If the preseason opener for the Miami Dolphins was one step forward, this week was a sobering reminder of what it can be like to take two steps back.
During both the joint practice session and the game Saturday against the New York Giants, it was clear what team is on the cusp of making a run out of their rebuild and into the postseason.
The Dolphins were not that team. They were outclassed in almost every possible measure in the game Saturday. The Giants piled up 41 minutes of possession, and ran 79 plays to the Dolphins' 36.
If there was something the Dolphins did well Saturday, it was get out of the game.
The good news is, it's still the offseason. Malik Willis and several other key contributors did not suit up, but the grades for this week's performance are certainly going to reflect a team that did not look ready for battle when the ball was kicked.
With Malik Willis in street clothes for the game Saturday, it was Cam Miller who got the nod to start. Quinn Ewers was out of the lineup as he's nursing an injury, and Willis got his work done during the joint practice session earlier in the week.
Miller completed 6 of his 10 pass attempts for 60 yards and was sacked twice. He added 18 more yards with his legs before giving way to Mark Gronowski who only attempted five passes of his own.
The Dolphins' passing offense looked mostly inept with nearly half of their yardage coming on one completion to Kevin Coleman.
If Willis were to miss time during the season, the Dolphins are going to be in trouble. They're in even bigger trouble if Ewers goes down.
Miami's top two rushers were their quarterbacks. That tells you all that you need to know.
Jaylen Wright had six carries for 9 yards. Ollie Gordon had four carries for eight yards. Overall, the Dolphins carried the ball 18 times for 50 yards, and Jaylen Wright lost a fumble, one of the four fumbles the Dolphins had on the day.
Again, some key players did not play, but that's an unacceptable effort that does not inspire much confidence. The Dolphins are back to the drawing board in their run game.
Kevin Coleman made the biggest play of the Dolphins when he hauled in a 30-yard reception. Coleman was the only player who played Saturday to catch more than one pass. Of the six receivers who caught a pass Saturday, only three recorded more than 10 yards. The passing game was as anemic as the run game against A Giants team who proved to be significantly ahead of the Dolphins this week.
Tutu Atwell had a drop and failed to come up with another catchable ball and Jalen Tolbert was called for holding on a running play.
Without much room to move in the run game, the tight ends are an extension of that. Will Kacmarek has a chance to become a focal point in the run game, and was credited as an above average blocker in 11 potential snaps. Kacmarek and Seydou Traore combined for two catches for 6 yards. That fit in with the rest of the offense. Jeremiah Franklin was officially targeted once, but did not catch a pass.
While this won't factor in to the offensive grades, it is worth monitoring that Traore and Kacmarek both played multiple special teams snaps. Traore had nine, while Kacmarek had seven. Cole Turner added nine snaps on special teams while Franklin only had one. Oftentimes, that can be the tiebreaker between making the roster versus not. That could be where a job is won during the final week of the preseason.
There were no holes to run through in the run game. Cam Miller was sacked twice, and the passing game was inept.
The identity of this Dolphins team revolves around its offensive line. The only offensive line starter who played was rookie left guard Kadyn Proctor, but he was done after three plays. That does not account for the inability to move the ball at all. No, it's not as if the quarterback was getting drilled on every play. It's also true that there was nothing going for Miami's offense Saturday. It's hard to give any portion of the offense a grade higher than a D.
Miami's offense was bad in the game Saturday. Its defense was almost as putrid, allowing the Giants to pile up 41 minutes of time of possession. It's not as if the Giants had a dominant phase of their game, they just were able to execute a death by thousand paper cuts offense.
New York's run game was led by Devin Singletary, who averaged 5 yards per carry. The Giants as a whole only averaged 3.7 yards per carry on the ground.
What was alarming, was the lack of big plays. In more than 70 plays the Dolphins had just one sack and four TFLs. That's not enough plays even if the starters were kept out.
The linebacker corps helped keep the Dolphins marks in the run game respectable. As previously mentioned, the Giants did not pile up a ton of yards on the ground, and averaged less than 4 yards per carry. Willie Gay Jr. had five solo tackles and one TFL during his time on the field.
The biggest storyline this group is an unfortunate one as ascending linebacker Trey Moore left the game with an injury. He was unable to put any weight on his leg before leaving the field on a cart. The ramifications of that injury could be devastating in the coming weeks.
Jackson Woodard had one of the highlights of the day, recovering a fumble from Tyrone Tracy to secure the Dolphins' only takeaway of the day.
There might be nothing that Jameis Winston wants more than to put the ball in harm's way. Winston has proven himself to be a capable backup in the NFL, but does have a propensity to turn the ball over.
Against Miami's defensive backs? Winston was comfortable as he sliced through Miami's defense for 150 yards on 21 pass attempts. He did not take a sack, and a good portion of his completions were not contested.
Brandon Allen and Jake Haener finished 16-for-21 during their time in relief of Winston. The Giants played without their top receivers outside of Darius Slayton and the current version of Odell Beckham Jr. In 42 pass attempts, the Dolphins were credited with just two PBUs, and did not take the ball away. There just was a lot to be desired in the secondary in the game Saturday.
If one of the best players on the field during a game is a punter, chances are the game did not go very well. The game Saturday was no exception. Bradley Pinion was busy early and often, kicking the ball away seven times. He averaged 45.4 yards-per-punt with two that were downed inside the 20. That included a long of 57 yards to help flip the field. Those are small things that might matter in a game that was closer. Unfortunately, it was just a positive footnote in an otherwise forgettable day for the Dolphins.
In addition to Pinion, Riley Patterson drilled a 53-yard field goal for the Dolphins' lone points of the day. That gives the special teams far and away the highest mark of the day. However, Pinion even had some tough moments as he shanked a 15-yard punt late in the second quarter that gave the Giants prime field position leading to a field goal. ,
The punt team also gave up two punt returns of more than 10 yards, and Tahj Washington muffed a punt on the final play of significance in the game. Hey, when nothing is going right, nothing is going to go completely right, right?
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/dolphins/onsi as Report Card: Grades from Dolphins' Forgettable Day Against the New York Giants .
