OVERALL SUMMARY:
The Dolphins finished out the preseason last night with a 19-7 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, finally getting the kind of running game that JJ has been saying they wanted to develop. The game stats showed the game to be even more lopsided than the score indicated, with the Dolphins gaining 372 total yards to the Bucs' 134 and getting 21 first downs to the Bucs' 7.
More important than the total yardage, however, was the performance of the Dolphins running game. The Dolphins had 228 yards rushing with 155 of those yards coming in the first half, mostly on the running of Karim Abdul-Jabbar and Irving Spikes.
And how did they accomplish this mighty feat? Well, they did it without a fullback and without a huddle.
That's right - the Dolphins came out for the first series using a 3 wide receiver set (Thomas, Miller and McDuffie) with just a tailback and no fullback. Marino lined up in the shotgun formation and the Dolphins rolled right down the field, without using a huddle.
And the odd thing about this formation is that it generated more rushing yardage than passing yards. The Dolphins ended the game with more rushing yardage (228) than passing yards (144). Apparently the 3 receiver formation forced the Bucs to spread their defense out and allowed better blocking at the point of attack.
It was a new wrinkle to the Dolphins offense that JJ had been working on since the beginning of training camp and had installed last night for the first time.
In contrast, the Dolphins defense only gave up 49 total yards and 3 first downs in the entire first half. The only scoring the Bucs could manage for the entire game was on punt return for a touchdown towards the end of the first half.
It was just about the perfect way for the Dolphins to end the preseason, with a dominating performance that was paced by the running game and the defense. It was exactly the kind of dominating performance that JJ has been aiming for since the beginning of training camp - with two notable exceptions.
First, the Dolphins gave up a 91 yard punt return for a touchdown. This is not acceptable for a team in the NFL. The Dolphins still need work on their punt coverage.
The other problem was the lack of the team's ability to score touchdowns in the "red zone"; that is, inside the opponents 20 yard line. The Dolphins scoring occurred on 4 Joe Nedney field goals and on an interception return for a touchdown by CB Calvin Jackson. The Dolphins' offense didn't score a touchdown last night, even though they were inside the opponent's 20 yard line at least 5 times.
However, even though it wasn't a perfect performance, it was the first time during the preseason that the Dolphins had established a dominating running game and a stifling defense. Apparently, the Jimmy Johnson formula is starting to take hold on this team.
INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES:
Karim Abdul-Jabbar may have won himself a starting job last night by running for 55 yards on 8 carries for a 6.9 yd/carry average behind the first string offensive line against the Bucs first team defense. With his longest run being 15 yards, he was a good, steady ball-carrier.
Irving Spikes also had a fine night, getting 67 yards on 11 carries for a 6.1 yd/carry average, but over half of that yardage was on one 38 yard romp in the 2nd quarter.
Bernie Parmalee did finally get to play some, averaging 4 yds/carry on 7 carries.
Jerris McPhail also managed to rush 13 times for 57 yards, but fumbled once.
Mike Buck played most of the game for the Dolphins, taking all th snaps after Kosar sat down at the beginning of the 2nd quarter. However, he didn't do himself any favors by completing only 6 passes in 16 attempts, fumbling once and throwing one interception.
The Offensive line deserves a lot of credit anytime the running games is as good as it was last night. Also, there was only one sack in the game and that was late in the 3rd quarter.
Calvin Jackson caused a fumble on a blitz in the 4th quarter also picked off a pass and ran it back for a touchdown.
Louis Oliver had a fine game, probably sewing up the starting strong safety slot for the season opener against New England.
James Brown started the first series at right tackle ahead of Billy Milner, but the two alternated series as the game wore on.
INJURIES:
There were no serious injuries from the game.
My Comments:
JJ unveils a new wrinkle in the offense and it makes a world of difference. This is a concept similar to that of the Bill's old K-gun offense. That offense not only allowed Kelly to pass, but allowed Thurman Thomas to rack up many, many yards rushing.
Some fans have been saying for years that Marino should be allowed to run the no-huddle offense most of the time, because he's obviously more successful when he does so. Well, JJ seems to have noticed this tendency and used it last night to create an unusual offensive set that is very different from the old Cowboy power running game.
But a great coach uses his assets in the most effective way. It he doesn't have the talent to run a power running game, he comes up with another solution - like, say, using the no-huddle offense. It remains to be seen how well this will work in the long run, but it is certainly another way to give defensive coordinators problems in trying to prepare to face the Dolphins.
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