28-3. Imagine having a 25-point lead in a Super Bowl with a few minutes left. The Falcons don’t have to imagine it. They can remember it.
This year we play the Falcons in a real game on October 24, so it will be interesting to see how this week of shared practices go, leading up to the pre-season game itself. I doubt we will see anything other than basic play calling, just like it was during the Bears game.
I’ve been monitoring the injury situation among the Dolphins. So far, there have been no catastrophes, but a lot of slow, nagging injuries keeping guys out of practice. Most notably, to me, has been the receivers Preston Williams, DeVante Parker, and Albert Wilson. Tua has been unable to gain ANY cohesiveness with those guys simply because they aren’t practicing. It won’t change this week either, so on Saturday expect to see a lot of playing time for the second-tier guys like Jakeem Grant and Isiah Ford and even utility backs like Lynn Bowden and Malcom Perry.
On defense, I’m dying to get a look at Jaelen Phillips, but he’s not ready to go yet and has barely practiced.
So Armando Salguero at the Herald is moving on to work for a conservative news outlet and won’t report on the Dolphins anymore. I always felt he was decent, but not great, in his insight. He often made mountains out of molehills while failing to address the main problems. I know there is a fine line. I know a reporter cannot openly criticize a player or a coach or the owner, because he will quickly be barred from the stadium…but there has to be some middle ground, and Armando rarely found it.
Anyway, his final column is now available, and it’s a nice read. It’s 90% about the Dolphins, including an interesting tidbit on visiting Cecil Collins in prison (he served 12 years for breaking into his neighbors’ house to “watch her sleep,” as he famously claimed.)
Anyway, I will miss some–not all–of Armando’s insight.
The newest Dolphin is O lineman Greg Little. I believe that makes him the One Billionth o-lineman that we have either drafted, or traded for, or free agented, in the last few years. Jeez, will they never find 5 halfway-decent guys?
The offensive line is definitely my biggest concern this season. Especially because Tua needs to progress. Can’t have him running for his life and expect a quick progression. We’ll see how they gel. Admin, you know how I liked Tannehill and I always thought he was an above average NFL QB. But, the lack of decent offensive lineman set him up to fail! Look what he has done in Tennessee with a good line and great running game! We CAN NOT MAKE THAT MISTAKE WITH TUA! I’m excited for sure!
I think Tannehill’s recent success is a combination of a better line and better play selection. Of course, Derrick Henry helps! The Dolphins, hopefully, addressed our line issues in the draft, plus our play calling HAS to improve, right?
Tannehill can never be used asan example. He had the two worst coaches in football history. He never was able to develop correctly due to this reason. Imagine if he had good coaching during his developmental years. Considering how well he has played in the last 3 years, he probably would be in the top 5 best QBs in the league.
Agreed on all fronts and I see him picked around 7-8 in fantasy this season so he can’t be all that bad. You are right imagine if he had a fair shake to start in Miami but he got Philbum and Gase….yikes.
On a good note unlike last year the WR’s were working with Tua all offseason so even though some are hurt they have had many reps. Going to be some hard cuts there.
They need to settle on the oline to get some cohesiveness. Just be ready to plug in the next best guy if one fails. I don’t mind the Little pickup as he could help down the road. Cheap and good value.
It will come down to the injuries. Let’s say that Parker and Waddle are 100% sure things to make the team, if healthy. I think Will Fuller is 95%, if healthy. Albert Wilson is a playmaker, so if he’s healthy, he’s around 90% to make the team.
That leaves a lot of other guys who–even if they are healthy–make be gone. Isiah Ford, Jakeem Grant, and Preston Williams have all done some good things for the Dolphins. It’s quite possible that all 6 men make the team if they are all healthy. But what are the chances of that? We need depth and backups, because we KNOW that guys will get hurt along the way. So for that reason, maybe we keep 7 or 8 WRs.
Perhaps some will be eligible to be protected on the practice squad? I thought I saw that option out there. I would just hate it if the patsies picked up one of these guys you know they will before week 1.
It was a fun game to watch, but I don’t know that we can really judge much from it… Atlanta just isn’t very good, and the few good players they have didn’t really play much if at all. What’s more interesting to me is the position battles… There’s going to be a lot of tough decisions towards the bottom of the roster in the receiver and linebacker rooms especially. It’s going to be tough to ignore what Hollins has done but there’s not many spots open… And did Eguavoen manage to hang on to a roster spot? I still mean towards no…. But hard to ignore 4 sacks….
Yes true but back ups or not you still have to get it done which they did. Definitely not predicting super bowl after the win though unlike some patsies after dismantling a terrible eagles team. Will be some tough decisions no doubt about it.
It was also nice to see the oline play a little better. They had decent pass protection and running lanes. I agree with Flo they needed the work no risk no reward.
I was encouraged by Tua’s pocket performance, On a few occasions, he stepped INTO the pocket, instead of spinning away left or right like he did quite often last year.
Agreed agreed agreed. That was the most impressive thing to me as well. He stepped up. He saw the rushers from the corner of his eye and reacted. I liked Tannehill too, but his procket presence was suspect; and even when guys were clearly in his line of sight, he didn’t react fast enough. Let’s hope this continues for Tua. If he can keep reacting the way he did vs. the Falcons, he can really make a name for himself in this league.
When you’re bombarded with a pass rush, you simply need to step up and buy a few seconds. He really looked good on a few plays doing just that.
Agreed he is superior in pocket presence in comparison to Tanny. That will help the oline and offense in general. I just don’t want him taking unnecessary hits he needs to start sliding. This all without 6 WR’s in the lineup crazy.. .
I tell you what, that kid on defense with 4 sacks and a ton of solo tackles was fun to watch! If he has half the game he had against Atlanta in the next preseason game, he could make the roster! And there is something about Hollins that I love! Going to be very hard for him to make the cut with all the talent we have at WR, but I hope he can make it. As for the running backs, there is no elite back we have, but I love the way Gaskin and Ahmed run and catch. Again, it will come down to how the o line blocks, but I think they can be successful for sure.