Preseason vs Falcons

[fyo]

I don't always catch the preseason games, but I finally got around to watching it.

Most of the 1st string players watched the game from the sideline.

Mike White got the first half and looked... fine. His lone INT wasn't actually too bad. Tough throw in the red zone and the receiver had a chance to catch it but gets hit by defending who came off his own guy and made a great play, the ball gets knocked in the air and the Falcons come down with it.

The second stringers that I noticed getting targets on offense were River Cracraft, Braxton Berrios, and Myles Gaskin. Cedric Wilson did the usual Cedric Wilson thing and caught one ball on a great play and then disappeared completely. Erik Ezukanma got the longest look of any of the receivers, playing from the 2nd quarter onwards (I'll cover him with the 3rd stringers).

Gaskin was the standout of the second team for me. He was grinding out yards after contact, he was making guys miss, he was zipping down the sideline - and he caught 2 passes on 2 targets (for 9 and 11 yards).

The 3rd stringers predictably took over in the second half, led by Skylar Thompson.

Skylar didn't look as sharp as last preseason, but with the 3rd stringers, the offensive line went from kind of bad to really bad. Achane (RB) + Higgins (TE) were the only guys able to make plays. Skylar did show some nice moves, but a lot of it got called back for holding (including some bad calls, but who cares in preseason). His two interceptions were a "punt" desperation heave and a tipped pass on a slightly high throw, but he'd been hit hard like 10 plays in a row at that point, so I was just happy he got the ball away quickly and didn't get killed.

The number of times Skylar got hit by an untouched defender was emberrasing. The number of times two defenders met Skylar at the end of his drop was stupid. He looked much better rolling out (as did Mike White).

James "turnstyle" Tunstall got most of the second half at right tackle and the guy is huge at 6'7" and a million tons. Sadly, he looked fat and slow and in general just lost out there. Didn't make a very good case for a roster spot based on this game alone.

Achane (RB) showed everything you could ask for. Good hands, great speed, sweet moves. And he has apparently been getting good reviews from his coaches on picking up blocking. Higgins (WR converted to TE) has the frame to be a really great big target, but as we know that's not what McDaniel uses a TE for, so his worth will come down mainly to his blocking ability.

Ezukanma showed some really good things and hopefully the second year receiver steps it up this year. He shows glimpses of the good stuff, but reports from camp are that he's still too inconsistent. Would be awesome to have a really big, fast receiver to add to our (smaller) speedsters.

Brooks (RB) got a lot of touches late in the game and had a few good runs, but the results were inconsistent and he didn't feel nearly as good as Achane. The line was bad at that point, though, and really getting bullied by the Falcons, so it's hard to compare directly.

Keidron Smith (UDFA) at safety certainly did his to earn a roster spot - at least for a few more weeks. Life is tough at the bottom.

Second round pick Cam Smith (CB) showed off some talent, but he's very much a rookie and will need time to adjust. Even against 2nd/3rd stringers, he had a tendency to play a bit too far off defenders. He made some great athletic plays, though, and showed some good instincts. He also seemed to locate the ball in the air very quickly and I could easily see him move up the depth chart as the season progresses.

Overall, I'm optimistic with Mike White at backup quarterback, but pessimistic about the offensive line. The depth at both tackles is non-existant. There's basically Terron Armstead and Austin Jackson - and then nothing. Granted, there are a couple of young guys in 7th rounder Ryan Hayes and practice squader Kion Smith, but given that Smith got zero looks last season and Hayes lasting into the 7th round in the draft, I'm not exactly optimistic that those two will suddenly turn into great backups.

[Phishfan]

I got home at halftime and had no interest in turning it on.

[Dave Gray]

I had it on, but nobody played, so I struggled to even find anything valuable in it.  We liked to drive the field and not come away with points.  I don't know if that's an issue because who knows if these same people will ever play.

[Downunder Dolphan]

Moved from the expectations thread:

Playoffs would be the minimum this year... But after the first pre-season game highlights I have reservations already, and that's not giving a toss about the result of the game, just how we played.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILqOOQtWQGk

Our special teams still suck - count the missed tackles on that TD return. On defense, the Falcons rushing touchdown was horrible to watch: our front players got blown up, and Rowe completely misread what was going on from what should have been the covering position.

If Tua isn't on the field, we are in a world of trouble. White is awful and a total waste of money for what is a basic dink-and-dunk style. He can't throw the ball deep, and for a half of game time threw one INT and two goal line 4 and outs (as good as two INTs). No scores while he was in at QB. Thompson had limited game time and he was forcing it and taking risks from the start - but at least you can see he extended plays unlike White.

We're still not accounting for guys coming wide from the blitz: 2nd and 12 on the first play of Q4 was an empty backfield and nothing extra on the line to cover - one of the corners leaves Ezukanma and goes straight for Thompson and we're toast. Ezukanma ran straight into where the safety was, so there was nowhere to throw the ball. This is on coaching (and McDaniel should have learned this by now).

The next play Thompson then tried to force the long ball to Higgins on 3rd and 19 and got picked, but you can also see Braylon Sanders giving up on the play and jogging while the ball was in the air. Maybe it's rust, but it's still terrible to watch.

The pick six at the end from the tipped pass: Chris Coleman, yes the throw was high, but you got to catch that. Your feet aren't off the ground - jump for it. This is the NFL (meaning Not-F*cking-Long) if you make lame efforts like that. Also, two WR going to the same spot on the play - was that by design? It's asking for trouble, and it got it.

Yes it's only pre-season, but this already shows that our depth is thin. Things are not clicking right now with our reserves. It's early, but it's not a great sign.

[AQNOR]

Not much to read into here.  The first preseason game is pretty much a glorified scrimmage seeing as there's no scouting that can be done or game tape that can be pulled.   But the second half was a bit concerning.  If this is what the depth looks like, the Dolphins are in big trouble if they get bit by the injury bug.   

[Phishfan]

I didn't watch the game as I said but the second half wasn't depth. Most of those guys won't even be on the roster. I have no idea how many starters played but the depth was the majority of people who started this game it sounded like.

[fyo]

I didn't watch the game as I said but the second half wasn't depth. Most of those guys won't even be on the roster. I have no idea how many starters played but the depth was the majority of people who started this game it sounded like.

There were certainly a bunch of players for whom that second half was their shot at making the/any roster, but there were also a LOT of battles between second and third stringers late in the game. And in many positions, even a battle for the 3rd string is someone who will see meaningful snaps during the season (aka depth).

On the offensive line, Eichenberg and Jackson started the game with the rest of the game basically being one big "please let someone step up and actually play competently". (No one stepped up.)

All of our 4 draft picks in the 2023 draft saw extensive playing time in the second half and my money is on 3 out of the 4 making the final roster, although one could possibly be destined for the practice squad (Higgins).

With Brandon Jones not yet fully back and the injury to Ramsey, we also had a couple of first string DBs starting the game in DeShon Elliot and Eli Apple. The second half was very much looking at depth in the defensive backfield (and it didn't look good).

Ogbah also started the game and although the battle is mainly to fill in the third string (which I would argue is also important depth), only Sieler is really firmly entrenched as second string with the other backup spots completely up for grabs.

[CF DolFan]

Ogbah also started the game and although the battle is mainly to fill in the third string (which I would argue is also important depth), only Sieler is really firmly entrenched as second string with the other backup spots completely up for grabs.

Don't let the depth chart fool you. Sieler is a starter next to Wilkins. Ogbah has been pushed outside and rumor is he is being shopped and we will have to eat some of his 16 million dollar contract.

We sat like 35 people for this game. Our starters rock but we have no depth on this team in most places and it could hurt us this season as injuries are a part of the game.

[fyo]

Don't let the depth chart fool you. Sieler is a starter next to Wilkins. Ogbah has been pushed outside and rumor is he is being shopped and we will have to eat some of his 16 million dollar contract.

That would just mean that even more 2nd string backups were seeing playing time in the second half, which was my point.

We sat like 35 people for this game. Our starters rock but we have no depth on this team in most places and it could hurt us this season as injuries are a part of the game.

In any event, we completely agree that depth is... not great.

[Phishfan]

I'll revisit this when camp is over and give a count of how many guys make the active roster much less are going to see significant action.