FanPost

Preseason Week 1 Thoughts

Hello all, new guy in town here. I've been a Miami fan pretty much from birth, most likely earlier. I'm not old enough to have seen the 'glory days', but I at least have seen them when they weren't considered a national joke to the media. I've been waiting for them to turn things around, and despite all the times I defend their record lately, I'm still waiting. I like Philbin, granted I also respected Sparano though I don't think the Head Coaching position was a good fit for him, and I feel the new staff could be the ones to final right the ship, if given enough time. Right now, that's all we have. Hope

Now, we're one Hard Knocks episode and one preseason game closer to the regular season. There is much improvement to be made to prevent another long season. Hopefully, the team will be able to shut up all the so called 'experts'. Now, here's how I see things right this moment.

The quarterbacks:

Moore #1. Tannehill #2. Garrard #3. Obviously, this was brought about by Garrard's untimely injury/surgery. I think that's really all it takes for him to lose the job. He is going to miss a lot of time, and I don't see him being handed the spot back upon his return. For now, I see Moore starting the season. Tannehill can change that if he keeps playing well, but for now, I think the veteran is the safe assumption. Garrard's best chance to get back in the game would be an early season injury to Moore, if they feel 17 isn't ready, and if they have a decent record. Otherwise, if Moore struggles, it'll be the Tannehill show not the Garrard show.

Oline/HBs

It's early, but the running game needs to be, well a running game. 2 yards a carry isn't going to work, even in a passing first offense. Bush had a pair of nice runs in the game, but that was the end of it. The line's learning a new scheme so it's not the end of the world, thankfully it's been the same starting 5 in there. Martin had his rookie moments, false start calls and getting beat out right on a play(no sack thankfully), but he still looks better than last year's 4 man line up.

The Wideout Mess:

I'd say the Chad Johnson situation has improved the young guys' chances of earning a spot. For all the complaints last year about the TE not being used enough, that wasn't much of an issue against TB. The number 19 is 1-1 so far catching passes. Can Naanee break the 'curse'? Wallace, the man so often mistaken for Marshall last year, did one hell of a Marshall impersonation. He had a handful of catches, led the team in receiving yards, refused to get tackled on one play, and dropped a TD pass. He might not want to copy that last part. Hopefully he and Pruitt continue to show up. It'll be a tough cut if no one in the whole group separates themselves.

The Defense:

I'm going to skip them for now as I don't want to relive that debut. They better tighten it up by the regular season, and I have little doubts(for now) that they will. The starters just all around stunk it up. No sacks or turnovers. Missed tackles. Couldn't stop the run or pass. I don't think that's what Coyle's been teaching...

Finally, special teams:

Carpenter, I shake my head at you. Least there was a takeaway on special teams, and a pair of nice kickoffs by Mathews. Punt returns continue to be unexciting, even without Bess in there. And Fields is Fields, just richer...

As far as next week is concerned, I hope Tannehill get's the starting nod. He could use the experience. Other than that, I just want to see improvement across the board.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of The Phinsider's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of The Phinsider writers or editors.