NFL Preseason 2010: Miami Dolphins Game 3 Recap

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After studying the Dolphins-Falcons week three preseason game tape, I learned several things about your 2010 Miami Dolphins thus far in the pre season.

1. Chad Henne is still inconsistent

His 10-for-22 night wasn’t as bad as advertised. He missed a few throws but for the most part played okay. Okay isn’t good enough because we need him to be more than okay. The biggest thing that Henne must improve upon is his vision. He locks on to his primary receivers and stares them down, giving away critical tells as to where the ball is going. A good linebacker and safety is going to pick up on that and get a jump on the pass. His short throws looked very good and his interception was a hell of a defensive play.

2. The receiving core is going to be all right without Camarillo

Patrick Turner, Marlon Moore, and Roberto Wallace have shown enough. Moore just might end up being the number four receiver. He has great speed and acceleration and shows elusiveness with the ball in his hands, as he showed on an end-around in the Falcons game.

Turner has great size and good hands, while Wallace has the size and the speed to be a player in the downfield passing game. If Miami only keeps five receivers it’s going to be a tough decision. My gut is they go with Turner and Moore and stash Wallace on the practice squad. All three bring different skills to the table.

3. The secondary is better than people think

Remember the defense doesn’t show anything in the preseason. There are no exotic blitz packages and everything is basic. This hurts the play of the secondary because there isn’t as much pressure on the quarterback, leaving corners and safeties vulnerable in coverage.

Vontae Davis looked great against a pretty good Atlanta receiving core. He had three deflections and was very aggressive in one-on-one coverage.

In a post-game interview Davis was asked about the “vanilla” defensive scheme in the preseason and whether the defense has some things in store for the season. Davis flashed a big grin and danced away saying “Stay tuned, stay tuned”.

4. Where is the kick coverage!?

Again, the special teams gave up a big return, which lead to Atlanta’s first quarter touchdown. A weak special teams unit is going to make it difficult to win consistently in this league. You can’t give the opposing offense the ball on the forty consistently. It puts all the pressure on the defense.

5. Pat White is alive

Pat White got his first legitimate game action so far and played pretty good. He was 4-for-4 for 27 yards in his short stint of action. Whether he makes the team is still a huge question mark.

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