Miami wins 27-26 over Jacksonville
The win streak grows to 9 consecutive preseason victories with the defeat of the Jaguars tonight. We saw a lot of everything in this game, and a lot of nerves were calmed, however, a lot of old worries were brought back as well This is a quick recap of what I saw in the game. Make sure you throw your 2 cents in at the end, as I'm anxious to hear what other readers thought as well.
First Downs
Always starting out with the high notes, lets talk about Chad Henne. Wow! Remember last week when everyone thought the sky was falling, after an abysmal performance against Tampa Bay? Well, apparently Chad felt bad about that and decided to put on a little show for us tonight. Sure, the first drive came out very sluggish, and ended with a blocked punt for a safety; but after that....as Keith Jackson used to say, "Whoooah Nellie".
Chad Henne looked in mid-season form. His final stat line was 11 for 14 for 151 yards and 2 touchdowns. He finished with a remarkable passer rating of 151.2%. What his stat line doesn't tell you, is that he was very calm, cool, and smart with his throws. He was unbelievably accurate on every pass he tossed out there to his receivers. As a matter of fact, his night was almost perfect, but it could have been better. Ricky Williams had a ball bounce off his face mask while he was wide open, Brandon Marshall dropped a pass that hit him right in the hands and he was wide open, and Brian Hartline also dropped a pass that was very catchable, despite a defender hitting him from behind.
Chad Henne very well could have been perfect on this drive. He scanned the field very well, he moved thru his progressions and he didn't lock onto the receiver like he had a tendency to do last year. He also took his check downs when he didn't see what he liked, which I am a huge fan of.
For weeks now Tony Sparano has been telling us that the addition of Brandon Marshall will do a major thing that we didn't see a lot of last year. It would open the middle of the field, and it did tonight. Last year Anthony Fasano found himself blocking a lot, and taking a step back in the receiving game because there was no where for him to operate. Tonight, he was surgical. Henne hit Fasano on a beautiful crossing route in the middle of the field for the first of Fasano's two scores. A beautiful 55 yard TD pass, in which the aforementioned Brandon Marshall threw a crucial block that actually took out 2 defenders and paved the way with gold for Fasano to turn on the afterburners and fly into the endzone. Fasano later took another short TD pass across the middle, where he was well covered, but Henne put the ball right where it needed to be, behind and away from him. Fasano made a great adjustment and snatched the ball out of the air as he rolled into the End Zone for his 2nd TD of the evening.
Brandon Marshall. Oh Brandon Marshall how we have missed you. Marshall made his first catch as a Dolphin, and 8 yard pass from Henne, and he put a nifty move on the first defender to make him whiff. Marshall is very well-known for his Yards after the Catch, and it was pretty evident during tonight's game why. He just has a knack for making the first and second guy miss. As soon as he catches the ball, he immediate makes a move counter to the incoming defender and they end up tackling air. Marshall finished with 4 catches for 65 yards, including Pennington's first throw of the game, which went for 37 yards (What gimpy shoulder?). Pennington saw Marshall had room, and threw up a jump ball, which Marshall went up and out muscled the defender for. It was bobbled a little and he snagged it outta the air for the big gain. It's nice to see a real Alpha receiver out there. I couldn't help but picture Ginn crawling under the defender looking for his pacifier if he had been in the same situation.
Joe Berger. Wow. I have to admit, I thought the news of him earning the starting center job were going to be a motivational tool for Grove to get his behind back on the field. I was certain that Grove would turn it around and take the position back.... I'm no longer sure of that. Berger was phenomenal tonight. He played tough, and didn't do a single thing to make anyone even consider taking the position from him. He was a beast, and he controlled the line effectively. Way to go Joe!
I would not be surprised to see the starting offensive line set in stone now. It was pretty apparent tonight that they played well, Henne had all day to throw, and they had tremendous push on running plays. I was very pleased to see they way they played. Expect a quote or 2 from Sparano in the next day or 2 to confirm that he's locked in his starters.
For those of you that had concerns about Randy Starks in his new position. Don't. He's looking impressive.
Fumbles
Despite the offensive success that was evident last night, its time to talk about some of the struggles. Ufortunately some of these struggles are the same problems we had last year. Our secondary looked atrocious. David Garrard and Luke McCown carved us up like a Thanksgiving turkey.
Our second year corners are looking like second year corners unfortunately. Obviously some growing pains should still be expected, but once again Vontae Davis gave up a 35 yard play, Sean Smith was burned for a 22 yard play, Nolan Carroll was picked on all night, and all totaled there were 6 receivers on the Jaguars that had completions OVER 15 yards. Our secondary is once again a major concern going into the season. Now I believe that when the regular season starts, we'll see more of Mike Nolan's exotic blitzes, which should help, but we have major issues in coverage. Especially in the middle of the field, where the TE's burned us all of last year. It's a concern, and there no is no way to sugar coat it.
Our Offensive Line depth is also a bit of a concern. There is a HUGE drop between our starters and the 2nd unit, and another big drop between the 2nd unit and the 3rd unit. While the first unit was able to easily protect Henne and Pennington; When Thigpen got under center he just got beat up. The poor kid was bruised, and pummeled. Thigpen was sacked 4 times and had countless other hurries and knock downs. We can't afford a major injury to our starting unit until we get some cohesiveness in our depth.
There is currently nothing 'Special' at all in our Special Teams. As a matter of fact, I can think of a four letter "S" word that would fit in there nicely. Our kickoff coverage unit is non-existent. Jacksonville's returners had an average return of 27.8 yards, with a long of 48 yards. Jacksonville started every drive with great field position, and that is just something you can't allow. Field position is the hidden battle of the game, and we need to learn to cover otherwise it'll be a long season.
Needs Further Review
All offseason I've been hyping up Brian Hartline. I truly, truly, felt this kid was going to develop into something special this year. Where is he? 1 catch for 8 yards, and a dropped catchable pass on 3rd and 14 on our initial drive. Brian, you gotta do better than that man. I want to see something big out of him in the 3rd preseason game, but he's been a disappointment so far.
Nolan Carroll was back returning kicks once again, and looked pretty good. He had four total returns with an average of 25 yards, and a long of 36 yards. I think he may have wrapped up kick off return duties with his performance tonight, but....with the good comes the bad. He took a major step back in coverage tonight and reminded us all that he's still a rookie. Nolan was burned on play after play after play. He had a questionable Pass Interference penalty as well, but that PI call probably saved a TD, as Carroll was well out of position and just plain reaching out to hold on to the receiver who had beaten him.
Nate Ness had a fairly quiet evening. He wasn't targeted often, so its hard to say how he did in coverage, but I'll assume it was decent. He had a couple of nice hits and tackles, but it wasn't the dominating personal highlight reel like he did against Tampa Bay. That has been the knock on Ness, that he's up and down more than the Dow Jones.
Other things to Note
- Jason Allen again proved why we've kept him around so long, forcing a fumble on special teams. As long as he continues to be the special teams beast that he has been playing like, he'll have a spot on this roster.
- Marlon Moore closed the gap a little on Patrick Turner, if he didn't pass him by. Despite only catching 2 passes, he turned them into decent gains. Turner and Moore on in lock step for the 5th Wide Receiver position this season.... it has been postulated by some that Camarillo may find himself unemployed if Turner and Moore both play at a level not too far below Camarillo's... so something to watch for.
- Pat White was told before the game that he wouldn't get any playing time. I think its safe to say that he'll remain on the roster until final cuts in case there is an injury to any of our other QBs and then cut, or his only saving grace would be an offer we can't refuse for Thigpen.
- Vontae Davis left the game with an undisclosed chest injury. No word on how serious it is, so watch the news wires, and I'll keep you updated.
- I think the next players cut will include Julius Pruitt, he's just not separating himself from the pack.
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