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Miami Dolphins: The Good, Bad, And Ugly Of Week 3 Preseason Victory

By Daniel Benjamin
Published on: 14:38 PST, Aug 26, 2016

The Miami Dolphins looked very good in their 17-6 victory over the Atlanta Falcons in Orlando on August 25.

Miami improved to 2-1 in the preseason with the win over the Falcons (2-1). The Dolphins did have some shaky moments on offense and experienced some injuries, though the defense was solid overall.

CBS Miami reports that this was Miami’s best performance of the season on both sides of the ball. The Dolphins were coming off a 41-14 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, after opening the preseason with a 27-10 victory over the New York Giants.

But back to last night’s game, there were positives everywhere and several starters stepped up. While the Fins did not put up a lot of points, they did move the ball effectively – Miami had only two, three-and-out possessions out of their 10 drives. The Dolphins racked up 304 total yards of offense and collected 24 first downs.

Defensively, the Dolphins forced two turnovers, and stopped Atlanta on downs three other times. They limited the Falcons to just 2.1 yards a carry — 15 attempts for 31 yards – and allowed them to convert only three of their 14 third down attempts. Miami also recorded two sacks.

The Fins did suffer several injuries against the Falcons, including defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh (ankle), linebacker Jelani Jenkins (ankle), and defensive ends Chris McCain (shoulder) and Terrence Fede (knee).

The Good

Ryan Tannehill – The fifth-year quarterback looked very comfortable running the no-huddle offense, completing 20-of-29 passes for 155 yards and one interception. He was on target for most of his throws, with his interception being the result of a tip at the line of scrimmage.

While the Fins only produced seven points on six offensive possessions that Tannehill was behind center, he led two drives of 10 plays or more. Tannehill found a rhythm immediately, as the offense marched down the field on an opening drive that spanned seven plays and 47 yards. He even sprinted 22-yards on the opening play of the game.

Tannehill didn’t take many chances down the field; instead, settling for easy, short throws on most occasions. Of his 27 passes, only four were deep throws, and he didn’t complete any of them. Tannehill did spread the ball around to nine different receivers, with Kenny Still and Jarvis Landry leading the way with four receptions apiece.

Arian Foster – The former Pro Bowler celebrated turning 30 on Wednesday with a touchdown run and two receptions for 20 yards, including one catch that went for 16 yards. According to James Walker of ESPN, Foster has created separation from Jay Ajayi for the right to start on opening night.

Offensive Line – The Dolphins’ O-line kept Tannehill safe and clean as they didn’t allow a sack all night. This despite starting a new center, Anthony Steen, and the fact that rookie Laremy Tunsil is still learning to play left guard. The only miscue was a botched snap between Tannehill and Steen that resulted in a fumble, which Tannehill recovered.

The offensive line permitted Miami’s quarterbacks to be hit three times overall.

Front Seven — Cameron Wake created havoc in his 2016 debut, despite only playing on third downs. Wake, coming off an Achilles injury, constantly put pressure on Falcons’ quarterback Matt Ryan and registered a quarterback hit. Suh recorded four tackles, including two big ones, before leaving the game. On Atlanta’s second offensive drive, Suh tracked down running back Tevin Coleman on a screen play behind the line-of-scrimmage. Two plays later, on a 4th-and-1, he stuffed Coleman behind-the-line on a running play.

Reserve linebacker Mike Hull led the team with nine tackles, while fellow linebacker Spencer Paysinger had five tackles, and Koa Misi added three stops.

The Broward Palm Beach News Times reported that Stills and safety Reshad Jones had great games as well.

The Bad

Running Game – When Tannehill is the leading rusher with just 22 yards, you know the running backs had a bad day. Both of the Dolphins’ touchdowns came via the ground but they averaged just 2.5 yards per carry – totaling 78 yards on 31 carries. Foster accumulated 10 yards on five carries and Ajayi had seven carries for 11 yards.

Third-year back Damien Williams ran for 17 yards on five carries and a touchdown, which was tops among the running backs.

Jordan Cameron Drops – The 6-foot-5 tight end has been having a major issue catching the ball this preseason. Cameron dropped two passes against the Falcons, and has dropped three balls in the past two games. He reportedly has also dropped several balls in training camp. Overall, Cameron has just two receptions out of the six times he has been targeted.

“I just gotta catch the ball,” Cameron said. “I’m not that worried about it.”

Cornerback Depth – Miami is still looking for someone to step up and take the starting corner job opposite of Byron Maxwell. Tony Lippett and Bobby McCain have had a tough time throughout training camp, and their struggles continued against the Falcons. Against Atlanta, both players gave up big plays and were flagged for penalties. The good news is that 2016 second-round selection Xavien Howard came off the physically unable to perform list on Sunday, and could be ready to play Week 1 of the regular season, reported Walker.

Offensive Pass Interference Penalties – The Fins were flagged for two offensive pass interference penalties, one of the penalties negated a touchdown pass by Zac Dysert to Dominique Jones in the third quarter. Miami did end up with a field goal on the possession.

The Ugly

Andrew Franks, Kicker — Franks made both extra point attempts but missed badly on a 37-yard field goal attempt in the first half.

[Photo by M. Ebenhack/AP Photo]

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