Miami Dolphins Preseason: Coach's Review Of the Game Vs. Tampa Bay Bucs

As a former high school football coach, I am going to take a look at tonight's Miami Dolphins preseason game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from a different perspective.

Instead of just watching the ball, as a fan often does, I am going to zero in on individual players and try to give you the story behind the stats.  While this will read more like a blog than a true article, let's give it a try. 

Pre-Game Notes:

Karlos Dansby is leading the defensive huddle as the rain pours down. It seems as though he is assuming a natural leadership role.

First Half Observations:

Tristan Davis muffs the opening kick but more importantly he looks tentative returning the football. Be decisive young man! On the Dolphin's second kick return, Nolan Carroll looks much more eager to hit the hole.

On Miami's first offensive play, there was outstanding inside pass protection on the line which leads to a short completion from Chad Henne to Lousaka Polite. Henne's critics are going to have a field day with an intended screen pass for Lousaka Polite that shows a lack of touch. 

Later in the half, I watched Jake Long on three consecutive plays and he is extremely active using his hands to keep the defender off of him. It looks like he is making this a priority to improving his game. 

Those were the pluses for the offensive line. On the negative side, Vernon Carey pulls but is too late getting over and takes down the defender. The holding penalty negated a probable first down by Ronnie Brown. I'll give Carey a pass on his lack of quickness in the mud.

I can't be as generous with Jake Grove not being able to snap the ball into Tyler Thigpen's hands late in the first half. When your team is in the red zone, a veteran center can't produce that turnover.

The run blocking looks mediocre in terms of opening holes. Ronnie Brown had a couple of nice carries but he broke tackles to make those plays.

I am cursing the rain and the Marlins' baseball infield because the footing for the players is awful, especially for the first team Dolphin offense that spent the majority of the first quarter in the slop.

Brandon Marshall drops an on target slant pass. He was double covered and the defender got a piece of it, but Marshal probably should have pulled that in. The broadcasters are blaming the rain. I don't buy it.

Later, Marshall runs a great route, is wide open and drops the ball. He seemed to take his eyes off the ball and look up the middle of the field. I wouldn't worry about Marshall, but you have to call it like you see it.

I agree with Bob Griese. Tear down the Nick Saban Memorial bubble. The Dolphins need to practice in the rain. It's hard to evaluate the offense with a soaking wet football, but there are going to be regular season games Miami is going to have to play in less than ideal conditions. 

On defense, Vontae Davis was playing too far off Tampa Bay receiver Maurice Stovall (catch my interview with Stovall soon!) who caught a Josh Freeman pass for a first down. Davis is beat for a big gain by Mike Williams and on the replay, you can see that Davis never turns his head around to locate the ball on the play. Davis does a great job of coming up to tackle later in run support.

A touchdown catch by Sammie Stroughter is in part due to poor coverage by Sean Smith who appeared to slip. Smith makes an interception later in the half, but he benefited from an underthrown ball. He didn't have great coverage on the play.

Nolan Carroll had outstanding coverage on a fluttering Josh Johnson pass that was caused by Cameron Wake pressure.

Chris Clemons takes a poor lunging tackle attempt on backup quarterback Josh Johnson who scrambles out of the pocket. That can not make you feel good that the Dolphins missed out on a veteran safety this offseason.   

Overall, this obviously was not a great night for the Dolphins' secondary.

Let's get to some positives.

Koa Misi had a nice bull rush, but he needs to keep his head up and locate the quarterback as Josh Johnson escaped to the outside. Misi made a nice play in pass coverage on tightend John Gilmore, keeping the gain to a minimum. He gets outstanding pressure late in the half on the right side and enables Channing Crowder to stop the running back for a loss. This is a nice debut by the rookie.

There was a horrible roughing the passer call on Micah Johnson. The referees need to learn that when a player is in the process of making a tackle you can't expect the player to freeze his momentum.

OK, here is the funniest moment of the preseason so far. Paul Solai, the newly crowned "dancing bear", hurdles over a pile to recover a fumble. In all seriousness, Solai looks like a player reborn as he is getting a consistent push up the middle. Solai's play is one of the most significant positives you can take away from tonight.

Charles Grant was not ready for a snap and got off the line late. Again, this is a mistake that you don't want to see out of veterans.  

Second Half Observations:

Quentin Moses and Lionel Dotson showed good pressure, but what impressed me about Dotson was nice lateral quickness on a running play that he stopped for a loss. 

Rookie Marlon Moore makes a nice veteran like move when he pulls up slightly to catch a Thigpen pass inside of the defender.

Patrick Turner had a big catch on a post pattern in the first half that I forgot to mention. Unfortunately, he also looks like he is gliding or striding on his routes instead of accelerating.

Roberto Wallace also had a grab, but he missed his assignment as a wing on special teams which led to a blocked punt. Providing Turner wins the No. 5 receiver job, I don't think Miami can get Moore and Wallace on the practice squad. They are too big and too skilled to not get poached. I'm going to killed for this, but I think you have to investigate dealing Greg Camarillo or carry six receivers. It's a risk, but I hate cutting players at a position where you have a surplus of talent.

Ryan Grice-Mullen and James Pruitt (despite a couple of catches) need to polish their resumes.

I love the way that Hilliard lowers his shoulder to finish his runs. He has done it several times in this game and while it might prevent him from some big runs it does inflict damage on defenders.

Nate Ness got lost on a desperation pass earlier in the second half, but he played much better later in the half and made a play that I absolutely love.

On fourth down, the Buccaneers tried the goal line slant pass that is used frequently in the NFL.  Ness slammed the receiver to prevent the catch. You have to disrupt the route to have any chance on the play. Last season, I saw the receiver get a clean release way too often on this route.  

Well Folks, that's it for now.  I'll take any questions you might have.