Critics had little to cheer for last night, except if they were Dolphins fans.
Many of the critics negative points were put on hold last night, not all, but many.
The Miami Dolphins victory, and more importantly their play, is giving Dolphins critics some down time and even some begrudging compliments.
Did they look like Superbowl champion last night? No! But, they did look like a team that made great strides from their debacle against the Cowboy.
That means they are growing.
Unlike teams in the past that fell apart, this 2016 Dolphins appears to have a coaching staff that is able to teach and build players up as the season progresses.
The context of this win is this: Atlanta doesn’t have a great defensive front – athletic and fast, but small, they have both a good Offensive Line and Offensive skill players, and they were 8-8 in 2015. They are a decent team.
A vague barometer would put Miami in the area of 7-10 wins. This is a far cry better than last weeks prognostication of 3-6 wins. But, to make a cute twist on a Mike Tyson quote, “Everyone has a prognostication till they get punched in the face by game-time”. So, only time will tell what 2016 holds for Miami – but, this was a feel good moment, none-the-less.
So, Miami’s defense showed a lot last night, according to the best pay per head, even though the Falcons lost Julio Jones early. This defensive boon though was offset by Suh going down with an ankle injury. While the secondary got a reprieve, the Defensive Line had to bear a burden…and Chris Jones stepped in and had his best game of the Preseason, especially in his run support. This was a very big deal as it gives further justification to let Earl Mitchell and his bloated contract go, free up some money and possibly keep rising talent Julius Warmsley.
While Miami was stout against the run and made big plays in the secondary, the downside is play of CB Tony Lippett who is now the biggest continuing issue on defense. He just doesn’t seem ready for a starters role.
On Offense, Ryan Tannehill again showed he is a much better QB when he has a competent protection and running game. No duh, right?!
Miami had it’s most consistent running game with the 1st string – but, the context is they did this against a small D-front. This along with some very big plays in the passing game made for a solid showing. They looked very sharp in Adam Gase‘s “up-tempo” offense and it appears to more than just a catch-phrase. RB Arain Foster demonstrated that given a little space, he is still a very good back and his extra wiggle and agility in traffic puts him a step ahead of Jay Ajayi. Now, Ajayi looked good as well, but he isn’t able to work through traffic behind the LOS like Foster. It’s more of a knock on the O-Line than on him.
Offensively, it was the Tight Ends that presented the greatest concern.
Jordan Cameron just doesn’t seem right. He drops passes, misses blocks. He isn’t ready for the season. And this, along with his 5$ million dollar contract, must be a bit of a nightmare for the coaching staff.
Again, the Offensive Line had a solid showing against a sub-par Atlanta front. But, they kept Tannehill clean and opened some running lanes. Although, Brandon Albert also seems off. While his Pass blocking is superb, he keeps missing run-blocking assignments and is getting beat by defenders. His play in the run game has been the worst of any linemen not named Mike Pouncey.
Center Anthony Steen who stepped in for Pouncey had a mixed bag of results, but for the most part showed that his ability to run a block without the help of a double team, almost offsets the loss of Mike Pouncey at this point. With some growth, he might actually be an upgrade over Pouncey due to his strength and ability to support the run game.
In the end, this win doesn’t mean pop the champagne for a Superbowl win in 2016, but it does offer hope and makes critics have to work harder. At this point, fans should like what they are seeing. Adam Gase and Co, so far, are proving to be a competent staff – it’s been a long time since the Miami Dolphins and the fans have had that. Go Fins!!!