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WEATHER AND FIELD CONDITIONS: At gametime, 85 F (29.4C). Humidity: 55%, Wind: NE 8 mph. The game was played in the SuperDome. Offense: Defense: QB - 10 Chad Pennington LE - 70 Kendall Langford RB - 23 Ronnie Brown NT - 95 Jason Ferguson WR - 15 Davone Bess RE - 94 Randy Starks WR - 19 Ted Ginn,Jr SLB - 99 Jason Taylor WR - 83 Greg Camarillo ILB - 51 Akin Ayodele TE - 80 Anthony Fasano ILB - 52 Channing Crowder LT - 77 Jake Long WLB - 55 Joey Porter LG - 65 Justin Smiley LCB - 25 Will Allen C - 64 Jake Grove RCB - 31 Sean Smith RG - 66 Donald Thomas SS - 37 Yeremiah Bell RT - 72 Vernon Carey FS - 28 Gibril Wilson K - 5 Dan Carpenter P - 2 Brandon Fields PR - 15 Davone Bess KR - 38 Patrick CobbsNOTES: The official NFL gamebook has Davone Bess starting, but it lists his position as "FB", which I always assumed was "Fullback". If Bess was the starting Fullback, he may be the smallest fullback in the history of the NFL... Offense: Defense: QB - 11 Mark Brunell LDE - 95 Paul Spicer RB - 30 Lynell Hamilton NT - 71 Kendrick Clancy FB - 44 Heath Evans DT - 98 Sedrick Ellis WR - 19 Devery Henderson RDE - 93 Bobby McCray WR - 16 Lance Moore SLB - 55 Scott Fujita TE - 83 Billy Miller MLB - 51 Jonathan Vilma LT - 74 Jermon Bushrod WLB - 58 Scott Shanie LG - 77 Carl Nicks LCB - 32 Jabari Greer C - 76 Jonathan Goodwin RCB - 22 Tracy Porter RG - 73 Jahri Evans FS - 42 Darren Sharper RT - 78 Jon Stinchcomb SS - 41 Roman Harper K - 1 Jon Carney P - 9 Thomas Morstead PR - 41 Roman Harper KR - 15 Courtney RobyNOTES: Drew Bees did not play at all. The Dolphins beat the Saints 10-7 in their final pre-season game of 2009, leaving the team with a 4-0 record for this pre-season. The starters played into the 2nd quarter and did a pretty good job overall, although they did not have to face Drew Brees, Jeremy Shockey, Marquis Colston or Reggie Bush. Still, Mark Brunell is not exactly a rookie in the NFL and the Dolphins did not allow the Saints' offense to score at all in this game. The Saints' only score was on a punt return, although it was late in the game and the returner for that punt was the Saints' starter. The starting offense, lead by Chad Pennington had 2 drives in the first half, each of which went for 9 plays and one of which resulted in a field goal. The one the ended in a punt ended on the New Orleans 36, which would have been about a 53 yard field goal attempt, if they had wanted to try it. Chad Henne came in on the Dolphins' third possession and played into the 4th quarter, when he was relieved by Pat White. Henne's first possession was a nearly perfect 68 yard, 10 play touchdown drive that ended with a 4 yard Patrick Cobbs run over the right tackle. Henne was 6 of 6 on this drive for 47 yards, including a 23 yard strike to Ginn to get them in the redzone. Unfortunately, the Dolphins did not score again. The entire 2nd half was pretty much a back and forth series of short drives by both teams, as the backup players on both sides got plenty of playing time. The Wildcat did not make an appearance in this game. On defense, the Dolphins began substitutions in the 2nd quarter, although not all the starters sat down immediately. The Dolphins' defense did hold the Saints' offense scoreless, and 7 of the Saints' 11 drives were less than 20 yards long. That was mostly due to the defense sacking Saints' quarterback 8 times during the game, which pretty much smothered the Saints' passing game. The Saints' longest drive was 60 yards, but that was stopped by Sean Smith's amazing endzone interception early in the game. The final objective of this game was to get the players lower on the depth chart a lot of playing time and the Dolphins certainly accomplished that. While the final score was not particularly interesting, the Dolphins pretty much dominated this game. The team performance was really only important for the first two series on each side of the ball, as Miami wanted to get their starters a chance to improve over last week's poor showing. The Dolphins did improve, although they did not have an amazing performance. The Dolphins' starting offense had 2 drives for a total of 79 yards and a field goal. The running game was much more effective this week, averaging 4.1 ypc for the game. Ricky had 6 yards per carry while Ronnie ended the day at 4.7 ypc. The passing game was effective in the first half but cooled off after halftime. The Dolphins ended the game with just 146 yards passing at 4.2 yards per pass. The defense did an excellent job putting pressure on the Saints' passers, racking up 8 sacks and an interception. Against the Saints' running game, they were not quite as good, allowing 3.9 yard per carry, but still respectable. Miami's special teams were, once again, a mixed bag. They allowed a punt return for a touchdown in the 4th quarter, although that was against the Dolphins' last string players. They gave up an average of 23.7 yards on kickoff returns, which is about average. Dan Carpenter did make a 41 yard field goal, but otherwise the special teams were not. In the good stats column, the Dolphins committed only 3 penalties, held the ball for 33:36, converted 38% of their third downs, held the Saints to a 25% third down conversion rate and had 8 sacks. On the bad side, they did allow the 55 yard punt return for a touchdown and 24 yards per return on kickoffs. And the team did have one turnover on a fumble by Patrick Cobbs. Chad Pennington played only two series, was 8 of 11 for 57 yards with no TDs or INTs and had a QB rating of 82.6. Chad Henne redeemed himself somewhat this week, completing 11 of 16 for 89 yards with no TDs or INTs. His best series was the first, when he was playing with the first team offense and he completed 6 of 6 on a drive that resulted in a touchdown. Many of his passes were lasers that hit the receivers perfectly in stride. Unfortunately, when the starters went out, so did most of his success. Pat White played in the 4th quarter, but did nothing of note. He was 2 of 6 for 13 yards and picked up 7 yards on 3 rushing attempts. Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams both saw action, each getting 3 carries and catching 2 passes. Ricky ran 3 times for 18 yards and caught 2 passes for 13 yards. Ronnie ran 3 times for 14 yards and also caught 2 passes for 8 yards. Patrick Cobbs was the most effective offensive weapon of the night for Miami, running 9 times for 54 yards and Miami's only touchdown on a 6 yard run off right tackle. He also caught 3 passes for 23 yards and returned 2 kickoffs for 39 yards. And if that wasn't enough, he had one special teams tackle. He was credited with a fumble, but that call was questionable. Lex Hilliard did not look as effective as he has, carrying the ball 13 times for 39 yards (3.0 ypc) and catching 1 pass for 5 yards. Davone Bess lead the receivers with 5 catches for 39 yards. Bess was also the punt returner, but only made 3 fair catches and did not return any punts. Ted Ginn,Jr caught two passes for 26 yards, including a 23 yard reception from Chad Henne on the touchdown drive. Greg Camarillo started for the first time and caught two passes for 18 yards. Brian Hartline was pretty quiet, not catching any passes and fair catching the only punt that he was in for. Patrick Turner caught 1 passe for 7 yards and Brandon London caught 1 pass for 6 yards, but did not have any tackles on special teams. None of the tight ends caught a pass in this game, although the Dolphins did try to hit John Nalbone and Joey Haynos, but the passes did not arrive. The offensive line performed better in this game, opening some good holes and doing some effective blocking. Unfortunately, Jake Long whiffed on yet another speed rush by a defensive end. On defense, LB William Kershaw lead the team in tackles with 7 and a sack. He did a lot to put himself on the roster ahead of JD Folsom. Akin Ayodele had 5 tackles and has quietly improved in the off-season to the point where he could be a force in the middle this year. LB Charlie Anderson had 4 tackles, 2 sacks and 3 quarterback hurries. But he also had a holding penalty on a kickoff that rubbed out a 24 yard kickoff return by Patrick Cobbs. His status is uncertain - most of the time he plays very well, but he continues to make bonehead mistakes. Backup LB Reggie Torbor had 4 tackles and a sack. Channing Crowder is listed as the starter, but had no stats of any kind in this game. I don't know if that's because the spotters didn't get his number right or because he was largely ineffective. Certainly, he did not have a big impact on this game either way. Lionel Dotson had 3 tackles and a sack and generally played well, although it was in the 4th quarter. His status is uncertain. Jason Allen had 3 tackles, 2 passes defensed and 2 special teams tackles. He has probably managed to keep himself on the roster for one more year. Tony McDaniel played well this week, also. He had 3 tackles and 2 sacks. Given his versatility (he can play in the middle or on the end), he will probably make the roster. Sean Smith had the highlight play of the game as he made a one-handed interception in the endzone to halt a Saints' drive. Smith had perfect position on the receiver, but Brunell threw the ball to the endzone sideline anyway and Smith leaped up and caught the ball with one hand that was twisted away from his body. And if that wasn't enough, Smith managed to get both feet down inbounds. Smith also had 3 tackles. Quentin Moses did have 3 tackles, but didn't get any sacks or quarterback pressures. While it seems unlikely he would be cut, he didn't do anything to help him stay on the team. Erik Waldon had 2 tackles on defense and 2 on special teams. It seems likely that Waldon will make the team for his special teams play. Tyrone Culver, Paul Soliai and Chris Clemons each had two tackles, but otherwise were not particularly noticeable. Jason Taylor also had 2 tackles and knocked down a pass from Mark Brunell on 4th down that probably would have been a big gain, because the receiver was wide open. It certainly would have been a first down. Rod Wright had a tackle and a sack, but probably didn't do enough to keep himself on the roster. Will Allen, Gibril Wilson, Joey Thomas, JD Folsom and Joey Porter all had 1 tackle each while Yeremiah Bell had 3. Right now, it looks like JD Folsom may be headed to the practice squad. Cameron Wake did have one quarterback hurry, but was otherwise pretty quiet. K Dan Carpenter had a 41 yard field goal, an extra point and 3 kickoffs. His kickoffs landed at the Saints' 8, 5 and on the goal line. That's not bad, but it's not as good as Olindo Mare' did. Vontae Davis was injured in the 2nd quarter and sat out the rest of the game, but his injury is not considered serious and he should be ready for the opener against Atlanta. As a final game of the pre-season, it was a little better than average in that the mistakes were fewer than you normally see when the last stringers play a significant portion of the snaps. The one thing that will probably stay with me about this game was Sean Smith's one-handed interception. If you have not seen the replay of this play, run - don't walk - to your nearest computer and watch it on NFL.com. I don't think that I've ever seen a more impressive pick than that one. Sean Smith has a long way to go in the NFL, but with his physical skills and ball-hawking abilities, he has a chance to become one of the dominate defensive backs in all of football. Since this was basically the last audition for the roster this year, here is how I think it will play out: First of all, CB Will Billingsley did not get on the field last night. I don't think I need to say anything more about that. On offense, I think that Lex Hilliard makes the regular roster, along with Brandon London, Andrew Gardner and Mark Lewis. After the starters on the offensive line, I think that Joe Berger and Shawn Murphy are locks. I don't think that Brandon Frye or Nate Garner make it. Of course, a lot will depend on whether or not the Dolphins keep 8 or 9 offensive linemen. WR James Robinson is destined for the practice squad. The tight ends are a tougher call. After Martin and Fasano, neither Joey Haynos nor John Nalbone have really caught my eye. Nalbone is a draft pick, but Haynos is 6'8". Flipping a coin, I think the Dolphins keep Nalbone. On the defensive line, Lionel Dotson and Tony McDaniel both played well last night, but while McDaniel probably will make the roster, I don't think Dotson will and neither will Rod Wright or Ryan Baker. Linebacker may be the toughest position to figure out, but the Dolphins actually have a little break with Matt Roth, since Roth won't count against the roster until he comes off the PUP list. On the inside, Torbor is a lock. Based on last night, I think Kershaw makes the roster, but Folsom doesn't. Folsom will wind up on the practice squad if no one else claims him. Outside, Quentin Moses, Charlie Anderson and Erik Walden make the team. This is going to surprise some people (including me), but I don't think that Cameron Wake makes the cut. He's shown some flashes, but has not been consistent enough. Having said that, the Dolphins could keep 8 offensive linemen (I have them keeping 9) and that would open up a roster spot for Wake. But that also assumes that the team keeps 9 defensive backs instead of 10. Assuming that the team only does keep 9 defensive backs, I think the locks (after the starters and Vontae Davis) are Nathan Jones, Tyrone Culver and Chris Clemons. That leaves just one spot open, which I think will go to Jason Allen. Of course, these are all my guesses and I could be as wrong as Dave Wannstedt - well, it would be hard to be that wrong, but I would be stunned if I was even 95% right. So that's the end of the pre-season. I think that the team has improved this summer - if nothing else, they've had Chad Pennington around for a whole off-season and training camp and that has to help. Still, I don't know if they've improved enough to go farther this year than they went last year. I do think they will surprise a lot of folks, but there are still some obvious holes on the team and some very young players in the lineup that need some more seasoning.
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