Miami Dolphins Hall of Fame Game: Is the Season over Already?

Overreactions are common in football. Because we see so little football from the Miami Dolphins each year it is common to overreact to a certain play, drive, or game.

I get that, but you guys do realize this is the preseason, right? Heck, it's hardly even the preseason. It's the Hall of Fame game. It is impossible to draw any conclusions about players or a team from a few drives of their first team offense.

So, to answer my own question:
Q: Is the season over already?
A: What kind of stupid question is that?

How's that for an answer?

Any conclusions drawn about this season from last night's game are unnecessary.

I understand most fans still realize this game meant very little at all, but there are still a good number of fans who are reading too far into this, and for those of you, I am not questioning your football knowledge. I am just saying that you are getting a little too into such a meaningless contest.

The Hall of Fame game is more "important" than an intrasquad game, sure, but it isn't even as important as a normal preseason game. So much changes in the five weeks between
this game and the regular season opener. The only thing this over-analysis will do is make us more stressed out and worried, which I don't think many of us need.

The only conclusion you needed to draw from this game was an opinion of the Dolphins new jerseys, which I thought were pretty sweet. I was originally not much of a fan because of the lack of orange in them, but I think Miami is going to look pretty nice in their uniforms this year. It's also worth a mention that at sites like bwin.com/en/live/live-betting you can bet on any NFL matches as they happen, exciting stuff!


Thanks for stopping by. I was seeing some of the reaction and I just wanted to quell it before it became excessive.

Email me at paul@dolphinshout.com. I'm also on twitter @PaulDSmythe.

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You're right about one thing Paul. " we see so little football from the Miami Dolphins each year " and we damn sure didn't see any last night either.

I have no illusions on how good the Dolphins are. I'm pretty sure were are not much more than a .500 team, but that performance last night was pathetic. Even for the standards that I just mentioned.
2 replies · active 609 weeks ago
We saw the Tannehill-led offense for two drives. There is nothing we can draw from this game.
I'm agree with you Riverdog,
I saw the fumble as a first play of the game/season mental mistake (not physical), it seemed to me that one or the other THill/Miller wasn't sure of the call.. Miller didn't lock down on the ball, it looked to me as though he thought that THill was supposed to keep it ...

The Davis' interference call was bogus too, he never touched the guy until after the ball hit him in the back ...

All other things the same... I was Glad that we didn't take the 3 chip-shot field goals that would have resulted in a 5 point win , and practiced on our fourth and long plays instead !!!

I'm not distraught whatsoever about anything other than the OLine and I'm not concerned about that either when our projected starters are healthy !!

I enjoyed quite a bit of what I saw from those that will rarely see the field during the regular season as I suggested to all "" not to expect too much from the team in this game and that the starters will only see a few reps """ !!

GREAT to see the Miami Dolphins, and I liked the Uni's !!!

GOFINS in four more days, GIGGGGITTTTY !!!
1 reply · active 609 weeks ago
Thank you Paul for this post. Exactly what is necessary. Unfortunately there were mistakes and lack of what could be called performance however most starters didn't even play in the game.

I think some were thinking this was a regular season game which obviously wasn't. Preseason game four will give us an idea as to what kind of product Miami will be starting with. that's it folks, outside of that these preseason games are for evaluating players and getting into rhythm and thats it period.

This team will be better than last season...
Paul, I agree it is foolish to draw conclusions from this game. They didn't look good, at all, but it won't matter till the real games start. But, I don't think we should dismiss what we saw, it was pathetic and there is not enough sugar to coat it over. I can only hope for better, but my eye saw what my eyes saw and they sucked.

I disagree on the uniforms, I think they are really lame. The color is too light and looks like it belongs on the cheerleaders.
3 replies · active 609 weeks ago
Looked similar to the old Houston Oilers and no one took them lightly due to their colors !!

Earl Campbell could wear pink and it'd still terrify the opponents !!!

Miller and the O-line were quite fascinating on the two 10 plus yard runs when 10 plus yard were required for 1st downs !!!

Gray, Bumpis, and Egnew to name a few were quite exilerating too !!!

Can't wait till Friday !!!
GOFINS!!
I'm with you Patrick. People can dismiss the game as nothing to worry about, but it still won't erase what happened or how they looked.
canamdolphin's avatar

canamdolphin · 609 weeks ago

Right On, Paul!

Who gives a funk about this glorified practice?
Its pre-season I don't delve to much into it. The game was sloppy pure and simple however, since a good chunk of the team I kinda see HOF game like the old adage(actually I think its a poem) a ship is safe in harbor but that's not what ships are for. You don't know what you got till you try it out and see what or who works and fix what or who doesn't. I think the new uniforms are okay if a bit reminiscent of the old oilers uniforms in color even though I prefer the shade of the old aqua ones from 70's and 80's.
3 replies · active 609 weeks ago
add in is new after team.
Wonder if those were our Home or Away uniforms?? I'd imagine that we'll have a few different color coordinated schemes with some that appear snazier than others to each individual fan...

Cool Poem and relative to the topic : )) !!
I'd think the home uniforms would be overall white as goes tradition since the Shula days but I'm not sure. I'd think it would be cool to have a light gray and white alternate uniform.
Dolphins | Reshad Jones contract details

Mon, 05 Aug 2013 16:05:52 -0700

Updating a previous report, the Miami Dolphins signed SS Reshad Jones to a four-year contract extension that is expected to pay $30 million Monday, Aug. 5.

Share: Tweet! Share on Facebook | Source: CBSSports.com - Jason La Canfora

Read more: http://www.kffl.com/team/22/nfl#ixzz2b8oKSHaH
DAMNNNN, seeing that the starters were in for only around 10 plays !! We didn't bother with taking 9 points worth of chip shot FG's (in favor of practicing 4th down plays) !!

Though we gave the opponent 14 point's on turnovers, we pretty much dominated the game statistically with back-ups vs back-up's !! HOWEVER, we allowed farrr tooo many rushing yards!!

I found Matt Moore's play to be a bit disturbing considering his status and amount of reps, he got lucky on the tipped TD to K Miller...

If not for the obvious turnover blunders, we were pretty damn productive (yardage-wise ) !! I'd imagine that once the starters are allowed to get in the groove of an entire game that they'll be every bit as productive ( yardage-wise ) and far more so at scoring TD's !!

GOFINS!!!

MIA DAL
1st Downs24 17
Passing 1st downs
15 4
Rushing 1st downs
7 11
1st downs from Penalties
2 2
3rd down efficiency
4-16 5-13
4th down efficiency
3-5 0-0
Total Plays76 58
Total Yards421 266
Yards per play5.5 4.6
Total Drives1211
Passing310 96
Comp - Att
29-47 11-21
Yards per pass
6.6 4.6
Interceptions thrown
1 0
Sacks - Yards Lost
3-25 3-11
Rushing111 170
Rushing Attempts
26 34
Yards per rush
4.3 5.0
Red Zone (Made-Att)2-4 2-2
Penalties3-20 9-67
Turnovers2 0
Fumbles lost
1 0
Interceptions thrown
10
Defensive / Special Teams TDs01
Possession30:5729:03
http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=330...
I think 13kvfins should be changed to 13kvSpinDoctor. Dang Kenny (good to see you back BTW!) you always have a spin on it... If this guy had not dropped that INT, if those turnovers didn't happen the score would have been this. If A-roid didn't do steroids the Yankees would still suck, oh sorry, different subject! Anyway, we didn't play well and all the spinning in the world ain't gonna change it. The good thing for me is the game doesn't count and we have time to correct the mistakes and find the best 5 offensive linemen. And... The were no significant injuries.
2 replies · active 609 weeks ago
canamdolphin's avatar

canamdolphin · 609 weeks ago

Patrick, I knew you had rose-colored glasses somewhere! LOL!
Same as your golf analogy P, when I step up to the ball I have long forgotten about the shot that got me in the rough and I focus on puttin the next shot on the green ... I don't allow negativity to rule my life, if I did, I'd be a miserable F 24/7/365 and everybody that I cross paths with would prefer an alternate route !!!

I don't concern myself with the condition of the next bridge to be crossed until I'm half way across it at which point I still have to move forward with a positive attitude !!!

I'm just talkin when I post, not trying to justify anything for anyone but myself, just pointing out the things that move me forward cuz the Dolphins do indeed effect my personality during every given week and I don't wanna be a miserable F !!!

I'm sure that the Dolphins will be stoked whenever they're able to accrue 400 plus offensive yards as long as they win or tie the turnover battle!! The two turnovers for TD's to zero TO's for us was the only GLARING difference in the game, IMHO !!

Mannn, TINS-BOYYY Selvie kicked'datt'ass, and our emergency LT Dallas ( Cowboys ) Thomas played well for them !! Put that on the turn-table LOL : )))))))))) !!! GIGGGGITTTTYYY !!!

THANKS for the "" Welcome Back "" : )))) !!!!

GOFINS!!
newengfinfan's avatar

newengfinfan · 609 weeks ago

Understand with Paul, only a preseason game which means nothing, but also agree with the rest, these guys (starters that we saw) sucked. I don't get the chance to catch regular Dolphins games unless I hit a sports bar up here in Maine, so I was excited that I would be able to catch this game. But gotta say after the 2nd series with the starters me and the wife switched onto "Top Shots" we had recorded on the tele........ One thing for sure if the dolphins fail this year we can't use the excuss that Tannihill is still a rookie.
1 reply · active 609 weeks ago
newengfinfan's avatar

newengfinfan · 609 weeks ago

Sorry senior moment.... Tannehill
canamdolphin's avatar

canamdolphin · 609 weeks ago

I didn't watch the game, I was wiped out from a five-hour band practice. That's probably why I'm kinda rosy! When I was writing for Football Nation two years ago, I was on the Dolphins bandwagon for all 16 games. Made it tough to write the post game piece!
I saw some things we can build on and others I'd rather forget. Some of our young players showed promise and I am glad we have them and not another team. As this team works together more, we will be better. No, I wasn't erribly impressed with the game but the bright spots mitigate the anguish to some degree. The biggest surprise to me was how the Cowboys OL opened up huge holes in our defense. I understand about some of our starters being in the bench but that was painful to watch.
Polly Ann Murray's avatar

Polly Ann Murray · 609 weeks ago

This game was sloppy and pitiful. I do not care that is was pre season HOF. If this great coach and Ireland put this team together and allowed such a pitiful showing they are not prideful of this team. We plain sucked. It was preseason for Dallas also and at least they showed up to play a game. The uniforms are prissey and lack any semblance of toughness. Baby blue and a fat whale REALLY!!!!!! Thanks for the post Paul but you cannot just dismiss how utterly awful a presence we put on the field.
1 reply · active 609 weeks ago
Only the two TD's we gave them off turnovers sucked IMHO !! Otherwise Dallas drove for one TD and one FG totaling 10 points to the 20 we scored on long drives without their assistance of giving us the ball, and we let 9 points go by the wayside in favor of PRACTICING 4th down plays rather than chip-shot FG's !!!

We had over 400 yards of offense and kept them under 300, eliminate losing the turnover ( which we lost ) and penalty ( which we won ) battles and we'll win a lot of games with such numbers !!!!! Even your hero Philbin said that with one more 4th down conversion we could have still won the game despite the two turnovers, and ( working on 4th down plays rather than taking FG's which we wouldn't have done if the game's final score had any meaning ) !!

Ya'Can't expect the starters to be in mid-season form in 10 plays, we ran 70 something plays with different personnel on practically every play !!!! Pretty-sure that the starters will be able to get in some sort of groove over an entire game while puttin-up at least as many points as the back-ups scratched out !!!

I KNEW after the very first play that the entire game would suck for you !!

We could be down by 30 to start the 4th quarter and I still have hope, things/games can change in an instance toward our favor just like they did for them with the 14 points that we gave them !!

GOFINS!!!
canamdolphin's avatar

canamdolphin · 609 weeks ago

Net Effect of This Game On the 2013 Season - ZERO
Polly Ann Murray's avatar

Polly Ann Murray · 609 weeks ago

I know this is zero effect!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But I would have liked to see some semblance of a team on the field. We did not need to win we did not even score just show some effort and some skill.
Polly Ann Murray's avatar

Polly Ann Murray · 609 weeks ago

Sorry meant to say we did not need to win or even to score(I know we scored)
Excellent point Paul. I didn't have a problem with Sunday night because I didn't turn it on with unrealistic expectation. If people are locked and loaded for criticism this early then maybe they should aim before they shoot. Because right now there is no target to shoot at.
I like your view point Shawn
Thanks Thorny.
That is a great article. Though I think Omar K is sometimes out of his mind, it was nice to see someone in the media with positives especially for Martin. Good find Paul
Yea, ggod-stuff O, Paul, & Shawn !!

Tuesday camp notes;
'''''' THIS AND THAT

Rookie free agent wide receiver Chad Bumphis had another strong day at practice and also was among the five players who fielded punts. The others were Marcus Thigpen, Brian Hartline, DeAndre Presley and rookie cornerback Will Davis. … Speaking of Davis, he continued his impressive run of interceptions at practice. He came up with two picks on Tuesday, giving him seven in the last five practices. … Brian Tyms and Jeff Fuller both caught long touchdown passes from quarterback Ryan Tannehill. …'''''''

Philbin http://bcove.me/e43elfrf
Sherman, much more informative than the Philbin link, but gets played right after the Philbin interview if you happen to go there first !!

REAL GOOD-STUFF from Sherman !! http://bcove.me/5k7ue4z0
Thanks Kenny good stuff man.
Ya'Monnn My Pleasure Bro, thorough stuff from Sherman, I only wish that folks would ''' with an open-mind ''' actually listen intently to his professional suggestions !!!!
Friday night against the Jags will show us more. Now only if Starks and Wallace can play???
Kenny i have been reading things to be a bit different.

Tannehill had a pretty rough day yesterday. He had 3 interceptions and another that was dropped, and he was so inaccurate that all the beat writers mentioned it. Will Davis had 2 pics, but was beat on 2 long TD throws of 40 and 70 yards by Tannehill. Davis was also moved down the depth chart.

Tannehill threw 5 passes Sunday, 5 that was it. 2 of them to McNutt, one of which he didn't adjust his route and the other was thrown behind him because Tannehill saw the safety in the way. No one and I mean NO ONE can learn anything from 5 passes, 3 of which were thrown away on purpose.

Davis was moved down because of lack of tackling on his part and the entire defense, plus he had an interference call in the end zone.

All of this critical looking at the team came about because of a turnover filled lackluster performance on Sunday. For everything the Dolphin did well on Sunday, they had more damaging results because of the mistakes they were making. With a the fan base and the media of Miami, the team needs to be nearly perfect every time they touch the field. No quarters are given to the Miami Dolphins.
6 replies · active 609 weeks ago
BuckeyeFinfan's avatar

BuckeyeFinfan · 609 weeks ago

I have to agree with what Gary is saying. I'm not writing off the season because of how we looked in the HOF game or the couple of practices since then, but I'm also not naive enough to think that this team doesnt need to improve by leaps and bounds if they are going to be competitive. The OL was pathetic, and according to everything I've read (except that piece from Omar, which I'm not sure I agree with) says they have been nothing short of aweful in just about every practice also. The team has time to fix the issues on the line, but the issue may be that we don't have the proper personnel to fix it. Hopefully when the big boys play the run defense improves because we couldn't stop a Pop Warner team from shoving it down our throats on sunday night.
Hey there Dog and Buck. I can clearly and I do understand your point(s) of view. This is preseason and training camp. There are supposed to be mistakes made right now so hopefully they will be corrected from the inception of this season. People are going to magnify issues with Miami because of the FA period of signing big names, therefore just like when Chad Henne was playing impatience from the fan base became an issue.

The turnovers are unacceptable period and you can not disagree with that meaning I agree with you guys in regards to this issue. but if there is time to have them well it is right now. I hope they can make the necessary adjustments and learn from them. We have all witnessed teams going undefeated through preseason, or close to it, that wind up with a less than 50% season. It happens, I am just not going to hang my hat onto it.

Think of it this way, this game (HOF) had no game plan. There were no schemes other than just suit up and play. Last season I remember this being the issue presented before. Miami went 7 & 9, Tannehill had 3294 passing yards as a rookie with only Hartline and Bess to throw to, Bush was hurt for some games and so was Jake Long for that matter.... With all that said Tannehill still had what many would consider a decent rookie campaign.... You can not compare Tannehill with Luck, RG3 and Wilson, all of those guys had more talent around them, I would have to think that if any of those guys came to Miami they more than likely would have a similar season as Tannehill had, ok maybe Luck might have been different but he is the best QB in last years draft class.

Dog, you are right on about Will Davis. He did choke during the game. This illustrates that no matter how well you practice, things change at game time. Let's just hope this trend doesn't continue or we will be looking at another subpar season.
''''' Think of it this way, this game (HOF) had no game plan. There were no schemes other than just suit up and play. ''''

Yea, what he said, and the same can be said for all but one (if not all) of the Pre-season games !!

If we're game-planning and or scheming for anybody right now, it's the Cleveland Browns, and the Dolphins aren't gonna show them much of what we'll have for them on week one of the regular season !!!
PS, GOOD-STUFF Thorny : ))) !!!
'''''' With a the fan base and the media of Miami, the team needs to be nearly perfect every time they touch the field.''''''

Well then ya'All might as well stop watching cuz NOBODY/No Team is ever gonna be perfect everytime they touch the field!!! There will be ugly win's and there will be games that we play great in and still lose, Ya'All need to find a happy medium and understand that there will be good and bad down every road !!!!!!! I prefer to focus on the good, it's a dirty job but someone's gotta do it in order to neutralize those who's opinions do a 180 with every slight curve of the roller-coaster ride!!!

PS, I don't read the local media anymore and haven't for 2 years because they know that a story about a potential train wreck will sell more than a story about the possibility of the train being on time !!!

I put my emphasis on what Dolphin personnel and my own eye's suggest !!!!
No, I'm not saying, and have yet to say that we are in midseason form, I totally understand that there is still a lot of work to do !!! Every coach in the league will suggest the same about their own teams at this point of the yet to be started actual Pre-season !!!!

GOFINS!!!
No disagreemant from me. Take away the touchdown resulting from the fumble and the pick 6, we won 20-10. Will Davis got beat in the end zone and recovered but got caught. Poor tackling led to many more yards for Dallas. Their RBs were okay but not 171 yeards good. Okay, it was the first exhibition game and no, many starters did not play. If you noticed, it was the same for the other team, too. I expect to see more cohesive play against the jags with fewer mistakes by us. I also expect to see the defense rise up and play better. No, I am not giving up on the season but we have the tools to play at a higher level than before and there are jobs on the line so..............
canamdolphin's avatar

canamdolphin · 609 weeks ago

Man, the injury bug is hitting some teams hard. I don't care how the Dolphins play or how they look, just keep that bug away from the team. It looks like this year's playoff teams are going to be the "last man standing" , so to speak.

Could the reduced number of practices and limits on contact instituted by the current contract be a factor? I don't know. What I do hope for, more than anything, is that the injury bug stays out of Miami.
2 replies · active 609 weeks ago
Good possibility guy. Contact is always rough but when the body is not ready, it's worse.
Wow Tx that is so true. And Cam hopefully that darn bug stays in New England
Andy Cohen

''''' But let’s not over-react. The Dolphins have been in camp exactly two weeks. Many of their starting players – including some of their most important starting players — didn’t see the field in Canton. I’m not making excuses. I’m merely stating facts.

What matters these days has more to do with young players searching for attention, with new veterans trying to fit in and with an entire football team gradually getting ready for a long regular season.

It is time to experience, to explore and to emerge.

And right now, what is evident more than anything else, is that this team isn’t close to where it needs to be, which is kind of what you expected for this time of year, isn’t it? ''''' ???????

Entire article and then some.. http://www.thefinsiders.com/blog/2013/andy-cohen-...
I dunno what some of'ya don't like about the Uni's ??
The color isn't much different than what we're used to !!
The numbers are different, sharper, framed with orange !!
I think that they look pretty flashy, and the helmet is cool while the logo's eye's is more piercing/menacing than we were led to believe !! http://www.miamidolphins.com/multimedia/photo-gal...

Those colors make'ya feel brave with Inco& Pouncey comin at'ya ?? GIGGITTTY : ))) !! http://www.miamidolphins.com/multimedia/photo-gal...

GOFINS!!
1 reply · active 609 weeks ago
Giggitty, isn't that what they used to say on the Gidget show... I think that's more like what those uniforms look like, the Gidgets!
Tony Nicoletti's avatar

Tony Nicoletti · 609 weeks ago

You show much patience and wisdom for one so young, Paul. But I also see no reason to jump the gun, (or put it to our head and pull the trigger) for that matter.

It's way to early to really get a good feel for what we have. There were a lot of first game jitters and mishaps that our young team had to overcome. (Especially all the new faces on the team). Many problems stem from poor, blocking tackling and fundamentals. Most of which we can correct.

We didn't have any semblance of what our real team is going to be on the field for most of the game. We came back strong and started to shut them down when we needed too. Despite the amount of yardage we gave up on the ground (with our second and third string defensive players in the game) we still held them to well under 300 yards total offense.

We fumbled and batted a pass which lead to an interception and two touch downs, but settled down after those two mistakes and almost pulled the game out. (Not that it was important to do so in this meaningless exhibition).

We also got more than 400 yards of offense on the day, yet some would say we were manhandled by Dallas? We had 3 sacks. They had 3 sacks. Both teams gave away some big plays. Should have gotten that fumble we forced. It bounced around like a pinball before Dallas got it back. (Luck of the bounce).

I liked what I saw in some of the rookie players, and thought Delvin played well until he got hurt in the second half. I think we have a lot of room for improvement and think we do show some promise, so far. Lets give this team a couple of games before we start screaming for heads. I'm looking forward to seeing some steady improvement against Jacksonville and the remainder of the preseason schedule.

If we are still as sloppy and showing the same vulnerabilities by the time we hit the third preseason game, then I think it is time to be concerned and I would hope that our coaching staff is looking for solutions and players to rectify the situation.
allen elmore's avatar

allen elmore · 607 weeks ago

the new logo looks like it belongs on the side of an airplane ,or cruise ship.

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