What's Next?

As hard as it was to get in updates whilst at work back in Sacramento, these days, being at home with the family, it's been virtually impossible - I need to get the office set up and a lock on the door! I need my Dolphins-time!

Anyway, thanks to all who showed up to chat during the Jacksonville game - I found it impossible to watch it live and had to acquire a taping of it a few days later. As with any pre-season game, the first half was pretty interesting and the second half included me dozing off a handful of times.

I won't go into any analysis of the game as the 3rd and 4th games are the only ones of importance, but there were some worrying things in the game.  The drop-off from the starters to the 2nds on the o-line was very noticeable, as it always has been, but our depth was supposed to have made the drop-off a lot smaller.  

A couple of other notes:

• Lex Hilliard looked much better than Patrick Cobbs, even his finesse moves were better.  I think Cobbs is still safe on the roster, but he may get much fewer snaps in games if he can't show a lot more quickness and 'slipperiness'.

• The team badly misses Nate Garner.  One of the announcers said it, he is the 5th or 6th best lineman on the team, and his ability at tackle surpasses that of Andrew Gardner by far.

• Tony Sparano looks amazing - where is his diet-book?

• The sheen has worn off of rookie Nolan Carroll.  He looks serviceable, but nothing like the star we read about in all the reports out of camp.  I'm not convinced he is the 5th CB - I think Nate Ness has a shot. But with Will Allen down, I'd expect both Carroll and Ness to make the final cut.  Caroll has the special teams edge, but Ness was one of the few bright spots in kick coverage in the game, making at least 2 tackles.

• Speaking of kick coverage, man oh man, with a crew like that, wait until we face CJ Spiller, and Percy Harvin in weeks 1 and 2.

• Chad Pennington looked good when he came into the game, but let's not kid ourselves, his passes looked like practice lobs whereas Chad Henne's looked like NFL throws.  11 for 14 with 2 drops by receivers with 150+ yards and 2 TDs....now THAT is what a starting QB does in a pre-season game.  I look forward to seeing his performance in the next one to see if he can carry it over.

• What's hotter than NFL cheerleaders in skimpy outfits?  NFL cheerleaders in skimpy outfits covered by clear plastic ponchos doing the cha-cha - they must've been sweating like crazy under there!