Day 185, Quasi-Quarantine: Dolphins-Patsies Game 1 Review

In reviewing the Dolphins 21-11 loss at New England to start the 2020 season, I captured a few notes along the way. Here's my equivalent of an "emptying the notebook" offering.

Offense

• Ryan Fitzpatrick was eminently Fitzpatrickian. He made some daring throws and some morale-boosting scrambles, but he was a little tentative early on and his fundamentals looked off. Two of his three picks came on uncalled -- and fairly overt -- New England interferences, but that made them no less devastating. He did lead back-to-back strong drives in the second quarter, one of the reasons why Miami easily out-gained the Pats in the first half.
• DeVante Parker looked good before he got hurt, but Preston Williams, coming off an injury, looked rusty. He ran a handful of bad routes and had a hard time fighting for the ball through contact. Williams gives the Dolphins another imposing presence, but he has to play to his size in order to re-earn Fitzpatrick's trust.
• Others have noted the general lack of separation from Miami receivers, and that's an ongoing problem. This is among the reasons why the 'Fins need to find a way to get the ball to (or hell, in some cases, activate) guys like Jakeem Grant, Malcolm Perry, and Lynn Bowden Jr. Opt-outs have depleted the Miami receiving corps, and right now, the unit is too one-dimensional.
• Parker left the game with a hammy in the second half. The Dolphins simply can't afford to lose him at this point -- and I'm not sure I thought I'd ever write such a thing.
• On the plus side, Mike Gesicki looks much more comfortable on the field, both receiving and blocking. He made a couple of contested grabs, and Fitzpatrick has no qualms with throwing it his way even when he's covered.
• The offensive line also showed significant promise. Center Ted Karras had some iffy moments, but that was to be expected early on, and the rookies all held up, ensuring Fitzpatrick generally had a good amount of time to throw. This was a welcome -- and slightly surprising -- change.
• The running back rotation was ... weird. Myles Gaskin looked faster and ran harder than last year, and he dominated snaps overall, partially based on New England's scheme. Jordan Howard ran for a TD but was otherwise quiet, and Patrick Laird and Chandler Cox were on the field more than expected. For unknown reasons, Matt Breida was largely uninvolved, robbing the offense of a much-needed speed threat and, well, playmaker.

Defense

• The defensive effort was hamstrung by poor tackling and bad angles. To some extent, this is not a shock due to an abbreviated training camp and zero preseason games, but New England did not suffer the same issues -- a troubling sign to start the campaign.
• Even more troubling was the sense that Miami was largely unprepared defensively for this one. It was certainly an inauspicious debut for first-time defensive coordinator Josh Boyer.
• Overall, Miami was woefully out-physicaled at every level, a concern that many hoped would be solved by opening up the checkbook this offseason.
• Shaq Lawson, one of the biggest free agency signings, played really poorly and was repeatedly targeted on zone scheme runs. This was an ugly start to his tenure with the Dolphins.
• On the other side, Emmanuel Ogbah pressured the pocket a handful of times, forcing a Christian Wilkins sack at one point. Wilkins had some splash plays and generally looked improved from a season ago, and he was in the middle of a postgame fracas with Scam Newton.
• Jerome Baker was very active -- in all the good and bad ways. He got lost in coverage a few times, took some bad angles, and was hit with a pair of personal fouls. However, he also recorded a sack, forced a fumble that resulted in a Miami possession, and was the one 'Fins linebacker who brought energy.
• Overall, the Miami 'backers struggled a lot with eye discipline against New England's RPOs. Elandon Roberts, in particular, looked shaky.
• Xavien Howard looked tentative on the field, and high-priced corner Byron Jones did not have his name called often, though there was a play where he allowed a completion when he could have made a play on the ball. Corner Jamal Perry had a good hit at one point, and rookie Brandon Jones was in on a lot of stops despite looking a bit undersized for a safety.
• Generally, the 'Fins defensive backs were poor in run support. This has to improve as the season progresses or teams are just going to avoid the well-regarded Miami corners and simply run the ball all game long.
• Overall, the defense looked gassed midway through the third quarter. Their spirit seemed broken by repeated instances of New England running predictable third-down plays that resulted in easy first downs.

Special teams

• Jason Sanders had his lone kick tipped but he still made it easily, even from 46 yards.
• The sixth-round pick at long-snapper had a couple of snaps that were wide, but overall got the job done.
• Grant is just not a good punt returner, and if Bowden can't take that job, the 'Fins are officially a nightmare.

Momentum plays

• Despite a golden opportunity, Miami was unable to recover the muffed punt after an unsuccessful opening drive.The Dolphins also batted down a few Newton passes, with a couple staying in the air long enough for Miami to have come down with an interception. The bottom line is the 'Fins aren't built to out-execute or out-talent teams, and simply must find a way to force momentum-changing turnovers.
• Julian Edelman dropped an easy throw downfield to represent one of the only ways the Dolphins were able to slow down New England.
• Erick Flowers was whistled for a phantom holding call late in the first half (a classic occurrence when the Patsies are being threatened), but Grant made a tough catch and run to overcome the refs -- only to have Fitz throw a gutting pick with 31 seconds left in the half.
• Newton was the beneficiary of a ridiculous roughing-the-passer call in the third quarter. Clearly, controversial players need only go to New England to start getting phantom calls.
• After Miami cut the lead to 14-11, New England immediately countered with an end-around to Edelman that went for 20+, then tacked on 15 to the end of the play thanks to an egregious late hit by Baker. You could almost hear (especially with no fans in attendance) the air sucked out of the Dolphins' collective lungs.
• The Patsies made almost no effort to throw the ball in crunch time, running for first downs even on third downs longer than 3 yards. From a coaching and playing standpoint, that had to be brutal to endure.
• New England played almost 46 minutes without a penalty called. That is hard to do even in a season played under the current circumstances.