Miami Dolphins positives from two weeks of football

The Miami Dolphins are 1-1 heading into two divisional games against the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets. There hasn’t been many positives but there are some. Few I know, but there are some. Pinpointing exactly what has gone right is difficult at best because we have to look through so much of the bad to find it.

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I will admit, I feel into the pre-season hype. I wanted to believe that this time around it would be different. No more excuses. I said, “you know what? This team is a playoff team. A division winner. Hell I thought that the Dolphins could make it to the Super Bowl and cap their 50th season with an appearance in the NFL’s 50th Super Bowl. I put on the rose colored glasses despite the other half of me laughing and saying please don’t. I was wrong. So were you. So it seems, everyone else as well.

The Dolphins have not only looked bad, but they look so unprepared and focused that it’s hard to imagine any other team in the NFL being this poorly prepared. Did I say this was about positives? Looking up at my article title I did so let me take a step down off this pulpit, put the glasses back on for a second and explain to you why there is positives with this years team. Please note however, that my glasses are missing one lens so I’m not saying that everything is going to be fine.

Miami opted to go with two rookie kickers this year and while Andrew Franks missed what could have been a game changing field goal has looked good and Matt Darr has been very solid in his punting duties although he needs to start placing his kicks inside the 20 instead of into the end zone. There, I got the special teams unit out of the way. Way to go Captain Obvious.

This should be a pretty short article.

After two weeks of football we can see that Jarvis Landry is no fluke. This guy is the real deal. Period. He is however one of the lone bright spots on offense. Despite dropping a couple of passes in week one, Rishard Matthews has really stepped up as well. Matthews has a ways to go yet to become a legit number two receiving threat but for now he is making all the right steps to reaching that goal and it’s something that fans should take note of.

One thing I noticed on Sunday was Matthews concentration. He looked every ball into his hands, caught them off his body, and looked like he learned a lot from the week before. Prior to training camp I thought that Matthews wouldn’t make the team, not only did he make it, he is becoming a playmaker and that can’t be understated. The Dolphins need players to step up and watching Matthews improve on his route running and catching technique is impressive. I have to imagine that as he and Tannehill continue to work together the more trust Tannehill will have in throwing to him.

Reshad Jones has been a very consistent player for the Dolphins over the past few years and so far he has really shown no signs of that changing. He seems to be playing faster this year and is all over the field making plays. Jones has yet to be out of position and is taking very smart angles to support the run. We expected this of him and he isn’t disappointing.

Linebacker was a concern coming into the season and it’s a concern as we enter week three. While that goes without saying, the play of Zach Vigil, Miami’s un-drafted rookie middle linebacker is getting better. Vigil lacks the experience but he is showing a lot of growth over two weeks and through training camp. The Dolphins likely won’t ever see Vigil elevate his game to a star linebacker but they are getting more effort out of him than anyone else on the group. Jelani Jenkins has been his typical productive self on an otherwise poor unit.

Ryan Tannehill has not been able to find a rhythm this season and despite his solid stats he isn’t driving the team down the field and he isn’t making smart decisions. That being said the line play has been so bad that Tannehill is nothing more than a guy standing in the pocket trying to unload a ball out of his hands. His throws have been off at times and the continuity of the offense is severely lacking. Yet. Tannehill is making better throws downfield and is spreading the ball around well. He is moving as well as he can in the pocket and avoiding sacks despite being sacked five times already. He needs to reel his game in just a bit but he is showing that if given the time he can find open receivers. Unfortunately he hasn’t had much time and the Dolphins are unable to balance their offense which would greatly help his ability to move the ball.

I keep waiting for Brent Grimes to slow down. He isn’t. The diminutive cornerback is still playing at a solid if not exceptional level but even he is starting to feel the drag of the rest of the secondary. Grimes, believe it or not, is playing very good football right now but he alone can’t make it work and he needs to start elevating the players around him. Someone needs to hold the rest of the cornerbacks accountable.

O.k I suppose for now that is it because anything else would be grasping at straws. I know, it’s weak but I tried.