Dolphins High & Lows vs Commanders

Tua was a clear high point… the O-line–not so much!

The Miami Dolphins beat the Washington Commanders 13-6 in their Week 2 Preseason Matchup and thankfully didn’t have any major injuries. While a win is always good, preseason wins don’t amount to a hill of beans. The evaluations of players are the only meaningful part you can take away from these games. So, what were some of the most meaningful player grades from what they saw Saturday night?

Tua looked the part of a ‘$212 Million Dollar Man’

The Commanders have a rookie quarterback and aren’t a quality team, but they did challenge the Dolphins in certain areas. Tua looked very good despite the struggles of the offensive line. He was decisive and threw both with accuracy, poise, and speed. Tua threw with a blistering speed of 1.18 seconds on 80% of his throws! But, it wasn’t all dink and dunk, he threw a perfect mid-range strike to River Cracraft for a sweet touchdown. As we’ve seen all Training Camp, Tua drives this offense far more effectively than any of Miami’s backups. Given Tua didn’t have Hill, Waddle, or OBJ, there’s a lot of room to grow for this offense.

Devon Achane looked very good in the passing game and will be a dangerous weapon this season. Cracraft looks to be a certain keeper because he’s not only extremely consistent but the best run blocker of all the Dolphins receivers. Jonnu Smith also popped as both a passing threat and a rushing threat. It seems Mike McDaniel has finally found his Deboo 2.0. It will be quite a collection of skills in the passing game when Hill, Waddle, and OBJ are added.

But, again it looks like the offensive line will be the red-haired stepchild of the team. When Miami threw the football fast the protection was fine, but too often when the plays didn’t come out blistering fast, the pressure was hot. The Dolphins’ run game was even more of a concern. They again struggled on 3rd Down short yardage rushing. Robert Jones did have a couple of nice blocks, but other than that it wasn’t pretty. Terron Armstead, Isaiah Wynn, and Aaron Brewer weren’t playing, so let’s not pull the fire alarm…yet. Still, this offensive line needs more talent because you can bet with the best pay-per-head that Liam Eichenberg isn’t a quality player at center or guard position. Let’s hope Phins GM Chris Grier will boost this offensive line with some quality talent in a trade before the season starts.

Phins defense was aggressive & the best side of the ball

Anthony Weaver crowded the line of scrimmage, attacked, and had good results despite missing Jalen Ramsey, Jordan Poyer, and Jevon Holland. Rookies Mohammed Kamara and Chop Robinson had good nights notching a few big plays between them. Chop had 2 tackles and a stop and Kamara had 2 tackles, 2 stops, and 2 hurries on the day. This level of quality production from the young guns should give Phins fans hope that the Dolphins’ edges can carry them until vets Jaelen Phillips and Brandon Chubb return.

Miami saw good production from 2nd Round pick Cam Smith, who struggled early but rebounded quickly. Unfortunately, there were reports of him limping after the game. Thankfully, the Dolphins look deep in their secondary with Storm Duck, Kadar Kohou, Jason Maitre, and Elijah Campbell all having good days. The Phins secondary would be an excellent unit if these players keep up this level of production- Cam Smith or not.

Yeah, it’s only preseason and you can’t bank on much of what you see, but so far so good in my book–except for the offensive line. Why do I feel like that concern keeps repeating? One more week and we’ll get the real deal games. Let’s hope this season is a great one! Go Phins!!!