The Dolphins looked o.k. on offense but they had to be disappointed with their defensive performance on Saturday Night.  Trent Green completed 7 of 11 passes for 42 yards with 1 TD and 1 interception.  The interception was a game changing play as Cato June returned it 2 yards for a TD.  Cleo Lemon looked pretty sharp against the Bucs as he completed 8 of 12 passes for 77 yards and he also ran the ball 1 time for 17 yards.  Rookie John Beck was outstanding Saturday Night as he completed 11 of 22 passes for 162 yards with 2 TD passes.  The Dolphins’ running game didn’t get anything going against the Bucs’ defense.  Ronnie Brown (6 car, 18 yards) and Jesse Chatman (4 car, 9 yards, TD) both got their work in against the Bucs.  Lorenzo Booker only carried the football 1 time for 2 yards but he caught 6 passes for 41 yards.  WR P.K. Sam had a outstanding game with 2 grabs for 60 yards and a TD.

The Dolphins defense just couldn’t stop the Bucs’ offense and that is scary stuff.  The Bucs ran the ball 28 times for 133 yards (4.8 ypc) and they completed 19 of 37 passes for 201 yards.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270825015

Rookie running back Roger Mauia from Hawaii has fractured a bone in his left wrist.  Mauia is a tough 6’0″, 270 pound running back who will have to wear a cast for 4-6 weeks but he plans on trying to play through it.  He has played in 2 pre-season games this season with the Dolphins and he has 4 carries for 9 yards (2.3 ypc) and he has caught 2 passes for 8 yards (4.0 avg).

It was apparent from the get go that the Dolphins wanted to work on their running game last night and it looked pretty good for the most part.  The QBs were just caretakers of the offense.   Trent Green was lustily booed last night in his return to Arrowhead Stadium but that didn’t effect his performance as he was 4 for 7 for 41 yards passing.  Cleo Lemon was throwing a lot of short passes when he entered the game as he was 8 for 11 for 52 yards.  John Beck looked pretty sharp again last night as he completed 5 of 6 passes for 52 yards.  Ronnie Brown had a surprisingly big workload last night as he carried the football 13 times for 57 yards (4.4 ypc) and he also caught a pass for 10 yards.  Jesse Chatman found it a little tougher against the Chiefs’ defense at least running the ball as he carried it 8 times for 19 yards (2.4 ypc) but he also added 5 catches for 43 yards.  Patrick Cobbs finished up with another solid effort as he carried the football 4 times for 27 yards (6.8 ypc) with a TD run and he also caught 2 passes for 9 yards.  So the Dolphins finished up the game last night with 34 carries for 126 yards (3.7 ypc) and they completed 17 of 24 passes for 121 yards.

The defense played pretty well last night until the backups came in and let Casey Printers move the football on them late.  Still the Dolphins had to be pleased with their overall performance on defense.  They were stingy against the run as the Chiefs finished with only 61 yards rushing on 27 carries (2.3 ypc).  But the Chiefs completed 17 of 26 passes for 224 yards so the Dolphins still have a little work to do before the regular season starts.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270816012

 

New head coach Cam Cameron of the Dolphins likes to have the TE involved in his offense so it will be interesting to see which re-tread will get the most playing time.  My money is on David Martin as he appears to be the best receiver of the bunch because of his speed.   He played in 11 games (4 starts) last season for the Packers and he caught 21 passes for 198 yards (9.4 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  He has now played in 70 games (21 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 87 passes for 766 yards (8.8 avg) with 9 TD grabs.

Justin Peelle has been a Dolphin for a little while but he’s a better blocker than receiver.  He played in 15 games (10 starts) last season for the Dolphins and he caught 16 passes for 113 yards (7.3 avg) with 1 TD grab.  He has now played in 77 games (29 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 56 passes for 386 yards (6.9 avg) with 5 TD grabs.

Courtney Anderson appears to have some upside so he might be a guy to keep an eye on.  He played in 16 games (11 starts) for the lowly Raiders last season and he caught 25 passes for 285 yards (11.4 avg) with 2 TD grabs.   He has now played in 39 games (28 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 62 passes for 763 yards (12.3 avg) with 6 TD grabs.

The Miami Dolphins had better hope that Ted Ginn Jr. or Derek Hagan is ready to step up and replace Wes Welker as the #3 WR this season or the Dolphins could have trouble moving the football thru the air.  Chris Chambers is starting to prove that he’s not a legit go to guy as the Dolphins completed less than 40% of the passes thrown his way last year.  Chambers played in 16 games (all starts) and he caught 59 passes for 677 yards (11.5 avg) with 4 TD grabs and he also carried the football 8 times for 95 yards (11.9 ypc).  Chambers has only really had one outstanding season for the Dolphins and he really has been a disappointment when all things are considered.  He has now played in 94 games (85 starts) and he has caught 374 passes for 5,273 yards (14.1 avg) with 43 TD grabs and he has carried the ball 40 times for 360 yards (9.0 ypc) in his NFL career.  The Dolphins need him to step up!

Marty Booker has been a decent #2 WR but he’s not a gamebreaker.  He played in 14 games (13 starts) last season for the Dolphins and he caught 55 passes for 747 yards (13.6 avg) with 6 TD grabs and he also carried the ball 3 times for 19 yards (6.3 ypc).  Booker is dependable and that’s why Trent Green will be looking his way a lot this season.  Booker has now played in 113 games (96 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 459 passes for 5,755 yards (12.5 avg) with 33 TD grabs and he has carried the football 14 times for 19 yards (1.4 ypc).  Look for him to have another decent season.

Second year man Derek Hagan will likely get the first shot at replacing Wes Welker as the #3 WR for the Dolphins.  Hagan has a lot of the same skills that Welker had as he’s quick, tough and has good hands.  He played in all 16 games (0 starts) as a rookie last season and he caught 21 passes for 221 yards (10.5 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Look for him to at least double those numbers this season.

Ted Ginn Jr. is very fast.  The Dolphins will likely bring him along slowly in the offense because they don’t want to put a ton of pressure on him.  He will likely be used as the #4 WR as a rookie but he likely will return punts and kickoffs.  Still, the Dolphins don’t have a clear cut #1 WR on their roster so Ginn could move up the depth chart if he gets off to a fast start this season.

Az-Zahir Hakim was signed as a free agent after spending last season in San Diego with head coach Cam Cameron.  Hakim played in 6 games (0 starts) last season for the Chargers and he caught 17 passes for 147 yards (8.6 avg) and he also carried the ball 1 time for 1 yard and it was a TD.  Hakim has now played in 110 games (39 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 316 passes for 4,191 yards (13.3 avg) with 28 TD grabs and he also has carried the football 31 times for 198 yards (6.4 ypc) with a TD run.  The Fins will be in trouble this season if Hakim is ever higher than #5 on the depth chart.

The Miami Dolphins didn’t look too good last night but the end result was good as they won the game.  The Dolphins offense just couldn’t get much going against the stingy Jaguars defense as they got almost all of their offense from their 2nd and 3rd string running backs last night.  Trent Green still looked lost as he only completed 6 of 15 passes for 60 yards with a pick-off.  Cleo Lemon looked pretty sharp when he entered the game completing 5 of 6 passes for 56 yards.  Rookie John Beck was mostly handing the ball off when he came in as he hit 2 of 3 passes for 23 yards.  Ronnie Brown had a rough time last night as he carried the ball 8 times and could only muster 8 yards.  Jesse Chatman was the main man for the Dolphins last night as he carried the ball 6 times for 88 yards (14.7 ypc) with a 75-yard TD run.  Patrick Cobbs followed Chatman and he ran the ball well also carrying it 7 times for 34 yards (4.9 ypc) with a TD.  Derek Hagan was the Fins leading receiver with 3 grabs for 47 yards.  The Dolphins need to do a better job of sustaining drives as they only had possession of the football for 24:01 of the game.  That will wear down the defense if they don’t get better soon.

The Dolphins defense was in bend but don’t break mode last night.  They did a fine job on run defense as the Jaguars ran the ball 29 times for 59 yards (2.0 ypc) last night.  The pass defense was not too good last night however, as the Jags completed 27 of 39 passes for 296 yards.

http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/live/NFL_20070811_JAC@MIA

Cory Schlesinger gives the Dolphins a talented fullback to help pave the way in the running game for Ronnie Brown.  He is a solid blocker and a good receiver out of the backfield.  He played in 14 games (5 starts) last season for the Lions and he carried the ball 8 times for 36 yards (4.5 ypc).  He has now played in 181 games (87 starts) and he has carried the ball 167 times for 473 yards (2.8 ypc) with 5 TD runs.  He also has caught 197 passes for 1,445 yards (7.3 avg) with 9 TD grabs.  Schlesinger’s back up at fullback with be 270 pound rookie Reagan Mauia.

The Dolphins will lose Joey Porter for the whole pre season and he is doubtful for week #1 after undergoing knee surgery yesterday.  Porter played in 14 games last season for the Steelers and he made 55 tackles, had 7 sacks, 2 interceptions (1 returned for a TD) and he defensed 3 passes.  Donnie Spragan will replace Porter until he returns to the field of play.  Spragan played in all 16 games last season for the Dolphins and he made 50 tackles, had 1.5 sacks, forced 1 fumble and recovered 1 fumble.

The Dolphins signed Jay Feely as a free agent because they were upset with Olindo Mare’s performance.  They then shipped Mare to the Saints for a 6th round pick in 2008.  Feely hit 85.2% of his field goals last season for the Giants and all 38 of his extra point attempts.  Feely hit 17 of 18 inside 40 yards and 6 of 9 outside 40 yards which proves he has a strong leg.  He finished up with 107 points for the Giants last season.

Feely has played in 96 career NFL games and he has scored 691 points for an average of 7.2 points per game.  He has made 156 of 196 (79.6%) of his field goals and 223 of 225 extra points.  Feely will be a huge upgrade over Mare for the Dolphins.