Peter Holland Jr./ Contributing Writer
Just days away until the Miami Dolphin’s first pre-season against the Chicago Bears, there was a lot more positives than there was negatives during the scrimmage at FIU. With opening day a month away, the dolphins showed progress on both phases of the ball. Now what did we learned?
Ryan Tannehill came a long way.
Tannehill looked very confident at the pocket. He was poised, him and his receivers were on the same page and he took command of the offense. He finished the scrimmage 11-17, 102 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. The two TDs came from tight end Jordan Cameron, who they signed this past off season. Its clear to me that Cameron can be extra receiver to make plays up the middle. Tannehill can make deep throws if you give him the right weapons like Jordan Cameron, Greg Jennings and Jarvis “Juice” Landry. At the end Tannehill got a little care less threw two interceptions. “I definitely feel offensively, we weren’t as crisp as I’d liked to be,”Tannehill said. “We had too many mental mistakes. Obviously I threw a couple interceptions, which I don’t want to happen. We learn from it and move on.’
Offensive Line has a long way to go
It was clear that the Offensive line still need some work to do. Starting left tackle Brendan Albert and Jason Fox sat out during the scrimmage, so they everyday Walker and Donald Hawkins rotated reps at left tackle.. Billy Turner is still struggling at right guard. The fact he’s going one on one against Ndamkong Suh everyday, you may think he might already improved. “To be honest I like going against him,” Turner said. ” It eases your mind that he’s the cream of the crop, so Sundays are going to be easier.”Rookie left guard Jamil Douglas showed flashes and looked very comfortable working with the first team left guard. He created a big hole for LaMichael James to rush 20 yard run.
Ndamkong Suh is unblock-able
Still believe $114 million was not worth it? It has only been a couple weeks and Ndamkong Suh is the most dominating force in the dolphin’s defense. Every time he penetrated and disrupted the offense, 16,000 people yelled out the word “Suh ” Might have to get use to that.
LaMichael James in the running back rotation.
LaMichael James set the tone at kickoff return when he had a 80 yard run. He carried the load that night and finished the game with 11 carries for 41 yards. The offense now have options on who will be in the rotation. It will come down to James or rookie RB Jay Ajayi.
Young, Talented Rookie DBs
The Dolphins have been active trying to find who can start at Cornerback opposite of Brett Grimes. So far incumbent return starter Jamar Taylor and free agent signed Brice McCain took first team reps during the series and both showed what they can do. However, it just got interesting when two late round rookie corners made a name for themselves that night. Bobby McCain, 5th round pick out of Memphis showed his play making ability, making pass break ups after pass break ups. His big finished when he caught an interception threw by Ryan Tannehill during goal line plays. “It was a big step,” McCain Said. “It was the real evaluation, game-challenging type thing.” It just keeps going from here. He finished the game with three tackles, three pass break ups, and one interception. Watch out for this rookie to sneak in the starting rotation in a nickel or dime package. That solves our cornerback problem.
Overall the dolphins now have options and whoever makes the final 53 man roster, clearly is the best player on the field. Even the kickers competing for the starting job looked great. First pre-season game is this Thursday against the Chicago Bears. We’ll find out the latest depth chart after the game.
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