Dolphins Final Preseason Game Reaction

Congratulations to the Miami Dolphins for providing more headlines off the field rather than on it this preseason!  
The preseason is finally over, but not without embarrasments exascerbated by being on national TV on Tuesdays.

As tough as it was to watch last night’s last preseason contest, I mustered up the courage to lower the volume a bit on my laptop so I didn’t have to here about the Cowboys playmakers or here more from the playmaker himself in Michael Irvin.

The Dolphins started out the contest versus the Dallas Cowboys with a beautiful three and out with the first team defense intact except for Karlos Dansby.  

Then entered the future of the franchise: Ryan Tannehill, protected by a very vulnerable and shaky line that held together for two series.  Tannehill showed a calm and cool prescence and incredible poise for a rookie.  He got rid of the ball quickly and hit his receivers often.  Even though he didn’t get much help or effort from Legedu Naanee, he found a way to drive the team with help from the running game and Marlon Moore, to a score on a 43 YD field goal by Dan Carpenter.  In all, Tannehill showed glimpses of Marino, Montana, and Brady rolled into one.  He showed that he can be the guy for this year and maybe years to come.

Getting the start at running back was Daniel Thomas who proved useful on third down running in the past, but had 5 carries for 31 yards, including a huge 19 yard run to the outside, showing burst and power unseen all preseason.

Beyond that, the starters came into the game and quickly exited with 3 points giving way to the reserves.

The rest of the contest showcased the Dolphins defense inability to tackle any Dallas runningback.  The Dolphins were runover for a combined 283 yards on the ground.  Grant it, the starters were not out there that long, it’s even more alarming that the depth that was supposed to be in place got gouged by a group of Dallas runningbacks that could strike fear into teams late in the season.  

The Miami Dolphins final preseason game showed that they do not have the depth to compete at a high level this year.  As a result, Jeff Ireland and Coach Philbin are going to have to think long and hard about what kind of team they want to feature in Houston next week and beyond.

Finally, the Dolphins secondary continued to get outplayed in the air and the abundance of penalties in the secondary shows a lack of discipline not seen in Miami in sometime.  Understandably, the refs made some questionnable calls, the Dolphins cornerbacks and secondary have to play smarter.  

Overall, this Dolphins team resembles nothing like we’ve ever seen…but there is a glimmer of hope: Tannehill played great!  

Pat Devlin’s gutsy performance proved that a moment’s notice he can lead a team down the field in any situation, down or distance!

Things have to be looking up in Miami, except for the uncertainty like a black cloud over this defensive unit as a whole.  More questions than answers.

If it’s any consolation, Tannehill will hopefully have some new pass catchers by this weekend!  
Fingers are crossed especially with word out of some media circles about potential deals for a receiver or maybe more!

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