Yesterday I posted some quick thoughts on the Dolphins loss to the Bucs on Saturday night.  I told you all I'd have a more comprehensive review today, and that's what I'm hoping to provide.  I re-watched the 1st half of the game and jotted down some things I noticed.  So let's get to it.

JOHN BECK & CHAD HENNE
Where else would we start than with these two.  First off, let's talk John Beck.  I know his 5 for 9 stat line isn't all that impressive.  But I think some of those plays to the fullbacks were designed.  So don't go saying he was "checking down too much" just yet.  Remember that Tony Sparano wants to see if both fullbacks can catch the football and then make a play.  And on both of those plays, it seemed like John looked right at the FBs as if they were the primary receiver on the play.  And both were solid, positive plays.

Also, on the screen pass that John threw into the ground, that wasn't a bad throw.  In fact, it was a very smart play and shows that he has a high "football IQ."  On the play, the back got held up and wasn't open for John to make the throw.  So he smartly threw it into the ground before the lineman got upfield and the team suffered an "ineligible man down field" penalty.  Those who think he should have held on and looked down the field must not have realized that.  That was actually an example of good "game management."

The only thing I would have liked to see John do differently probably would have been to take a chance on a throw when Ronde Barber blitzed from the CB spot.  He might have had an opening to fit the ball into Derek Hagan down the field, but it would have been close.  The safety was also in the area.  So John erred on the side of caution and took the sack.  But I guess I should keep in mind that if John made the throw and it got picked off, people would be screaming that he should have just "ate it" and not made taken the chance.  I guess the old saying is that "hindsight is always 20/20."  All in all, a solid, if unspectacular, start for Beck against the NFL's #1 pass defense in 2007.

Moving onto Chad Henne, it's easy to see why many are very high on him.  He had a solid performance and made some very nice throws.  He showed poise, both in the huddle and in the pocket, and good arm strength on a number of throws.  Also, his decision to throw the ball away down the left sideline on that 2nd down play from Tampa's 29 was very smart.

However, I don't think we should get too excited just yet.  First off, Henne faced mostly 2nd teamers.  So if anyone thinks he could step into the starting role right now based on his performance the other night, I'd say that's a little bit of a reach.  He wasn't up against the likes of Ronde Barber and Phillip Buchanon.  Also, Henne had some solid pass protection.  The line did a great job of providing Henne with a pocket to step up into on a number of his throws.  So, though I'm very encouraged at what I saw, I'm going to not get too excited.  After all, everyone was impressed with Beck's preseason last year and now many of those same people are ready to see John handed a pink slip.  Remember, this is just preseason.

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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...

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-0) at Miami Dolphins (0-0)
Saturday, August 9
7:30 pm EST
TV: CBS 4, Radio: WQAM 560
Dolphin Stadium
Scattered T-Storms, 78 degrees
Line: Dolphins -1, Over/Under 31
Tampa Bay SBN Coverage: Buc 'Em

Well it's finally time to strap it on and play some football.  We've already talked about some of the things we should all keep an eye on.  So now there's nothing left to do but sit back and enjoy some football.  And then second-guess any decisions that were made once the game is over, of course!

So use this thread for any and all live game discussion.  I'm not sure how much I'll be around in this thread for this game.  But my plan will be to do a "quick hits" post sometime tonight/tomorrow morning to quickly share some thoughts on the game and then post a longer summary on Sunday night/Monday morning with some more involved thoughts.

GO DOLPHINS!!!

Well we are now just one day away from the preseason opener on Saturday night against the Bucs.  And as we sit here, there are, by far, more questions that surround this team than answers.  And we can't expect many, if any, of these questions to be answered in just one preseason game.  However, there will surely be some important things to note that could help us piece together the future of this team, at least in terms of 2008.  So let's talk about some of those things to watch closely on Saturday.

THE QUARTERBACKS
Yeah, yeah, I know.  It seems like all we have been doing is talking about the quarterback competition.  But let's face it: QB is the most important position in the game.  So we need to begin to get some answers here.

And considering both the coaching staff and the players aren't revealing anything to us about what the plan is for Saturday in terms of how the QBs will be used, we can't do anything but speculate and debate.  In terms of what makes the most sense, I would say that letting John Beck start is the most logical way to handle this right now.  After all, he has the most to lose this preseason.  I think that he should get a shot with the first team against the Bucs first team defense so that he can have a chance to prove himself.

There's also much more to look at besides the QB rotation.  Some other things to look for will be how each player looks on the field.  And I'm not just talking about production.  While that's certainly part of it, I think other factors have to be considered.  Things such as who is playing with what unit and, more importantly, against what unit.  For example, if one of the QBs struggle, you need to think about why they are struggling.  Are their receivers getting open?  Do they have time in the pocket?  How comfortable do they look in the pocket?  How's their decision-making?  All of these things need to be analyzed.  Don't fall into the trap that many in the media do by just looking at numbers.  In the regular season, sure.  In the preseason, numbers are only part of the evaluation.

WILL RONNIE BROWN PLAY?
Tony Sparano is calling Ronnie a "game-time decision" for Saturday night.  He admits that he wants to see Brown get some game action before the regular season.  And Brown says he's excited to get into a game - probably to help him begin to get over the injury mentally.  But right now, it's anybody's guess as to whether or not he sees the field.

If he does, it'll be interesting to see his first carry in particular.  Will he be hesitant when making cuts?  And how is he going to react the first time a defender is draped around his legs?  What about when he gets that first nasty lick from a defender?  The only thing I hope for hear is that Brown doesn't rush himself if he feels he isn't ready.  However, if he feels good on Saturday, then why not let him get 2 or 3 carries under his belt?

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You'll recall that last year, right around this time of the year, Cam Cameron decided to let many of his veteran players basically relax during much of the preseason.  Some vets saw a few series, while others didn't even see the field in some games.

This year, that will not be the case.  While we don't know how much any particular player will play, we should all expect the entire team to see action in these exhibition games.  Says Sparano:

"We need to be in a game, be in a game environment. We need to get as many guys into uniform as we can get in uniform, being in that locker room together, coming out of that tunnel together. (We need to) be on the sideline together, go through whatever we're going to go through in that game together."

I couldn't have said it better myself.  I agree 100% with Sparano's line of logic here.  Sparano also talked a little about how coming off of a 1-15 season, this team needs a culture change.  I think that we've already seen some of that change in culture in terms of the offseason training program as well as the way training camp has been handled so far by this coaching staff.  Playing all the players who are able to physically play is the next logical step in this culture change.

DEFENSIVE LINE ROTATION
Speaking of Saturday's preseason opener against the Buccaneers at Dolphin Stadium, I wanted to quickly touch on something other than the QB competition that deserves some attention.

The one position that I am confident has been upgraded greatly is the defensive line.  The addition of Jason Ferguson alone was huge.  But to also bring in a versatile player like Randy Starks and then draft two ends like Phillip Merling and Kendall Langford really will drastically improve this team's defensive front, especially against the run.

But the addition of all these new players up front means that there is a lot of competition going on and that there will likely be some kind of defensive line rotation.  Vonnie Holliday has reportedly looked great in camp so far, so his starting spot is probably safe.  But the same can't be said for Matt Roth.  This weel, Roth is working out some as an outside linebacker in Miami's 3-4, which is a good move because it shows that this coaching staff is committed to finding every possible way to maximize each player's potential.  However, this week when Roth lines up as a DE, he's been working primarily with the 2nd team while Langford, the rookie out of Hampton, has been getting some work as a 1st team end.

This has to make you wonder if there's a shot that Langford, a rookie from a small school, might actually win a starting job right out of camp.  He's clearly a little further ahead of fellow rookie Phillip Merling (no knock on Merling - Langford has played his college career in a 3-4 while Merling is still learning the fundamentals of it) and he seems to be outplaying the veteran, Matt Roth, on a daily basis.  So that will be one thing to keep an eye on come Saturday.

Also, it's worth mentioning that the battle to be Ferguson's primary backup as nose tackle is up in the air.  Paul Soliai has reportedly looked much improved over last year.  Meanwhile, the versatile Randy Starks can potentially play both DE or NT in a 3-4.  So which will see action first on Saturday, spelling Ferguson at nose?

Those are just a few of the storylines to pay attention to as Saturday's exhibition opener approaches.

As always, your thoughts below...