Tinshaker's Take on P.S. Game # 1

Things have been super-hectic, but I finally got a chance to watch Saturday's game between the Dolphins and the Buccaneers, also known as the Brandon Marshall No-Show.  It's important to realize this game was essentially no more than a scrimmage against the Bucs, and in terrible weather.

Still, I have never been able to figure out why the Dolphins continue to allow Nat Moore and Bob Griese to commentate their games.  The moment Moore referred to Vontae Davis as 'Davon Davis', a door should've opened in the booth and a silencer should have slowly slid into view.

Surprisingly, Sean Smith was the stand-out of this game.  He made big tackles, put receivers on their backs and had the interception (although he was lucky the ball was off-target because he got beat on the play by the WR.

Chris Clemons missed two giant tackles in the 1st quarter, one sprung the touchdown, and the other allowed TB quarterback Josh Johnson to scramble forward for 18 yards.  

Channing Crowder looked faster than usual.

Karlos Dansby looked slower than usual and had difficulty getting off his blocks.

Jared Odrick and Koa Misi both made a couple of big plays and a couple of rookie mistakes.

The offensive gameplan looked like someone left a video game on 'demo'.  No progression.  Who's the offensive coordinator again?  Oh yeah...that guy.

Jason Allen tackled a TB receiver with nothing but his head....now that was impressive.

Paul Soliai looked both overweight and slow, but he was good at making tackles with his hands and jumped over the moon to recover a fumble for the most exciting moment of the game.  In a better weather situation where players could make cuts, Soliai would've missed a few of the big tackles he made.

Nolan Carroll looked very uneasy returning kicks but looked at home on the field in defense.

Cam Wake was getting close alot, something he did last year, but if the ground was dry and he wasn't rushing in the mud, he would have gotten to the QB more than once.

Patrick Turner may be able to catch now, but he can't run for ****.  He should've scored on the big pass play down the middle near the end of the 1st half.  Instead, he stumbled, tripped, stutter stepped and eventually fell down in the mud.

Micah Johnson looked better than Spitler and Folsom combined.  Forget the BS penalty in the end zone, he got to the QB before he threw the ball.

Davone Bess is still the most boring punt returner in the NFL.

The second half points out a couple of things - for one, the 5th WR spot very much is up for grabs.  And Nate Ness probably earned himself a tryout with the ones.  He had a good game, but let's not forget he was playing in the nickel package most of the time as the outside guy with Nolan Carroll moving inside and Jason Allen on the other side.  Ness and Allen did a good job of keeping the coverage tight which didn't deter the BUcs from actually throwing into the tight coverage but it allowed for some broken up passes and quick tackles on completions.


To me, the most notable thing about the 2nd half was that the Dolphins went into an almost exclusive all-passing game and didn't really utilize Tristan Davis, Rolly Lumbala, etc.  I don't think Lousaka Polite had a single carry.  Lex Hilliard got almost every carry in the half and for the most part looked exactly the same as last year - good at rushing straight up the middle and breaking arm tackles, but not much else.


There could be more opportunities coming for the under-used or not used at all players in the 2nd and 3rd games, but I'd suspect the play-calling will be much the same, no finesse and no complexity.  That stuff will wait until the regular season.


Will there be a Wildcat 3.0?