What the Miami Dolphins defense MUST show us Saturday night

Less than 24 hours until the Fins kick off their 2013 home opener (preseason home opener at least) against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and we still have A LOT to get through.

Last night we discussed the many, many things we NEED to see from the Miami Dolphins starting offensive unit.  Things ranging from a TE stepping up, to the offensive line solidifying itself.

Now, I'd like to go over a couple things I MUST see from the Fins starting defensive unit tomorrow night.  This unit, as I've said many times, has looked extremely solid all throughout the preseason, however, there are a few things they need to clean up.

Here they are:

• First and foremost, I NEED to see this unit clean up its pass coverage, ESPECIALLY over the middle of the field, and ESPECIALLY against tight ends.  Brent Grimes has been a shutdown corner on the outside, and Dimitri Patterson has been solid on the other side, but, other than that, the pass coverage has been shaky.  Last week it was a couple easy catches over the middle for Andre Johnson.  Against Dallas it was the opening 18 yard pass to TE Dante Rosario.  These are the big plays that we've seen for years against the Miami Dolphins defense, especially the linebackers, and these are the big plays this unit MUST eliminate if they are to be successful.
• The next thing this defense must show us is their ability to create turnovers. We've started to see this in the last two preseason games, with the Brent Grimes INT last week, and the Will Davis/Nolan Carroll INT's against Jacksonville.  But they must, MUST continue this tomorrow night.  With an offense still finding itself, led by a second year QB with the weight of South Florida on his shoulders, having a short field to work with is EVERYTHING, and the more the defense can do this, the more success this team will have. Creating turnovers will be a major, major factor this season.
• I also need to see somebody on this starting unit provide the pressure on the QB other than Cameron Wake.  Many hoped this would be Dion Jordan, and it still very well may be, but until the rookie is healthy somebody else MUST step up.  Guys like Olivier Vernon, Jared Odrick, and Randy Starks have to step up and be that compliment to Wake, because, while we all know he'll try, Wake cannot get to the QB on every single snap.  And if he's the only one causing a problem, then teams will simply double team him until someone else proves capable.  I MUST see some QB pressure from the right side of the defensive line tomorrow night.
• The final thing I need to see out of this unit is for them to get back to doing what they do best, stopping the run.  For the last four seasons, this defense has dominated against the run, it's been their bread and butter.  However, this preseason has been a bit different.  The Cowboys ran well against them, as did the Texans, even without Arian Foster.  Tomorrow night they'll see one of the best young RB's in the league in Doug Martin, and if this defense were to handle him like we've seen in the past, then it would be a HUGE step.  Losing LB's Kevin Burnett and Karlos Dansby obviously hurt the unit in this department, but that's still no excuse for a step back in 2013, and we MUST see this starting tomorrow night.

Kickoff is set for 7:30 from Sun Life Stadium.  The starters will be going well into the 3rd quarter tomorrow night, and this could very well be the final time we see them until opening day in Cleveland, so this will be the last chance to clean these things up.

There will be NO live blog tomorrow night, as, like last week, I will be working at the start of the game.  So make sure to check in periodically for any updates.

Two. Sundays. Left.

Go Fins!