Is the national media right about the Miami Dolphins?

National media outlets have been highly critical of the Miami Dolphins this off-season. Considering how these preseason games have gone, could they be right?

There has been no sense of optimism for the Miami Dolphins in 2018 coming from outside media outlets. Not at all taking into consideration of who Miami brought in through free agency or how they did in the draft, the attention has been full focus on them parting ways with their leading receiver, and future Hall-of-Famer defensive tackle.

In the eyes of many, it will be a very long season for the Dolphins. Many early mock drafts have predicted that Miami will be selecting within the top 5 of 2019. A recent power ranking even had the Dolphins rated dead last at 32. A strong amount of Dolphins fans, and those within the organization think this is excessive.

Yes, Miami lost some good players in Ndamukong Suh, Jarvis Landry, and even Mike Pouncey, but it’s not like the Dolphins were a powerhouse with these guys. Investing even more money into them wasn’t going to be a sign that things would change for the better so it makes sense as to why they parted ways when they did.

They did a good job of bringing in replacements like Albert Wilson, Danny Amendola, and Daniel Kilgore at cheaper costs, that should net similar results on the field. Replacing Suh is expected to be tough, but a rotation of Miami’s young defensive tackles, and the recent signing of Kendall Langford has shown some promise in the preseason. It once looked like an area of concern, but after three preseason games it appears that the Dolphins have other problems.

The Dolphins are 0-3 this preseason, and while that doesn’t matter, they haven’t looked very good in any of these games. It’s only preseason, and not something to get worked up about, but it’s also not something that should be ignored either.

Miami played their best thus far in the first half of this past weekend’s game against Baltimore. The first half is when the Dolphins starters played most, if not all, before the backups and depth players took over in the second half. The Ravens did not treat this game the same way Miami did as they rested many of their starters in this one, including starting QB Joe Flacco.

Nonetheless, the Dolphins played well for the most part in the first half, and went into halftime with a 10-3 lead. The second half, however, was an absolute joke as the Ravens would go on to win 27-10. The score is irrelevant, but it gives concern surrounding Miami’s depth.

The obvious position is at quarterback where David Fales and Brock Osweiler are competing for who sucks the least. Now, Ryan Tannehill has looked really good this preseason, although the national media would have you think otherwise.

Tannehill finished Saturday’s matchup throwing 11-of-16 for 115 yards, a touchdown, and a 110 passer rating, but they made sure to focus on his two fumbles of a wet ball, both of which he recovered. Regardless, Tannehill hasn’t been the problem, and neither has the rest of the starting offense for that matter. The run game looks solid. The receivers look good, and the offensive line has played very well. They had some trouble getting in the end zone until Saturday, but it’s clear they’ve been holding back from opening up the playbook until the regular season starts.

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If the starters can stay healthy then I’m confident they can continue to put up some points. My general concern is on the defensive side of the ball, and this is where the Dolphins may prove the national media outlets right about them. Tannehill has improved year after year but he’s no Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers, who can simply outscore opponents in a shootout. He’s going to need some help from his defense, but from the looks of things they may be giving up a lot of points this coming season.

The run defense continues to be a big area of concern, and it has been for the past few years. The Dolphins linebackers are a very thin group, and it appears that they are going in relying on virtually two rookies as starters. Alongside them is veteran Kiko Alonso, who recently forgot which sideline he belonged on. Jokes aside, behind them is Chase Allen, who continues to show improvement, but everyone else looks to be a non-factor.

Then there is the second cornerback spot opposite Xavien Howard. Admittedly, I was kind of shocked a couple of weeks ago when it was reported that the Dolphins were shopping for a cornerback. Just three weeks ago, I wrote about how the Dolphins secondary could be one of the strongest in the league. While Howard has had a strong showing in camp and preseason, as well as Miami’s safeties, it quickly became clear as to why Miami was looking elsewhere for a starting cornerback.

The Dolphins have been rotating Cordrea Tankersley, Tony Lippett, and Torry McTyer, for that starting job for the past month or so. McTyer has played well in his own right, and has earned himself a roster spot. Miami was depending on Tankersley or Lippett, however, as their #2 corner, and neither have been impressive enough to be considered for the job.

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In fact, both players have shown strong signs of regression. Tankersley looked strong last season as a rookie, but he has struggled mightily this preseason. Lippett missed last season with a torn ACL, and it still doesn’t look like he is completely healthy. My gut feeling is that he will not be on this team when the final 53-man roster is announced. It looks like the Dolphins will have to rely on Bobby McCain as the outside corner, which was not their original intent.

Although the preseason is not a time to overreact, an old high school football coach of mine used to preach that “you play how you practice”. Preseason games can be chalked up as glorified practices, and if Miami continues to play in ways that they have it may end up proving these national media outlets right in the end.

The Dolphins first game against Tennessee will be a huge test at how the season might turn out. The Titans have a very strong run game with Derrick Henry and Dion Lewis in the backfield. Even Marcus Mariota will be a significant test for these linebackers and defensive backs. It will be no easy task to come out with a victory, and it could get ugly if Miami can’t address some of their weaknesses beforehand.

The final preseason game will be this Thursday against Atlanta. The majority of the starters are not expected to play as this will be the last shot for a lot of players to show their case to be on the roster. Very little will likely come from this game, and afterwards Miami should be roaming the waiver wire for additional players.

They’ll likely be in the market for a quarterback, linebacker, and a cornerback. The order of importance is up for debate, but if Miami is serious about making a playoff run this year they’re going to have to make some adjustments fast.

So is the national media right about the Dolphins? In short, no. Unless Tannehill goes down early, and is lost for the season then it’s probably safe to assume that Miami is a borderline .500 team. An area that this team, and their fans have become all too familiar with. The regular season is sure to open things up more, but for now, the Dolphins have looked nothing like a playoff team.

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