First Pre-Season Game thoughts

From what the Falcons announcers were saying, this is exactly how the two days of joint practices went with the Dolphins: the Falcons dominated.

One of the local TV stations in my area carries Falcons games, so I got the Falcons coverage of the game live friday night.

While not the "Falcons are headed to the Super Bowl" joy of the Falcons announcers, I did think the Falcons players were motivated and the Dolphins looked like they were going thru the motions. The Dolphins were sloppy, and looked out of sorts on offense especially. The defense looked Boyer-ish for most of the night IMO. White did some good things but then would make some boneheaded plays. Skylar looked like a rookie again at times. And Special teams...I HOPE the Phins Special teams gets much better.

Now this was the Phins 3rd and 4th stringers mostly, with a few 2nd strings sprinkled in. But it was also the Falcons 3rd and 4th stringers too. The Phins were able to run the ball, and there were passes there to be made, but usually, it was the horrendous Oline or a QB snafu that derailed the Phins from scoring.

Achane - Yep, if he plays like that then the Phins got a good one.

Garret Nelson - I hope he makes it as he plays with some attitude.

Pili - HE showed up but maybe just because the other DTs didn't?

Higgins - needs to play more but he could develop into a real weapon on offense I am thinking.

Cam Smith made some plays - He looks mighty thin to me.

It was the first preseason game so maybe things will improve, but I am starting to get that old "Lucy Effect" feeling about McD. Sort of like Gase, he looked good early on and then everything went off the rails!!

The team just doesn't look HUNGRY IMO. Maybe it is McD's lackadaisical attitudes filtering into the players? I definitely think the Falcons wanted it more than the Phins did.

We shall see I guess.

I was wondering if anybody here would have the cojones to bring this up. I heard the same thing, that the Fins got their derrieres handed to them on a silver platter. Now I am even MORE pessimistic about this season than I was before, and even *I* didn't think that would be possible

I know someone's going to chime in with "it's only preseason" but I still remember that one time in '97 when I was living in south Florida and got to see/listen to every Fins preseason game and the one common thread was that they couldn't run to save their lives and sure enough, they set what is still a franchise record for lowest yards per carry in a season.

Also, I heard Smith got hurt and so did Waddle in one of the practices

6 wins and last in the division, I'm telling you...

Here's one bright spot from Friday night: Channing Tindall. There. I said it.

Several tackles and a sack. Showed some physical ability. I think they are carving him a role that will be easier to digest. We saw last year he looked extremely raw and slow to react. He's an athlete who's football instincts aren't where they need to be for an NFL player. That could be changing under a new scheme, and much better defensive coaching staff overall.

Agree with FF on Cam Smith - not the thin part, but he was making plays like he has been all camp - batting passes away and showing he can be physical in run support. An absolute requirement for the Fangio scheme.

Cam Smith had the highlight pass breakup of the game going from one side of the field to the other to make the play. That showed a lot in that one play. You can't coach that.

Wow, not how I saw the game at all.

I've only watched the first half so far, and from my view the Dolphins dominated on both sides. Unfortunately, they couldn't finish drives, but otherwise I thought they looked real good for a collection of backups playing their first preseason game.

The OL was the most impressive part of the team. Jackson looked great IMO, showing excellent footwork and dominating his man in pass pro and run blocking. At LG, Eich played well, and IMO Wynn looked even better when he replaced him. Rookie center Uluave got the start and I thought he played surprisingly well.

Gaskin made plays as both a runner and receiver.

Achane had a nice return and did OK on the ground...I need to see more, though.

EZ was great, with two huge runs ala Deebo Samuel and some nice catches.

At LB, Tindall, Nelson and Miller all made plays.

New CB Eli Apple was very active and showed strong tackling skills.

Cam Smith looks like the real deal.

Mike White struggled with accuracy and ball placement, but was able to move the team between the 20s.

Overall, the Dolphins completely dominated the first half statistically, and I saw some young, hungry players flying around. Considering that almost no starters played other than AJax and Eich, I felt very positive about the first half performance.

DolFan 316 wrote:I heard the same thing, that the Fins got their derrieres handed to them on a silver platter.

...

Also, I heard Smith got hurt and so did Waddle in one of the practices

You heard wrong, at least regarding the first half. The Falcons did almost nothing and the Phins dominated the half. The offense marched up and down the field but unfortunately couldn't score. They ran all over the Falcons. The D played great, limiting the Falcons to just 6 points.

As I said in my other post, the OL was the best part - and if Jackson and Wynn/Eich continue to play at this level, we'll be in excellent shape.

The Waddle and Smith injuries are not serious - nothing to worry about.

JMP is right about the first half. Heck, I think the score was 6-3 with about three or four minutes to go and then the hideous failed coverage of a punt that got returned for a TD. Followed by a Skylar pick 6 INT that was absolutely a terrible throw.

The Phins had the edge in yards especially rushing in the first half. Which makes the decision to roll White out to his left on the first drive into the red zone all the more stupid a play call IMO. I would have kept feeding Gaskin or Achane or at least throwing it to them.

I never felt confident the Phins were going to win though. Even after a good play, there would be a penalty, a sack, and then a pass behind the receiver that allowed the Falcons Defender to get his hands on the ball. There was just way too much inconsistency, which I guess is to be expected from 3rd and 4th stringers.

The way the QBs played after this much time in training camp was/is just very disappointing.

finfanatic wrote:The way the QBs played after this much time in training camp was/is just very disappointing.

Brock Purdy. (Sighs.)

finfanatic wrote:JMP is right about the first half. Heck, I think the score was 6-3 with about three or four minutes to go and then the hideous failed coverage of a punt that got returned for a TD. Followed by a Skylar pick 6 INT that was absolutely a terrible throw.

The Phins had the edge in yards especially rushing in the first half. Which makes the decision to roll White out to his left on the first drive into the red zone all the more stupid a play call IMO. I would have kept feeding Gaskin or Achane or at least throwing it to them.

I never felt confident the Phins were going to win though. Even after a good play, there would be a penalty, a sack, and then a pass behind the receiver that allowed the Falcons Defender to get his hands on the ball. There was just way too much inconsistency, which I guess is to be expected from 3rd and 4th stringers.

The way the QBs played after this much time in training camp was/is just very disappointing.

I have now watched the whole game, and this is a very fair assessment FF.

The score was 6-3 with just over 2:30 left on the clock, so it's not like the final score was indicative of the game. Basically, the Dolphins' scrubs made more mistakes than the Falcons' scrubs. The Dolphins were VERY sloppy in the 4th quarter...just a shitshow really.

This DT Twyman has been drawing praise in practice, and he made some plays in the game. Definitely someone to keep an eye on, considering the lack of depth at DT. He has a chance.

Tindall, Achane and EZ continued to impress in the second half. Looks like we have some good young players to develop.

Not much to take from this game considering that only two potential starters played, but the first half play of the OL was very encouraging, and it is great to see a few young players stepping up.

We definitely need to see improvement from:

ONE - The O-Line - I think the Phins are going to play the starters some in this game vs the Texans, so... But the 2nd stringers really need to step up and show something IMO.

TWO - The QBs - I have been hearing some very bad things about Tua's performances. Mostly the dreadful inconsistency thing again. If Tua has another roller coaster season, this may be his last with the Phins!!! And of course, the whole concussion thing... But White needs to get more accuracy and make better decisions. Skylar needs to avoid the sophomore slump and step up. Getting some reps with starters and 2nd stringers will no doubt help.

Overall though, the football IQ of the whole team needs to go up, up, and up. No more sliding into a QB who has slid to the ground like that dipshiite play by Twyman... no more dangerous off target throws on a rollout to the left side by White when the Phins are looking at 3 points for sure... no more drive killing penalties back to back by the same RT (Tunstall) or any other O-lineman.

It was only the first game, but I could not help being disappointed mostly because I was EXPECTING the team to be MUCH MUCH BETTER in McD's second year than the first. At first...initial impression is the team is NOT THAT MUCH BETTER.

But it is still early and we have not seen the starters yet, so...

We shall see.

finfanatic wrote:

But it is still early and we have not seen the starters yet, so...

That's the thing: WE HAVEN'T SEEN THE STARTERS. There's really nothing to take away one way or another from watching backups in an unscripted game in August. That said, the OL was excellent in the first half, the offense pretty much marched up and down the field all game - largely behind the run game, and the D held the Falcons to 6 points.