Here’s what caught our eye during the first half of the Miami Dolphins preseason opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium on Saturday night.
――First, here is the list of absentees for each team. It was quite long. The Dolphins announced about 90 minutes before kickoff that he would be retaining 17 players, but that didn’t compare to Tampa Bay, who announced he would be without 29 players. This is what happens in preseason, especially in the first game of preseason.
— Linebacker Duke Riley was impressive in camp and continued that in the first quarter against Tampa Bay, teaming with Sam Eguavoen for the losing tackle in a dump-off to Giovani Bernard, After that, I packed Bernard and made it scoreless. .
— Preston Williams did a great job on the first punt return. After catching a low punt near midfield, without hesitation upfield he sprinted 13 yards to set up the Dolphins at the 38-yard line. While he may not be enough to make a team, his showing punts his return ability only helps his value in his trades.
— Skyler Thompson, coming out of Tua Tagovailoa on the night, with Teddy Bridgewater as backup, looked to have gone well on the first drive and completed all four attempts. His best throw was a great third-down completion for 11 yards on third-and-six when Cedric Wilson Jr. hit him near the right sideline.
— With Teron Armstead and Conor Williams out, Larnell Coleman (left tackle) and Michael Deiter (center) started on the offensive line alongside expected starters Liam Eichenberg, Robert Hunt and Austin Jackson but each made a mistake in the first quarter. Coleman was beaten by Camgil for a sack on third down to stop the Dolphins’ first drive, but Deiter’s missed block limited a promising screen pass to Salvon Ahmed to a 1-yard gain. .
— In the absence of Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill, Wilson made three catches in the first quarter, a major factor in the passing game (one of which was a shovel pass).
— A shoddy secondary play gave Tampa Bay a 7-3 lead in the first quarter. First, DeAngelo Ross couldn’t turn around on a 21-yard completion to Tyler Johnson, but to make matters worse, Brandon Jones and Noah Igbinogane failed to turn around on a 23-yard touchdown pass from Blaine Gabart. I had Jeron Durden released in the middle for this. It was difficult to tell exactly what the replay should have covered, but it didn’t.
— Conversely, Keion Crossen provided excellent coverage for Scotty Miller on a deep pass down the right flank and hit Kyle Trask’s pass.
— Defensive tackle John Jenkins played a few times in the running game. Benito he did the same for Jones and Keyshawn when Vaughan broke into the backfield and he lost 4 yards.
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— Eguavoen missed a false tackle in midfield, turning what should have been a short gain into a 22-yard pick-up by Vaughn on the pass. It was one of several less-than-ideal plays for Eguavoen in the first half.
— It’s interesting to see Lynn Boden Jr. come back to return the first Tampa Bay kickoff after going into the end zone for a touchback.
— On the third down of the Dolphins’ second drive, the center of the offensive line caved in enough that Thompson had to throw his back foot out, resulting in a deep imperfection intended for the River Cracraft. I was.
— The Dolphins’ third drive started with a 33-yard completion from Thompson to Trent Sherfield, with Thompson gaining great defense from the backup offensive lineman and Sherfield’s wide open downfield .
— It happened after Bowden got a nifty 26-yard kickoff return.
— Rookie Tanner Connor demonstrated good after-catching ability with 13-yard receptions.
— That drive ended when Keon Smith was beaten outside and Anthony Nelson sacked Thompson.
— Glad Jason Saunders made his second field goal attempt from 52 yards out.
— Elijah Campbell came up with the greatest defensive play of the half when Porter Gustin arrived at Trask and stole the ball from a receiver after forcing him to throw a contested pass.
— The Dolphins took advantage of a takeaway when Thompson connected with Boden for a 22-yard touchdown. Bowden easily beat the Bucks defense with a great stop-and-go move. Great protection during play, great movement with Bowden, easy pitch and catch.
— Thompson finished the half with a passer rating of 136.8, going 122 for 122 yards, one touchdown, and 10 completions without picks.
–And the defense got another turnover after the first touchdown, with Darius Hodge sacking Trask forcing the turnover and Eguavoen returning a 33-yard fumble for a touchdown. Hodge, who was picked up late in the season from Cincinnati last year, has been very active in training camp and play.
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