Quick hits from 1st preseason game

by Matty I on Aug 10, 2008 12:00 AM EDT in News Comment 34 comments

So the Dolphins lost 17-6. Big deal. The score is obviously not the important part about last night's game. What is important is what we can take from this game (though you got to remember that it's only 1 game).

So below are just some quick thoughts from the game. I hope to have a more detailed analysis tomorrow night. Before I begin, though, a quick thanks to everyone who participated in our live game thread. Over 300 comments for a preseason game is outstanding!! You buys are awesome!!

Now some quick thoughts:

None of the QBs, in my opinion, did anything to set themselves apart. John Beck didn't play great, but didn't play poorly, either. The same goes for Chad Henne, though he did make a couple of nice throws. If anything, Josh McCown should be worried, as his work against Tampa's 3rd team was unimpressive, especially for a veteran like McCown.
Despite running for just 4 yards on 3 carries, Ronnie Brown impressed me. He did so because he showed no ill-effects from his torn ACL. I still hope he takes it slow and is careful, but this was encouraging.
Ricky Williams is back. He ran hard, looked quick, and showed good burst. I'm officially excited to see him in the regular season!
Jake Long made his debut and wasn't heard from much - which is a good thing when you're talking about offensive lineman. He was called for a false start, but I'll live with that. All in all, a solid debut.
Jay Feely needs to be careful. Dan Carpenter can kick the ball. He knocked home a 41 yard FG and a 49 yard FG. The issue, though, is that of Carpenter's 3 kickoffs, only 1 went inside the 5 with none of them reaching the endzone.
Brandon Fields is going to be an asset. He looked shaky as a rookie, but had some nice booming punts tonight. He had 6 punts, and 3 were over 50 yards. Two others were 48 yards and the only short one, a 34 yarder, pinned Tampa down at their 9 yard line. The punt coverage, though, leaves something to be desired.
The 1st team offense looked much improved, holding Tampa to 2 consecutive "3 and outs" to start the game.
Too many penalties in this game. I believe there were 8 or 9 committed by Miami - that has to piss off Tony Sparano.

So that's all for now. Those are my early thoughts. Look for a more detailed post to come on Sunday night. Until then, tell us what you thought about last night's preseason opener below...

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Gotta disagree

on the QBs, Matty. John Beck did okay but did nothing to stand out. His longest completions were dump offs to the fullbacks and the offense just looked lethargic with him at the helm.

Henne looked the best out of the three tonight. He moved the offense with down-the-field plays and didn’t force anything. He was calm, collected and decisive. He made deep sharp passes and his short passes were accurate and had a nice touch to them. He also managed the line of scrimmage like a seasoned veteran. The end stats for all three were similar. But ignore the stats for this game, they are deceiving. Henne is the best QB out the three right now. Bar none. I think the practice reports and the game against the Bucs have made that clear.

by FinsNation on Aug 10, 2008 1:19 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Henne....

...looked OK to me. But I don’t think he set himself apart.

The Phinsider: SBN's Miami Dolphins blog

by Matty I on Aug 10, 2008 1:33 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I dunno, man...

I saw poise, leadership and a rocket arm. Beck and McCown looked, I don’t know, a little unsure of themselves. And the offense seemed sluggish whenever they were in the game. Henne moved the chains and got the team into scoring position. For a rookie, I was very impressed with the way he handled himself and led the team. I think he totally outplayed the other two. Just my opinion. Man, I’m actually disagreeing with you on something….

....for the first time ever!!! Must be Armageddon…. :)

by FinsNation on Aug 10, 2008 2:01 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

we also saw poise from Beck last preseason

I think the thing is that Henne had some good passing lanes. I didn’t see that for the other two QBs. Perhaps it’s because of the defense he was against – by the 2nd quarter, I think the Bucs took out many of their starters.

But I’m going to go back and rewatch the 1st half of the game for my post tomorrow night. That way I can get a better feel.

The Phinsider: SBN's Miami Dolphins blog

by Matty I on Aug 10, 2008 2:29 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Was this...

written with a non-bias opinion? You seem pretty excited about Henne…

by Rubes22 on Aug 10, 2008 5:52 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Totally unbiased...

I’m a huge John Beck fan and actually didn’t want us to draft Henne (or any other QB) unless it was in the much later rounds. But he’s been winning me over so far.

by FinsNation on Aug 10, 2008 12:31 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

goes to show

why i am not at all dissapointed in pickin up pennington. when your 57th pick in this years draft looks like the best qb on the roster…i not only say im not dissapointed im relieved

by dlux2561 on Aug 10, 2008 1:31 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Well. . .

I really liked Ricky. Henne showed he had some upside. Some of our recent draft picks looked solid.

Overall I think this game showed why we picked up Pennington- inconsistent play at the QB position that resulted in a whopping 0 TDs. Beck couldn’t get anything going with the first team, McCown didn’t look like a seasoned vet at all (I know he was playing with the 3rd stringers, but he was also playing against the 3rd stringers so I don’t buy that argument), and while Henne had his moments he didn’t get the ball in the end zone.

He15man^2. . .get ready

by GatorPhan on Aug 10, 2008 1:33 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Chiming in..

I too thought Henne was better, sharper, more confident. I was impressed by his very fast release and accuracy when he did connect. To be fair, he has the least to lose. He is not going anywhere, but everyone else, including Chad 2, is disposable. You play differently when your neck is on the block. I am glad Ricky looked awesome. This will allow us to bring Ronnie up to speed slowly and keep him fresh. Also I like the Henne/Penne combo. Not just b/c I think Chad2 will give us a couple of more wins (which is good) but to help groom Chad1 better than McClown. Our Oline and recievers need a real QB to work with to know what real team playing is like. Rotating tester QB’s does nothing to help young guys mature.

by Dolphriend on Aug 10, 2008 8:54 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I thought both Beck and Henne looked good.

I don’t think there was much difference between the two from what I saw. Except maybe kirkus making some great throws and the passing lanes H U G E. I do like Hennes confidence, and I found a comment interesting from the telecast last night. Craig Bolerjack the play by play guy said that john beck is such a student of the game always learning and always studying. And Griese, ya, there is a point when it can be a little too much, you need to go out and just play. And mentioned Beck as an example of this.

by mike2744 on Aug 10, 2008 10:02 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Beck didnt go deep often though

thats the main difference I noted, but when Ricky is tearing it up why not feed the beast right?

Why so serious?

by Patssuck456 on Aug 10, 2008 10:43 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Beck put the ball on the ground again.

That was his biggest problem last year. And the fact that he did it again in this game is what scares me.

McCown didn’t have much of a chance to do anything. Plus, he was playing with our scrubs against their scrubs. Also, McCown has a proven track record in the NFL. We know what he can do as he has had 31 starts in the NFL.

I was never a Henne fanboi, but to me he did standout because of his arm. He clearly had the best throws last night.

My thought is that the fact that we brought Chad Pennington in works AGAINST keeping Beck over McCown. Pennington has an injury history. McCown has proven he can start in this league. Beck is unproven.

Every one of us knows that Henne is the future QB of this franchise. What is the point to continuing to develop Beck? To make him the back-up in a year or two when Henne takes over? That doesn’t make sense to me, when you can find back-up QB’s on the market every year. Its possible, but I really doubt it.

by dab415217 on Aug 10, 2008 11:59 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

While on paper the numbers...

looked similar, I think Henne was definitely better than the other two guys. He made some impressive throws to Kircus and went downfield. Watching him drop back you saw him go through his options and reads, looking to make plays – something I didn’t really see from the other 2. Plus his arm strength definitely stood out.

Meanwhile Beck was doing what we’ve seen him do far too often…..losing the ball, not leading the team on any scoring drives, and completing most of his passes on checkdowns and short stuff.

Speaking of completing passes – the drops by the receivers were out of hand. Wilford had a couple and that stands out when you were brought in as a starter with a fat contract. Hagan did the usual…..great in practice, invisible in real games – he had a drop too and a penalty. Ginn was almost invisible too with just the one catch.

Jake Long was solid and that’s a good sign. Ricky Williams ran well and if the regime gives him a reasonable amount of carries then he looks like he’ll be very productive in spelling Ronnie Brown.

We had several starters out on D so it is hard to say if the bucs would have had as much success running had they been in.

Too many penalties and the coaches have to be going crazy about those mental mistakes.

Let’s see what happens for game 2 – the areas for improvement are pretty obvious.

by Natalya on Aug 10, 2008 12:57 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

"Big Hands" Beck

Is good for a fumble every time. He looked better though… at least better than what some in the media were making him out to be.

Henne looked like a starter. Beck did not. Wilford dropped two wonderful passes (placed out of reach of the defenders). With those two completions his numbers would have been way up. His accuracy and arm strength were far above average. Beck has never made a throw that looked like the rocket Henne fired at Kircus.

Ricky looks great! I don’t see your reservations. Ronnie will be spelling him at first and if anything it will be 50/50 for the rest of the year. Ricky has that last gear that Ronnie doesn’t. Two of those runs were near broken for big yards. If you remember him from his early days here it was the same thing. Every time he touched the ball it was almost a big play and then…wham!... He’d take one all the way.

My favorite things from the game:

1. Chad Henne’s toughness in the pocket. Taking the hit and making the throw.
2. Jake Long patting Ricky on the head after one of his longer runs.
3. Chad Henne’s awareness and command. I was watching the game with my friend who hates the Dolphins (he is, alas, a Pats fan) and even he had to admit that Henne didn’t carry himself like a rookie.
4. Seeing Ronnie get the start. Even if it was mostly symbolic. It’s good to see him succeeding in his return.
5. The starting defense. Yeremiah Bell is a monster. Crowder looked decent – with a nasty streak too. Ferguson looked great. Merling and Langford are clearly worth the hype. Imagine the differnce with J-Peezy and Vonnie Holliday.

Biggest worry? Matt Roth playing outside. I just don’t buy it. His pass rushing skills are limited to one move.

www.thephinisher.com

by The Phinisher on Aug 10, 2008 7:26 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

"Watching him drop back you saw him go through his options and reads, looking to make plays"

So in other words..when Henne came in he simply pointed the football towards the LOS and the passing lanes obeyed his comand and miraculously opened up like when Moses parted the Red Sea.

Things are looking up in Miami..All this kid needs is someone to hike the ball and someone to catch it.

by buttonmashersrhilarious on Aug 11, 2008 4:23 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Let me tell you about the game

Between the rookies i fell that henne realy steped his game up and is a good qb,Never got ratled,always made the big throw,Alsogots a big arm with good accuracy…..So he shoud me the most of all 3 qb to mee to tell you the truth…............2 With ronnie brown i couldnt realy tell much cuz he didnt do much but i wasnt realy all that impressed,He just wasnt hitten the holes hard enough and didnt make good reads….......3 Rickey just blowed my eyes away,For sme reason i believe this guy is gonna be better than brown next year….Know rember he was better in collage so there is a chance william can take browns starting job…............4 I couldnt tell much about jake long,But wance the guy came out the game then i realy seen how good he was doing…....My final point is that are team was pretty good and i loved are defense they were playing hard and didnt give any big plays up,But i belived we gave up to many completions in that game…..I liked armstrong on speacil teams the guy is a beast did you see how fast he was,Bess did have some pretty good hands….......

by lionel on Aug 10, 2008 1:32 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Overall...

Nice start. I thought both QBs fared better than I thought they would. Team was spirited.

Penalites are the only thing that bother me. Those are just the ones they refs saw. Donald Thomas was holding on Ricky’s second run.

The only thing I am looking for next game is improvement on the penalty aspect!

by JGray on Aug 10, 2008 3:13 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

My two cents

I just watched the game through in detail. Here are my thoughts:

- I agree with the general majority assessment that Henne clearly played best among the QBs. Nat’s description of his read and arm strength is right on.

- Beck looked like he was executing a short passing script. I wonder if that was intentional by the coaches?

- Beck didn’t play poorly. Especially in light of the facts that he had some drops, and he was playing against the Bucs 1st string D. Henne just played better.

- McCown should be packing his bags.

- Preseason, preseason, preseason! No real game plan was obvious on offense or defense. Pretty vanilla. Nothing to give away any playbook secrets.

- Taking into account the nature of the first preseason game, I actually was pretty pleased with a number of things:
First, the starting defense played very well without Vonnie or Joey in there, which I hope means they will be even better with them in there.
Second, the Fins D mostly held their own until the second half, which shows that they have some quality depth at several positions, including LB and DE. NT is a problem after Ferg, and DB looks like it’s thin.
Third, I saw some really good things from some of the rookies, including Langford and Merling who seemed to be getting pretty good pressure.
Fourth, with the starting O-line in against the Bucs starting D, the Dolphins offense did not suck. I had no doubt while watching the first part of the game, that with a named starting QB, an actual Dan Henning offensive game plan, that this offense could actually move the ball. (and maybe an upgrade at WR. Bess and Kircus look like starters, and I think Ginn’s disappearance had more to do with Beck than him not getting open).

All in all, I think this was a good first step for the team, and I have confidence that Sparano and Parcells will be able to use this game to build on.

IMO

-LCFF

by LeftCoastFinFan on Aug 10, 2008 9:06 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs

where can i find full highlights to the game on the internet coz i missed it

by marshy913 on Aug 11, 2008 7:42 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

they show replays on NFL network

...don’t know about internet.

-LCFF

by LeftCoastFinFan on Aug 11, 2008 11:46 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

There are highlight vids on NFL.com

Why so serious?

by Patssuck456 on Aug 11, 2008 2:25 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Not sure about some of you folks in here..

Why hate Beck? He played in one quarter against one of the best pass defenses in the league and the #2 total defense last year. Yet, he didn’t throw for 300 yds in the qtr and 6 TD’s, so time for him to go!!

Lets be realistic folks. Dan Marino is not coming back. NONE of the QBs on our roster are the 2nd coming of Marino or Elway, etc. They come along once every 10 years or so and neither Brady Quinn nor Matt Ryan or Chad Henne or John Beck, etc. will probably do 1/4th of what Marino ever did in this league. (That’s why he is in the HOF) Marino never had a running game to take the pressure off of him – frankly, he never needed one. But had he ever had one, he probably would have won a SB. Eli Manning was being beaten up by the press in NY Last year, they were ready to run him out of town – and they did not win the SB because of him. He managed the game, they ran the ball well and he made a couple of passes to keep things moving. (Especially in the last drive) Their defense and their running game is what won the Giants the SB last year.

So where does that leave you? You need to find a QB who can manage the game, minimize mistakes, and make just enough plays to move the offense, but you also need to rely heavily on your running game, special teams and defense to help out as well. Everyone here says they agree with that, but then when you don’t see big numbers the first thing everyone does is start to complain. (Amazing)

What did Beck do? He didn’t do much when Ronnie was in the game and ran 3 times for 4 yds. (Had a 3rd and 10 on his first drive after 2 unsuccessful runs) When he did move the offense, Ricky was in the game running well and moving the team. What did this do? Took pressure off of Beck and allowed him to make some throws and got the team in a rhythm. (Funny how that works.)

If you are ripping on Beck for “checking down” so much, keep those arguments up because that is what you will get from Pennington. (That is why he has the highest completion % of anyone in the NFL right now) – Its called taking what the defense gives you.

If you can’t run the football, you can’t throw it successfully, especially with our stable of QBs. (Or most other QBs in this league) Instead of ripping apart Beck, what we should be doing is looking at the 9 penalties that cost the team, the running lanes that were non-existent for the most part, the pass protection, why the defense couldn’t get the Bucs off the field after the first quarter ended, issues around special teams, etc.

I think Beck and Henne played reasonable and managed the game. I was expecting more from McCown to be honest because he has been a starter in this league and should have had a field day against the 2nd and 3rd stringers when he came in, but he did nothing. (Simms didn’t have that same problem against our 2nd and 3rd stringers) Plus he was brought in here to be the “starter” until either Henne or Beck were ready to take over.

Definition of Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results...

by azphinner on Aug 11, 2008 12:14 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Yep, that is pretty much how I am looking at it after the first preseason game.

Beck might not be the answer, but I don’t think you can make that determination based on this past game. However, McCown is pretty clearly not the answer, IMO.

-LCFF

by LeftCoastFinFan on Aug 11, 2008 12:49 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

"Watching him drop back you saw him go through his options and reads, looking to make plays – something I didn’t really see from the other 2."

http://encarta.msn.com/sidebar_762529370/Football_with_Don_Shula.html

I dont know what you think of Don but most people would say he has a pretty good grasp on the the game of football.

In this article he identifies the source of the problem with some “fans”,about half way down, under the section labled “BLOCKING” ,its layed out quite clearly when he states “Blocking is frequently overlooked by casual viewers, but it is the key to a successful offense.

Are you a “casual viewer” ?

by buttonmashersrhilarious on Aug 11, 2008 4:39 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

okay, you have me confused...

I assume you are responding to Nat’s post due to the quote. But what are you inferring? That Henne had better blocking than Beck, and that is why he performed better? That Beck didn’t have time to go through his reads?

I watched the blocking very carefully. Henne didn’t have an advantage there.

-LCFF

by LeftCoastFinFan on Aug 11, 2008 4:59 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

LOL

Beck had better protection and that was obvious.

Beck is either headed to scout team land in a few weeks or cut/traded.

by Natalya on Aug 11, 2008 5:51 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Better blocking?

Not sure that is the reason for anything.. Although Beck had the first string O-Line playing against the Buc’s first string Defense and Henne had the first string O-Line against the Buc’s 2nd string Defense.

Hell guys, even Sparano mentioned the difference between the two. I am not saying that is why Beck did this or Henne did that, but unfortunately it is the reality of the situation.

Definition of Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results...

by azphinner on Aug 11, 2008 6:24 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Of course he had better blocking.

Simply because they were up against TB’s 2nd team Defense.

Our QB’s,all of them,were having trouble all of camp against our own Defense and since the OLine is filled with new players and rookies,its going to take time for them to gel and allow any QB,from Beck to Unitas, what he needs to be sucessful to any degree.

“I watched the blocking very carefully. Henne didn’t have an advantage there”

I honestly believe you didn’t see an advantage but that doesnt change the fact that against the 1st team D,the pocket,when there was one,collapsed quickly which is why Ricky had to break 2 or 3 tackles just to bounce it outside and when Ricky missed Ronde,Beck tried to step up and yet another D player stuck his hand in and stripped the ball so on that play alone people were already in the backfield on a three step drop…I’ve never played QB at the NFL level but I’d be willing to bet that it’s kind of hard to do any reading when players are in your face before you can even set your feet.

You are correct in that Beck looks exactly like he did last year and that is a QB who cant trust his line to protect him and therefore he can either heave up a prayer,checkdown or intentionally ground it since his screen option is being ran over by..you guessed it,yet another D player on a bee line for the QB.

I guess they could switch Henne and Becks rotation and let Beck play with the 1st Team O and Kircus against TB’s 2nd team D and let Henne have a go against TB’s 1st team D and then we would know for sure wouldnt we.

by buttonmashersrhilarious on Aug 11, 2008 8:42 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

"unfortunately it is the reality of the situation"

Beck is either headed to scout team land in a few weeks or cut/traded.

by Natalya on Aug 11, 2008 7:12 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Who gives a rats ass???

LMAO at all of you fair weather fans sitting on the couch with a six-pack (not the abs mind you) in your lap watching a game and re-living your Al Bundy glory days like you have a flipping clue what you are talking about.

Who really cares if Beck gets cut or traded? (Personally I’d rather see a trade so we pick up more picks or players)

Why aren’t we talking about the stupid penalties or the crappy play of our wide receivers or whether Ronnie will come back to half himself from last year, etc.?

Instead this board is full of folks who want to argue over who the 3rd string QB will be!!! A Journey-man or a Mission-man… WHO F’ING CARES!?

Pennington is the QB here for the next few years – like it or not – barring injury, because he knows how to play the game, is a leader and knows how to win. Perfect! When was the last time we could say that here? We should freaking be ecstatic….

People need something to argue about I guess…

Definition of Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results...

by azphinner on Aug 12, 2008 12:48 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs