Rewinding Jacksonville win

[DolFan619]

http://blogs.sun-sentinel.com/sports_football_dolphins/2008/08/rewinding-jacks.html

Rewinding Jacksonville win

I make it a habit of re-watching all Dolphins games, using my DVR to pickup little things I might have missed that either led to a big play, or critical mistakes. On this blog I'll share some of those observations and thoughts from last Saturday's 19-14 win over Jacksonville.

This team has really bought into Chad Pennington being their leader. It's clear that the team's confidence level has perked up. A number of players - from Ricky Williams, to Samson Satele, to Ted Ginn Jr. admitted it after the game. I get the sense Pennington, who has some zip on those passes to Ginn, might be worth two wins this season....

What in the world were the Dolphins doing with Patrick Cobbs back there returning kicks. Cobbs can do many jobs well for this team, but I'm pretty confident returning kickoffs isn't one of them. I'd have preferred Davone Bess, Jayson Foster or Anthony Armstrong be back there. As for Cobbs' lone return, fellow tailback Jalen Parmele did nothing to open up a necessary hole....

It's amazing how fresh Williams looks running the ball. Since the Dolphins have the cash to spent the Trifecta might want to resign him to a decent multi-year deal now because I suspect he'll put together a Pro Bowl effort as this team's starter. Ricky is clearly this team's most talented player, and I suspect he'll be playing till he's 34, which gives him three more seasons. I just discovered we're born five days apart from one another....

Anytime ANYONE does something wrong Tony Sparano's in their face about it. This is a drastic switch from Cam Cameron's calm demeanor, and I'm sure it'll enhance this team's accountability level. There really was none for last year's 1-15 team....

It was interesting to discover Jake Long didn't have trouble with the speedy Quentin Groves, who started the game for the Jaguars. Long had difficulty with Jacksonville's bull rushers. However, he only had a few negative plays in the game, and was excellent in run blocking, routinely making blocks in the second level....

David Martin might be the best pass catching tight end the Dolphins have, but if he doesn't start pass blocking better he could be the odd man out when the 53-man roster is produced. Martin whiffed on a couple of bad blocks that put pressure on Pennington. While Pennington stepped up into the pocket, or ran for decent gains on those plays, if Martin can't be counted on as a blocker he shouldn't stay....

Boomer Grigsby, who started the game, is clearly the front-runner to become the lone fullback kept on the 53-man roster. Reagan Mauia is so-so in all of his assignments, and his blocking wasn't special. I suspect his tenure with the Dolphins is over.

While Dan Carpenter is 6-for-6 on his field goals, his kickoffs need plenty of work. The only thing worse than his short kickoffs were the Dolphins kickoff coverage unit. Considering special teams was suppose to be upgraded by all these lower level free agent signings I was expecting a lot more.

This might surprise you, but the player who gets my Goldstar of the game is Paul Soliai, the defensive tackle I'm regularly riding. I couldn't believe how GOOD Soliai looked on my rewind of the game. I found myself making four POSITIVE notes about him, and was shocked about it. He forced a fumble, he collapsed the pocket on passing plays, he clogged running lanes and made tackles. If this Samoan keeps this up he'll earn a spot on the 53-man roster. Give the man a hand-clap for Saturday's performance.

While Derek Hagan had a couple of nice catches against the Jaguars (a few of them didn't count because of penalties) his blocking has got to improve. If it doesn't Ernest Wilford should be the receiver on the field on first downs. Wilford didn't catch many passes. But he looked pretty good as the slot receiver with the second unit. My Jacksonville buddies told me his issue is he prefers to catch with his body, and is pretty good at it. Hopefully Pennington comes to that realization soon and uses that pinpoint accuracy to give the struggling receiver what he needs.

While the starting offensive line was effective opening up running lanes, the second unit fizzled. Anyone have a tackle to spare?....

Based on performance during the games and practices I've got Armstrong, not Jayson Foster, as the front-runner for the practice squad spot if Bess is kept on the 53-man roster, and the Dolphins don't find better options on the waiver wire. I'd prefer the Dolphins find someone with more upside, but there's no guarantee anyone like that will be out there...

I was quite surprised at how effective Chad Henne was throwing on the run. He was very accurate when rolling out of the pocket. For those keeping count, Henne has had eight drives in the exhibition season and five of them has produced points for the Dolphins.

So, is there anything you caught with a microscope (good or bad) that needs closely examining this week? And who are you most interested to measure up during Saturday's home game against Kansas City?

You know the routine. Hit me with any questions or comments here and I've get to them, and F5 to refresh. Later this week I'll give you my stock report, but keep in mind that practices are no longer open to the media so you'll have to do without my daily observations. However, we will be here EVERY DAY saying or writing something thoughtful, at least that's the plan. I also plan to host another LIVE Q&A.

Again, I'd like to thank you folks for another record-setting week.

And finally, I'd like to humbly apologize to anyone I offended with my mention of a "gas chamber" in Saturday's game story. It was an insensitive illustration that slipped through the cracks. One of my goal in this profession is to never be too proud to admit when I'm wrong on something, and someone. I was wrong.

Deuces.

> Posted by Omar Kelly at 8:18:52 AM