Everyone knows, including the Miami Dolphins coaching staff, that the Miami Dolphins as a team did not perform well the last time they took the field during the pre-season.
So that could be the chief reason why the starting unit on both sides of the ball will be playing at least one or two drives on Thursday night against the Dallas Cowboys.
With the backups being set up to play the majority of the game tomorrow night, here are the three things I will be looking for come gametime.
3. Less Drops All Around!
So far this pre-season, the Dolphins receivers have faced some high expectations. And so far, they have showed that they are not necessarily ready to face those expectations. Besides the exception of newly added Brandon Marshall, the Dolphins receivers have disappointed me. They have dropped a little over a fourth of the passes coming their way it seems, and that cannot happen during the regular season. I was expecting drops to be the one thing that I would not have to worry about this year, and once again it appears that I jinxed my Fins. I'm looking for a little bit of stability from the starting group, and for them to go into Opening Day on a high note.
2. Offensive Line Chemistry:
One of the other pokes in the rear that has bothered the team this off-season is the play from the offensive line as a whole. The team seemingly has NO depth behind their starters, and with the injury to Nate Garner, this concerns me. But an even bigger problem is the fact that the starters are playing with NO chemistry whatsoever. The coaching staff has been shuffling lineups all training camp long, which is likely a cause of this lack of chemistry. Also, while head coach Tony Sparano has said that he has made a decision as to who the starting center is, the race still looks pretty even to me. I will be looking not only for consistency from the whole unit, but for one of the two center candidates, Jake Grove, and Joe Berger to seperate themself from the other.
1. Run Game Woes:
Another enormous strength of the Fins from last year was the rushing attack. This is another strength that has failed to impress this pre-season. In fact, they have been miserable. The offensive line has been getting pushed around, and not giving the backs much room to do their thing. The run game needs to get back in shape for Week 1. The Dolphins will not be successful if they cannot get the ground game going, and with them boasting two of the top 12 running backs in the league, they are also facing high expectations. I would like to see them run all over the place during the game.
All in all, I'm looking for a solid improvement from the team, but as can be expected, and is a theme during the pre-season for the team, while they can fix one disappointment from the previous game, another problem arises. This game to me is all about fine tuning the fundamentals of their gameplan and skills to get prepped for Opening Day against division rival, the Buffalo Bills.
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