Friday, August 21, 2009

PREVIEW: Pre-Season Game 2 - Miami vs Carolina

VS.

The most noticeable difference between this weekend's match-up versus the Carolina Panthers, and last Monday night's win over Jacksonville, is the defensive scheme of the opponent.

Offensively, the two teams are quite similar, relying on a two-runningback attack that opens up the field for some dangerous sprinklings of passes. Granted, Jacksonville doesn't have Steve Smith, but the gameplans are similar. To be honest, I'd be a bit surprised if Smith even plays, after returning to practice this week after an early-camp shoulder injury. Still, the combination of Muhsin Muhammad and Dwayne Jarrett should provide some good contests for the 1st string corners, but the drop-off is dramatic after that. The combination of Josh McCown throwing to Kevin McMahan and Marcus Monk (who?) should result in a lot of opportunity for our reserve DBs to 'show up on film.


Carolina likes to use their running backs as receivers and I think we will get a chance to see how a guy like Cam Wake can cover in open space. This is something that may benefit guys like Erik Walden and Charlie Anderson. Look for them to have big games, adding to the already difficult decision making process at the OLB position.

The biggest factor in the game is of course in the trenches and there is no better test this pre-season for our defensive linemen than Carolina. They simply have one of the best offensive lines in football, period. This is where the Miami boys will have to 'man up' or else it's going to be a long night. Our only relief could be the fact that it's a pre-season game so they HAVE to throw the ball.

On the other side of the ball is the biggest difference from Jacksonville. Whereas Jacksonville's defense is built for stopping the run up front, Carolina's is built for getting to the quarterback. They will line up Julius Peppers at the weakside and blitz rookie Everette Brown from the other side. If this sounds like a good plan, it's pretty much the same plan that Miami seems to have adopted, with Porter and Taylor both rushing the QB. If we can get blocks on these guys, our WRs could have a big game, as Carolina's defensive backfield is nothing special. They have a good starter in Chris Gamble, but their two rookies, Captain Munnerlyn and Sherrod Martin have been struggling.

Dolphins who need to step-up in this game:
  • Vontae Davis (my goal for him is no penalties and no more than one big play - baby steps)
  • Chris Clemons (while he had a moment or two in Game 1, he has a huge gap of play between himself and Bell/Wilson/Culver. He needs to show he fits in with that group)
  • Anthony Armstrong (after re-watching the first half of the Jax game, I noticed that Armstrong made a special teams tackle, and was quite shocked! But then he had that rubber hands drop later on. If you don't catch the ball, you will be cut. This is his last chance - he needs a big game)
  • Brandon Frye/Mark Lewis/Nate Garner (one of these guys is going to get cut pretty soon, they need to 'get it on tape' that they deserve to stick around)
  • Joe Cohen (he's the next to go IMO, so he needs a huge game to get into the next round)
  • And finally, Dan Carpenter (the thing with kicking competitions is that they don't usually last very long - coaches like to get these things wrapped up ASAP - so Carpenter needs to be 100% on FGs/xtra points AND get 80% of his kickoffs into the end zone)
Tin's Prediction:
MIA 26
CAR 22

32 comments:

  1. First!  What's a groin injury anyway?

    I am going to watch the game on Sunday at my Dad's house.  Hopefully Patrick Turner scores!

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  2. I see some changes around here.  Did someone tell you size matters? :-D

    Seriously, I just hope I get to see at least some of the game. 

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  3. Thsi is a game to bring if you have it.  I don't care who makes the team name wise, we just need to make sure the guys on the team can get the job done.  So far our draft picks this year are struggling in particular Clemons and Davis in the secondary.  Davis has the team made because of his draft selection lucky for him.  Clemons is not that lucky, he has to be feeling the heat from Bryan I think that's his name.  Turner is in the same boat as Clemons although I think he will replace London and or Armstrong, if things are even between them he has youth on his side. Advantage Turner.  White is safe.  Nalbone looks like a practice team project.  Hartline appears safe, and the rest of picks well, are just that picks that's it for this years crop of draftees from my view.  Smith is the man for this year at this time of preseason.

    Of course all of you  know I'll be totally wrong on all these guys. :)

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  4. The Knight who says Ni!August 21, 2009 at 3:55 PM

    I think I'll just watch it on Sunday at 1PM on the NFLN. I'll try once again to avoid knowing the score or any happenings. The stupid thing the NFLN does is show the scores on the ticker while you're watching the replay. So I actually covered the bottom of that part of the TV screen with books so I couldn't see it because I did catch that the Jaguars had a FG but didn't see the Miami score so I was still somewhat in the dark going in.  8-)

    Tin, good overview. Is Dwayne Jarrett a starter? He's done nothing since he's been in the league. 16-192 12.0 0 TD. He doesn't have much speed, that's been the knock on him. He's got Wilforditis. LOL

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  5. "Did someone tell you size matters?" herdfan

    ...lol ...noted the same thing ...the header fonts are so large they're out of bounds!

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  6. CLEMONS' WILL make the team!!  As WILL PT !!  

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  7. Good job Tin, your analysis was much better than Omar's and he gets paid for this.  You would think that he would know that neither Steve Smith nor Jonathan Stewart is playing.  Also him calling 36 year old Musin Muhammed "speedy" at this point of his career is like saying that about Ernest Wilford.  Sad thing is, is that Omar is the best of the Dolphin journalists, I wont even get started on Armando lol.  Amazing how the internet has leveled the playing field, and your insights make this my second Dolphin info choice, if you did not have a day job, it would probably be my first. 

    IMHO I think the receivers we will see will be about as bad as Jacksonville's since like Knight pointed out Jarrett has done nothing, and unlike Meacham, is still not showing anything.  Also not sure how much DeAngelo we will see with Stewart already injured.  So expect to see lots of rookie Goodson who is fast, and not a bruiser like Stewart and DeAngelo.  Personally, I think this game will not quite be the test many are expecting, but then we are going to be light on defense, so we shall see.  Besides, I love watching the backups and rookies play for the Dolphins and other teams.  One quick question, why does your website not allow me to see anything but the first page of comments?  Maybe it is just my computer, but I do not have this problem on any other website.  Anyways great job. 

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  8. That wouldn't suprise me, my thoughts are do these guys mke the team any better ?

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  9. edswood
    I thought the same thing at first

    simply scroll down when U enter 2nd page or beyond


    My prediction for the game:

    I got nothing
    It is a practice game

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  10. Home SuperBowl 2010August 21, 2009 at 6:04 PM

    mystery guest was me

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  11. Thanks HSB, guess I am just an idiot, but you get used to the clicking sound lol

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  12. IMHO,the WR position is ALREADY obviously better,(starter's 2nd yr's in the system,and Depth-wise PT/BH)!! 
    Along w'CP having a yr and not just a few wks b/4 opening day!! NO-BRAINER,don't ya think???
    Not to mention(IF HEALTHY), 4 of 5 ALL-PRO OLineman(VC's all-pro in my eye's),w'depth to boot,
    and the TOP tailback duo in the league,w'an IMPRESSIVE bkup!!


    (IF NOT ALREADY),w'the addition of GWilson 28(better than RHill),
    by the time SS 22,Vontae 21,and Clemons 23 are half-way through THIS season,
    they'll already be of a higher grade than  
    RHill 30, AGoodman 31, and EGreen 27,(IF NOT ALREADY)!!

    Those o8 gyz,and Green have been in the league 6 to 10 yrs or so!!
    WHAT did they ever do(08 weak-link),how can the current's NOT""make the team any better""??
    (IF NOT IMMEDIATLY,then definately in the NEAR FUTURE)!!

    AGAIN,IMHO via watching their careers through college,
    and witnissing their ENTHUSIASTIC personalities for the game,
    and about being professional's for the MIAMI DOLPHINS!!

    SS IS ALREADY BETTER than AGoodman,CClemons IS/WILL be better than CBryan,WILL BE better than RHill,
    and VONTAE in comparison to Kermit isn't even debatable...
    VONTAE eventually will be every bit as good as WA 31,and will acquire that status by 24 @most..
    (ALL the above,LOOOONNNNG B/4 the rooks near the ages of the over-the-hill gang)!! o8's weak-link!!

    They'll be here as ALL-PRO's ,long after WAllen,YBell,and GWilson are retired,IMHO!!!
    Culver(MY DIAMOND) will be the 4th DB of the future,IF you were to ask me.. Walden's MY other Diamond..

    "OUR" o9  O,and D IS already a much better team than o8,(mostly due to veteran familiarity w'the scheme),
    and the rookie depth is a bonus,(we had ZERO depth last yr,EVERYWHERE)..
    NOW we're pretty damn deep EVERYWHERE!!

    VHolliday was "OUR" only substantial loss,and you-know-who will easily compensate for that loss!!

    We are a better team,we have to be!!
    We MIGHT not go 11-5,but we're a better team,
    and WILL be DOMINANT towards the end of o9(IF NOT SOONER),and thru o10's duration!!
    To infinity,and beyond!!

    GOTTA BEAT ATL,get-off STRONG,cuz INDY's PManning is already in mid-season form!!
    WHYYYY couldn't this have been the yr he missed OTA's,Camp,and the Pre-season?? DAMMITT!!

    GO D  O  L  P  H  I  N  S  !!!

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  13. ONe thing I think hurts Turner is that he's not a special teamer, as far as
    I can tell, whereas you could tell from the JAX game that Hartline is
    already one of the leaders of the coverage unit. You can see him giving
    directions to the other players at one point.

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  14. I also saw the Miami/Jax score the second I pressed play on the recorded
    replay (literally on the screen as the game started).
    Jarrett is currently the 3rd receiver but he will start if Smith isn't
    playing. Like, I said, they really don't have any depth at WR.
    Just to warn you, I will be trying to blog during the game, so if you want
    to avoid the score, you may want to avoid the blog until Sunday. ;)

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  15. fixed, fixed, and fixed. Sorry about that, I couldn't figure it out
    yesterday but got a helpful note this morning.

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  16. Edswood, thanks for the kind words. If I got paid for this and didn't have
    a real job, there'd be loads of original video, podcasts, etc. up here, not
    to mention a full-fledged website with multiple pages. I really enjoy not
    only sharing my thoughts and hearing other fans thoughts, but this is also
    like an ultra-scrapbook for myself that I can always look back upon, because
    let's face it, memory fades in time, but an url is forever...
    FWIW, apparently the Stewart injury is mild and he is listed as a gametime
    decision. That means he probably won't play. Steve Smith MIGHT play because
    he's been practicing all week, but I see no reason for him to play - he has
    the same QB, RBs, O-line, etc from last year so it's not like he needs to
    'gel' with anyone.
    As for the comments, when you're at the bottom of page 1 and you click on
    '2', the screen doesn't scroll back, because the comments are not linked to
    the blog article page, so when you click on '2' you might just see a blank
    teal screen. You need to then scroll back up to the top of the comments box
    to see the new comments. This is one of those things that I may be able to
    sort out when I don't have that pesky day job...

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  17. ...edswood

    ...I don't think its a fair or even relevant comparison ...omar is a print journalist with a raft of people over him who dictate content and style among other things ...the blog is a secondary thing that is little understood or appreciated by his paymasters ...he does his best (and its pretty damn good) but its NOT his blog per se ...I stop at his blog daily to get my dolfan fix going ...in some areas, he's as good or better than most national sports writers imnsho ...I rarely post there any more because the a-holes have taken over, its not the mob from last year even though Ni and a few others continue the good fight.

    ...tin is a completely different thing ...he is his own boss as far as this blogspot goes ...no one dictates shit to him re what he posts, when, how, or where ...and he is allowed to be a rabid dolfan without any pretense of having to maintain some kind of professional journalist viewpoint ...this blog exists only because he's a true fan (albite with an ego) ...and it continues to attract new readers and posters because although he's a dolfan, he's rather mild-mannered about it, rarely offensive, and has demonstrated the ability to clearly express his views via the blog and accept others views as valid.

    ...I read both most every day and often more than a few times a day ...I like both and appreciate the differences between them ...and find tin's audience to be for the most part, to be self-filtering ...the a-holes don't last here for some reason ...wish that were true of the SS :(

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  18. HEYYY JDarlington reports a few FINS have SWINE-FLU,and WON'T be playin 2nght!!!

    OAlzugarey reports one is SSmith!!  WQAM!!

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  19. TIN,I know you don't get the streaming-live stuff @ work,but are you able to listen to WQAM pre-game stremming live @ home ???  4 HRS,GOOOOODSTUFFFF!!!

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  20. NOW their sayin SSMITH DOES-NOT have SWINE-FLU,but IS ill and WON'T be playing 2nght !!!

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  21. Ya gotta love it, sneeze anywhere in this world and you've got the swine flu!

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  22. could be worse, could be the regular flu...

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  23. I guess we'll find out in an hour or so who's not playing.

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  24. The Knight who says Ni!August 23, 2009 at 5:42 PM

    Vontae played very well. He's a gamer! He can play!

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  25. The Knight who says Ni!August 24, 2009 at 9:46 AM

    They showed the score right as the game started. That's when I got caught. Dumb!

    I avoided all things football until after the replay on Sunday. LOL

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  26. Should've come here to watch it live!!

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  27. The Knight who says Ni!August 24, 2009 at 11:33 AM

    Was it good quality?

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  28. IF your asking about TINS game feed,(YES it was"GOOD QUALITY),only about 5 or so seconds behind the actual game..(VISUALLY EXCELLENT),IF you have the equiptment that voids the buffering..

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