Dolphins Preseason Opener: 10 Things to Watch ... How They Played Out
The Miami Dolphins opened their preseason against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium on Saturday night and, as always in these games, the final score wasn't nearly as important as the evaluation of the players and positional units.
With that in mind, we listed 10 things/players to watch for the Dolphins before the game and now it's time to revisit them to see how they played out.
HEAD COACH MIKE McDANIEL
BEFORE THE GAME: There's always a curiosity with a first-year head coach, even more so with a first-time head coach, when it comes to how he'll approach the preseason. The biggest thing to watch when it comes to McDaniel is how basic — or not — the play-calling will be for a preseason opener (both on offense and defense) and perhaps more importantly which players will be in the lineup and which ones will be kept out. We're already expressed our feelings that the Dolphins don't need to use Tua Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill, Terron Armstead or Xavien Howard against Tampa Bay, though that final verdict won't come until about 90 minutes before kickoff.
DURING THE GAME: McDaniel took the cautious — and prudent — approach in terms of sitting out important players and that list indeed included Tua, Tyreek and Terron. In terms of play-calling, McDaniel kept things pretty basic on offense with the most non-vanilla stuff involving a lot of naked bootlegs (a staple of the Shanahan offense). Defensively, we also didn't see the Dolphins' multiple looks at the line of scrimmage, which again was to be expected. For a coaching decision perspective, maybe the only thing that disappointed us was McDaniel opting to punt on a fourth-and-1 in the third quarter (yes, it was from the Dolphins 34, but it would have been a good situational challenge for his offense.
QB SKYLAR THOMPSON
BEFORE THE GAME: Because the Dolphins should be careful with Tagovailoa and because they know what they have in backup Teddy Bridgewater, it makes all the sense in the world for Thompson to get the majority of the snaps throughout the preseason. Thompson has been making his share of big-time throws in practice over the past two weeks and if he continues that kind of work in the preseason games, the Dolphins will have to think long and hard about finding a spot for him on the 53-man roster.
DURING THE GAME: Thompson didn't just get the majority of the snaps in the preseason opener, he got all of them. And Thompson performed very well, completing 20 of 28 passes for 218 yards with one touchdown, no interceptions and a passer rating of 106.0. He also had a 21-yard scramble in the second half. And because it needs to be said after seeing some gross exaggeration on social media, let's not put Thompson in the Hall of Fame just yet. Yes, it was an impressive performance by a rookie in his first outing. But Thompson wasn't flawless and he benefited from having receivers wide open, including Lynn Bowden on his touchdown and on his 29-yard reception and Trent Sherfield on his 33-yard catch-and-run. And this happened against the Tampa Bay backups running a vanilla defense. Again, it was a great first outing for Thompson. Let's just not blow it out of proportion.
THE RETURNING RUNNING BACKS
BEFORE THE GAME: With the Dolphins bringing in veterans Chase Edmonds, Raheem Mostert and Sony Michel in the offseason — not to mention fullback Alec Ingold — it clearly put the pressure on Myles Gaskin and Salvon Ahmed to perform in training camp and the preseason if they want to keep their roster spot. The two have had their moments in practice, but they can't afford any bad outings.
DURING THE GAME: Not that it was entirely their fault, but it was a good thing Gaskin had that 20-yard run in the second half, otherwise it would have been a washout for the running backs. Take that run away, and Dolphins backs gained 4 yards on 10 attempts, an average of 0.25 yards per attempt. Yeesh! And then Ahmed had two catches for 2 yards, Sony Michel had one for 4 yards and Gerrid Doaks had one for 1 yard before failing to catch a pass thrown slightly behind him. Gaskin did make a nice cut on his 20-yard run while taking advantage of nice blocking up front.
THE OFFENSIVE LINE
BEFORE THE GAME: You didn't think we wouldn't mention the offensive line, did you? This position has been a focal point of the team for several years now and the hope is that a new scheme and veteran additions Armstead and Connor Williams can help make a big difference. Regardless of whether Armstead plays against the Buccaneers, this game will provide a good measuring stick. In particular, it'll be interesting to watch what kind of holes can be produced for the running game and, of course, whether Williams has any issues with shotgun snaps.
DURING THE GAME: Well, we made a mistake in suggesting this game would provide a good measuring stick because Tampa Bay sat out pretty much everyone of significance on offense and defense. The Dolphins did use three of their projected starters — Robert Hunt, Austin Jackson and Liam Eichenberg — and Hunt and Eichenberg both had negative plays during their brief time in the game. Given his shotgun snap issues, it was a bit surprising to see Williams be held out. Among the backups, Solomon Kindley had a good performance, but Larnel Coleman was spotty, Michael Deiter's missed block ruined a screen pass to Ahmed, and Kion Smith had a really rough night.
PRESTON WILLIAMS AND LYNN BOWDEN JR.
BEFORE THE GAME: Yeah, this one is kind of a given in light of the report indicating the Dolphins have been shopping both wide receivers. Since the report came out Monday, Williams was targeted on a few occasions in team drills in the joint practices against the Bucs, but Bowden continued to be a non-factor. Regardless of what kind of production either has in the preseason, the likelihood remains that — barring injuries — neither will make the 53-man roster but it could help facilitate a trade with a WR-needy team.
DURING THE GAME: Bowden unquestionably was among the stars for the Dolphins on this night with his three catches for 55 yards to go along with a 26-yard kickoff return and an 18-yard punt return. Williams also had a nifty punt return (13 yards) but wasn't targeted once in the passing game. Bowden's performance was good enough that maybe it would be wise to revisit the idea of him possibly making the 53-man roster.
TEs HUNTER LONG AND ADAM SHAHEEN
BEFORE THE GAME: Talk about two players at opposite ends of the spectrum. Shaheen is kind of in limbo at this time after the failed trade with the Houston Texans after they failed him on his physical, while Long finds himself with a brighter outlook for 2022 after a rookie season where he was buried on the depth chart.
DURING THE GAME: Shaheen was among the more than 20 players the Dolphins kept out of the game, but it wasn't because McDaniel wanted to keep him away from harm. Shaheen remains in limbo after the failed trade to Houston and his days in Miami clearly are numbered, with another trade or an outright release almost a certainty. There's no point in putting him in a game and risking an injury that would force the Dolphins to keep him. As for Long, it was interesting that he got 14 snaps on special teams, usually an indicator (even in preseason) of somebody who'll have a place on the roster but only three on offense.
THE RETURN GAME
BEFORE THE GAME: McDaniel has been consistent with the media when it comes to the return game with his position that he views it as important and wouldn't be reluctant to use front-line players, such as Tyreek Hill to handle that role. But newcomer DeVonte Dedmon, who had five returns for touchdowns in his first 15 games in the CFL, could render the point moot if he can flash in the preseason and logic says he'll be given every opportunity to do so.
DURING THE GAME: There was no danger of using Hill, Jaylen Waddle or Jevon Holland on returns because all of them sat out, which gave Bowden (and Williams to a lesser degree) a chance to shine in the return game. Dedmon was used on two kickoff returns, one of which went out of bounds and the other ending with him fumbling (though the Dolphins recovered). This game did nothing to help Dedmon's chances.
NOAH AND THE OTHER YOUNG CORNERS
BEFORE THE 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, and he'll be looking to rebound in the preseason opener from a rather rough couple of joint practices. On the flip side, Keion Crossen will be looking to build on his great practice from Thursday, while second-year player Trill Williams will look to continue his strong camp work to carve himself a role on the defense.
DURING THE GAME: Igbinoghene has been going through a rough patch lately after a pretty solid start to camp, and he was the closest defender to wide receiver Jaelon Darden on a first-quarter touchdown pass. However, replays seemed to show the Dolphins were in a zone on the play and it's tough to tell whether it was Igbinoghene or Brandon Jones (or both) who botched the assignment on the play. Igbinoghene also gave up an easy reception on a crosser for a 12-yard gain in the first quarter. Crossen had a nice pass breakup on a deep pass attempt to Scotty Miller, while Wililams was having himself another strong outing until he went down with a bad-looking knee injury on Tampa Bay's final drive of the game. Making Williams' injury even more concerning is the fact that none of the other young cornerbacks — Tino Ellis, D'Angelo Ross, Elijah Hamilton — looked particularly impressive on this night.
CHANNING'S BIG CHANCE
BEFORE THE GAME: The Dolphins' top pick in the 2022 draft, Channing Tindall, has had a pretty quiet training camp so far, but logic says he should be given a lot of playing time on defense in the preseason to speed up as much as possible his development. It's also not like veterans such as Jerome Baker, Elandon Roberts and Duke Riley need a ton of reps in the preseason, so Tindall should get a pretty full work load.
DURING THE GAME: Tindall got extensive work on both defense and special teams against Tampa Bay, and he had his share of good moments with nice tackles in the open field in both situations. One of those came on a third-down completion and stopped a Tampa Bay drive.
THE ROOKIE FREE AGENTS
BEFORE THE GAME: The preseason always offers a great stage for those rookie free agents hoping to land a roster spot. Among those we'll be intrigued to watch in the preseason are offensive lineman Kellen Diesch, wide receiver Braylon Sanders, cornerback Kader Kohou and safety Verone McKinley III. The latter three have had some impressive moments in camp and it'll be interesting to see if they can duplicate that in the preseason.
DURING THE GAME: McKinley got the most defensive snaps of any Dolphins player, but was pretty quiet except for the play where he ripped a Tampa Bay jersey after a short reception. Kohou was kept out of the game after sustaining a minor injury during the joint practices. Sanders played 20 snaps on offense but didn't have a catch on two targets. Diesch played only three snaps on offense, not an encouraging sign when it comes to his prospects of making the 53-man roster.
