Sunday, August 29, 2010
Dolphins v Falcons Review - Lack of Consistency Is Becoming an Issue
10:51 AM | Posted by
Phins 2 Phins
Friday night’s game against the Falcons was disappointing to say the least; it wasn’t so much the loss that was disappointing, it was the way the team played. That being said, it is really difficult for me to pinpoint what or who exactly is to blame since we struggled in so many areas of the game, and at this stage having so many question marks is somewhat worrisome.
Henne came into this game with high expectations after last week’s performance and his performance left a lot to be desired. I wouldn’t say he had a horrible game but he did struggle significantly and didn’t seem able to find a rhythm until the last drive of the first half, yet it was the conclusion of that drive that worried me the most. It wasn’t the fact that the drive ended with an interception in the endzone which in and of itself is demoralizing, it was more so the fact that the interception came at a critical point in the game, and it is something we saw last season in the game against the Titans as well; in both instances the interceptions came at critical points in the game that and were important in determining the outcome. Having scored a TD right before the second half would’ve not only evened the score, but it would’ve also generated momentum going into the second half were we would get the chance to start on a new drive as well. I understand that time was an issue and that Marshall wasted a lot of it when he didn’t go down fast enough but Henne needs to get better at not rushing himself in those clutch situations; he needs to take the time to look down the field and when determining whether a player is truly open, because I honestly don’t believe he even saw the LB that tipped the ball coming.
On the plus side though, I noticed that Henne continues to perfect his touch in those short pass situations which has helped in adding some significant yardage, there was only one pass that was thrown with too much force to Bess which caused him to drop it but it was in a situation where he had a LB coming at him and he had to get rid of the ball.
The WRs last night weren’t stellar either, we continue to see a number of dropped passes and it is starting to become an issue of miscommunication. It seems as though in most instances when passes are dropped or completely missed it is a result of a misunderstanding between the receiver and the QB and that was the case when either Henne or Pennington were in so it makes me think it has more to do with how the receivers are running the routes or the fact that they are still not completely in sync with either of the QB’s style, which is a big problem. Hartline however continues to develop and has shown significant improvement when it comes to generating yards after the catch; he also seems to be more aggressive against the defenders when it comes to pursuing the ball, both very good qualities that Marshall is known for.
The most disappointing area offensively however was our running game. Ronnie didn’t add many rushing yards outside of a big chunk that came in a wildcat play and Cobbs and Hillard were virtually invisible, Ricky although not adding much in the running game either did manage to catch a couple of passes for a decent number of yards which is a good thing considering he sometimes has difficulty holding on to the ball.
The offensive line did a fairly good job of protecting the QB which is something they were lacking in at the beginning of training camp so that’s good, but they struggled significantly when it came to opening up space for the running game, even when it came to making a push for those short yard down situations; in their defense, the opposing team doesn’t face much of a challenge when trying to figure out how to defend those situations because they too have come to expect the handoff to Polite.
My biggest concern overall last night was the number of penalties and a lot of them came from players in the O-line. Penalties on offense can cost you the game be it by turning a TD situation into a FG situation or by taking you out of FG range altogether and forcing you to punt the ball. The Dolphins have consistently been one of the least penalized teams in the league during the past few seasons so I’m sure Sparano will have something to say about this. I know the officiating was horrible, but that’s part of the game and you will encounter it throughout the season as well so when it happens you need to find away to adjust, 9 penalties for 75 yards is just not something we can afford to have in any game.
The defense wasn’t great Friday night either but I believe the score would’ve been a lot different had we not had a couple of guys making plays. Our secondary was a little better than in the previous game, but Smith continues to struggle and it was proven yet again that Jason Allen is not suited to fit the bill either. Sapp did a decent job as a CB in his first appearance but his biggest contribution came in the form of special teams where he made his presence known. The brightest star in the secondary was by far Vontae Davis who had a stellar night, he was making plays out in the open with assertiveness and tackling hard all night, even forcing a fumble; if he can find it in him to play at this level consistently he will be one of the most talked about young players this season, and I’m really looking forward to that.
The defensive line is what I have the most trouble of analyzing because there were so many changes going on throughout the night that it was hard to tell who was in at times. This is where I think consistency will start to play a role; once we can figure out the pieces and be consistent with them we will see this d-line blossom. Our rookies had a decent performance and we continue to see Misi grow, he showed some flashes of explosiveness during the game that have me intrigued with what’s to come once the defensive scheme gets unleashed at the beginning of the season; I’m starting to see a lot of promise there. Dansby however, was the best player of the night for me, he was covering an incredible amount of ground during most of the game and making plays on his own and in conjunction with Vontae that were superb; any worries that I had about lack of leadership in the defense after Taylor left have dissipated, as Dansby has done an amazing job at stepping up and filling in his shoes.
Special teams continue to struggle but we are starting to see some players make an impact, including the newly acquired Sapp, so hopefully we will see a few more guys step up to fill their roles in the next few days. Special teams can win games but they can also cost you games and the Dolphins now that better than any other team so I’m sure it is something they will continue to focus on.
The team plays their next game Thursday night against the Cowboys in Dallas, and although it is unusual for starters to play a significant portion of the last preseason game I wouldn’t be surprised to see them in there until half time. Sparano wasn’t any happier with what he saw than we were and considering the game will be played earlier in the week than I think the benefits of having the starters play together one more time before the end of the preseason will outweigh the need to rest them, we’ll find out then.
Henne came into this game with high expectations after last week’s performance and his performance left a lot to be desired. I wouldn’t say he had a horrible game but he did struggle significantly and didn’t seem able to find a rhythm until the last drive of the first half, yet it was the conclusion of that drive that worried me the most. It wasn’t the fact that the drive ended with an interception in the endzone which in and of itself is demoralizing, it was more so the fact that the interception came at a critical point in the game, and it is something we saw last season in the game against the Titans as well; in both instances the interceptions came at critical points in the game that and were important in determining the outcome. Having scored a TD right before the second half would’ve not only evened the score, but it would’ve also generated momentum going into the second half were we would get the chance to start on a new drive as well. I understand that time was an issue and that Marshall wasted a lot of it when he didn’t go down fast enough but Henne needs to get better at not rushing himself in those clutch situations; he needs to take the time to look down the field and when determining whether a player is truly open, because I honestly don’t believe he even saw the LB that tipped the ball coming.
On the plus side though, I noticed that Henne continues to perfect his touch in those short pass situations which has helped in adding some significant yardage, there was only one pass that was thrown with too much force to Bess which caused him to drop it but it was in a situation where he had a LB coming at him and he had to get rid of the ball.
The WRs last night weren’t stellar either, we continue to see a number of dropped passes and it is starting to become an issue of miscommunication. It seems as though in most instances when passes are dropped or completely missed it is a result of a misunderstanding between the receiver and the QB and that was the case when either Henne or Pennington were in so it makes me think it has more to do with how the receivers are running the routes or the fact that they are still not completely in sync with either of the QB’s style, which is a big problem. Hartline however continues to develop and has shown significant improvement when it comes to generating yards after the catch; he also seems to be more aggressive against the defenders when it comes to pursuing the ball, both very good qualities that Marshall is known for.
The most disappointing area offensively however was our running game. Ronnie didn’t add many rushing yards outside of a big chunk that came in a wildcat play and Cobbs and Hillard were virtually invisible, Ricky although not adding much in the running game either did manage to catch a couple of passes for a decent number of yards which is a good thing considering he sometimes has difficulty holding on to the ball.
The offensive line did a fairly good job of protecting the QB which is something they were lacking in at the beginning of training camp so that’s good, but they struggled significantly when it came to opening up space for the running game, even when it came to making a push for those short yard down situations; in their defense, the opposing team doesn’t face much of a challenge when trying to figure out how to defend those situations because they too have come to expect the handoff to Polite.
My biggest concern overall last night was the number of penalties and a lot of them came from players in the O-line. Penalties on offense can cost you the game be it by turning a TD situation into a FG situation or by taking you out of FG range altogether and forcing you to punt the ball. The Dolphins have consistently been one of the least penalized teams in the league during the past few seasons so I’m sure Sparano will have something to say about this. I know the officiating was horrible, but that’s part of the game and you will encounter it throughout the season as well so when it happens you need to find away to adjust, 9 penalties for 75 yards is just not something we can afford to have in any game.
The defense wasn’t great Friday night either but I believe the score would’ve been a lot different had we not had a couple of guys making plays. Our secondary was a little better than in the previous game, but Smith continues to struggle and it was proven yet again that Jason Allen is not suited to fit the bill either. Sapp did a decent job as a CB in his first appearance but his biggest contribution came in the form of special teams where he made his presence known. The brightest star in the secondary was by far Vontae Davis who had a stellar night, he was making plays out in the open with assertiveness and tackling hard all night, even forcing a fumble; if he can find it in him to play at this level consistently he will be one of the most talked about young players this season, and I’m really looking forward to that.
The defensive line is what I have the most trouble of analyzing because there were so many changes going on throughout the night that it was hard to tell who was in at times. This is where I think consistency will start to play a role; once we can figure out the pieces and be consistent with them we will see this d-line blossom. Our rookies had a decent performance and we continue to see Misi grow, he showed some flashes of explosiveness during the game that have me intrigued with what’s to come once the defensive scheme gets unleashed at the beginning of the season; I’m starting to see a lot of promise there. Dansby however, was the best player of the night for me, he was covering an incredible amount of ground during most of the game and making plays on his own and in conjunction with Vontae that were superb; any worries that I had about lack of leadership in the defense after Taylor left have dissipated, as Dansby has done an amazing job at stepping up and filling in his shoes.
Special teams continue to struggle but we are starting to see some players make an impact, including the newly acquired Sapp, so hopefully we will see a few more guys step up to fill their roles in the next few days. Special teams can win games but they can also cost you games and the Dolphins now that better than any other team so I’m sure it is something they will continue to focus on.
The team plays their next game Thursday night against the Cowboys in Dallas, and although it is unusual for starters to play a significant portion of the last preseason game I wouldn’t be surprised to see them in there until half time. Sparano wasn’t any happier with what he saw than we were and considering the game will be played earlier in the week than I think the benefits of having the starters play together one more time before the end of the preseason will outweigh the need to rest them, we’ll find out then.
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