Dolphins Preseason Home Opener: 10 Things to Watch ... How They Played Out
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The Miami Dolphins faced the Las Vegas Raiders in their preseason home opener at Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday night and, as always in these games, the final score (a 15-13 Dolphins loss) wasn't be nearly as important as the evaluation of the players and positional units.
With that in mind, let's revisit the 10 things/players to watch for the Dolphins we listed before the game.
THE LINEUP
BEFORE THE GAME: Before we get into specific players, the first major question that will need to be answered is exactly who will and won't be playing against the Raiders. The Dolphins sat out more than a dozen front-line players in their 26-24 victory at Tampa Bay last Saturday night, and head coach Mike McDaniel said this week it was safe to assume that some who didn't play in that game would suit up against Las Vegas. While the biggest focus here will be on quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, it also will be interesting to see whether players like Tyreek Hill and Xavien Howard see any action. Based on their absence in practice this week, we certainly wouLdn't expect to see Jaylen Waddle and Terron Armstead, along with other injured players such as Brennan Scarlett, Tanner Conner and Eric Rowe.
DURING THE GAME: As expected, several starters did make their preseason debut against the Raiders, though McDaniel decided after warmups to keep out Hill, Melvin Ingram and Raheem Mostert after the Dolphins initially did not include them among those players not expected to play. It's hard to argue against any of those decisions, just like it was a good idea to get a look at players such as Jerome Baker, Christian Wilkins, Chase Edmonds, Connor Williams, Zach Sieler, Emmanuel Ogbah and Jevon Holland after they sat out against Tampa Bay. The best news of all is that the projected starters who did play against the Raiders all seemed to make it out of the game fine, which always is the concern.
QB TUA TAGOVAILOA
BEFORE THE GAME: McDaniel said before one of the joint practices in Tampa that his expectation was that Tagovailoa would get some action during the preseason, but then he sat out the opener after McDaniel suggested he had seen what he wanted to see in practice. But practice didn't go nearly as well this past week for Tagovailoa, though he did have a good outing Thursday. Besides, if McDaniel does want to see Tagovailoa execute in the preseason, the second game probably makes more sense than the preseason finale.
DURING THE GAME: As with everything having to do with the third-year quarterback, there was plenty of debate with all that happened with Tua in the Vegas game, before and during. Though it wasn't a universally accepted idea, it sure made sense from this end to get Tagovailoa at least some preseason action, and one could argue he could have used more than two series. Then there was the issue of how well Tagovailoa performed, which from this vantage point was just fine. No, there were no throws downfield, but Tagovailoa completed all but two of his pass attempts and one of those incompletions came when the Raiders were all over him immediately after a naked bootleg and he was left with little choice but to throw the ball into the ground. Basically, it was the kind of outing we've seen quite a bit from Tagovailoa since he arrived in the NFL, and the work of the supporting cast wasn't good enough to elevate his performance, but it was a solid performance regardless.
QB SKYLAR THOMPSON
BEFORE THE GAME: While we certainly don't expect the rookie seventh-round pick to play the full game the way he did against Tampa Bay, it wouldn't be a surprise to not see Thompson in action at all against the Raiders. If he does play, it will be interesting to see if he can build on his impressive outing against the Buccaneers when he was 20-for-28 for 218 yards and a touchdown.
DURING THE GAME: There's some massive Skylar Fever going on among a portion of Dolphins fans after his performance against the Raiders, some calling for him to become the backup right away, others even going as far as to suggest he should be QB1. While perspective is lacking because we can't forget this is the preseason when defenses run very basic concepts with little scheming or disguising, there's no denying that Thompson again looked tremendous throwing the ball. Beyond his stats, he had two big-time throws to Erik Ezukanma in the fourth quarter where he lofted the ball downfield just over a defender and right into the arms of the receiver. At the very least, it's certainly fair to suggest that the Dolphins have to keep him on the 53-man roster to not risk another team claiming him after what he's shown in the preseason.
THE OFFENSIVE LINE
BEFORE THE GAME: Yes, we're going to mention this group every preseason game. And that's going to continue year after year until the Dolphins put together a solid unit that's no longer a question mark. Projected starters Robert Hunt, Austin Jackson and Liam Eichenberg all saw action against the Buccaneers last Saturday when they each played two series, and it certainly wouldn't be a surprise if they were joined on the field this time by new center Connor Williams. While Armstead likely won't be out there, this still should be good work for a unit that holds a big key to the success of the offense in 2022.
DURING THE GAME: There was good news and bad news for a group that remains a major question mark. The good news was the great pass protection Tua enjoyed during. his short time in the game, the most vivid example when Tua had all kinds of time before he was able to dump off to Edmonds on a third-down play that produced a first down. The bad news, of course, was the run blocking and the alarming inability to pick up a single yard on two rushing attempts by Sony Michel when the Dolphins faced a second-and-1 on Tua's second drive. All but Armstead played among the projected starters on the offensive line, so that was troubling. If there was good news, it's that Larnel Coleman looked better than he did against Tampa Bay, though the Dolphins still need a more proven commodity at backup tackle, and Solomon Kindley and Michel Deiter looked fine in backup roles.
WR LYNN BOWDEN JR.
BEFORE THE GAME: We spotlighted both Bowden and Preston Williams before the game at Tampa Bay, but Bowden was the one who came up with an eye-opening performance. In fact, we'd go as far as to suggest he put himself back into the thick of the running for one of the final roster spots, not only because of his three receptions but also because he had one impressive punt return and one impressive kickoff return and showed his potential value as a return specialist. Consistency is a key obviously, so Bowden needs to be able to repeat that performance.
DURING THE GAME: This was not a great outing for Bowden, who certainly didn't do anything to separate himself from the wide receivers beyond the top five. His one highlight was a nifty punt return in the first half, but he was responsible for Thompson's only incompletion of the night when he failed to cradle in a low throw that certainly was catchable. Bowden, however, remains in the mix if the Dolphins are going to keep six wide receivers, which is no certainty.
TE MIKE GESICKI
BEFORE THE GAME: While he wasn't the only front-line player to play against Tampa Bay, Mike Gesicki certainly was the most surprising. Gesicki's role in the new offense remains a bit muddled, and while we don't expect the preseason to provide clear answers, it still will be interesting to see how he'll be used in the second preseason game — assuming he's again in the lineup.
DURING THE GAME: Gesicki again was a major topic of conversation afterward, this time for his failure to hold up a block at the line of scrimmage on a naked bootleg, paving the way for the Raiders safety (even though Teddy Bridgewater needed to get rid of the ball sooner). Gesicki ended the night with three catches for 27 yards, but that was on six targets. And, of course, there was the play where he never turned around for a Tua pass that looked on target (even though it was in traffic and Gesicki might have gotten lit up had he caught it). But all the talk was about Gesicki's blocking, which (and we're not sharing state secrets here) is still not up to par.
LB CHANNING TINDALL
BEFORE THE GAME: The rookie third-round pick from Georgia had a very promising preseason debut, showing off his open-field tackling ability. One of those tackles came on special teams, which is where he could end up getting most of his playing time as a rookie. Tindall, though, certainly could make a case for a role on defense with more solid work this summer.
DURING THE GAME: After being very noticeable (in a good way) in the opener at Tampa Bay, Tindall had a pretty quiet outing against the Raiders, though he visibly missed an open-field tackle that led to a longer game on a short pass than should have been. Tindall did lead the Dolphins in tackles with six, but all of them came downfield and included tackles at the end of a 36-yard run and an 18-yard QB scramble.
CB NOAH IGBINOGHENE
BEFORE THE GAME: As we wrote before the Tampa Bay game, because he was a first-round pick two years ago, Noah Igbinoghene always will be in the spotlight as long as he remains with the Dolphins. Igbinoghene has had an uneven summer, no question, though he hasn't been nearly as ineffective as some might suggest. Still, the Dolphins would love nothing more than for him to really come on and assert himself as somebody who needs to have a role on defense.
DURING THE GAME: It unfortunately didn't get better for Igbinoghene against the Raiders, who was beaten on third-down passes on the Raiders' opening touchdown drive. One was a crosser to Tyron Johnson, the other a slant to Keelan Cole, and in both instances Igbinoghene gave up way too much cushion to be able to stop the completion. The rest of Igbinoghene's evening was pretty quiet, but those two plays were noticeable — and not in a good way.
CB MACKENSIE ALEXANDER
BEFORE THE GAME: Alexander was able to take part in three practices after signing with the Dolphins this week, and even was on the field for some team drills in his very first practice. That would seem to suggest he'll suit up and get some snaps against the Raiders, and the spotlight will be on him to show he can be a big help for the defense in 2022.
DURING THE GAME: The veteran newcomer got a decent amount of action in his first game with Miami, and the results were mostly positive. Yes, he gave up a 22-yard completion to Cole on a third-and-4 when he did the same thing Igbinoghene did and gave him way too much cushion on a slant, but he also broke up a pass over the middle and then had great coverage on a deep pass down the right sideline. All things considered, it was a pretty good outing for Alexander.
FIGHTING TO STAY ON THE TEAM
BEFORE THE GAME: Three days after this game, the Dolphins will have to make at least five more roster moves to get down to the 80-player limit by Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET, and what happens against Las Vegas certainly could make the difference in who gets to stick around at least another week. Based on the playing time against Tampa Bay, the depth chart and practice observations, those players who could be playing to stay past the next round of cuts might include rookie offensive linemen Kellen Diesch and Blaine Andries, running back Za'Quandre White, linebacker Owen Carney Jr., running back Gerrid Doaks, cornerback D'Angelo Ross, punter Sterling Hofrichter, and maybe even running back Salvon Ahmed.
DURING THE GAME: Of those eight players, the winners on this night clearly were White (touchdown catch) and Ahmed (12-yard run), while what happened doesn't bode well for Diesch, Andries, Doaks or Hofrichter. Andries didn't play at all, Diesche and Doaks only got a handful of special teams snaps, while Hofrichter shanked his only punt and it went 28 yards — not exactly how he's going to beat out proven veteran Thomas Morstead. As for Ross, his outing wasn't noteworthy either way (he played nine snaps on defense and two on special teams).
