The Dolphins came out of Monday night's game with no injuries and they won the football game. Accordingly, the first live contact action of the 2009 season was a complete success.
As far as evaluation and all that goes, there was a lot more good than bad out there on the field. The impression I had after watching the game for the first time was that they're right about where they should be right now. They look a lot like last year's team already and I think the new additions, the areas where we really got better will become more apparent over the next few weeks one way or the other. The best example of that is with the offensive line - I don't think it's fair to look at a few series of play, with rotation at right guard, without game planning and against an excellent run defense, and assume we haven't gotten better on the offensive line because they weren't getting real good push. Time will tell with that.
I'm watching this game for the third time now. I don't want this to be ten pages so I'll stick to what stood out good and bad and some of the things we need to know about and be aware of.
Offense - Everything starts at quarterback and all three guys played pretty much as I expected. Pennington was okay; the deep ball to Ginn really bothered me a little bit. Ginn drew the interference but if that ball is thrown correctly, that could be a real big play. It's not an arm strength thing, it's a timing thing. He has to throw that ball a little sooner and farther, the velocity isn't the issue. Mostly good stuff, moved the offense well, I'm pretty satisfied there. Ronnie, fine. Ricky, a good deal more than fine. It could be the other way around on any given week and that's what you like over there. Also, if they keep 4 tailbacks, you can do worse than Lex Hilliard. One cut and go with some power. I liked that in camp ten days ago and I liked it last night.
As far as Henne goes, he did a good job but that one interception was pretty bad. Don't need to force that one. And he had another one he threw (with good velocity, mind you) that was a throw he didn't need to make. That's kind of what separates him and Pennington. He's got the pocket presence and a great arm, he makes good progressions but he just needs to play more and feel things out more where he'll be more consistent with his decision making. Now, he's gotta take those mistakes, learn from them and move forward. I liked how he bounced back with a TD pass on the next drive. We really need to find out more about Chad Henne this preseason.
Don't let 2-7 for 14 yards and a pick fool you about Pat White. There was 3 or 4 drops, including the one that was picked off. He's a terrific athlete and he looks a lot more comfortable out there now than a month ago. But he needs to get bigger. There's something about that kid I like, I'll keep saying it, and we haven't even gotten a peak at what he's really here to do. Just a good kid to root for.
Offense line -**Donald Thomas needs to start at RG. There's just a different mentallity, a different attitude when he's in the game. If anyone has the game on tape, watch the play where Henne completes one to Martin and tell me Thomas doesn't stone wall TWO guys in the pass block. Comes off one and walls off the other. Impressive. They need to get him working full-time with the 1's as soon as possible and go from there. Other than that, the pass blocking and ability to adjust to what Jax was doing was good. The run blocking up the middle needs work. And continuity is the biggest thing there because Smiley/Grove/Thomas are all good, physical run blockers.
**Let me say this right now and I think this was one of the two or three biggest thing I took from this game. Ted Ginn is looking like a player right now. I don't mean a couple of flashes here and there and being one of the guys. I mean a serious ball player over there at receiver. He's learning. I think it's Sparano, I think it's Karl Dorrell the WR coach, I think Nat Moore has something to with it. But the biggest thing is what's happened in Ginn's mind and his commitment to becoming a top receiver. He's running very good routes, he's showing concentration and he's playing fast; not thinking a whole lot and using his speed. I'm pretty excited about what this kid can do and they need to get him 5-7 touches a game.
Other than that, you know the deal with Davone Bess and he made some catches. Camarillo, he'll probably get a couple balls his way the next week. Turner and Hartline made a couple of plays but they need to keep working on that consistency Sparano has talked about seeing from his rookies. As a group, there's good depth and maybe Ginn can be the #1.
**The second thing is what I saw from Chris Williams. For him to get that kind of opportunity returning, I feel like they must like something about him as a receiver and they wanted to see if he can offer another dimension. I think from what he did last night he's probably neck and neck at least with Brandon London as far as a 6th WR spot, if they decide to keep six. I like the way this kid returns kicks but he also can't be catching the ball on his five or fumbling one out of bounds. The most important thing about the return game, before making any big plays, is ball security and knowing your field and being smart with it. I'll be watching this kid closely, on offense and on the returns.
I'll be back with the defense later tonight or tomorrow. Thanks.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment