Miami Dolphins win first pre-season game some shine some don’t

The Miami Dolphins played their first pre-season game under Brian Flores and beat the Falcons but there is a lot of work to be done.

On Thursday night the Miami Dolphins welcomed back football to Hard Rock Stadium and they gave the fans something to cheer about on their way home. A tight battle, the Dolphins found the way to win even if it was only pre-season.

It is hard to get excited about a pre-season game but seeing the team back on the field after a long off-season was exactly that. To see them claw for a victory was good to see as well even if the game came down to the deepest of depth players.

Like in any game, there are players that shine and players that don’t.

Players that improved their stock

Quarterback

In the battle for the starting job, Josh Rosen showed that he can play in this system and he played well for all but one play. An ill-advised pass into coverage from his own six yard line ended with an interception that should have been a pick-six. Instead the Dolphins defense held the Falcons to three points. It was an ugly throw that overshadowed and an otherwise good night for the second year player.

Ryan Fitzpatrick played only two series to open the game. He led the team to a field goal and settled for a punt on his second series. Overall he was a little rusty but showed why the Dolphins are putting him on the roster.

All three quarterbacks played well and Jake Ruddock showed why the Dolphins signed him this off-season. While he was playing with the 3rd and 4th string units on both sides of the ball, Ruddock made good decisions with the football and led the team to two touchdowns.

Running back

Kalen Ballage got off to a rocky start in the first quarter. He missed some passes that he didn’t turn around for and his running wasn’t great but he settled down in the 2nd quarter and started to show why he was running with the first team unit. He scored one touchdown on a goal line drive.

Kenyan Drake played like Kenyan Drake in his short time on the field. He looked good and ran well. The Dolphins gave Drake the start and then quickly put him to rest for the duration of the game.

Wide-Receiver

No one on the Dolphins roster played better than Preston Williams who absolutely shined on Thursday night. Williams was on the field for the first three quarters and was running solid routes but making brilliant catches. He made a diving catch, a one-handed catch, a toe-tap on the sideline catch, and drew a pass interference in the endzone that set up a Dolphins score.

Offensive line

It is hard to say the Dolphins offensive line played well. They didn’t but rookie Michael Dieter didn’t have a bad game and did well enough in his NFL debut to see potential. He was playing without Laremy Tunsil on his left and instead dealt with Jordan Mills. Overall Dieter played well enough to see that he could develop into a quality starter.

Defensive secondary

The Dolphins secondary played very well last night but they need to start tackling. Over they years the Miami corners have been hard-hitters who use their bodies to tackle. That is not going to work in this defense. They need to wrap and drive and while their coverage was good, there was too many missed tackles.

Dwayne Hendrix

The rookie defensive tackle/end had two sacks last night and showed good quickness and push-off the line. He definitely helped himself.

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Those who did not make a good case

Jordan Mills was atrocious on the left side. Maybe he would have fared better on the right side but seeing what he put on the field last night, it is doubtful. At least Mills wasn’t the only one having a bad game. Overall the entire unit played poorly. They couldn’t pass protect and they struggled to run block. This is going to be a big problem if it isn’t fixed by the start of the season.

Defensive line

The Dolphins defensive line made some plays when they needed to and found a few players that made an impact late but overall the starting group struggled to get pressure on the Falcons’ 2nd string quarterback, Matt Schaub. Miami was mixing personnel throughout the game and for the most part it was an o.k game but not what fans were expecting.

Nic Needham

The undrafted rookie corner did not have a good game last night. He played quite a bit early but missed tackles, gave up big pass plays, and was flagged for PI. He has a lot of work to do if he is going to make the roster.