Miami Dolphins pre-season 2: The only 5 things you need to know

The Miami Dolphins played their second meaningless game on Friday night and as a result fans are once again in the early doom and gloom state.

Miami Dolphins players did not look good on Friday night and it is safe say that Adam Gase and his coaching staff are going to implement a lot of constructive coaching this week. In other words, they are going to be pretty pissed off.

Despite the way the team played at times and despite the fact Miami dropped the game there really is no need to get upset about it right now. In fact there are only five things from last nights game that you need to concern yourself with at all.

Number 5: Run defense

This could be a problem for the Dolphins, at least early in the season. There is a lot of youth who are getting their first opportunities to start full-time. Davon Godchaux, Vincent Taylor, Raekwon McMillan, Jerome Baker, etc. There is going to be hiccups and last night was more of a watch film and read and react type of defense.

Matt Burke likely game planned a little bit but probably didn’t go into a lot of detail with it. McMillan has work to do and he has a lot of room to grow. In essence he is a rookie out there and there are mental mistakes he is making. He simply needs to slow the game down and it will click. The same with Baker. Stopping the run has been a problem for the last few years and it appears that at least for now, it could continue.

Number 4: Quarterbacks

Ryan Tannehill looks good. The play calling last night was safe and that was pretty much expected. He played all but the last series of the first half and at times moved the ball well but the offense was pretty vanilla. The other quarterbacks?

If the Dolphins lose Tannehill for any amount of time they are in trouble. David Fales did not have a good night like week one and Brock Osweiler is, well, horrible. Bryce Petty has the veteran experience and looks better than Osweiler but is that really the best option for the Dolphins?

Miami needs to find a more reliable back-up.

Number 3: Cornerback

Xavien Howard showed why he being called a “shutdown corner” by his teammates. He looked really good on Friday and got an interception. The pass interference call against him was a very iffy call and he and the receiver both were fighting for position.

The same can’t be said for the other side where Carolina seemed to find no problems connecting especially when Cordrea Tankersley was in the game. Tankersley needs mature and he may need another year to do that. He was lost on the field Friday. Of course Bobby McCain and Torry McTyer didn’t really blow up either. After watching last night a little closer at the position it’s understandable why there are concerns about the position and why Miami reportedly has been looking for help.

Number 2: Linebackers

As mentioned above the Dolphins have some young guys at linebacker but one thing became very clear last night. The Dolphins linebackers can’t cover in pass defense. The crossing route was open all night long and at times was wide open. Now perhaps this again is a “read and react” type of night where the players were put into different situations that didn’t really mesh with the way the offense was lining up. Maybe these were packages that Matt Burke was throwing out onto the field to see how they looked. Maybe. Maybe not.

The Dolphins however need to show next week that they are getting better. Any team in the NFL sees this weakness in Miami and they will exploit it.

Number 1: Penalties

If any of the above four reasons are really not all that important to you, then this one should be. The pre-snap and holding penalties have to stop. Miami’s offense is not built to overcome mental errors and mistakes and last night there was plenty of them.

Holding calls put Miami in 2nd and 3rd and long situations. A hold negated a 34 yard run by Sinorise Perry, a delay of game on Ryan Tannehill took the Dolphins from a 2nd and goal at the five to a 2nd and goal at the ten and it should have been two in a row but apparently the refs gave them a break.

The Dolphins were one of the worst teams in the NFL last year as it related to penalties. They will likely be there again at this rate. This is a discipline problem and I’m not sure that Gase or the rest of the staff have any ideas how to fix it. But they better.