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.
Related Info:
- Miami Herald:
- Let the real season begin
- Miami Herald:
- Dolphins Notebook
- Dolphins Endzone:
- Play by Play
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