The Miami Dolphins didn't look good against the Commanders in preseason game one, and they looked even worse against the Giants on Saturday. Jeff Hafley has his work cut out for him, but it's not as bad as many fans and media may believe.
The optics, especially once the starters come off the field, leave a bitter taste in a fan's mouth, but we need to clear the air if we are going to look at this team through those glasses. The Dolphins are not going to be great; no one expected them to, but they are not going to play 11 guys on both sides of the ball with no experience.
Miami pulled nearly every starter on Saturday against New York, leaving the game in the hands of players who mostly won't be on the roster two weeks from now. Most of the rookies looked good in their short amount of work. That's promising.
The Miami Dolphins roster isn't going to look like the team on the field against the Giants
While Kadyn Proctor got a series of work in, Aaron Brewer and Patrick Paul didn't take a snap. Neither did Austin Jackson nor Jonah Savaiinea. By the third defensive drive, Jacob Rodriguez and most of the rookies drafted in the first three rounds were on the sidelines.
What fans need to remember is that, barring a complete catastrophe, those players are not making up the offense or the defensive side of the ball, and if they have to play in the regular season, either by rotation or injury, they are not going to line up with 10 other guys listed as third and fourth on the depth chart.
Consider Charlie Heck. He hasn't looked good at all this year, regardless of whether he is playing with backups or starters. That's a problem. If Malik Willis goes down, not one of the Dolphins' backup QBs has given fans reason to believe they can win with them, but that doesn't pertain to the entire roster.
If the Dolphins have to rely on Keith Cooper to fill in on the defensive line, he will line up with the veterans who have been sitting out most of the preseason. If Jackson Woodard comes onto the field for snaps, he will line up next to Tyrel Dodson, Rodriguez, or Jordyn Brooks. That's a far cry from playing next to Steve Dix Jr., who joined the team on Friday night.
There are concerns at a position like cornerback where losing a starter could put pressure on an inexperienced player to take over, but then the scheme changes with safety coverage.
What we saw on Saturday was a bunch of guys deep on the roster fighting to make the roster while playing alongside other guys who have as much or less experience than they do. It's an overreaction to presume that a player who is fourth on the depth chart won't look better playing alongside a guy who is listed as a starter.
I'm not denying that the depth isn't good, but I'm not looking at it as a whole. I'm more concerned with the consistency of Quinn Ewers or Cam Miller; I'm more concerned with how Charlie Heck can't do his job consistently when he is lined up with the starters. I'm not worried about how the team looks when every guy on the field is playing with others who are not making the team either.
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