Anyone
who’s anyone in the NFL (and even those who aren’t anyone) will tell you about
the importance of the third preseason game. It’s the first one of the exhibitions that feature teams game-planning specifically for one another, when first-teamers
play well into the second half, when a regular-season atmosphere is instilled.
If all
that’s true, it may be an even longer season than I previously anticipated.
Last week, Miami had a rough go of it vs. the Panthers, and this week the
Dolphins took on Atlanta—a bonafide playoff team—in monsoon-like conditions at ProSunDolphinLandSharkRobbie
Stadium Park.
THE POSITIVES:
- On “Hard Knocks,” offensive guard John Jerry has been a whipping boy,
being given rep after rep after rep until he either gets it, throws up, loses
some weight—or all three. Why is he in the coaches’ sights so much? Because
as Dolphins line coach Jim Turner said on the show, Jerry has All-Pro
potential. Players should be worried only when coaches don’t even try with them. Jerry backed up the added attention with strong play vs. Atlanta,
combination-blocking effectively and paving the way for some nice running
yardage in the first half. Lack of consistency has been one of his key issues, so
can he keep it up? That’s the biggest question for this kid.
- Speaking of running the ball, second-year tailback
Daniel Thomas looked good against the Falcons. He ripped off a couple of
sizeable runs, and in general looked much quicker and more committed to
his cuts than he did a year ago. He should offer Miami a nice change of
pace with Reggie Bush this year.
- Cameron Wake looked like, well, Cameron Wake.
Freakish ability. The next step for Cam is to turn good plays into great
plays by forcing turnovers, but it’s hard to believe he isn’t capable of
doing just that.
- Koa Misi, who has been treading on the “bust” line
for a couple of years now, looks reborn as a 4-3 linebacker. He still has
some fundamentals to nail down when he’s playing out in space, but his
play has been one of the few bright spots this preseason for the Dolphins.
- Gary Guyton looks to be a nice addition as a backup
linebacker. The former Patriot is pretty active in the passing lanes, and
depending on your how-full-is-the-glass outlook, he either broke up two
passes the other night or dropped two interceptions.
- The light has appeared to have come on for cornerback
Sean Smith. The dreadlocks are gone, the confidence is there and he is
much more physical in run support. Headed into a contract year, Smith
appears to have at least put himself in position to emerge as a plus
defender for the ‘Fins.
- Try as I might, I am having a hard time envisioning a
scenario where Marlon Moore doesn’t make the team as a fifth or sixth
receiver. He is just too valuable on special teams and too promising as a
wideout to give up on at this point, in my estimation.
- Also on special teams, it was surprising to see
veteran running back Steve Slaton make a couple of plays in that area the
other evening. He also looked solid catching passes out of the backfield,
and he may have regained the advantage for the No. 4 RB spot from Marcus
Thigpen.
- I thought backup quarterback Matt Moore threw several
nice balls in relief against the Falcons, but he was absolutely wrecked by
mind-numbing dropped passes. I still view Moore as an asset to this squad
from a leadership and experience perspective.
THE NEGATIVES:
- The red-zone offense still needs a lot of work. For a
team that doesn’t look to find itself in that vicinity very often in 2012,
Miami needs to find a way to convert for seven instead of three every now
and again.
- At safety, Reshad Jones is way out of position way
too often. He’s basically been gift-wrapped a starting job this offseason,
but he certainly hasn’t put his stamp on the position.
- One of the players that everyone pointed to
immediately as gaining the most from the hiring of Joe Philbin was H-back
Charles Clay. After showing some signs as a receiving threat as a rookie a
season ago, Clay has been inconsistent this preseason. For a team
screaming for some type of threat to emerge in the passing game, I have to
consider Clay a big disappointment thus far.
- On that same thread, the receivers on the whole
(including the tight ends) continue to be, well, depressing. I lost track
of dropped passes against Atlanta, and when you add a position-wide
inability to gain separation, that’s a pretty bad combo.
- As noted above, it looked like Marcus Thigpen took a
step back in his quest to earn a job in the running back corps. He dropped
a potential big gainer and was nondescript in the return game, severely
hurting his chances.
- Elsewhere in the running back competition, rookie
Lamar Miller again failed to make an impact. I still think he runs
tentatively and hasn’t been put in position to use his speed in space. I also
question why he hasn’t seen any action returning kicks as well—if Thigpen
is borderline to make the team, what is the backup plan in the return
game? I don’t think they want to put their No. 1 (shudder) receiver,
Davone Bess, back there anymore.
- Is “7/11” finally closed? “Hard Knocks” darling Chris
Hogan received no legitimate snaps against the Falcons, making it
difficult to see how he possibly fits on the active roster at this point.
THE TRADE:
Over
the weekend, Miami traded underachieving fourth-year corner Vontae Davis to the
Indianapolis Colts for a second-rounder and a sixth-rounder in next year’s
draft. My first impression was that the Dolphins did surprisingly well in compensation
for a player who was first benched and then mocked on a national stage. My
second impression is that Miami continues to leak talent without bringing much
or any of it back into the fold.
There’s
no question that Davis is a headcase (who once injured himself celebrating a
tackle) with maturity issues, but his corner skills are unquestioned and he has
the talent to become a top-five cornerback in this league. At 24 years old, the
biggest question for the new few years will be whether the ‘Fins gave up on the former first-rounder too early. One only need to look at his brother, Vernon, who suffered through
many of the same knuckleheaded, uncoachable issues for years before emerging as
one of the NFL’s top tight ends in San Francisco.
To
me, one of the key variables was the relative emergence of fellow cornerback
(and draft classmate) Sean Smith, as noted above. Thus far, Smith seems to have
overcome the same maturity and discipline problems that he shared with Davis,
and many feel Smith has turned a corner (pun intended) this year (knock on
wood). With Smith’s contract expiring soon, I always felt that Miami would
eventually be forced to choose between Smith and Davis, not having the money to
re-sign both. Well, Smith took the necessary step forward while Davis took
several steps back, helping to make that decision easier—and quicker.
So
while many see this as a move to remove a problem child, I think the Dolphins
got very strong value for a promising young player that didn’t work out in
Miami. Now, whether you think general manager Jeff Ireland will just find a way
to screw up that second-rounder by picking someone who he’ll either cut or
trade for a sixth-rounder two years later is another issue ... but the reality
is that the time was right to jettison Davis while he still was an appreciated
commodity.
