Fins, Jags ready to go; Wallace expected to play

They are about 45 minutes from kickoff in Jacksonville.

Fins are in all white, Jags in all black.

Mike Wallace, Brian Hartline, and Lamar Miller are all expected to play. How long will the starting unit go? I have no idea, but id guess most of the first quarter. We'll see.

Blog starts at 7:30, so I'll see you then!

Go Fins!

Early criticism of Dolphins ignorant; practice notes as gameday approaches

“He looked awful; the offense looked awful.  What I saw early on, I would be bothered if I were a coach of the Miami Dolphins.”

-Merrill Hodge on ESPN following Sunday nights HOF game.

...What?  

Listen, I'm not going to get into this right now.  Look for a column sometime in the next day or two about my thoughts on just how IDIOTIC some of the comments have been this week regarding the Miami Dolphins.  I don't have the time or patience right now to tell you exactly how I feel about this, but just know that it's comments like this that make me weep for the broadcasting journalism industry more and more every day.

Again, look for the column tomorrow or Friday, but until then just know that even to UTTER this sentence is pure ignorance, and it disgusts me beyond comprehension.  

Read the article, this is just a preview.

PRACTICE REPORT:

• Today was a good day for QB Ryan Tannehill, especially after his worst day of practice yesterday.  The second year QB threw 3 TD's today, including a 40 yard bomb to WR MIke Wallace, who returned today for the first time in nearly two weeks.

• WR Brian Hartline dropped two passes today.  Ho-hum.

• TE Michael Egnew caught 3 TD passes today.  After a slow start to training camp, Egnew has come on in the last few weeks, but he must continue to improve as he's on a very short leash.

• CB Nolan Carroll had a mixed day, as he got burned by Mike Wallace for a long TD, but also recovered nicely with an INT of Pat Devlin, who returned to practice today after missing a couple days with an injury.

• Jared Odrick and Olivier Vernon both practiced in full today.  Expect them to be all systems go Friday night.

• Lamar Miller, who left practice yesterday with an ankle injury of some sort, was back today with his right ankle heavily taped. He started working and stopped midway through and was limping noticeably. Then he returned to practice for a couple of periods and left again near the end.

• Rookie Dallas Thomas, who played at left tackle in the preseason opener, is over at right tackle now. And he's still struggling, big time. The kid went up against Cameron Wake today, and lets just say it wasn't exactly the rookie's finest hour.. 

• Chris Clemons had a good day today with 2 INT's, as did CB Dimitri Patterson, who had an INT as well.  Patterson continues to hold down the starting spot opposite Brent Grimes.

Like I said, look for an article sometime tomorrow or Friday regarding the early criticism of the Miami Dolphins following the HOF game.  And, as always, I will have quarter by quarter coverage of the Fins' second preseason game Friday night in Jacksonville beginning at 7:30.

Until tomorrow..

GO FINS

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/08/06/3543890/pundits-begin-criticism-of-ryan.html#storylink=cpy

Dolphins fall in preseason opener, 24-20

Game over from Ohio.

Fins drop their first preseason game of the year, 24-20, to the Dallas Cowboys.

There were some shining stars:

Chad Bumphis, Keenan Davis, Derrick Shelby.

And, well, some cause for concern:

Lamar Miller fumble, offensive line, poor tackling.

However, I'm going to give you ALL my analysis and takeaways from this game TOMORROW, because, well, i'm tired.

Yeah, that just happened.

Until then, I leave you with this.  It's one game.  Please, pretty please, don't panic. There is absolutely nothing to get down about after the HALL OF FAME game.  If it looks like this in three weeks, then talk to me.

Until then, save it.

Until tomorrow...

GO FINS

Cowboys lead Fins 17-3 at halftime: The good, the bad, and the ugly

The good:

• Chad Bumphis.  The receiver took a 10 yard pass over the middle of the field and ran about 35 more yards down the sideline.  Bumphis has looked good in camp, especially this past week.  The guy can get OPEN.  He's certainly made an impression tonight.

• Derrick Shelby.  The defensive end has recorded two sacks.

• RB Mike Gillislee.  The rookie has looked good on a couple screen passes and runs.  The RB position may be WIDE OPEN right now, and Gillislee is making some noise.

• Same can be said for Jonas Gray, whose also had a couple nice runs and catches tonight.

The bad:

• The offensive line.  Like I said earlier, Matt Moore and Ryan Tannehill have NOT been comfortable tonight.  In-fact, Moore was welcomed to the game by a punishing hit from his blind side.  The blocker?  Rookie Dallas Thomas.

• Michael Egnew.  The second year TE has dropped more than one pass tonight.  Not good for a bubble player.

• WR Marvin McNutt.  The hopeful WR dropped a couple Ryan Tannehill passes.

• Will Davis.  The rookie CB, as I said earlier, had a crucial PI in the endzone.

• New linebacker Philip Wheeler.  Was burned by a TE over the middle on the game's first drive, and also missed a couple tackles.

• Tackling in general.  A LOT of missed chances tonight by the defense.

The UGLY:

• Lamar Miller.  The kid fumbled the first snap of the game.  Yikes.

• Chad Bumphis.  Made a rookie mistake later on in the drive, stopping short on a route leading to a tipped ball INT for a Dallas TD.

To the Third.

Cowboys lead Fins 7-0 after 1st quarter

NOT a good start for RB Lamar Miller.

The second year RB, who is still fighting for a starting job with Daniel Thomas, FUMBLED on the team's first offensive snap following a Cowboys punt.  The fumble was recovered by the Cowboys, who would eventually score.

Joe Philbin has preached winning the turnover battle all throughout camp, and, so far, the turnover margin reads:

Dolphins: +1

Not good for Miller.  However, Miller did come back nicely on the following drive with back to back runs of 10+ yards.  Still, I don't think that'll be enough for Joe Philbin to just forget about the fumble.

Ryan Tannehill and the first team offense (or tonight's version of the first team offense) exited the game midway through the third series.  Tannehill finished the night 2-5, for 11 yards.  The completions went to Dustin Keller, and Brandon Gibson.

Defensively, rookie CB Will Davis committed a crucial pass interference penalty in the end zone on a third and goal.  Davis put his arms up to block the receiver, but didn't look back for the ball.

One more thing:  The offensive line has looked SHAKY.  Ryan Tannehill and Matt Moore have been on the move way to much.

However, lets remember, this is still the FIRST preseason game of the season.

Please, no panic yet.

To the second.

Dolphins, Cowboys ready to go from Canton; last minute news

They are about 30 minutes away from kickoff up in Ohio, as the Fins and Cowboys gear up for the first NFL action of the 2013 season.

Here is some last minute news:

• Mike Wallace and Brian Hartline will NOT play tonight, as both are battling minor groin and calf injuries.  The starting WR's will be Brandon Gibson, and Marvin McNutt.
• Also sitting tonight for the Fins are Jared Odrick, Randy Starks, and Olivier Vernon.  Vaughn Martin will be paired with Paul Soliai as the starting defensive tackles, and Derrick Shelby will replace Vernon as the starting right end.
• Dion Jordan will play, but will not start.
• Rookie CB Jamar Taylor will sit out tonight as well.
• Ryan Tannehill will play 10-15 snaps tonight, according to Joe Philbin.
• And, lastly, the Fins are in their aqua jersey's and white pants tonight.  The new uni's look good, if I do say so myself.

The live blog will be up and running tonight, so come back and follow along!

GO FINS!

Miami Dolphins set to kickoff 2013 preseason: What to expect and what to watch for

We are now 24 hours away from the Hall of Fame game in Canton, Ohio.

Wait, didn't training camp just start?

My, how time flies when you're having fun, huh?

So, with the Fins and Cowboys set to kick things off tomorrow night around 8, here is EVERYTHING you need to know, and EVERYTHING you should be watching for, as your Miami Dolphins get ready to take the field for the first time this season.


What you need to know:

- According to Omar Kelly of the South Florida Sun Sentinel, expect Ryan Tannehill and the starting offense to play two or three series.  The same goes for the starting defense. After that you'll see the second team offense and defense and on down for the remainder of the game.

- Jared Odrick, Randy Starks and Olivier Vernon are not expected to play.  Odrick and Starks have been battling minor injuries all week, but nothing is expected to linger to long.  This COULD mean that rookie Dion Jordan will get the start.

- WR's Brian Hartline and Mike Wallace are questionable for tomorrow night.  Both are battling leg injuries, with Hartline struggling with his calf, and Wallace with his groin. Both have expressed a desire to play, but I HIGHLY doubt you'll see them.  There's just no point in risking further injury.  Both, however, are expected to be just fine, and could play if this were a regular season game.


What to watch for:

- Look for some big time minutes for WR's Marvin McNutt and Brian Tyms.  Both have had good weeks of practice, and both are fighting for extended roles on this team going forward.

- Pay close attention to the Fins offensive line.  The unit has struggled in camp thus far, so how they do tomorrow night will be telling.

- Watch all three RB's closely, especially Daniel Thomas, who has been solid in camp and believes he can still be the starter ahead of Lamer Miller.

- How will Ryan Tannehill look in his first game as a sophomore?  Remember, he likely won't have his two top receivers, but can he still orchestrate a couple drives in his limited playing time?

- The kicking battle will something to keep your eye on.  So far Dan Carpenter has had the upper hand through camp, but Caleb Sturgis has started to come on strong.  No doubt that both of these guys will get there fair shots tomorrow night.

- TURNOVER BATTLE.  The Dolphins have made this their top priority over the first two weeks of camp.  Can they win it?

- Pay attention to rookie CB Will Davis.  He's had a strong last couple of practices, but can he shine in games?

- And, of course, can Dion Jordan make an impact?  This is what he was brought here to do, now lets see if he can.


Coverage starts tomorrow night, and, of course, I'll have a quarter by quarter blog for you guys.

Come back then, and lets start this season off right.

GO FINS!