Offense sputtered.

Defense weak.

Kicking game better.

Gase? Who knows!? Called a weird game, seemingly trying to protect Tannehill. All dink and dunks, nothing downfield, not trusting the oline, getting rid of the ball as quickly as possible. Is this by design or is this Gase's "philosophy"? Hard to say but this being his third year and that's basically all we've seen during this time it would be a stretch to think the Dolphins have a downfield passing game mentality, philosophy or playbook. None of this can be blamed on Tannehill.

Quinn looked good against Matt Kalil, with two overpowering, speedy sacks.

Grant/ Wilson an upgrade over the invisible Parker. They both made plays, limited as they were by the play calling/execution, but nevertheless positive yards that somehow Parker wasn't able to produce. And with both those quick, jitter bug guys, the chance of a missed tackle would result in the chunk yards Gase can't seem to call on his own. Overall, this change from Parker is a positive addition to the offense overall.

Disappointed they didn't call Gesicki's number the times the were in the red zone. Tannehill tried an alleyoop, designed for taller, long arms receivers like Gesicki, to the smallest WR on the roster, Grant. Huh?

Asiata is looking better, very physical, he may still develop as a starter when the veterans up front move on.

Kenyan Drake's outstanding cut, spin from the stacked left side over to the open field on the right, produced the best play by the starters. Very instinctive run.

Over on defense the middle of the line with McMillan behind it mostly a weakness. Can't wait for Hayes to return.

The place kicker showed a strong, accurate leg and that's good because it looks like he might get a lot work from around midfield.

I turned off after a little of the 2nd half. I mean, if the starters and first backups create little excitement why waste a pefectly good evening watching scrubs?

My takeaways:

1. Coaches don't gameplan for preseason games, certainly not week 2. Don't let's get all uptight about Gase's play-calling. Pretty sure they just wanted RT to get some reps and not get hurt. Also, see what the linemen can do in certain situations.

2. That said, the run D was plagued by misfits and bad execution. I imagine we'll be looking hard at the waiver wire for DTs.

3. We still need a CB to step up. McCain was ok, but ideally he plays nickel so we can use Fitzpatrick more creatively. Because...

4. We still can't cover a TE for crap.

5. Stupid penalties negated big plays and killed several drives. Again. Still. No bueno.

Most of this stuff is correctable, so I'm not hitting the panic button. But I have it within reach just in case.

Those dinks and dunks have won Brady how many superbowls now? I'm ok with it.

I liked the hurry up offense. Didn't like the penalties on the O line.

Defense has some issues. But seems like it tightened up.

The next game is the one I want to see.

I do not have access to the coaches tape but in none of the plays called was there a pattern that could be completed for over 14 yards?

I could not see if in the longer patterns, if there were any, whether the reciever was getting separation or not. I am suggesting that some of that could be on the qb and wr depending on the play calling.

I do find it a bit strange that our pass catching TE still has 0 catches if I read that right. No targets in the Red Zone, I mean maybe the coach is playing things close to the vest but a draw play from 3rd and goal from the 9 instead of throwing to a 6'6 TE who can jump 42" and who needs work too is a head scratcher.

Your number 5 really stuck out during the whole game to me. Quite frustrating for us as fans so you would think that it would be even more so for the players but they seem to have a knack for it.

Totally agree. Especially about the red zone plays... Where is our freakishly athletic TE?


Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

in response in no particular order....

The Dink and the Dunk....

I don't know but somehow Brady's dink and dunks don't come near to reminding me of our utter reliance on similar throws, particularly as a result of how those plays end. Ours nearly always end up at the catch. Theirs creates mismatches that allows those speedy slot guys YACs that turn those plays into first downs.

Penalties....

I wouldn't worry very much about the holding penalties that hurt us in this game. Offensive holding occurs on most every play anyway, but refs seem to make a bigger deal about them in preseason than in the regular season with the intent to keep these guys honest. Refs are more sensitive to their impact on the game than we realize so their thinking is calling penalties now when the cost is largely meaningless will have a mitigating effect later when the games count.

Defense.....

And although the offense will be a bigger target for us to criticize and deservedly so as it is where the team has put the most emphasis to rebuild (and rebuild) in the last few years, the defense will be, by far, our biggest problem. As it appears to be constructed to-date, the defense will have trouble getting offenses off the field. This to me is the most frustrating aspect of a game, where we seem to never be able to get our offense back on the field enough. And when they do get on the field, the offense is usually facing poor field position and a growing deficit, both of which change the manner in which you can call the game.

And then you know what will happen: the criticism of Tannehill will grow exponentially as he has to force the game beyond his limits and that of our offense. Give me a defense that is able to make stops, and I don't mean dominate like a Steel Curtain, and keep us in the game and I will bet that Tannehill will move the ball and, if allowed or capable to open things up, put the ball in the end zone enough to remain competitive.

Glad the game plan was to take it easy on the Panthers and keep everyone healthy..... The Patriots lost their 1st round pick cranking it up this week..

They feel our presence coming! I'm sure of it.

that's all I care about in preseason, no big injuries.

Well, heck we all knew that, but the question to be asked is why? What kind of coaching/leadership is that? So now with one game left (game 4 don't count) he goes all out on the red zone, trying to do in one game what could have been worked into the play calling gradually over the first three games.

That admission surely don't paint him in good light. Ignoring red zone chances in games that don't count it's as dumb as anything. It's rookie head coaching, and it goes to the heart of who Gase might be as head coach.

Agree with this strategy.
Dont show your hand.
Come week one ...
UNLEASH THE BEAST!!!