The Dolphins took on the Packers on Monday night pre-season football last Monday and when the game was over, the Dolphins had collected a highly questionable victory, a confirmation of their running back choice and not much else.
Once again, the Dolphins' looked almost exactly like they have been looking all pre-season. The first string offense drove down the field very efficiently 4 times, getting deep inside of Packer territory each time. And just like every other game this year, the starting offense faltered in or near the red zone and had to settle for field goals.
Or, more precisely, field goal attempts. Olindo Mare' had an uncharacteristically bad night, hitting only one of his five attempts. Nevertheless, it was the margin of victory for the Dolphins as they beat a hobbled Packer team 17-14.
On the other side of the ball, the Dolphins' first string defense was awesome, crushing the Packers limping offense and giving up no points. It wasn't until the 4th quarter and the Dolphins' backups came on that they nearly gave away the game.
In other words, the Dolphins have been very consistent. They dominate the time of possession, their first string defense has given up 3 points in 3 games and the first string offense still can't score a touchdown to save it's life.
This offensive performance looked nearly identical to the one against the Bucs a week and a half ago. The only real difference was that there were fewer blitzes by the Packers and that gave Damon Huard more time to throw.
The running game was very effective, with the Dolphins rushing for almost 90 yards in the first half. But the passing game was inconsistent again with balls being overthrown deep and passes arriving too slowly or not at all. Neither Huard nor Quinn threw any interceptions, but that's only because a defensive back tripped and fell right in front of Tony Martin, just as the ball was arriving from Huard.
The offense was consistent and they did look like they were playing well. But the first string team still couldn't score any touchdowns, even though they were on the field for 3 quarters.
INDIVIDUAL OFFENSIVE PERFORMANCES:
Damon Huard had another unimpressive outing, completing 16 of 23 for 138 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions. But his deep throws seem to sail away from the receivers and his reads and delivery are still slow. He seems to be at his best when under a lot of pressure and forced to scramble.
Mike Quinn, on the other hand, really had a fine outing. At the end of the game, he was once again forced to lead the Dolphins to go-ahead touchdowns twice and he responded well. He ended up completing 10 of 19 (with at least 2 of the incompletions being dropped) for 82 yards and he tossed two touchdown passes.
He looked calm, cool and in control. He made good decisions and delivered the ball quickly. And if Kevin McKenzie hadn't dropped a pass that was right in his gut, Quinn might have had 3 touchdown passes in just a single quarter of play.
Lamar Smith continued his impressive pre-season performance, gaining 86 yards on 15 carries in just the first half, averaging 5.7 yards per carry. When there were holes for him, he took advantage of them and where there was no room, he made something happen.
Smith has a very deceiving style and he knows when to charge ahead and when to wait. Several times on Monday night, I thought he was going too slowly or that he was about to be nailed, only to see him dart through and wind up 5 to 10 yards downfield.
Rob Konrad joined him in the starting backfield and provided some good blocking for Smith, but only got his hands on the ball once and did little with it in the 4th quarter when he caught a pass for 5 yards.
Thurman Thomas was not effective in this game, mainly because the Packers keyed on him whenever he was on the field and that limited his usefulness. He ended the evening with 4 carries for 4 yards and two receptions for 2 yards.
JJ Johnson got to carry the ball 4 times and ended up with an impressive 34 yards. At one point, he made a very nice cutback for a 20+ yard gain. But he still looks like he belongs behind Smith on the depth chart.
Deon Dyer caught 3 passes for 23 yards, including a 2 yard touchdown pass from Mike Quinn to win the game with less than 30 seconds to play. And that pass was a bullet from Quinn, which Dyer hung on to very well.
Autry Denson was supposed to get more playing time this week, but after catching one pass for 6 yards, he sprained his ankle and sat out the rest of the game. His injury is not considered serious and he should be back in plenty of time to play in the opener.
Of course, the disaster of the night happened to WR Lamar Thomas on the first offensive play of the game. Lamar caught a pass on a short crossing route and was immediately piled on by 3 Green Bay defensive players. When this happened, Lamar broke his hip and will have to be out for the rest of the season. It was a very disappointing end to a season that held so much promise for Thomas.
Tony Martin was the other starter at wide receiver and he played fairly well, catching 4 passes for 74 yards.
WR Damon Savage was the surprise of the game, catching 6 passes for 67 yards from both Damon Huard and Mike Quinn. Unfortunately, he also had a couple of bad mistakes, including the now infamous backwards run to get out of bounds and dropping a Mike Quinn pass on 4th down that almost cost the Dolphins the game.
But Savage lined up with the first team in 4 and 5 WR sets after Lamar Thomas was taken out and we may see more of him now that the team is short of receivers.
Leslie Shepherd, who is now also more important with Lamar Thomas out, looked decent, catching 4 passes for 19 yards and running an end-around for 12 yards.
Robert Baker, Kevin McKenzie and Quinton Spotwood all got on the field, but none of them did anything special except drop passes. Nate Jacquet was on the field, but no plays went his way and so he was practically invisible.
Tight End Ed Perry did something that almost no Dolphins' tight end has been able to do this summer - he caught a pass! OK, sure - it was only for 4 yards, but 4 is better than 0, right?
The offensive line did a fine job with the return of Richmond Webb to the lineup and Todd Wade's continued progression. They opened a number of holes for Lamar Smith to run through and they protected Damon Huard pretty well.
Playing against a Packer offense without Brett Favre, Dorsey Levens and Ahman Green, the Dolphins' defense should have been terrific - and it was. Packers' quarterback Matt Hasselbeck has been a minor deity in the pre-season over the last two years, but the Dolphins kept him in check. Matt Hasselbeck's pre-season quarterback rating over the last two years has averaged 133.0. On Monday, it was 27.1.
In other words, the first string defense continues to be outstanding. They did virtually nothing wrong that I could see.
On the other hand, the last string defense gave up two big plays - an 80 yard pass play and a 56 yard run - to give the Packers a chance to win the game. Other than those two plays, the backups played pretty well, especially at the end of the game when the offense needed to get the ball back to win.
Still, giving up those big plays has sunk the Dolphins a number of times over the last few years, so lets hope that giving up big plays remains a problem for the last string.
INDIVIDUAL DEFENSIVE PERFORMANCES:
Jason Taylor had another nice game against the Packers, providing pressure on the quarterback and running down plays all over the field. In one instance, he was tackled by the Packers' left tackle, but managed to reach up and drag down the running back anyway. So he got a tackle for a 2 yard loss and the Packers were called for holding on the same play.
Daryl Gardener and Tim Bowens both played in the first half and continue to form a wall in the middle. Gardener looks poised for a Pro-Bowl season, if he can keep up the intensity.
Kenny Mixon lined up at left defensive end and also had a decent game, switching off with Trace Armstrong on passing downs. Armstrong, too, looks as good as he's ever looked and will provide a good rotation for Mixon.
I don't know what happened to Rich Owens. He's been playing, but he's done so little that I haven't seen him make a standout play yet. The rest of the backup defensive linemen played pretty well, although not as well as the starters. None stood out in any major way.
At linebacker, Robert Jones had the biggest game of the three, picking up and slamming down Packers' running backs with satisfying regularity. Zach did a good job, also, but the Packers were trying to neutralize him and it showed. But Jones more than made up for it.
The backups at linebacker had some trouble, especially on the 56 yard run, which was run out of the option play. Whoever was the outside man on that play (Either Twan Russell or Scott Galyon) got sucked in and blocked to the inside, which isn't supposed to happen.
The defensive backs seem much better this year, partly because they're maturing and partly because Jim Bates' scheme allows them to help each other out more. In all cases where receivers went deep on Monday, there seemed to be two Dolphins with them.
In one case, the receiver managed to get behind Sam Madison and Brock Marion, but Madison made a leaping, one-handed interception of the ball in the endzone, showing his pro-bowl form.
Brian Walker seems to be picking up his strong safety responsibilities very well. In the Dolphins' defense this year, Walker will have more coverage responsibilities than the strong safety did last year and he seems well suited to the task. The only time I really noticed Walker on Monday was when he and Patrick Surtain and blanketed a Packers' receiver deep down the field.
There were two blunders by the backup defensive backs, however, that bit the Dolphins hard. On the 56 yard option run, the cornerback on that side, whom I believe was Jerry Wilson, was caught out of position.
And, of course, Ray Hill slipped in coverage and allowed Donald Driver to turn a 5 yard comeback route into an 80 yard touchdown pass. Hill misjudged the tackle and as he was diving, Driver just ran around him and up the sidelines to the endzone.
Olindo Mare' had the worst day I think I've ever seen him have. He shanked 4 field goals, pushing them either wide right or wide left. He did finally nail one, but he was not in a good mood for most of the night.
Last week, I mentioned Trent Gamble on special teams and on Monday, I saw him come down field on one kickoff, hit the ballcarrier at the 15, fall down and get back up in time to get in on the tackle at the 17. I haven't been paying much attention to his skills as a defensive back, but he is a special teams demon.
But it wasn't Gamble who opened everyone's eyes the most on Monday - it was Ben Kelly who may have cemented his roster spot with a punt return that he made with about 30 seconds left to play in the game.
The Dolphins had stopped the Packers offense, but were trailing 14-10 with just over 30 seconds remaining in the game. The Pack punted the ball to Kelly, who took it on the left sideline. Running back to his right, all the way across the field, Kelly turned upfield, danced up the sideline between tacklers, then cut back to his left, racing down the field before being pushed out of bounds at the Packers' 2 yard line.
Whether he just barely stepped out of bounds, as the replays seemed to confirm, or whether he got away clean, it was a terrific return and should guarantee Kelly a place on the roster.
Other than that return, there wasn't much to be excited about on special teams. Leslie Shepherd did a serviceable job returning a couple of punts and Ben Kelly also returned a few others that were good, but not great.
This game was very disappointing to me, because I had hoped that the Dolphin offense would take this opportunity to score a few touchdowns. I was willing to chalk up the previous touchdown drought to the new offense and to Huard's nerves, but this was supposed to be the breakout game.
Alas, that was not to be. Huard still looks like a good backup - but not a starter. He seems best when he's being pressured, reminding me (in that way, at least) of Jim Harbaugh at his best.
Of course, Huard has more class in his index finger than Jim Harbaugh has ever dreamed about, but they both seem to flourish with the pocket collapsing around them.
I think if I was a defensive coordinator preparing for the Dolphins this year, I would not blitz very often. That may seem counter-intuitive, but the Dolphins don't have any real game breaking receivers, so the downfield pass is not much of a threat. Chasing Huard out of the pocket is worse than letting him stay there and make bad choices.
My apologies to Damon for that, but while I love his spirit, toughness, and cool approach, he needs to make his decisions much quicker and be a little more on-target before he can be considered a successful starter in the NFL.
While it remains to be seen if Jay Fiedler is the answer, you might want to consider that Fiedler was already starting to move ahead of Huard - even with his bad hip. Now that he's pain free, he may be able to solidly claim the starting job.
As a result, he'll get the start against the Saints on Friday night, while Huard probably won't play.
How will he perform? Only time will tell, of course, but I wouldn't expect great things out of him. Just one touchdown would be nice, though....
On a completely different topic - yes, I do think that Ben Kelly stepped out of bounds on his amazing punt return at about the Dolphin 35 yardline. I think the officials blew the call and gave the Dolphins the game.
Of course, it's easy to say that when the games don't count and it was a terrific return, no matter what the outcome, but the refs did mess that one up.
I wonder if the fans will ever forgive Phil Luckett for being...
...well, Phil Luckett.