The
feel good aura of the Philbin era came crashing back to reality as Tampa Bay
routed Miami 20-7 in the muggy rain of a practically empty Sun Life Stadium,
Friday night. The game started with the news of David Garrard’s arthroscopic
knee surgery and went downhill from there. The Dolphin offense never found its
stride and the defensive backfield looked lost in the new 4-3 scheme.
Garrard
prepared for several weeks, looking like the starter, when the injury thrust Matt
Moore into the spotlight, seemingly moments before the game. Garrard was
getting most of the 1st team snaps and Moore did not look sharp with
the starting receiving corps.
Chad
Johnson’s New England disappearing act continued in Miami, as his impersonation
of the invisible man was spot on. The act was epitomized when Johnson dropped the
only pass thrown his way to kill a Miami drive. Johnson’s name does not appear
on the stats sheet, if it weren’t for the awkward dropped ball, Miami fans
would not have known he was on the field.
The
focus of the game was obviously on the QBs, as the Dolphins threw the ball 50
times, while accumulating only 15 rushing attempts. Ryan Tannehill stole the
show completing 14 of 21 passes for 167 yards with the Dolphins only TD,
Tannehill also had a TD overturned by replay. Moore was a lethargic 7 of 12 for
79 yards and an interception, with Pat Devlin a pedestrian 9 of 17 for 65
yards.
The
injury to Garrard was the opportunity Moore needed to take over the team and lead
them in a game situation. Moore failed miserably, leaving the door wide open
for Ryan Tannehill to become the 1st rookie to start his 1st
game as a Dolphin. Tannehill looked the part, with a quick compact release and
a fearless gunslinger mentality. Many Dolphin fans had hoped Tannehill would
start the season carrying a clipboard, but the Garrard injury could drastically
change that notion.
The
heat on Matt Moore just turned red hot without Garrard taking snaps, Moore will
have to clearly outperform Tannehill or the Dolphins will have no choice but
to start the rookie. If Tannehill enters the season as the starter, either
Garrard or Moore will be cut and Garrard is the likely choice. Garrard has very
little value on the trade market, while Moore has shown enough, and is young
enough for a team needing a backup to trade for him.
Beyond
the QBs, Reggie Bush rushed for 17 yards on 4 carries with most of that
coming on a 12-yard scamper. The rest of the backs we quiet, Lamar Miller
gained only 4 yards on 5 carries. It was clearly all about the QBs on this
night with Daniel Thomas rushing twice for -2 yards and Steve Slaton rushing
twice for 4 yards.
While
the O-line was not opening very many holes in the rushing game, they did not
allow one sack, which was a bright spot. The up-tempo offense was a refreshing
change, but it never seemed to get in rhythm with far too many botched plays
that killed drives.
Roberto
Wallace 4-71 and Julius Pruitt 6-52 won the back-up receiver race with Clyde
Gates unaccounted for and the rest of the receivers making no impression.
Charles Clay continued his rise as a budding star at TE, catching the only TD
pass, while hauling in 3 passes for 39 yards.
In
giving up 20 points, the Dolphins defense was unremarkable mostly due to the
starters playing only minimal time, particularly on the front 7. The Dolphins
allowed the Bucs to maintain possession on several long TD drives that ended
with a Tampa running back diving into the endzone.
The
secondary did not allow a TD pass, but seemed confused and out of position most
of the night. The corners and safeties missed easy tackles and the lack of
contact in practices, dictated by the new CBA was evident in the Dolphin
secondary. Richard Marshall started in place of Vontae Davis, but neither was clearly better than the other and Sean Smith was feeble in attempts at tackling. This
will have to be corrected if the Dolphin defense hopes to start the season
looking like the squad that ended 2011.
The
safeties in particular left virtually no impact on the fans watching the
game, there were no interceptions, with none of the BDs coming close to getting
their hands on a Buccaneer football. Without a forced fumble and only one
fumble recovery, the Dolphin defense looked as though the dog days of training
camp had taken a toll on tired legs.
Not
much is expected from a 1st preseason game and reading too
much into it would be a mistake. The bright spot was Ryan Tannehill, the dark
spots were the Dolphins receiving corps and secondary. Chad Johnson may not
make the team with another outing like this one, unfortunately the Miami
secondary will have to get better, because none of these players can be cut.
With
the lofty expectations lowered, expect the trolls to come out of the woodwork
and the Miami bashing to begin. At Dolphinshout we recognize the 1st
preseason game for what it is and withhold judgment, but the Miami
Dolphins will need to clean things up or the dismal showing in the stadium will
only get worse.
