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Dolphins vs Bucs Pre-Season Summary |  | ||||||||
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The Dolphins beat the Buccaneers 15-13 on Thursday night in a game where the story of the game for Miami was 5 Olindo Mare' field goals, too many turnovers and the possible emergence of a genuine starting running back. In one way, the game looked just like a lot of recent Dolphins' games - the defense continued to be smothering, and while the offense moved up and down the field fairly well, they couldn't score a touchdown. On the other hand, the running game produced the most consistent results we've seen in a while for the Dolphins. And they did this without two starters on the offensive line against one of the best defenses in the league. It was a better performance than I expected against the Bucs and a definite improvement over the game against the Steelers. Again, though, the result of the game is secondary to the individual and unit performances and that is what I'll concentrate on for this summary. The starting offense, even though plagued by constant blitzes from the Bucs, managed to maintain a fairly steady and consistent performance throughout the first part of the game. The running game in particular showed a consistency that has been lacking from the Dolphins ground attack for years. The combination of some outstanding blocking by the offensive line, combined with the hard-nosed running of Lamar Smith, produced 72 rushing yards in the first half and averaged over 4 yards per carry. And while it didn't get the offense into the endzone, it made it possible for the first team offense to dominate the time of possession and control the tempo of the game. By my count, the Dolphins ran 23 offensive plays in the first quarter, as compared to the Bucs' 4. The passing game was less consistent and while it had it's nice moments, it also produced the biggest problems for the team. The constant blitzes of the Bucs confused the Dolphins' blockers and allowed Damon Huard to be sacked 3 times in the first half. The offense also committed 2 turnovers in the first half, with Damon Huard throwing an interception and fumbling on a scramble. And it was only by the grace of the football gods that he didn't have a second pass picked off. So, while the overall offensive performance was improved, it is not yet ready for prime time. The team still needs to improve by scoring touchdowns at the end of their long drives and not turning the ball over. They also need to figure out how to defeat the blitz, otherwise they will face nothing but blitzes from September to January. INDIVIDUAL OFFENSIVE PERFORMANCES: Damon Huard had a mixed performance again, completing almost 60% of his passes for 101 yards and driving the team up and down the field. However, he threw an interception - which, to be fair, was only partly his fault - and he fumbled on a scramble because he was carrying the ball away from his body. And Donnie Abraham of the Bucs gave him a gift by dropping another interception. He continues to play pretty much the same way he played last year - tough and gutsy, but a little slow in his decision making and in his delivery of the ball. I think that's all we can expect of him. Mike Quinn, on the other hand, did a lot to improve his position on the depth chart. He had the best quarterback rating of any of the quarterbacks on the field on Thursday, completing 9 of 13 for 96 yards. More importantly, he didn't fumble or throw any interceptions and most importantly of all, he ran the two minute drill to perfection, moving the Dolphins into position to score and win the game in the final minute of play. He had a pretty poor third quarter, and looked uncomfortable and immobile in the pocket, but as he got more comfortable, he began to move the offense better and punctuated his play with the drive to score the winning field goal. But the biggest (and most pleasant) surprise of the night for the Dolphins was the play of Lamar Smith, who fought his way through the first string Bucs defense for 72 yards on 17 carries (over 4 yards per carry). And when I say he fought - that's an understatement. Using his good vision and instinctive cutbacks, he would find the holes in the offensive line and burst through, making tacklers bounce off him on his way to 5, 6 and 7 yard gains. And if that wasn't enough, almost half of Smith's yards were gained after first contact with would-be tacklers. At one point, I saw a Bucs defensive lineman bounce off of Smith and hardly slow him down. He had an outstanding performance. Helping him out was Rob Konrad, who continues to start at fullback. Coach Wannestedt said that Konrad had his best performance yet as a blocker in Thursday's game. But that's about all Konrad did, not catching any passes. However, he was well covered by the Bucs when he did come out of the backfield. Thurman Thomas was the only other offensive back who did anything significant, catching one third down pass for 17 yards and converting an first down for the Dolphins. The other backs - JJ Johnson, Autry Denson, Curtis Alexander, Brian Edwards, Pete Sylvester and Deon Dyer - all saw playing time, but did nothing significant. JJ Johnson did nothing to help his bid for the starting job, gaining 30 yards on 8 carries while looking strong but tentative in his running. At wide receiver, the player we saw most was Bert Emmanuel, who caught 2 passes for 41 yards and played quarterback on two third down plays, converting both for first downs. However, Emmanuel was partly responsible for Huard's only interception in the Bucs end of the field. The ball was thrown behind him and while he got both hands on the ball, he bobbled it up into the air to make it easy for the Bucs to grab it. At quarterback, Emmanuel ran two plays. One was a pitch to Lamar Smith, who made a first down and the other was a classic option play, with Emmanuel keeping the ball and diving for a first down. He looked very comfortable and I expect we'll see him a lot this year at quarterback in similar situations. Tony Martin had one very nice fingertip catch early in the game for 22 yards, but otherwise was very quiet. However, he didn't play much. Oronde Gadsden returned from injury and caught 2 passes for twelve yards, including one from the H-back position out of the backfield. Kevin McKenzie only caught one pass in the game, but it was a crucial snag in the two-minute drill at the end of the game. It came on a sideline route from Mike Quinn and put the Dolphins in field goal range. Other players - Leslie Shepherd, Damon Savage, and Lamar Thomas - each caught one pass apiece, but they were not terribly impressive. Less impressive was Quinton Spotwood, who dropped the only pass thrown his way. One player who stood out in a negative way as Nate Jacquet. After fumbling a handoff from Mike Quinn on a reverse, he was later flagged for grabbing the facemask of a defender. And he didn't catch any passes to make up for his problems. At tight end - well, I had to check to make sure we actually put some tight ends on the field. Suffice it to say that even though Ed Perry got to play his first game of the year, there was no receiving production out of any of the tight ends. Their blocking was decent, but nothing to write home about. As a unit, the offensive line did some good blocking, particularly in the running game, opening holes for Lamar Smith to dash through. This was particularly surprising against the Bucs first string, who were fifth in the NFL last year in run defense. There were some problems picking up the blitz, however and that caused Damon Huard problems. Kevin Donnalley got good reviews from the radio announcers during the game, but on my review of the game tape, I don't think he did anything to take the starting job from John Bock. Todd Wade got a lot of press for his performance, but while he was a devastating run blocker, he had trouble with blitz pickups and gave up at least one and possibly two sacks. Overall, the only player who really made an impression and possibly improved his position on the team was Lamar Smith. Otherwise, the offense looked pretty much the same as it has. The defense continued it's dominant play, even without Zach Thomas in the lineup on Thursday. They shut down the Bucs starting offense and not only kept them from scoring, but kept them from moving. Other impressive stats include holding the Bucs to only one third down conversion in the game, two interceptions (and nearly a third - Sam Madison dropped one), and a fumble recovery. Warrick Dunn only averaged 2.0 yards per carry and Shaun Kings' quarterback rating was 54.3. INDIVIDUAL DEFENSIVE PERFORMANCES: Jason Taylor stepped up against the Bucs and had a superb game, constantly making plays all over the field. In one instance, he ran down Shawn King from the backside, dragging him down just as he threw the ball and causing an interception. In another, he was able to singlehandedly contain Warrick Dunn and take him down in the backfield. He consistently pressured Bucs' quarterbacks and even made some special teams plays. It appears that his increased weight and renewed dedication is paying off. That and Jim Bates' trust in him have elevated his play. He is on the verge of his best season. Daryl Gardener and Tim Bowens both played in the first half and continue to form a wall in the middle. Kenny Mixon lined up at left defensive end and also had a good game, although none of these three players had any standout plays. Of the backup defensive linemen, the most impressive continue to be Jermaine Haley and Damien Gregory. Haley was constantly defeating blocks and pressuring the Bucs' quarterbacks. He batted one of Eric Zeier's passes into the air, where it was picked off by... Damien Gregory, who also had one tackle, but didn't get any sacks this week. He didn't tear up the opponents' backfield like he did against the Steelers, but he had a solid game. Earnest Grant got some extra playing time against the Bucs and came up with one tackle, but muffed a potential game-winning fumble recovery. The ball was stripped out of the Bucs' quarterback's hands and bounced into Grant's hands, but he couldn't hold on to it and the Bucs recovered. Tim Martin (whom the radio announcers kept referring to as David Hoelscher), Noel Scarlett, Rameel Connor, Rich Owens and Trace Armstrong all got their turns on the field, but none did anything to stand out. At linebacker, Robert Jones, Larry Izzo and Derrick Rodgers started for the Dolphins and while none of them had any spectacular plays, they all played well. Izzo, in particular, had 4 tackles in place of Zach Thomas and while he didn't make onlookers forget Zach, he did a very good job. Of the backups, Scott Galyon had two standout plays - one on special teams and one where he stopped a screen pass with a solo tackle in the Bucs' backfield. However, he was beaten on the Bucs' touchdown pass by Kevin Mcleod. Linebacker Tommy Hendricks did scoop up a Bucs fumble in the backfield and almost ran it back for a touchdown, but was dragged down at about the Bucs' 12. He would have been in good position to make the play, had the running back not fumbled the pitch. Scott Zimmerman continued to work hard on special teams and almost made some nice plays - but almost doesn't count for anything. Twan Russel had a couple of decent tackles, but again, didn't do anything special. The same goes for Kyle Shipley. The defensive backs played very good football on Thursday, with Brock Marion coming up with an interception on an underthrown Shawn King pass. Sam Madison also stepped in front of a King pass, but dropped it. Patrick Surtain did a good job on Keyshawn Johnson, limiting him to short gains. Surtain left the game with bruised ribs in the first half, but he should be ok in a week or so. Jerry Wilson and Ray Hill played well as the nickel backs, with Hill avoiding the mistakes he made last week. Overall, the defensive backs had good coverage, hit hard and came up with several turnovers. Once again, the backup who's name kept getting mentioned was Arturo Freeman, who tied for the team lead in tackles with 4 and who seemed to be always in or around the action. The special teams play was decidedly mixed. On the one hand, they scored all the Dolphins' points on field goals. On the other hand, the backups gave up two long kickoff returns that put the Bucs into position to score twice late in the game and almost pull it out. One standout player on special teams that I hadn't noticed before was reserve safety Trent Gamble, who made a terrific solo tackle of a Bucs punt returner late in the game. He also flew down on kickoff returns and was partly responsible for stopping the Bucs return on the final kick of the game. Otherwise, no one did anything that deserved special attention. Ben Kelly looked the best of all the returners, but didn't break any plays or even look like he was close to breaking one. Robert Baker returned some punts and while doing a generally good job, he didn't do anything all that exciting. Who is Lamar Smith and why is everyone saying all these wonderful things about him? Well, I'm glad you asked... Smith did a very good job when he was in Seattle, but running behind starter Chris Warren, he didn't get much chance to shine. However, when he did carry the ball, he averaged over 4 yards per carry for 3 of his 4 years in Seattle. Then he went to New Orleans as an unrestricted free agent to get a chance to start. Unfortunately, he was playing for Ditka and the Saints, who then drafted Ricky Williams. He averaged just 3.4 yards per carry in New Orleans, but then, Ricky Williams averaged 3.5 yards per carry there. Despite his years in New Orleans, his career rushing average is 4.0 yards per carry. At 5'11" and almost 230 pounds, Smith is very difficult to bring down because he's got a low center of gravity and is very powerful. If I were the head coach of the Dolphins, I would make Lamar Smith the starter right now and let JJ Johnson continue to learn as a backup. The combination of Smith's experience, running style, instincts and toughness make him a much better choice at this point than JJJ. JJ Johnson may become a terrific back, but right now, it appears pretty clear to me that, right now, Lamar Smith is better. Dave Wannestedt is clearly thinking about it as well. His post game comments indicate that it's definitely occurred to him that this might be a good move. While it's hard to ignore JJJ's potential, that hasn't been turned into consistent production on the field. Dave Wannestedt doesn't make snap judgements, though - unlike his predecessor. So we may have to wait a couple of weeks to see who gets the start against Seattle. But unless something changes - it should be Lamar Smith. Now, on to another controversy - Mike Quinn vs Jim Druckenmiller. Based on Thursday night's performance, I believe that Quinn will beat Druckenmiller for the 3rd string quarterback's job and that Druckenmiller will be cut or traded. That may sound amazing, considering the fan support that Druckenmiller has generated, but three things combine to make me think that Quinn has beaten Druckenmiller for the backup's backup job: First, the rumor mill and the knowledgeable people in Miami say that although Druckenmiller has a cannon for an arm, he isn't very good at seeing and reading the defenses and making the right choice on where to throw. Sometimes, his strong arm can compensate for his poor decisions - but not always. Second, Quinn is a favorite of Chan Gailey, having been with him since Pittsburgh and following him to Dallas and then to Miami. Third, and most important, Quinn has out-performed Druckenmiller in the two pre-season games in which they've played. Druckenmiller was sacked 4 times and fumbled twice in his game and failed to produce a score in the two minute drill at the end of the game. In contrast, Quinn was sacked once and didn't turn the ball over. And he directed the game winning drive. For those reasons, I think that the Dolphins will keep Quinn and dump Druckenmiller.... .... who's NFL career may be over. He'll get work in NFL Europe or in the Arena league or perhaps get picked up as a third string player in Cincinnati, but his chances of being a starter for an NFL team are probably over.
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