Preseason Game 1 - Tampa vs. Miami - Observations

[Jim Gray]

Well, it could have been worse I guess.  There were some promising momments early on. 

- Ricky looks good
- the offensive line did better than I expected
- play calling looks better
- defensive line is getting some push
- 2 for 2 on field goals

Here's what was not so good

- defence couldn't get Tampa off the field
- Tampa had way too many big first down plays
- defensive backs played so far back, lots of short passes were good for 8/9 yards
- too many penalties (9 for 60 yards, most on the offense)
- dominated on time of possession
- offense was anemic, Miami had good starting position but never got in the red zone and really never threatened
- receivers couldn't get any space between them and the defenders
- special teams allowed a couple of big run backs

Clearly, there's room for a little optimism.  With Ricky and Ronnie playing, and Pennington to manage the game, maybe the offense can put some drives together.  The defense seems to be improved, despite the 3rd down conversion rate.  The run defense is clearly improved and it was nice to see some pressure being put on Tampa's QBs.  I get the sense that some of the pieces are there, but not enough to be competitive with better teams. 

[YoFuggedaboutit]

Clearly, there's room for a little optimism.  With Ricky and Ronnie playing, and Pennington to manage the game, maybe the offense can put some drives together.  The defense seems to be improved, despite the 3rd down conversion rate.  The run defense is clearly improved and it was nice to see some pressure being put on Tampa's QBs.  I get the sense that some of the pieces are there, but not enough to be competitive with better teams. 

Some of the pieces are there..... and this team should improve from horrific to simply a bad team.

[Dave Gray]

Positives:
- Ricky looked good.
- Carpenter (kicker) not only hit 2 FGs over 40, but had the leg for much more.  I wasn't too impressed with his kickoffs, where he's supposed to excel.
- Our two new DEs got some good action
- Some good plays by our FBs catching balls.
- I thought Henne looked great.  He looks so much more comfortable than the rest.  And his throws are crisp.  He also didn't just sit there, and stepped into the pocket to deliver the ball.

Negatives:
- Beck looks loafy and scared still.  He didn't blow it, but I was unimpressed and he looks like a statue.
- More of the same to end the game -- sloppy tackling, poor punt return coverage, costly penalties like holding and false start, poor line coverage.
- McCown had little help from the line at the end of the game, but he didn't look great.

[DolFan619]

What I learned tonight

- Beck while hardly impressive, managed to do a few nice things

- Chad Henne really looked good out there.  He showed: arm strength, accuracy, moxie, poise, and great command of the huddle.  It's only one game, but I was very impressed.

- Miami Dolphins fans, if you didn't know who Dan Carpenter was before, you do now.  Meet your new starting kicker.  Carpenter didn't have the normal distance he usually has on his kickoffs, but they had good hangtime.

- Brandon Fields was booming the crap out of the ball.  His coverage units let him down on several punts, but nonetheless he looks solid.

- Our depth sucks.  It really, really, really sucks.  This is what bad drafting has done to this team.  This team needs to horde draft picks like there's no tommorrow and hit on all their draft picks in the next three to four drafts.

- Ernest Wilford was a ghost.  When he did appear he dropped a pass from Henne that was on the money.

- Ricky looked fantastic.

- Ronnie Brown looks fine physically, but you can tell he's battling with the mental part of his recovery.  He'll be fine, it just takes time.

- McClown?  Awful, just simply awful.  Cut this piece of garbage, and cut him now!  Piss poor play, it's nothing new for him.

- Jake Long played admirably in his first taste of NFL action.  Aside from the one penalty, I didn't see any other mistakes that really stood out.