Tonight’s Miami Dolphins game is as much about coaching as players

DENVER, CO - DECEMBER 18: Chad O'Shea Wide Receivers coach of the New England Patriots looks on from the sideline against the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on December 18, 2011 in Denver, Colorado. The Patriots defeated the Broncos 41-23. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)
DENVER, CO - DECEMBER 18: Chad O'Shea Wide Receivers coach of the New England Patriots looks on from the sideline against the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on December 18, 2011 in Denver, Colorado. The Patriots defeated the Broncos 41-23. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

The focus of tonight’s first Miami Dolphins pre-season game will most assuredly be on the players but in reality, the coaches should be a focus as well.

For the Miami Dolphins and owner Stephen Ross, the off-season culminates tonight when the team begins their exhibition schedule. It will be the first time that this coaching staff will be on the sidelines for the Dolphins and while eyes will be on the players, the coaches need to be critiqued as well.

Tonight is only the first pre-season game but it will give us a little bit of insight into how the Dolphins will call football games this year. Not much but a little. Chad O’Shea may be the more important coach of the two coordinators and that is only because defensively, Brian Flores will maintain input with Patrick Graham. Offensively, O’Shea is on his own island.

There will not wrinkles and no special plays called tonight by O’Shea. There will be a lot of vanilla and hopefully, you like the taste of vanilla. Over the next three weeks, a few more flavors might be added ahead of the rainbow sprinkles in week one of the regular season. Sorry my kids are eating ice cream and I can hear them talking about it.

Back to the game tonight, we should see some of what O’Shea has been putting into motion. An I-formation backfield with a fullback, will he run three, four, or maybe even five receiver sets? Will he focus on building a running game?

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Most of these questions will not be answered in one game let alone the first pre-season game of the season but we should get an idea of whether or not he is going to be aggressive in his approach or passive.

I do think that while not much will be taken away from tonight, it would be fair to see if he opts to run on 3rd and long as opposed to trying to get the first down unlike Adam Gase. O.k. that was a fired shot.

Regardless of whether the game is pre-season one or not, players and coaches both will be watched in an attempt to see what new changes are coming to the Miami Dolphins. It is exciting but then again, it was exciting when it was Tony Sparano, Joe Philbin, and Adam Gase as well.

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