our LB's aren't a strength, but to me I'm more worried about our CB's, TE's and our OL. Fortunately, all 4 groups have shown flashes. Kiko shows excellent diagnosing and movement ... and hopefully he has come around on the tackling. Misi has looked good when not in coverage. Jenkins needs to stay healthy though, because the dropoff after those 3 is very substantial.

Our CB's have shown flashes, but the only one that really looks like a starter at the moment is Maxwell. Hopefully Xavien Howard gets healthy and starts learning quickly ... because we need him and he is definitely going to take his lumps as a rookie. I like Bobby McCain, but outside of his ball-skills he is struggling to learn this defense. Lippett is bad in space, but if he can stay close he can be very effective. Lots of improvement needed at CB.

TE is the bread and butter of the Gase offense ... but Cameron has looked more like a butterfinger. Sims lacks the physical size or speed to be particularly effective in Gase's offense. We really need Cameron to show up. If not ... we are gimping our offense. But, if he does, he has the speed to challenge the seam and the size to be a red zone threat. Very weak position production at the moment though.

OL is the source of constant worry. But, Tunsil looks legit! I'm super-excited to have him as he looks great in pass protection. So now, even if Brandon Albert gets injured, I think we can field an NFL quality OL. With a healthy Albert and Tunsil playing LG, I feel much better about Tannehill's chances. He has shown good production when he has protection, so this is very exciting. While Bushrod at RG has been hit and miss, he has shown as well as I expected and far better than Turner, Thomas or Urbik. Obviously we would like to have Pouncey healthy, but Anthony Steen has been fairly impressive at the pivot. The kid is a leverage machine and a people mover. Typically, the C is part of a double-team on a DT, and even then we tend not to move people. But Steen has shown he can move people all by himself. Steen is not only good in pass pro, but also showing the most spark in our run game. Overall, our run blocking is atrocious. But, if we can provide decent protection for Tannehill, Gase can mimic a running game with short passes.

Sure, our team has question marks everywhere. Our receiving corps is supposedly founded on sure hands .... and we are dropping everything in pre-season. Our RB group consists of a draft steal for medical reasons (Ajayi) and a former great (Foster) neither of which has shown well when our OL continually fails to open holes. But overall, I'm less worried about the starting LB's than I am about a bunch of other units.

 

[ITS!MATEO]

I fully expect Miami to pass on drafting a LB high next draft. Tbum is in charge.

 

[LANGER72]

This is a 8-8 team
Still to many holes and not enough depth.

 

[Patrick_Bateman]

This is a 8-8 team
Still to many holes and not enough depth.

I think I agree at this point, I had them a tad bit lower earlier but I can see 8-8 if some things pan out. I would consider that a successful start, offseason/draft next year are huge yet again - this is where the Big Tuna/JI braintrust failed after their successful first season, couldn't figure out how to build the team and fill the obvious holes.

 

[Fintastic2124]

This is a 8-8 team
Still to many holes and not enough depth.

With this schedule, we're no doubt going to struggle

 

[cafinfan408]

Seattle is going to score 30 on us.. I dont know how we keep up on the road

 

[phinasota]

Russell Wilson will expose our Secondary and Linebackers so bad it will set the tone for opposing teams the whole season. I cant remember the last time I was more worried about the defense than the offense! haha. We need linebackers badly. REALLY badly

 

[Lionstone]

This is a 8-8 team
Still to many holes and not enough depth.

Based upon paper and roster holes, I agree. I want to see the game plans and Coach Gase's play calling within games before I fully agree with your position.

 

[Lionstone]

Russell Wilson will expose our Secondary and Linebackers so bad it will set the tone for opposing teams the whole season. I cant remember the last time I was more worried about the defense than the offense! haha. We need linebackers badly. REALLY badly

I am not worried about the starters within the secondary. Maxwell, X, McCain, IAQ, and Jones will be acceptable. I am worried about depth. During the Seahawks game, I am more worried about containing Wilson.

 

[Sarnics13]

I happen to see it a bit differently. I think the one thing in our favor against Wilson is the fact that our LB's are fast. Really the only thing they have is speed to cover, it's just a matter of scheme and calling the right coverage. We shall see in just over a week.

 

[SF Dolphin Fan]

The offensive line looks set up to pass protect, which means Ryan Tannehill should have a big year. The Dolphins likely will use the short passing game a bit like a running attack.

I expect the running game to be sporadic. I'm glad Adam Gase has the reputation of sticking with the run, but we haven't seen a lot of success running the ball in preseason. That will be a tough challenge in the AFC East.

I like the no-huddle and speed of the offense. That could help Miami wear teams out.

The defense could be a problem at every level unfortunately. The defensive line might be really good, but I have concerns about defensive tackle other than Suh and the team needs a bounce back year from Mario Williams. The Dolphins secondary is an obvious concern, especially if the pass rush isn't as good as expected.

Grant on special teams will give Miami some big plays there. The Dolphins could win the special team battles on a weekly basis.

Overall, hard to say how everything will work out win-wise, but I'm excited to start the real games.

 

[Good_Dylan]

8 wins this season will make FH explode with joy and Gase look like a NFL Coaching Boss...
More immediate happiness could come from losing to Sea by less than two TD's and scoring more than 10 on them.

The bar is L O W

 

[Fin Thirteen]

3 things we learned about Miami in preseason :

1) We still cant run block
2) We have no quality depth anywhere on the team
3) we still have too few players with intensity and football instinct.

I'm hoping Gase's playcalling keeps the Sea game respectable but we are going to get smacked in the mouth by a more prepared, more intense more instinctual team.