Preseason week 3

[EKnight]

Week 3 is supposed to be the "dress reversal" for the regular season. If that is the case, things I'm looking for tomorrow night:
1. Tannehill hasn't turned the ball over, but he hasn't exactly lit it up either- at least against starters. Atlanta's defense has given up a ton of yards and looked bad so far. Can Tannehill put together some consistent drives and scores against this group?
2. Matt Ryan has looked spectacular through the two losses. Will getting Wake and Burnett back keep enough pressure on him and the running game to slow Ryan down? Can anybody in the secondary stop or even slow Jones and White? The defense has looked pretty bad against both the run and pass so far, but played without some key starters. Will we see a difference finally?
3. Where are the tight ends? Clay and Egnew were supposed to push Fasano, and some folks felt like Fasano would actually lose his starting job. So far, the TEs have been a non-factor in games, and Fasano reportedly has looked the best of the group in practice. Can any one of the three be a factor?
4. Where is the running game? Enough said there.
5. Can two rookies- Martin and Miller- show why they were drafted? For the good press surrounding both, neither had impressed me. - EK

[Pappy13]

3. Where are the tight ends? Clay and Egnew were supposed to push Fasano, and some folks felt like Fasano would actually lose his starting job. So far, the TEs have been a non-factor in games, and Fasano reportedly has looked the best of the group in practice. Can any one of the three be a factor?

Actually the TE's have contributed a bit in preseason:

Fasano 4 for 37
Clay 3 for 49 and TD
Egnew 3 for 43

That's about what I expect out of them in the regular season. There's only been 2 passing TD's and 1 went to a TE. The talk that Fasano would lose his starting job was silly. Fasano is underated as a TE. He'll be one of the top targets for the Dolphins again this year.

[EKnight]

I agree. IMO, he has the best hands of any healthy pass catchers on the team. -EK

[suck for luck]

"dress reversal"

Sounds about right for Miami. 

[MikeO]

Still a preseason game at the end of the day. So you can't go nuts over things but they will do a little game-planning this week so things might look a little better. If so, good. If not, no biggie. Its still the preseason and most vets just dont go all out and take these things seriously. Some do, maybe guys who are rehabbing an injury or missed last year but the games don't count for a reason and you can't read too much into them.

Right now in the 2012 preseason the Colts, Jaguars, and Arizona are 1,2,3 in POINTS SCORED. Seattle is 5th and Cleveland is 6th.  And New England is 27th in points scored and GB is 29th. Can you take that at all seriously or a sign of things to come? Of course not. It's a joke.

Do not read much of anything into these games. Of course as a "fan" you want your team to look good but big picture, it means little to nothing! Cam Newton was god awful last year in the preseason. Was dreadful. When the games counted things changed a bit..lol

[el diablo]

"dress reversal"

Sounds about right for Miami. 

That's fucked up. Are you a closet Ravens fan or something?

Seriously, don't care about a win or a loss. Just looking for signs of improvement in fundamentals.

[Landshark]

"dress reversal"

Sounds about right for Miami. 

What the heck is a dress reversal anyway?   

[Tenshot13]

What the heck is a dress reversal anyway?  

Kriss Kross will make you...JUMP! JUMP!

[el diablo]

Daddy Mac will make you....Jump! Jump! Uh-huh, uh-huh!

[EKnight]

LOO, wasn't sure if anyone would catch that. Yes... after the way Miami played its first two games with its starters, I'm looking for a reversal. I totally get that it's the preseason, so the record doesn't matter. Improvement does. -EK

[EKnight]

Actually the TE's have contributed a bit in preseason:

Fasano 4 for 37
Clay 3 for 49 and TD
Egnew 3 for 43

That's about what I expect out of them in the regular season. There's only been 2 passing TD's and 1 went to a TE. The talk that Fasano would lose his starting job was silly. Fasano is underated as a TE. He'll be one of the top targets for the Dolphins again this year.

Pappy- this is what I meant in terms of how the TE's have looked:

Dolphins Notebook: Tight ends continue to struggle

The Miami Dolphins tight end position meetings likely haven't been a very happy place the past few weeks.

Starting tight end Anthony Fasano, who is in the final year of his contract, is by far the team's best option at the position. However, he has had a mediocre preseason that included a dropped pass early in an exhibition loss to Carolina.

Charles Clay, who had 16 catches for 233 yards with three touchdowns last year, is a poor blocker and had possibly the worst two weeks of any player on the roster in training camp. He is becoming more consistent but first-year coach Joe Philbin expects more.

"Early on there were some things that we weren't totally fired up about, but I think he has really developed the last couple of weeks,” Philbin told the Miami Herald. “The last two or three weeks he has really stepped his game up. We're going to need him to do that obviously through the course of the year."

Michael Egnew, who was taken in the third round of April's draft, has been awful through the exhibition season. He rarely blocked in his college offense at Missouri and his physical tools are slow in developing at the pro level. Les Brown is in the same boat with mediocre blocking ability and likely will be among the first round of cuts on Monday.

Meantime, Jeron Mastrud does have a chance to make the roster with his blocking ability. He has worked on multiple goal-line sets with the first team.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/blog/nfl-rapidreports/19885783/dolphins-notebook-tight-ends-continue-to-struggle

-EK

[Pappy13]

Pappy- this is what I meant in terms of how the TE's have looked:

Dolphins Notebook: Tight ends continue to struggle

I read it, but here's my take.

Fasano dropped a pass? He caught 4 others. Big news. Film at 11.

Clay has looked bad in practice? He had 3 catches for 49 yards and a TD in the game. Big news. Film at 11.

Egnew and Les Brown can't block? That's not why they were brought in. Big news. Film at 11.

Mastrud can't catch? That's why Egnew and Les Brown are being given a try out. Big news. Film at 11.

This is one of those filler stories where they don't have anything else to write about. Fasano is the same guy that he was last year. Clay will continue to improve. Egnew won't be asked to do much blocking, he'll be asked to get down the seam to catch passes, give him a year to see if he can do that and to work on his blocking skills and then tell me if he sucks or not. They took a flyer on Les Brown, people's eyes ALWAYS bug out of their head when they hear that some guy can run FAST. Whooop de fucking do. Doesn't mean a DAMN thing unless you can teach him how to use that speed. Ginn Jr couldn't do it. Clyde Gates couldn't do it. Appears that Brown can't do it either. I don't know when people are going to realize it doesn't matter if you can run or not, it matters whether you can play. Mastrud is here to block and he does a fine job of it. If they want a blocking TE in the game, 'Strud is your man, if he makes the team.

I love how the media will write a story that builds up a position and says it's going to be a strenth of the team prior to the season and then will write another story later in the year that says it didn't happen like it's news. New flash, both stories were a load of bull.

[EKnight]

They likely were- I just wanted to point out that I wasn't the only one who had this particular POV. With the way Philbin utilized Finley in GB, I guess I expected to see more/better production at that position. -EK

[Pappy13]

They likely were- I just wanted to point out that I wasn't the only one who had this particular POV. With the way Philbin utilized Finley in GB, I guess I expected to see more/better production at that position. -EK

Exactly. People were EXPECTING things out of the position because Philbin came, but that's not how the NFL works. You don't tailor your players to your system, you tailor your system to your players. TE was a strength in GB so they utilized it, doesn't mean it's going to happen here. Philbin has been saying that RB is a strength here, I expect to see a LOT of screens to Bush and Miller once the season gets going as that would seem to fit the personnel Miami has. We haven't seen it yet because Miami has been trying to evaluate the QB's and the WR's, but I expect to see that change tonight now that Tannehill has been given the job at QB. If Bush, Miller and Thomas don't produce this year then it will be a story.

[EKnight]

So true. I'm anxious to see what Miami has if they actually have "game planned" for ATL. tonight. I'm still not sold on Miller, but I actually hope I'm wrong. -EK