Dolphins vs. Chiefs Re-Cap: Offense Still A Work In Progress

Great insight from you guys in the comments yesterday. You can read a more analytical  -- albeit longer -- re-cap that I wrote over at The Phish Tank. No douchebag or dickhead jokes there. Just pure old-school journalism. I roll both ways, dawg.

Here are my conclusions from last night's game:

On The First-Team Offense:

-57 yards on 13 carries. This is what Ronnie Brown is capable of when he gets the holes to run through.

-Unless he completely collapses in the next few weeks, the starting job is Trent Green's. His numbers last night were only slightly better than what he had against Jacksonville -- but he had no turnovers and made sound decisions and seemed more in control after having that deer-in-the-headlights look he wore last week.

-However ... Cleo Lemon was just as good -- save for his one fumble -- playing with the first-team. Which means we have a very capable second string guy to come in if Green falters. Not sure if that makes anyone feel better. But there you go.

-Vernon Carey played like a man last night. I'd dare say he saved Trent's life on more than one occasion. Rex Hadnot made some key blocks for Ronnie. Overall, the offensive line was slightly better than last week. It was still shaky and against a better pass rush it probably crumbles into dust like Don Imus in a stiff wind, but you have to like what you saw from this unit. At least a little bit.

-That one drive (2nd drive) when the Fins were moving the ball: The good news, Green and Brown got help from the O-line. The bad news, KC was playing a soft cover-2 defense. If you can't move the ball against a cover-2, you really suck. Hi, I'm Debbie Downer. Wah-wah~~

-Something that seemed to escape some people's attention -- the Dolphins really moved the ball when they went no-huddle.

On The First-Team Defense:

-The first-team defense has been out-friggin-standing. And not just the front seven. The secondary is doing its part too. All this without Jason Taylor, Zach Thomas and Joey Porter. Matt Roth is playing outstanding football. Once JT lines up opposite him on the D-line, Tom Brady is going to shit.

On Ted Ginn Jr:

-Give the kid a break. He'll come around. But yea, the sooner he realizes that the speed in the NFL is worlds apart from the speed in the Big Ten, the better off he'll be.

On John Beck:

-Okay, time for a critical view on the guy. He played well enough and the papers will all say he led the Fins to a second consecutive fourth quarter come-from-behind win. And that's great. But Beck has work to do. One of his knocks coming out of college is that he can be erratic on passes that are not short routes. He has the arm for it, he just needs to be patient. He was over-throwing his receivers all night and was bailed out by a great one-handed catch by Courney Anderson on that 25 yarder during the game-winning drive. Beck also needs to read his coverages better. There were a few times when he went deep to covered receivers when he had wide open guys in the flat. Better protection would help. But he's a rookie and he needs to smooth these things out so he can be the stud we know he can be.

Conclusion: Trent Green looked better but the offense is still a work in progress. The O-line was better but it's still shaky.

Next up: Tampa Bay next Saturday at the Stadium.

Comments

[Dat RoRo Kid]

Teddy really needs to just field the punt and run FORWARD with it. Few guys can get away with all that dancing around and those guys are vets. They know when to do it and when not to.

Also, he's really gotta learn that it's sometimes OK to fair catch. I think someone could've torn his head off on the last punt.

[TK]

Nice re-cap Dude. Sorry I missed the thread. I caught the game at D&Bs.

I agree w/Roro on that last punt. I was actually afraid they were going to rip Ginn's head off and was getting flash-backs of Yatil Green. But my overall impression is that this team still sucks. While it looked better, I don't remember hearing KC is some kind of powerhouse D. Maybe I'm just being pessimistic. But I'm not all that happy about what I saw.

[Dat RoRo Kid]

Let's make a pact never to mention Yatil Green ever again. Wait...shit...

Great recap on The Phish Tank, Dude. When are they gonna toss out that bum Armando Salguero and get someone with some REAL talent to cover the Phins.

[Jing]

Uh just wondering about the returns..why did cam not have ginn in for the kick returns, only punt returns..i think i saw ronnie in there for the opening kickoff and it scared me shitless when he muffed it haha

[The DUDE]

Roro: Thanks man.

Jing: It looks like Cam is going to have Ronnie and Jesse Chatman be the kickoff returners instead of Ginn. Cameron wants Ginn to focus on being the punt returner which, according to Cam, "takes a lot of work" and preperation. My guess is that the coaches want Ginn to use his speed on punts to put pressure on the opposing team's punter/special team. Where kickoffs are off Ts and always end up around the goal line. Cam is known for using RBs as KO returners. He used LT in that role a few years back and LT's backup, Michael Turner, was the kickoff returner for San Diego last year.

Ronnie did okay. I just hope he gets limited looks as the KO. We need him healthy.

[KaLiBLeeK]

Nice recap; I planned on watching that and the Padres, but my friends decided I need to watch Super Troopers instead.

I'm still a Cleo Lemon fan. And I drafted Zach Thomas in a fantasy league. Aside from that, I've been far too out of the non-Charger NFL loop.

Here's to hoping Ginn ends up being this year's Hester, but with an ability to contribute on offense as well.

[The DUDE]

Kalibleek! Where you been??? Glad to have you back.

[Lady Phin]

Dude...thanks for the recap...I just think Ginn's a little gun shy...the NFL does move a whole lot faster than Wack 10 but I think once he gets comfortable and hurts some teams feelings on a massive return, he'll dance a bit...

the kid is fast, they just gotta keep pushing him and encouraging him...

LP