Falcons vs. Dolphins: The preseason dress rehearsal
By Josh Binder
As indicated by Bleacher Report columnist, Thomas Galicia, the third preseason game is known as the “dress-rehearsal” for the regular season. For the Miami Dolphins, this imperative preseason game is Tannehill’s final chance to show his teammates, coaches, and fans, what to expect for the 2015 season. ESPN’s James Walker reported that Miami Dolphins starters should play at least the first half, while some will play into the 3rd quarter.
"Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin said he expects to play most of his starters the entire first half of Saturday’s preseason game against the Atlanta Falcons. Some starters could also play in the third quarter."
There are certain locks for starting spots on the Dolphins depth chart (i.e. Tannehill at QB, Miller at RB, Brent Grimes at CB, etc.), but there are also certain positions that still have a bit of a question mark in terms of who will start on week 1 of the regular season. For instance, who will be the starting FS, Walt Aikens or Michael Thomas? If you’d like to read more into that heated battle, check out my colleague’s (Dale Paul-Jordan) article here.
Another big question is who will start opposite Brent Grimes, and who will win the nickel spot (3rd CB) for the Dolphins? Third-year CB Jamar Taylor had been playing well thus far into the preseason, but a recent quadriceps injury may have set him back. He’s expected to miss two weeks, so hopefully he’s good to go by week 1 against the Redskins. In the mean time, I expect Brice McCain to get the start opposite Grimes, while Zack Bowman and Will Davis rotate throughout the first 3 quarters.
Aside from individual position battles, the dress-rehearsal against the Falcons will be a perfect opportunity to see how both the offensive and defensive units play as a whole for a full half of NFL football. Atlanta’s defense has certainly improved from last year with the addition of defensive-minded head coach Dan Quinn, newly signed DE Adrian Clayborn, and rookie OLB Vic Beasley.
"It was good to see Vic play fast, Quinn said in his postgame radio interview with Dave Archer. It was good to see him and Adrian — they’re getting their timing and their chemistry together over on that right side."
The Falcons come into the game with a (1-1) record, while the Fins (0-2) have lost both preseason games due to poor play by the 2nd and 3rd stringers. Don’t put too much emphasis on these losses, as there have been several playoff bound and even super bowl teams who haven’t won a single preseason game. Below is some details on the game, provided by bleacher report.
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Location: Sun Life Stadium; Miami
TV:WFOR CBS 4 (Miami-Ft. Lauderdale), WTVX CW34 (West Palm Beach), WBBH NBC2 (Ft. Myers/Naples), WRDQ Channel 27 (Orlando), Fox Sports Florida (Replay—Sunday, 8/30, 8:30 p.m. ET) NFL Network (Replay—Monday, 8/31, 5:30 a.m. ET)