SB Nation - Vernon Carey

Dolphins/Titans Friday Injury Report

Matty I — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 21:10:16 -0000

Both sides have key players listed on report. So let's get to it:

MIAMI DOLPHINS

Probable
Davone Bess, WR (ankle)
Vernon Carey, RT (back)
Joey Porter, LB (knee)
Reggie Torbor, LB (hamstring)
Yeremiah Bell, SS (back)

Questionable
Jake Grove, C (ankle)

Notes
-Grove was limited in practice on Friday after going full the two previous days.
-All the players listed as "probable" practiced in full on Friday except for Porter, who was limited.

TENNESSEE TITANS

Probable
Kevin Mawae, C (back)

Questionable
Vince Young, QB (hamstring)
Nate Washington, WR (ankle)
Eric Bakhtiara, DE (concussion)
Tony Brown, DT (knee)

Doubtful
Craig Stevenson, TE (concussion)
David Thornton, LB (shoulder)

Notes
-Mawae practiced in full on Friday.
-Young practiced in full on Friday and will most likely start.
-Brown did not practice on Friday, nor did Thornton.
-Washington was limited on Friday.

Shallow Thoughts & Nearsighted Observations

Ted Bartlett — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:30:15 -0000

More photos » by Chris Schneider - AP

2 months ago: Denver Broncos coach Josh McDaniels salutes the crowd after the Broncos defeated the New England Patriots 20-17 in overtime in an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 11, 2009, in Denver. (AP Photo/Chris Schneider)

Browse more photos »

Happy Tuesday, friends, and welcome to another edition of Shallow Thoughts & Nearsighted Observations. Is anybody else feeling like they could get used to feeling like this on a Tuesday? It's great to be 5-0, isn't it? Maybe Mark Kiszla is right, and we should all join him in welcoming Kyle Orton to Denver, since MHR is clearly bringing up the rear, there. Y'all know how skeptical I have been. Despite our ongoing skepticism, and community-wide propensity for all things negative, we press on. Ready..... BEGIN!!!!

1. Speaking of my skepticism, I was pretty high on this team, heading into the first game.

This is an 11-5 football team, and it's one that is only going to improve as it adds more quality talent in the next few years. I put my money where my mouth is too, donating $11 to the Susan G. Komen Race For The Cure, on John Bena's wife's behalf. Please do the same thing, if you can, by donating $1 for every win you think the Broncos will get this season. Things have to break right for that to happen, sure, but I think they will. Forget last season, this is a totally different thing.

Well, that caused a stir. John Bena took a beating on Twitter about it, and even my brother Chris thought I was about 4 games too generous. At this point, I am frankly wondering if I shorted the Susan G Komen outfit by a buck or two. One mea culpa though.

By the way, the Broncos five losses are to the Patriots, Giants, and Raiders at home, and the Chargers and Eagles on the road. I know a lot of people will groan at the thought of losing to Oakland at home, but let's face it, the Broncos annually lose a game they have no business losing, and I had a feeling that that would be the one. I think they can beat Baltimore and Pittsburgh, because they protect the QB, and will be strong defensively against the run. It's about matchups, in those cases. Really, I believe that the Broncos can beat any team on their schedule if they execute, and consistently do the things you need to do to win football games.

I had the Broncos going to 4-0, (in case anybody claims nobody did), before losing both (Sunday) to the Patriots and next Monday night to the Chargers. They beat the Patriots, and I am pretty sure they'll beat the Chargers too, to move to 6-0. I also don't think there is any way they lose to the Raiders, with the consistent preparation and focus they've shown, and Oakland's extreme awfulness. So, even the most optimistic reasonable guy you know may have been underselling this team.

I am not much of a stats guy, but are you ready for an unbelievable one? In five weeks, the Broncos have made zero personnel moves. For all you hear about how much "turmoil" surrounded this team in the offseason, there has been absolutely none in the regular season. Of course, having had no major injuries helps, but it's really indicative of the quality of the team's personnel plan. There was no area where the staff thought incorrectly that the personnel would be good enough. It's good enough everywhere.

There is a lot of reason to really like this team. When the score was 10-0 in the first quarter, my father (Ed) called me, like he does when things aren't going that well for the Broncos. This is the conversation, practically word-for-word.

Ed: What's going on with your boys?

Ted: (A little annoyed.) Nothing, they had a good drive, but missed a field goal, and then they fumbled. Then they held the Patriots to a field goal despite really favorable field position. I'm not worried about it yet. These things happen.

Ed: I don't know...

Ted: This team has shown an ability to be resilient, and make adjustments. I think they'll hang in there, and be okay. (More annoyed, because the commercial was ending, and the game was restarting.) They just (bleeped) up a couple times, it's not the end of the world.

Ed: We'll see....

Ted: Yes, we will. I have to go, so I can pay attention.

Ed: Okay, when you write your analysis, you should mention that your expert father thinks they played like (bleep) because of those ugly uniforms.

Like me, my father is a former United States sailor (a Chief Nuke Machinist Mate), and we tend to employ some sailors' vocabulary when we speak. (In the interest of authenticity, I thought everybody should know that.)

I think back to the last few years, and there is a striking difference with this team. I think of 2005, and the Broncos hardly ever trailed in that season. Jake Plummer was made to play low-risk football, the defense was solid, and the Broncos ran the ball very well. If the plan was executed, the Broncos were going to win. Once it wasn't, in the AFC Championship Game, there was no coming back.

Between 2006-2008, the team was very mistake-prone, on both offense and defense (after the first 6 games of 2006). Generally, you'd have the feeling that if a player or unit made a mistake, that a long day of repeat mistakes would be sure to follow. Think of all the times Jay Cutler played the team out of games, or the defense took a holiday from tackling (or both happened in the same game, like the early season Chiefs game last season). There was always a puncher's chance, but you felt like every mistake was the killer.

I have a tremendous amount of faith in this team's ability to overcome mistakes. In the short amount of time they've been together, I've seen them do it a lot of times. It's not like they're making a lot of mistakes, but they show the ability to settle down and re-focus, no matter what happens. The 2008 Broncos would have gotten blown out today, no question about it. This team hangs in there, gets back to playing solid football, and gets in position to win in the end. It happened against Cincinnati, it happened against Dallas, and it happened again today. (Of course, there never was one second where the Browns or Raiders had an apparent chance, so there was no particular need to hang in there in those games.)

Check out this tweet from Darrell Reid, from Sunday night:

@Footz95: Bronco Fans Please 4Give Me 4 My Penalty That Almost Cost Us The Game. Luckily Its A Team Sport And My Teammates Overcame That Play. Thank U

That's pure class and accountability, and it's emblematic of this team. There was nothing about how the penalty was kind of ticky-tack, even if it was. He knows the rules, he ran into the guy's leg, and he is accountable for his mistake.

It's a gift to be able to feel like this, and I think only probably Patriots, Steelers, and Colts fans have been able to do so consistently, in recent memory. I think Giants and Saints fans probably can right now. Somehow, our team is going to keep focused, and find a way to be in the game until the final gun. What a great new Broncos fan reality.

2. Information From My Eyes, Patriots at Broncos:

a. The WRs for the Broncos did great work all game on Sunday. They ran a ton of hitches, and really got out of their breaks well on them. They also really caught the ball.

b. Andra Davis and D.J. Williams both missed clean sacks on Tom Brady, on delayed blitzes. It sure would have been nice to have those sacks, at the time.

c. I thought the use of Russ Hochstein as a FB was a nice touch a few times. It's been hit or miss this season, and it hit Sunday.

d. Both Brandon Marshall TDs were emblematic of his improvement as an all-around player. He made plays with his physicality, which he hadn't ever fully harnessed in past years. There was no sideways running Sunday, just good routes and power.

e. That Ben Watson TD was evidently a mistake by D.J. Williams, who from the looks of the rest of the scheme, and Wesley Woodyard's reaction, should have stayed in zone coverage, instead of following the underneath crosser.

f. Maybe Kyle Orton was so fantastic because he read Mark Kiszla's column before the game. Feeling like "one of us" has to go a long way, right?

g. That was a joke, of course, but Orton really did look as good as I have ever seen him. His feet were calm, active, and precise, his decisions were quick and correct, and his throws were consistently on the money. He looked like Tom Brady looks on a good day, and that's no overstatement.

h. I want to see a QB sneak on a short-yardage play one of these days. I am tired of seeing these handoff plays get blown up by quick penetration, usually over Ben Hamilton.

i. WOW, did Josh McDaniels ever flame-spray Mike Priefer and Keith Burns over that Darrell Reid penalty. He had a point. There was no particular need to be halfway rushing that punt, in that situation. Honestly, I am a believer in not trying to block a punt at all, unless there's 6 or more yards to go. That mitigates the risk of running into the kicker.

j. If you remember the second-down play in the 4th quarter, with about 10 minutes to go, where Brady threw deep and the ball was broken up by Brian Dawkins, the real play was made by D.J.Williams, in covering Wes Welker one-on-one. Brady clearly wanted to go there, and it was blanketed. On the next play, Brady did throw to Welker, and Champ Bailey had great coverage. The Broncos did a great job taking Welker away in the second half.

k. Everybody knows I wasn't that high on the Knowshon Moreno pick when it was made, but I have come to really love this player. He is going to be a superstar for years to come. I especially appreciate his skill at picking up the blitz, which is rare for a rookie.

3. Information From My Eyes, Other Games:

a. I had the Bengals-Ravens game on my fixed screen Sunday, for the duration. The key observation from that game is that I had it slightly wrong a couple weeks ago, when I said that the Ravens were without any glaring weaknesses. Their cornerbacks are below average, and they can be killed outside the numbers. Old friend Domonique Foxworth is a good guy, but an average-at-best player. Fabian Washington isn't even as good as that. Particularly if you can block the Ravens' pressure packages, there is a lot of opportunity for success.

b. It is, however, best to stay out of the middle of the field, with any kind of risky throws. Ed Reed is as great as ever, and we all know about Ray Lewis. Reed made a couple big plays Sunday, stripping Chad Ochocinco on a long gainer before the first half ended, and then also returning an interception for a TD later. The Bengals dominated this game, and Reed and Ray Rice were the Ravens' only real positives, and managed to keep the Ravens in it.

c. Matt Cassel says he wants to find the right "anecdote" to losing. The Chiefs ought to start by drafting a lot more speed, because they're the slowest team in the NFL, ahead of their opponent Sunday, Dallas. The Chiefs are going to have another very high draft pick this year, because they are really horrible. If I were Scott Pioli, I would do everything possible to get below the Top 10, because a third straight very high pick, along with Cassel's contract, is going to really mess up their salary structure, a la Oakland. I would give a top pick away, straight-up, for the 12th pick, in their situation. Bill Polian had it right when he said that you don't get good by picking high in the draft every year. Unless you're taking a can't-miss QB, like Peyton Manning, nobody is worth the money you have to pay out.

d. Speaking of the Chiefs, this has gone mostly under the radar, but they're not playing Derrick Johnson, their best linebacker. He was their best defensive player in 2008, and now he's frozen out for some undisclosed reason. If I were a 40-front team, I'd be calling the Chiefs before the trade deadline next week. I bet he could be had for a 5th-rounder.

e. Have you ever seen that show, Intervention, on A&E? I know I have a pretty male-heavy readership, and it's mostly targeted toward a female demographic, so I ask, rather than assume. Anyway, it's not what I would call uplifting television. There's always some really troubled person, with drugs, or gambling, or compulsive shopping, or whatever. Their family loves them, and wants to help get them on the straight and narrow, but addiction is really hard (my 3-year anniversary of quitting smoking is next Monday, so trust me, I have an idea about addiction).

Anyway, the Jaguars remind me of an addict who is trying to get clean, and tries hard, and does well for a while, and then has a staggering, messy relapse. Jacksonville's addiction is to playing undisciplined and stupid football. The last two weeks, against Houston and Tennessee, the Jags had their act together. Sunday, against Seattle, they relapsed, and got completely embarassed. Rashean Mathis, a good CB, had a horrid game, and got out of position repeatedly. I think Jack Del Rio's days have to be numbered, because his program just isn't getting the team to where they need to be. I'm not picking them in any more games this year, either, unless it's against an obviously terrible team. Sometimes, even though you may love the addict, they won't let themselves be helped, and you have to cut them off.

f. The 49ers are not addicted to undisciplined football, but they sure played like the Jaguars West on Sunday. Watching the Short Cut, I really feel like they lost their composure after Roddy White's 90-yard TD in the second quarter. Nate Clements got beat on that play, and had a tough game overall. The defense was physical, and maintained their run lanes, but didn't tackle well, at all. I expect that Mike Singletary will re-focus his team, and they'll show better in their next game, after their bye. Since they're clearly not built to play from behind, they need to establish early leads.

g. A lot was made of Dre' Bly's idiotic celebration Sunday, but Donnie Avery deserves some scorn too, for dancing after a TD catch, when it made the score 31-10 Vikings, with 6 minutes to go. That's just clown-like. Hand the ball to the Field Judge, and get back to your sideline.

h. Matt Schaub threw a noodle-armed out route Sunday, which Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie took back for the game-winning TD. Even after that, Schaub drove the team the length of the field, before the Cardinals held them on 4th and goal from the 1. The problem with being a zone-blocking team, as we've seen, is that you tend to struggle in short yardage situations, and the Texans really struggle with them.

i. I got called "ignorant" once by our dear friend/Colts blogger BigBlueShoe for saying that Anthony Gonzalez was a below-average starter. I considered it an honor, because I am happy to disagree with anybody. (Evaluation is a function of what I see, not what anybody thinks they know, and by extension, that they think I should "know.") In any case, Gonzalez, who is from 3 towns west of where I live, is going to stuggle to get on the field when he gets healthy. Austin Collie and Pierre Garcon have done fantastic work this season, and they're both better players than Gonzalez. Collie is smooth in his routes, and fundamentally sound, and Garcon is fast and fluid. Gonzalez struggles to get off press coverage, and as Mike Shanahan once said, if you can't get off press coverage, you'll be selling cars before too long.

j. The Steelers defense looks extremely beatable lately, especially if you can pass protect. The Lions did a lot of good stuff offensively Sunday, and lost only because they couldn't contain James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley. Trust me, they're not a terrible team team this season.

k. Josh Johnson looked like an NFL starting QB on Sunday, which is an accomplishment, for your second career start, against a defense like Philadelphia's. His stats were pedestrian (26-50, 240 yards, 2 TD, 3 INT with 5 carries for 40 yards), but he passed the eye test. His throws were mostly accurate and decisive, and he was victimized by quite a few drops, at least 6 or 7.

l. I haven't gotten a great look at Jason Peters yet this regular season, and I have been wanting to. Sunday's game didn't show me much, because Gaines Adams just looks clueless on the field. LDE Jimmy Wilkerson got 3 sacks for the Buccaneers, and lazy analysis would lead me to criticize RT Winston Justice, who I am typically not a big fan of. Thing is, I looked at the plays, and none were particularly bad plays by Justice. One was an overload, where the RG picked up Wilkerson, and on the other two, Donovan McNabb rolled into a decently-blocked Wilkerson.

m. ST&NO favorite Channing Crowder had a fantastic game on Monday Night, and really backed up his smack talk from the spring with Rex Ryan. Another ST&NO favorite, Sean Smith, did not have a particularly great game. He struggled a little with Braylon Edwards, and while he didn't embarass himself, he has looked a lot better in other games. He was still the best CB the Dolphins had, as Vontae Davis and Will Allen both struggled worse.

n. I called this just last Tuesday with Edwards. He got out of Cleveland, and he's going to flourish in New York. He always thought of Cleveland as a non-cosmopolitan place, even to a greater extent than what is really true. (It's medium in its cosmopolitan-ness; well behind the major cities, but well ahead of a place like Jacksonville.) Edwards also felt like Ohio fans secretly hated him because he is a Michigan guy. The enmity between OSU and Michigan people is pretty real, for Big 10 country anyway, but Clevelanders are almost universally Browns fans before they're OSU fans. It's an NFL town, first, no question about it. If Edwards did well for the Browns, he'd have gotten plenty of love here.

My read on Edwards' personality, from living in the same town, is that the fact that he comes from a fairly affluent, two-parent, suburban background works against his ability to be a great player. He knows he has options outside of football. Poor kids need football, and many dedicate themselves fully to it, but I don't think Edwards has ever felt like he needs it. (For an example, there's the famous story of him asking Will Demps how to get into modeling and acting, between plays, during a game with the Texans).

I expect that Edwards will be very good for the Jets, and get himself a good contract extension after this season. New York is the town he wants to be in, and at his best, he can be like Tiki Barber, a guy who is interested in a lot of other stuff, but finally focuses pretty well on football, and has some good years under some tough coaching. Just don't be the person who believes the nonsense about him being a bad player, because he is not one.

n. The Dolphins offensive line is really one-dimensional, because their Tackles, Jake Long and Vernon Carey, severely lack foot quickness. Both guys can really move defenders off the ball in the running game, though. I am a big fan of Justin Smiley at LG; he's a mauler. The Dolphins do well in their wildcat stuff, but I think they should play more with their QB under center, to generate opportunities in the play-action game. It's the only way their QB will ever be able to consistently take a very deep dropback, unless they want to max-protect with a limited pattern.

o. Wow.... two successful fake punts in one first half by the Jets. I don't know if I have ever seen that before. Brad Smith was almost stopped on the second one, but he managed to get away from the tackle.

p. Chad Henne has looked much better than I thought he could play the last two weeks, but I am not sold on some things. For one thing, since when do QBs have lousy, jail-house looking tattoos, or any tattoos at all? It's like when an enlisted guy in the military becomes an officer, and suddenly looks a little different, sporting a bunch of ink. (My buddy who is getting married in Dallas in about 2 weeks is actually one of these.) Anyway, it's weird to see a QB with that going on. As a player, he looked really good, though.

q. Ted Ginn put a pretty humbling move on Darrelle Revis in the 4th quarter Monday Night. When you hear scouts talk about suddenness, Ginn is not a guy who really has it, as opposed to somebody like Percy Harvin, who does. Ginn does, however, have world-class speed once he gets going, and he ran by the outstanding Revis for a go-ahead TD.

r. I usually ignore MNF while I write the bulk of ST&NO on Monday nights, but this Dolphins-Jets game was terrific. Both of these teams are playoff-caliber teams, and only one of them will probably make it.

s. The Packers had a bye week, and signed Mark Tauscher, which was smart. I think he is below-average, (and so is Chad Clifton), but they are a damnsight better than Daryn Colledge and Allen Barbre. If Aaron Rodgers can get sacked only 3-4 times per game, as opposed to 8-9, the Packers would have a better chance to beat good teams. Rodgers does tend to hold the ball too long at times, and I am sure the Packers are working with him on that, as well.

t. There were a lot of lousy games this weekend, which weren't particularly relevant to anything. I didn't bother with them. (That means you, Buffalo-Cleveland and Washington-Carolina.)

4. Between The Lines - Patriots at Broncos

a. The Patriots pass-protected very well in this game, much better than I expected them to. Matt Light and Nick Kaczur really held their own against Elvis Dumervil, Robert Ayers, and others. The Broncos mostly tried to play coverage, and generally didn't blitz a lot, but the Patriots handled their 3- and 4-man rushes virtually every time. Once Light was injured, and replaced by Sebastian Vollmer, I felt like the Patriots expressly didn't want to have him singled up on anybody, and they got more conservative with their protection calls. Of course, on the key play where Vonnie Holliday sacked and stripped Brady, and Dumervil recovered, that was only a 4-man rush, and Vollmer was the victim. The Patriots won this battle on volume, but he Broncos got the biggest play.

b. The Broncos also were outstanding in protection. Orton was never significantly pressured during the game, and the two sacks he took were both coverage sacks, delivered by LBs Rob Ninkovich and Tully Banta-Cain. Ryan Clady and Ryan Harris were outstanding as usual. Although Clady did have Banta-Cain on his sack, it's hard to call the play Ryan's fault. Pressure up the middle forced Orton to step backwards, into the area where Clady had ridden Banta-Cain. Sometimes you take a hit for doing your job right. The interior was strong in protection too, especially Chris Kuper. He does a great job anchoring against power rushers. The Broncos were terrific in this area, and won it going away.

c. The Patriots seemed to want to run the ball at Ryan McBean and Mario Haggan, and had a bit of success at it early with Sammy Morris. After that, they seemed to get away from that plan, only running much from shotgun looks. The Broncos defensive line was up to the task, consistently holding the line of scrimmage, as they have in all five games. Noteworthy performances were turned in by Ronald Fields, Le Kevin Smith, and Kenny Peterson, in addition to McBean. These big guys just continue to hold up. Logan Mankins was tough for the Patriots, and Dan Koppen was steady and crafty. Kaczur had a couple nice early blocks on the opening possession too. This battle was pretty even, in the final analysis.

d. Vince Wilfork was the best all-around player on the field on Sunday, and he couldn't be blocked. If the Patriots don't pay him, I'll be shocked, but there are actually rumblings that they may not. The rest of the Patriots defensive line got pushed around in the running game. The Broncos blockers were terrific in opening up holes for Knowshon Moreno and LaMont Jordan. Clady, Harris, and Kuper were especially noteworthy for their efforts in the running game. Wilfork did make a key stop on third-and-short, and blew up Hamilton on the play. Moreno's 4.2 yard average was a lot better than teams usually get from the Patriots. This is a win for the Broncos.

e. Remember a year ago, when the Patriots physically dominated the Broncos on both lines? That did not happen Sunday. The matchup was pretty even, with a slight edge going to the Broncos. This was very important to the final outcome of the game, as always.

(I am scrapping the BTL feature for another game. I am pretty overloaded lately, and I need to save the 90 minutes per week. It seemed like the best place to cut from. Sorry for anybody who will miss it.)

5. Weird comment from Pat Kirwan on NFL.com:

5. Things I didn't like

When the visiting Patriots lost the coin toss in overtime and the Broncos drove the field and kicked a winning field goal, it left me wanting more than that to decide a winner. Wouldn't it have been great if, after Denver's field goal, Tom Brady had one drive to score a touchdown?

Is Kirwan saying that Brady should get even more special treatment, because he's Brady, or is he saying that the NFL should allow both teams to get the ball at least once in overtime, as a rule for all teams? I typically like Kirwan's work, but this has me pretty confused.

And for the record, I don't think it would have been great if Brady had one drive to score a touchdown. To me, moving down the field after winning the toss, and kicking a winning FG is legitimate. I also think the Broncos play-calling would have been a bit different, once Knowshon Moreno got them inside the 30, if they felt like they really needed to play for a TD.

6. Big up Lindsay Jones of the Denver Post, for reminding us, via Twitter, of somebody who hasn't come forth with their mea culpa yet. I'm looking at you, Rick Reilly, purveyor of puff pieces.

Actually, Reilly's words were more mean-spirited than anybody's, so he really owes Josh McDaniels an apology.

@DenverBroncos : Deadspin compiles all the not-so-nice things Rick Reilly wrote about McDaniels last spring. Pretty interesting. http://deadspin.com/5379838/delighting-in-rick-reillys-massively-wrong-broncos-predictions

I don't normally read Deadspin, but nice work by Tommy Creggs here. Some interesting reminders:

Reilly on April 3rd: "And none of it would've happened without McDaniels' ham-handed style and his Macy's-balloon ego. I have a buddy who honestly believes McDaniels thinks this is fantasy football; that Pat Bowlen gave him a whole team to play with and screw over in his own image and what the hell, if his moves don't work out, his league has a special "mulligan" rule and he can start over. Only there's no "oops" rule in the NFL. Years from now, the Cutler Catastrophe will go down as the dumbest thing in Boy Blunder's very short coaching career. By then, perhaps he will be your waiter at Olive Garden."

That was right after the Cutler trade. Nice, huh? Try this one out:

Reilly on April 29th: "To repeat: Boy Blunder used a [first-round pick] to take a second. And if the Broncos are going to be as lame as I think they're going to be-4-12 perhaps-that first-round pick will be very high. McDaniels is the worst combination of things: Terribly naïve and doubly confident. Bronco fans, you're screwed."

And one more pearl;

Reilly on September 29th: "You can't just bolt your team because you think it's going to suck. (Which the Broncos are. There is no debating that. They are going to lose more than France. Just because you worked under Bill Belichick and you wear your sweatshirt like Bill Belichick does not mean you are Bill Belichick.)"

I would have been glad to debate Reilly on September 29th, or any other day. And if Josh McDaniels was my waiter at Olive Garden, I'd tip him pretty well, because I tip well, and because I bet the service would be outstanding.

I mean, like they say on ESPN, C'mon Man! This drivel was worse than what came from any of the serious-ish reporters, right? Your garden-variety John Clayton, Peter King, or Don Banks were smug and disconnected from reality, but it wasn't personal. With Reilly, this was clearly PERSONAL. Where are you at, Rick? Being a Denver guy, I suspect you'll see this, or at least hear about it, from somebody who does. Ted Bartlett from MileHighReport.com wants to know where you're at with this today, and is directly, publicly asking, on behalf of the thousands who realize how wrong you were, and think we have a great Head Coach.

Hell, if I find out that Chad Henne's tattoo is actually beautifully and tastefully done, and I had it all wrong, you can bet that I'll man up to it publicly. Same goes for anything I ever say, in all seriousness. Maybe accountability to readers is a blogger thing, I don't know.

7. Retired for John Elway

8. So, there's a hellaciously stupid line of thought that's circulating throughout the punditry (as always, meant negatively.) It seems that there are two kinds of people: those who dichotomize, and those who don't. The punditry tends to dichotomize, and there are two kinds of coaches right now. Hot Coordinators (including some retreads like Mike Nolan, Gregg Williams, and Mike Mularkey), and Super Bowl Winning Retreads. And lemme tell you, nobody wants a Retread. Why not? Because they're Retreads, stupid!

My favorite contrarian Andrew Perloff tells us so in his crack column Against The Grain: ("A weekly NFL column that heads in the opposite direction of your average pro football analysis." Just in case you were wondering....)

3. The NFL information men are hot on the trail of finding out where former Super Bowl-winning coaches like Mike Shanahan, Mike Holmgren and Bill Cowher will end up. But shouldn't we be asking ourselves if those coaches are the right hires for franchises like Washington, Dallas and Carolina? A retread coach with a ring is still just a retread. Duplicating that kind of success is still a longshot in the NFL. Some of the organization problems within those teams would cause just as big a headache for a proven winner.

Perloff has a point about the organization problems, but calling somebody a retread, and assuming that they suddenly can't coach is asinine. Analysts who don't know how to analyze always look for correlation, and assume causation, where there often is none.

Some teams, like the Redskins and Cowboys, will almost certainly make big-splash hires. Some, like the Bills and Jaguars, will be cost conscious, and probably hire a coordinator. Some, like the Panthers, could go either way. You can believe that whatever is deemed to be the trend du jour, (probably hiring coordinators), the other path will be criticized. Such is life with the dichotomizing punditry.

9. Another fun Ted Bartlett prognostication from the preseason:

The Broncos are going to have the best defense in the AFC West.

I guess I am just hot this year. :)

That's all I have for this week. Have a great Tuesday, and beyond, and we'll see you Saturday for Lighting Up The Scoreboard, even as I will be at Notre Dame this weekend for their game against USC. It will be my first time seeing Touchdown Jesus, so we'll see what that does for me as a guy who grew up Catholic. Maybe I will tweet from the game. Follow me at @TedBartlett905. Thanks for reading, and go Broncos!!!

Bills at Dolphins: Five Questions with The Phinsider

Brian Galliford — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 16:45:09 -0000

More photos » by Lynne Sladky - AP

Browse more photos »

This week is one of my favorite weeks - not just because the Buffalo Bills and the Miami Dolphins are big divisional rivals, but because we get to interact with folks from The Phinsider. There are some nice little blog rivalries here at SB Nation, and Buffalo Rumblings versus The Phinsider is at or near the top of the list. Some of the best discussions I've held as a blogger have come while talking to Dolphins fans over at Matty I's excellent blog.

Speaking of Matty I, he's here! And y'all know why - to talk about the upcoming game. Without further ado, here's Matty's latest breakdown of the Dolphins - and if you're looking for the reciprocating interview, be sure to visit The Phinsider today.

You haven't seen much of Chad Henne, professional quarterback, but I assure you we've seen less. What do the Bills need to be wary of with Henne as it relates to his skill set, and how can they attack him?

Matty I: Random fact of the week - Dan Marino, like Chad Henne, also received his first career start at home against the Bills. Coincidence? Well... yeah, of course. But I'm just sayin'...

As far as Henne's skill set, the most obvious thing Buffalo's defense has to be wary of is his arm strength. The Bills can essentially throw out the film of Chad Pennington running Miami's offense - because it's probably going to look a little different on Sunday. Look for more deep outs and go routes.

The best way to attack him is obvious - blitz the crap out of him and use many different kinds of coverages in the secondary. Antonio Cromartie said last week after the game that the Chargers were throwing a ton of new looks and blitzes at Henne once he came in to replace Pennington. And that's definitely the route Buffalo should take on Sunday.

CBS' Pete Prisco had the following to say about Miami's Wildcat formation following the loss to Indy on MNF (via Twitter): "The Dolphins would have run the ball -- Wildcat or not. That thing takes them out of a possible groove." How much validity do you find in that statement?

Matty I: Well I think I need to preface this with the fact that Pete Prisco has long been a "Wildcat hater." It seems like the man goes out of his way to criticize the formation whenever he can.

With that said, there might be some validity to the idea that it could cause the offense to get out of rhythm, particularly with the quarterback coming off the field in some variations of the formation. But that's just the price you pay and I think the negative effect of the formation is outweighed by the positive.

As far as the idea that the Dolphins would have been able to run the ball regardless - that's just a ridiculous statement to make, in my opinion. That's like saying the Dolphins didn't need to go to the "Power I" formation to run the ball effectively. The bottom line here is that the 'Wildcat' is simply a power running formation and is no different, in my eyes or in the eyes of the Dolphins themselves, from any other formation they run. They might run 6 plays in a game out of the "Split Backs" formation, 6 more plays out of the "Singleback Aces" formation, and 6 more out of the "Wildcat." It's just another formation to the Dolphins at this point - nothing more nothing less.

But please keep in mind that the 'Wildcat' is different than the spread option offense the Dolphins have been working on with Pat White taking the snaps. That formation is an entirely different animal.

The Dolphins had some question marks in the middle of the O-Line this past off-season. The running game has been great for you guys, obviously, but the sack rate is up a bit as well, though also not detrimental (surrendering 7 through 3 games). What's your take on how some of the new guys are gelling with the likes of Jake Long and Vernon Carey?

Matty I: As far as the line's run blocking is concerned, like you said, it's coming together nicely for the Dolphins. Jake Grove has seemingly been an upgrade over Samson Satele and a healthy Donald Thomas is a huge upgrade over the right guards the Dolphins were trotting out there last year after Thomas went down in week one.

As far as their pass protection goes, things are slowly coming together. Four of those seven sacks allowed came back in week one. Since then, there has been noticeable improvement. Ironically enough, Jake Long and Vernon Carey have been the biggest culprits of allowing sacks. Each of them allowed two sacks in week one. Since then, though, Long has looked much better. I think it was just a technique issue he had against the speedy John Abraham. He bounced back well the following week against Dwight Freeney. Carey has gotten beat a little too often for my liking this year. But he's a proven commodity and he'll get his act together.

All told, the interior offensive line has been pretty solid in pass protection for the most part - and they should only get better as they get more work together.

Joey Porter's status was in question heading into the San Diego game, where he re-aggravated his hamstring injury. We've seen how effective Miami's pass rush is with Porter. How has it looked when he's been on the sideline? What are his chances of playing Sunday?

Matty I: Well Miami's pass rush isn't nearly as effective when Joey Porter is on the sidelines. Last week when Porter was forced out of the game with his hamstring injury, the Dolphins didn't get nearly enough pressure on Phillip Rivers as we all would have liked. But truth be told, even with Porter they weren't getting as much pressure as they needed to.

With that said, I think the Dolphins have the personnel to survive without Joey Porter on the field. Jason Taylor would still be out there and, while he isn't the JT of old, he still knows how to get to the quarterback and can still give offenses trouble. Charlie Anderson is probably the primary backup of Porter's and he's a guy with a lot of experience and who made some big plays late in the year last year. And we can't forget about former CFL star Cameron Wake - who, if nothing else, knows how to get pressure on an opposing quarterback. But he's still inexperienced at this level and doesn't have the technique to be more than just a situational pass rusher.

As far as Porter's chances of playing, I'd say they're 50/50 right now. I will never question Joey's fire to go out there and play. Even if it's as a situational player, if he feels like he can go, he'll go on Sunday.

Miami's 0-3 start has been pretty surprising given their AFC East division championship last season. You wrote about missed opportunities after the Chargers loss; aside from that, what has been the biggest issue, or cluster of issues, in Miami's slow start?

Matty I: Aside from all of their costly mistakes - i.e. fumbles in the redzone (and at the one inch line) and penalties - there are probably two main issues that have contributed most to Miami's ugly start. And both have to do with the passing game.

The first has been the Dolphins tendency to give up the big play in the passing game. Tony Gonzalez killed the Dolphins in week one by making big play after big play. In week two, the entire country got to see the Dolphins surrender huge play after huge play to Peyton Manning and company. And then last week, Phillip Rivers connected with Vincent Jackson and Malcom Floyd for numerous big plays as well. As great as the Dolphins have been defending the run, they have been equally as bad defending the pass.

Issue number two is the exact opposite of the first issue - the Dolphins inability to make a big play in the passing game. Three games into the season and the Dolphins have just one play that has gone for over 25 yards. And that play was a pass to Ronnie Brown. No receiver has a reception for longer than 21 yards on the year. And the Dolphins rank dead last in the NFL in yards after catch, with just 126 total yards after catch - good for an average of 2.06 yards after catch.

It's hard to win football games in this league when you surrender big plays in the passing game to opponents and then can't create any big plays of your own at all.

Dolphins vs Colts: Three Key Matchups

Matty I — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 04:15:09 -0000

More photos » by Michael Conroy - AP

The Dolphins must find a way to prevent Dwight Freeney (93) from doing to Chad Pennington what he's doing here to David Garrard.

Browse more photos »

It's time now to put last week's debacle in Atlanta behind us and move forward by turning our attention to Monday night's home opener against the Indianapolis Colts. This will be the first meeting between the Dolphins and Colts since New Year's Eve 2006, won by the Colts in Indianapolis. The Colts have won the last two meetings between these two teams. But the Dolphins have won the last four meeting prior, dating back to that classic playoff game in 2000.

We'll kick off our coverage of Monday night's game by talking about three critical matchups. Just how critical? The Dolphins lost two of the three I listed last week - and we saw how that game turned out.

Jake Long/Vernon Carey vs Dwight Freeney/Robert Mathis
This is a big one, isn'it it? Last week we saw Jake Long look very bad against one of the best pass-rushers in the league. Things don't get any easier in week two. He'll likely be up against Dwight Freeney all game long. While Freeney may be under-sized, he's not any smaller than John Abraham. And we saw just what Abraham did to Jake last week.

For all the criticism that's been thrown Jake's way after last week's game, people seem to be forgetting Vernon Carey also surrendered two sacks on the Falcons. Both Jake and Vernon didn't look like themselves last week and the Colts have some tape to review now that exploit these tackles' weaknesses.

Freeney, historically, has been a thorn in Miami's side. In three career games against the Dolphins, Freeney has three sacks and many, many more hurries. Robert Mathis, though, has never gotten a sack of a Dolphins' quarterback in two career games against Miami.

Over the past four years, Freeney and Mathis have quietly become one of the best pass-rushing duos in the league. Over that span, they have combined for an average of 17.5 sacks per season between the two of them.

This will be no easy task for Miami's two bookends who must protect Chad Pennington far better than they did last week. Expect to see some help in the form of chip blocks from Miami's backs to give Pennington enough time to survey the field. With that said, though, Long and Carey will still be asked to block these two pass-rushers one-on-one at times. And they simply cannot allow themselves to get beat as often as they did last week. If they do, it could be a long day.

Dallas Clark vs Yeremiah Bell/Gibril Wilson
The problem that the Dolphins had covering opposing tight ends in the preseason carried over to the regular season last week when Tony Gonzalez made big play after big play en route to a 5-73-1 performance on Sunday. And even when one of Miami's safeties had good coverage on the big tight end, Gonzalez found a way to make the grab on perfectly thrown passes from Matt Ryan.

Things don't get any easier on Monday night for Yeremiah Bell and Gibril Wilson. These two players will be asked to defend Colts tight end Dallas Clark for most of the game. Clark, though, presents a different challenge than Gonzalez did. Clark is shorter and faster than Gonzalez. And with starting receiver Anthony Gonzalez on the shelf for Indy, there's a good chance Clark will be used even more split out wide as a slot receiver. This poses an entirely different issue for the Dolphins. Clark is too big and strong to matchup a cornerback with him. But he's too quick for safeties. So whoever gets the job of covering Clark play in and play out will have their hands full.

With Anthony Gonzalez out and Marvin Harrison gone, Peyton Manning will rely on Clark and WR Reggie Wayne more now than ever. If the Dolphins can find a way to neutralize Clark, this dynamic Indy offense suddenly doesn't look as terrifying as it has in years past.

Dolphins pass rush vs Colts offensive line
The best way to attempt to contain Peyton Manning is to not let him physically throw the ball. Of course, that's impossible. But the next best thing is consistent pressure in Manning's face. Last week, Manning was sacked just once by the Jaguars and was hit just two additional times. That's three times Manning got knocked around on 30 drop backs. You let that happen, and Manning will do just what he did to the Jaguars - complete 74% of his passes for over 300 yards.

This Indianapolis offensive line is far from a rock solid unit. There's no reason the Dolphins shouldn't be able to get pressure on Manning on a consistent basis. Joey Porter and Jason Taylor both should receive ample opportunities going against Indy's far from spectacular tackles. Last week, Taylor did pick up his first sack of 2009 - but was relatively quiet for most of the afternoon. Porter was just as quiet for the entire game - rarely even getting close to Matt Ryan. Both of these guys must step up on Monday night.

But it goes beyond just Porter and Taylor. Phillip Merling had an outstanding game last week and will look to build on that with another on Monday. He got pressure on Matt Ryan three or four times. From what I can tell, Merling is a "gamer" and I do expect another solid performance.

But what about everybody else? Channing Crowder blitzed a couple of times with no success last week. Charlie Anderson needs to get in on the act. Kendall Langford was invisible in week one from his defensive end spot - which was a disappointment for all of us after hearing such great things all offseason and camp long about how he has improved. And what about Cameron Wake? Will he be active on Monday night?

Somehow, some way, the Dolphins must get to Peyton Manning early and often. If he's comfortable in the pocket right from the start, it could be a long night for this defense.

What we learned in week one

Matty I — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 04:15:09 -0000

More photos » by John Amis - AP

I suppose having a stronger arm would help you make a throw from this position, right?

Browse more photos »

Now that we've had some time to digest what happened on Sunday afternoon in Atlanta, let's talk a little bit about what we "learned" from this game. And keep in mind that you can't really "learn" anything from just one game. But you can start to form some thoughts. Please feel free to tell us all what you think you learned as well.

We learned that Miami's offensive line is nowhere near as good as we thought it would be. Chad Pennington dropped back 33 times - and was sacked four times, hit four times, and hurried 13 more times. That's 21 of 33 drop backs in which CP was under immense pressure. So even if the Dolphins wanted to take some shots deep, there wouldn't have been time on most plays.

We learned that the secret is out on Jake Long. John Abraham said after the game that he watched a lot of film on Jake Long and figured out how to beat him. "It's going to be a bull rush and inside move," said Abraham. "It seemed to work today." And things aren't going to get any easier for Jake. He'll go up against Dwight Freeney next week and then face San Diego's pass-rushing linebackers off the edge in week three. Long better get back to work this week and sure up his technique.

We learned that Bill Parcells and company might not be as smart as we all want to believe. This is a regime that selected Jake Long over Matt Ryan in 2008 - and while it's far too early to put that decision in the "loss column," Sunday's game was certainly discouraging. They also handed big paydays to Justin Smiley, Jake Grove, and Vernon Carey. And all three were pretty bad on Sunday.

We learned that there will always be Dolphin fans who are calling for Chad Pennington to be benched in favor of Chad Henne even though Henne was far from impressive in the preseason. I expect that after every loss this season, we'll have fans posting that we need to bench CP - even if the loss wasn't his fault. But that's fine with me. Truth be told, I'm also inching closer and closer to calling for Penningtin's benching. However, I still remember what Pennington means to this football team. He is the leader of this offense - both on the field and in the locker room. I'm not ready to give up on him yet. And remember - the grass isn't always greener on the other side. What happens if Henne comes in to start the final eight games of 2009 and he just stinks it up each and every game? Just something to think about, that's all.

We learned that both Ronnie Brown and Anthony Fasano need to step it up if they want contract extensions from this front office. Brown did run hard, though, and I'm not sure we can blame him for the lack of the running game. It's impossible to run the ball when there are no running lanes. Fasano, though, was probably one of the biggest culprits to Sunday's loss. I don't want to hate on him too much because it was very uncharacteristic of him, but Fasano's first fumble really turned around this entire game. If he doesn't cough it up, who knows how the game plays out.

We learned that the Dolphins can struggle on the road against one of the NFC's best teams and still be in the game well into the second half. For all of their struggles, the Dolphins had the football in Atlanta territory trailing by 10 with 3 minutes left in the 3rd quarter. Sure, a loss is a loss. But just think about that fact for a minute. The Dolphins had already turned the ball over twice, including once in the redzone, and were still only trailing the Falcons by 10 points, had possession inside Atlanta's 40, and had over a quarter to win this game.

We learned that the Dolphins should be able to stop the run pretty darn well in 2009. This defense held Michael Turner, a guy who ran fo 1700 yards and averaged 4.5 yards per carry in 2008, to just 65 yards rushing and less than 3 yards per carry. That's impressive work - especially from the outside linebackers who had to set the edge. It was believed that teams would try to run right at Joey Porter and Jason Taylor because neither was particularly effective stopping the run. But both held their ground at the point of attack and each even made a tackle in the backfield. That's certainly a good sign.

We learned that Phillip Merling is indeed a "gamer." For all the talk about how he doesn't practice well, this guy just seems to make play after play on gamedays. He was a force last season as a reserve and again was a dominant force on Sunday as a reserve. Now you just have to wonder for how long he remains a reserve. Randy Starks should be on notice.

We learned that effectively covering opposing tight ends is going to be a problem. It was a problem all preseason long and it continued to be a problem on Sunday in Atlanta. Yes, Tony Gonzalez is an all-time great. But it's not like it's going to get much easier in the coming weeks. On Monday night, Dallas Clark comes to town. Six days later, the Dolphins will head to San Diego to face Antonio Gates.

General NFL Thoughts

We learned that while Adrian Peterson is really good, his offensive line is even better. There were a number of runs where AP wasn't even touched for 5 to 10 yards beyond the line of scrimmage. Could you imagine how great it would be if Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams could get close to that kind of blocking?

We learned that strong arms mean little a a quarterback when you make bad decisions and inaccurate throws. Just ask Bears fans who had to watch Jay Cutler throw interception after interception.

We learned that Rex Ryan, at least for now, was able to back up his words. His defense dominated the Texans offense on Sunday. It makes you wonder why the Dolphins can't get the same kind of pressure on the quarterback that the Jets did on Sunday. Joey Porter, Jason Taylor, and company are every bit as good - if not better - than the pass-rushers the Jets were throwing at the Texans. Remember - they were without Shaun Ellis and Calvin Pace.

We learned that it's sometimes better to be lucky than good. My example - the Broncos. Could some of that New England luck have followed Josh McDaniels to Denver?

We learned that Tony Romo continues to be a great September through November quarterback. But we all know he'll crumble in December - as usual.

Turnovers doom Dolphins as Fins fall in Atlanta

Matty I — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 04:13:52 -0000

More photos » by John Bazemore - AP

Can you just imagine what Tony Sparano was thinking on Sunday as he watched his team make mistake after mistake?

Browse more photos »

In what seems like it's becoming a yearly tradition, the Miami Dolphins lost yet another season-opening game on Sunday. The Atlanta Falcons beat the Dolphins in every phase of the game - offense, defense, and special teams. And there's plenty of blame to go around for this ugly 19-7 loss.

What makes this loss especially tough to swallow, of course, is how uncharacteristic the offense performed. Four turnovers? Really? And Anthony Fasano, as sure-handed as they come at the tight end position in 2008, losing two fumbles? No team can overcome these miscues - let alone one that isn't exactly explosive on offense.

Wasn't the offensive line supposed to be a strength of this team?
The Dolphins have invested $70+ million in guaranteed money into this offensive line. This unit was supposed to be one of the strong points of this team. But their play on Sunday was downright offensive. And while it's only one game, you can't help but wonder if this regime's decisions on the personnel of the offensive line were the right ones.

It's not like this offensive line is made up of a bunch of players left over from the previous regime. Bill Parcells, Jeff Ireland, and company hand-picked this group. They drafted Jake Long first overall and made him the highest paid offensive linemen in the league. They signed Justin Smiley and Jake Grove to big contracts to bring them to Miami. They re-signed Vernon Carey to a hefty contract this past offseason.

Yet all these decisions and all that guaranteed money means nothing once these players take the field for a game. On Sunday, we saw Jake Long get beat over and over. We saw Vernon Carey also get beat for QB hurries and sacks. And we saw very little push up front when the Dolphins tried to run the football. On most of the backs' 19 carries, there was no hole to run through - not even a little crease. And we know that this is not an offense that can rely on passing the football time and time again. To be honest, though, I'm not sure what concerns me more. Is it the inability to open any running lanes for their running backs? Or is it their inability to keep the quarterback upright?

Key stat: the offensive line surrendered four sacks, four additional QB hits, and 13 total hurries. How can you expect any quarterback to do much of anything when he's under that kind of pressure?

Too many big plays surrendered through the air
On the surface, giving up less than 230 yards passing and 6.4 yards per attempt isn't a bad thing. But it's not about the sum - it's about individual moments. For example, on Atlanta's first touchdown drive - a drive that began at their own 11 yard line - the Falcons were 2/2 on 3rd downs. The first was a 14 yard completion to Roddy White and 3rd & 11. The other was a 15 yard completion to Tony Gonzalez on 3rd & 8. Those kinds of plays kill you in the course of a game. What good is it putting your opponent in a 3rd & long situation if you just fold like a cheap suit when it matters most?

Of course, it wasn't all bad defending the pass. Here's a nice little stat: the Dolphins held Atlanta's receivers to just 83 yards receiving in the entire game. That means it wasn't necessarily the cornerbacks who were getting beat. Sure, there were a couple of throws that Matt Ryan missed when receivers were open. But we can play the "what if" game all day long if we really wanted - both good and bad. But in general, the cornerbacks played fairly well. Sean Smith had a solid rookie debut, deflecting away two passes. Will Allen, outside of a pass interference penalty in which he got to the intended receiver a second too early (Atlanta didn't score on that possession anyway), also played well.

But it was the linebackers and safeties - those responsible for covering Tony Gonzalez and the running backs - that struggled all game. But even so, regarding Gonzalez in particular, there were two catches by him where the defender (Gibril Wilson, if I recall correctly) had perfect coverage but the pass was still completed. You can just chalk that up to Gonzalez being a great player and making great individual efforts.

All in all, let's be fair here about the defense. The Falcons had 11 possessions. Of those 11, seven of them saw the Falcons gain 20 yards or less. And only two possessions saw the Falcons gain over 45 yards. So I guess we shouldn't really kill the defense here. Would it have been nice to force a turnover or get more pressure on the quarterback? Of course. But it is what it is. The defense certainly did not lose this football game for Miami.

Don't make this a quarterback debate
Yes - the blame for this loss is squarely on the offense. But let's not make this a quarterback issue. Could Chad Pennington have played better? Of course. But it simply doesn't matter who the quarterback is when he's under he's hurried 13 times on just 33 drop backs.

Would I have liked to see Chad Henne get some reps late in the game? Sure. It might have been a good idea to put in Henne with 7:30 left and the team trailing by 19. But I can understand why the coaching staff didn't make the move. Pennington is still the offensive leader of this team - both on the field and in the locker room. So it's hard to take him out - and essentially make it look like you are blaming CP for this loss. In reality, maybe Tony Sparano should have replaced his entire starting offensive line. But I think the bigger reason why a switch wasn't made was to get CP more snaps with the starters in hopes of at least getting in some work and finding some kind of rhythm that they can build on heading into week two. That and the need to not get shut out to begin a season.

But regardless of how you feel about this topic, let's not make this another tired "CP vs Henne" debate. The bottom line is I'm just too pissed about the loss. No need to start another worthless, tired debate.

TURNING POINT OF THE GAME
This will be a new weekly feature of these post-game recaps. Sunday's turning point of the game was, without question, Anthony Fasano's first fumble. The game was a 7-0 game and the Dolphins had moved into the redzone with two minutes to go in the half. At worst, the Dolphins head into halftime trailing 7-3. But a 7-7 tie was a real possibility. Then Fasano takes that big hit from Mike Peterson. The fumble is taken back to Miami's 31 yard line. The Falcons kick a FG and what could have been a 7-7 game at the half was instead a 10-0 Atlanta lead.

WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?
In another new weekly feature, I highlight a Dolphin who made some kind of bonehead mistake. On Sunday, this "honor" goes to Brian Hartline. It was 10-0 Falcons in the third quarter. The Dolphins, though, were driving and had the ball 2nd & 9 at Atlanta's 37 yard line. This is when Hartline decides to essentially block the cornerback covering him 10 yards down the field...on a passing play...and then clearly push off when he broke to the sideline to make an eight yard reception. It was an easy pass interference call for the ref. And that put the Dolphins in a 2nd & 19 hole - with the next play being Pennington's interception.

QUICK HITS
Other observations from Sunday's loss:

The blocking on kick and punt returns by the Dolphins was just terrible. It wouldn't have mattered if Usain Bolt was back there returning kicks. Just awful.
I like the creativity in the play-calling. The pitch to Ronnie Brown, throwback to Pennington, and completion to Joey Haynos was well designed and executed. I also liked seeing Pat White out there. Nothing really materialized from it. But if White throws that ball 5 yards shorter, Ted Ginn catches it for a touchdown. If nothing else, just more opposing defenses have to worry about in practice in the week leading up to facing the Dolphins.
Greg Camarillo can indeed catch passes with his legs/butt. Good for him. And great job by the coaching staff to recognize that and challenge the play.
Who would have thought the Dolphins would hold Michael Turner to just 65 yards on the ground and less than 3 yards per carry? Terrific performance against the run. Hopefully this becomes a theme in 2009. If the Dolphins can hold opposing offenses to under 70 yards rushing, they will have a chance to win a lot of games - assuming the offense doesn't cough up the ball four times.
Phillip Merling really came to play. He should have been credited with a sack. He also had a tackle for a loss. And he just generally looked like a force along the defensive line. I hope that's another sign of things to come from this young kid.
Jason Taylor picked up a sack and a tackle for a loss. That's great and all. But he and Joey Porter were both invisible too often on Sunday.
Davone Bess can catch the football, huh? He just always seems to get open more often than not. Unfortunately, he needs to produce more yards on those receptions. And the receivers as a whole must play better. It's hard to tell during the broadcast if receivers are open or not down the field. So I don't want to criticize them too much. But some big plays would be nice from time to time.

FINAL THOUGHT
It was ugly and the Dolphins are 0-1 with Indy coming to town next Monday night. Things don't particularly look good right now. But it's very early and there were some positives. Let's see how they do in coming back from this game before we declare that the season is over. I trust this coaching staff - something I haven't been able to do too much of in recent years. So let's see just where this ride takes us from here before we hit the panic button and jump off the bandwagon.

Dolphins vs Panthers: What to watch for

Matty I — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 04:30:09 -0000

Didn' the Dolphins just play a preseason game a few days ago? After months and months without football, the Dolphins hit the field for their second game this week as the 2009 preseason marches on. On Saturday, the Dolphins welcome the Carolina Panthers to Land Shark Stadium. And below are just some of the things I'll be watching for as the Dolphins continue to prepare for their division title defense.

OFFENSIVE LINE TO BOUNCE BACK?
Last week against Jacksonville, the Dolphins first-team offensive line struggled to get any push or open up any holes. Often times, though, it did seem like they were a block (or missed block, really) away from breaking a decent run. The Panthers don't have as talented of a defensive front as the Jaguars do. There's nobody up the middle for Carolina like Jacksonville's John Henderson. Hopefully that means Jake Grove and Justin Smiley play much better than they did on Monday night.

Donald Thomas is also expected to start with the first-team and play more than he did on Monday. He's still working to get back in shape after missing a lot of time due to the injury he sustained while training during the offseason. His first game activity since the '08 season opener went well for Thomas. He impressed me on Monday night with his ability to sustain his blocks and drive his man out of the play. But he still had hiccups with his technique - which is to be expected for a 2008 6th round pick who spent all but one game on IR last year. But with Thomas back where he should be - starting - it's time to see the offensive line start to gel.

Let's also not forget about Jake Long and Vernon Carey. I'll be interested to see how those two do when going up against Julius Peppers in a passing situation. Long had a shaky game on Monday and I hope to see him bounce back with a solid performance on Saturday.

HOW WILL SECONDARY FOLLOW A STRONG PRESEASON DEBUT?
On Monday against the Jaguars, the first-team secondary really did a terrific job at shutting down Jacksonville's passing offense. They held David Garrard to just 22 yards passing while limiting him to completing four of seven passes. Of course, the Jaguars don't exactly have big-time receivers. But Torry Holt is still a talented player and remains a savvy veteran. So it's impressive considering the questions we all had about how the secondary would perform.

But now consistency will be critical. The Panthers will be without Steve Smith. So their receiving corps, like Jacksonville's, is average at best. Therefore, the secondary, and Sean Smith in particular, will have to show some consistency. Coming off of a short week, I really think this will be a good test for the secondary as a whole - but especially for the young corners.

But the storylines in the secondary continue even after the starting unit comes out. Will Vontae Davis bounce back after a rough professional debut on Monday night? He committed too many mental mistakes and cost his team yards - a big "no-no" in the eyes of any coaching staff, especially this one.

Also, following the release of Eric Green, guys like Jason Allen and Joey Thomas will likely receive more playing time. How will they respond as each attempts to make a case for having a role on the final 53-man roster?

QUARTERBACKS, QUARTERBACKS, QUARTERBACKS
None of Miami's three quarterbacks really set the world on fire on Monday night. But it's still early and it's expected that the defenses be ahead of the offenses at this point. However, things do need to get rolling eventually.

To be honest, I'm not really worried at all about Chad Pennington. I'm fairly confident that we know what we're going to get from him assuming he stays healthy. But it would be nice to see the first-team offense beginning to get into a rhythm in the passing game.

But I'll be more interested in how Chad Henne performs on Saturday night. He's coming off of a "so-so" performance on Monday night and will enter the game off of a short work week. How much improvement will the young QB show in just a matter of days? Hopefully, we don't see as many poor decisions as we did last week (I counted at least two very bad decisions - one led to an interception, the other should have been but was dropped). To be frank, I haven't seen what others have to declare Henne a young stud QB. He's been inconsistent and, according to all reports, he hasn't had a good camp this year. Now I admit I was impressed with his performance against Arizona last year in week two. But that was late in a blow-out against an average (at best) defense. So as much as I want to believe Henne is going to be a star, I'm not ready to anoint him just yet. I hope he performs well on Saturday to erase some of my doubt.

Meanwhile, Pat White's 2/7 performance on Monday night wasn't nearly as bad as the numbers lead you to believe. Three of those passes should have been caught and he did make a play or two with his legs. But White still didn't look comfortable taking snaps from under center - looking awkward at times dropping back. We'll see how he's improved in such a short week when he takes the field late in Saturday's game.

MORE TO WATCH
Some quick hits of things to watch for:

Will Greg Camarillo get more action? He was only on the field on Monday night for a handful of plays. Speaking of receivers, let's not forget about Ted Ginn. He had a strong showing in just a quarter of action last game. Let's see if he can show come consistency - which was a problem for Ginn game-to-game last season.
How will Miami's outside pass-rush perform? Cameron Wake had a solid debut working with the second-team last game. But he still struggled to free himself once a big tackle got his hands on him. He'll need to develop more than just a speed-rush to be effective consistently. Also, will any other outside linebackers "flash" for the coaching staff?
Will Channing Crowder continue to show improved play? He blitzed a couple of times last game and, while he didn't record a sack, he did help collapse the pocket and make the quarterback uncomfortable. He also showed better ability to drop back into coverage. Let's hope we see more of that from Channing.
Will either kicker separate himself from the other?
Speaking of separation, will any of the possible sixth receivers separate themselves from the others? Many eyes will be on return specialist Chris Williams. Another strong showing by the lightning fast return man will further strengthen his case to make the squad despite limited, if any, contributions to any other aspect of the football team.
Randy Starks had a very strong game last Monday working as the starting DE opposite Kendall Langford. Can he put together back-to-back strong performances and distance himself from guys like Phillip Merling and Tony McDaniel?

GAME THREAD
For the preseason opener, we had over 1,600 comments during our live game threads. I expect a bigger turnout as we inch closer and closer to opening day. The game thread will be posted roughly a half hour before kickoff. And please remember - no posting of links to illegally watch the game and no requesting of links to illegally watch the game. Also, please do not post your e-mail address on the site and request that somebody with info on how to illegally watch the game send you the info. I was lenient last week, but violators will be banned for a couple weeks from this point on. Thanks!

Film Review: Breaking down the offensive line

Matty I — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 05:23:15 -0000

One of my biggest initial concerns immediately following the Dolphins' preseason opener on Monday was how ineffective the first-team offensive line was at opening up rushing lanes. One major problem last year, and one of the reasons the Dolphins went to the 'Wildcat' offense, was Miami's inability to run the ball between the tackles. And one of the keys to the team's success this year will establishing an effective ground game without using the 'Wildcat' as a crutch.

So I decided to take a look back at all of Miami's offensive snaps with the first team offensive line in and see who was performing and who was struggling. Below is the play-by-play breakdown. And keep in mind that I don't have any idea of what blocking schemes the team is using. So while I might single a player out for making a bad play, it might not even be completely his fault. Even so, I figured this exercise might be useful.

Series #1
Jake Long, Justin Smiley, Jake Grove, Shawn Murphy, Vernon Carey

1st & 10: Ronnie Brown up the middle for two yards. Jake Grove can't move John Henderson at all one-on-one.

2nd & 8: Chad Pennington pass incomplete. The left side holds up well but Vernon Carey decides not to block anyone as two blitzers fly by him forcing an early throw from CP.

3rd & 8: CP has to avoid some pressure and throws incomplete. The Jaguars rushed five. The Dolphins probably should have slid protection to the right. Jake Long and Justin Smiley ended up blocking one man while Shawn Murphy ended up on the ground. Pressure came from the right side. Grove seemed to hold up and Carey handled his man. But the Jags rushed five and two of Miami's linemen were blocking one man over on the left side, leaving the right hung out to dry.

Series #2
Same line except Donald Thomas replaces Murphy

1st & 10: Play-action pass completed to Davone Bess. The Jags rushed four and the line protected well.

2nd & 2: Ricky Williams for a yard up the middle. Grove takes his man to the ground. But Smiley ends up on his backside. More defenders in the area than blockers - defense expected run.

3rd & 1: CP pass to Ted Ginn for first down. Four man rush and CP has all day to throw. Solid protection.

1st & 10: CP to Ginn again. Again, good protection. Carey takes Reggie Hayward one-on-one and stands him up. Grove and Thomas double John Henderson and he gets to push up the middle. And nice blitz pick-up by Ricky Williams and Lousaka Polite. Jake Long and Justin Smiley were also matched one-on-one with their defenders and had no problems.

1st & 10: Ricky runs right side for two. Thomas pancakes his man to the ground. Grove and Smiley all have their men tied up, too. Carey handles his man at first, but fails to sustain block. However, Polite whiffs on the lead block in the hole. If he takes out the safety who came up to make the play, it's a longer run for sure.

2nd & 8: Ricky takes end-around for 11 off right side. It's actually David Martin, Anthony Fasano, and Davone Bess leading the way around the end. But Thomas did a good job keeping his man out of the play. Jake Grove completely whiffs on his block - but I don't think it made any difference anyway.

1st & 10: Holding on Ricky. No play.

1st & 20: Botched handoff between CP and Ricky for loss of five. Sad thing about that is there may have been a cut-back lane for Ricky. Long, Smiley and Thomas all have their guys blocked and Grove is down the field taking on a linebacker.

2nd & 25: Ricky loses two. Quentin Groves just badly beats Long. Jake whiffs on the block - bad foot work. Smiley, Carey, and Thomas all had their men blocked well.

3rd & 27: CP to Bess for four. Quick pass. Nothing to note.

Series #3
Murphy back in replacing Thomas.

1st & 10: Pinned at own one, Polite runs up the gut for two. Bad angle to see what happened - but everyone in the stadium was expecting a run.

2nd & 8: CP to Ginn for a pass interference. The left side got pushed back a little but still gave CP enough time.

1st & 10: CP pass incomplete. Jags rush five. Line protects well. Grove took Henderson one-on-one and held his ground.

2nd & 10: Reverse to Ginn for 14 yards around left side. Solid blocking down field by Bess again. He's definitely gotten stronger. Shawn Murphy did a good job getting out in space and taking out a defensive back. Grove takes Henderson one-on-one again.

1st & 10: Draw play for Ronnie for 2 behind left guard. Grove was unable to sustain his block and that's the man who disrupted the play. Long and Smiley each had their man taken care of. On the opposite side, Carey and Murphy kept their men blocked as well. If Grove keeps Henderson blocked, it could be a big gainer.

2nd & 8: Ronnie takes pitch from Chad Henne for 3 around right end. John Nalbone does a nice job sealing off his man on the side. But Sean Considine comes up from safety, reads the play well, and disrupts it. Brown breaks his tackle but there's not much running room. Brian Hartline could keep his man blocked, which is part of the reason the play failed.

3rd & 5: Brown goes to the left for three. Long can't sustain his block on Derrick Harvey, who makes the stop. Grove and Smiley got no push, either.

Series #4
Donald Thomas back in.

1st & 10: Ricky runs right for 10. Poor job by broadcast - got to the play late. From what I could gather, Carey and Nalbone did an excellent job sealing off the right side.

1st & 10: Ricky up the middle for two. Smiley can't sustain his block at all and it's his man making the play. Carey also ended up on his back as his man filled the hole as well. I did notice Thomas easily handing his man yet again.

2nd & 8: Henne pass incomplete to Brian Hartline. Excellent protection - good blitz pickup by Polite again.

3rd & 8: Henne to Hartline for 20. Good protection again. Ronnie makes a nice blitz pickup.

1st & 10: Ricky runs left for 4. Williams had to make a nice spin move to avoid getting taken down in the backfield. Donald Thomas was pulling and Vernon Carey just couldn't slide over in time to pick up the inside rusher. John Nalbone did a great job sealing the edge, though. The kid can block.

2nd & 6: Ricky runs left for one. Justin Smiley is pulling and he whiffs on his block - and that's who makes the stop. Carey did pancake his man and both Thomas and Nalbone did nice jobs on their defenders.

3rd & 5: Henne to David Martin for a first down. Henne had one man bearing down on him and he threw. Surprisingly, it's Long's man - Quentin Groves. He squeezes by Jake on the inside. But from what I could tell, Long lost his footing on the infield dirt. Damn Marlins.

1st & 10: Handoff right side to Polite for a loss of one. It was Jake Grove's inability to block the backup nose tackle that disrupted the play. Grove just got no push at all.

2nd & 11: Henne to Patrick Turner for 10. Three-step drop by Henne. Good protection.

3rd & 1: Ricky for one yard and a face mask penalty. Play designed to go left. Long plows his man out of the play but Smiley gets shoved back and Grove gets no push at all. Ricky, though, stays up, goes right and gets a tough yard. Carey, Thomas, and David Martin all held their ground against their defenders.

1st & G: Henne to Polite for a yard. Quick swing pass. Good protection.

2nd & G: Ricky right side for one. Solid blocking on the right side by Carey, Thomas, Nalbone, and Polite. Carey actually picked up another pancake. But the pulling Justin Smiley can't clear out the lane and Jake Grove ends up on his backside allowing his man to come in as a reinforcement.

3rd & G: (following Grove false start) Henne incomplete to Ricky on a wheel route. Solid protection again - Henne had all the time he needed to make a nice pass.

Final Thoughts

The pass protection was solid for the most part. But the line failed to consistently get the push it needs to run the ball effectively. The two biggest culprits? Justin Smiley and Jake Grove. Both had numerous issues and we'll have to hope they both improve. Smiley was playing very well last year before his injury so I expect him to bounce back. As for Grove, we all hear how he's a very good run-blocker. But we are yet to see it in a Dolphins' uniform.

As for the battle for the right guard spot, I think Thomas had the better game. It probably isn't just coincidence that the two longest drives of the half for the Dolphins came with Thomas on the field. He rarely got beat and, for the most part, handled his defenders with ease. Murphy wasn't bad, either. But he didn't have the success rate Thomas did during the first half.

It's going to be interesting to see if there are any depth chart changes when the team hits the practice field on Wednesday. I wouldn't be shocked to see Thomas getting more first-team work following his solid performance.

Defense leads the way as Dolphins win preseason opener

Matty I — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 04:59:46 -0000

More photos » by J Pat Carter - AP

Browse more photos »

I know it's only the preseason, but it's always good to get a win. On Monday night, that's just what the Dolphins did, knocking off the Jaguars 12-9. And before I get into all of my initial thoughts on the game, I just got to point out that Jack Del Rio did a very classy move by not kicking the field goal on fourth and goal late in the 4th quarter. Nobody wants to see a player get hurt in overtime of a preseason game. So I'm very glad he decided to go for it - and nice job by Courtney Bryan to break up the pass in the corner of the endzone.

Now then, onto some thoughts from Miami's win - both good and bad. But keep in mind that the first preseason game is essentially just a glorified scrimmage.

THE DEFENSE SHINES
Here's a key stat. The first-team defense played together for the entire first quarter of Monday's game. The Jaguars ran 11 plays against Miami's first-team defense. The Dolphins surrendered just 28 yards of offense on those 11 plays and only one first down - forcing two three-and-outs. Now that is impressive.

During those three series, they tallied one sack and pressured Jaguars QB David Garrard a couple of other times. On one play, Channing Crowder blitzed and basically drove the running back picking up the blitz into Garrard's face, forcing an incomplete pass. But a major reason for the defense's success - including Jason Ferguson's sack (which was more or less a coverage sack) was rookie Sean Smith's performance. On the particular play that resulted in the sack, Smith did an excellent job keeping Torry Holt - Garrard's primary target on that play - inside of him when Torry was trying to get to the outside. That's a veteran move by a rookie against a veteran receiver.

Speaking of Smith, he also made a terrific interception in the third quarter of a Todd Bouman pass in the endzone. The big question scouts had about Sean entering the draft was how he would be tackling players at the next level. Some said he was scared of contact. But Smith did not shy away from contact on the only tackle opportunity he had, making the tackle. All in all, Smith was probably the player of the game for the Dolphins.

Getting back to the first-team defense, there's a lot of concern about how the defensive line would shape up. Would they be able to effectively limit the opponent's ground game? Keeping in mind that Jacksonville's offensive line is probably an average unit at best, the Dolphins answered that question with a resounding "yes" on Monday night. They held the Jaguars to 10 yards on 3 rushes. A small sample size, of course - but a good sign, nonetheless.

Nate Jones also deserves a mention, too. He was very good at blitzing from the nickel corner spot last year. On Monday, Jones showed he still has a knack for getting to the QB as a blitzer, forcing an incomplete pass on 3rd down to end a drive when he got to Garrard.

OFFENSE PRODUCES MIXED RESULTS
The offense on Monday night was really a mixed bag. There were good moments. There were bad moments. And all in all, I don't think it was really a positive night for the offense.

Heading the list of issues was the offensive line. In pass protection, the first-team line performed very well. But we all have been expecting that the Dolphins would be able to run the ball between the tackles in 2009 thanks to the acquisition of Jake Grove and the return of Justin Smiley and Donald Thomas to the field after season-ending injuries in 2008. But this unit failed to produce on Monday against the formidable Jaguars defensive front.

Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams combined for just 41 yards rushing on 14 carries - a measly 2.9 yards per carry average. Brown and Williams rarely had any kind of lane ot run through. On one play, Jake Long even got beat badly - resulting in a loss for Williams. I also noticed Vernon Carey getting beat a couple of times on rushing attempts. This was not the kind of effort I was hoping to see out of this unit and I'll be anxiously awaiting Saturday night for the next preseason game to see if the unit improves over yesterday's performance.

As far as the battle for the starting right guard job goes, neither Shawn Murphy nor Donald Thomas (who rotated in and out) really stood out. Just from watching the broadcast, I may have been slightly more impressed by Thomas because he seemed to get more push. But the competition is probably still wide open and likely far from over.

On the plus side, Ted Ginn Jr. looked very good out there on Monday. He ran some crisp routes - especially on a third-and-one play against Pro Bowl corner Rashean Mathis, running a terrific post and making an exceptional catch. All told, Ginn looked confident and produced - tallying 2 receptions for 26 yards, one rush for 14 yards on an end-around, and drawing a 30+ yard pass interference call on a long pass attempt down the left sideline from Chad Pennington. He also had a 15 yard reception called back due to holding - meaning the Dolphins called Ginn's number five times in one quarter. Not bad for a guy many fans wanted to write off. Hopefully this early success translates to the regular season.

As for the quarterbacks, neither Chad Pennington nor Chad Henne played very well. But neither played bad, either. Pennington made a couple of nice passes, especially his pass to Ginn on 3rd-and-one for 15 yards. But he was far from classic CP. Meanwhile, Henne made a couple of notable plays. His 20 yard strike to Brian Hartline comes to mind right away. On that same drive, he made a beautiful pass to Ricky Williams on a wheel route in the endzone that hit Ricky in the hands. But he was unable to haul it in - which doesn't happen often to Williams. He also connected with Ernest Wilford for a 33 yard touchdown. It wasn't the throw, though, that impressed me on that play. You or I could have made the throw. It's the fact that Henne was under immense pressure and had three defenders bearing down on him. He stood in the pocket, kept his eyes down the field, and found an open man. Good stuff.

Of course, Henne was also intercepted on a pass that he had no business making. But it's the preseason and he's young - so let's not get crazy.

QUICK HITS
Some quick thoughts on Monday's preseason opener:

Cameron Wake can rush the passer. We don't know what else he can do at this point, but he showed great burst and strength when rushing off the edge.
Patrick Turner led the team in receptions, catching three balls. He showed good hands but failed to bring in a pass in which he was surrounded by Jacksonville defenders. And that's what I'm hoping to see from Turner - the ability to make tough catches in traffic.
Eric Green really struggled. He was targeted numerous times and actually allowed three straight completions at one point. He's losing ground in the battle at cornerback right now.
Vontae Davis didn't perform much better. He was called for three penalties in the game - two were on special teams and the other was a pass interference call. You can bet the coaches will rip into him a bit for those. He also allowed himself to be blocked by a receiver on that screen pass that the Jaguars ran that would have been a TD if not for a holding call. Davis was being manhandled in the endzone by Tiquan Underwood, a 178 pound rookie from Rutgers. Vontae has to learn to shed that block and make a play.
Brandon London and Anthony Armstrong had quiet nights while Chris Williams made some plays as the return man. Could Williams actually make the roster as the team's 6th receiver? Possibly. He averaged 31 yards on 4 kickoff returns but wasn't as comfortable handling punt returns.
We got our first taste of Pat White and it was a solid debut. He made a few plays with his legs. He completed only 2 of 7 passes - but was a victim of some drops, including one that resulted in an interception. But I'm not quite sure why so many are raving over White's debut. I didn't see anything spectacular yet.
Seven penalties are too many - especially when some of them are committed in the redzone.
Here are the numbers for the kicking competition. Dan Carpenter drilled a 48 yard field goal. However, he slipped on an extra point attempt off the wet infield dirt. Connor Barth connected on his field goal attempt from 27. On kickoffs, Carp averaged 67 yards per kick on three kicks. Barth kicked one for 65 yards. Just for point of reference, a 65 yard kick is fielded at the 5 yard line; a 67 yard kick is fielded at the 3. Carpenter was the only one to reach the endzone, with his opening kick going 4 yards deep in the endzone.

So that's all for my initial reaction to Miami's preseason opener. We'll definitely talk more about this game as the week goes on. All told, though, it was football - and we can all agree that that's a positive.

Dolphins Training Camp: Donald Thomas works with first team OL, Patrick Turner bounces back & more

Matty I — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 04:18:17 -0000

Tuesday featured just one practice down in Davie for the Dolphins. But that doesn't mean thre's nothing to talk about. With less than a week until the first preseason game, some of the position battles are beginning to heat up.

THOMAS WORKS WITH STARTERS
The second week of training camp began with Donald Thomas getting promoted to working with the second team at right guard despite missing most of the first week of camp. On Tuesday, Donald's rise continued as he spent most of the day taking the first-team reps, replacing Shawn Murphy. More importantly, he looked like he belonged there.

In his blog, Omar Kelly wrote that Thomas "looks like an absolute monster" out there and declares that "there's no competition if he's healthy." Of course, that's the million dollar question regarding Donald Thomas. Is he healthy right now and can he remain healthy throughout the course of a 16 game season?

If he can, then there's no reason why this offensive line can't become one of the NFL's best in 2009. It's made up of a bunch of maulers and should be a dominant run-blocking line. The question regarding Jake Long heading into the draft last year was if he could protect the passer (which he has answered with a resounding "yes") - not if he could run block. Nobody questioned that. Justin Smiley was having a terrific year last year before his injury. Vernon Carey proved to be one of the best right tackles in the league last year. And Jake Grove - if he can stay healthy - is a huge upgrade over Samson Satele as a run-blocker. If Thomas can get healthy and win the starting job by September - as he likely will - the Dolphins could potentially have an offensive line filled with young studs for years to come.

On Monday against the Jaguars, we should hopefully get a glimpse of that. In fact, this will be the unit I'm most interested in seeing. It's impossible to really judge an offensive line in practice. But Jacksonville's front is big and physical and will be a good test to gauge where this potentially exceptional offensive line is at right now.

PATRICK TURNER RETURNS TO FORM
Last week, everyone was raving about the performances of Patrick Turner in practice. However, in Saturday's scrimmage, Turner was held without a catch. On Monday, Turner remained relatively quiet - leaving some to wonder if he had hit the first of many "rookie walls." But Turner bounced back on Tuesday by making two 20+ yard receptions - one from Chad Pennington, the other from Chad Henne. The pass from CP to Turner was referred to by Armando Salguero as "the nicest pass play I've seen all camp" - out-jumping Sean Smith to make the catch. On the other reception, Turner beat Eric Green deep down the sideline.

The question for Turner heading into Monday's preseason game will be consistency. He has the ability to catch everything thrown his way. In fact, Omar Kelly wrote that he hasn't seen Turner drop many balls since camp began last week. But he's 6'5, 220 and will be facing smaller, but quicker, cornerbacks. Will he be able to get open consistently and provide the quarterback with some room to throw? The South Florida media has been surprised with how quickly Turner gets in and out of his breaks. But that must now translate to success in live game action.

PAT WHITE HAS ANOTHER UP AND DOWN DAY
It's been interesting to read about Pat White every day to see how he's progressing. Usually, rookies will go through good practices and bad practices. But White's been going through multiple ups and downs in single practice sessions. On Tuesday, for example, White bobbled a snap and failed to beat the buzzer during 7-on-7 drills (which results in a "sack"). However, he also made two "nice throws" to Davone Bess for completions despite good coverage from the corners (Vontae Davis on one pass, Sean Smith on the other).

The bobbled snaps shouldn't be much of a surprise, though. White spent his college years mostly in the shotgun formation. Luckily for White, he'll probably only get on the field during regular season games for certain "shotgun" situations - also known as the 'Wildcat.'

QUICK HITS
Some quick thoughts on Tuesday's activities:

There's been a lot of references in these practice reports about some "exotic blitz packages" that the Dolphins are working on. Can't wait to see what these look like. But we'll likely have to wait until at least September.
Jason Ferguson had a strong day. The PBP referred to him as "immovable" during line drills.
John Nalbone has been improving. He was a major disappointment during OTAs this offseason. But the rookie has rarely dropped any passes in camp and was the standout tight end during Saturday's scrimmage. Joey Haynos - you're officially being put on notice. Don't sleep on the kid from Monmouth!
After a solid day working with the starters on Monday, Sean Smith had some lapses on Tuesday - resulting in two long passes allowed by the rookie. On the other hand, Vontae Davis had a solid day - even intercepting a pass that would have been a pick six in a real game.

UP NEXT
Wednesday will feature two practices - both open to the public. The first is at 9 am. The second is at 8 pm under the lights. Not a bad idea as the team prepare for Monday night's preseason opener.